Mighty's Contest Updates & Q&A Thread

Training
801

Lonnie- I’m just glad I’ve been able to get my training in lately. Moving every worldly possession from one apartment to another (moving in this Saturday if we can get a bed delivered), planning a wedding, attending 2 weddings, working later hours than I used to (this really killed a lot of my productivity when I get off from work), and still not quite over a cold I caught sometime last week (lotsa hacking keeping me up at night).

Gotta remind myself that I’m actually choosing to do this -lol. There are definitely days when I want to just say “not this year”, but I know that if I do that, I’ll look back in time and be disappointed in myself.

Always expect more of yourself than you would of anyone else. That’s how champions are made.

S

802

Wow, so Yes, I missed training again this last Saturday (we were moving ‘stuff’ until about 12 at night!). Eating, as anyone who has ever moved own their own knows, pretty much takes a backseat to lugging and unloading boxes. I did manage to grab something every few hours, even if just a protein bar, or shake.

Still, despite my best efforts, once I tallied my day at dinner (at a 24 hour diner with Cat and my folks at almost 1 in the morning), I didn’t even break 1800 cals for the day. Still, My prot and carb levels were probably enough that despite feeling so crushed, I didn’t do any horrible damage with all the excessive NEPA done throughout the day (~110g carbs, ~250g prot).

What does have me thrown though, is my weight. While I know that I may need to be a few lbs tighter this year due to the nature of competitors showing up (WNBF Pros), my drops have been very slow and steady, usually about a lb a week. Last week started with me at about 186.5, then by Saturday morning, I was 186.2. So I figured it’d be a lesser drop. Then Sunday, I woke up at 185 lbs.

Figuring I had just beaten myself down so much the day before, I made sure to hit my #s for the day, and even backed off a bit in the gym to ensure I was recovering. Well, surprise, surprise, I woke up this morning and found myself even lighter! 184 lbs at 11 weeks out. Basically a 2.5 lb drop since last week.

I had planned to start small bouts of morning steady state cardio today, not for any real caloric burn, but banking on the G-Flux effect, as well as hopefully getting a bit of heightened insulin sensitivity for the rest of the day. I stopped at 10 minutes, figuring I’d done enough for the day. Most likely I’ll do 20 mins every morning from here on, but definitely up my #s a bit if I have to.

I’ve got a pretty intense day of high carbs today (lotta Ezekial bread, Pop Tarts, Carrot Cake, and Finibars), so we’ll see what we’re looking like when I wake up tomorrow morning. It’s certainly not a bad thing to reach your ‘target weight’ a couple of weeks early and sit there while slowly bringing your macros up. In fact, it’s usually a great way to get that finer detail so few Pros really sport. Hopefully this will be the year that I can get that really intense, bordering on ‘disgusting’ conditioning -lol.

Also, on a side note, our new Apt is actually only a 10 minute drive to the gym I had been frequenting on weekends (Synergy Gym- formerly Golds - in Garden City, NY). Huge facility, great equipment, lotta meatheads and competitors,… really just icing on the cake that is my new Apt.

So when I was chatting with THOUGHTS1053 on the phone yesterday, discussing training together, I mentioned that we could probably get a bunch of NY/NJ-Local T-Folks to meet up there some time. It doesn’t have the same ‘cool history’ as Bevs, but it’s definitely comparably equipped (especially compared to the crummy NYSC I’ve been at since last Sept!)

S

803

I’m enjoying reading this “life of a pro natural bodybuilder” story here. You’ve already brought levels of conditioning in the past that I’m sure at one point I thought was beyond what was in the realms of possibility “for nattys” so I’m really looking forward to seeing if you can be even freakier this year!

Congrats on the new apartment/much better training situation.

804

Jake- Glad you’re enjoying following along. I think over the years (and preps), I’ve probably gotten into sharing much more of the ‘real life’ aspects surrounding my training and dieting. We sometimes forget that unlike Arnold and his Pumping Iron buddies, we have to hold down real jobs, pay rent, and interact with people who don’t care one bit about our bodybuilding hobby.

