I think you are doing the right thing Stu. “Advanced” trainee’s develop that 6th sense that lets them just kind of “know” what to do and when to do it.
Not that I am on your level, but I actually stopped tracked my food intake and cardio for the last 6 weeks of my prep. I had been doing the same steps for so long that it just became 2nd nature and I just “knew” what I needed to eat, what NOT to eat, and when to add 5 minutes to my walk/prowler or whatever.
Whoah-Ho! Apparently Part II of that video series of me went up tonight! Hasn’t been posted on youtube yet, so I can’t link it, but if you found the first one, you can track down the second one 
(This is sooo cool -lol)
S
That was good stuff Stu, very articulate and very sound advice. Looking great Dude!
Something I’ve always noticed in last preps, and currently as well, is that as the contest draws close, my focus shifts from the actual show, to planning how I’m going to rebound, make progress etc immediately after. I’ve already accepted that things will nto be ideal for me in terms of there being no Pro Middleweight class in this particular show.
So what I’ve instead set my sights on is the WNBF Worlds this coming November. Widely regarded as the top natural show, I’m certainly not taking it lightly. BUT, there is always a middleweight class (and sometimes even light-heavies) due to the sheer number of Pros who show up to do battle.
I figure if I stay in shape through the summer, even with a 2 week honeymoon in August, I’ll still have a good 2 months + to really dig in. Time enough so long as I’m in great shape before going away, and don’t absolutely destroy my physique during the time off.
Time will tell I guess!
13 Days!
S
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
Something I’ve always noticed in last preps, and currently as well, is that as the contest draws close, my focus shifts from the actual show, to planning how I’m going to rebound, make progress etc immediately after. I’ve already accepted that things will nto be ideal for me in terms of there being no Pro Middleweight class in this particular show.
So what I’ve instead set my sights on is the WNBF Worlds this coming November. Widely regarded as the top natural show, I’m certainly not taking it lightly. BUT, there is always a middleweight class (and sometimes even light-heavies) due to the sheer number of Pros who show up to do battle.
I figure if I stay in shape through the summer, even with a 2 week honeymoon in August, I’ll still have a good 2 months + to really dig in. Time enough so long as I’m in great shape before going away, and don’t absolutely destroy my physique during the time off.
Time will tell I guess!
13 Days!
S[/quote]
Neat, I found myself doing the same that as my contest neared, started playing around with how my workouts would look and planning my diet.
Regarding your plan to compete at the WNBF Worlds, I think that is great. Looking forward to the journey.
Hoped you’d post that up here
Again, crazy conditioning! Love seeing delt striations/separation.
Great stuff, Stu! Thanks for sharing your experiences and wisdom!
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
Quick cel phone pic from earlier tonight
S[/quote]
awesome! I hope you could offer more photo in the next time.
Stu The Destroyer. Thats Pro Level right there man, looking sllliiiicceeeddd.
Arms looking thick and very detailed. Nice.
Christ!
Looking awesome Stu.
Question though, what brand wrist straps do you use?
[quote]MAF14 wrote:
Looking awesome Stu.
Question though, what brand wrist straps do you use?[/quote]
Lifting ‘straps’ are just crappy white ones I got for free a long time back.
Lifting ‘wrist wraps’ are Inzer Z-Line. Seriously thick and supportive. I have a history if joint issues, especially my wrists as I spent many years pressing stupidly heavy weights. As such, I’ve been through every wrap, support, and athletic tape you can think of. I’ve relied on the Inzers for the last 8 years or so. Along with my old Inzer PL belt, they’ve held the various pieces of my physique together through some seriously brutal gym beatings.
Can’t recommend them enough.
S
You rock, keep it up,
Videos are great.
That is all
Cheers
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
[quote]MAF14 wrote:
Looking awesome Stu.
Question though, what brand wrist straps do you use?[/quote]
Lifting ‘straps’ are just crappy white ones I got for free a long time back.
Lifting ‘wrist wraps’ are Inzer Z-Line. Seriously thick and supportive. I have a history if joint issues, especially my wrists as I spent many years pressing stupidly heavy weights. As such, I’ve been through every wrap, support, and athletic tape you can think of. I’ve relied on the Inzers for the last 8 years or so. Along with my old Inzer PL belt, they’ve held the various pieces of my physique together through some seriously brutal gym beatings.
Can’t recommend them enough.
S[/quote]
Yup, meant wraps my bad. Thanks just ordered a pair!
[quote]MAF14 wrote:
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
[quote]MAF14 wrote:
Looking awesome Stu.
Question though, what brand wrist straps do you use?[/quote]
Lifting ‘straps’ are just crappy white ones I got for free a long time back.
Lifting ‘wrist wraps’ are Inzer Z-Line. Seriously thick and supportive. I have a history if joint issues, especially my wrists as I spent many years pressing stupidly heavy weights. As such, I’ve been through every wrap, support, and athletic tape you can think of. I’ve relied on the Inzers for the last 8 years or so. Along with my old Inzer PL belt, they’ve held the various pieces of my physique together through some seriously brutal gym beatings.
Can’t recommend them enough.
S[/quote]
Yup, meant wraps my bad. Thanks just ordered a pair![/quote]
How about it?
So here’s a little update,… I’ve got 7 days to go, and this morning (Friday 5/25/12), I weighed in at 176.6 lbs. This is the absolute LIGHTEST I have ever weighed a week before a contest. In past years, it has always been me panicking about making the upper cutoff for the Middleweight class (176 lbs), and it has always been a very close call, especially as I would put on muscle with each passing contest season (last year I believe I weighed 175.4 lbs the day of my WNBF Pro Card win.)
I obviously look much larger and thicker this year, while at the same time, displaying much better definition, as well as seeing it much further out from the show. It’s funny, but I now find myself worrying about accidentally ending up in the pro lightweight class if I continue tightening at this rate. Being the tallest individual in your class is never a good thing, and even though I do expect to be outgunned in whichever class I do fall into, I’ve come to think that being the smallest, albeit very conditioned heavyweight would afford me a better chance of standing my ground onstage.
Because this show is a Pro/Am, the Pros have to weigh in the night before, so I figure that so long as I force down as much water as I possibly can by the Pro Competitors meeting, I should literally, tip the scales a bit.
Looking forward to slowly, and very, very methodically putting on a few lbs of solid muscle this summer before hopefully turning a few heads at the Worlds this November
S
Sounds like a great plan Stu! Very excited to see how this one pans out.
How are you feeling from day to day? Has the “everything sucks” feeling hit yet - lol?
