GET TO THE CHOPPA!!!! 2011 contest prep journal

[Work-Hard]

[co1e_train]

Swole as crap dude! Just no catching up on the thread. In for sure!

[ehlisl]

Solid progress from last set of progress pics Tim! Quads starting to look damn crazy(er) too

[Work-Hard]

Swole as crap dude! Just no catching up on the thread. In for sure!

Solid progress from last set of progress pics Tim! Quads starting to look damn crazy(er) too

Thanks guys! Im happy with my progress this far in. I'm down 15 lbs from the start and don't think I've lost any size. I am going to begin the implementation of HIIT this week. One session a week, 5 min warm up 10 intervals (12/48), 15 min liss. I choose 12/48 because in all honesty, if I'm giving a true 100% I have a hard time making it past 10 seconds and by 15 seconds Im already in a downward spiral, so 12 has been established as my number. Going to give the jump rope/treadmill combo a try and see if I vomit......yay?

[bwelch1985]

looks like your little one is 'mirin those hammies!

big time changes this set bro. cross striations are ALREADY peeking out of those teardrops!

[Work-Hard]

Squats from last week. Form looks a little off to me, I will work on it the next time I squat heavy.

[Work-Hard]

looks like your little one is 'mirin those hammies!

big time changes this set bro. cross striations are ALREADY peeking out of those teardrops!

Thanks Brit. My boy is always studying me when I pose. Here's a pick of him getting in a shake

[Work-Hard]

Highlights from last week



DL 385x8, 385x6

Bench 245x6,4,3,3

Hack Squats 3ppsx10,8,6



Last week was a real nightmare in terms of unplanned overtime and rearranging workouts.



By thursday morning my weight had only dropped a lb and knowing I need to drop 2 a week moving forward, I dropped carbs another 20 and changed up my cardio. sunday morning I weighed in at 201 lbs, a 2lb drop for the week.



Current macros are 240/300/40 pro/carb/fat. My refeeds are sitting at around 220/500/40. I am still implementing 1 free meal with my family per week, usually consisting of past with no meat, sushi, or hawaiin pizza with no cheese or anything else low fat high carb. I know most would drop the free meal but as long as I continue to make improvements, I am going to keep them in. Not only does it help me mentally, but It gives me an opportunity to keep my family life more normal, ny allowing us to go out once a week.



Cardio changes are going to be as follows. I will remove fasted am cardio for the next week and implement the following, in the evening after my last carb meal. 7min miss (jog), 23 min MISS/LISS walk on incline. My goal is to keep my heart rate elevated to around 150 as in the past this has tightened me up considerably. The 7min jog/light run will be aimed at getting my heart rate elevated early in the session and the walk is aimed at maintaining that heart rate for the remainder of the 1/2 hour.

1 day a week (day will vary based upon how recovered I feel) I will do HIIT in place of the other cardio.



I'm looking forward to getting under 200lbs this week, and am going to make it happen.



Song of the day

[Bnizzle163]

Looking massive dude. Digging the ink too!

[Sean15782]

Looking forward to the next set of pics,
the abs are just starting to outline in the last set, and I think more back detail is going to be coming in from here as well!!!

Keep it up!!!

[Work-Hard]

Looking massive dude. Digging the ink too!

Thanks bro. I used to be paranoid about the ink and how I would be scored. At this point I don't really worry about it any more, all I can do is bring the best package possible.

Looking forward to the next set of pics,
the abs are just starting to outline in the last set, and I think more back detail is going to be coming in from here as well!!!

Keep it up!!!

Thanks for stopping in guys. I am also looking forward to the next set of pics. Last prep my upper body held on to fat till the bitter end. I'm hoping the ext set of pics will begin to reveal what I have worked so hard for the past couple years.

[AustrianOakJr]

Thanks for stopping in guys. I am also looking forward to the next set of pics. Last prep my upper body held on to fat till the bitter end. I'm hoping the ext set of pics will begin to reveal what I have worked so hard for the past couple years.

Yea, I noticed your lower body looks much leaner that your upper. Weird. Either way, youre getting there. How far out now?

[Bnizzle163]

Yeah, no need to worry about the ink with the judges IMO. If you come in diced enough and hold your own up there, the judges have no choice but to take notice of your physique. You're well on your way.

[Work-Hard]

Yea, I noticed your lower body looks much leaner that your upper. Weird. Either way, youre getting there. How far out now?

