The Akuma01 Thread

Training
161

[quote]gregron wrote:

[quote]Akuma01 wrote:

[quote]gregron wrote:
did you even watch the video in my link Akuma? I dont think you did cause it was pretty funny and you would have commented on it[/quote]

I had seen it on Tosh the night before. but the fact you compared me to that putz made me completely ignore your comment. You fail at the funny!

[edit] but seriously punkass, if we ever do meet up for lunch sometime, you’re getting a dead leg for that one =p[/quote]

hahaha only his face when he jumped in celebration… I think it was more of his flowing locks

Yeah we gotta get that SD meet up some time. Get some grub [/quote]

We know Greg likes to kid around :wink: I did laugh at the video but saw the lighter side.

Great pics Akuma, you’re going to have some real charisma shining when up on stage.

162

[quote]XanderBuilt wrote:

[quote]gregron wrote:

[quote]Akuma01 wrote:

[quote]gregron wrote:
did you even watch the video in my link Akuma? I dont think you did cause it was pretty funny and you would have commented on it[/quote]

I had seen it on Tosh the night before. but the fact you compared me to that putz made me completely ignore your comment. You fail at the funny!

[edit] but seriously punkass, if we ever do meet up for lunch sometime, you’re getting a dead leg for that one =p[/quote]

hahaha only his face when he jumped in celebration… I think it was more of his flowing locks

Yeah we gotta get that SD meet up some time. Get some grub [/quote]

We know Greg likes to kid around :wink: I did laugh at the video but saw the lighter side.

Great pics Akuma, you’re going to have some real charisma shining when up on stage.[/quote]

Oh im totally gonna come out and pose to “The Macarena” =p

[edit] Lol no no, i kid…i kid…

163

[quote]Akuma01 wrote:

Oh im totally gonna come out and pose to “The Macarena” =p

[edit] Lol no no, i kid…i kid…[/quote]

hahaha you totally should! That would be a pretty awesome way to transition from pose to pose… think about it

164

Figured id throw an update up-

Today begins the official recomp phase. Started keeping a diet journal, as i am carb cycling, and i am cracking down on that also. Gonna see how my current numbers and intake will affect me for the next week or two, and will adjust as needed then. No cardio implemented yet.

165

[quote]Akuma01 wrote:
As for the delts comment, my delts normally look better than that. My chest and calves were both extremely pumped from the workout, as i had just started lifting heavy again, but as you said, we’ll see what happens when i start dropping.

My big problem is the psychological walls that i put up. Im always disappointed in how i look because of who i compare myself to. Im also sheepish in revealing myself at this stage because of my fear of being one of those “Clueless Competitors.” When i see myself in particular lightings at the gym, i think pieces look good, at that moment in time, but im not looking at areas, im looking at muscles and their correspondence with other muscles. But then when i take these pictures, and im using a different lighting area because people are still in the gym at 11 and I dont feel comfortable taking off my shirt in front of them, i look back at these and think “What was i doing.” I see the downside, the negatives, i notice the pudge here, or the bulge there. i see that i didnt spread my legs in one short, so it looks like i have massive delts and no legs, while in another shot, i turned too much this way, or whatever. [/quote]

Akuma: It takes balls of steel to compete at bodybuilding, your now moving into a different league where posing, contest prep and peaking for a specific day in peak condition, all come into play. If you apply the work ethic and dedication you have poured into your training towards these other elements there’s no way you won’t succeed. You have Stu mentoring you and an entourage of supporters here in this thread who all believe in you.

I think you should stop being so hard on yourself, this competition will only serve to provide you with invaluable experience, your posing will develop, you’ll become aware of any weak points you may have (at least it won’t be calves!) and you’ll lose that little bit of body fat you’ve gained from bulking up. There is nothing negative happening here, you can only gain invaluable knowledge and experience whilst doing all this. Remember, success breeds complacency- by leaving your comfort zone and challenging yourself you are forcing yourself to grow and develop in new ways-on the stage instead of in the gym, some of the steps you tread you may not like or even feel comfortable with, though all will assist you on your journey taking you to new heights of greatness!

Good luck big man and give yourself a break.

166

I seriously appreciate the support.

Now im not saying that i disagree with you completely, but i will say that someone has to bear the burden of being the pusher. We NEED that mental stimulation in order to keep running through these walls of “Limitations.” If it wasnt for that driving force, the ability to break down walls would be lost to some. Some would hit a wall, pound against it a few times, and give up. That doesnt happen when you have someone on your ass. You keep pushing, you push harder, you drive further because you are driven. In most cases, the only one who can be that driver is you. if i dont light a fire under my own ass, who will? No one, thats who. To create a fire one needs a spark, inspiration, and a form of fuel dedication. If you are not constantly fueling, your fire will eventually wither into oblivion.

