Life After My 1st Bodybuilding Competition...

[smallguyjoe]

LOL, if anyone actually reads the above post... well, I don't know what to say... LOL, I know I'd never be able to read a post that long .

I can't believe I just wrote that all here at work!

That's why I can't come on here too often anymore!!!

[smallguyjoe]

Originally Posted by smallguyjoe

LOL... I wish it was, man! My current avi is from 7 days out. I'm way softer lookin now. It sucks. I took a side chest pic the other day and it's like joke compared to that avi. There's like no arm/shoulder separation. I'm so tempted to cut again, but I know it wouldn't be the best idea right now. I'm just gonna try my hardest to gain some muscle and strength over the next 3 months without getting any fatter. Then I'll cut for probably 2 months. I really don't want to add anymore fat, b/c then I'll just have to cut longer. Don't want to have to ever do a long cut again.

http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/JoshBme/

I want to look like this dude ^^^

I know it's gonna take some time... years... but that's what I'd like to look like. Lean + good size.

My goal for the next several months is to eventually look like him but smaller, and hold that look. Then I'll focus on the size part for the next several years.

At this point I am not positive on how the best way to go about this is. As of now I THINK that a few more months of speeding up the metabolism and gaining a little bit of muscle and strength should set me up for a very productive 2 month cut. The less fat I have on me at the start of the cut the more productive the cut will be. I'm estimating I'll have to spend the next year - year and a half fixing/off-setting my metabolism/setpoint/bodyfat to be able to hold at ~8-9% bf. Might even take longer. I hope to gain some muscle in the process during the months that I am eating enough for growth.

As much as I want to be bigger/more impressive muscularity-wise I just can't stand lookin all soft when I know/think I can look tighter if I do things right.

I believe that I messed things up bigtime when I "bulked" in 2007-2008. My back injury messed me up too. Getting the bf% up so high prevented me from getting the bf% down, and cutting for 6 months screwed up the metabolism. Then the back injury came at a bad time. I didn't get super fat last year, but got the bf% higher than I should have/planned on. I also lost muscle. Then I cut. I did alright at 1st, I think, but then stepped it up to cut faster. Lost more muscle. Messed up the metabolism. Bla bla bla... I ended up KINDA lean for the show. After the show I knew what to do and what not to do. I did "what not to do". By the time I tried to what I should've done the damage had been done, and there was no use doin it then. I think I'm currently doin alright, but I want to get back down. I want to do this without screwin up the metabolism, so I can perhaps stay around the bf% that I finish my 2 month cut at.

I'm goin to try cutting with frequent re-feeds. Every 3rd or 4th day. I also will keep the intensity of my training high. Finally, I will not have a set weight that I want to reach in the end or a set weight that I want to lose per week. I mean if I don't lose like a half lb on avg at the end of a 7 day period I'll change something, b/c I'd like to lose around .8 - 1.5 lbs per week, but I'm not gonna make drastic changes to try and reach those goals. Oh, and I'm gonna try keeping my protein higher for my next cut. It'll be ~1.2 x bw (lbs).

Theoretically, things could look like this I think:

-At show ~8% bf
-After show, June - Aug got up to ~11-12% bf
-Aug - Nov, hopefully stay at/below 12% bf while gaining size, strength, and eating healthy
-Nov - Jan 2010, lose body fat, maybe go from 12% down to ~9-10% bf
-Jan - Feb, maintain bf%
-Feb - May, stay below 10-11% bf while gaining size, strength, and eating healthy
-May - July, get down to ~7-8% bf
-July - Aug, maintain bf%
-Aug - Nov, stay below 9-10% bf while gaining, etc
-Nov - Jan 2011, get down to ~6-7% bf
-Jan - Feb, maintain bf%
-Feb - May, stay below 8-9% bf while gaining, etc
-May - July, cut down to ~5-6% bf
-July - Aug, maintain bf%
-Aug - Nov, stay below 7-8% bf while gaining etc
-Nov - Dec, cut for only 1-1.5 months and get down to 5-6%
-Dec - Jan 2012, maintain bf%
-Feb - May, gain/etc for 4 months and stay below 8% bf
-May - July, cut down to 4-5% bf
-July - Aug, maintain bf%
-CYCLE REPEATS


*So, notice that this is gonna take some time, and that's fine. I think in the long run it will be worth it. Eventually I should be able to have longer gaining phases b/c my bf% is lower. It will kinda depend on how low I want to get during the next cutting phase.

