Rob's Road to Hercules: Contest Prep

Training
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@littlesleeper thank you very much man! It’s hard to be objective about it, I really appreciate the positive feedback. I’ve been hitting arms hard twice a week for the past 6 months, I was doing a direct arm session twice a week, Stu made a good adjustment having me split up one of the sessions, so now I do back/biceps, shoulders/triceps, and also a direct arm day. The exercises are different for each session, and on the direct arm day is when I’ll typically go heavier. The back/bicep and shoulder/tricep days I certainly hit them hard, but stay more in the 10-15 range and focus on a solid pump and getting lots of blood in there.

Thank you bro, me too! I feel like while conditioning was good, I still had one more level to go that I didn’t reach. Last year was a great learning experience, knowing I’m hitting the ground running now and have a much better understanding of my nutrition and such, I’m confident we’ll get there. We have no choice!

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@buttwink thanks for your post man! Funny you should ask, I was actually going to post about that very thing today, because I did that recently and boy is it working out nicely. Yes I think you’re spot on, I do believe that if you’re not in a time crunch, returning to maintenance can be very beneficial! “Cyclical dieting” I call it, basically the opposite of “cyclical bulking.”

I recently became a fan of “cyclical bulking”, and more recently, “cyclical dieting,” I kind of stumbled on it by accident but it’s really working out. Beginning in October I started cutting a little bit, lost about 5 pounds in 6 weeks, went to maintenance for 3 weeks, then started cutting again and lost another 3 pounds in 4 weeks. Slow and steady, but quite manageable and I’ve been able to set myself for a much easier prep.

I don’t have an exact method for it, it’s more auto-regulated for me, but here are my thoughts on cyclical bulking and dieting:

Cyclical Bulking - Main focus is bulking and adding mass with minimal fat.
Put yourself in well planned slight a caloric surplus for a little while (10-20%), to ensure you’re gaining maximum LBM without excess fat, probably somewhere ranging from 8-12 weeks depending on the individual, to the point where you get a little puffier than you want, gain more weigh than you want, or reach the point where you’ve tipped the see-saw and are now putting on more fat than muscle. Then you can pull back, and I think going into a very slight deficit is a good idea with a little added cardio. This is put your body back in a fat burning mode, speed up the metabolism, do that for a few weeks then go back to bulking. In the long run I think this is the best way to ensure you keep putting on quality muscle with minimal fat, and can stay leaner doing it. It’s always easier to put on muscle the leaner you are. Cyclical bulking is a fantastic way to stay lean and get big, but it really takes a firm understanding of what type of nutrition, calories and macros work best for you, and consistent execution. Obviously with cyclical bulking you don’t have to be super restrictive, but it does take control and consistency to make sure you continue putting on quality LBM slow and steady without excess fat.

Cyclical Dieting - Primary objective is keeping muscle while losing fat.
Very similar to cyclical bulking, but with dieting, except that you go back to maintenance and not a surplus, where as with bulking I think it’s beneficial to bulk for a while then “diet” for a couple of weeks. With the dieting, put yourself in a slight deficit (15-20%), do some cardio, for 6-8 weeks maybe. Then, after you’ve lost some weight you might be feeling run down, or stalled out, go back to maintenance, no cardio, for a couple of weeks, and then go back to dieting. The hardest part about really getting lean is the toll it takes on the body. If you’re not in a time crunch, or have a date in mind but can plan long term, going back to maintenance I think provides good benefits:

-Cardio is very taxing on the body (overall and legs for sure), and your body adapts quickly. So if you’re doing a lot of cardio, going to maintenance lets the body relax and know it doesn’t need to slow metabolism, going to maintenance is great for recovery as you mentioned.
-Even though you’re not in a deficit when you switch back, your maintenance will be more than what your body is used to at the time, so you won’t gain fat but might even gain a little muscle, your metabolism will speed back up and you’ll be fresh to start dieting again.
-THE MENTAL BENEFITS are essential. Strict dieting sucks. Yes it’s enjoyable to get lean, work hard, etc. etc., but strict dieting for long periods sucks, mentally and physically. Going back to maintenance, even a strict well executed maintenance, is a great break from dieting, you’ll feel like you’re indulging again (at least I do.) You’ll be more motivated to go back to dieting and continue getting lean.
-I found that going back to maintenance allowed my body a period to really utilize maintenance calories well, and I’m able to continue cutting now on more calories than I would have been able to if I didn’t go back to maintenance for a bit.

