[quote]legacyfighter wrote:
I could be completely wrong, but it looks like your feet are pointed out just a little too far in your poses. If you bring them in just a little bit, it should make your sweep look a little better.[/quote]
After watching to death the contest video from last year, I realized that having my feet pointed more in a straight forward manner actually made my quads appear narrower in most shots. Looking at the 2 middleweights who placed ahead of me in the open, I realized that they stood in a fairly legs splayed outward manner, thus creating more of an illusion of overall thickness. Even though I have noticeably brought up my quad sweep this past year, I don’t think it’s in the cards for me to ever have a really round sweeping shape to the front of my thighs (they have a much more angular, rectangle type of shape), so any subtle little shift or twist that I can use to my advantage must be seized.
(I do appreciate any thoughts or suggestions though, so keep 'em coming!)
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Interesting. Have you done/are you doing any direct adductor work? I would think that, if you are consciously trying to keep your legs pointed out, big adductors will add significantly to the thickness illusion when posing like that.
Hell, half of Tom Platz’ leg size was because of his freaky adductors.
Well, thanks for posting Platz’s legs and really make me feel really inadequate! -lol.
You know, I think Cutler actually added those into his leg routine a few years back (don’t think he does them anymore though, maybe just a touch-up phase). Definitely something to consider post contest, when I can take advantage of the rebound effect. It’s interesting to note how many more tiny details and specifics I suddenly have to be concerned with since transitioning from gym-rat to competitive bodybuilder.
You can’t hide as many weaknesses when you’re in low single digit bodyfat levels. The posing will probably be an issue for me right up until the show. While I don’t think I posed badly at all last year, I do realize how important it can be as far as drawing attention to strengths while detracting from preceived weaknesses.
One tip for fine-tuning your poses. Maybe you should consider stepping on a table or stage (if you have access to one) and have someone take some pics from below the level of your feet.
Don’t forget that at the contest the judges will sit lower than the person who currently takes the pics of you every week.
Some poses look much diffrent to the judges if you, e.g. lean back too much, etc.
This “trick” helped me a lot in past preperation. I tend to lean back too much in front lat and front db poses, but not to lean back enough in back poses.
It’s easy, just step on a table and have the photographer sit on the floor. This will create about the same viewing angle as it will be on contest day.
You’re on track! Bicep and back poses are already very strong.
Jimmy Cordova once told me that he has a ‘posing area’ in his house, with lights set up to simulate the contest stage lighting. Obviously this guys makes his living based on how he does in contests, so I’m certainly not going to go spend money on a few flood flights for my apartment -lol, but I do get what you’re saying.
Something I tried to keep in mind last year, especially due to my own tendency to lean back slightly on a few poses, was to pull my stomach in as the very last thing I do when I hit any pose. The little shift this has, actually brings my shoulders forward a bit, which overall I think has a good effect (especially on my chest).
Thanks for the compliments on the back shots. The twisting back pose is a new one for me, and I had a bit of an issue figuring out just how far to place my front leg back (I’ve seen many variations). Eventually I found a nice middle ground, that gives enough of a back-foot placing, but close enough that I can consciously flex the hamstring.
I think my worst poses last year were the front double bi, and the front relaxed. Definitely the front double bi looks a hell of a lot better this year (thicker pecs, thicker lower lats, better quad sweeps), and the relaxed looks better, not amazing.
Some shifts in how I’m angling my arms also reveal a big difference (last year I had my arms almost bunched in front of my torso, trying to make my chest look thicker, but what happened was that i made my delts look less round in the process!)
So Tuesday evening, I had to take my pooch to the Vet, which basically resulted in my switching my Tuesday and Wednesday plans. The way I’ve been rotating my split, has been 2 days of weights, followed by 1 day of Intervals (with low cals and low carbs). It’s been just enough of a rest between each for me to push myself through the interval sessions, and also get enough out of the weight sessions to retain a lot of lean muscle. Because of the switch, I was suddenly doing a low day, followed by a medium day, followed by another low day. I didn’t notice anything on Tuesday (low day w/intervals), but having to do legs Wednesday night, the day after a pretty intense session of intervals definitely had me dragging a bit (I usually have the buffer of my shoulder day inbetween them). Today, I found that I was especially sore (trouble walking up stairs!), even with the high carb intake. On a positive note, I found myself hitting leg poses in the faculty bathroom mirror at work (it’s a single bathroom, so relax! -lol), and I can definitely see the RF starting to come in… GOOD! IT’S ABOUT TIME! -lmao.