**Also, much of the above tentitive schedule will depend on how successful I am at keeping the bf% in check during the maintaining & gaining phases. I personally think that the maintaining phases will be the hardest part. Not sure if 1 month will be enough time to fix things after cutting, but maybe. I am banking on the idea that a 2 month cut won't damage my metabolism too too much, so adding Cals back will need to be done with control, but not as slowly as if I had cut for 4-6 months.

My plan might not work. There might be a better way to go about it. It might be great. I have no idea, but this is where I'm at right now. Basically, I am planning on spending 3 yrs trying to get my body to be happy at ~8% bf and gaining some muscle in the process. After those 3 yrs I will have more months of trying to gain muscle, and I figure those 2 yrs will be the 2 yrs I spend trying to improve as best I can for another show. So, 5 yrs just like I estimated before. MAYBE after 5 yrs I'll be ready for another show. I think I'll be able to at least get lean enough by then, and have decent size. I'm kinda thinking that at 35 yrs old I'll be ready.

LOL, we'll see. I'm just playin around with the #'s and all. I'm not saying that this plan above or the idea of not competing until 33-35 yrs old are written in stone. Like I said, I'm just playin around here. One thing's for sure though, I AM DETERMINED TO GET LEAN AND STAY LEAN! At the least I am SET ON TRYING!!! I understand genetics/life situations might be against me. God may not have the same goal for me that I have, but I am definitely still striving to acheive what I set out to acheive 3-4 yrs ago. I feel each year I get closer. Maybe my 3 yr plan might actually get me there

What a great plan!!!!

[sloboda]

lmao joe im gonna need to reread that in a few i got lost haha

[smallguyjoe]

Originally Posted by sloboda

lmao joe im gonna need to reread that in a few i got lost haha

LOL don't bother... most likely not worth it

[smallguyjoe]

Only posting this b/c I said I would



Well there I am 2 months post show, and up 12-13 lbs in the morning.

All I know is I feel I look crappy... small... flat. I took this 1st thing in the morning (mistake #1). Also, I hadn't trained upper body for a week, and I think it's very visible here (mistake #2). LOL, this picture just depresses me!

Anyway, I am hopeful that the next 12 weeks will be a success, and at the end I will have some good strength gains and all to show for it. I also am hopeful that my bf% will not go any higher than another 1% (might be setting my goals to high there, eh?).

MEASUREMENTS:

Aug 11, 2009

weight: 153.2 lbs (+2.6 lbs)
waist @ naval: 30 (+.5)
pants line: 31.5* (+.25)
hips: 36 (+.25)
delts: 48.5** (-.5)
chest: 42
arms: 15.1 (+.1)
forearms: 12 (+.25)
calves: 13.75*** (-.25)
thigh: 22.25 (+.25)
neck: 15.25 (+.25)

*I don't have my sheet that has the measurements written down in front of me - I think I am remembering right. My boxerline was no higher than 31.75, I remember that much.

**Eww, why the heck did my shoulder girth shrink??? I know I didn't get any leaner up there! Maybe the fact that I am absolutely un-pumped is factor here?

***YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!!!!!!! How could my calves get ANY FREAKIN SMALLER !!! I'll say this though - I feel my calves look lean, so maybe it's not all that bad. Nah, it still sucks

TMM:
BF% - 9.8% (+.6%)
Fat - 15 lbs (+1.1 lbs)
LBM - 138.1 lbs (+1.4 lbs)

Omron Handheld:
normal mode - 10.4% bf (+2%)
athlete mode - 12.1%* bf (+1.6%)

*For the record it was freakin 11.0% the morning before, so yeah, this thing fluctuates...

Navy Method:
10% (+.6%)

Skinfolds*:
chest - 5mm
abs - 11mm
quad - 11mm

*Didn't do this before, but am doin it now to track fat gain/decrease in those areas.

