Mighty's Contest Updates & Q&A Thread

Training
761

[quote]The3Commandments wrote:

Stu, this is a point that I feel like I understand in theory but not in practice. I feel like the “work your #s up slowly” is something that a ton of people/products/etc talk about doing, but when I look at the big dudes on this forum and elsewhere, they all got big as quickly as they could, held the weight, then ended where they did.

I feel like it’s a big change in the past two years on TNation. When I first started reading this site, it was much like what I hear on Iron Radio and elsewhere: “You need to eat a freaking ton and get big and strong first. Don’t worry about your abs.” etc. But now, the obsession seems to be with “lean gains” and such.

Do you have thoughts on that change in position?[/quote]

If I may offer some advice here from someone who was swayed by the “EAT HUGE AND Grow!!!” advice years ago on these boards.

The first year of my weight training endeavors I added almost 70 pounds of WEIGHT… I was training pretty hard 5 days a week, so I certainly wasn’t pussy footing in the gym, but MOST of the weight was fat. I dont have the genetics to just “eat and grow” like some guys do (I would hazard to say MOST dont). I was dumb, didnt realize it at the time, and really paid for it for years afterwards because I shot myself in the foot with that approach.

The reason that advice is given out so freely is because for the guys who DO have the genetics and potential for large amounts of growth, they really can waste tons of time not pursuing those HUGE potential gains in the beginning… However, most people will probably be more satisfied with a slightly more moderate approach.

Being a new trainee with no guidance is really a bad position to be in, because you really are so ill equipped to deal with all the factors at play, but have the potential to take advantage of many of them more than an advanced trainee.

So the lesson: As always, Monitor and adjust based on YOUR results. I would play it aggressively for starters, and taper back if you are gaining fat to try and find the sweet spot (instead of trying to work up to it) for a new trainee.

762

[quote]Lonnie123 wrote:

So the lesson: As always, Monitor and adjust based on YOUR results. I would play it aggressively for starters, and taper back if you are gaining fat to try and find the sweet spot (instead of trying to work up to it) for a new trainee.[/quote]

I agree but when it comes to newer guys, and those who have been lean their entire lives in particular, is where the “just eat” crew thinks most people fall. That’s where the threads start popping up with “i cant see my 8-pack any more” iI need to cut come in and instead of giving more moderate advice like your post above, they get fed up after so many times and resort to the “just eat” methodology. Or at least it seems so to me.

763

So… yesterday morning had me at 193.2, and today was 193.0 still a good 17+ weeks out. Tomorrow, my folks are having a little engagement party for Cat n myself, and they ordered food from my favorite Italian Restaurant (the heartless bastards! -lol). I’m definitely looking lean for being so far out. The skin in my midsection has thinned considerably in the last few weeks, and I’m sporting veins running down my arms and front delts that I usually don’t see until I’m much closer to contests.

What I’m considering doing, is enjoying myself within reason tomorrow (I’ll still be up at 7am at the gym hitting delts n tris), and then just skipping my next planned High carb day, which would have been Sunday anyway. Considering that I usually give myself 16 weeks for a prep, and in the past I’ve started much much heavier (208 lbs in 2010 and 198 lbs in 2011), I don’t think this is going to be a real issue, especially considering that Ive been so strict for the past 4-5 weeks already.

S

764

Haha I feel you on the food…I’ve been overly stuffing my face before I get down to business, might even have a brownie fudge sundae for desert today. I’ll be following along especially as we’ll be right around the same point through this prep.

765

Wow, so I’m actually chuckling here, but after enjoying myself quite a bit on Saturday (ate tons of food, desserts, you name it), I actually had the largest weekly drop in weight so far! Out of bed this morning, I clocked in at 191.6 lbs… at 17 weeks out! Seriously need to make sure that I keep a slow-moderate pace and even in my pursuit of better hamstring cuts, don’t sacrifice too much muscle in the process.

I’m thinking that I’ll still keep the very small, infrequent amounts of interval work I’ve been doing, but if I have to raise a few numbers, that’s probably going to be my immediate solution. Not that my #s have been considerably low, 2400 cals / 175 carbs on low days and 2700-2800 cals / 250-275 carbs on medium days, but as every prep is different (each year your body comp is slightly different) you can only play the cards you’re dealt.

S

766

The power of the refeed!

