Contest Prep for First Show

[fltallpaul]

I will be competing in my first bodybuilding show on June 21st, 2008. The show is the NPC Mid Florida Classic. This show is run by Deke Warner in Orlando. In the past I have attended and one year I met Jay Cutler there. See my pics on my bodyspace for a photo of him and me. I also plan on doing an OCB show in August at the Disney Wide World of Sports. I will be entering the Novice division of the NPC show. I am a lifetime Natural so I plan on sticking with the natural organizations as much as possible.

I have been lifting now on and off for 15 years or so. I have been very serious for the last 18 months. There have been stretches in the past where I was religious with the gym and times when I only went once a week, usually due to frustration. Since I have decided to do a show I have had no problems with motivation.

I read a lot of information regarding what it takes to do a show. Most of the literature I read was from Layne Norton. I also followed closely along with Tommy Jeffers on his journey. Listening to Tommy and seeing how happy he was the he chose Layne convinced me to do the same. Layne is now my coach and with him in my corner my confidence is even higher than before.

The last six months I did a cut and it went extremely well. I followed Layne?s pre contest guidelines loosely and lost close to 20lbs. During that time I was also contacted by bb.com and chosen for an ad campaign. I now have an ad in Muscle and Fitness Magazine for bb.com....crazy to see myself on the pages of the same magazines as my bodybuilding heroes have been in for years. The issues start coming out this month so we shall see how the response is.

My show is 30 weeks away so I plan on doing a 6 week bulk and a 24 week diet. My stats are currently
height 6'3"
weight 226
neck 17
chest 46
forearm 13
bicep 17
waist 35
leg 26
calf 15 3/4
shoulders around 55







I purchased a food scale last night and also did my first Power workout. I will be following this basic workout strategy for the next six weeks. I won't get to specific but it is the same principle that Tommy used.

Mon-upper body power
Tues-Lower body power
Wed-Off
Thursday-Upper body Hypertrophy
Friday-Upper body hypertrophy
Saturday-lower body hypertrophy
Sun-rest/abs

I will be doing cardio about 4 times a week with two HIIT sessions per week.

Supplements are
Creatine from Cell Tech
sesamin
BCAA from Xtend
whey protein
glucosamine
beta alanine

Macros will be per day
Protein 250grams
Carbs 250-300 grams depending on activity lifting days or not
Fat 50-55 depending on lifting days or not

I think that covers it. I will be updating this spot with pics, notes, changes and anything that pertains to my contest prep.

I have really enjoyed seeing everyone?s threads in these forums over the last few months and I would just like to contribute back. Perhaps my thread will help someone else who is considering doing a show as well. Thanks and wish me luck.....

Paul.

[jauce]

Wow - an ad in a magazine before your first contest... that's impressive. I'll be following!

[Flynn]

Congrats on the M&F ad campaign and best of luck with the contest prep! But then again, no luck will be need with the hard work, discipline, and dedication you find within yourself the next 30weeks; especially now that we will be watching!

[str8flexed]

go time!

[Sporto1633]

I foresee some extreme shreddedness in your near future Prepare to amaze yourself!

Sporto

[Captain Sagara]

with that level of leaness already,i would cut only like 12-10 weeks out but that's me...You're good with a longer cut for sure...

[fltallpaul]

Wow thanks everyone...I am really looking forward to the next 30 weeks of prep work.

Flynn...thanks for commenting.

Tommy....I will not disapoint.

Layne....It is definitely go time.

Sickboy.....I plan on doing a bulk for 6 weeks and cut for 24...That should give me time to put on a bit of muscle and get primed for a cut....

I got very lucky with magazine ad...I was contacted by Paul Tarantino from bb.com. I guess he saw my pics on bodyspace and we worked well together getting the ad created. I just heard it is in IronMan as well.....too cool...

Thanks everyone....

Paul.

[Lando33]

you are making some great choices. Following Layne's advice is where many of us started and found success. I personally owe a lot to Layne and I can not wait to see your progress as you prepare to hit the stage.

