Losing my bodybuilding virginity: My First Contest Prep!

[FB#35]

Monday May 16th

Morning Weight: 160

Still up a bit from my lowest so far, but I am definitely sharper. Saw my coach today and he said there was definitely a big change in conditioning, even though the weight has stayed the same. Quads are starting to feather which is really all I want (my dream goal in BB is to have Kai's thighs... from 06/07 is that too much? haha). Coach was so happy he gave me a carb up! Made my day!


Training

All that positive energy from being given that carb up translated to a good workout.

Sumo DLs 135x8, 135x5, 225x5, 225x5, 315x5, 315x5, 3x 365x5
Squats 135x15, 135x15, 225x12, 225x11 (took these real slow and deep and focused on the glute/hamstring contraction on the way up)
BSS 65x12, 65x12, 85x12, 85x11, 85x11
Single-leg lying leg curl 5x12 (drop set on last two)
Abductor work 4x15 (drop set on last two)

[FB#35]

Tuesday May 17th


Still dealing with some allergies. Hopefully they leave soon.


Training

Upper Push

I'm still dealing with that shoulder/trap strain that doesn't seem to be healing. Its making it almost impossible to train chest (shoulders is surprisingly ok?) since it really hurts on all presses and flys. It is feeling better outside of the gym though, that should be a good sign. Either way for the next upper push I'll try maybe a light circuit of chest/front delt/tricep and see if that ends up with some better stimulation.

Wednesday May 18th


Morning Weight: 160.8
Still hovering in this 160.x range. Hopefully it moves soon, still have 6ish lbs to lose to make lightweights. Got cardio the next 4 out of 5 days so hopefully it starts moving again.

Training

Had a pretty solid workout. Felt real good at some points and a bit down at others but overall not bad. Lots of drop sets again. Really liking the extra intensity without going to heavy with all of these lingering injuries.

DB Side Lateral 10x12, 15x12, 20x12, 4x 25x12 (20x10)
Lying DB Side Lateral 6x12
Reverse Fly Machine 5x12 (x10 drop on each)
Pulley Pullover 60x15, 80x12, 3x 100x12(80x10), 2x 120x12(80x12)
T-bar Row 45x15, 90x15, 3x 135x10(90x10)
Seated HS Row 4x 1pps+25x12
Lat Pulldown-Wide Grip 3x 150x8(120x8)
Lat Pulldown-Wide Grip (Palms facing) 150x8, 165x6, 180x5

40mins Incline Walking

[FB#35]

Thursday May 19th

Pretty quite day overall. Rested up for the big leg day tomorrow.


Training

40 mins incline walking

10 sets of Cable Crunches/Side Crunches

Friday May 20th


Morning Weight: 160.4

Still stuck. We're keeping it at normal over the weekend to see if things start moving again. Coach is happy with the way I look but he thinks we're going to start adding in some low/high days with the carbs to start the engine up again.

Training

Good workout. Added dropsets on leg extensions, it was super brutal. Blasted the quads good and felt good too. Can't complain.

Front Squats 4 135x12
Hi-box squats 185x5, 225x5, 275x5, 315x5
Narrow Stance Hack Squats 2ppsx8, 2pps+25x8, 3ppsx5, 3pps+25x6
Leg Press 6x 6ppsx12
Single-leg Leg extensions 5x12 (drop on each)

On a side note we got some new equipment at the gym. Got a seated HS press thing which I love. Gonna try it tomorrow to see how the shoulder feels. Also, going to help out at a football mini-camp tomorrow and Sunday. And even though I'm just a guest coach I'll still be tired out from being in the sun all day for two-a-days. Ahhh good old football...

6 weeks out as of tomorrow!

[deltpecx]

i tend to agree w/ this right now. though i generally recommend iifym to anyone asking me for dieting advice, i've found that FOR ME, it's very unhealthy to tediously plan out 5 full meals w/ a huge variety of ingredients on fitday every day. i become far too obsessed w/ food, and that's just not the type of person i want to be. i don't want food to have such a large impact on my life, nor do i want it to take up any significant percentage of my thoughts. it's there, i enjoy the things i eat, i eat them to help me reach my goals, that's it. no planning out recipes, no long hours spent in the kitchen or grocery store, no worrying about creating the "best possible meal given these macros"....i'd prefer to just know what i'm going to eat, prepare it, eat it, and be done w/ it.

in the offseason i intend to do the same thing, just less precision as far as weighing/tracking and more freedom to eat out when i want to.

I love to cook but I've found for me K.I.S.S. works best. I spend less time figuring out food choices. I know what the macros are of the food I eat everyday. I've made a few things, pancakes, fritattas, even a casserole. I write down all the ingredients, figure out the macros and then I DON'T stray from those ingredients. Makes it much easier.

I like the IIFYM idea but it can get really tedious for me. I do stray into that territory on some of my refeed days....but not often.....LOL!

[FB#35]

Saturday May 21st

Officially 6 weeks out!

Morning Weight: 159.4 Just 0.2 lbs off from my prep low... maybe tomorrow morning. Glad to see the weight coming down again. Right now my main goal is just to get at 154 so I can stop worrying about whether I'll make the lightweights or not. Conditioning is starting to get half decent I think. Another 5lbs and it should definitely be stage worthy.


Training

Since that shoulder injury is still bothering me I decided to try out a light circuit time training today for upper push. Supersetted front delts and chest and then some drop sets for tris at the end.