I fail so i can succeed. I criticize so i can appreciate. it is my constant critiquing of myself that pushes me further. it helps me appreciate and love this sport so much more. A majority of people in the world, let alone this site, wont even begin to grasp the levels of dedication, passion, and sacrifice put into every competition from every serious competitor. I will give myself a break, AFTER my competition. until then, nothing short of perfection is acceptable. Am i a little too pessimistic about myself? Do i often belittle my achievements? Do i often get down on myself for what i am and how hard i push myself? Perhaps; but, you tell me who has prevailed- The man who has braved the rapids of life and truly Lived, or the man who remained on shore and simply existed.

[edit] eh…i think im a little…darker today…bleh…

167

[quote]buddaboy wrote:
Good luck big man and give yourself a break.
[/quote]

x2.

This is from the Desiderata, a poem which I looked to a lot when I was your age Akuma. Here are a few quotes from it which I thought would be useful considering your emotions at this point.

"If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself.

Take kindly to the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should."

168

[quote]Akuma01 wrote:
I seriously appreciate the support.

Now im not saying that i disagree with you completely, but i will say that someone has to bear the burden of being the pusher. We NEED that mental stimulation in order to keep running through these walls of “Limitations.” If it wasnt for that driving force, the ability to break down walls would be lost to some. Some would hit a wall, pound against it a few times, and give up. That doesnt happen when you have someone on your ass. You keep pushing, you push harder, you drive further because you are driven. In most cases, the only one who can be that driver is you. if i dont light a fire under my own ass, who will? No one, thats who. To create a fire one needs a spark, inspiration, and a form of fuel dedication. If you are not constantly fueling, your fire will eventually wither into oblivion.

I fail so i can succeed. I criticize so i can appreciate. it is my constant critiquing of myself that pushes me further. it helps me appreciate and love this sport so much more. A majority of people in the world, let alone this site, wont even begin to grasp the levels of dedication, passion, and sacrifice put into every competition from every serious competitor. I will give myself a break, AFTER my competition. until then, nothing short of perfection is acceptable. Am i a little too pessimistic about myself? Do i often belittle my achievements? Do i often get down on myself for what i am and how hard i push myself? Perhaps; but, you tell me who has prevailed- The man who has braved the rapids of life and truly Lived, or the man who remained on shore and simply existed.

[edit] eh…i think im a little…darker today…bleh…[/quote]

When I said give yourself a break- I didn’t mean as in allow yourself to ‘slack off’ from the gym and your diet, allow yourself to move away fro m your goals- I meant push yourself just don’t beat yourself up after all the hard work.

You should be VERY proud of yourself for the achievements you’ve made so far, just as you need to be very TOUGH on yourself To succeed in competitive bodybuilding, and to further your existing progress you will need to continue imposing tougher standards on yourself, I agree.

My point is this, I’ll try to sum it up in one sentence LOL…

Give yourself a pat on the back for all you have achieved so far, then give yourself a kick up the ass to achieve more, be liberal with the self ass kicking but also with the proverbial self high fives and back pats, thats all.

I admire your work ethic.

169

[quote]buddaboy wrote:

[quote]Akuma01 wrote:
I seriously appreciate the support.

Now im not saying that i disagree with you completely, but i will say that someone has to bear the burden of being the pusher. We NEED that mental stimulation in order to keep running through these walls of “Limitations.” If it wasnt for that driving force, the ability to break down walls would be lost to some. Some would hit a wall, pound against it a few times, and give up. That doesnt happen when you have someone on your ass. You keep pushing, you push harder, you drive further because you are driven. In most cases, the only one who can be that driver is you. if i dont light a fire under my own ass, who will? No one, thats who. To create a fire one needs a spark, inspiration, and a form of fuel dedication. If you are not constantly fueling, your fire will eventually wither into oblivion.

I fail so i can succeed. I criticize so i can appreciate. it is my constant critiquing of myself that pushes me further. it helps me appreciate and love this sport so much more. A majority of people in the world, let alone this site, wont even begin to grasp the levels of dedication, passion, and sacrifice put into every competition from every serious competitor. I will give myself a break, AFTER my competition. until then, nothing short of perfection is acceptable. Am i a little too pessimistic about myself? Do i often belittle my achievements? Do i often get down on myself for what i am and how hard i push myself? Perhaps; but, you tell me who has prevailed- The man who has braved the rapids of life and truly Lived, or the man who remained on shore and simply existed.

[edit] eh…i think im a little…darker today…bleh…[/quote]

When I said give yourself a break- I didn’t mean as in allow yourself to ‘slack off’ from the gym and your diet, allow yourself to move away fro m your goals- I meant push yourself just don’t beat yourself up after all the hard work.

You should be VERY proud of yourself for the achievements you’ve made so far, just as you need to be very TOUGH on yourself To succeed in competitive bodybuilding, and to further your existing progress you will need to continue imposing tougher standards on yourself, I agree.

My point is this, I’ll try to sum it up in one sentence LOL…

Give yourself a pat on the back for all you have achieved so far, then give yourself a kick up the ass to achieve more, be liberal with the self ass kicking but also with the proverbial self high fives and back pats, thats all.

