Well, the ‘everything sucks’ aspect has crept in on occasion, overall it could always be worse. My strength while under the weights has never suffered, BUT, I definitely feel some lethargy in between sets, and throughout the day. Definitely noticeable is the limiting my carb intake to the time surrounding my actual training. While this enables me to maintain productive in the actual gym, the rest of my day definitely takes a hit.
Gonna try to upload a little video that Cat made of me a few days ago. No amazingly impressive gym footage, actually a little mundane, but we figure it gives z glimpse into how all of ‘this’ fits in between my actual daily activities.
Stu, you’re the man. I’ve honestly learned more about bodybuilding from these threads of yours (right back to “Countdown to 1st contest”) than I have from any other source. Thanks so much, and I look forward to seeing you kill it again next weekend.
Thanks guys, always nice to hear that others are learning, or at least taking something away from my sharing of my own experiences… and yes, I know, my Breakfast on that particular morning did indeed suck -lol. It’s only the last two weeks that I’ve limited my carbs to strictly my peri-workout period. Usually I have 2-3 key points in the day where I’ll target my intake, as well as really bolster the amount right before training (which can range from simply 2 finibars, to 3 finibars + SWF).
So here we are, 6 days out, and this is the first day in 20 weeks where I didn’t step foot in the gym, or on the treadmill. Actually kinda nice! Did some food shopping for the week, spent some quality time with Cat getting books on Hawaii where we’d like to take our honeymoon this summer, and at the moment, enjoying the first season of game of Thrones, which I’ve had on DVD for a while now but just never had the time to sit down with.
Anyway, I’ll check in as my last week (‘peak week’) progresses, and shed as much light on my thinking, as well as looking as I can. In the meantime, here’s the poster for the show in case anyone’s in the vicinity for the show, or even just to join my brothers and myself for a bite (a drink?) after.
I’m away for a week so will miss the drama of the peak week posts and contest posts but really look forward to checking it all out when I’m back. Good luck for 6 days time Stu, your going to look awesome and inspire us all yet again, I can sense it!
While I didn’t get to snap a ton of pics today (I did grab a few right out of bed just to check that my lower back has horizontal lines through it… yep, it does -lol), I got quite a few compliments at the gym from friends who also compete, and will always be brutally honest with me. The consensus seems to be that if I look this tight and cut in my usual paler than milk complexion, the tan will only augment everything in a more dramatic fashion.
A description I heard yesterday, was that my delts looks like clams. apparantly being round, and full of lines
Managed to make appearances at 2 Memorial Day BBQs, lugging my cooler and my dog with me of course. Back home now, paying some bills, answering some emails, and probably going to go through my posing in a little bit. Admittedly I haven’t practiced as much as I have in the past, which I blame on a much busier and just uncooperative schedule this year. I have gone over my quarter turns every night before bed and as soon as I wake, but I’ll be going through my individual posing routine tonight for the first time since last Spring (gonna practice the same one). I figure that only the top 5 get to perform their pieces anyway, so time would be better spent on what will actually be judged.
Just wanted to pop in and wish you best of luck in the competition as you prep the next 5 days or so. You’ve done a great job so far and I think regardless you have done yourself, and T-Nation (for whatever that may count for) proud.
Will be interested in seeing the results and top 5 placements. I think it will be an awesome experience.
[quote]timmcbride00 wrote:
Do you keep your individual routine the same from contest to contest?[/quote]
Sometimes I’ll complete start from scratch, other times I may keep 90% of a routine from one year to the next. In 2010 I had used a pose I had seen in one of Cordova’s videos and thought it would look great. Unfortunately, with my physique, and a certain flaw that I just seem unable to remedy (just the way a certain muscle attaches), it didn’t look as cool when I saw the contest video. So to ‘fix’ it I substituted 2 other poses back to back but kept the rest of the routine the same for 2011.
This year, understanding that my life has just been insanely busy with non-bodybuilding stuff, I didn’t have time to really sit down and come up with anything new, even if I had wanted to. Of course most guys I know don’t really preplan things out to the extent that I do, they just wing-it with a few of their favorite poses in mind. For me though, having received positive comments from past judges on my routines, it just seems a good idea to put a little effort into it. People will notice when obvious work was involved.
[quote]Jab1 wrote:
Vid was awesome Stu, but man it seems like your prep is brutal! Much respect for your mental strength to keep going.
And your arms looked JACKED at the end of the video. [/quote]
lol, thanks man, but it’s not always that rough. Being as close out as I was in the video, and always expecting more from myself with each contest, I can’t leave anything to chance. I know that I’m going to be one of the older guys up there as an Open Pro, and also, most of the guys you see competing at the top levels of the sport have a day job that is at least somewhat tied into training in some manner.
I feel like I’m always straddling two lives, so I have to make sure that there is no doubt in my mind that I could have possibly done anything more in preparation.
Yeah, I noticed my arms too! Very different looking compared to when I first roll out of bed, or when I come home from work, obviously trying to dress ‘normal’ and not draw attention to myself in professional settings (at least not anymore than can’t be helped).
When you’re this lean, with fluctuations in glycogen and water, you really can appear very different looking from day to day, even hour to hour (as on the day of the contest).
[quote]Quasi-Tech wrote:
Just wanted to pop in and wish you best of luck in the competition as you prep the next 5 days or so. You’ve done a great job so far and I think regardless you have done yourself, and T-Nation (for whatever that may count for) proud.
Will be interested in seeing the results and top 5 placements. I think it will be an awesome experience.[/quote]
Thanks so much. I forget how many people read these threads. I see the #s go up on ‘views’ even without new responses, and I always wonder just who would be interested in my experiences -lol. Just crossing the finish line from such a long and drawn out experience (20 weeks this time!), you can’t help but feel a certain sense of pride and accomplishment.
I always tell my clients that no matter where you place, you’ve got to be damn proud of how you’ve taken total control over your physique, and molded to your own goals.
In my case, just stepping onstage as a WNBF Pro is going to be a crazy experience. Win lose or draw, I’ve proven myself one of the elite competitors in the sport. That’s already accomplishing something that people spend years trying for, most never achieving. I’m doing my best to focus on that when my nerves act up. Also, just looking forward to having a nice meal with my fiance’ and my brothers after this is over! Obviously I’ll try to update as best as I can.
I do understand what you mean by doing T-Nation proud. The community on here has watched my journey from a first time competitor to 2 time Natural Pro in a pretty impressive fashion. I feel a certain amount of family warmth on here, very supportive and encouraging, and to that I value this site quite a bit. It’s been said that the journey is more important than the destination. Well, I can honestly say that both are pretty good places to be.
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
When you’re this lean, with fluctuations in glycogen and water, you really can appear very different looking from day to day, even hour to hour (as on the day of the contest).
S
[/quote]
And the funny thing is, even when you KNOW this can happen (i.e. the drastic changes in appearance) it STILL can mess with your head.
I am bulking and thus eating more carbs now and I feel the fluctuations are more drastic than when I was dieting down. Add to that, the fact that I am still lean and one day my abs are tight with veins popping and the next, they are squishy. It totally messes with my head, I feel like a girl, because in my head I am saying, “I am soooo fat, better watch it.” But I know for the most part it is just fluctuations in water/glycogen.
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
When you’re this lean, with fluctuations in glycogen and water, you really can appear very different looking from day to day, even hour to hour (as on the day of the contest).
S
[/quote]
I’m no where near as lean as you, but this is definitely something I’ve been noticing as of late. It seems like half the day I’m completely smooth and flat, but the other half I have veins popping out of my skin all over the place and look very full. It’s kind of a mind fuck, haha.
I figured this might be interesting to those who always wonder about fluctuations in bodyweight, and freak out if during a cut, the scale # goes up. My morning weigh ins this week have been:
Sun- 176.6
Mon- 179.6
Tues-181.0
Wed- 180.2
Thurs-176.4
And I’m expecting something similar tomorrow to today’s reading. The should result in an actual lower scale reading on contest day than last year, BUT, as the Pro competitors are scheduled to be onstage at 9am (as opposed to the usual 11am-12:00 prejudgings, or even my 3:30pm time last year), I’m going to have to carb up a bit heavier Friday, as well as make sure I’m up and able to get a few feedings in Saturday morning.
On a crappy note, my old lower back/sacrum injury has been acting up a bit this week. Lots of stretching and foam rolling ensued, but last night I had a serious 20 minute bout of pain as I lay in bed. Hopefully this won’t present any issues these next couple of days.
Additionally, Cat was supposed to help me out Friday with a couple of coats of ProTan and then drive the 4 hour ride to Massachusetts with me, but as she now has a very important meeting with a Supervisor, it looks like that may not happen.
I’m hoping that one of my brothers can get enough of his work done tonight so I’ll at least have someone with me. He says he won’t know until much later today, but I’ve got my fingers crossed. It seems like no matter how much planning I actually put into a contest prep, nothing ever goes off without a hitch
