[quote]sloh wrote:
This is one of the top guys in my class yesterday. 5’4 and a very shredded 154. I believe he’s been competing for many years now and is over 40 yrs old.[/quote]
I have seen a lot of people like this lately. It is like you see a number of guys who look to be in GREAT shape over 40 and then a few just getting into it. That whole generation in the middle though got fucked as far as that “25-30” crowd. I see very few guys who are in their mid-20’s who are serious.
I will also say that the idea that your body falls apart at 40 is a long gone myth.
Most of them seem to look even better at that age assuming they have been at this for several years.[/quote]
I talked to quite a few people at this show who are now hitting their peak at around 35-40 yrs old. Most of these guys started taking bodybuilding very seriously starting at around 18 yrs old. 40 yrs old may seem a long time from now since I’m 22, but people shouldn’t make the mistake that they can dick around. Every year is extremely valuable for those who are serious about this. Jason and I both know that I will NOT be dieting down again just for the sake of dieting down. Putting on more size is the primary goal right now and I will likely be around 190 lbs again this coming offseason and also maintaining this weight for a while to let it solidify. Of course, I will be a much leaner 190 this time around. We both know that a contest 165 is the goal for me.
This picture is another guy who is 40 yrs old. He is 5’6 and came in at 164 lbs. It’s amazing how big some of these guys can look at their height and weight. I will reiterate and say that height plays a BIG DIFFERENCE in how big you can look at certain bodyweights. Even 1 inch makes quite a big difference. I got outsized and outconditioned by the top 2 competitors since they were both shorter than me and weighed in right at the cutoff at 154 lbs. The 2nd place guy was around 5’2. He probably could have won but he’s got a real blocky waist.
A lot of these guys also told me that the first time you diet down, it’s extremely hard to get that crisp and grainy look unless it is in your genetics. However, all the subsequent times you diet down, it will be easier and easier for your body to get lean.
And for the person who asked about my leg training…it’s pretty basic. Back squats, hack squats, leg presses, leg extensions, and leg curls. I keep my rep range for back squats around 6-8 reps, hacks around 8-10, and leg presses 10-15. I’m not gifted in strength for my legs relative to others but I don’t purposely lift light either. I find a weight that is challenging and makes me physically fail in the target rep range. Whether that is 400 or 300 lbs is not important, what is important is that it is challenging.
A lot of pics you guys have seen before in this thread already and a couple offseason ones I didn’t show. Anyways, thought you guys might enjoy this one. 22 weeks difference. And now…back to eating
Definitely one of the best progress threads on here. You really crushed it brother. Forget contest placings and just step back and look at the transformation you set in motion. You should be damn proud of yourself!
Sloh you really are an inspiration to those who read this post. Props to you for actually setting a goal and meeting it and then competing. Great job with the progress and I am looking forward to your future posts.
Thought I would throw up a back picture so you guys can see how my offseason is going. I’m currently up around 10-15 lbs from my contest weight, looking to put on 20 more, and them maintain for a good couple months.
Back - weighted pullups, bb rows, seated cable rows, db rows, close grip pulldowns
Chest - incline db, flat db, incline barbell, flat db flies, 2 ab exercises
Off
Arms/calves - rope pushdowns, skullcrushers, single arm cable ext, ez bar curls, hammer db curls, preacher machine, standing calf, seated calf
Legs - bb back squat, hacks, leg press, leg ext, leg curl
Shoulders - overhead db press, db laterals, machine laterals, reverse pec deck, db shrugs, 2 ab exercises
Off
I don’t do anything special for legs. With a form that allows you to feel the muscle working, I don’t think you can go wrong with basic exercises…and that goes for any bodypart
Thanks! I started medical school, so I haven’t been on the boards much. Training and eating has been going pretty well. I spend 30-45 min each morning prepping my meals, head to class/lab, train, and pretty much end the day with studying. I’m still in the offseason right now and haven’t put much thought into my next contest yet. Competing isn’t a huge priority for me right now although I will start dieting down again in the next couple months.
[quote]sloh wrote:
Thanks! I started medical school, so I haven’t been on the boards much. Training and eating has been going pretty well. I spend 30-45 min each morning prepping my meals, head to class/lab, train, and pretty much end the day with studying. I’m still in the offseason right now and haven’t put much thought into my next contest yet. Competing isn’t a huge priority for me right now although I will start dieting down again in the next couple months. I’ve been also trying to educate myself on “super supplements” on my free time since I would like to venture over there maybe in the next year or so.[/quote]
Gotta watch that as a doctor man, lol. I don’t think I’ll venture that root but going into the medical field myself it would certainly concern me. Speaking of which how is med school so far and how has lifting been while trying to fit in the workload?
Out of curiosity do you know what you plan on doing as far as specialty goes?
Well your progress is inspiring mate, i wish u all the best in life and training.
I noticed deadlifts are not in your current training split, do you feel they are too taxing on hams and lower back or does it just not fit in with ur goals?
Also noticed u do 2 upper chest press movements…this is something ive never tried but sounds very interesting! I take it this is all pyramided? (apologies if u answered this previously
So sorry it took me forever to respond. I’m currently dieting right now and probably have 4 more lbs left. After this diet ends, if you guys can read in between the lines, I expect much more drastic changes in my physique. Here are some pics.
[quote]ryanbCXG wrote:
I am applying to med school right now and was wondering how long you train and how many days out of the week?[/quote]
I’ve been in school now for about 4-5 months and have performed quite well in all my classes. I still train 5 days a week. It usually takes me 45-50 minutes to finish and since I’m dieting right now, I do 30 min of cardio a day. I’ve capped the cardio off at 30 minutes and letting the diet do the work if need be.
[quote]I noticed deadlifts are not in your current training split, do you feel they are too taxing on hams and lower back or does it just not fit in with ur goals?
Also noticed u do 2 upper chest press movements…this is something ive never tried but sounds very interesting! I take it this is all pyramided? (apologies if u answered this previously :)[/quote]
I actually added deads back in and I do them last for back day. I do them the way Dorian does them in his blood & guts video. I’d rather do rack deads but I don’t have time to wait for a rack to open up sometimes, and I train back on mondays when the gym is pretty crowded. So, I just pick up the bar from the floor for first rep and subsequent reps I go down about 2/3 of the way and go right back up (not all the way down).
I don’t know what I said I did for chest before but now it’s incline db, flat db, incline bb, and flat db flies…that’s it. I pyramid on all exercises. After first exercise though, I may only need one warmup set and then jump right into my worksets. Worksets are usually 2 for big bodyparts and 2-3 for small ones like bis/tris.
