Confused about contest prep

[Loochi]

Hey guys,

I made this thread because I want to shred down to competition weight again, I am so motivated through Layne.

Problem is...

Last time I shred down I lost so much muscle mass.. And everytime I try to cut down I lose too much weight too quick and inchs too.. Is there antying I need to know? Am I doing this right? I would ask Layne but he always gets too much mail and I dont wanna disturb him no more, especially in his contest prep.. I acutally used Laynes contest prep but i jus seem to lose so much..

I got some recent pics and I got some contest pics etc..

I jus wanna know, what formulas or methods or tips you guys have??

I going to try Laynes 4 -5 meal and BCAA's etc.. Also I started to sprint istead of slow cardio..

Thanks guys.

[AlwaysTryin]

Last time I shred down I lost so much muscle mass.. And everytime I try to cut down I lose too much weight too quick and inchs too..

To me this screams one thing, you are cutting on too much of a severe calorie deficit.

That simple.

You will always lose some muscle on a cut (regardless of how minor) it's all just about patience and time. The longer you can spread it out the better

[tuxedoman34]

hey bro send me currents pics of you posing, your diet/training and I'll try to help you out with my knowledge (tuxedoman34@yahoo.com). I strongly suggest you do some research or get a prep coach. I would highly recommend you Alex Azarian of prepbyalex.com he will get you to look the best on stage.

[Loochi]

To me this screams one thing, you are cutting on too much of a severe calorie deficit.

That simple.

You will always lose some muscle on a cut (regardless of how minor) it's all just about patience and time. The longer you can spread it out the better
Thanks for the reply! What do you exactly mean? EG cutting out too much fat or carbs etc? Yeah.. Thing is I don't know how much to have like.. 2.5g protein 1g cho etc u know? And I don't understand when people say "experiement with CHO's and fats to see which you respond to best." - does this mean the ones that make you hungry shortly after consumption is the CHO's or fats you need or? Because when I eat brown rice I'm hungry within an hour or 2 but when I eat oats it takes forever for me to get hungry


hey bro send me currents pics of you posing, your diet/training and I'll try to help you out with my knowledge (tuxedoman34@yahoo.com). I strongly suggest you do some research or get a prep coach. I would highly recommend you Alex Azarian of prepbyalex.com he will get you to look the best on stage.
Hey mate, my diet I don't know. Here's some pics of me in competition and some off season..

http://img291.imageshack.us/i/fronlatcni.jpg/

http://img31.imageshack.us/i/b4fiji2010.jpg/

http://img59.imageshack.us/i/28jun2010.jpg/

http://img840.imageshack.us/i/fdbjun.jpg/

http://img43.imageshack.us/i/st2vg.jpg/

http://img230.imageshack.us/i/madas.jpg/

http://img44.imageshack.us/i/hammie.jpg/

Some of these are old and I am sure you've seen. It's as recent as I got. I competed at 138lbs at 5'7 Right now I think I am 176 lol. I think my posing is alright, side chest is the toughest for me.. I hate my arms too.

But yeah.. tHank you so much for eplying and helping out, much appreciated. I am going to experiement with carbs n fats also. Btw, I followed Layne's article on how to do contest prep wen I cut down

EDIT: Sorry couldn't upload pics prop.. lol

[Cumulonimbus]

How long does your prep last and how much of a caloric deficit are you in?

There are so many variables though... such as protein carb and fat intake, cardio duration, what type of cardio, what type of training, etc.

[Loochi]

How long does your prep last and how much of a caloric deficit are you in?

There are so many variables though... such as protein carb and fat intake, cardio duration, what type of cardio, what type of training, etc.

my last prep was May 1st under September October 10th

See here's the thing, where do I start my macros? Do I jus simply take out a lil bit from what I usually eat? Or is there a general rule of thumb like 3x ur body weight for protein 1 x ur body weight for CHO etc etc

For lsat time I di cardio fasted lol... *doh* and i TOTALLY cut out fats which I won't do this time around, I want to do sprinting but not sure.. Is it the best form or is there no such thing as the best? Going to training heavy still as I read through Laynes contest prep :)

PS: You look awesome man and especially for your age.. What are your tips for maximising hormones as you state in ur signiture : )

[Cumulonimbus]

Well there is no rule to p/c/f intake, the only rule is to understand your body and how it can tolerate each specific nutrient. I adjust my macros monthly and right now I'm at 240g protein, 120g carbs, 70g fat. I try to be in a 300-500 kcal deficit everyday. I do steady state cardio post workout 4x a week for 25 minutes and HIIT 2x a week in the morning after a light meal such as 20g protein/20g carbs. The longer your prep the better, you will have a lot more time if any errors pop up and dieting slowly is a win.

Keep your training the same as you did in the offseason. What brought you to your current size is what should keep you in your current size while in a caloric deficit - hopefully.

[Loochi]

Well there is no rule to p/c/f intake, the only rule is to understand your body and how it can tolerate each specific nutrient. I adjust my macros monthly and right now I'm at 240g protein, 120g carbs, 70g fat. I try to be in a 300-500 kcal deficit everyday. I do steady state cardio post workout 4x a week for 25 minutes and HIIT 2x a week in the morning after a light meal such as 20g protein/20g carbs. The longer your prep the better, you will have a lot more time if any errors pop up and dieting slowly is a win.

Keep your training the same as you did in the offseason. What brought you to your current size is what should keep you in your current size while in a caloric deficit - hopefully.

Hey thanks man for that, really appreciate it.

Do you always eat the same food and stuff? Or does your body get used to it? Yeah man makes sense... I will continue to do the same with my lifting.

I still don't understand what is meant by "Reacting to different carbs n fats" - Sorry for the stupid question but how do you know? Like is the fact that feeling bloating after eating oats means you should cut that out while eating brown rice and feeling satisfied something to be kept etc?

Hmm.. I REALLY need to plan this out for like a week lol. Everytime I try to do a cut I notice small minor losses in my measurements and it turns me off just because I don't know if its muscle or fat.

[Cumulonimbus]

Generally I eat similar foods like chicken, steak, rice, oatmeal, tortilla wraps etc. Honestly as long as you hit your numbers (prot/carbs/fats in g's) at the end of the day you're set.

With knowing your body, some people can diet down eating 250g carbs a day, others have to diet down only eating 80g of carbs a day. It just takes time experimenting and seeing how your body reacts. Myself I'm in between, but I still need to keep my carbs on the lower end. I noticed this both in the offseason and when dieting.

[surfergirl36]

Thanks for the reply! What do you exactly mean? EG cutting out too much fat or carbs etc? Yeah.. Thing is I don't know how much to have like.. 2.5g protein 1g cho etc u know? And I don't understand when people say "experiement with CHO's and fats to see which you respond to best." - does this mean the ones that make you hungry shortly after consumption is the CHO's or fats you need or? Because when I eat brown rice I'm hungry within an hour or 2 but when I eat oats it takes forever for me to get hungry



Layne's article has a lot of information on how to determine your body type and your starting caloric intake/ macro breakdown, based on where you're at. I would go back to that article and spend some time with the diet section...it's all mapped out but takes a bit of time and figuring to come up with a plan.

[firmgrrrl]

Layne's article has a lot of information on how to determine your body type and your starting caloric intake/ macro breakdown, based on where you're at. I would go back to that article and spend some time with the diet section...it's all mapped out but takes a bit of time and figuring to come up with a plan.

Yes, make use of all the helpful calculators throughout the article. This article is my Bible right now, seriously.....it can be confusing!