Sorry, I tend to get long winded sometimes lol, but didn’t want to just type “yes.” Hope this helps, be sure to post back if I can give any more info man!

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Through some trial and error, over the past few weeks I’ve found a method that is working very well for me, and after speaking with Stu yesterday, it’s what we’re going to do as my prep “officially” starts after January, even though I’ve been cyclically cutting since October. It’s not our original plan, but the past few weeks have brought some very solid results, and I feel good executing this plan. It started with me trying to cut some more, auto-regulating my cardio, and re-calculating my TDEE to find out I just need to consume less calories. After some refinement, here it is:

MON (MEDIUM) - chest/hams & 30min LISS
TUES (MEDIUM) - back/biceps & 30min LISS
WED (MEDIUM) - shoulders/triceps & 30min LISS
THUR (LOW) - HIIT & 20min LISS
FRI (HIGH) - Legs (no cardio)
SAT (MEDIUM) - Arms (no cardio)
SUN (LOW) - LISS only (30min walk with the wifey, no gym time)

After recalculating my TDEE, it’s ~2,100, as I’m very sedentary during the day now working from home. So, to create a deficit that will allow me to lose a pound a week, I either have to eat like 1,500 cals a day (NOT GONNA HAPPEN), or do LISS. Last year the LISS wrecked me, but I did all incline treadmill and it really messed up my legs and lower back. This year I’m doing almost exclusively elliptical, it’s very easy on the body and joints, and I just keep a slow and steady pace, shaving calories off. After the low day and HIIT workout Thursday, I’ve spent a good four days really digging myself into the ground, and then Friday, Saturday and Sunday I view as “recovery days”, simply because I’m not doing cardio and am still getting a good amount of food. By Monday I am recovered and ready to attack the week again.

With this program, here’s what I’ve eaten on my past few high days, waking up the next day tight, full and not holding water. Stu called me “aqua man” last year because of my water retention issues, so when I find the right combo that allows me to stay tight, I’m keeping it.

-Meal 1 - Everything bagel (locally made) with fat free cream cheese, organic mixed berry jelly and a Metabolic Drive shake with unsweetened almond milk

-Meal 2 - 1 cup fat free whipped cottage cheese with two servings organic chocolate sprouted granola and a cut up organic apple

- Meal 3 (pre workout) - 1 Lenny & Larry’s cookie, warmed in the microwave and topped with a serving of organic sprouted granola, and a Metabolic Drive shake with unsweetened almond milk

Meal 4 (post workout) - Large grilled chicken sub with peppers, onions and ketchup (get this from a local pizza place, the sandwich bread is made out of pizza dough.)

Meal 5 (pre bed) - 1 pint of Halo Top chocolate ice cream

Works out to about 2,200 cals, 350g carbs, 150g protein and minimal fats. Gotta stress again I couldn’t get away with eating all this if I didn’t properly plan my Monday-Thursday.

Last year I would have never eaten this stuff on a prep, because I felt they weren’t “prep foods.” However, I’ve learned on a well planned re-feed day, foods like this are actually ideal, not just for the body, but for the mind as well. Monday-Thursday are tough days, but knowing I get to eat all this on Friday is a good motivator, and by Saturday morning I feel great. My other days are mostly typical prep foods.

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No not vegetarian just struggle with dairy, I will have to look around for other alternatives.[quote=“robstein, post:337, topic:212317”]
My advice if you like the high carb day is just to deal with the cravings
[/quote]

Yeah your right will have to just deal with it have a fair bit of white jasmine rice on the high days which looks to be a higher GI food which triggers a bigger insulin response probably why the cravings come on.

Thanks so much on the advice on keto style high carb and high fat day are not interchangeable, might try the keto style on a non workout day and then have the high carb day for legs.

Good luck with your prep.

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Down to 154.6, down a pound from last week with this new method and couldn’t be happier with how it’s working out. Things are humming along and currently 11lbs away from our stage weight goal, and the prep hasn’t technically started yet, although in my mind it is.