Seated machine Press//BB Bench 6x12
DB Front Raises// HS Seated Press
DB Fly// Seated Fly Machine 6x12
DB Overhead extension 3x'run the rack'

I was quite pleased with the workout. Minimal irritation of the shoulder and had a great pump, so I consider it a good one.

Finished off with 35 mins of incline walking

[FB#35]

Sunday May 22nd


Morning Weight: 158.2 New Low! Bout time. Its been two weeks since hitting a low!


Training

Solid workout. No shoulder pain which is always a plus. Went nice and heavy on back exercises. Was surprised with the weights I used. It seems like my pressing strength has hit the tank but my back is as strong/stronger than before... odd.

DB Side Lateral 15x12, 20x12, 25x10, 30x8, 35x6
Seated DB Side Lateral 5x12 (drop set on each)
Reverse Fly Machine (single arm) 6x12
Pulley Pullover 60x12 80x12, 100x12, 120x12, 140x10
BW Pullups 3x~8
Lat Pulldown- Wide Grip (Palms Facing) 150x10, 165x8, 180x6, 195x6 (135x10)
HS seated row 1ppsx15, 2ppsx12, 3ppsx7

Cardio- 40 mins Incline walking



Monday May 23rd


Morning Weight: 157.2 New Low! Makes it two in a row. Seeing my coach tomorrow.... hoping for that carb up like usual.

It was a national holiday up here in Canada. Woke up late, combined my first two meals and made a "cake". It was awesome (well awesome by prep standards), took a good half hour to eat.

Training

Was my day off. Got in a couple of good sets of abs and biceps. Nothing extravagant. Also played about an hour of tennis. And did 15 mins of incline walking PWO.

[FB#35]

Tuesday May 24th

Met up with my coach. Made some good progress over the last week. Quads are pretty much dialed in, feathering is pretty much there, christmas tree has come in more or less. Now just have to wait for the hams and glutes. Also, he gave me two high days of carbs so today (weds) and thursday I'm up to 300g carbs.

Training

Intense workout. Hamstrings and glutes are completely fried right now. Couldn't walk up the hill and sitting is unpleasant.

Snatch grip SLDL 4 x 135x12
"kai style" Jefferson Squats 135x20, 185x10, 205x10, 225x10
Good Mornings 65x12, 95x12, 115x10, 135x10, 135x8
GHR 3x BWx12, BW+10x6, 2x BWx10
Single Leg Lying Leg Curls 4x12 (dropset on each)
Abductor Machine 4x12
Seated Calf Raise 6x12

[bwelch1985]

snatch grip sldl! that's one of my favorites! how ya feeling today after those? hell, how ya feeling in general?

[FB#35]

snatch grip sldl! that's one of my favorites! how ya feeling today after those? hell, how ya feeling in general?

I saw them in your log, then I saw Kai doing them, so I decided I had to give them a try. I used them as a warm-up exercise and it was great. Hamstrings have been non-functional since that workout, can't even walk anywhere.

Overall feeling not too shabby. Might be from these high carbs I got the last two days. Not feeling great by any means obviously. But for being ~5 weeks out I am more or less in a functional state, which is all I could hope for at this point right?

[FB#35]

Wednesday May 25th

First of the high carb days. Extra carbs of choice = 450gr of white potato. Boiled them and mashed them. Takes up so much volume. Grilled up some chicken breast and it felt like I was eating a normal sized meal.


Training

Shoulder pain remains persistent. Saw one of my good buddies on the weekend who just got his B.Sc in Physio therapy and is working on his master's. His quick unofficial assessment was either tendinitis or an AC joint issue. Yay......

Anyway managed to bench a plate today with relatively no pain. Impressive I know.

Seated Machine Press// Flat DB Press 6x12
BB Front Raise// Incline BB 6x12
Decline BB 4x12
Flat DB Flys 6x12 (drop set on each)

Cardio- 40 mins Elliptical

As referred to in my earlier post hamstrings have been non-functional. Hoped elliptical would shift focus onto quads. It did... but not enough



Thursday May 26th


Morning Weight: 157.4 Weight held steady after the first carb up. Let's see what tomorrow morning brings.



Training

I'm really happy that my back strength is either as good or slightly better than when I started prep, especially considering that my 'push' strength is garbage these days.

Reverse Fly Machine 6x12
Incline Lying Side Lateral 4x12
Side Lateral Machine 5x12
T-bar row 45x15,90x15, 90x15, 135x12(90x12)
Seated HS Row 1pps+25ps x12, 2ppsx12, 2pps+25psx8, 2pps+50ps x6
'decline' seated row 4x12
Pulley Pullover 5x12
Lat Pulldown-Wide Grip palms facing 150x10, 165x8, 180x8(135x6)

Cardio: 40 mins Incline walking

[FB#35]

Recap of the last two days... which were good!

Friday May 27th

Morning Weight: 156.8 New Low! So after two days of carbs at 300 i hit a new low. Needless to say I was super happy. Saw my coach and he was happy with the progress as well as the fact that I'm losing weight after bumping up the carbs. It was supposed to be a low day but we cancelled that and went to normal for the next two. If I weighed in lower Sunday I was to bring up my carbs back to 300. Overall we're both happy with where I'm at for five weeks out.


Training

Some cardio, biceps and abs. Nothing too exciting.



Saturday May 28th

Action packed day. Was coaching from 9-3. Then hit the gym. Then went for some sushi for a friends b-day. Stuck to some sashimi and ngiri. Did a good job on the self control, but I did feel like I was losing my mind at one point cause I just wanted to eat like normal. But I survived the night and my gf was happy that we got to go out to eat.