Right now, despite my excitement at being back at a hardcore gym, Cat n I are living out of unpacked boxes, sleeping on a fold out sofa (damn metal support bar running through the middle of the "mattress!), and not really getting too much sleep each night… But damn it all, I’m up at 5:30 on the treadmill, and getting home from the gym around 9 at night. Smiling all the way :slight_smile:

S

805

That’s commitment! Remember though, even Arnold and Franco had to work manual labour as bricklayers for multiple hours a day when they first came to America. Ronnie kept up his job until he could afford to only go part time. I reckon bodybuilders are a rare breed of commitment/hard work, just look at John Meadows as well working full time (I believe) as well as training people.

806

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
Also, on a side note, our new Apt is actually only a 10 minute drive to the gym I had been frequenting on weekends (Synergy Gym- formerly Golds - in Garden City, NY). Huge facility, great equipment, lotta meatheads and competitors,… really just icing on the cake that is my new Apt.

S[/quote]

Are you guys living in Mineola now Stu?

807

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
Right now, despite my excitement at being back at a hardcore gym, Cat n I are living out of unpacked boxes, sleeping on a fold out sofa (damn metal support bar running through the middle of the "mattress!), and not really getting too much sleep each night… But damn it all, I’m up at 5:30 on the treadmill, and getting home from the gym around 9 at night. Smiling all the way :slight_smile:

S[/quote]

You’re a machine, Stu! Great inspiration to us all, brother. Keep killing it.

Have you set a date for the wedding yet? We’re planning on June of 2013 so we’ve got around 15 months to get it setup haha.

808

[quote]SkyNett wrote:

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
Also, on a side note, our new Apt is actually only a 10 minute drive to the gym I had been frequenting on weekends (Synergy Gym- formerly Golds - in Garden City, NY). Huge facility, great equipment, lotta meatheads and competitors,… really just icing on the cake that is my new Apt.

S[/quote]

Are you guys living in Mineola now Stu? [/quote]

It’s a funny situation. When we first saw the apt, the realtor told us it was in Douglaston. Then I grabbed a card from the main office of the complex, and it said Littleneck. However, when I entered the zip code online to have a package delivered, it came up Belrose… so I’m not sure exactly where the hell we are! -lol.

Actually, we’re right on the Grand Central, by the corner of the Littleneck parkway. One of those big “luxury” apartment complexes with a doorman who will actually hold your packages if you’re not home, so no more fighting with FedEx about how important my Biotest shipments are.

I actually hadn’t worried too much about where I was going to train when we first moved, figuring that something would be nearby. Unbeknownst to me, if we followed the GCP service road, it’s only a quick 10 min drive to the Synergy Gym I had been driving to on weekends previously. Definitely a nice surprise, and all the trainers seem glad to have me around more. They not only refer me clients for prep and diet work, but they love to just talk shop (lot of competitors too, BBers and Powerlifters.)

S

809

[quote]ashylarryku wrote:

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
Right now, despite my excitement at being back at a hardcore gym, Cat n I are living out of unpacked boxes, sleeping on a fold out sofa (damn metal support bar running through the middle of the "mattress!), and not really getting too much sleep each night… But damn it all, I’m up at 5:30 on the treadmill, and getting home from the gym around 9 at night. Smiling all the way :slight_smile:

S[/quote]

You’re a machine, Stu! Great inspiration to us all, brother. Keep killing it.

Have you set a date for the wedding yet? We’re planning on June of 2013 so we’ve got around 15 months to get it setup haha.[/quote]

Yeah, we decided on August 4th. Cat’s sister is always in Spain during July, and with Cat and I both being teachers, taking advantage of the 8 weeks off over the summer is (hopefully) just going to make things a tad bit easier. It’s amazing how much stress doing something that is supposed to be a simple, and happy event just seems to turn your whole world upside down, and in some cases, bring out some insanity in people.

