2012: Year of the novice bodybuilder - Parallel Journeys - Moses with 3DMJ

[Shazriki]

Hey guys, I'm not a newcomer to the boards but I am to this section, and more importantly to the concept of prepping for a bodybuilding competition. My story isn't particularly interesting compared to some of the hardships others have had to surpass in stepping towards their desired body composition/goals. In my case, I started off fat, went to university and in my first year became really fat (by my standards), second year made some changes and lost a bit of weight (started dabbling with lifting and doing karate), third year completely fell off the fitness wagon and pretty much made no progress (stopped lifting more or less).

Over the last year and a half or so I made some LIFE changes and finally found a passion other than my studies that I can fully devote myself to: weight lifting (or bodybuilding, if you prefer). I know I mentioned I lifted before, but really, there is a difference between dabbling and immersion. At first, there was no structure and it was just a buddy and me loosely following a split and having some fun in the gym. Got in touch with Eric Helms about a year ago, and he set me up with a program that has been paying dividens since day 1. Now I've decided I was to go all the way and experience and prep for the first time. Having lurked no end of logs on this board, I can tell that some of the aspects of prepping just need to be experienced first hand to be fully understood. That is my motivation for starting this next stage of my journey - the experience - and also the goal itself. Some will say that I am not ready, but I don't really care, I FEEL ready. Time to get it DONE!

The main show I am aiming for is the BNBF Welsh Qualifier in Newport, Wales on 8 July. Depending on my progress I may do a show a couple of weeks earlier on 24 June. I was thinking about doing another show in the second half of July, but that's TBD for the moment. Officially, I am 25 weeks and 4 days out from my first show!

Here are the details of my prep so far:

As I mentioned, I'm working with Eric Helms. We had a great run together in early 2011 and the guy is soon going to be on the forefront of strength training research. Sounds good to me.

Training:

I train full body three times weekly using a routine very similar to the basic Starting Strength routine with some additional accessory work. This means squatting and pressing of some form during every workout, with the necessary accessory work to target the muscles that just don't get enough from the compounds.

For any overview of my lifts, check out my fitocracy profile: http://www.fitocracy.com/profile/Shazriki/

Not much will be changing from my current routine, some rep ranges will be played around with as the prep goes on, but the goal remains the same: maintain or progress where possible. Save those fibers!

Nutrition:

Starting macros are 250P/250C/65F 6 days a week and 1 high day of 225P/475C/60F as a refeed. For those of you who know me, little explanation is needed about the way I handle my food, for those who don't: I dislike boring eating and try and maintain as varied a diet as possible, usually never eating the same exact thing two days in a row (aka no meal plan). This may change as the diet goes on, but I was wrecking the kitchen on much lower macros in the past, so for now I get to eat well lol.

Cardio:

Starting off light with MISS 2x weekly @ 400 cal burn, HIIT 1x weekly @ 400 cal burn. Any tips on interesting forms of HIIT that you guys can offer would be good, only HIIT I've done is sprints

Current pics:

(Disclaimer: these are actually a few weeks old now, but not much has changed and I am dealing with a little post-vacation wateriness so just give me until next weekend to get a proper set of up-to-date shots for you guys)













And that's it. I did train today but it's late so I'll update in the morning!

[Trillios]

1rd. Awwww yea!

[brendbro]

2nd.

[lakergreat1]

Sloppy thirds

And holy **** u look thick and lean already. /jellyofthosestrengthgains

This prep is gonna be a piece of cake, I have no doubts

I can't believe your 194ish

[phozosado]

EEEEeeeeen.

[Devils]

Legs are definetly up there.

[NordAK]

1st page.

[66jzmstr]

(and subbed)

W8 WUT? DEM QUADS!

Kill it, Shazriki. Can't wait to see both progress and food pr0nz.

[CHRIS925]

Ballz deep.

[vENomate]

In on 1st page!

Go for it!

[SJB23]

Damn, you've come a long way from when I lurked the start of your old log. in!

[Dexter3000]

In. Subbed. Checked. Enrolled. Registered. Signed in. Joined. Enlisted.

I'm just here for the food pr0n though..



No seriously, good luck on your journey. I am sure it will be a great experience in many ways.

[foodpr0n]

In.

Hiit = rower is a good one, so is the bike ... seems to go so quickly. Rower could hurt arm/back recovery though, also try elliptical or boxing or kettlebell work.

Any idea as to a weight you might get down to?

[Quelly]

In this, but I heard your coach is a blowhard dumbass

[FBZP]

i'm in! great progress so far

[Shazriki]

1rd. Awwww yea!

YEA BUDDY!

2nd.

Resident roo assassin!