And that Tommy guy.....he's pretty damn good too!

[Rigit23]

I saw the ad on my Muscle and Fitness mag. Its great. I feel honored to be posting on your prep page :X

Haha good luck and I'll be following.

[fltallpaul]

Lando,

I have admired your physique for a while now on the bb.com boards. Thanks for stopping by. I really am excited to take this next step.

Paul.

you are making some great choices. Following Layne's advice is where many of us started and found success. I personally owe a lot to Layne and I can not wait to see your progress as you prepare to hit the stage.

And that Tommy guy.....he's pretty damn good too!

[fltallpaul]

Thanks for following along....its extra motivation....the ad really just makes me feel like I need to live up to the hype now...lol.

I saw the ad on my Muscle and Fitness mag. Its great. I feel honored to be posting on your prep page :X

Haha good luck and I'll be following.

[fltallpaul]

Did my first power leg workout last night. I walked out of the gym feeling like I did not do nearly enough. The workout was so short compared to a regular leg day for me. Layne says to trust him and I am....just feels strange to leave the gym after doing legs and not feel sick to my stomach and being able to walk fine.....

I did squats, leg extensions, SLDL's and calves....

I am really looking forward to hypertrophy days...

Tonight I am going to do some HIIT since my legs won't be as sore as usual following leg day....

[Rodzilla]

Pretty sure I saw you on the MD boards, looking awesome already man. I'm excited for this one!

[fltallpaul]

Pretty sure I saw you on the MD boards, looking awesome already man. I'm excited for this one!

Yeah I have been on the MD boards lately as well, just found them....Thanks me too.

[fltallpaul]

Last night was supposed to be my night of rest but I found out that my last six months of school are going to include class on Thursday nights from 6-10, this will make it difficult to get to the gym. I decided to do swap Wed and Thurs.

i did my first hypertrophy workout last night and got an insane pump...Did back first and chest next and felt great. I also spoke to a friend from the gym who has competed in shows before, he and I are going to work on posing in the coming weeks. I think I will have him take pictures as well. This will be a good way to gauge progress.

Tonight is off and I really need it, I can feel my entire upper body is fatigued.

Also strange enough, I started my bulk this week...its a slow clean bulk but I lost 2lbs. I weighed in at 224 last night. I felt lean all day and looked it in the mirror...I guess the holiday gain up to 226 was just fat...Now the real bulking can begin...

[fltallpaul]

Did HIIT cardio last night. I got home from school after ten so it was too late to go to the gym to do my cardio...Instead I just put on my sneakers and ran on my street.

I did 15 sprints for 15 second each and jogged or walked in betweenfor 45 seconds...I was completely gassed after but I slept like a baby....I am pretty fast for a white guy too...now my neighbors really think I am crazy....

[ninjabill]

Wow ... Congrats on getting it done! Good luck with show preperation.... Seems you have this mapped out very well.... hope it's a great trip! Congrats on the magazine ad's

[fltallpaul]

Wow ... Congrats on getting it done! Good luck with show preperation.... Seems you have this mapped out very well.... hope it's a great trip! Congrats on the magazine ad's

I did research for a few months and then chose Layne for obvious reasons. I spoke to Tommy, Sporto, and he really drove it home...

Can't wait to see your ad as well...thanks.

[fltallpaul]

Well tonight was a great ;eg workout, Lots of high reps sets and a great pump when it was all said and done...Only one more workout this week.

Tomorrow I have upper body which is nothing after tonights leg workout...all fun and games....Can't wait....

[ben2285]

Awesome that you decided to step on stage man, good luck I'll be checkin in.... can't wait to watch your progress

[fltallpaul]

Awesome that you decided to step on stage man, good luck I'll be checkin in.... can't wait to watch your progress

Thanks Ben, I have seen your pics and aim to look as lean as you for my contest. Looking forward to getting leaner than I have ever been..

