Road to NPC Diamond April 2013

Training
1

I was asked to start this by a couple good dudes in another forum post. I’ve been prepping for my first show since roughly the tail end of August. Long time…I have come a long way…and I grossly over estimated the amount of lean mass I thought I had. In fact, I think if anyone goes through a prep…a real prep which they will get REALLY stage lean (striations in lower body lean) …the come to see how much REAL lean mass they are holding. To say the least, it has been a humbling experience for me. I realize how much muscle I could stand to put on in the future and plan to do so at a controlled, deliberate, slow rate after this show.

Unsure if I will compete again anywhere close to the near future after this one. For a couple of reasons: 1. this has been incredibly demanding and has taken away from my ability to move forward in my life OUTSIDE of bodybuilding/physique goals…therefore, I need to have a period where I can be a little more lax with my macros/food intake (still train hard always) and be able to bring a lot of mental focus to other avenues of my life. 2. I feel it is in my best interest for just overall health and overall improvement of my strength goals and physique goals to take an extended SLOWWWWW gain (almost borderline maintenance intake) and just focus on HARD training and gym gains over the next few years at least.

I will not be tracking my specific training routine…more so…I will let you in on the nutritional side of things and perhaps what I’ve needed to add in regards to cardio work…and how I generally feel in the gym. But, overall numbers won’t be posted. This is not a day to day training log…this is an overview of my first prep. What it takes in regards to my intake…my feelings on the matter…and a place to answer any and all questions. I think it is relevant SPECIFICALLY due to the fact that I was asked to make this thread in a forum post that was a debate and explanation of “IIFYM” and my defense of and individual stance/perception of that way of eating. You will all see the progress I have made so far…and the progress I will continue to make by following this approach. I think it may also serve to clear up the misinformation that practitioners of flexible dieting seem to eat ONLY “dirty” foods…this cannot be further from the truth in my case, as well as the case of everyone I personally correspond with who have the same ideas on dieting. I’ll post meals if you’d like…specific macros each day…feelings of hunger, contentment… Whatever you’d like to know.

2

Here is where I was at Mid October…keep in mind this is AFTER actively dieting from the end of August…embarrassing to me… 165lbs
FRONT

688×921 174 KB

REAR

688×921 176 KB

Side

730×921 186 KB

ALOTTTTTTTT of trial…work…doubt…rough times…partially easier times…and here I am within the last week
151lbs

Front

597×800 114 KB

Rear

597×800 109 KB

Side

Most Muscular

597×800 118 KB

Keep in mind I still have ALMOST 4 months of prep left…So I have a fair amount of time for my lower half to come in and to get leaner all over which I will definitely need. At this stage…each pound I lose has a significant visible effect… I’ve come a long way I feel and it has not been easy.

From here on out I will post weekly picture updates and practically daily nutritional updates as well as overall mood etc…how I’m feeling in the gym…what I’m GENERALLY doing in the gym etc.

This entire prep I have practiced IIFYM…you will see exactly how I practice this is more detail as the days, weeks, months go on…

I know I’m not big by any standards, but I’m in it this deep now and have no choice but to continue the prep and focus on getting bigger in the future after…

3

Good luck on your competition.

Your current weight?
Doing any sort of cardio? (HIIT, fasted walks…)
Will u upload any full body pics?

4

Thanks for inviting us along

Any current pics or at the beginning of the prep?

5

…so you’re spending from August of 2012 until April of 2013 just dieting…?

I wish you the best of luck, but I guess I just don’t understand why you’re doing it at this stage.

Again, best of luck man.

6

[quote]The3Commandments wrote:
…so you’re spending from August of 2012 until April of 2013 just dieting…?

I wish you the best of luck, but I guess I just don’t understand why you’re doing it at this stage.

Again, best of luck man.[/quote]

I think there is a disconnect between natty bbing and …well…unnatty (big respect for both) in those who have not competed in a natural event. Many successful natty BB’rs including the pros prep anywhere from 24-36 weeks for a show…

7

I admire your commitment to the process.

Definitely look better (and bigger) in the more recent pics. How tall are you?

8

Will follow this. Best of luck with the prep.

Few questions to start with; are you working with a coach at all (training or diet)?
What class are you entering?
Do you mind sharing your general training split if not a full in depth routine?

9

sweet im excited

10

I prepped for almost 5 months leading into my show, and you are way ahead of my progress. If you stick to your plan you will come in shredded for sure. The weight issue can kind of mess with your head (it did me, I ended up on stage at 158) but you said yourself, there is a massive disconnect between Natty and “regular” BBing shows. “Heavy” natty’s in the 5’8" - 5’10" range are like 180-185 if that.

