OoFaP's Commitment to Stay Really, Really, Ridiculously Shredded

[OoFaP]

Very similar to the recipe I use. You're becoming quite the chef, those look perfecto!

I have you to thank. If it wasn't for you and your pictures I never would have even attempted these things. Thanks brah.

The pudding mix sounds like it could be a nice addition to my recipe, I'll have to try that. I've also found that replacing egg with cottage cheese works pretty well for me. Of course it does make the macros shifted a little more towards carbs than usual.

The 2 things that made the biggest difference was the pumpkin and chocolate syrup. The pumpkin makes them so moist and the syrup makes it nice and chocolaty without adding any extra calories. These already have a lot of carbs. I use the eggs because if it wasn't for them these would be very low in fat and I need some fat in there.

Wow 12 weeks and only ~6lbs gained. Goddamn, and some would have been glycogen replenishment.
Insane Adam, really.
How are feeling though? Do you have energy? Are you generally feeling strong in the gym?

Sorry if it's been asked too, but are you hauling ass on that cardio? I mean 500cal in 25 minutes (regardless of whether the burn is right or wrong) is a lot ... to me anyway

Actually it's 0 pounds gained lol. 163.5 was my depleted weight before I carbed up for the INBF Natural Connecticut on June 11th. I was 163.4 today...should be a little higher tomorrow since today was a high sodium day. I feel fine. Energy is good, my strength in the gym is down from a few months ago but has been going up the past couple of weeks. The only thing not back to normal is my libido.

I have good days and bad days on the cardio. Some days I can't breathe when I'm done and it's torture. Other times it doesn't feel so bad. Regardless, I'm always drenched in sweat even after only 23-25 minutes.

[OoFaP]

Week 2

9/10/2011- Cardio


Weight: 164.0


500 Calorie Cardio: Elliptical Level: 18 Speed: 3.7 to 4.3 Time: 24:23

[Reid456]

The 2 things that made the biggest difference was the pumpkin and chocolate syrup. The pumpkin makes them so moist and the syrup makes it nice and chocolaty without adding any extra calories. These already have a lot of carbs. I use the eggs because if it wasn't for them these would be very low in fat and I need some fat in there.

I looked for pumpkin last time I went to the grocery store but couldn't find any. I usually just use sugar free syrup. It's 20-35 calories per 1/4 cup depending on the brand so it's not too significant. I looked up that Walden Farms calorie free syrup and it looks awesome but expensive.

[Webber91]

Totally agree on the cardio man. I know you're a fiend for the elliptical just like I am, and sometimes 1000cal+ sessions feel like hell to begin with, but other times it feels like you didn't even warm up albeit you're still drenched in sweat lol

[OoFaP]

Well my first show was 3 months ago from tomorrow. I weighed 163.5 depleted then and 166.5 carbed up. I was 164 today in these. I hate how I look in them. I'm very smooth and watery(especially in my back) which I blame on following IIFYM on the weekends. I know I could be in contest shape just by lowering carbs and losing some spillage in a week though. I feel like I also may have lost muscle. Overall, I thought I looked better lol. I'm pretty sure these aren't doing me justice but maybe I just look like sh*t and am fooling myself...who knows.

[OoFaP]

I looked for pumpkin last time I went to the grocery store but couldn't find any. I usually just use sugar free syrup. It's 20-35 calories per 1/4 cup depending on the brand so it's not too significant. I looked up that Walden Farms calorie free syrup and it looks awesome but expensive.

It's in the baking isle if they have it but a lot of places don't seem to carry it.

I get the Walden Farms stuff for 3.49 a bottle. It's a lot more expensive online though.

Totally agree on the cardio man. I know you're a fiend for the elliptical just like I am, and sometimes 1000cal+ sessions feel like hell to begin with, but other times it feels like you didn't even warm up albeit you're still drenched in sweat lol

I don't even know how I did 1,000 calorie sessions anymore. It's all mental. When I knew I had to do 1,000 calories I wouldn't even pay attention to the clock until I hit about 600 calories. Now that I know I only have to do 500, I literally stare at the time and calories go up the entire time.