AVG BF% = 10.5% (+1.1%)


For the record I think I am 11-12% bf... maybe higher, but definitely not 10%... pretty sure on that one.

[kingor]

Originally Posted by smallguyjoe

Only posting this b/c I said I would



Well there I am 2 months post show, and up 12-13 lbs in the morning.

All I know is I feel I look crappy... small... flat. I took this 1st thing in the morning (mistake #1). Also, I hadn't trained upper body for a week, and I think it's very visible here (mistake #2). LOL, this picture just depresses me!

Anyway, I am hopeful that the next 12 weeks will be a success, and at the end I will have some good strength gains and all to show for it. I also am hopeful that my bf% will not go any higher than another 1% (might be setting my goals to high there, eh?).

MEASUREMENTS:

Aug 11, 2009

weight: 153.2 lbs (+2.6 lbs)
waist @ naval: 30 (+.5)
pants line: 31.5* (+.25)
hips: 36 (+.25)
delts: 48.5** (-.5)
chest: 42
arms: 15.1 (+.1)
forearms: 12 (+.25)
calves: 13.75*** (-.25)
thigh: 22.25 (+.25)
neck: 15.25 (+.25)

*I don't have my sheet that has the measurements written down in front of me - I think I am remembering right. My boxerline was no higher than 31.75, I remember that much.

**Eww, why the heck did my shoulder girth shrink??? I know I didn't get any leaner up there! Maybe the fact that I am absolutely un-pumped is factor here?

***YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!!!!!!! How could my calves get ANY FREAKIN SMALLER !!! I'll say this though - I feel my calves look lean, so maybe it's not all that bad. Nah, it still sucks

TMM:
BF% - 9.8% (+.6%)
Fat - 15 lbs (+1.1 lbs)
LBM - 138.1 lbs (+1.4 lbs)

Omron Handheld:
normal mode - 10.4% bf (+2%)
athlete mode - 12.1%* bf (+1.6%)

*For the record it was freakin 11.0% the morning before, so yeah, this thing fluctuates...

Navy Method:
10% (+.6%)

Skinfolds*:
chest - 5mm
abs - 11mm
quad - 11mm

*Didn't do this before, but am doin it now to track fat gain/decrease in those areas.

AVG BF% = 10.5% (+1.1%)


For the record I think I am 11-12% bf... maybe higher, but definitely not 10%... pretty sure on that one.

Bro your looking fine man! Just keep to your plan you had set forth and you will be amazed once again where you end up in the coming year. Me on the other hand I am disappointed in my gains ha, but I figure once I get back from my road trip (hell ya!!) next sunday im gonna get back to my diet and trainning. I definitely need to get in more HIIT for cardio and drop my bf a bit more.

Btw, your tan as anything ahah, and also that guy u apsire to look like is exactly what I'm going for as well!

[smallguyjoe]

Originally Posted by kingor

Bro your looking fine man! Just keep to your plan you had set forth and you will be amazed once again where you end up in the coming year. Me on the other hand I am disappointed in my gains ha, but I figure once I get back from my road trip (hell ya!!) next sunday im gonna get back to my diet and trainning. I definitely need to get in more HIIT for cardio and drop my bf a bit more.

Btw, your tan as anything ahah, and also that guy u apsire to look like is exactly what I'm going for as well!

Thanks, Pete!

Dude, talk about "disappointing" - I am almost certain now that I have lost a total of ~5-7 lbs of muscle due to my back injury almost a year ago and cutting too hard the last 1-2 months of my contest prep. I say I'm pretty certain b/c looking back at measurements that I have on paper that I have saved show this. IT SUCKS! Dude, that's like a years worth of work ! Well, whatever, man. However disappointing things may be we just gotta keep tryin our hardest. Giving up makes the progress even worse, right? So, no giving up, dog!

Changing your diet will probably make your fat drop more so than adding cardio - unless of course you add the cardio and keep your diet exactly the same. Even then it might be a shot in the dark, b/c then you might just maintain weight rather than gain or lose anything. Calories IN vs Calories OUT - this is how you get body fat down.

Yeah dude, goin surfing for 1 week straight in the blazing sun will do that to an Italian

[smallguyjoe]

I am changing my routine schedule...

No longer training on Saturdays for a while...

Schedule is:

Mon - Legs/Abs
Tues - Push
Wed - Pull
Thurs - Legs/Abs
Fri - Push
Sat - Off
Sun - Off

Mon - Pull
Tues - Legs/Abs
Wed - Push
Thurs - Pull
Fri - Legs/Abs
Sat and Sun - Off

...And so on...

[BaFtub]

Diggin the new routine. Joe.. quit stressing out on the irrelevant issues here. You're perfectly normal of a BF% for post contest and you honestly messed the metabolism up, so at this point in time its better off to start slowly ramping them back up instead of tossing in mini cuts here and there. By doing that you're taking two steps forward and five backwards. Slow, controlled bulk! Add some mass! you look fine :P

[sloboda]

joe you still look lean in my eyes.. I can swear i see your serratus ^_^

[smallguyjoe]

Originally Posted by BaFtub

Diggin the new routine. Joe.. quit stressing out on the irrelevant issues here. You're perfectly normal of a BF% for post contest and you honestly messed the metabolism up, so at this point in time its better off to start slowly ramping them back up instead of tossing in mini cuts here and there. By doing that you're taking two steps forward and five backwards. Slow, controlled bulk! Add some mass! you look fine :P

Yeah, Brett! Good to hear from ya

I hear what you're sayin... I know I'm a normal bf%... LOL, I like the abnormal bf%

But, yeah, my plan is to HOPEFULLY not take any steps backwards. The new thing about my current approach is that nothing is set in stone. I'm willing to make changes as needed.

See my thinking is if I do a slow controlled bulk it is inevitable that my body fat will creep up. It's already been doin that. I'm afraid that I'll get to a point where I don't realize how much fat I put on. Then I'll have to cut for a long time again to get where I want to be, and this will cause muscle loss and a damaged metabolism again. So, back to my thinking, if I do the slow bulk thing, and cut for 1-2 months (and cut SMART) I will not lose muscle, or very little, and I won't damage the metabolism. Then I can resume bulking and manitain a "lower" bf%. I say "lower" b/c I'm not expecting to cut to like 5% bf and hold that. maybe some day... probably not, but holding a low bf% won't be for a while for me, I think... if ever.

I appreciate your comments, man. Thanks again

Oh, btw, if after my little 3 month phase/program thingie if I feel I'm good to keep going then I won't cut. It kinda depends on how well I do at maintaining my current bf%.

Oh yeah, and my Cals are already ramped up to at least 2900 per day... sometimes higher if I go to Rita's or dairy Queen . I'm definitely tryin to get my metabolism back to normal, and gain some muscle.

Originally Posted by sloboda

joe you still look lean in my eyes.. I can swear i see your serratus ^_^

Thanks, Matt

I would say that I'm relatively lean. I'm not ripped or anything, but I'm still at a body fat where I have some decent muscle separation when flexed. I'd really like a tighter unflexed look, but oh well. In time hopefully I'll attain that goal.

If I can hold my bf% at around here, +/- 1%, while I gain some muscle that will be nice. I think if I can stay injury-free I should be able to do this.


We'll see what happens this year guys. I'm hopeful that this year will be better than the last 2 yrs as far as muscle gaining progress goes!

[cawiau]

stop stressing it, still looking lean

[smallguyjoe]

Originally Posted by cawiau

stop stressing it, still looking lean

Thanks, buddy ... I aint too stressed anymore. I'm actually feelin pretty good about it all. I think I've got things down currently so that I'm movin up at a good pace - strength and weight-wise.

[smallguyjoe]

2907 Calories
163 P / 395 C / 84.9 F
22% P / 53% C / 25% F

*85.3 g fiber
**~6% of total Cals are from saturated fats (<10%)
***All micro-nutrients are over 100% of the RDA except for Vitamin D (74%) and Vitamin E (99%)

Meal 1:
1/2 c oats, 1 t light cream, 1/2 oz raisins, 1 t maple syrup, 1/2 T brown sugar, 1 cup skim milk (316 Cals)

Meal 2:
2 slices Ezekiel, 32 g peanut butter, Nature Valley granola bar (528 Cals)

Meal 3 ( intra, post workout) :
2 t Universal BCAAs -> bagel + 16 g pb & a banana & 1 cup chocolate whole milk (31 + 669 Cals)

Meal 4:
3 oz spelt pasta, 3 oz chicken, 1/2 c broccoli, an orange (379 Cals)

Meal 5:
3 oz chicken, 10 baby carrots, 12 almonds, 90 Cal granola bar (357 Cals)

Meal 6:
2 omega-3 eggs, Mission whole wheat tortilla, some shredded cheese (it's probably ~1 T), 105 g green beans (407 Cals)

Meal 7:
1/2 c sweet potato, some granola (I sprinkle some on top of the sweet potato - it's really not a lot at all), 16 g peanut butter (252 Cals)


****Keep in mind these #'s don't add up perfectly... that's Fitday.com for ya ****

[cawiau]

wow... close to 3000 calories, I am impressed

[smallguyjoe]

Originally Posted by cawiau

wow... close to 3000 calories, I am impressed

LOL... yeah, it's been like this for the past month or so. The gains would be even slower if I strictly ate this diet, but I deviate here and there, and when I change stuff up the total is more like 3100-3300 Cals. I'm pretty darn consistent with this meal plan Mon - Fri. Sat and Sun I kinda switch things up; it's been good

[cawiau]

Keep at it!
I heard adding muscle is like watching paint dry! Hang in there!

[smallguyjoe]

Originally Posted by cawiau

Keep at it!
I heard adding muscle is like watching paint dry! Hang in there!

LOL, that's funny and pretty true.

[kingor]

Yo broski, you look ripped as **** in your avi pic dude haha. Your chest looks ridiculous man!

[smallguyjoe]

Originally Posted by kingor

Yo broski, you look ripped as **** in your avi pic dude haha. Your chest looks ridiculous man!

Thanks, Pete

I'll get back to that some day... hopefully sooner rather than later.

I appreciate it, buddy

[kingor]

Originally Posted by smallguyjoe

Thanks, Pete

I'll get back to that some day... hopefully sooner rather than later.

I appreciate it, buddy

haha dont sweat it man, you'll be there soon enough with even more muscle this time I been getting my eat on, gym on, and cardio on, so that should all = big on right? ahah I just got back on sunday from NC. I feasted like a king down there haha, I def gained some fat but hell im not concerned ahaha

[smallguyjoe]

Originally Posted by kingor

haha dont sweat it man, you'll be there soon enough with even more muscle this time I been getting my eat on, gym on, and cardio on, so that should all = big on right? ahah I just got back on sunday from NC. I feasted like a king down there haha, I def gained some fat but hell im not concerned ahaha

Yeah, man. Making progress is fun, but so is livin life

Keep havin fun, bud

[smallguyjoe]

Start of complaining...

I measured my waist this morning to check out where it was after 3 weeks of gaining steadily...

My weight this morning was 155.6 lbs... yesterday it was 155.4 lbs. On avg I think my weekly weight is something like 155 lbs. Anyway, back to my waist...

It was somewhere around 30.25" - 30.5". Now, this isn't fat or anything, but this is a pretty decent jump in 3 weeks. The sad thing is that if it's 30.5" then I gained no muscle and ONLY fat in the past 3 weeks according to the TMM . If it's 30.25" then I gained 1.2 lbs fat and .6 lb muscle... not awful, but geez I'm barely gaining any weight per week and then it's mostly fat! WHAT A BUST .

So, it could just be that my stomach was a little more distented than usual this morning... I don't know. I haven't been measuring my waist, so I can't be sure.

The Omron has consistently been reading me at 11-12% for the past 3 weeks, so I thought I was doing awesome. I have been getting stronger too. I felt that I looked the same, so going by the mirror I'm doin fine in that in 3 weeks I don't feel I look any fatter. man, it's hard to track fat accumulation!!! There's no way to be certain. No method is perfect.

I am going to try and not worry about it. Today I'm sure it will be in the back of my mind discouraging me.

Oh, the TMM says 10.4 - 11% depending on what waist measurement I use.

I feel I am doin alright. Half of me thinks it's a measurement error on my part... maybe squeezed harder w/ the tape measure 3 weeks ago. And/or maybe just slightly more bloated this morning. The other half of me thinks/fears that, yeah, I'm gettin stronger, and yeah, my weight gains are pretty slow... a pretty good pace, but it's possible that in 3 weeks all I've gained is freakin fat! I HOPE NOT...

So, like I said, I can't be certain. I really would like to not cut until Nov. as planned. I also would really like to not get much fatter, and if I keep gaining 1% bf every 3 weeks then I'm gonna be way fatter than I want to be real fast! What do I do?????????

Well, I start classes next week. This means that energy expenditure is gonna be up. I'm going to see how things go for 2 weeks after bein back at school. I think that my weight gain will slow. So, rather than ~.5 lb per week it will only be ~.25 lb per week. I originally only wanted to gain ~.25 lb per week; maybe that's the solution.

I'm sayin it right now though... if in 3 weeks I measure my waist again and it's up another friggin 1/2 inch after only gaining ~2 lbs in 3 weeks I will start cutting. I don't care how many people tell me this is a dumb move. I refuse to let my body fat get so high that I need to cut for more than 2-3 months to get back to where I was for my show. I PERSONALLY don't like the way I look at a high bf% and I HATE cutting for 5-6 months. I actually don't really like the current bf% that I'm at. I feel very very average. Maybe that's vain of me, but whatever. I have an idea in my head of how I'd like to look and how I was around the show... maybe @ ~2-3 weeks out and up to the show... like that look... is how I'd like to look. That's not that freakin lean. Seriously... maybe I was 8% bf by the show... maybe not even that low. Maybe I was only 9-10%... I don't know. I DO know that I wasn't that lean though. I talk about #'s and %'s, but it's the look that is relevant to me. And, currently I don't like the way I look, and it's only gonna get worse . I look at it as a means to an end, so to speak.

UUUGGHHHHHHHHH... I'm just frustrated, and needed to vent.

...End of complaining.


I'm gonna keep going and see where I end up after another couple weeks. Hopefully, things are going better than I think, or at least they will get better once my energy expenditure goes up a bit.


Btw, next week will be my 1st week of Active Recovery. Curious to see how that goes. I think I might mess around with some exercises and see where my current strength is at. So, maybe one day I'll see what my max bench is... maybe max weighted pull up... max shoulder press... max leg press... max leg curl... max leg ext. Maybe not . Maybe I'll do some cardio! Maybe not .

[kingor]

Originally Posted by smallguyjoe

Start of complaining...

I measured my waist this morning to check out where it was after 3 weeks of gaining steadily...

My weight this morning was 155.6 lbs... yesterday it was 155.4 lbs. On avg I think my weekly weight is something like 155 lbs. Anyway, back to my waist...

It was somewhere around 30.25" - 30.5". Now, this isn't fat or anything, but this is a pretty decent jump in 3 weeks. The sad thing is that if it's 30.5" then I gained no muscle and ONLY fat in the past 3 weeks according to the TMM . If it's 30.25" then I gained 1.2 lbs fat and .6 lb muscle... not awful, but geez I'm barely gaining any weight per week and then it's mostly fat! WHAT A BUST .

So, it could just be that my stomach was a little more distented than usual this morning... I don't know. I haven't been measuring my waist, so I can't be sure.

The Omron has consistently been reading me at 11-12% for the past 3 weeks, so I thought I was doing awesome. I have been getting stronger too. I felt that I looked the same, so going by the mirror I'm doin fine in that in 3 weeks I don't feel I look any fatter. man, it's hard to track fat accumulation!!! There's no way to be certain. No method is perfect.

I am going to try and not worry about it. Today I'm sure it will be in the back of my mind discouraging me.

Oh, the TMM says 10.4 - 11% depending on what waist measurement I use.

I feel I am doin alright. Half of me thinks it's a measurement error on my part... maybe squeezed harder w/ the tape measure 3 weeks ago. And/or maybe just slightly more bloated this morning. The other half of me thinks/fears that, yeah, I'm gettin stronger, and yeah, my weight gains are pretty slow... a pretty good pace, but it's possible that in 3 weeks all I've gained is freakin fat! I HOPE NOT...