15 Months? Plenty of time…(but I’m sure it won’t seem like it -lol)

S

810

Update: 10 Weeks out

Yesterday, after hovering around 186 for the previous few days, and last Monday hitting 184, I weighed in at 183.6 lbs. I stuffed myself all day, trying my best to seriously push my carb intake over 400g. Let me say that it’s not as easy as it sounds, especially when you’re trying to keep your fat intake (as it makes you feel full) as low as possible.

I can’t even recall how many poptarts (and the NEW Mini-PopTarts! -lol) and snack-sized Carrot Cakes I ate. Of course I had my usual Finibar assortment, and the rest of my regular peri-workout protocol, but by the evening, it seemed that I wasn’t going to make the #s I wanted, so I really had to start eating every hour or so. Without getting too graphic here, obviously food takes a while to ‘work’ its way through you, so I fully expected to wake up back to 186. Surprisingly, I was only a half lb heavier today, and I’m positive I’ll be even lighter by tomorrow.

The short 20 min steady state treadmill session each morning that I started incorporating last week makes it feel like my hams are coming in tighter. Of course that’s a conscious effort on my part as I incline walk, concentrating on what I’m actually squeezing with each step.

As we finally got a bed delivered to our new digs, and things are settling down at least a small amount, I know I need to start hitting my mandatory poses each night like I’ve done in previous preps. Once Cat’s calmed down a bit (lot of stuff going on), I’ll try to get her to snap a few pics, or even a video if she can.

S

811

So here’s another instance where ‘real life’ is getting in the way.

As most people who follow along know, I’m a NYC teacher. As such, I have to really be on my game when it comes to having food on hand, and even fielding the odd questions when students ask about creatine or whatnot. Well, tonight is one of those wonderful teaching moments,… Parent Teacher conferences.

As I’m one of the ‘lucky’ few instructors who was placed on the late day schedule, I will not have time after actual working hours to go home, rest a bit, walk my pup, or heaven forbid get to the gym for a quick session. Today is scheduled for a lower cal intake day, and as such just interval work and some core training. I figure it’s probably for the best in terms of damage control.

I got up extra early to get in an unusually long session of steady state incline treamill (40 mins! Sooooooo Boring!), and figure that I can manage some abs and lower back floor exercises when I finally get home later tonight (around 10pm I’m guessing). As far as cals and macros go, I usually down my Finibars and still have a pretty decent amount of carbs in my diet on my ‘low’ days (averaging about 175g on recent cardio days).

However, as I won’t have to really power through any grueling bike sprints, I’m going to definitely keep my cals, and even my carbs a bit lower than usual today. I had picked up a few boxes of Protein bars that Cat likes, which are primarily protein and fiber (very very little carbs aside from the fiber content). I’ve had them and they are quite filling for a low calorie product. So I figure that instead of my usual post-work feeding of Fini’s and Anaconda/Mag-10, I’ll just munch on a few of these as Parents complain about how its my fault that their children aren’t coming to class :slight_smile:

S

812

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
I’ll just munch on a few of these as Parents complain about how its my fault that their children aren’t coming to class :slight_smile:

S[/quote]

Why aren’t YOU doing more for their kids, STU!??

Man, you eat a ton of carbs even on your off days compared to me. I’m starting up on Indigo after my contest in 2 weeks, so we’ll see if I can incorporate more FiniBars and things like that into my diet.

Now that you have used Indigo, do you keep your carb intake higher, or is it about the same as other preps?

813

@ Lonnie,

Boy, I bet you can’t wait to be in the off season and start INDIGO if you think 175g is A LOT! : )

I still take in 287 gram of carbs DAILY and roughly 3k calories. Refeed days are 600 + grams of carbs and close to 5k calories!

