Thank you very much bro! I have to keep reminding myself that everything will look fuller/tighter and rounder, including the quads, with a carb up. The tan and lights make a big difference too. Ultimately I’m not sure if my quads will achieve the hard and dry look, might just not be in the cards for me, but I’m finally feeling like they’re conditioned enough to be comparable with the rest of my physique and hopefully not be seen as a weakness.
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Great genetics going on in here, wish I was lucky like you 
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Genetics has nothing to do with it. Clearly he’s on steroids. I mean…just look at him!
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140 lbs of steroid fueled musician -lol
S
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LOL If I’m on da joose at 140lbs, I’m doing something wrong. There’s a guy I used to train with at my old gym who was my height, assisted, and 165lbs of solid rock hard muscle, super nice guy and incredibly hard worker, really lean all the time. Doesn’t sound like a lot, but if you imagine me at 5’4" with an additional 25lbs of straight LBM, he looked like the hulk.
3 DAYS OUT!
Today is a repeat of the past two. The diet has been fun, all the high fat foods, and my cals are 2,200 raised up from the usual 1750 low days. But, the 0 carbs certainly has a rough effect on the brain and energy level, and if I had to pick between at 1,750 day with some carbs, or keto at 2,200, I’d pick the carbs.
That being said, just 2 more days of keto, and the day after tomorrow is carb up day!
Starting to think about my diet next week and how I’m gonna ease back into my nutrition post show. A huge part of me (like all) of me doesn’t want to be strict about it. Not that I’m going to binge and eat crap for days, but I think given the fact that I’ve been dieting for so long, and have been sub 6% body fat for like two months, I really should be careful with how I ease back into things, otherwise my body and metabolism will be thrown for a massive curve ball in a bad way. Especially since I’ve been lower carbs as well, if I go straight to having lots of carbs, insulin will go through the roof and especially with my naturally slow metabolism, which slows even more as the prep continues, I’ll just get fat.
Last year after my first show I went CRAZY with eating, Stu told me I could eat whatever I want the day after the show and I went too far. I polished off two big bags of homemade cookies my parents made me, a big bag of chocolate covered peanuts, a personal pizza, a hoagie, chips, pretzels, etc. But, I also know that pretty much every competitor does that the first time, and improves after each show. After a prep diet the body is incredibly sensitive, so it’s really smart to be careful. Now that this will be my 4th show, I’m more experienced and have less of an urge to binge, and more of an urge to definitely enjoy myself post show, but not be stupid about it and undo all the hard work I’ve done. Seriously, one week of binge eating after a show and you can gain 20lbs and look like you never dieted. Besides, just eating normally feels like bingeing after a prep diet, and I really enjoy just being able to eat healthy foods that contribute to my gains, so it won’t be a problem.
SO, my plan is to eat whatever I want after the show and not worry about it, anything I want to eat I’m gonna do it and enjoy. If you read my log last year, you know that I. LOVE. PIZZA. And pretty much never eat it. I think the last time I had it was actually after my show in June last year. We’re going to Cheesecake Factory post show, they have brick oven pizza there, so I think I’ll start with one of those as an appetizer and take it from there 
Sunday, not gonna go crazy. There’s a Greek restaurant near the house that opened at the beginning of prep, love Greek food, and it’s also pretty healthy. Lots of meat and veggies, rice, potatoes, etc. Gonna go there for lunch and get whatever I want, then to a self serve frozen yogurt place with all the toppings and go nuts. Somewhere tasty with the wife for dinner, and back to a plan on Monday.
Next week, I’m going to go to a 4 day split and stick with that for a couple months, and I’m going to go back to my nutrition numbers from a couple weeks out, and do 20min cardio post weights, just to get some water down and even out. After a week of that, I’ll slowly start adding carbs and cals back in, and stop cardio. Do I want to do it that way? Absolutely not. BUT, it’s just a week, and it really won’t be that bad, and my body will be extremely sensitive and I want to do what’s best in the long term. I also feel like that’s what a seasoned bodybuilder would do, and as this will be my 4th show, it’s the smart move.
Last deplete workout today, and first layer of Pro-Tan going on tonight. Can’t wait to see what I look like tomorrow morning after it’s settled in and I’m darker, the tan always makes things pop, and as I’m naturally very pasty and pale, it’s always a pleasant surprise after it’s on.
