Things are definitely moving in the right direction, the refeed two days ago seemed to help move things along. Woke up the leanest and tightest yet, with noticeable improvements in the quads. Knocked out 45min LISS this morning, this afternoon is delts, triceps, calves and 30min LISS. Seeing the improvements is really motivating to keep pushing through this final stretch. 2 weeks and 4 days of grinding until peak week!
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Running on fumes tonight big time. 1700 cals, 50g carbs today. 45min LISS this morning, afternoon was shoulders, triceps, 30min LISS and some posing. Times like this itās important to stay focused on the end goal, knowing that feeling uncomfortable is temporary, but the feeling of being on stage, knowing you worked harder and suffered more than anyone else, is the best feeling when the day comes. Right now it seems like three and a half weeks out is an eternity, but itāll be here before I know it. Eye on the prize!
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I saw the pictures and can fully confirm the improvements!
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Quick question @robstein @The_Mighty_Stu
For the high carb days. Whatās the intent behind dropping fat so low? Is it to prevent any possible fat storage with all the carbs?
Or to simply make room for more carbs to be added in without increasing overall calories too much?
Thanks
Keep on chugging buddy! Youāll be on stage before you know It.
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NEW LOW of 139.8, never been below 140 since high school. Rough day yesterday but well worth it, woke up with the tighter than ever this morning and the new low is a good push of motivation.
Today is a medium day, 130g carbs and 1980 cals. Love me some medium day breakfast of ezekiel bread french toast after my 45min walk:
-3 Slices ezekiel bread, soaked in mixture of egg whites, cinnamon and stevia
-In the pan, then topped with a little bit of Metabolic Drive Chocolate Protein icing, 0 cal maple syrup and sprinkled with stevia. 360 cals, 45c, 38g protein.
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Yes and yes! Additionally, I prefer a ārefeedā style day, which is intended to get the leptin going after a period of low carbs, so on these days we actually want the carbs to be digested quickly, high GI carbs are favorable compared to other days where we want low GI carbs and minimal spike in blood sugar. So, very low fats make sure digestion of carbs isnāt slowed. Additionally, the carbs will spike insulin, and when there is more fat in the blood with high insulin it increases the change of being stored as fat. Cals in>cals out always, but typically, especially in a prep, you have a high fat OR high carb meal, or moderate fat with moderate carbs, but not high fat AND high carb. Minimal fats leave plenty of room for carbs without raising cals too high, and let the fast digesting carbs do their job. Thatās why on a refeed day Iāll incorporate things like cinnamon toast crunch, bagels, cookies, pretzels, etc,. to raise leptin and keep things moving, and on every other day will stick with cream of rice and ezekiel bread.
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Solid leg session today, felt great on a medium 2000 calorie day with some extra carbs in me. Approached squats carefully as Iām pretty run down and lowest bodyweght Iāve ever been at 139.8, but stronger than last week.
225x10, 250x10, 275x10, 295x10, 315x6.
Continued on as usual from there with leg press, leg extension, ham curls, hamtracfor, RDL and 10min LISS.
Next two days are low days, 1700cal with 50g carbs, 45min LISS in the morning and 30min LISS post weights. Next week we are planning on starting to taper down the post weights cardio, still keeping morning LISS at 45min. Tightening up day by day, hoping things keep moving along.
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Your quads are drastically more separated. Thatās without a tan or good lighting either.
Good work man.
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Looking Awesome! Excited to see the finished product in a few short weeks
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@dchris thank you so much bro, I really appreciate that. Itās very encouraging and motivating to hear objective opinions, especially as the prep gets deeper it really becomes impossible to see anything other than āIām not there yet.ā Thanks again dude.
@joshbenjamin thanks man, youāre going to be a monster up there canāt wait to see you kill it and feast together.
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2 WEEKS OF WORKING LEFT
Alright, time to batten down the hatches, the show is 3 weeks from tomorrow, which means thereās 2 weeks left to get some work done and dig out these quads, and get the final level of conditioning needed to hopefully be undeniable.