Morning Weight: 156.6 New Low! Hit another one!


Training

Blasted the quads. Didn't have too much time ~1 hour so really had to go hard.

Hi-box squats 135x8,135x8, 185x5, 225x5,245x5, 275x5, 295x5, 315x3, 335x3, 335x3
Hack squat 2ppsx16, 2x 2ps+25 x12, 2x 3ppsx7
Leg Press 6x 5ppsx12
Single -leg Leg extensions (no break) 5xfailure



Sunday May 29th

Woke up this morning a bit nervous on what effects the sushi would have on my weigh in....

Morning Weight: 154.8 New Low! Woah! Not sure how this happened but man is that crazy. Up to 300 carbs for today!


Training

Didn't go yet but its upper push day and cardio. Gonna try to go back to a normal workout and see how the shoulder does.


Misc

WTF at those pics of Kai. He is just so damn thick. Besides his FDB all his shots are insane. Those legs are officially not human. Theres a vid with him accepting the award standing next to 'normal' people and it gives a good idea at how inhumanly thick his legs are. And his back is just off the charts. I hope he shows up at the Olympia this year.

And Lionel Beyeke looks super amazing. Great flow to his physique.

[bwelch1985]

Killing it man! 154:eek: I flat out cannot believe that number. You are so f*cking thick it just doesn't make sense.

Kai is one of my faves, but I'm worried dat dere Palumboism is starting to creep in. Seems to be a fine line on the enhanced side of bodybuilding...especially at that level. Gotta be huge, but take it just a liiiiiiittle too far and you end up disfigured almost.

Beyeke is one of my absolute favorite new pro's. He's got unlimited potential imo.

Kinda disappointed about Huh though. He's also one of my favorite new pro's but he just didn't quite get in shape...and really hasn't gotten TRULY shredded for any show that I've seen him in yet. When he does it's gonna be scary I think.

/takinguptoomuchspaceinyourlogIFBBrant

[FB#35]

Killing it man! 154:eek: I flat out cannot believe that number. You are so f*cking thick it just doesn't make sense.

Kai is one of my faves, but I'm worried dat dere Palumboism is starting to creep in. Seems to be a fine line on the enhanced side of bodybuilding...especially at that level. Gotta be huge, but take it just a liiiiiiittle too far and you end up disfigured almost.

Beyeke is one of my absolute favorite new pro's. He's got unlimited potential imo.

Kinda disappointed about Huh though. He's also one of my favorite new pro's but he just didn't quite get in shape...and really hasn't gotten TRULY shredded for any show that I've seen him in yet. When he does it's gonna be scary I think.

/takinguptoomuchspaceinyourlogIFBBrant

I can't believe the 154 number either. I mean I walked around at a comfortable 200 in the offseason. I guess I really shouldn't have been, its going to be a while before I let myself get that heavy again.

Kai looks a little off in his FDB thats it. I find the majority of his back shots, especially some of his twisting back shots are just mind blowing. He's so gigantic but maintains some good aesthetics while hitting them.

If Beyeke keeps this type of progression over the next year I can seem him contending for the top spot at the arnold within two years.


Too lazy to give a full update right now, plus I want to get some sleep. Saw the coach today, he was happy. Weight didn't move after the high carbs so he gave me today and tomorrow to stay at 300 and we'll check it out on Wednesday to see if I spill over or if I can process all these extra carbs. I am definitely not complaining!

And my buddy Ev got his first two carb ups... I think he cried!

[deltpecx]

Misc

WTF at those pics of Kai. He is just so damn thick. Besides his FDB all his shots are insane. Those legs are officially not human. Theres a vid with him accepting the award standing next to 'normal' people and it gives a good idea at how inhumanly thick his legs are. And his back is just off the charts. I hope he shows up at the Olympia this year.

He was the guest poser at the Vancouver(WA) Naturals back in April.
The guy is unbelievably HUGE!!!! :eek:

[EvSer]

@ bwelch seriously dissapointed by Huh as well I expected much better. I saw his pics from like 10 weeks out and was sure hed be in insane condition. i guess sometimes being in shape 10 weeks out doesnt translate to the stage eh

[FB#35]

Been a bit of a crazy week. Some ups and some downs. Mind games were played, emotions all over the place but I'm in a much better place right now. Weighed in at 155.4 this morning. I had gone as high as 157.2 during the week. We carbed up 5 out of 7 days the last week to see how I would fill out.

Overall, I'm nervous and excited for the show. Nervous because I still need to get posing trunks, choose posing music and a routine, and I'm super white! Not to mention I'm getting paranoid that my conditioning is off no matter what my coach or other training buddies say.

Finished up blasting some quads today and had a good workout. Energy was a bit slow to start and squats are feeling heavier and heavier but I pushed through and ended up with a good intense workout.

I snapped up some pics on Friday. I'm not sure if its cause I'm flat or its my camera or the lighting but these pictures seem to be really unflattering. In a way its good since it keeps me motivated to keep pushing, in another way its bad because I feel like I'm way out. Its weird cause when I'm posing at my coach's posing room the chest looks fully striated and the quads are pretty much feathered. Anyway its on stage that counts!

Lastly, back shots are so much harder to pull off without a double mirror!

... yes i know i'm white with a farmer tan....