I admire your work ethic.
[/quote]

Haha well thank you. i cant allow too much self admiration, that leads to inflated egos and what not. Keeping myself in check allows me to remain humble through my growth. I do suppose i need to allow myself time to breath once n awhile lol

170

Really nice thread.

You should start a new one of the actual prep, when you’re about 12 weeks out and have more cardio on your training. Hell guys, I think that you and waylander have a lot of influence in what I do; I see the gym I train filled with sissies and my friends say “I’m the big guy”, but compared to you I’m still small. Definitely gonna be joining the crew not so late.

171

[quote]MEYMZ wrote:
Really nice thread.

You should start a new one of the actual prep, when you’re about 12 weeks out and have more cardio on your training. Hell guys, I think that you and waylander have a lot of influence in what I do; I see the gym I train filled with sissies and my friends say “I’m the big guy”, but compared to you I’m still small. Definitely gonna be joining the crew not so late.[/quote]

Haha good to see that Way and I are helping people. And i was planning on just reviving this thread come time for actual prep

172

[quote]Akuma01 wrote:

[quote]MEYMZ wrote:
Really nice thread.

You should start a new one of the actual prep, when you’re about 12 weeks out and have more cardio on your training. Hell guys, I think that you and waylander have a lot of influence in what I do; I see the gym I train filled with sissies and my friends say “I’m the big guy”, but compared to you I’m still small. Definitely gonna be joining the crew not so late.[/quote]

Haha good to see that Way and I are helping people. And i was planning on just reviving this thread come time for actual prep[/quote]

Nup. Im in charge. Although this thread is super awesome (cos i made it for u), u should make a new contest prep thread why? because:

  1. It needs a SUPER WITTY TITLE (if ya didnt know, this thread was originally called “from big teddy bear to…” but mods changed it).
  2. Too much jibba-jabba in here and not enough Q and A.
  3. I said so (meymz too).

All in favour say “I”…

173

[quote]Akuma01 wrote:

[quote]MEYMZ wrote:
Really nice thread.

You should start a new one of the actual prep, when you’re about 12 weeks out and have more cardio on your training. Hell guys, I think that you and waylander have a lot of influence in what I do; I see the gym I train filled with sissies and my friends say “I’m the big guy”, but compared to you I’m still small. Definitely gonna be joining the crew not so late.[/quote]

Haha good to see that Way and I are helping people. And i was planning on just reviving this thread come time for actual prep[/quote]

Post here when you feel like it Akuma. I personally don’t think a brand new thread is needed for your contest prep (although I would support you if you chose to start one, much like Stu’s thread). We’ve already learned from this thread about your background, how you train, some of the motivation issues you’ve seen (and how you’ve overcame them). Considering a big population on this site are new or young (<20) lifters (or both) many could stand to learn from this thread. Not discounting intermediate and advanced lifters who also have an opportunity to learn from here.

174

Haha well there you go Pro, Xander just shot down your theory with some pretty solid reasons. And i dont make jibba jabba, i straight “squash dat bug.”

175

So keeping an eye on things as of now- checked my weight today, and i actually gained weight, back up to 259. Which is curious because it feels like im losing weight, as muscles are becoming more visible/looking better…So im a bit confused… but I might try and put a bit more of a Numbers gap between my High/med/low days (for anyone who is unaware, i am carb cycling).

176

^^are you going to lower each day or just some days? Like -100 on high days and -50 on lows or what?

Maybe you’re doing the impossible… losing fat WHILE gaining muscle??? The Holy Grail of training :slight_smile:

177

[quote]gregron wrote:
^^are you going to lower each day or just some days? Like -100 on high days and -50 on lows or what?

Maybe you’re doing the impossible… losing fat WHILE gaining muscle??? The Holy Grail of training :)[/quote]

Lol yea, THATS prolly what happened.

ill probably just drop my med and low days a tid bit. i find my med days are awfully close to my high days. I try and get my high days around 450-500, so ill prolly drop my med days to around 300-350, and my low days around 200. See how that works out for a few days, and will adjust accordingly.

178

Then again, thinking back, my weight gain for the day COULDVE been helped by a combination of my sweat soaked sweater, my chugging of my Anaconda/Surge drink, my water consuming, and my lack of bathroom trips in both senses of the word…but excuses are excuses.

179

[quote]Akuma01 wrote:
Then again, thinking back, my weight gain for the day COULDVE been helped by a combination of my sweat soaked sweater, my chugging of my Anaconda/Surge drink, my water consuming, and my lack of bathroom trips in both senses of the word…but excuses are excuses.[/quote]
That’s why ya gotta weigh yourself after you pee right when you wake up in the morning :stuck_out_tongue:

180

Akuma, when I was following carb cycling pretty strictly, the only difference between my low and med carb days was peri-w/o nutrition. Low days were kept to 1 80g carb meal, med days were that meal + PWO shake, so about 150g carb. Hi days were up in the 4-500 as every meal was carb with a little taper for my last meal.

Don’t know how much that will help you. It worked really well but I obviously didn’t take it down to low bf levels. I only went down to about 14% but it was pretty effective.