[Reid456]

You make my current weight of 164 pretty bad, haha. I'm fairly lean but not that lean, haha. Leg defintion is pretty sick and chest looks good, but it looks you like are holding a lot of the water/fat in your back. Could just be the picture/lighting though. What measurement are your legs at right now?

[JerG]

You look good. Imo it's not really realistic to look 1-week out forever and ever. You just look like if you cut for 2-3 weeks you would basically be stage-lean, which is all anyone who isn't prepping could ask for.

Legs might look a bit smaller, if anything? They are still super lean though

[foodpr0n]

You look good. Imo it's not really realistic to look 1-week out forever and ever. You just look like if you cut for 2-3 weeks you would basically be stage-lean, which is all anyone who isn't prepping could ask for.

This. x100!

Also, yeah, if you dropped carbz a bit, you'd look drier. That and the fact pics often wash people out a tonne.
So, I bet if we saw you irl - we'd be like 'leaaaaaaan'

[Bnizzle163]

Yeah Adam.... still ridiculously lean . I know how you feel brah. I look a lot smoother and watery even when i was only 5-7lbs over contest. It's just how it is when you have a lot more carbs, sodium, etc in you. If you dieted down for a couple weeks, you'd be ready to step on stage again lol.

[bwelch1985]

First of all, you look fantastic brah. You're definitely still really, really, ridiculously shredded. I know how high your standards are for yourself, but if you take a step back and just look at those pictures you should realize that's a physique that would make 99.9999% of the male population super jelly!

Ok, so given that you're still around stage weight....obviously SOMETHING is going on here. Unfortunately, you've changed so many variables since your prep ended, it's gonna be hard to pinpoint what exactly caused the 'problem'. Between the decreased cardio, increased calories, IIFYM food source approach, reduced protein (which I actually suspect is the culprit), reduced training volume (which I also think played a role), and the recent week you took completely off...there are quite a few possibilities here! But like everyone else said...it's not possible to maintain stage-leaness year round and it's a mind f*ck seeing yourself add a little water/fat here and there when you're so used to seeing yourself shredded to the bone.

My advice would be to play around w/ some of the variables I mentioned above one at a time and see if anything makes a noticible difference. This is a good opportunity to learn what your body does and doesn't respond well to....

[OoFaP]

You make my current weight of 164 pretty bad, haha. I'm fairly lean but not that lean, haha. Leg defintion is pretty sick and chest looks good, but it looks you like are holding a lot of the water/fat in your back. Could just be the picture/lighting though. What measurement are your legs at right now?

Haha thanks...I'm definitley holding a lot of water in my back. I don't ever measure but I'm pretty sure they are only like 22.5 inches. The right one is a little bigger than the left.

You look good. Imo it's not really realistic to look 1-week out forever and ever. You just look like if you cut for 2-3 weeks you would basically be stage-lean, which is all anyone who isn't prepping could ask for.

Legs might look a bit smaller, if anything? They are still super lean though

I think if I just ate "clean" for a week I'd be ready to step on stage. On weekends I get more creative and my sodium goes from around 1,000 mg to 4,000-5,000 mg so I hold a bunch of water. I was thinking my legs looked smaller too. It would make sense since they did get weaker. I didn't pose them correctly which also could be a factor but I definitley think they shrunk a bit. Also, the camera used is different than the one I had been using so I wonder if that has an effect.

This. x100!

Also, yeah, if you dropped carbz a bit, you'd look drier. That and the fact pics often wash people out a tonne.
So, I bet if we saw you irl - we'd be like 'leaaaaaaan'

If you saw me mid week when I eat a more typical bro science diet I'd look a lot better. I was dry 2 days ago when I said I'd be taking pictures. Then I woke up today and said fuuu maybe not today but I didn't wanna disappoint lol.

Yeah Adam.... still ridiculously lean . I know how you feel brah. I look a lot smoother and watery even when i was only 5-7lbs over contest. It's just how it is when you have a lot more carbs, sodium, etc in you. If you dieted down for a couple weeks, you'd be ready to step on stage again lol.

Yeah it sucks. Thing is, I'm not 5-7 pounds over...I'm pretty much equal which tells me it's mostly water from sodium.