FDB

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/FDB-2.png

FLS

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/FLS.png

Side Chest

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/sidechest-4.png

BDB

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/BDB-2.png

RLS

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/RLS-1.png

[FB#35]

Side Tri

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/sidetri-3.png

Ab'n'Thigh

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/abnthigh-3.png

MM1

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/MM2-4.png

MM2

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/MM-2.png

[bwelch1985]

Damn! Looking fantastic man! I just really like your shape...something particularly appealing about it to me...possibly the quad sweep contrasted w/ the huge chest and arms against the tiny waist. (strong no homo lol)

Really getting peeled as well. I know for me, some days I would take pictures and literally ALL my definition was gone. I think guys like us w/ really white skin can easily fall victim to lighting differences. I can see the cross striations in your quads...I KNOW you're getting shredded!

On the rear poses I would recommend that you flex your glutes rather than sticking them out like that. Imagine you're humping a girl that's a little too tall for you haha...really wanna try to tuck those glutes up under nahmean?

[FB#35]

Monday June 6th

Morning Weight: 155.6

Saw the boss today. He's happy where we're at. He wants me to stay more or less at the same weight for the next week or two so that we can come in right at the top of the lightweights (154).

Overall felt pretty good today. Nice weather out so it always helps. Managed to get in a decent workout without too much shoulder irritation. Seemed like the trick was to be very meticulous with my warm up.

Training

BB Bench 135x12, 135x12, 135x12, 155x10, 185x12, 185x10, 185x8, 185x6(135x10)
HS Incline 2x 1ppsx12, 3x 1pps+25x10
Decline DB Fly 5x12
DB Overhead Extension 4x12
Pulley Pushdown 4x12
Seated OHP Machine x12, x10, x10, x10, x10, x8
Pulley Front Raise 5x12



Damn! Looking fantastic man! I just really like your shape...something particularly appealing about it to me...possibly the quad sweep contrasted w/ the huge chest and arms against the tiny waist. (strong no homo lol)

Really getting peeled as well. I know for me, some days I would take pictures and literally ALL my definition was gone. I think guys like us w/ really white skin can easily fall victim to lighting differences. I can see the cross striations in your quads...I KNOW you're getting shredded!

On the rear poses I would recommend that you flex your glutes rather than sticking them out like that. Imagine you're humping a girl that's a little too tall for you haha...really wanna try to tuck those glutes up under nahmean?

Thanks for the comments man. Its funny cause everyone seems to like my shape (coaches, fellow BBers), I guess I'm lucky in that sense. Everyone says I have a 'classical' physique. I think its from all those years reading Arnold's encyclopedia.

As for the back poses, I've gotten use to hitting them with the double mirror so I have to practice the poses without. I'm glad my coach will be at the show to yell from the stands any posing instructions.

And I've heard of that 'humping a tall girl' trick before. You would think at 5'6 I'd have that technique down pat ;)

[FB#35]

Quick update over the last few days.

Weight went up to 157 today. No real explanation. So we decided to throw in a low day tomorrow. Carbs are cut by 50g.

Blasted back and delts yesterday. Had a really good workout. Not sure why or how, but for back exercises I've been able to keep all my strength. Some lifts have even go up! A stark contrast to my pushing strength.

Was supposed to do biceps/abs + cardio today. Since it was really nice out I decided to go for a bike ride instead. Ended up getting stuck in a thunderstorm after about an hour. It was not a pleasant ride back home getting attacked by rain in windy/lightning conditions.

Have to admit that I am getting nervous. I'm the type of person who gets nervous doing new stuff, especially when its in something thats completely out of my expertise. That and the thought of being in front of all these people at the contest is a bit nerve racking. I keep thinking that I'll get booed of stage or something.

I'm also nervous because I still don't have posing trunks and I'd like to get a feel for wearing them well in advance to the show date. That and I have to choose posing music and a routine.... I think I'm just going to take 60sec from dirty diana as an homage to Kai. And maybe try and nail the first 20 or so seconds of his infamous routine. Hopefully all the BBers/BB fans appreciate it and get the reference.

/nervous rant

Hams and glutes tomorrow == bye bye walking like a normal individual for next few days.

[deltpecx]

Blasted back and delts yesterday. Had a really good workout. Not sure why or how, but for back exercises I've been able to keep all my strength. Some lifts have even go up! A stark contrast to my pushing strength.

...Have to admit that I am getting nervous. I'm the type of person who gets nervous doing new stuff, especially when its in something thats completely out of my expertise. That and the thought of being in front of all these people at the contest is a bit nerve racking. I keep thinking that I'll get booed of stage or something.

I'm also nervous because I still don't have posing trunks and I'd like to get a feel for wearing them well in advance to the show date. That and I have to choose posing music and a routine....

I tend to keep my pulling strength too. Pushing ain't worth a dime.

You're not in this first timer boat alone. We're here to support you. I went through those same nervous feelings. When I had my first posing session some people came into the room waiting for us to finish. I was surprised that I wasn't nervous withthem there and I pretty much ignnored them.

I bought two pair of posing trunks. I don't care for the cut/style. Today I orderd another two pair from a place called Jagware. They have pictures of all the different cut/stlyes.
I haven't even started on a routine yet. I'm getting the mandatories down first.

[FB#35]

So I've suddenly become super busy in my non-bodybuilding life (which is a lot more important), so this log has taken a big hit with the updates. The good news is that my workouts and overall dedication to bringing my best on stage has not.

I weighed in at 155 flat this morning. So we're right on track on where we should be I think. Workouts have been tough, especially the last few. But my coach said this was probably gonna be the hardest week and after that we should be able to start filling up a bit. Also, we worked on some of my poses tweaked up the side chest to make it even better. And finally adjusted my RLS, which I was hitting completely wrong before, so now I don't look super narrow in that pose as I do in all the previous photos.