13.5 week from my main goal show, but If things are looking close there is a show in 11.5 weeks I'm eyeing as a warm up (no peaking), just getting on stage to get comfortable again.

[Work-Hard]

Update.



With the impletmented cardio changes this week, I hit my 2lb clip for this week this morning (5 days after refeed), weighing in at 199lbs. I will remove cardio today and tomorrow and have my refeed tomorrow evening, and Sunday restart process. I will be hitting Quads and Bi's Saturday and Hams and Tri's on Sunday.



I have had to change up my split a little to allow my elbow a little more time between tricep workouts, and am trying to no longer go beyond failure, but it's hard to stop. However, I need to do my best to avoid injuring myself.



Updated pic to come this weekend.

[Work-Hard]

forgot my song of the day

[Work-Hard]

Updated pics. Weight is a 199 in these, but has since crept up to 200 and hasn't budged. I will be removing the free meal this week and incorporating a planned refeed. I will also be removing 30 carbs from non training days. Macros will look as follows



Training Days (T,TH,Sa, Su) 240/300/40

Non-Training Days (M,W,F) 240/270/40

Refeed (following the 2lb clip for the week) 200/500/40





Starting Monday, Caf/y-hcl will be put into use and morning cardio will be reintroduced on non training days.

[Work-Hard]

Weight is still holding steady at 199. I am going to be proactive and make a more substantial change to the diet. I will be dropping an additional 45 carbs from non training days and adding 10 grams of fat, and adding 1 day of HIIT to try and get things moving again.

New Macro's

Training Day's
240/300/40

Cardio Only Day's
240/225/50

Refeed (after goal for the week is met)
200/500/30

HIIT will be on Hamstring and Tri's day
5min warmup / 10 intervals (12/48) / 5 min cool down.

[Work-Hard]

Updated pics a 9 weeks from warmup show.

Things have been hectic the past couple weeks. My wife and I are purchasing a second home and the process has been nerve racking to say the least. I have also been working crazy hours the past couple weeks, logging 120 hours in the past 13 days. Workouts haven't suffered but I'm definitely starting to feel like I'm in contest prep. Macro's have also been adjusted again.

Current Macro's

training days 240/275/40
non training days 240/200/50
Refeed 200/500/35

Current pics are at 196lbs. With the adjustments this week the weight came off at a decent pace and the 500 carb refeed didn't budge the scale.

Flash on, post refeed so looking pretty smooth. I'll shoot some pics of my quads later this week as the are almost fully striated, though you can't tell in these pics. Waist is still coming down, but the back is still holding on to the fat for dear life.

[Sean15782]

Getting better each week!

I think 190 will be a big turning point for you. Should be looking very good as you get into the 180's. The quads are just plain sick, the sheer development makes them look better than everything else regardless of body fat. The back will catch up soon!

[Work-Hard]

Getting better each week!

I think 190 will be a big turning point for you. Should be looking very good as you get into the 180's. The quads are just plain sick, the sheer development makes them look better than everything else regardless of body fat. The back will catch up soon!

Thanks Sean! I am fully expecting the same thing as I move out of the 190's. I am at the point now where I am starting to notice more changes week to week. I'm looking forward to what the next 12 weeks has to offer.

[Work-Hard]

Things have been going well this past week. I hit a short lived 193 yesterday after a full 8 hours of sleep, but was back up at 194 this morning. Regardless, it was a 2lb drop for the week. Things are starting to tighten up considerable and I'm looking forward to taking some progress pics this weekend. I am starting to notice a decrease in strength mostly in squats, but also a little in pressing movements also. I suppose after dropping 25lbs so far it is to be expected.

Macro's are still as follows
240/275/40 training days
240/200/50 cardio only days

Cardio is as follos
20min liss - AM
30 min miss - following last carb meal for the day

HIIT
1 day per week 12 Intervals @ 12/48

Stress levels are still elevated as the purchase of our new home hasn't gone as smoothly as we had hoped. Bank of America pre-qualified us and then turned down the application in Underwriting. From what I hear B of A is very hard to get approved through so we haven't lost all hope yet. We met with another lender yesterday, and should be hearing something back in the next day or so, so anxiety levels are high.