Sloppy thirds

And holy **** u look thick and lean already. /jellyofthosestrengthgains

This prep is gonna be a piece of cake, I have no doubts

I can't believe your 194ish

Thank you sir, strength/mass gains aren't much to brag about but I'm happy with the results they've produced so far. Always room to improve and I hope to do just that even in the face of prep.

Thanks for the vote of confidence though!

EEEEeeeeen.

Beast man, welcome!

Legs are definetly up there.

Thanks man, definitely my strong point. Need to eventually get upper body to an equivalent stage.

1st page.

Sup dude! Good to have you in.

[img]http://i.imgur.com/A46iC.gif[/ig] (and subbed)

W8 WUT? DEM QUADS!

Kill it, Shazriki. Can't wait to see both progress and food pr0nz.

Props for dropping the first gif of this log Welcome!

I'm hoping that the quads will do some damage once they're shredded up, we shall see.

And of course food porn, will deliver for as long as I can.

Ballz deep.

Welcome to the pleasure palace, will continue for the epic motivational posts. Should keep me primed lest I be dragging ass one morning!

In on 1st page!

Go for it!

Hey there, welcome to act 2!

Damn, you've come a long way from when I lurked the start of your old log. in!

Thanks man, means a lot. I hope to make the same kind of progress I made in the last year in the next six months. Only time will tell!

In. Subbed. Checked. Enrolled. Registered. Signed in. Joined. Enlisted.

I'm just here for the food pr0n though..

[img]http://dump.gayadesign.nl/dumps/2dmf7yd.gif[/ig]

No seriously, good luck on your journey. I am sure it will be a great experience in many ways.

Truth, I know you don't actually read any of the posts and just scroll down to the food pics. Haha welcome dude, I'm looking forward to the experience as well, it's going to be a fun ride.

In.

Hiit = rower is a good one, so is the bike ... seems to go so quickly. Rower could hurt arm/back recovery though, also try elliptical or boxing or kettlebell work.

Any idea as to a weight you might get down to?

Thanks for the tips, I was considering the bike for intervals since I do my regular cardio with the elliptical and would like a bit of variety. Rowing is something I hadn't considered, but I might well give it a try since it IS very intense - as you say I'll have to play it by ear and see if it impairs arm/back recovery.

Coach suspects that I'll be a shredded 170 give or take a couple of lbs, so it's looking like I have ~25 lbs to drop on this prep. Given the time frame I think that should be achievable without too much black magic.

In this, but I heard your coach is a blowhard dumbass

It's true, and repeatedly I find myself reading what he sends me twice just make sure it isn't pure bullsh!t.

[Bnizzle163]

It's about damn time

IN!!

[Shazriki]

Day 1: 25 weeks 4 days out (yesterday)

Today was the first workout back after my vacation. All told I think it's been a little over two weeks since my last lift, so I was pretty damn excited. Strength seems to have maintained nicely during my break, as I was able to almost match my current PR for squats without too much trouble. The only negative was that I slightly tweaked the adductors in my left leg, so rather than pushing it and potentially screwing myself for the next couple of weeks, I backed off and stopped squatting then and there. Replaced my usual squatting time with extra stretching and mobility work just to make sure it recovered nicely. This morning it was feeling much better, so so far so good.

Chest/arms/back seem to have maintained well over the break too, so can't really complain. Looking to continue making some progress on ALL my lifts deep into this prep!

Training:

Barbell Squat:

285.5 lb x 4 reps

Dumbbell Bench Press:

66.1 lb x 10 reps
66.1 lb x 9 reps
66.1 lb x 8 reps

Close-Grip Front Lat Pulldown:

165.3 lb x 11 reps
165.3 lb x 4 reps
165.3 lb x 4 reps
165.3 lb x 3 reps
Myo-reps

Lying Barbell Triceps Extension ("Skullcrusher"):

66.1 lb x 15 reps
66.1 lb x 12 reps
66.1 lb x 10 reps

Stir The Pot:

10 reps
9 reps

Nutrition:

N/A - only semi-tracking until I return back to my place in the UK on Thursday (tomorrow). After that, it's nose to the grindstone baby.

[Rypt1]

Good luck! You have a good solid base.

[Shazriki]

i'm in! great progress so far

Thanks buddy, mean a lot, and welcome to the party!

It's about damn time

IN!!

Didn't know I was keeping you waiting brah No doubt I'll be hitting you up for foood advice later on during prep!

[wheathins]

yessssssssssssssssss!!! Bout time you got up in this here Contest Prep section son! I'm in for sure... can't wait!

[Shazriki]

Good luck! You have a good solid base.

Thanks man, appreciate it! Just gotta shred down and hope itll turn some heads!

yessssssssssssssssss!!! Bout time you got up in this here Contest Prep section son! I'm in for sure... can't wait!

Wut up Matt! Yep I'm finally here, ready to kill it day after day!