I'll try to be more active updating but I don't expect to have too much free time until after June 23rd. I'll be submitting my first conference paper for review at that time! I'm might be more nervous and stressed for that then the actual bodybuilding show.... nahhh who am I kidding.

Got abs/biceps/cardio today. Then quad session tomorrow :(




I tend to keep my pulling strength too. Pushing ain't worth a dime.

You're not in this first timer boat alone. We're here to support you. I went through those same nervous feelings. When I had my first posing session some people came into the room waiting for us to finish. I was surprised that I wasn't nervous withthem there and I pretty much ignnored them.

I bought two pair of posing trunks. I don't care for the cut/style. Today I orderd another two pair from a place called Jagware. They have pictures of all the different cut/stlyes.
I haven't even started on a routine yet. I'm getting the mandatories down first.

Hey man, thanks for that support. Been meaning to catch up on your log. Hope everythings been going well!

I checked out Jagware but unfortunately ts 20$ to ship to here. My coach knows a seamstress or something locally but I'm still nervous.

[FB#35]

A couple of quick notes from the last few days.

Had a bit of a tough weekend, but that was expected. Had 2 out of last 3 days as lows, that coupled with cardio is never fun. But I made it through (passing out during UFC on saturday night sucked though).

Saw my coach yesterday, and he's very happy with where we are. Got some good news... cardio came down 10 minutes each session, and man does it feel amazing. Weight is holding steady at 155. I had a carb up today we'll see tomorrow morning if that had any significant effect.

Blasted the quads hard yesterday, glad I can still get in some quality workouts this late in the game. Actually had a decent upper push today. Was able to push the 80s on incline for 8 reps with only minimal shoulder pain. Which is a huge improvement, I had not really been using more than 50s since the injury flare up.

18 DAYS OUT!!

Man I'm nervous. Still need to get those posing trunks, for some reason I won't feel ready until I have them. Then it will be really official. Not to mention the idea of wearing them seems so odd, gonna have to walk around my room in them to get comfortable... like a weirdo.

Overall, have to say I'm feeling pretty good, except for the allergies that might be kicking in. Benadryl time!

[FB#35]

16 Days Out!

Getting scared and excited by that headline. Dealing with some minor allergy issues as it seems pollen count has gotten out of control lately....

Had my carb up on Tuesday. And by Tuesday night/ Wednesday morning I was looking great. So much more pop to the muscles and vascularity was really good as well. Saw my coach that afternoon and he remains happy with where were at. Then headed of to the gym and got a great delts/back workout. I still don't understand how its possible but my back strength remains at the same level (if not better on some exercises), but hey I'm not complaining.

Weight is holding steady at 155, but it seems that everyday that I stay at this weight I'm slowly noticing more and more definition. Nothing crazy but its just the little things. Under lighting in my room my triceps now show cross striations, outer quad has got that feathering going on as well. I really hope it translates to the stage! And dare I say it I think my glutes are pretty much in that 'boxed-in' mode. Kinda of hard to judge.

Should be getting my posing trunks done locally either over the weekend or early next week.

Might try and take some shots maybe on saturday to get some official two weeks out photos. Might try to get them outside around midday when the lighting should be good.

Anyway, gotta keep pushing hard, but I'm real excited now that we're slow close. Big ham/glute day tomorrow... but I got a high carb day tomorrow and Saturday so I'm in good spirits!

After the 23rd I'll be back to logging each day most probably. Right in time for that final stretch!

[FB#35]

So I had some free time this morning as I wait for my supervisor to give me comments on my paper....

BIG 2 WEEKS OUT UPDATE!

Morning Weight: ... wait for it.... 152.8! :O Freaked out. I had a high carb day yesterday and dropped 1.2lbs. We're carbing up again today. Usual carb ups are at 300, but I'm debating to go to 350. Unfortunately my coach is at the IFBB Toronto show (2 of his good friends are competing... 1 of which said I looked good in the gym locker room a couple of weeks ago :) ), so I'm not sure what to do...


Anyway enough chit chat. Let's let these new pics speak for themselves. Snapped them up just now. Thought it was about time to get some outdoor photos. Unfortunately because I'm so white the sun reflects off me a lot, but in some cases we get some really good shots. Overall I'm really happy with these photos. For the first time I feel like they display me actual leanness. No mirror for them tho, so the back shots prove I still have work to do..


Front Relax

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/frontrelax-1.png

FDB

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/fdb-3.png

Side Chest 1

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/sidechest-5.png

Side Chest 2

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/sidechest2.png

FLS

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/FLS-1.png

[FB#35]

Back Relax

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/Backrelax.jpg

RDB1

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/RDB1.jpg


RDB2

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/RDB2.jpg

Ab'n'thigh

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/abnthigh-4.jpg

[FB#35]

Best for last....


Side Tri

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/sidetri-4.png

MM1
http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/MM3.png

MM2

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/MM2-5.png

MM3
http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/MM1-2.png

[bwelch1985]

Absolutely SICK man!:eek: You look fantastic.

My mind refuses to believe you are 152lbs....just incomprehensible!

[FB#35]

Absolutely SICK man!:eek: You look fantastic.

My mind refuses to believe you are 152lbs....just incomprehensible!

Thanks man. That 152 shocks me too...sometimes I get paranoid that my scale is just completely off!

Gotta go do some catching up in your log. Peak week #2 right?