Last summer I scheduled my 2 low carb days after my high carb day (with a “refeed” meal) and I swear 90% of the fat loss happened on those 2 days alone. There is definitely something to be said for the Feast-to-Fast style of eating. John Romaniello actually recommends doing this on his site (He does an actual fast, whereas I just went low carb/low cal)

767

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
but if I have to raise a few numbers, that’s probably going to be my immediate solution. Not that my #s have been considerably low, 2400 cals / 175 carbs on low days and 2700-2800 cals / 250-275 carbs on medium days[/quote]

That’s a good problem to have.

I actually just raised my carbs/fat a bit because I lost over 2 pounds this past week. Way faster than I want to be losing at this point (only shooting for 1 pound).

Looking forward to seeing your hamstrng cuts, I know I have that goal as well.

768

I hate you guys… Getting lean to fast, pshh. :wink:

769

Stu and Tim,

As guys who have gotten lean a few times now, do you feel the body has a “fat loss memory”? Meaning, do you feel that once you have gotten lean before does your body have a tendency to “remember” getting lean and thus drop fat a little easier when you go into full diet mode the next time around?

Maybe not to the shredded contest level, but maybe you can become efficient at dropping the first 10-15 pounds or so?

770

Something I’ve always noticed in the past, and stress this to my clients who obsess over daily weight fluctuations, is that AFTER a higher feeding day, the body seems to ‘let go’ of some of the weight it may be fighting to hold onto. Without getting too scientific, I like to think of it as the old “hey, I guess we’re not dieting anymore” trick, so things start moving along through the system more efficiently (quickly?).

I don’t know about a fat loss memory, but I do believe that for those people who repeatedly shred down (ie. seasonal competitors), the level of leanness attainable gets deeper and deeper. I don’t know if this actually makes it easier when you start each successive cut, but what may indeed play into the equation, is the different body composition that you’re starting with. I’ve started each contest season ('09, '10, '11) at a different body weight.

Not merely a weight issue here, I’ve started with different amounts of muscle mass each time. Sometimes, my body makes pretty sizable drops at the start, other times, the usual ~1 lb/week. The real issue I tend to think, is what my eating looked like before jumping on “prep #s”. Sometimes, I will actually bump my cals for several weeks before starting a cut (a trick I stole from Yates). Other times, I may be unintentionally eating cleaner, or even leaner (due to increased BMR from holding more muscle) than I actually realize. It’s not until I hop on the scale at ‘week 1’ that I even pay attention to my weight.

S

771

[quote]Lonnie123 wrote:
Stu and Tim,

As guys who have gotten lean a few times now, do you feel the body has a “fat loss memory”? Meaning, do you feel that once you have gotten lean before does your body have a tendency to “remember” getting lean and thus drop fat a little easier when you go into full diet mode the next time around?

Maybe not to the shredded contest level, but maybe you can become efficient at dropping the first 10-15 pounds or so?[/quote]

First, I will say that Stu has vastly more experience than me, but I will chime in regarding my experience.

This is currently my third cut. First cut wasn’t too serious but got my abs nicely visible, however, there were no real striations except for the delt area.

Second cut was summer/fall 2010 and resulted in the “mock” contest prep thread.

When I started this third cut. I could see the fat covering my obliques and lower back. I tried my best to stay lean while bulking but there was definitely some fat gain. It probably looked worse to me since, IMO, once you get REALLY lean, everything else just looks fat. Regardless, I wasn’t fat by any standard measure for sure, just not comfortable with the covering on my abs/obliques, lower back along with decreased definition through arms and legs.

Well, it came off surprisingly fast. So fast, that I would agee with your hypothesis that your body sheds fat easier in subsequent cuts. The initial drop from around 200 to upper 180’s went super smooth and I was surprised with the definition coming in on my obliques and the lower lats starting to show meaning the lower back fat was dissappearing. Striations started coming on the chest/delts real quick and quads as well.

Basically, I went from seeing those ugly fat dimples to striations/veins in about 6 weeks. It couldn’t have been easier.

772

So for my Monday weight (yesterday), 16 weeks out, I was only a half pound less than last week, BUT then my weight went up today, so I’m anticipating a bigger drop in the next day or so. This is a pattern I’ve noticed not only in my past preps, but in several of my clients as well. Visibly, I am most certainly leaning out. Usual comments about how I’m actually looking larger are coming with regular frequency at the gym. Of course I still have enough size where I look fairly buff in baggy clothing, so I’m not complaining (yet anyway -lol). Several areas that are usually slower in coming in are actually visible now, which supports the thinking that with each competitive season, your overall quality improves. Let’s just hope it improves enough where I don’t get my butt handed to me!

S

773

Hey Stu

What your contest plans this year? How about a WNBF European Pro Cup this fall?

