Synergy93 - Fill Us In

Training
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[quote]Liam M wrote:
how many calories per pound do you think is needed roughly to gain fairly lean mass? Do you use any formulas or have you gone by feel? [/quote]

There are so many factors to consider with this. I messed around with all the usual “formulas” when I first started taking my body comp. seriously, but soon found out, they weren’t even close to accurate in my case. I don’t think they’re useless, as they can at least give you a solid starting point, but things change quickly.

The NUMBER ONE THING THAT HELPED ME DETERMINE WHAT KIND OF NUTRITIONAL REQUIREMENTS I NEEDED TO ILLICIT POSITIVE BODY COMP CHANGES WAS: Keeping a food log…for months…consistently. It takes a while to recognize patterns, which lead you closer to your physique goals. Plus, your body doesn’t “figure it out” immediately. It takes time, especially if adding (mostly) lean mass is your goal. Building high quality mass takes way longer than losing body fat. If you don’t know what you’ve been fueling your body with, you have no idea of what kind of adjustments to make.

A lot of guys hate keeping food logs (I don’t do it all the time…but it taught me a lot about my body initially), but I think they’re absolutely necessary for beginners, when first starting out. It will also help you identify which foods your body responds well too, as well as which macro’s suit your goals best.

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[quote]coolusername wrote:
keep it goin synergy. lookin forward to the finished product.

I also would like to know how you feel about Receptormax and if you have noticed a difference in carb ‘usage’ when taking it. thanks alot.[/quote]

I think Receptor Max is one of Biotest’s best supplements.

I’ve noticed a definite increase in carb efficiency. I’m pretty damn sensitive to carbs (former fat ass), and I feel it has helped. More than that, all the other compounds it contains, are great for overall health.

I like it a lot and feel it’s worth a try…but you have to run it for a good 2-3 months and pay attention to how it helps you.

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great thread man, been following your progress for awhile now and i am very impressed i hope someday ill be able to compete at your level. Keep up the hard work

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Synergy,

Did you get any I3G. If so, are you going to include it in your pre-contest prep?

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[quote]synergy93 wrote:

[quote]wannabebig25 wrote:
maybe a dumb question here, but do you feel the Anaconda protocol is helping you retain more muscle mass than say, a maltodextrin/dextrose and whey shake during your workout? just curious to hear how you dieted down in the past before Anaconda, FINiBARs and Surge workout fuel was around.[/quote]

NO QUESTION, WITHOUT A DOUBT, ABSOLUTELY!!!

IT HAS MADE A HUGE DIFFERENCE.

INCREASED RECOVERY, INCREASED WORK CAPACITY, INCREASE IN STRENGTH (DUE TO RECOVERY MOSTLY), INCREASE, INCREASE, INCREASE…IN EVERYTHING…SERIOUSLY.

I’VE HELD ON TO APPROXIMATELY 10-15 LBS MORE LEAN BODY MASS WHILE DIETING USING THE ANACONDA PROTOCOL AND MAG-10 AS A “MEAL REPLACEMENT/FILLER”

IN MY OPINION, THERE IS NO COMPARISON WHATSOEVER, AND THESE PRODUCTS ARE SIMPLY THE BEST ON THE PLANET.

EXPENSIVE…SURE, BUT WORTH IT, IF YOUR PASSION LIES IN THE WORLD OF PHYSIQUE DEVELOPMENT[/quote]

hahah wow, judging by the massive amount of capitalization you really love the Anaconda protocol. are you using 1 or 2? i was thinking of getting number 2 with a few boxes of Finibars. ~$300 for 25 workouts though, anyway to stretch that out a bit? 1 scoop instead of 2 maybe?

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WannaBeBig - He appears to be tapering down off the full protocol as his contest prep goes on (reducing FINiBARs and Workout Fuel mainly), you can see the progression throughout the thread in the diet posts if you want a more detailed run down.

(Obviously not trying to answer for synergy, but sometimes he goes AWAL for a week so I’m just trying to help)

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I’m not AWOL!!

Just busier than hell…I’ll check in with you guys tonight!!!

Sorry…I own a business, so between that and this contest prep I’m working 70-80 hours per week, including weekends!!!

All on a peasant’s diet :slight_smile:

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Its awesome that you still find time to talk to and help everyone. You put in an amazing amount of work. It will really show in the end. Can’t wait.

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[quote]ryanbCXG wrote:
Its awesome that you still find time to talk to and help everyone. You put in an amazing amount of work. It will really show in the end. Can’t wait.[/quote]

X2 Big Man!