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lol - Everyone has to learn the hard way that first time
EDIT: Except Brad. He always eats like a little girl anyway.
S
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Me Too. I feel like I owe you one for the great read into an incredible journey.
Been lurking on the edge of my seat, and just wanted to drop in and wish you the best.
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@SkyzykS thank you very much for the kind words and support, I really appreciate it! I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed the log, thanks a lot for sharing that, and again for the support and motivation. Glad you’re on board!
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Alright, another day of peak week down, and this one was a doozy. My schedule was out of whack as I attended my cousins jazz band concert tonight, so I had to hit the gym in the morning, adjust my meals and timing, drive an hour each way, all of which is pretty exhausting at this point. Did my final shave earlier this morning, got home from the concert at 10:30pm and had to begin the tanning process, starting with the exfoliating shower. This helps to ensure all the dead skin and excess moisture is off before applying the tan, helps everything soak in well, and be darker and more even. So, we didn’t start tanning until 11pm. My wife is a champ, usually she’s asleep by then, but she got my first layer of tan on, she’s such a pro with it by now. Looking good, it always darkens up after a while, so I’m excited to see what I look like tomorrow morning.
Tomorrow is the LAST DAY of keto depletion diet, no training tomorrow. Had my last pump session in the gym today, went well, then came home for some posing practice. I’m really glad I went to that posing session. Aside from learning some great tips, the 2 hours of hard posing really got my muscles primed to pose, today’s session felt noticeably easier than the last couple days. Did a nice long practice pre-judging, 3 rounds of quarter turns and 3 rounds of mandatories, holding each post for 15 seconds. Then a couple times through my routine.
So very, very excited for the carb up Friday. While tomorrow is another day of 0 carbs, it’s the LAST DAY, so no matter how zombie like or foggy I am, knowing it’s the last day makes it significantly easier to push through, knowing I can wake up to delicious, sweet carbs. I’ve gone back and forth with the menu a lot, and it may change, but here’s what I have so far for 350g carbs.
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Egg whites w/ hot sauce and ketchup, cold oats topped with chocolate cashew butter granola and chocolate rice cereal. This is what I had for breakfast on my last refeed day and it works out really well.
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Cream of rice pre-workout cake (cream of rice, almond butter and protein, microwaved into a cake) topped with chocolate rice cereal and pretzels
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Cream of rice pre-workout cake topped with chocolate graham crackers
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Egg whites with ketchup and hot sauce, big bowl of granola and chocolate rice puffs
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Egg whites with ketchup and hot sauce, 2 servings of chocolate graham crackers with almond butter on top
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Egg whites with ketchup and hot sauce, 2 servings cinnamon toast crunch
Side note, I’ve really perfected my two-ingredient protein pudding muffins. Well, three ingredients lately. Usually it’s just almond butter and protein, but the past couple days I’ve been adding cashews in the batter. It comes out pretty big and very tasty.
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Looking awesome mate. Almost there!
Personally, I think you can cope with 2-3 days eating what you want coupled with a total break from training for 3-5 days. I bet you will start to see some super compensation afterwards and gain some quality mass with little effort. I would be looking forward to that almost as much as my post contest binge!!
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Guess I’m training after work today, hard to talk myself outta it after reading these posts. Best of luck and enjoy yourself.
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@JamesBrawn007 thank you very much! I agree with you, I may just do that, we’ll see what my schedule brings and how I feel. I have a ton of work to catch up on so I may just take the week to focus on that if needed. The bodybuilder in me feels obligated to have a solid “rebound”, the business owner in me says I better get caught up ASAP, and the real world always takes priority, especially outside of prep season. I do always like going to the gym the Monday after the show to use some of the fuel I’ve got in me and get a good session in, but I’m not gonna force it if I don’t feel like it or need to dedicate the time to working.
@eric_reichelt thank you! Hell yeah brother, get in there and make it happen!
Don’t think I’ve put anything in here but have definitely been following along, and while I am a big fan of all weight training endeavors there are some folks (see: me) that just don’t have the kind of willpower you’ve shown in your prep, man. Wanted to drop some encouragement and tell ya that through your log and awesome writing I’ve felt pretty included (despite no interactions, ha) and am now quite invested in this! Looking forward to seeing the whole thing put together, good luck!