I’ve been on my nutrition/cardio plan and sticking to it for a while now, the only difference is giving myself some leeway on Thanksgiving or when the opportunity presents itself. Yesterday my wife and I visited a co-worker of hers who is on the mend after a knee replacement surgery. He loves wings so we brought him some from BWW, and I enjoyed two of them (pulled the skin off of course and adjusted calories for the rest of the day.) Not something that I’d normally do on an official prep, but right now I feel like I’m prepping and ahead of schedule. You may be thinking, “dude it’s two wings who gives a shit?” But when the goal is stage level leanness, these are the things we obsess about lol.

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Yeah no doubt. Also on the high day, don’t be afraid to break away from traditional carbs like rice and go for something fun and more satisfying, as long as fats are lower. Bagels, graham crackers, gold fish, chocolate, are all fair game as long as you make it work with the macros. I find after a nice high day with lots of carbs and enjoyable foods, I am more rejuvenated mentally and physically than last year when I stuck with the more traditional stuff.

That’s a good idea! If you do the keto style low carb day, as long as you’re not doing intense cardio on those days you’re good. A keto style day is fine for an off day, if you’re doing HIIT or something you should definitely have some carbs before. A keto style low day though maybe with some LISS in there is a good way to lose fat, deplete yourself a bit, then your body will be even more ready to properly utilize the carbs on the high day.

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Rob Stein accidentally gets into contest shape…

“Personal Trainers hate him” -lol

S

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Ran into many other clients like this Stu?

Reading Rob’s posts has me thinking, “who does this?”

I was reading your post expecting to read that you devoured 3lbs of wings, but then, you ate two wings, with no skin, and adjusted the rest of your daily calories accordingly…LAME, but impressive.

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Lol, I was just chatting with Rob earlier and I mentioned how Dr Klemszewski used to refer to building metabolic momentum. With Rob, aside from brief splurges here and there, we’ve been on top of everything since he walked off the stage last June. Sure plenty of people do a show, then just go back to whatever they want, and HOPE that they’re better next time out. Rob was so fired up after his placing at the Hercules that we both knew how important it was to do everything right if we wanted 2017 to be a successful season for him.

And while not many, I have had a number of clients who actually speed up when we add cals and carbs. It’s really an amazing place to be, trying to out pace your revved up metabolism, and getting tighter and tighter in the process.

S

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Fascinating how the body works! Happy to see things going so well, can’t wait to see the “new and improved” package that Rob brings this year.

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lol thanks man. Originally back in October I just wanted to pull back and lose a few pounds to start my prep around 160, so I did and then saw I could maintain it pretty easily, so why not start in an even better spot and keep going. Ultimately and most importantly, I want to leave no doubt, no room for error, that I will reach the level of conditioning needed to bring my best. Knowing how much I stressed my body last year in the last 8 weeks of prep and how I still had to lose a few more pounds, that means this year tapering cardio out before the show, letting my legs relax and not be so inflamed, and arriving at my conditioning early as possible. Last year was a stressful prep, I felt like My Cousin Vinny, spinning my wheels in the mud. So, before the prep starts now I really wanted to be sure I knew how to lose a pound a week without stressing too much, and figured it out with the method I’m using now. I’m super motivated to have found a method that works well consistently for me and that I feel good executing.

Sure, I could say “well it’s the holidays I’m gonna enjoy, I have plenty of time,” etc., but knowing how hard dieting is, why risk adding any fat I know I’m gonna have to diet off later? Now that I’m ahead of schedule, I’ll allow myself a little wiggle room next week at all the family dinners (Christmas with the wife and Chanukah with my family, bring on the matzoh balls!) but it’ll be within reason.

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Thanks for the detailed reply, Rob! I’ve bumped back up to maintenance for all training days for the next two weeks (going to try Lenny and Larry’s before my next back workout!), then I’ll drop back into deficit around New Years again. It’s been awesome following your progress so far and it means a lot that you’re willing to share so much insight on this forum! Can’t wait to see you kill it this contest season

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Hell yeah! I’m sure bumping back to maintenance you’ll feel more energized throughout the day and during training, and will hopefully notice when you go back to a deficit, things are moving along nicely. Enjoy the Lenny and Larry, I get mine on Friday :slight_smile: Personally I like them in the microwave for 30 seconds with a small cold glass of chocolate Metabolic Drive protein milk. I’m coaching my wife in preparation for her first contest, as well as a couple of other folks, and have turned them on to the Lenny and Larry on a high day pre-workout, with the pint of Halo Top in the evening, reviews are great all around lol.