S

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[quote]synergy93 wrote:
I’m not AWOL!!

Just busier than hell…I’ll check in with you guys tonight!!!

Sorry…I own a business, so between that and this contest prep I’m working 70-80 hours per week, including weekends!!!

All on a peasant’s diet :)[/quote]

No worries. Hope the diet is going well. How far out are you from the contest now? Keep up the great work!!

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This. Thread. Is. Awesome.

Just read through this entire thing synergy…incredible stuff in here. The amount of thought you put into your responses is unbelievable. Its a huge testament to you as a person. Really appreciate all the information you have shared in here.

Best of luck with the BB show, I have no doubt you will do GREAT!

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great stuff synergy! i never realised you were an ffb. i am too, currently 19 years old. could i ask some advice? i lost about 30 pounds 2 years ago before i started bodybuilding training. gained about 25 pounds since and little or no fat. however ive never been lean enough to see my abs. do you think i should get down as low as possible before trying to add more muscle?

would this have an affect on carb tolerance? caloric intake ability etc?
also wondering would the fact that i cant see my abs have anything to do with fat cell hyperplasia? atm im dieting and have veins running right to the tips of my shoulder yet my top two abs are only just about showing? thanks

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Wishing you all the best in your upcoming contest which I know is soon.

All that hard work will hopefully be recognized by the judges, I suspect you can’t wait for the post show re-feed!

Try and get some pictures for us back here at T-Nation lol.

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[quote]NIguy wrote:
Wishing you all the best in your upcoming contest which I know is soon.

All that hard work will hopefully be recognized by the judges, I suspect you can’t wait for the post show re-feed!

Try and get some pictures for us back here at T-Nation lol.

[/quote]

Hey guys,

Long story, short…I’ve been dealing with some MAJOR life stress, outside of this contest prep.

Sadly, this has all come at a time, when I needed my focus to be solely on this contest, but life happens, and I’ve been dealing with it.

As a result, my body has “rebelled” against me a bit in the last 10 days or so. The main “symptom” has been quite a bit of fluid retention, that has seem to come out of nowhere. In the past, at this point in my prep, I’m already as lean as I’m going to get, with minimal fluid retention. However, this time, I’ll be battling to get that last little bit of fluid out, by the time I step on stage.

I’m implementing all the usual suspects this week, in order to prepare for the last day…

Monday-Wednesday
Water–3 gallons per day
Sodium–3 grams per day
Training----upper body, “glycogen depleting” workouts—last day training legs was this past Saturday. My legs will not separate well, if I train them closer than 7 days to the contest. I hold a ton of water in my legs, and I didn’t want to take any chances. They still get “a bit of work” from doing come cardio on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday

Thursday
Water—1 1/2 gallons
Sodium—as close to zero as possible
No training

Friday
Water—significant reduction, let’s just say that
Sodium–as close to zero as possible
Carb load—Start the carb loading process

**I decide to only go with one day of carb loading. My body responds very quickly to carb ingestion, and any longer than a full 24 hours or so, will lead to spillover and smoothing out. This is the first time I’ve tried it this way, and am hoping for the best. I’m confident it will work.

Day of Show
I’ll see where I’m at and determine what I need to do as far as additional carbs, etc.

That’s a quick summary of where I’m at this week.

Here’s a picture I took last week…not a full posing picture, but it should give you an idea of where I was then. I’ve leaned out and dried up some since.

Thanks again for checking in. I’d respond more often, but as I mentioned, my life is very hectic right now and family comes first…of course, my fellow “T-Nationers” are family too :slight_smile:

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(Damn you’re a big boy! -lol).

My body does that whole ‘fighting back’ thing too. A lot of it is usually stress related IMO. Still, looks like a solid plan (very similar to what I do), and I’m sure everything will come together like we know it will.

Just remember, at the end of the day, it’s just ‘bodybuilding’. Your life is your life. Anyway, I got a ton o’ faith in ya brother!

S

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As soon as I saw that pic I literally said “Holy shit!”. You’re chest is massive. looking good.

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This just in, Synergy will be cast as the Hulk in the next movie! lol but seriously man, your looking amazing…I’m in the same situation right now with Family drama, iron is the only thing that keeps me saine. Hang in there bro, you are going to kill it on stage!

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Cant wait to see the final results Synergy

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Wow is about the only word I can say. You look awesome. The hard work has obviously paid off. Amazing. Can’t wait for some contest pics. Good look.

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Sorry to hear about the life stress. No doubt you’ll pull through and crush some competition. Awesome to hear what all this hard work looks like via final product! Good luck!