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
So Tuesday evening, I had to take my pooch to the Vet, which basically resulted in my switching my Tuesday and Wednesday plans. The way I’ve been rotating my split, has been 2 days of weights, followed by 1 day of Intervals (with low cals and low carbs). It’s been just enough of a rest between each for me to push myself through the interval sessions, and also get enough out of the weight sessions to retain a lot of lean muscle. Because of the switch, I was suddenly doing a low day, followed by a medium day, followed by another low day. I didn’t notice anything on Tuesday (low day w/intervals), but having to do legs Wednesday night, the day after a pretty intense session of intervals definitely had me dragging a bit (I usually have the buffer of my shoulder day inbetween them). Today, I found that I was especially sore (trouble walking up stairs!), even with the high carb intake. On a positive note, I found myself hitting leg poses in the faculty bathroom mirror at work (it’s a single bathroom, so relax! -lol), and I can definitely see the RF starting to come in… GOOD! IT’S ABOUT TIME! -lmao.
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Hope the dogs doing alright.
Thanks for keeping us updated its a great read, keep up the inspiring work.
Yeah, the pups okay, thanks for asking. She had a cut/gash in between two of her toes, and I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t infected. Now I have to hold her in the air, upside down twice a day to clean it out and put antibiotics on it (she’s not too thrilled with this as you can imagine).
On a somewhat comedic note, at work the other day, I was hanging around with a couple of other teachers during one of my free periods, and having one of those drowsy moments that accompanies strict dieting. The school dean walks by, takes a good look at me and say “someone hold some food under his nose and wake him up please”. Which gave us all a good chuckle. Everyone knows what I do outside of work, but I really try not to make a big deal out of it. Definitely a light hearted moment as I sat there listening to my stomach growl
Stu, have you found since competing and working on poses that this has helped you feel your muscles better while training? I’ve noticed the areas I need the most work in I have the hardest time flexing and controlling. I was wondering if you think there’s a relationship and if learning how to control the muscles would help.
[quote]debraD wrote:
Stu, have you found since competing and working on poses that this has helped you feel your muscles better while training? I’ve noticed the areas I need the most work in I have the hardest time flexing and controlling. I was wondering if you think there’s a relationship and if learning how to control the muscles would help. [/quote]
I do think I’ve gotten more ‘in touch’ with my muscles, especially since I looked back at last year’s pics and realized how many shots I wasn’t even flexing certain ones in. It’s just not something you grow up thinking about,… Sure we all flex out biceps when showing off, but how many gym buffs hike up their shorts and flex their hamstring? I now find myself, when waiting for an elevator, flexing my legs as hard as I can, hoping it will allow me to get more out of my leg sessions. Think about how many people never get that connection with their back muscles. Sure we keep hearing ‘out of sight out of mind’, but it’s also because people use their arms so much everyday, that suddenly trying to contract muscles as obscure as your back can just seem weird. I think that if you get to the point where you can actually feel what it’s like to have a particular muscle contract on its own (simply from posing practice), you’ll be better at feeling whether it’s engaging or not in more compound movements in the gym.
[quote]debraD wrote:
Stu, have you found since competing and working on poses that this has helped you feel your muscles better while training? I’ve noticed the areas I need the most work in I have the hardest time flexing and controlling. I was wondering if you think there’s a relationship and if learning how to control the muscles would help. [/quote]
I do think I’ve gotten more ‘in touch’ with my muscles, especially since I looked back at last year’s pics and realized how many shots I wasn’t even flexing certain ones in. It’s just not something you grow up thinking about,… Sure we all flex out biceps when showing off, but how many gym buffs hike up their shorts and flex their hamstring? I now find myself, when waiting for an elevator, flexing my legs as hard as I can, hoping it will allow me to get more out of my leg sessions. Think about how many people never get that connection with their back muscles. Sure we keep hearing ‘out of sight out of mind’, but it’s also because people use their arms so much everyday, that suddenly trying to contract muscles as obscure as your back can just seem weird. I think that if you get to the point where you can actually feel what it’s like to have a particular muscle contract on its own (simply from posing practice), you’ll be better at feeling whether it’s engaging or not in more compound movements in the gym.
