PEAK WEEK, 5 days out (did I just type the number 5?!) I’ll do my best to update as much as possible, as this is of course when most of the actual “show prep” happens. Sorry for the lack of updates this past week, it’s been a very busy weekend, and this week isn’t gonna let up.
Weekend was good, Saturday did my AM cardio and went to my buddies’ wedding. I was in the bridal party, so of course I got lots of questions while carrying my cooler and jug around all day, and taking out my own dinner during the reception was a topic of discussion. Not bad natured in any way, a lot of curiosity as to what I was eating and about the process. One of my favorite parts of the day was lining my pockets with pepperoni and cheese and sneaking bites between pictures. “Rob, are you eating?”…“yep…” Overall it was a beautiful day and beautiful ceremony for my best friend.
Yesterday (Sunday) was a nice break, no cardio, 90 minute deep tissue massage and spent the day at my parent’s for passover. It was a bummer passing up the usual delicious homemade food and deserts, but I DID get some carbs for the first time in two weeks, including some toasted ezekiel bread, a banana and an apple throughout the day. Carbs were for the depletion workouts these next 3 days.
Today (Monday) I left the house early to sit in the the therapy pool for a while before work, I’m going to try to do that every day for recovery, keep good blood flow and general relaxation during this crazy week. It’s 12:00 and I’m 2 gallons in, gotta get to 4 gallons per day, which won’t be a problem other than very frequent trips to the bathroom. This afternoon is my first “depletion” workout, consisting of antagonistic supersets to get a good pump and get all the glycogen out of the muscles over the next few days. My legs are definitely coming in more every day, when I get to the gym I’ll check them out in the mirror; if they’re still a little too smooth, I’ll skip leg training all together to allow the definition to keep coming. Tomorrow and Wednesday are also depletion workouts.
Diet this week is the same keto I’ve been running for the past two weeks until carb up day on Friday.
Tan prep is another factor I have to include, I’ll be getting my tan on Friday afternoon after the polygraph. These are things to be sure the tan soaks in evenly and looks as good as possible. Every day I have to moisturize with a natural body butter twice a day, exfoliate every other day, and I’ll do the full body shave on Thursday evening.
No cardio this week, but I will have a lengthy posing practice each day on all the mandatories, and my routine. Feeling good about both, I really don’t want to look like a rookie up there so I’ve been working on the posing aspect as much as possible.
As the show rapidly approaches I feel both a sense of calm and extreme anxiousness. Calm in the sense that for the show this weekend, the work is done and it’s gonna be what it’s gonna be. Follow the peak week plan, watch the magic happen and kill it on Saturday. I know I’ve done my best with my training and prep for this show, and Saturday I’m going to nail the pre-judging and posing routine. I’m extremely excited to see how I’m going to change day to day, especially with a tan, carb up and pump.
I feel very anxious in the sense that it is after all my first show, especially for the show day itself. I know it’s going to be a lot of “hurry up and wait,” which itself can be stressful. But, I’m going to pack everything the day before, double check about 42 times that I have everything, and again in the morning for good measure, get there early, set up my spot, take my time and stay as calm as I can. I’ll have a rotation of training buddies and my wife back there with me, and will be eating some awesome food all day, including bananas in the AM, rice cakes with peanut butter and nutella, Finibars and a snickers before prejudging (coach said so, and I will not argue!) I’ll also have a huge support team there as it’s a local show, which is really motivating and it means the world to me that they’ll be there. Between my family, my wife’s family, my gym buddies and even my chiropractor, I’ll have about 12-13 people there.
The competitive aspect of the whole thing makes me a little anxious as well. Of course it’s an offense only sport, but anyone who chooses this hobby and takes it to the competition level has a competitive side and wants to do well. If there are enough competitors to have a bantamweight class, a top finish there would be a great way to start my competitive career. I think last year at this show there were 7 competitors total, so everyone was lumped into one class. Either way, all I can do is bring my very best, which I know I will. Considering I’ve spent most of my life out of shape, and have only been working out in the gym for about 3.5 years, I’m damn proud of what I’ve accomplished and the package I’ll bring on Saturday.