Weāve been making constant and steady progress since the last show 4 weeks ago, slowly widdling down carbs, cals, and adding some cardio. Now thereās thereās only 2 weeks left to keep working, I think Iām in a good spot to make one final big push to make it happen. Iām definitely happy with my progress and have to make sure I take the time to āStop and smell the rosesā as it were. Iām in the best conditioning of my life, and quite a different bodybuilder than I was this time a year ago.
This picture is exactly a year ago, April 14, a few weeks before the same show, compared to this morning. Left is 149lbs, right is 140lbs. 9 pounds lighter. on the right
That being said, I feel like I still have one final level to go to get the ultimate hard and dry look Iām striving for. Granted these days with 50g of carbs a day Iām a deflated balloon with no glycogen, no pump, not filled out, and Iām sure a tan and a carb load will really make a drastic difference. But I know thereās still one more level to go.
So, Iām making one final push for these last two weeks before peak week. Three low days followed by a medium day, repeat. Low day cals are 1680cals with 45g total carbs, consisting of 30g direct carbs in my pre-workout meal, plus 15g incidentals from nut butter and avocado throughout the day. Medium days are going to be ~1850 cals with between 100-130g carbs, weāre gonna wait to see what I look like after these next few low days and see how we want to play it. These numbers are really low, but I need to accept that Iām 140lbs and 5ā4", so it is what it is.
Weāve made some macro adjustments by lowering protein to 1.3g per pound and raising fats to 80g, which should help keep hormones regulated and keep hunger at bay. Today is the first day with these new numbers and although Iāve only eaten a total of 1200 calories so far today, I havenāt been hungry. Brain fog, yes, but not hungry.
While I know this is going to be the toughest grind Iāve done, I have to make it happen and know that I gave absolutely everything I could when the time comes. Knowing itās only 2 weeks of it, I feel like I can do anything for two weeks. Iām extremely excited and motivated for this last dig, itāll be over before I know it.
Iām extremely thankful that my wife and I prepped together and sheās been in the trenches, the past couple weeks Iāve been in a rough state all day, every day, and she totally gets it. Knowing whatās coming the next couple weeks makes me even more grateful that sheās been through it, and is really being an amazing support system for me. Gonna take her out somewhere real fancy like when this is all done!
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As i Mentioned to rob while explaining a recent adjustment, some people only look at their calorie/expenditure equation and ignore the effects of certain macros and other health issues (hormone, specifically stress hormones as weāve seen with rob and how they affect his conditioning).
Competition is about more than just weighing a certain scale weight.
S
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Very true. the old adage āthe best diet is the one you can stick toā is incredibly insightful. It might be so simple people dont realize how profound it is for years (like me)
Meaning, If you gave Rob the perfect diet, 10/10 guaranteed to get him to 1st place conditioningā¦ but caused depression, mood swings, and his wife left him because of it, well its not very likely that he is going to be able to pull that off.
But add a bit more of this and take away a little of that and it works nearly just as good and his quality of life isnt impacted nearly as muchā¦ NOW we have a diet that is a 9.5/10 but is sustainable. Do a little extra cardio to make up the difference and voila.
@robstein - Those pics are insane man. I canāt believe you did so well last year, and this year, and are beating your previous physiques by that much. Very good work man.
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Very true here. Another thing to point out, is thereās no way to know which diet would guarantee those results because itās such an individualized thing, lots of trial and error here in terms of macros and total caloric intake. Even though my calories are actually lower now than they were before the adjustment, mentally I feel better (less depressed/mood swings) on higher fats. It seems very common to keep protein high and fats no more than 30% of total calories, which I did for a bit but the mood swings were really getting rough. Right now fats take up about 45% of my total cals, I feel much better, less hungry, and more stable mentally. Brain fog is there, but Iād rather be foggy than pissed off or depressed.
Thank you so much man, I really appreciate that!