Just keep on keepin’ on and you’ll have an end product to be proud of, win, lose, or draw.

11

damn looking 2xbigger just by leaning out.

12

[quote]tolismann wrote:
Good luck on your competition.

Your current weight?
Doing any sort of cardio? (HIIT, fasted walks…)
Will u upload any full body pics?[/quote]

As pics say bro… I’m at roughly 151lbs in the last few days…

Doing a fair amount of cardio… I go by calorie burn and I use the same machine on the same settings for consistency sake. I use an elliptical…this week I am up to THREE 500kcal sessions at a lower setting and THREE 600kcal sessions at a bit higher setting. I don’t worry about it being fasted nor if it is after my weight training.

Most days I train either early morning before work OR after work at like 6pm…come home…finish off whatever is left of my macros…wait a few hours and usually hit up my cardio at 11pm or midnight…shower…sleep…

13

[quote]lemony2j wrote:
I admire your commitment to the process.

Definitely look better (and bigger) in the more recent pics. How tall are you?[/quote]

Greatly appreciate the kind words…very much so actually. Many thanks to you.

I am right around 5’7" …perhaps 5’8"? I can’t say undoubtedly.

14

[quote]roon12 wrote:
Will follow this. Best of luck with the prep.

Few questions to start with; are you working with a coach at all (training or diet)?
What class are you entering?
Do you mind sharing your general training split if not a full in depth routine?[/quote]

  1. Yes, I am working with a coach…prior to THIS coach from the months of September until around mid October I was working with Team 3DMJ. As of now, my coach is JOH. I have worked with JC Deen in the passed for my “bulk” and the very early stages of what was supposed to be a basic cut in August to what has become a full on prep starting in November. JOH provides me with a training protocol which is rather BRUTAL especially in a deficit…and my macros. He does not give me a food plan…and he does not require me to eat certain foods nor food choice…he asks that I hit the macros as accurately as physically possible with whatever foods fit accordingly and please me most. The only caveat being: get ample micronutrients and get at least 25g of fiber per day. Try to make whole food choices roughly 70% or so of the time…which I tend to do.

  2. I really aimed for Lightweight not knowing my bodyweight would end up so low at the desired bodyfat that I need to attain…I’d do MUCH better at bantamweight in a natty show…unfortunately, this show is an NPC show (not natty) and the lowest weight class is lightweight which is up to about 154lbs.

  3. Sure…generally speaking I have a training protocol which follows a 3 week cycle…each week the amounts of sets, certain exercise choices and way in which it is split exactly varies somewhat. It becomes more brutal as it progresses through the second week…the third week is somewhat easier in regards to less overall total sets and then the cycle repeats itself. Prior to this new training cycle I was following Layne Norton’s PHAT with slightly reduced volume…doing THREE LISS sessions and TWO HIIT sessions per week as well. We dropped the HIIT…added more LISS and increased the overall training intensity (sans the HIIT sprints).

The reason for the change in training to a much more demanding protocol was a means to slowly increase my food over the last month or so…roughly 20g of carbs per day and be able to keep the fat loss going simultaneously. So far, it has worked great. I’ll give more detail in my overall post for today.

15

[quote]Lonnie123 wrote:
I prepped for almost 5 months leading into my show, and you are way ahead of my progress. If you stick to your plan you will come in shredded for sure. The weight issue can kind of mess with your head (it did me, I ended up on stage at 158) but you said yourself, there is a massive disconnect between Natty and “regular” BBing shows. “Heavy” natty’s in the 5’8" - 5’10" range are like 180-185 if that.

Just keep on keepin’ on and you’ll have an end product to be proud of, win, lose, or draw.[/quote]

Really appreciate the words of wisdom…I’m just going to try my best to come in the best condition possible. I can say that I have not missed one training session…not one time did I go over my macros…and I have not missed one cardio session in the last 4 months…

I don’t say that to brag…I say it because I will not allow myself to do less than I am capable or asked of by my coaches…I can accept not placing well or something in a show KNOWING that I gave my 100%…but, I cannot accept the same fate knowing I could have done another 10%…I could have done exactly what was asked of me and I didn’t…that could mean one binge day or 1 day where I skimp on cardio. I just won’t allow myself to experience the feeling of “I could have done more”.