[Shazriki]

Day 2: 25 weeks 3 days out

Today was just a bit of cardio in the morning, banged out 500 cals on the elliptical instead of the usual 400, thinking that because I still wouldn't be tracking 100% today, I should in some way compensate. Truth be told, it was actually a brainfart and I had somehow convinced myself that if I did 500 today I would't have to do anymore cardio for the rest of the week (??). Isn't it funny how a mind ravaged by exam studying works?

In any case, last day of nutritional freedom was a success, went to have sushi for lunch and did NOT eat till I exploded, and my mother made a cheesecake for me as a going away "present" I guess so I had a couple of pieces of that after dinner. Tomorrow I'm heading back home and it's going to be nothing but business from here on out.

Cardio:

Elliptical, 500 cals burned in 41:56

Nutrition

N/A, BUT here's some of the food porn below:

Conveyor sushi place:



Roasted chicken with chorizo and spicy chilis of some sort (Mom was on a roll):



Lower fat potato salad (she really cares):



Cheesecake topped with raspberries and raspberry glaze HNNNG:



That's all for today folks, try to keep the mess in your pants. From tomorrow onwards my posts will also be slightly more nicely formatted, once I get back to my PC. Been writing all my posts for the last couple of weeks on a tablet, and can't use any of the usual shortcuts as a result.

[TheNaturalEdge]

Enter thread.
See food pics.
IN.

[petersc2]

A day late and a dollar short...But I am in! I can only imagine that you will kill this prep on ALL fronts

[andyboi]

so IN bro! You know we got this, this is OUR year hommie. Let's git git git it!

[lakergreat1]

Cheesecake topped with raspberries and raspberry glaze HNNNG:

/wouldwifeforcheesecake

That's all for today folks, try to keep the mess in your pants. From tomorrow onwards my posts will also be slightly more nicely formatted, once I get back to my PC. Been writing all my posts for the last couple of weeks on a tablet, and can't use any of the usual shortcuts as a result.

What are these shortcuts you speak of? Do share.

[Shazriki]

Enter thread.
See food pics.
IN.

Welcome, and in this day and age of dieting, what better motivation is there than food?

A day late and a dollar short...But I am in! I can only imagine that you will kill this prep on ALL fronts

Hardly late Peter! I have yet to even log a workout in my home gym this year. Thanks, I WILL kill this prep, no doubt about it, it's my focus.

so IN bro! You know we got this, this is OUR year hommie. Let's git git git it!

You're DAMN right Andy. It's our year to bite the bullet, smash the stage, and rise to the challenge. Power through ALL the way!

/wouldwifeforcheesecake

What are these shortcuts you speak of? Do share.

Control + i, u, b will sandwich a selected body of text in the bb code necessary to italicize, underline, or embolden the text, respectively. Saves like 1000 years of wasted time formatting posts!

[Shazriki]

Day 3: 25 weeks, 2 days out

Given that I spent the day travelling/settling back into my house at university, I took a rest day just to make sure I could get all admin stuff out of the way before studying. Mentally, of course, I was still very much ON since all I can think about is the progress I'm going to make on this prep - and of course the next workout, which is tomorrow (can't wait). Even though I got a lift in a few days ago, my home gym is bar none the best place I have trained in my life, and I feel much more focused there. So yes I am pretty damn excited to get into the gym tomorrow.

Today was also the first day I tracked macros in about 3 weeks, and surprisingly there was no real sense of loss or restriction in falling back into my usual precision of weighing out the food, and I was able to pretty intuitively throw a few meals together without thinking too hard about it. Couple this with the fact that I basically maintained weight and strength over the christmas holidays without, at least consciously, giving a second thought to what I put in my mouth, and I'm pretty happy.

The only lifting related thing I did today was hammer out my lifting goals of 2012. They're basic, just 4 lifts I want to improve on and let everything else fall into place (all 1RM):

Deadlift 407 to ~450 or more
Squat 319 to 360-380
Bench 203.5 to 230-240 (I suck at benching)
OHP 132 to 150 or more (OK, I actually just suck at pressing in general)

I intend to cover some of this ground while prepping, one way or another these numbers will become reality!

Weight 194.7

First official weigh-in of prep, and wouldn't you know it I actually lost weight after sushi and cheesecake yesterday! Bi-winning.

Training

Off.

Nutrition

253P/251C/62F

Ground turkey, green pepper, onion and broccoli bro-fry with pita bread



XF Choc PB proats with Reese's Miniatures Bells and SF choc syrup



First time having proats in like 3 weeks. I came a little.

[Dexter3000]

Solid work Shaz! I agree that even though 100kg is 100kg, the gym and atmosphere you feel good in can make everything a lot better/more fun.

BTW, is that SF choc syrup completely calorie-free? What brand is that?

Where I currently live, all those choc syrups are about 300 cals per drop.. brr