First of all, you look fantastic brah. You're definitely still really, really, ridiculously shredded. I know how high your standards are for yourself, but if you take a step back and just look at those pictures you should realize that's a physique that would make 99.9999% of the male population super jelly!

Ok, so given that you're still around stage weight....obviously SOMETHING is going on here. Unfortunately, you've changed so many variables since your prep ended, it's gonna be hard to pinpoint what exactly caused the 'problem'. Between the decreased cardio, increased calories, IIFYM food source approach, reduced protein (which I actually suspect is the culprit), reduced training volume (which I also think played a role), and the recent week you took completely off...there are quite a few possibilities here! But like everyone else said...it's not possible to maintain stage-leaness year round and it's a mind f*ck seeing yourself add a little water/fat here and there when you're so used to seeing yourself shredded to the bone.

My advice would be to play around w/ some of the variables I mentioned above one at a time and see if anything makes a noticible difference. This is a good opportunity to learn what your body does and doesn't respond well to....

Thanks brah.

Honestly, I think it's from 2 things. The first is that I probably lost a tiny bit of muscle. The main cause though is the IIFYM approach on weekends. I go from about 1,000 mg of sodium Monday to Thursday to 4,000 to 5,000 mg of sodium Friday to Sunday. I have no doubt in my mind that oats and chicken > than pancakes and whey. Sure IIFYM might work, but my pictures prove I look a lot better eating "clean." I could eat my boring regular diet and take new pictures next week to prove it but I rather not. I look forward to my weekend pancakes and burritos. I just know for sure that if I really needed to step on stage I could do it in 1-2 weeks whether anyone else believes me or not.

[tagun]

You obviously look amazing but I do have to agree COMPARED to pictures we saw around stage time your legs were bigger and you were noticeably leaner in the mid section and back. HOWEVER besides the leg thing I think the change in leanness is, like you said, due to water retention from sodium or increased carbs (spilling of glycogen).

It's still wired tho how you're the same weight and your legs at least LOOK (maybe due to posing like you mentioned) smaller.

But in the end you've still got ~15+ pounds of muscle on me so who am I to judge. I'll die a happy man if I ever come anywhere near your current size let alone leanness. Strong jelly/10.

[OoFaP]

You obviously look amazing but I do have to agree COMPARED to pictures we saw around stage time your legs were bigger and you were noticeably leaner in the mid section and back. HOWEVER besides the leg thing I think the change in leanness is, like you said, due to water retention from sodium or increased carbs (spilling of glycogen).

It's still wired tho how you're the same weight and your legs at least LOOK (maybe due to posing like you mentioned) smaller.

But in the end you've still got ~15+ pounds of muscle on me so who am I to judge. I'll die a happy man if I ever come anywhere near your current size let alone leanness. Strong jelly/10.

I do believe my legs lost some muscle but I think a lot of it is also poor posing. I rushed through taking these and since I haven't posed in 3 months, I guess I did a bad job. After comparing to older ones, I noticed I had my legs way too close together in these and not pointing outward enough in the front double bi.





I'm not sure if you can notice it but I'm doing something weird with my legs in the one from yesterday.

Either way I do look smaller. I don't believe I got any fatter though. I still am 100% sure it's from water retention.

[tagun]

Oh yeah now I see it and the more I look at these two pictures the less I think you lost leg size. Also I thought you're much less lean than you actually are. You really did a good job of not getting fatter, props to you! Just gotta get that water out. :P

[sloboda]

I don't even think this picture we took today does Adam any justice lol

[OoFaP]

Oh yeah now I see it and the more I look at these two pictures the less I think you lost leg size. Also I thought you're much less lean than you actually are. You really did a good job of not getting fatter, props to you! Just gotta get that water out. :P

If you look at my calves, they are pointed very weirdly lol. I'm not sure what I was thinking. It just shows that posing practice is important.

I'm a lot drier on weekdays. Like I said, weekends I get creative with my foods and it leads to a lot more sodium than my body is used to.