[EvSer]

jesus wtf happened to you this week. you look fkn insane man gonna give people a serious run for their money. you must be 5 or 6% bf. honestly fkn shredded

[JONPB]

Impresive good luck on the competition.

[phibit]

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/RDB2.jpg


Nice ass ;)
No homo

Seriously though you are jacked through the roouuff it looks like you are a cross between a raging rhinoceros and a sexy stallion, but with muscles all over you and no fat and you stand on 2 legs instead of 4 and you don't eat as much and you can drive cars.

Seriously.

Bro.

[FB#35]

Nice ass ;)
No homo

Seriously though you are jacked through the roouuff it looks like you are a cross between a raging rhinoceros and a sexy stallion, but with muscles all over you and no fat and you stand on 2 legs instead of 4 and you don't eat as much and you can drive cars.

Seriously.

Bro.

haha I miss you man...

I was hoping to show some squared off glutes but all I see is white.


Side note: Decided to bump carbs to 350 yesterday instead of 300. Weighed in at exactly the same this morning. Success!

[nYc NatUrAL]

LOL at you calling me thick!! Your arms and legs are about to explode!!!

[FB#35]

Impresive good luck on the competition.

Thanks man. Appreciate it.



LOL at you calling me thick!! Your arms and legs are about to explode!!!

Haha, thanks a lot man.

...quick little update

Tuesday June 21st

11 Days Out!

Morning Weight: 152.8 Weight seems to be holding steady. Had some minor fluctuations of about a half pound up over the last few days but tied my low again today.... and that meant another day at 300CHOs. Not complaining.

Training
Went in and got my second last leg workout in. My coach wants the last leg workout on sunday, so I had to switch up to train quads/hams/glutes all today (usually keep them separate). Will hit them all again on Sunday for the last leg workout. Pretty tiring workout, and man squats are really not fun to do at this point. But i got everything I wanted done. Can't believe there are only like 7 more workouts left. Scary!

Lying Leg curls x20, x20, 15, x15
Snatch grip SLDL 4x12
BSS x15, x12, x12, x10, x10, x15
Squats 135x12, 135x12, 185x8, 225x5 (felt heavy haha), 225x5, 225x5, 275x5
Hack Squats 4 x 2pps x12
Single-leg leg extensions 5x12

Gonna go hit up my old gym with a buddy tomorrow for upper push. Should be fun.

[FB#35]

pretty sure I was supposed to be updating this more often...anyway

June 24th

8 days out!

Morning Weight: 152.6! New Low!

Woke up and tied my new low which I hit yesterday actually. Game plan for peak week is to be at 300CHOs sat/sun. I have tomorrow completely off. First complete day off in a while so my body should feel much better with some rest. Sunday is to be my last leg workout and I think I am supposed to stay away from failure for the most part.

Will be seeing my coach Monday morning to see whether/how much we should deplete and when we start to carb back up. I'll assume I will be seeing him quite often next week to hammer out the details for the peek week protocol, work on posing/ posing routine. Gotta get my tan from him as well, not to mention to go see that old lady to get my posing trunks...man this seems like a long list of 'to dos' for peak week.

Anyway just came back from a bi+core+cardio session at the gym. Nothing too fancy to write about.

One week as of tomorrow!

[FB#35]

1 week out!!!

So one last big weekly update with some photos. Finally got my posing trunks. Felt so weird wearing them. Decided to take some photos with them. Was hesitant to decide to put them up cause, well, it seems odd, but hey I'm gonna be up on stage in them.

Oh yea...

Morning Weight: 149.8!!! New Low Crazy number. But I woke up super dehydrated so it was probably from a lack of water. Glad I have a carb up today and tomorrow.

so without further ado.... 1 week out photos. Note... I need to continue practice posing without a mirror, its so different



FDB

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/fdb-4.png

FLS

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/FLS-2.png

Side Chest

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/sidechest-6.png

Side Tri

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/sidetri-5.png

[FB#35]

Back

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/christmas.png

RDB

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/bdb-3.png

RLS

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/RLS-2.png

Ab'n'thigh

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/abnthigh-5.png

MM

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/mm1-3.png

MM2

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/mm2-6.png

[EvSer]

looking juicy brah but flat for sure, youll look nuts once you carb up for real. excited to see the final product

[Young9]

you look ready bro!

[FB#35]

looking juicy brah but flat for sure, youll look nuts once you carb up for real. excited to see the final product

Yea man, Im excited to see what I look like carbed up and less white!


you look ready bro!

Thanks man. Now I need to get mentally prepared.



Last Leg workout!!

Just finished up my last leg workout. Trained with a buddy of mine whose on the same 'team'. He'll be competing in the heavy weights and has competed before so it was good to hit up this last workout with him. We kept it relatively light, reps high, and the breaks short. Got in a great workout, must have done close to 45-50 sets total for hams,glutes,quads and calves, all in about 65-70 minutes or so. A great last workout!

Hack Squats
Snatch Grip SLDL
Lying Leg Curls
BSS
GHR
Standing Leg Curls
Front Squats
Leg extensions
Seated Calf Raises

Can't believe I'm 6 days out! Gonna see the boss tomorrow to get the rest of the plan for the next few days.

[FB#35]

5 days out!

Soooo close! Ah!

Morning Weight: 152.8 So after all those carbs on the weekend my weight returned to what seems to be a steady value.

Saw my coach this morning. He's happy where were at. Kept carbs at 'normal' for today (200). Going to see what my weight does tomorrow. At this point I basically am seeing him each day and we make the decisions based on how I am looking.

Training

Had chest/bi today. Back/tri for tomorrow. Shoulders/traps/upper back for weds.