16

[quote]GTFOmyPowerRack wrote:
damn looking 2xbigger just by leaning out.[/quote]

Really appreciate the kind words man…this is the beauty of getting leaner…I weigh FAR less than when I started. I started this cut at the tail end of August at almost 180lbs…I’m down to 151lbs and I genuinely feel as though I look more muscular. Perhaps, I do not fill out clothing as much but, I also don’t fill out the waist of my pants as much either…

17

Daily update:

The gym closed really early for the day due to the holiday so I needed to get there as early as possible before work in order to get my session in. Today was a lower day…I will not give complete details and poundages for my session but…I will let you in on that it was brutal.

We are talking twelve sets of HEAVY squats… from 5 reps down to 2 reps …and FIVE sets of very high rep leg press (OVER 20 reps each set)…with a weigh that typically I would stop at roughly 15 reps. Then a fair amount of sets for direct calf work. Nothing more…Still took a long ass time…specifically recovering between the heavy squat sets and the very high rep work for leg press. Luckily I didn’t have to do any cardio today…I usually do my cardio sessions Tuesday-Sunday.

I dragged ass in work…I have a relatively physical job…I unload the trucks and stock the shelves at a grocery store (shitty job but…w.e.). For the first half of my shift I felt like I was dragging my feet…but, I picked up a bit after I went on break and got some food.

NUTRITION:
My macros for the day were 250g Protein, 300g Carbohydrate, 35g Fat. We have had to keep dietary fat rather low as of recent in order to creep up the carbs slowly…I haven’t felt any real ill effects yet…but, I can say that from experience and from what science shows…low fat diets over time tend to have negative effects on sex hormones. HOWEVER, favoring the carbs with a nice slow increase has seemed to work well on my metabolism and my thyroid…at least by what I can feel day to day and how the fat loss has continued. So, perhaps the drop in fat has been worth while. I do not doubt my coach whatsoever and am well studied myself…so I know whether or not this is beneficial for now. Prior to the increase in carbs…my hands were becoming cold all the damn time and my gym performance was beginning to lack. In my experience, this is a sign of reduced thyroid function…and with the increase in carbs, these symptoms have started to minimize.

How is my overall weekly nutrition set up? I PERSONALLY would rather be on or put someone else on (a client) steady calories/macros over the week i.e. each day being the same numbers. MAYBE I will do different macros for training versus rest days. The only exception for both instances is a refeed day in which I’ll bring carbs high, protein and fats a bit lower than normal (I’d do this no matter what). HOWEVER, my coach has me on a cycled carb approach…it tapers down as the week progresses with a nice refeed on Saturdays followed by a very low carb/high protein day on Sundays. Protein stays relatively constant at 250g except on those Saturdays and Sundays which they are tweaked a bit…and dietary fat is almost always kept at 35g with again, the exception of Saturdays and Sundays being a bit lower. No days do my carbs go below 200g…most days they are on the plus side of 250g…You will see what I mean as I update daily or at least close to daily.

For “dinner” tonight I had Panda Express chinese food that my pops brought home…he went out of the way just to go there to get chinese because they post macros. I weighed out each portion of whatever I ate (fried rice,steamed rice, broccoli beef, spicy chicken, chow mein, and a veggie spring roll)…this ate up practically all of my dietary fat for the day…but, it was worth while and I am very grateful to my father for going out of the way to a place that posts nutrition facts according to weight of each dish. As I said…everything that I ate…I personally weighed out to what would fit my macros.

Other meals:
Breakfast/PWO : Greek yogurt W/sugar free jell-o, one small apple chopped up (80g), 1 serving puffed wheat all mixed up with Walden Farms calorie free syrup to top.

Lunch: Sandwich consisting of chicken breast, 2 slices Nature’s Own smart wheat… Then I had 1 scoop of casein protein fluffed up in a blender with some ice. I fluff this shit up until it fills the ENTIRE pitcher…legitimately…and then I eat it with a spoon.

Lunch 2: Ground 99/1 Turkey breast…two servings Broccoli…franks red hot.

Dinner: Panda Express Chinese (discussed above)

Post Dinner: Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, sugar free jell-o, puffed wheat, apples chopped up, plain krisp rice cereal, 1 sugar free pudding pal, rice chex …all mixed up in a bowl and eaten.

I’m not going to give the exact gram measurement of each ingredient I eat unless you want me to? But, know that I measure everything out to the proper gram amount in order to fulfill my macros pretty much exactly.