I don't even think this picture we took today does Adam any justice lol

[img]http://oi53.tinypic.com/2ln8jma.jpg[img]

My quads look a lot drier in this which is what I'm more used to seeing. I waited 3 months to post pictures and I manage to choose the worst possible time to take them lol

[OoFaP]

Week 3

9/11/2011- Upper Power


Weight: 165.2



Rack Pulls (estimated 1 rep max=615)

460x5
525x3
585x4

Decline Barbell Bench (estimated 1 rep max=300)

225x5
255x3
285x3 (last 1 with slight help)

Chest Supported T-Bar Row

145x8
145x8

Incline Fly Machine

100x8
100x8
110x6

Wide Grip Pull Ups

BW+35x8
BW+35x6

Body Masters Shoulder Press Machine (estimated 1 rep max=190)

140x5
160x3
180x4

Icarian Lateral Raise Machine

80x8
80x8

Skull Crushers

95x8
105x8
105x6

Barbell Curls

85x8
85x8
90x6

Cardio

500 Calorie Cardio: Elliptical Level: 18 Speed: 4.0 to 4.5 Time: 23:21

[BaFtub]

Plenty of variables to put into play and many what-ifs, but on the leg issue.... Mine look 100x worse in the offseason in comparison to contest condition. It's as if they "grow" , but BBing is all about an illusion. Your legs didnt shrink at all or lose any muscle :P

By the way...looking absolutely sick. Gonna be doing something similar in regards to my reverse Awesome job so far.

Ps+s....your back pictures arent given enough justice in that lighting. Sun light coming in = usually a no no for back/ham shots, but great for frontal ones. Take that rear dub in better lighting and trust me you wont look as 'watery.'

[B-Neva]

Plenty of variables to put into play and many what-ifs, but on the leg issue.... Mine look 100x worse in the offseason in comparison to contest condition. It's as if they "grow" , but BBing is all about an illusion. Your legs didnt shrink at all or lose any muscle :P

THIS!!! Right now I look at my legs, specifically quads and I'm like they look tiny but really they are my best bodypart. I'm sure you are fine but bodybuilders minds like to play tricks on us lol

[areya2005]

There is definitely something to say about post-show water distribution in the body. Now, a month post show, I'm about 5-8 (depending on day) over stage weight, but I look COMPLETELY different. I don't think it's muscle loss; I'm stronger in the gym.

But to give an example, I remember the week after the show, I was weighing in at 163, only 3lbs over depleted weight, yet again, looked VERY different. When I was 163 during dieting, I looked a hell of a ton better than 163 post show...no idea why or how this works out. I've also changed variable in my diet, but I didn't so much as 2-3 days after the show. The body is a mysterious thing!

I know from experience that my body has a hard time losing water. I've been reverse dieting and lets just say the past week wasnt quite a successful one :-/ I know it's almost counter-productive, but I'll be going lower in carbs this next week to try to mitigate the effects of this past week......One thing that is true about our bodies, is that changes happen SO fast, or at least we notice them that fast.

[OoFaP]

Plenty of variables to put into play and many what-ifs, but on the leg issue.... Mine look 100x worse in the offseason in comparison to contest condition. It's as if they "grow" , but BBing is all about an illusion. Your legs didnt shrink at all or lose any muscle :P

By the way...looking absolutely sick. Gonna be doing something similar in regards to my reverse Awesome job so far.

Ps+s....your back pictures arent given enough justice in that lighting. Sun light coming in = usually a no no for back/ham shots, but great for frontal ones. Take that rear dub in better lighting and trust me you wont look as 'watery.'

Well if baffy says I didn't lose muscle then I'll assume it's true. Thanks brah...and good luck at Naturalmania. I had it in the back of my mind but after seeing how watery I am there's no way.

THIS!!! Right now I look at my legs, specifically quads and I'm like they look tiny but really they are my best bodypart. I'm sure you are fine but bodybuilders minds like to play tricks on us lol

That happens with my back. When my back is shredded it looks sick. When it has fat and/or water, it looks like I don't even lift.

There is definitely something to say about post-show water distribution in the body. Now, a month post show, I'm about 5-8 (depending on day) over stage weight, but I look COMPLETELY different. I don't think it's muscle loss; I'm stronger in the gym.