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I saw this on John Romaniello’s (sp?) site, but he talked about touching the muscle you want to work when lifting. So if you’re training your shoulder, do unilaterally and touch the muscle with the other arm. That gets trickier for things like the back though unless you have a training partner you’re comfortable around. I tried it a couple of times and it makes a noticeable difference.
[quote]debraD wrote:
Stu, have you found since competing and working on poses that this has helped you feel your muscles better while training? I’ve noticed the areas I need the most work in I have the hardest time flexing and controlling. I was wondering if you think there’s a relationship and if learning how to control the muscles would help. [/quote]
I do think I’ve gotten more ‘in touch’ with my muscles, especially since I looked back at last year’s pics and realized how many shots I wasn’t even flexing certain ones in. It’s just not something you grow up thinking about,… Sure we all flex out biceps when showing off, but how many gym buffs hike up their shorts and flex their hamstring? I now find myself, when waiting for an elevator, flexing my legs as hard as I can, hoping it will allow me to get more out of my leg sessions. Think about how many people never get that connection with their back muscles. Sure we keep hearing ‘out of sight out of mind’, but it’s also because people use their arms so much everyday, that suddenly trying to contract muscles as obscure as your back can just seem weird. I think that if you get to the point where you can actually feel what it’s like to have a particular muscle contract on its own (simply from posing practice), you’ll be better at feeling whether it’s engaging or not in more compound movements in the gym.
S[/quote]
I saw this on John Romaniello’s (sp?) site, but he talked about touching the muscle you want to work when lifting. So if you’re training your shoulder, do unilaterally and touch the muscle with the other arm. That gets trickier for things like the back though unless you have a training partner you’re comfortable around. I tried it a couple of times and it makes a noticeable difference.[/quote]
I saw this on John Romaniello’s (sp?) site, but he talked about touching the muscle you want to work when lifting. So if you’re training your shoulder, do unilaterally and touch the muscle with the other arm. That gets trickier for things like the back though unless you have a training partner you’re comfortable around. I tried it a couple of times and it makes a noticeable difference.[/quote]
This is a great old rehab trick. It works really well. I have been using it to rehab a hip injury where my glutes aren’t firing soon enough in the hip extension sequence. It works like a charm on muscles that are hard to physically touch on yourself as well, but you gotta get creative. I use Kinesiotape on places I need activated and it sometimes works too well (for instance, never put k-tape on your abs!)
If you need it for the back, try kinesiotape with a small stretch and aligned with the fibers of the muscle.
I’ve actually seen guys onstage, when hitting a rear shot, touch their hamstring with a hand as they ‘set it’ into a flexed position to ensure it’s really contracted. Also, when some young kid asks me about an exercise I’m doing which he may perform differently, I’ve always explained that you should put one half your body through the motion while checking with your opposite hand just what muscles are being called into play. It’s amazing how many people think they’re working one muscle, when in actuality it’s a different one altogether.
Tonight is legs, and tomorrow’s an interval day, so I won’t be getting progress pics until Wednesday. Definitely looking tighter in the faculty bathroom mirror at work though -lol.
Pics from tonight, 5 weeks out. Certain body parts are definitely tightening, but still waiting on deeper cuts in my quads (although they weren’t really deep last year until game day, so we’ll see), and for my waist to tighten some more. Still, I have a good amount of time left, and I’m still taking in 2500 cals and 200g of carbs on most days, so the muscle retention has been really good.
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
5 Weeks out, at 182.4 lbs this morning!
Tonight is legs, and tomorrow’s an interval day, so I won’t be getting progress pics until Wednesday. Definitely looking tighter in the faculty bathroom mirror at work though -lol.
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So you’re down about 20 lbs. How is your strength?
Strength is through the roof. Still moving very heavy weights, and even using a bit more volume (I just don’t fatigue much lately, thanks very much Mr. Anaconda!)
The next several weeks should be interesting, I remember things changing very quickly the last few weeks of my last prep. Not to mention what things will look like between the few shows I’m doing. I’ve known competitors who to successive shows and just get tighter and tighter with each one… we’ll have to wait and see.