18

[quote]facko wrote:

  1. Yes, I am working with a coach…prior to THIS coach from the months of September until around mid October I was working with Team 3DMJ. As of now, my coach is JOH. I have worked with JC Deen in the passed for my “bulk” and the very early stages of what was supposed to be a basic cut in August to what has become a full on prep starting in November. JOH provides me with a training protocol which is rather BRUTAL especially in a deficit…and my macros. He does not give me a food plan…and he does not require me to eat certain foods nor food choice…he asks that I hit the macros as accurately as physically possible with whatever foods fit accordingly and please me most. The only caveat being: get ample micronutrients and get at least 25g of fiber per day. Try to make whole food choices roughly 70% or so of the time…which I tend to do.
    [/quote]

So after working with three different coaches, what would be your opinions on each, pros, cons, what prompted you to switch?

S

19

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:

[quote]facko wrote:

  1. Yes, I am working with a coach…prior to THIS coach from the months of September until around mid October I was working with Team 3DMJ. As of now, my coach is JOH. I have worked with JC Deen in the passed for my “bulk” and the very early stages of what was supposed to be a basic cut in August to what has become a full on prep starting in November. JOH provides me with a training protocol which is rather BRUTAL especially in a deficit…and my macros. He does not give me a food plan…and he does not require me to eat certain foods nor food choice…he asks that I hit the macros as accurately as physically possible with whatever foods fit accordingly and please me most. The only caveat being: get ample micronutrients and get at least 25g of fiber per day. Try to make whole food choices roughly 70% or so of the time…which I tend to do.
    [/quote]

So after working with three different coaches, what would be your opinions on each, pros, cons, what prompted you to switch?

S[/quote]

Well basically JC Deen is a GREAT coach and he taught me a TON…I cannot thank him enough and we are friends to this day and have personal correspondence still. He helped me gain a lot of strength and convinced me to eat big. In retrospect, I may have put on more fat than I needed to because before I had worked with him I was eating terribly…roughly 1200kcal a day most days…starvation…we jumped right into 3200kcal without a reverse and I blew up pretty quick. Can’t say anything bad about him though…as a coach and a friend he’s great. We stopped working together because he explicitly does not do full on preps…

I began to work with 3DMJ to prep for a show that I initially wanted to do in November. Boy, did I completely underestimate how much body fat I had to lose. I was nowhere near ready…and my finances were incredibly low (their pricing is far from cheap) I wanted to extend the prep in order to compete in April of 2013…I didn’t feel they were on the same page in that regards and the fact that I could not afford to pay for the minimum amount of weeks contracted I had to move on. I won’t say anything explicitly negative about them…but, they have a LOT of clients nowadays…and I felt that the communication was rather brief and not very personal. I got the vibe that they cared more so about their main guys with youtube channels and previous contests under their belts… They are however incredibly knowledgeable IMO and have brought in a lot of guys to shows with great conditioning.

I had known JOH for quite some time already through the forums and knew he was a previous client of Alberto Nunez. His rates were INCREDIBLY reasonable and we were on the exact same page as to plans for future and how to go about prep etc. So…we began to work together. I’ve come a long way in terms of fat loss working with him and it’s worked out well so far. The pricing is very reasonable and the communication is extremely fast and personal…this also has to do with the far lesser amount of client influx that he has. The only con is coming out of my comfort zone and engaging in a protocol that I found (and still somewhat do) pretty damn complicated. Different carbs every damn day basically…however, I cannot really say it has been a bad idea because my fat loss has proven to me that it’s doing the job. This is how he likes to do things and he’s my coach so I do as I’m told to do…and so far, it has worked out in the results.

I’ve had to learn that when you hire a coach you did so with trust and the trust needs to continue…the protocol needs to be followed and control needs to be let go…unless it is something that I really feel is completely unnecessary or dangerous…only under those circumstances will I question.

I worked with JC Deen for quite a damn long time…we had to part due to not specializing in prep and 3DMJ I just see as a transitional period…

20

Thanks for the detailed response, its clear you are putting a hell of a lot of effort and thought into this!!

With regard to food, do you tend to have ‘staple’ meals that you go to often and know the macros for(eg the fluff and cereal) or do you eat a wider variety and weigh/calculate daily?
Also are you tracking micros or just ensuring that you eat plenty of micronutrient rich ‘healthy’ foods.

Sorry for bombarding you with questions but its interesting seeing a detailed log of someone following a ‘less traditional’ (?) approach (ie not chicken and rice 6x a day) :slight_smile: