Hey stu how has your bulk been going? Also hows your chest coming along since you decided to hit it twice a week first free weights second cables?
So far, my ‘bulk’ (I hate to call it that, because I’m still fairly lean, and I think the term just brings to mind being somewhat sloppy) is going well. As usual, my brother says I’m too lean to be an offseason bodybuilder, but I’ll be the first to point out that even though I still have abs, my waist is a lot softer (my girl seems to like pinching my ‘handles’ actually -lol).
Chest wise, I think the thickness is definitely evident, in fact my girl commented, without my even inquiring, that I look a lot thicker this year than last year, so hopefully my intelligent use of cables, and limited ROM (explosive partials) is paying off. And for the record, I still have a pretty decent degree of fibers visible in my mid-pec line, so I’m feeling good about the ‘quality’ I’ve been adding.
I still haven’t stepped on a scale in quite a while, but I do have an idea what I’d like to weigh in at by January 1st, in order to hit a late Spring Show. This past season, I started January at 208 lbs, and was down in the mid 170’s by the middle of April, and ultimately 172/173 by May 1st. USBF Pro shows are definitely few and far between (and none really close to the NY/Metro Area, but if I try to get a WNBF pro card (I would compete as an amateur, still, in the INBF shows), I know that my conditioning will have to be a bit better than it has been. Yes, I feel that I brought the best combination of size and conditioning when I won my Pro Card, but having been to INBF shows as a spectator, the shredded guys usually come out on top, and even with my improved leg size, I will need to really dig them out a bit more to be competitive.
In the meantime, I’m starting to push a bit harder with my workouts (the exercises I’ve implemented to train around my left elbow seem to be working), tightening up my diet a bit as summer draws to an end (had waaaay too much frozen yogurt this year), and keep up with the 2-3x weekly session of physical therapy, which I believe are helping quite a bit.
S
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
So far, my ‘bulk’ (I hate to call it that, because I’m still fairly lean, and I think the term just brings to mind being somewhat sloppy) is going well. As usual, my brother says I’m too lean to be an offseason bodybuilder, but I’ll be the first to point out that even though I still have abs, my waist is a lot softer (my girl seems to like pinching my ‘handles’ actually -lol).
Chest wise, I think the thickness is definitely evident, in fact my girl commented, without my even inquiring, that I look a lot thicker this year than last year, so hopefully my intelligent use of cables, and limited ROM (explosive partials) is paying off. And for the record, I still have a pretty decent degree of fibers visible in my mid-pec line, so I’m feeling good about the ‘quality’ I’ve been adding.
I still haven’t stepped on a scale in quite a while, but I do have an idea what I’d like to weigh in at by January 1st, in order to hit a late Spring Show. This past season, I started January at 208 lbs, and was down in the mid 170’s by the middle of April, and ultimately 172/173 by May 1st. USBF Pro shows are definitely few and far between (and none really close to the NY/Metro Area, but if I try to get a WNBF pro card (I would compete as an amateur, still, in the INBF shows), I know that my conditioning will have to be a bit better than it has been. Yes, I feel that I brought the best combination of size and conditioning when I won my Pro Card, but having been to INBF shows as a spectator, the shredded guys usually come out on top, and even with my improved leg size, I will need to really dig them out a bit more to be competitive.
In the meantime, I’m starting to push a bit harder with my workouts (the exercises I’ve implemented to train around my left elbow seem to be working), tightening up my diet a bit as summer draws to an end (had waaaay too much frozen yogurt this year), and keep up with the 2-3x weekly session of physical therapy, which I believe are helping quite a bit.
S[/quote]
Nice man I wasn’t aware you were back up to 208 in the off season, that’s awesome considering how lean you stay.
I think not worrying about my actual weight last year (Fall 2009) worked well simply because even though I didn’t stress about actual numbers, as long as I didn’t start crossing the ‘sloppy’ line in the mirror, I was able to start from a heavier weight (and better conditioning) than a year earlier. What I hear from other competitors, and have seen firsthand, is that if you’re smart about your training (and nutrition obviously), you can start each successive year’s contest prep in a better place (either heavier, or same weight but better condition). This time I do plan on consciously not letting my weight go above a certain point, simply because my main goal next time will be on conditioning, and I don’t want to have to sacrifice muscle in the pursuit of that goal.
Two things that I’ve recently thrown into the mix, which I’m hoping will improve the ratio of quality size I can put on between now and January, is Receptormax (banking on the nutrient partitioning properties), and Alpha Male (which I’ve used in the past, and I always felt better recovered when on it).
Yes, I realize that I’m relying more on supplements now than in the past, but as I’ve improved the quality of what I’ve brought to the stage each year (and relied a bit more on supplements in the process, ANACONDA and FINiBARs specifically), I think the level at which I’m competing requires me to make use of any extra help I can get (within reason of course). Without sounding arrogant, I’d like to think that if I hadn’t achieved the small bit of success that I have, that I wouldn’t be stockpiling such a supplement stash in my kitchen.
On the training front, I’m feeling strong as an Ox, but am still staying away from certain exercises, at least for a little while longer. I haven’t been able to go back to weighted hypers, as they irritate my lower back a bit as the set wears on, so partial deads are back in the routine (not worrying about thick obliques anymore, I figure if everything’s thicker, no one will whine about it). I’m keeping the reverse grip chins/pulldowns, because even though I can resume my old neutral grip, I think staying with something different for a while should yield some results. Also, I’m not just ready to go back to heavy incline barbell, as the last thing I need is to get under a stupid heavy weight and experience the same pain as before right at the very end of the set as I rerack the weight.
In the meantime, I’ve been using an incline machine that has two independent arms that you put the plates on (no cables or anything ‘complicated’), making it much easier to do non-lockout work. I’ve been able to do sets of 8-10 with 4 plates per side, so I’m going to stay with it for a bit longer, as the next day soreness definitely screams “hey, this is new and it hurts” -lol.
S
For some reason, I recently noticed that I’ve been eating quite a bit of chicken and fish. Not sure if it’s because I just got used to them after dieting for so long this past Spring, or just the ease of buying them in bulk and having them constantly on hand, but this past week I started a conscious effort to have at least one serving (probably 2 servings by normal standards) of red meat each day. I have a lot of old bodybuilding books and the practice of the old school greats seems to be pretty much living on steaks all day long. Now I’ve never been one to shy away from a good steak, but I also don’t have a giant freezer to buy them in bulk and have on hand the way I do the bags of chicken breasts I go through every month. Usually, I’d have Bison patties from the local Trader Joes, but now, I’m making sure I get beef steaks each day. We’ll see if this has any effect on my thickness over the next few months. My strength is definitely up to where it was before my elbow started acting up, so one day at a time, and keep everything on track as best I can.
S
I’m alyways careful when it comes to “nutrition myths”. I do not know if there is a single study which indicates that red meat is superior to chicken and fish for building muscle.
However, from personal experience I can say that in the off-season I make the best gains with lots of red meat and whole eggs. It’s not the increased calories, since I just can’t reproduce the gains with the same amount of calories with white meat.
I early times I dieted on chicken and rice only. My very first contest prep was 1 kilo (!!) of white rice and 1 kilo of chucken breasts a day for 16 weeks! That was a torture. I didn’t drink diet soda nor did I chew sugarless gums. Chicken, rice and water were the only things entering my mouth.
Even though those were lots of calories, I still lost some mass and thikness und fullness.
Nowadays I never drop the red meat, not even very close to a contest, and I have whole eggs year round.
I believe manipulation hormones via proper peri-workout nutrition and the right way of doing cardio as well as training heavy up until contest day is key for me. I can keep the fattier foods in, as well as at least 1/2 pound of red meat a day and look much fuller and thicker by contest day.
