ABP's "10 Weeks to the Stage" Contest Prep Thread

[abeachparty]

I've been spending a little more time here lately, so I thought I would go ahead and document the last 10 weeks of my prep for the 2013 NPC Great Lakes Ironman bodybuilding contest. It will take place on September 28 in Flint, Michigan, and will be my 4th NPC contest.

Contest history:

1993 NGA (drug tested federation) contest in Buffalo, NY. Didn't know what I was doing AT ALL. Stage weight was 152 lbs.

2008 NPC Natural Michigan. Hired some excellent contest prep coaches for this one. Also 152 lbs, but looked MUCH better at age 50 than I had at age 35. Only 3 competitors in the Grand Masters class. I came in 2nd; missed 1st by one point.

2009 NPC Natural Michigan. Did the same contest again. Also 152 pounds. Finished 3rd out of 3.

2010 NPC John Simmons show. Weighed 163 pounds for this contest. Finished 2nd out of 3 in the Grand Masters.

Took three years off to build some muscle. I think I did grow some, but not (of course) as much as I had hoped. I'm currently at 177 pounds and 9.6% body fat at just a bit over 10 weeks out from the contest. I will most likely also do the NPC Central States show on October 19.

My latest progress photos show what I looked like last Saturday, 11 Weeks out.

Stop back to this thread every so often to check on my progress!

[Rypt1]

In! Good luck, keep pushing hard

[abeachparty]

In! Good luck, keep pushing hard

Thanks, man. I will check out your thread, also.

[abeachparty]

I was out of town for 5 days for a high school reunion. I ended up short on cardio for the week and went over on my carb and fat macro numbers.

I have 9.5 weeks to get back on track and get myself stage ready!

[abeachparty]

Friday afternoon, I worked out legs at the Bev Francis Powerhouse Gym in Syosset, New York (Long Island). Great old school gym. If I'd had more time, I could have spent a few more hours looking at all the autographed photos on the wall!

[tripleh210]

Good luck on your upcoming show! I am sure you will do great, you have great conditioning already and still lots of time left, keep pushing!

[abeachparty]

Good luck on your upcoming show! I am sure you will do great, you have great conditioning already and still lots of time left, keep pushing!

Thanks, tripleh210!

I'm feeling good about the prep. I'm a bit nervous because this is the first NPC show for which I've tried to prep myself, but I seem to be on track.

[abeachparty]

I will actually be doing 3 contests: September 28, October 5, and October 19.

My "8 Weeks Out" photos are posted to my BodySpace. Weight this morning was 174 pounds.

[abeachparty]

Here are some recent pics, a break from the typical weekly progress photos.

[Rypt1]

Here are some recent pics, a break from the typical weekly progress photos.

Looking really solid in these pics. Great work!

[abeachparty]

Looking really solid in these pics. Great work!

Thanks, man!!

[abeachparty]

I'm 7.5 weeks out now ... getting lean to the point of getting the "evil eye" from some of the fatter Personal Trainers at my gym. Which I love!

[abeachparty]

Weighing 174 pounds this morning. Waist is 30.4", and face is looking very lean. I just wish my quads would get the memo and start cutting up!

[Rypt1]

Weighing 174 pounds this morning. Waist is 30.4", and face is looking very lean. I just wish my quads would get the memo and start cutting up!

Yeah, my quads/lower is always the toughest to lean up. I'm really focusing on HIIT this go-round and it seems to be working (slowly).

[abeachparty]

Body fat was measured at 8.66% this morning, so I'm happy about that!

[abeachparty]

Bodyfat is down to 8.49%. Weight is hanging in at around 172 pounds.

[abeachparty]

I'm down to 170 pounds today, after 2 Low Carb days in a row. Today is High Carb. YAY!!