So, like I said, I can't be certain. I really would like to not cut until Nov. as planned. I also would really like to not get much fatter, and if I keep gaining 1% bf every 3 weeks then I'm gonna be way fatter than I want to be real fast! What do I do?????????

Well, I start classes next week. This means that energy expenditure is gonna be up. I'm going to see how things go for 2 weeks after bein back at school. I think that my weight gain will slow. So, rather than ~.5 lb per week it will only be ~.25 lb per week. I originally only wanted to gain ~.25 lb per week; maybe that's the solution.

I'm sayin it right now though... if in 3 weeks I measure my waist again and it's up another friggin 1/2 inch after only gaining ~2 lbs in 3 weeks I will start cutting. I don't care how many people tell me this is a dumb move. I refuse to let my body fat get so high that I need to cut for more than 2-3 months to get back to where I was for my show. I PERSONALLY don't like the way I look at a high bf% and I HATE cutting for 5-6 months. I actually don't really like the current bf% that I'm at. I feel very very average. Maybe that's vain of me, but whatever. I have an idea in my head of how I'd like to look and how I was around the show... maybe @ ~2-3 weeks out and up to the show... like that look... is how I'd like to look. That's not that freakin lean. Seriously... maybe I was 8% bf by the show... maybe not even that low. Maybe I was only 9-10%... I don't know. I DO know that I wasn't that lean though. I talk about #'s and %'s, but it's the look that is relevant to me. And, currently I don't like the way I look, and it's only gonna get worse . I look at it as a means to an end, so to speak.

UUUGGHHHHHHHHH... I'm just frustrated, and needed to vent.

...End of complaining.


I'm gonna keep going and see where I end up after another couple weeks. Hopefully, things are going better than I think, or at least they will get better once my energy expenditure goes up a bit.


Btw, next week will be my 1st week of Active Recovery. Curious to see how that goes. I think I might mess around with some exercises and see where my current strength is at. So, maybe one day I'll see what my max bench is... maybe max weighted pull up... max shoulder press... max leg press... max leg curl... max leg ext. Maybe not . Maybe I'll do some cardio! Maybe not .

Joe, I would not worry too much about your waist gain. Have you been doing cardio at all?

Like you said, the measurements might not necessarily be spot on, and there are many factors when you take them. See where your at in about 3 weeks like you said, and make adjustments from there. You might even have to cut your calories back a little bit by like 200 cals, and that may make all the difference.

If your strength is going up, then that's always a good sign. You must be gaining some muscle! Just keep with it and see where you are in a few weeks and go from there.

Good luck with your classes. I started this wednesday and it sucks already haha. Atleast I have fridays off this semester, so it isn't too bad. I have some interesting professors to say none the least..with some serious screwed up views. But, what can ya do.

[smallguyjoe]

Originally Posted by kingor

Joe, I would not worry too much about your waist gain. Have you been doing cardio at all?

Like you said, the measurements might not necessarily be spot on, and there are many factors when you take them. See where your at in about 3 weeks like you said, and make adjustments from there. You might even have to cut your calories back a little bit by like 200 cals, and that may make all the difference.

If your strength is going up, then that's always a good sign. You must be gaining some muscle! Just keep with it and see where you are in a few weeks and go from there.

Good luck with your classes. I started this wednesday and it sucks already haha. Atleast I have fridays off this semester, so it isn't too bad. I have some interesting professors to say none the least..with some serious screwed up views. But, what can ya do.

Thanks for the encouragement, Pete

Nope... no cardio.

Yeah, I took some pics at lunch, and could see that I am just about the same as I was 3 weeks ago. If anything I thought I kinda looked better. I don't think I'll need to decrease my Cals, b/c I will be walking to classes, and I have two exercise science labs where we'll be exercising to some degree. If anything I might need more Cals! I plan on trying to get by with what I'm eating now for two weeks to see if my gains are a 1/4 lb per week. If I start to lose weight or not gain at all I'll add then.