And the best news is... no more cardio! I usually spend about 30-45 minutes/day walking my dog, and probably about 20-30 minutes walking around campus/bus stops so its not like I'll just be lying on the sofa all day but I'm glad all my treadmill cardio is over!

Got a great pump today at the gym. The shoulder issue is about 85% resolved now which is great because that means I can get back to training heavy once the show is over.


CHEST/BI
Incline DBs 8 sets
HS Press 6 sets
Close-ish grip Decline BB 4 sets
DB Decline Flys 4 sets
Standing Pulley Flys 4 sets
Assortment of bicep curls ~8sets

... and now onto a rant....

Ohh man I can't believe it, already only five days out. It feels like just yesterday I started this quest and at the same time it feels like forever. I really understand now why everyone refers to contest prep as a journey or a quest, because, really, when you look back on it thats what it is. Not only physically but mentally you look at where you started and all the decisions/roads you took to get where you are and it seems really cool.

So to all the people who've helped me on this quest in either real life or here online thanks so much. And to my gf, Alex, who now has this link hopefully saved; you have no idea how much having you made this journey so much better. I really would have no idea what I would've done without.

[/rant]

[CHRIS925]

You are HUGE. That weight is just not real life. Idc how tall you are.

[bwelch1985]

Can't wait to see you up on stage bro! You were seriously built for this sport.

[FB#35]

3 Days left!

Starting to feel the nerves and excitement already!

Morning Weight: 151.4

Carbs were up to 250 today. Either 300 or 350 tomorrow depending on how flat I'm looking. Weigh in is Friday at 1pm. Depending on what I weigh in the morning I may have to hold off eating until I weigh in. Don't wanna take any chances. No more additional salt on food and water is down to 3L (also started some aldactone @ 50mg/day). Interested to see what happens.

Got in my last workout today. Blasted those shoulders and traps real good today.



You are HUGE. That weight is just not real life. Idc how tall you are.

Thanks man. Gotta go pass by your log to see whats going on.


Can't wait to see you up on stage bro! You were seriously built for this sport.

I can't wait to see me on stage either! ;)


First coat of Pro Tan goes on tomorrow night. Interested to see how much of a difference it makes!

[FB#35]

2 days out!

Morning Weight: 151.0

Had some trouble sleeping in today. Got a good 6 hours but I got up an hour earlier than I had to and couldn't get back to sleep. Not sure if its nerves, excitement, or changes in diet, or even a combination of all of the above.

The small changes my coach made did make a big difference though. Looked super hard and defined this morning and he says that just the tip of the iceberg.

Ate about half my carbs so far today. Mostly just boiled potatoes, but might make some oat-pancakes or some sort of oat-cake thing when I get home.

Hopefully I'll be able to snap up some pics tonight after the first coat.

Weigh in tomorrow at 1. I was 152.8 this morning after my first meal. Judging on how much I weigh tomorrow morning I'll tailor the size of my first meal (and water) accordingly.

[FB#35]

1 Day Out!

Official Weigh In and Athletes meeting

Official Weight: 151.2

Came in officially at 151. Got there as soon as the weigh in period started cause I was paranoid with extra food I would miss the mark. Turns out I had plenty of room to spare.

Just finished putting on third coat of pro tan. Have one more tomorrow morning then my coach will take care of the dream tan at the venue. Turns out there are 4 guys total in my weight class. Were all about the same height so I'm excited and nervous to see what the other guys are hiding under their shirts.

No hope for overall though, if I do end up making it. The LHW my coach is bringing is out of this world. I mean I could see him in the 202 class in the IFBB and I wouldn't think he'd be out of place. Some of the sickest genetics/muscle insertions I've seen in real life.

I'll try to snag some pics quickly in the next little while to see what difference the tan makes... got too late last night.

[CHRIS925]

Good luck bro! kill it

[Young9]

Yeee! Almost game time.

In4pics

[FB#35]

Good luck bro! kill it

Thanks man!


Yeee! Almost game time.

In4pics


Here ya go

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/side_tri.png


http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/MM-3.png

[FB#35]

SHOW TIME!!!

About to leave the house for the venue, its about 1hr away.

Breakfast this morning was 4 eggs +4 slice toast+ banana+ some pb and a little oats. Was awesome. Weight was 151.8 after all that food. Got rice cakes, gatorade, chicken, steak and some apple sauce for today(....and maybe a swiss roll or two for after Pre-J )

[wrkoutfrq]

been lurkin for a bit, good luck today man!

[EdizOz]

Just found this thread now, but never too late to say goodluck! Hope you do extremely well mate, and all that hard work pays off for you! Go smash it!

[Young9]

give um hell and pose your ass off!!!

[bwelch1985]

Kill giants. Kill them all!!!

[FB#35]

First off thanks to everyone who wished me luck and has stopped by this log! Didnt see it till after but it still means a lot. Now on to the juicy details.



Pre-Judge

Got to the venue at 815, pre-judge was starting at 9. After standing around confused and wandering the back stage area with the gf I found a place to set up and she went to watch. The order was Juvenille/Junior/Womens (figure/bikini/BB)/Master's/Open. I fell into the Open lightweights since Junior is up to 22.

My coach and the rest of the team got there around 9-930ish. Basically I was to eat a rice cake every 10-15minutes or so. For the dream tan my coach had two of his female BBs there to help out. The rest of the competitors were a bit jealous of our team. Have to say I was nervous most of the time backstage, and couldn't help but stare and over-analyze all the guys in my class.