[Clean]

Can you explain what you mean by upperbody power and upperbody hypertrophy and how many sets do you do for each bodypart if you do full upper and lower body splits?

You look good though. Only thing I would suggest is that you bring your arms up a bit.

[fltallpaul]

Can you explain what you mean by upperbody power and upperbody hypertrophy and how many sets do you do for each bodypart if you do full upper and lower body splits?

You look good though. Only thing I would suggest is that you bring your arms up a bit.

WIthout getting into too much detail, since I have hired Layne to over see my training, I will tell you that a power workout indicates low reps with a higher weight and fewer sets per bodypart, somewhere around 8. Hypertrophy is higher reps, really feeling the muscle contract and getting a great pump with more sets per part, probably 10-12.

Thanks for your input, at this point I am really focusing on my legs and back width and thickness, my arms will just have to come along with my back I guess. I have a lot of weaknesses to bring up but this is my first show so it should give me a good chance to really see where I need to improve.

[fltallpaul]

Tonight was a nice workout. Upper Body Power and I did some decent weight. After cutting for close to six months and watching my numbers slowly decrease it is nice to feel strong. Some highlights.

Wide Grip Chins BW+35lbs sets of 5 reps
Incline Bench 235 Sets of 5....can't wait to get a new PR in a few weeks
Dumbell Curls w 55's sets of 8.

So at the start of week two I weighed in at 225, lost a half lb the first week of my bulk. I think that has to do with the fact I started eating really clean again and also I sped up my metabolism with six meal per day and HIIT cardio.

Current Pic.

[fltallpaul]

Tonight lower body power workout was great, found out I have a lot more strength on Stiff Legged Deadlifts than i thought. I did reps with 300lbs, i guess all the deadlifting I did this last year helped with that. I also squatted 315 for a few sets of 5 and did 5 plates on the seated calve raise.

not sure what I will do tomorrow....it is a scheduled day off but the only time i can workout on Thursday is before 8 or after 10....gym closes at 11 so it will be tough to decide....I may just go late as I can tomorrow night.....

[fltallpaul]

Well today was an off day but rather than do nothing i went to the gym for some Hiit cardio. I did a 5 minute warmup, 15 minutes of Hiit sesssions and another 5 minute cool down....It was a lot easier this time than it was last week...but still not easy.

I think i prefer actual sprints to bike sprints....Sometimes I just don't feel like running in my neighborhood at 10pm.

[Fjock]

good luck bro, I did the mid florida classic back in 06. I think you like the show, they usually do a good job puttin it together. Its also a good show to get your feet wet in. A lot of competition always shows up for it. If good ol Deke Warner is still puttin on that show, ull have a good time.

[fltallpaul]

good luck bro, I did the mid florida classic back in 06. I think you like the show, they usually do a good job puttin it together. Its also a good show to get your feet wet in. A lot of competition always shows up for it. If good ol Deke Warner is still puttin on that show, ull have a good time.

Funny enough I sent an email to register and later that day Deke called me back. He asked if i wanted to meet with him, go over my posing and get his advice. I could not believe it...What a class act. I can't wait to meet him in person.

I have attended before as well and it was quite a show...organized and everyone was having a great time, not to mention it was sold out.

[Fjock]

Funny enough I sent an email to register and later that day Deke called me back. He asked if i wanted to meet with him, go over my posing and get his advice. I could not believe it...What a class act. I can't wait to meet him in person.

I have attended before as well and it was quite a show...organized and everyone was having a great time, not to mention it was sold out.

haha nice, deke is a character bro. Hes always got some funky suit on during the night show too. Had my family cracking up in the audience. But defiantly take his invite to work on posing, that guy really knows his stuff.

[fltallpaul]

haha nice, deke is a character bro. Hes always got some funky suit on during the night show too. Had my family cracking up in the audience. But defiantly take his invite to work on posing, that guy really knows his stuff.

I do remember his wearing a pimp suit the year I went...too funny. Congrats on winning the teen title.....I hope to be able to say the same thing about the Novice division....