I think a lot of the red-meat-myths probably steam from the amount of fats people ingest daily, and how beef and whole eggs affects their numbers. Of course these myths probably started back in the early days of bodybuilding, long before most people were routinely taking their fish oils with every meal. Still, I’m sure the extra B-Vitamins won’t hurt me, nor will it be a negative from a psychological standpoint, in that I get to eat some different foods now, while I’m not dieting. Also, I imagine due to the more calorically dense nature of beef vs chicken or fish, it’s also allowing me to get more calories in each meal than I typically would.
It’s not that I’m ever against the use of red meat in a prep though. In fact I’ve always started off including bison in my daily foods, but as each contest draws nearer, I find myself looking much more for satiety, and that always comes down to less dense food choices. Everyone is different though. This year’s Spring preps had me eating a higher level of cals each day than I did in '09, so maybe my body will continue to be more efficient each time out (I certainly hope so! -lol)
S
Figured I’d share this. Guess I must be an actual ‘competitor’ now (still getting used to that!) because I was asked to fill out an official profile. Made sure to give Props to all the Biotest supps I’ve relied on over the years 
S
great profile stu, it’s a very good read!
Um… awesome. Every day you must kick yourself, look yourself in the mirror and go… yeah, im a pro, so what?!
congrats on that article, read the whole thing. Very well put together thanks
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
Figured I’d share this. Guess I must be an actual ‘competitor’ now (still getting used to that!) because I was asked to fill out an official profile. Made sure to give Props to all the Biotest supps I’ve relied on over the years
S[/quote]
Very, very well done, bro!
Congrats on everything Stu! Awesome job!
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
Figured I’d share this. Guess I must be an actual ‘competitor’ now (still getting used to that!) because I was asked to fill out an official profile. Made sure to give Props to all the Biotest supps I’ve relied on over the years
S[/quote]
Well written and quite an interesting read!
Thanks guys. It’s funny,… pro card aside, that in the relatively short time I’ve been competing, I’ve been interviewed (a two parter!), had a full page write up in a natty magazine, been recognized multiple times at shows I’ve gone to as a spectator, gotten fan mail (that was seriously weird) and now I have a profile on a site that lists some pretty respectable natural bodybuilders. Not bad for some city teacher from Queens
(oh yeah, and apparently I’ve become the go-to guy for contest prep in my crappy little 'hood -lol)
S
Just read the profile at muscle and strength, I agree with above poster, it was a good read!
Keep up the hard work Stu
Still reading your posts mate its interesting stuff, helps keep me focused while im not at my strogest due to injury but i’m definately on the up.
Thanks stu
Well if my injuries can serve as a source of inspiration,… I broke my finger last week! Wasn’t sure if it had any relevance, but it certainly altered my training a bit. Try using back straps so you can do DB laterals -lol
Actually, Even though I’ve been keeping a fairly basic 4 day rotation lately, I’m thinking of doing the 2x chest and 2x legs split that I used last Fall. Even if only for a few months before any possible prep, it couldn’t hurt (I hope). While I can admit I made progress in both areas over the last year, I do think that they still lag behind the rest of my build, so while I’m still able to make progress, let’s put the pedal all the way down.
S
Have you ever tried working a weak bodypart 2x/day 2x/week? I was reading up on that recent article and saw that suggested. I’ve tried just about everything else, adjusting frequency and volume but I’ve never even considered doing the same bodypart twice in a day. I’m thinking about giving that a shot here soon.
Came to mind because chest/legs are my lagging areas as well and I’m looking for ways to bring them up to speed.
[quote]waylanderxx wrote:
Have you ever tried working a weak bodypart 2x/day 2x/week? I was reading up on that recent article and saw that suggested. I’ve tried just about everything else, adjusting frequency and volume but I’ve never even considered doing the same bodypart twice in a day. I’m thinking about giving that a shot here soon.
Came to mind because chest/legs are my lagging areas as well and I’m looking for ways to bring them up to speed.[/quote]
Ive talked to a weightlifting coach about performing the same bodypart 2x a day. He was suggesting to start with heavy/low rep for your first session and end with light/high rep for the second session. I believe he said youd like to put 6-8hrs between sessions. it was an interesting concept, but i never tried it myself. It would be cool if Stu had some experience with it tho.