Thank you very much for the kind words and following along! Be sure to post back and let us know how the return to maintenance went and how you feel after going back into a deficit (and what Lenny and Larry flavor you chose! lol)

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I’d say this is pretty accurate! Woke up at tight 152.8 today, which is almost 2lbs down from the 154.6 a few days ago. Still following the same formula, gym performance is solid and strength is up, I feel good, so this all confirms that we’re on the right path.

We are now 10lbs away from stage weight goal, only 5lbs away from my leanest weight last year of 148 (before dropping water weight peek weak.) It’s crazy to think how much I had to kill myself last year to get this lean, compared to this year where I can’t believe how good I feel and how much easier it is. It’s good to know our off season work has paid off, staying lean and starting ahead of the game.

Today is a low day HIIT day, depleting myself further so I can have a well earned high day tomorrow. I’m going to continue the prep schedule rest of the week, next week I’ll keep the same nutrition but am thinking about not doing any cardio so I can have some recovery leading into the “official” start of the prep. I will definitely give myself some leeway with the holidays, but within reason. Big workouts before big meals, and enjoying a small and reasonable amount of whatever I want to eat.

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I just wanna chime in for anyone reading along that just hitting a certain scale weight doesn’t guarantee that you will look the way you want to. Rob knows this. We’ve spoken about how the plan is to weigh LESS than last year, but have MORE muscle, and hence much better conditioning. THe end result of this combo will be a visually much LARGER looking physique.

S

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I love when Stu comes in like sensei to drop some knowledge and clarity. It’s funny how losing fat makes you look bigger. Gotta love the human body.

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Most definitely! Having had so much trouble losing scale weight last prep, the current progress is exciting, but what matters most will be, as Stu said, being leaner with more muscle. Last year between shows my weight maintained at 148 but a great deal of recomping took place. Our 143 is a number to shoot for with the scale, but who knows what it’ll actually be. Once we arrive there, I’d imagine we still won’t be “stage ready” for a while until the details come in.

Yeah, being a Harry Potter fan, I call him Dumbledore because he is truly a wizard. Stu always has a plan no matter what’s going on, and he always has my back. I was reminiscing about prep memories with my wife yesterday as she’s 8 in weeks and 12 weeks out of her show, about how the last weeks of prep Stu would talk to me every morning, literally every morning while he was on the way to school and I’d be plugging away at morning cardio, ready to jump off the ledge and he’d keep me focused. I’m hoping he’ll teach me how to apparate next time I see him.

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wait, what? Your crazy-hot wife is doing a show? How’d I miss that?

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Lol, yeah she got bit by the competition bug after my season and is diving in! She’s going to do bodybuilding. I mentioned it briefly earlier in the log but haven’t talked much about it, she’s keeping it low key. We both used to be big and lost a lot of weight, she wants to get to the ultimate next level and is killing her prep. We’ve been training together for years and train together at the gym now as often as our schedules allow, it’s a blast because she’s truly my best friend, and also a complete badass in the gym. We started tracking her macros and cals two months before the prep began so we could find her best maintenance breakdown, so when we started cutting she could hit the ground running. She’s been losing a consistent 1lb a week, and after some recent adjustments it’s picking up even more.

Prepping together at the same time, and coaching her and helping her reach her ultimate goal is an amazing experience to share together. She’s 12 weeks out and I can’t wait to see her kill it!

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An awesome day of training, posing and eating with @The_Mighty_Stu and @BrickHead! Met at the gym, did some posing practice, trained shoulders and triceps, wrapped up with a great meal at Minado, an amazing all you can eat high end Japanese buffet. Sushi, sashimi, meats, veggies, all the good stuff. Saved a bunch of cals for this meal and enjoyed every bite! Weighed in at 153.6 this morning.

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Prep officially starts Monday, I’ll start a new thread for 2017.

Thank you very much to everyone that has followed along here, it’s been an incredible year and it’s hard to believe it’s already come full circle and we’re about to start up again. If you want something, go after it; anything, not just training or physique related. It may take longer than you want to get it, you may need to do more than you throught would be needed, but there is very little that can’t be accomplished with relentless concistency and hard work.

Have a great new year!

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