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The grind continues. Today wraps up the second low day out of the three lows and a medium rotation. As Iāve mentioned, the hunger really is very manageable now that fats are higher, 80g per day. Brain fog for sure, but Iām dealing with and excited for my medium day coming up Monday.
Through some food substitutions Iāve been able to get my low days cals to 1630 and still feel pretty good. Thereās a line between suffering and āsomething is wrongā, while the brain fog is there I am still feeling relatively fine, so the cals, while low, are going to stay there for the low days. Iāve recently seen some videos of other bantamweight naturals talking about their nutrition going into shows, eating between 1600-1700 a day, which just offers some reassurance knowing Iām not doing anything out of the ordinary for someone of my weight, although typically these guys are between 5ā6"-5ā7", and Iām 5ā4". I would imagine by the time Iām done peak week Iāll step on stage between 135-137 for this show.
Totals: 1630cals, 159p/47c/79f
Meal 1 - 4 whole eggs, veggies
Meal 2 - 4oz chicken breast, 50g avocado, veggies
Meal 3 - 1 serving cream of rice, 1TBSP almond butter, 1 scoop Metabolic Drive
Meal 4 - 4oz chicken breast, 50g avocado, veggies
Meal 5 - 1 cup egg whites, 24g almonds
Meal 6 - 3oz flank steak, spinach, 1TBSP olive oil drizzled on top
Medium days cals, one every 4 days, are 1800, so still what the medium days used to be, at 130g carbs, by the addition of a piece of Ezekiel bread and an apple with breakfast, and an extra serving of cream of rice post workout.
Upping morning LISS to 60min starting tomorrow, keeping post weights cardio 10-20min depending on the day. Next week, when weāre two weeks out, Iām going to start tapering the post weights cardio. The plan was to start doing it this week, but now that Iāve stopped HIIT training, my body isnāt as stressed and 20min LISS post weights is manageable. Iāve also dropped the volume back slightly in my workouts and make sure my weight sessions take no more than 60min before starting LISS. At this point with super low cals and carbs, donāt want to put my CNS on overkill. Right now the most important thing is to make sure my muscles donāt go anywhere, so I still focus on lifting heavy as possible with max intensity. Recently starting taking some pre-workout stimulant to help. Iāve never used anything except coffee pre-workout, but right now itās a life saver.
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Some people can really feel the effects of fluctuating blood sugar levels throughout the day, especially when total cals are limited. Couple that with āextraā dietary proteins being at risk of conversion to carbs in certain circumstances, and the added benefit of dietary fats slowing digestion of foods in the gut, and suddenly the routine advice one might glean from their favorite muscle magazine or online forums doesnāt seem like the best choice. 
S
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20 days out.
Definitely getting a little tighter day to day. Today is the third low day in a row, so at this point Iām very flat/depleted, only getting enough carbs for my training session. Tomorrowās medium day will be great and hopefully will fill me out a little more.
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Quads are getting towards that deep separation youāve been looking for!
Keep killing it stud. Not long now.
In relation to @The_Mighty_Stuās comments about blood sugarā¦I definitely feel those fluctuations with some occasional lightheadedness. I did not feel that last prepā¦and this wasnāt even when I was doing low carbā¦it was kind of odd.
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PRE-WORKOUT CAKE!
Ah, the little things. This is another one of my culinary creations, although this was a total accident. I prep my pre-workout meal the day before and pop it in the microwave, usually it comes out with the usual thick-soup consistency and tastes great. BUT, I microwaved it too long, and it came out firmer with a different consistency, and tastes JUST LIKE CAKE. Itās also way more filling to eat this way.
-1 serving cream of rice (42g dry)
-1TBSP almond butter
-1 scoop Metabolic Drive Vanilla (gonna try chocolate tomorrow)
355cals - 35c, 30p, 9f
Microwaved for 3min on high after it was done. Let it cool for a minute, and bam, pre-workout cake! Post contest Iām gonna keep doing this pre-workout, but will probably add some dark chocolate chips, nuts, berries when itās done, etc.
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