There was a short intermission right before the open and then I really started to get nervous.

Finally got on stage around 11ish. There was no time warnings so I didnt really have much of a pump whatsoever. On stage I was a bit more calm but I knew that for some poses I didn't nail them as perfectly as I can.

Here some of the photos from the pre-judging. These are all from my gf's camera so lighting is a bit of an issue. up here in Canada coverage is much worse for BB. There might be 2 or 3 professional photos from my class up this week at some point that I'll try to post once they are up.

Front relax

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/frntrelax.jpg

Side Relax

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/siderelax.jpg

Back Relax

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/bkrelax-1.jpg

Side Relax

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/siderelax2.jpg

[FB#35]

Side Chest

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/sidechest-7.jpg

BDB

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/bdb-4.jpg

Side- Tri

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/side_tri2.jpg

Ab'n'thigh

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/abnthigh-6.jpg

MM

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/MM2-7.jpg

[FB#35]

By the end of the pre-judging I felt fairly confident I was in the top two. My coach said it would be close between me and the guy on my right (left on screen/ purple/pink trunks guy).

With the pre-judging done the whole team went to a nearby restaurant to grab a little food. (chicken, rice and a slice of pizza). We were hoping to have 3 guys in the overall (LW, LHW, HW).
We had a solid 6 hours between pre-juding and the night show so most of us just slept/rested outside.

FINALS

Practiced my posing routine a couple of times backstage got a touch up job with the dream tan and then it was out to pose for the audience. Managed to get a video. The first 10 seconds are missing and its shot a bit from the right but I think its pretty good. Crowd seemed to enjoy it.

zMz9M6GyDnU


So once we all did our routine in lightweights, they called out the top 3 for a posedown (Don't think it was judged just for the crowd)

Managed to get one decent photo from the posedown. I'll be honest I really wasn't sure what to do here. I hit a couple of MMs and my side tri and side chest. Then I would try to sneak a peak at the guy I thought I was competing against and hit the same pose if I knew I had something better (I felt my back and upper body was better).

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/posedown1.jpg

... So finally the made the announcement..... 3rd place.

I'll be honest at first I was very disappointed. But then I remembered where it was I started from 6 months ago (GO LOOK at the first page!), and really I know that I brought a physique I was proud of and thats the most important thing.

Here some shots of the Top 3 with trophies.

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/top3.jpg

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/top3_2.jpg.

The guy in 2nd also won the master's overall. In my analysis I though I had him, but I think he had a bit better conditioning and probably better posing/stage presence. The guy in first was definitely leaner and drier. His legs definitely held their own (hams were off the charts), but I thought I had him on overall size and upper body.

Anyway here are some pics from the overall! The two guys on the far left, HW and LHW were from our team. With the LHW (2nd from left) taking the show.

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/overallfront.jpg

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/overallside.jpg

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/overallside2.jpg

PS you can see how good the LW's legs were in these shots!

[FB#35]

BACK HOME/ Final Thoughts

Took a couple more pics when I got home... and of course the eats!

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/bdbhome.jpg

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/MMhome.jpg

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/eyeonprize.jpg

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/cake.jpg

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i340/contestprep/cake2.jpg


Thoughts:

While disappointed at first, I am now super happy. I've learnt so much during this prep. Not only about myself physically in regards to diet nutrition training, but I've learnt so much mentally as well. This section is great in that regards. By reading and following so many people's logs I've learnt that in reality there is so much more than a trophy or where you place at a show. I'm ready for a nice focused off season, and for the first time I will track what I eat so that should be fun as well.

I am just happy that I brought something to the stage that I am proud of and didnt look out of place. Its so crazy to go back and see where I started at. After such a transformation the goal is to try and stay lean for the first time ever.

I'll update later tonight with my offseason goals/plans. Now of to make pizza!

[bwelch1985]

Hell yeh man! You seriously looked spectacular up there! I can tell from your front relaxed pose alone you've got the genetics to take this sh*t to the limit! The competition at this show was exceptional so I wouldn't be too concerned w/ your placing (I can tell you're not)....but here's the crazy thing....you were right there w/ them and this is only your first f*cking show!!!! epic work brah.

That cake looks so damn good I want to print a picture of it and eat the paper!

Enjoy your pizza and get back on track tomorrow. It's incredible how much damage can be done w/ just a liiiiiiiittle too much binging.:eek:

[FB#35]

...new log for reverse dieting if anyone is interested in following along...

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?p=720653751#post720653751

[deltpecx]

... So finally the made the announcement..... 3rd place.

I'll be honest at first I was very disappointed. But then I remembered where it was I started from 6 months ago (GO LOOK at the first page!), and really I know that I brought a physique I was proud of and thats the most important thing.



.. Thoughts:

While disappointed at first, I am now super happy. I've learnt so much during this prep. Not only about myself physically in regards to diet nutrition training, but I've learnt so much mentally as well. This section is great in that regards. By reading and following so many people's logs I've learnt that in reality there is so much more than a trophy or where you place at a show. I'm ready for a nice focused off season, and for the first time I will track what I eat so that should be fun as well....


I think you learned the MOST important aspect of this whole thing.
It isn't about how you ultimately place, sure it's nice to come home with some hardware but it's more about the journey to get to the stage.

You started this prep, followed through, and made it to the end. Many people don't get to the end. You set out to accomplish this and you did it and you were rewarded for your hard work. Not just with a trophy but with the inner satisfaction that you did something most people will NEVER attempt.

Well done!
Oh yeah CONGRATULATIONS!.