[abeachparty]

Weight loss is hardly ever easy. Fat loss without muscle loss is even harder. The body seems ready to thwart you at every turn. It is an intelligent thing (and sometimes, it seems like an evil intelligence!), and will not respond in an "open loop" fashion to a change in input (diet, exercise, etc.). Rather, it uses feedback to adjust itself (e.g., metabolic rate) to create its own desired outcome. This can be very frustrating! Sometimes, you have to eat more (at least in short bursts) to keep the metabolism moving at a decent clip.

I'm currently in my 5th year (not consecutive) of bodybuilding contest preparation. The first time (1993) I did everything wrong! The next 3 times (2008 through 2010) I used diet coaches, and blindly followed what they told me. This time, I am trying to do my own prep diet, and am adjusting it instinctively. I will know the verdict on my success in a few weeks. Meanwhile, I thought that this weight-vs-time chart might be of interest to some. It shows my 2009 weight loss history, versus the 2013 history. As you can see, my rate of loss is much more gentle this time. Still not easy, though!

One thing to note is how "noisy" the data is! You cannot judge the overall trend by one week's worth of data, because of day-to-day variations in things like hydration level.

[Rypt1]

Wow, pretty interesting data in that chart. Hard to believe you ropped to nearly 150 in 2009. Definitely dropping slow and steady is the way to go. I've done all of my preps on my own so far. I think it is more enjoyable and you'll learn a lot along the way. Of course in my first few go rounds I made a lot of mistakes (dropped too quickly and lost too much muscle). Last year I did so much better and this year's prep has been by far my best (and slowest drops over 30 weeks).

[abeachparty]

I have been using a 7-site caliper protocol to estimate my bodyfat percentage. I know that the absolute numbers can be off from reality, but I look for trends.

Today, I came in at 8.41% bodyfat. What is most encouraging, though, is that my thigh site measurement is 7.5 mm, down from 13 mm back on July 12. At this rate, perhaps I will get decent quad separation for the first time!

[abeachparty]

I had my company picnic on Friday, which I used as what I believe will be my last re-feed before the contests start on September 28. I think maybe I overdid it a little. Here is how my weigh fluctuated:

Fri AM: 171
Sat AM: 178
Sun AM: 175
Mon AM: 173

Almost back down to where I started. It definitely smoothed me out for the progress pics I took Saturday night.

[abeachparty]

It's been almost a week since I updated this Journal. I was NOT pleased with my "6 Weeks Out" progress photos compared with my "7 Weeks Out" progress photos.

I need to put the hammer down now, if I am going to be decently lean on stage for my first contest on September 28. I looked back at my old 2009 diet log and found that my current "Low Carb" days still have been having about twice what I was taking in back then. So, I'm going to adjust that down.

Strength continues to be pretty good in the gym, but I really need to be leaner.

On the positive side, my loose belly skin seems to have tightened up somewhat overnight, and I looked improved in the mirror this morning.

[abeachparty]

I've been updating my gym "wardrobe". This photo is about a week old.

[abeachparty]

I think I "turned a corner" today. I was 171 pounds this morning, and my waist was down to 30".

Also great back and biceps workout this morning!

[abeachparty]

Okay, I think I'm starting to get lean, finally. I have to accelerate my progress a bit yet, but I believe I can make it!

[abeachparty]

More pics from last night.

[Rypt1]

Great work so far! Definitely looking lean in them progress pics. I believe you can make it as well, keep pushing hard!

[abeachparty]

Great work so far! Definitely looking lean in them progress pics. I believe you can make it as well, keep pushing hard!

Thanks! I believe I can make it. The last half-week has been really good.

I took my "5 Weeks Out" pics from Saturday, and stitched them together with some similar-time-frame progress pics from my 2008 contest, to assess my overall bodybuilding progress during the last 5 years. I have put on about 15 pounds of muscle in that time.

[abeachparty]

This diet has been grueling, but it is starting to pay off. I had myself measured this morning with calipers, and I'm
down 0.75% since last measurement!

[Rypt1]

You can definitely see the difference over 5 years. The upper body is night and day. Your back really exploded. The heavy lifting also made you sprout a tattoo as well, lol!