Since I missed a lot of info on T-Nation, I read through a ton of posts of yours in your thread and others. Honestly, if you copy all that together and print it, it’ll make a fantastic book on natural bodybuiling (and more beyond that topic).

Cheers, PA

774

[quote]ParagonA wrote:
Hey Stu

What your contest plans this year? How about a WNBF European Pro Cup this fall?

Since I missed a lot of info on T-Nation, I read through a ton of posts of yours in your thread and others. Honestly, if you copy all that together and print it, it’ll make a fantastic book on natural bodybuiling (and more beyond that topic).

Cheers, PA
[/quote]

Hey PA, glad to have you back round here!

So far, my plans are to hit the WNBF Pro American in June, and then try not to get too out of shape this summer (getting married in August!) I guess there’s always the looming WNBF Worlds show in November, but with our honeymoon planned for late Summer, I can’t honestly say that my usually unwavering competitiveness isn’t going to take a backseat for once :slight_smile:

I did point out to Cat that by competing in the WNBF now, we can go overseas and I can still do Pro shows, but I doubt it’s as big a deal to her as it would be to us.

Thanks for the thoughts on my posts. Once I get this whole wedding/apartment hunting thing behind me, I’m definitely going to get back to that book I started laying out last fall. I’ve given a few lectures and seminars the past year, and finally accepted the fact that people do indeed view me as a viable source of information regrading diet and training. Sure it’ll be one heck of an undertaking including everything I plan to, but in terms of ‘giving back’, I can’t think of any better way to leave my mark on the industry (field? hobby?) that I’m so fond of.

S

775

Hey Stu

Congratulations, bro! Very glad to hear Cat and you are getting married in August! You should enjoy your honeymoon and if that means you’ll miss the worlds, that’s totally okay. Getting married is something you do once in a lifetime and there will be many more contests in the years coming.

Sue and I are getting married in April :slight_smile: Very much looking forward to it. I believe planning our marriage is by far the best thing I have ever done in my life and it has been that “bright light” at the horizon in 2011, when I had to bully through a very tough time. Can’t think of anything better than spending the rest of my life with the smartest, sexiest woman on earth who happens to have the biggest heart, too.
But I digress…

If - if is good - you should still plan to compete this fall: there will be a WNBF Eurpopean Pro Cup in Switzerland this year :slight_smile:
It’ll be two weeks or so before the worlds in NY.
I plan to come to NY to coach some Swiss athletes in November, by the way.

Cheers, Andy

PS: Very much looking forward to your book. Tell me when I can pre-order it, I’ll be the first buyer!

776

You know what’s funny Stu, I actually “wrote a book” to myself a year or so ago called “Lessons from Stu” where I copied/pasted all of your most informative and relevant posts from these threads into an single source. Let me know if you want me to send it to you.

777

Is that offer open to everyone? I would like to leech of of your legwork.

I wish I tape recorded the two training sessions I had with Stu, he gave great insights into just about everything the entire time.

I would also like to preorder the book if possible, I’m sure its got some great info.

778

I can actually just copy and paste it into this thread if Stu is okay with that. It’s a bit long so it would kind of throw off the flow of this thread, and he has the new book in the works so I want to make sure its the kind of information he wants out there now with his name on it.

779

Lol, Geez Lonnie, that’s quite a compliment. Of course now you got me all curious about what’s in your little ‘Book of Stu!’

I actually had an old student of mine (back when I was teaching college and at the local Art League) do something similar over the few years he’d taken classes with me. In hindsight, when he emailed me a copy, I was really shocked at how much really good info I had dropped in tidbits throughout lecturing and demonstrating.

When I first started outlining what I’d like to cover in my (hopefully) eventual book, I thought about going back over all my threads on here the last few years. I never really plan what I’m going to write on here, just type as I think, so I’m sure there have been a few nuggets I’d dropped that I didn’t even realize at the time.

Definitely shoot me an email with the file if you have a moment. I’m sure I’ve written about stuff I don’t even remember (which would be great to expand on in an actual text).

Quick update,… finally under 190 lbs this week (189.6 actually). With about 15 weeks to go. I had planned on starting a little morning steady state by now (just 20 mins, nothing serious), but with how things are looking, I’m going to hold out until 12 weeks out. Cat and I should be moving into our new apartment (fingers crossed!) on March 1st, so aside from the stress of the moving process, I should be all set up there for a week before I need to start worrying about waking up earlier in order to plod on the treadmill before eating each day.

S

780

I would definitely buy your book too man. Your posts are always insightful and very easy to understand. It would probably be invaluable to aspiring natural bodybuilders!