But to give an example, I remember the week after the show, I was weighing in at 163, only 3lbs over depleted weight, yet again, looked VERY different. When I was 163 during dieting, I looked a hell of a ton better than 163 post show...no idea why or how this works out. I've also changed variable in my diet, but I didn't so much as 2-3 days after the show. The body is a mysterious thing!

I know from experience that my body has a hard time losing water. I've been reverse dieting and lets just say the past week wasnt quite a successful one :-/ I know it's almost counter-productive, but I'll be going lower in carbs this next week to try to mitigate the effects of this past week......One thing that is true about our bodies, is that changes happen SO fast, or at least we notice them that fast.

Well I usually look the same as I did during my prep only bigger and fuller. These pictures are giving off the wrong idea. I'm not sure how your diet has changed but my sodium is about 10 times higher now than it was when I was prepping. I'm going to try to get more pictures soon on a more normal day to prove my point lol.

[HFJA]

Just had a read through this and a great journal to follow.
Very aesthetically pleasing physique as well.

[OoFaP]

Week 2

9/12/2011- Lower Power


Weight: 166.2


Yoke Bar Squats (estimated 1 rep max=290)

225x5
245x3
275x5

Glute Ham Raises

BW+5x8
BW+10x8
BW+10x6

AFS Horizontal Leg Press

360x8
385x8
405x6

Life Fitness Lying Leg Curls SS Life Fitness Leg Extensions

125x8 / 175x8
140x6 / 190x6


Standing Calf Raises

400x8
400x8
400x6

Abs

Cardio

500 Calorie Cardio: Elliptical Level: 18 Speed: 3.7 to 4.3 Time: 23:51

[xKyle10]

Damn was wondering why your log wasnt all up in my CP, gonna read this tomorrow and catch up

And looking awesome STILL, great job on the reverse/maintaining close as hell to contest conditioning this far past your show, dat mental fortitude

[OoFaP]

Just had a read through this and a great journal to follow.
Very aesthetically pleasing physique as well.

Thanks brah...glad to have you follow along.

Damn was wondering why your log wasnt all up in my CP, gonna read this tomorrow and catch up

And looking awesome STILL, great job on the reverse/maintaining close as hell to contest conditioning this far past your show, dat mental fortitude

Thanks...as you can see I took your advice and went with 5/3/1 on power exercises but I kind of screwed it up a little for my first cycle.

Next week is my deload week on 5/3/1 exercises. Am I supposed to only deload on those select exercises and keep everything else the same? I'm definitley not ready to have a full deload yet since I just had one when I started the routine a few weeks ago.

[buckeye185]

dude you are looking awesome, fantastic job on the reverse diet. if i can manage my reverse diet half as well as you have i'll be thrilled.

[OoFaP]

Week 2

9/14/2011- Upper Hypertrophy


Weight: 165.7


Incline Leverage Bench Machine SS Underhand Pulldowns

115x10 / 160x10
125x10 / 170x10
125x8 / 170x10

Flat Dumbbell Bench SS V-Bar Cable Rows

70x12 / 170x12
70x12 / 170x12
70x10 / 180x10

Life Fitness Fly Machine SS Pullover Machine

100x15 / 110x15
115x12 / 120x12

Body Masters Shoulder Press Machine

110x10
110x9
110x7

Seated Lateral Raise Machine SS Rear Delt Machine

70x12 / 70x12
60x12 / 60x12

Seated Shrug Machine

200x12
200x10

Tricep Pushdowns SS KING Preacher Machine

80x12 / 90x12
80x10 / 90x10
60x15 / 60x15

Forearm Gripper

145x13
145x12

Cardio

500 Calorie Cardio: Elliptical Level: 18 Speed: 3.7 to 4.3 Time: 24:40

[OoFaP]

dude you are looking awesome, fantastic job on the reverse diet. if i can manage my reverse diet half as well as you have i'll be thrilled.

Thanks man..if you set your mind to it there is no reason you can't. If you can manage to diet for 16+ weeks, you obviously have the right mindset to be able to do it.

[B-ryminD09]

will be lurking. did that website ever put up/film more workout vids from ur contest prep?