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@Despade - Thank you so, so much for those very kind words, support and motivation, it really means a lot, sincerely. I’m so glad to know you’ve been following along and have enjoyed the log, felt involved in the process, and again your encouragement and motivation really hit home and are much appreciated!
Thank you brother. This prep, especially the last 5-6 weeks, has truly tested me and pushed me to my limits, mentally and physically, and mentally more-so. There have been some very dark times mentally, especially late at night, tired and hungry, feeling like the end will never come. Sometimes I feel like I actually could have been/should have been mentally stronger, because of my thoughts. For example this week, on the 0 carbs, it has a really rough effect mentally especially after a long prep, you’re beat up and the end is so close but seems so far, there have definitely been some moments of “holy shit this needs to be done, I don’t want to do this anymore” and I feel like I shouldn’t be thinking that, like I should be excited it’s so close, and this is what I have to do and blah blah blah.
But, ultimately, I think one’s actions are the driving force. We can’t always help our thoughts, but we are in complete control of our actions/reactions and how we respond to adversity. Many, many times I haven’t felt like doing the cardio, or eating this or that or just wanted to hang it all up, but just forcing yourself to complete the actions necessary to accomplish your goal, that’s what has to be done. You don’t need to be excited about it all the time, but if you have a goal, you must take the steps necessary to get it done.
Anyway, bit of a sidebar there, just getting some thoughts out Thank you again so much for your support!
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Looks great! I’ve been doing a lot of protein mug cakes recently (well, almost daily) and loving them. Do you not put any eggs/egg whites or baking powder in them? Do you use any cooking spray on the glass container/mug? (just curious for my own trials)
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2 days out, 140.2lbs. First layer of Pro-Tan on.
Looking a little tighter this morning, the tan definitely helps show more definition, lines, especially in the quads.
Had an tasty breakfast of 4 eggs, 2 bacon and some pepperoni, then went to the barber and got my head and face shaved. Rest of the day will be getting some work done, and prepping my cold oats and pre workout cakes for tomorrow’s CARB UP, more tanning tonight. It’s nice to have done a good amount of shows and have this be my fourth one, I feel pretty relaxed going into it regarding the logistics and knowing what to expect, especially since I’ve been to this venue before and it’s so close to the house.
Tomorrow will be a fun day, carb up, and going to the host hotel about 15min away to get my polygraph done. The polygraph, while I’ve done three of them already and know what to expect, is always a nerve racking experience. Every competitor I’ve talked to feels the same though, just something about getting hooked up to all those gadgets, sit still, answer only yes or no, puts you a little on edge.
Overall feeling very excited, and trying not to get too wrapped up in the competitive side of things. Ultimately I’m very proud of my efforts and physique I’m going to bring to the stage, and that’s all I can control, but man it is hard to not obsess about wanting to do well competitively and nab that pro card. Can’t think about it too much, it’s gonna be what it’s gonna be!
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Yeah I’m loving them too! Definitely gonna keep them after the show for a good snack. Topping them with protein icing is the best, even better if it’s topped with protein pudding, which is just nut butter and protein melted together into icing, I like to sprinkle some cinnamon as well.
I don’t put any eggs or egg whites in there, only because I don’t have the calories/macros for them. I’ve never tried the actual recipe with the egg, so I’ve never tasted the moist cake-like consistency, looking forward to that. I also don’t put any cooking spray in the little glass bowl, it always pops right out. Just almond butter, protein, baking soda and a little water. Since there’s no egg, it comes out pretty dense and filling. Adding the cashews has been a tasty addition!
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Thanks man, I have been adding the protein icing/pudding as well. Even with the egg it is quite dense, so don’t expect any miraculous changes there, likely a little more moist though. I’ve been experimenting with some cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla extract, and even mint in the icing, just for something a little different. Every concoction I’ve tried has been edible so far.
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Do you think that your comfort level this time around has made an impact on your prep? Meaning, do you think maybe your body is looking better, responding better due to less stress? Secondly, I get the whole ill do my best and whatever happens, happens. That’s fine, for most. Leave every bit of yourself out there, emotionally and physically. Win YOUR pro card. Then, when the rush is gone, bask in the glory of truly giving it your all. Corny to some, but things matter and you look ridiculous, can’t let the judges make the choice. You leave them no Choice.
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