814

I’ve always had a fairly slow metabolism, I can gain weight EASILY off of 3,000 calories or so, even with 5 days a week of exercise. 3500 basically has me gaining fat at a rapid rate. Indigo Experiment should be VERY telling, I’m pretty damn in tune with my body and its calorie/nutrient needs.

815

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I’ll write a bit later, but in whining about how we just haven’t been able to keep up with pics and vids, Cat snapped this quick shot of me right out of bed this morning Yeah, my eyes are half shut, my hairs matted, our place is still unpacked and a mess, BUT for a crappy very poorly lit phone pic,. not too shabby. Last night at the gym, I was hitting delts and tris, and while this particular pic may not be the best support, I’m looking pretty damn vascular at 9 weeks out.

We’ve got a little break from work coming up, so I’ll definitely be able to grab some shots for you guys during that time Also hoping to meet up with THOUGHTS1053 and his girl, both who are prepping for shows as well, during that week. Should make for a few good photo ops if we’re lucky (He’s a real thick dude in person!)

D

816

[quote]Lonnie123 wrote:
Why aren’t YOU doing more for their kids, STU!??

Man, you eat a ton of carbs even on your off days compared to me. I’m starting up on Indigo after my contest in 2 weeks, so we’ll see if I can incorporate more FiniBars and things like that into my diet.

Now that you have used Indigo, do you keep your carb intake higher, or is it about the same as other preps?[/quote]

I know right? It’s always the teacher’s fault -lol.

As I’ve become more experienced at this game, I’ve been able to pull myself away from a lot of the dogmatic beliefs and fears that a lot of mainstream gymrats seem to cling tightly to. If I look at my #s for my '09 show, compared to '10, and '11, I’ve certainly pushed things a bit more each time.

Carbs are one of those double edge swords, where if used properly, will allow you to put on muscle, maintain muscle, have more productive workouts, jump tall buildings in a single bound,… all that good stuff. But if misunderstood, or used haphazardly, will make you fat, sluggish, pigeon toed… all bad stuff.

I certainly think that becoming more in tune with my own body has allowed me to reach this point. Many of my clients handle their macros very differently than I do. With some, it’s genetic, with others, years of poor diets,… sometimes it’s a combination of factors.

The I3G does make a difference, no doubt. My carbs were pretty high last year even before I threw the Indigo in. I didn’t raise my #s when I added it in, I merely banked on what I was already ingesting being used more efficiently. Considering that I needed to make a serious change in my physique in only a few short weeks’ time, I’d say without a doubt that it was a good decision.

S

817

Woah, I know you know your own body best, but you look to be ahead of schedule for sure from that last photo… Nice going. Cant wait to see the finished product

818

Looking great in the most recent pic Stu, arms are definitely standing out to me (even from the front the tricep on your left arm is jumping out!).

The juxtaposition of teacher/body builder is also awesome to read about. Have you read the book “Teacher Man” by Frank McCourt? If not, you should definitely pick up a copy. Nothing at all in it about bodybuilding, but an awesome teacher perspective by a world renown writer (don’t know if you’ve read Angela’s Ashes either).

819

Looking mean, Stu! Looks like you’re at a great place to be at 9 weeks out. Keep up the great work!

820

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Thanks guys. I always obsess about my quads, firstly being a bit undersized compared to my torso, and secondly, in terms of conditioning, which always comes in at the very last possible moment. Well, this was snapped this morning, yet again in our poorly lit bedroom, and right after waking up. Although I’m not lined up straight with the camera (cel phone) - in fact, my left leg which is always smaller and less defined appears closer in the pic giving the false impression that my right one is actually lagging! - I’m pretty impressed that not only do I believe that I’ve added a bit more size, but seeing hints of my rectus fermoi with over two months to go,… well, it just makes the fire under my ass burn even more.

Hopefully things will continue to dig out while retaining the added size (which doesn’t take more than a few well placed pounds to make a huge impact when you’re truly in single digit bodyfat levels).

S