For the record, I am not so much concerned with how I look currently as I am of how I will look if I gain 1% bf every 3 weeks or so. I just don't wanna wake up one morning and find that I'm like the bf% I was when I started my prep. Ideally the bf% that I am at currently would be where I'm at the peak of my bulk. The higher my bf% gets the longer I need to cut; the higher the risk of muscle loss, screwed up metabolism, and fat rebound post cut. For my goals it's crucial that I don't get much higher than where I am now. It is possible that I am barely gaining fat at all, b/c the Omron seems to be telling me that, and pictures seem to be showing me that as well. It's the darn waist measurement that has thrown me for a loop. This all makes me think maybe I was bloated or measuring more honest this morning. Screw it. I'll see what happens over the next couple of weeks

LOL, don't ya love goofy professors?
I haven't had a weirdo in a while b/c my classes have been ones where they don't share their morals and ideals. We're all messed up when ya get down to it though

[achtungbaby]

Sick avatar man, one of your best shots

[smallguyjoe]

Originally Posted by achtungbaby

Sick avatar man, one of your best shots

Thanks, George! I appreciate it, buddy

How've you been, man????? What's new... I haven't talked with you in a while!

[cawiau]

Damn bro, looking sick in the avi again damn


And can you stop over analyzing every little detail and worrying. I tought your OCD would be over after the comp

[smallguyjoe]

Originally Posted by cawiau

Damn bro, looking sick in the avi again damn


And can you stop over analyzing every little detail and worrying. I tought your OCD would be over after the comp

Very much appreciated, Carl... thanks!

LOL, it's gotten loads better since the comp has finished... trust me. I just don't like failing at something I work hard at. Not saying I've failed, but when I start to think/feel I'm heading in the direction of failure I start to analyze what's going on to try and stop me from continuing in the wrong direction. Plus, I just like to rant and get stuff off my chest... it helps me feel better .

[kingor]

Originally Posted by smallguyjoe

Thanks for the encouragement, Pete

Nope... no cardio.

Yeah, I took some pics at lunch, and could see that I am just about the same as I was 3 weeks ago. If anything I thought I kinda looked better. I don't think I'll need to decrease my Cals, b/c I will be walking to classes, and I have two exercise science labs where we'll be exercising to some degree. If anything I might need more Cals! I plan on trying to get by with what I'm eating now for two weeks to see if my gains are a 1/4 lb per week. If I start to lose weight or not gain at all I'll add then.

For the record, I am not so much concerned with how I look currently as I am of how I will look if I gain 1% bf every 3 weeks or so. I just don't wanna wake up one morning and find that I'm like the bf% I was when I started my prep. Ideally the bf% that I am at currently would be where I'm at the peak of my bulk. The higher my bf% gets the longer I need to cut; the higher the risk of muscle loss, screwed up metabolism, and fat rebound post cut. For my goals it's crucial that I don't get much higher than where I am now. It is possible that I am barely gaining fat at all, b/c the Omron seems to be telling me that, and pictures seem to be showing me that as well. It's the darn waist measurement that has thrown me for a loop. This all makes me think maybe I was bloated or measuring more honest this morning. Screw it. I'll see what happens over the next couple of weeks

LOL, don't ya love goofy professors?
I haven't had a weirdo in a while b/c my classes have been ones where they don't share their morals and ideals. We're all messed up when ya get down to it though

Ya man, I'm sure you are fine with your bf and such. You may have very likely have been bloated a bit. That would definitely suck if u gained 1% bf each week ahaha, i doubt ull do that joe

Ya man we are all screwed up in some sense haha. This guy is crazy though literally. Hes supposed to be teaching a World Literature class on shaskespear, and hes talking about political stuff in the war in iraq ect...Im like uhm okay.. first off your not supposed to talk about that in an english class and second off your not supposed to share your views like that and influence others opinions. Not only that all he does is scream and kick chairs across the room. Is that even legal to do? It's funny all the students are like intimitated by him, I just laugh. I don't get intimmidated by anyone. But ya hes definitely a pyscho. Oh and he comes in wearing a t-shirt with some heavy metal rock band on it and jeans. And then he puts on youtube and starts blasting some of his music.....and the first this he says if SHUT THE **** UP WHEN IM TALKING! and he just starts cursing and stuff. Im like right.. something is obviously very wrong with you. Now it seems like an easy class, so Im gonna keep taking it ahah. PLus its good to be exposed to people like him, because you never know who you will meet later in life.