Song of the day

[AustrianOakJr]

You are still leaning out! 25 lbs so far? Thats a move. So this is about 11 weeks out now? Still a lot of time to do some damage to fat stores.

We just got refinanced through B of A. They were a bit of a pain through the process.....well, I dont know if it was specifically B of A but I know what you mean about the stress. Financing that kind of money is one hoop after another and youre never sure if youre getting anywhere. One thing is for sure.....stressing about being stressed doesnt help anything. All you can do it your best. Keep going, b/c you are getting there little by little.

[Work-Hard]

Things have slowed it seems this past week. I am currently sitting at 193, which is the same low I hit this past sunday. The goal for this week is 191 so should things not start creeping back down by saturday morning I will implement the following changes.



- add 5 min liss to morning cardio

- add 3 intervals to HIIT day

- adjust macro's slightly as follows



-Carbs will be timed around breakfast, pre and post workouts on training days and spread evenly on non training days excluding the last meal which will be protein and fat only.



training days to 240/225/40.
non training days 240/150/50




I will decide whether or not a refeed is necessary based on the progress for the week. refeeds will be as follows

200/410/40



I have also added Lipo-6 as my fat burner of choice this week with additional y-hcl. I chose this because the there are no propietary blends and I know all the ingredients are WADA approved.



On another note, my wife and I were approved by a different lender for the house we are trying to purchase and has already gone through underwritting. We are looking to move into our brand new home in the middle of March. Now we are on the hunt to find a renter for the home we currently occupy.

[Work-Hard]

Hit 192 this morning so no changes will be made this week. I have noticed that following my HIIT training session for the week, my weight gets moving again, I'm comtemplating whether adding an additional HIIT in place of my regular evening cardio would be a good idea. Depending on how quickly my quads recover following sundays training, I may implement an additional day next week.

[Work-Hard]

Hit 191.5 Sunday morning, but was back up at 192 this morning. 192 has been steady since Friday morning so, I will reevaluate things Wednesday morning, and if things haven't begun to creep back down, I will make some macro adjustmens. I have been on these macros for a few weeks now so I am fully anticipating a change will need to be made. Haven't been tracking my workouts for the past few weeks and have really been enjoying myself more in the gym. i just make sure to go as heavy as possible and hit all rep ranges, though I mostly stay in the 5- 8 range .

Updated pics at 192

[Work-Hard]

Morning weight is steady at 191.5. Macros have been adjusted, and I'll ride out my current cardio schedule the rest of the week. Depending on the changes I see, I'll adjust cardio accordingly next week.

[Work-Hard]

Morning weight hit 190 this morning, I'm optimistic that I will see sub 190 by sunday. I worked up my Y-HCL to recommend dosage (.2mg/lb of BW = 17.5mg) this week and have noticed a signicant difference in my lower back and abs. Maybe it's just my mind, but updated pics this weekend will tell the whole story.



Current Macro's

Training: 240/225/40 = 2220 kcals

Non Training: 240/150/50 = 2010 kcals



Average 2130 kcals



Cardio

t,w,th,sa,su = 20min Liss (am) + Lipo 6 and y-hcl, 30 miss (after last carb meal or pwo)



f, m = 20min Liss (am) + Lipo 6 and y-hcl, HIIT evenings (5min warmup, 15 intervals, 5 min cooldown.)



cardio will be bumped 10min am and 5min pm at next stall.

[Work-Hard]

Well, things are still moving along. I was sick at the begining of last week, and didn't eat much of anything from tuesday to thursday morning. I spent almost the entire two days sleeping. Thursday morning I woke up and got back to business.



Weight hit 186 yesterday morning which I suspect to be a fluke, as I slept in (my morning weight usually drop .5-1lb on those days). Weight was back at 187 this morning although most of my carbs came in my last two meals of the day, as I worked out later in the evening. I will post some pics tonight. Ive been told several times this past week that "I've lost a lot of weight in my face" so I know things are heading in the right direction.



Strength is starting to take a hit. I'm still going to failure and hitting rep ranges from 6-8 for opening heavy compound movements and 8-12 for all other movements. Things appear to really be tightening up and I'm happy about that.



I've come to the realization that I simple let myself get too big this past offseason, and that I shouldn't have to lose more than 30lbs to be shredded (currently have lost 31 lbs.) Definately gonna have to keep better control of things in my next off season.

[Work-Hard]

Flash had a mind of its own, its on in some and not in others