BWelch's 2011 Contest Prep Journal

[bwelch1985]

I'd like to start by welcoming everyone to my journal. It's going to be a long road to the stage this time around so don't be shy to post! I'm open to any and all comments and welcome everyone to share their opinions, thoughts and ideas. So, thank you all for reading, and w/out further ado....

ZOMG 27 WEEKS!!

Background
2008-2009 My first workout journal (*sniff* single tear):
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=107330331

2009 My first contest prep (-30lbs in 14 weeks):
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=115423401

2009-2010 First "offseason" workout journal (i got a little formatting happy w/ this one lol):
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=117744591

Personal Sh*t
Height: 5'8" (bodyspace liar)
Weight: 182-185 (dry A.M.)
Age: 25 (omg i'm so f*ckin old)
Occupation: 1st year nursing student
Status: Baller
Sex: yes pls

What am I doing here?
-I'll be competing in a few shows in 2011. It's still early so dates have not been finalized but here's what I've got in mind...
-SC States--June 4, 2011
-SNBF South Carolina Classic--June, 2011
-INBF Natural Atlantic Coast--June, 2011

Macros
Low
-60f
-300c
-230p

High (every 5th day--leg day)
-50f
-450c
-200p

--I've been eating 60f, 350c, 230p 7 days/week for a couple weeks now and weight has maintained. This is a small weekly kcal drop (~700) so I don't expect any huge changes this week. Diet re-evaluations will occur weekly throughout prep.

Lifting
-Push/Pull/Legs
-4 days per week

Some n00dz from this offseason






phew.....and I'm spent...

[FATHER FLEX]

Like flynn!

[Eric-B]

cool man look forward to following along, I've lurked in your old journals before

[mivi320]

in here!

[ScottishMark]

In for the journey!

[CatfishBlues]

subbed...I'll be expecting a food porn buddy in no more than two months...corey is tired of bacon paradise re-runs...

[deltpecx]

Age: 25 (omg i'm so f*ckin old)

HAHA!

In for this!

[zbert]

You know im in for this ride playa, will be good to actually get in some lifts with someone that will be on prep. Should be a great season man!
i wanna see some big numbers come tomm

[Work-Hard]

Definitely in on this. I've said it before and I'll say it again.......In for group starvation! It'll be great to use everybody's prep journals for motivation.

[coloBB]

in on this buddy!

[co1e_train]

In for sure man! Excellent offseason conditioning, shows me that I need to get my fatty self and loosing weight!


Lets do it man!

[bwelch1985]

Like flynn!

i <3 u.

cool man look forward to following along, I've lurked in your old journals before

thnx Eric! whats up w/ you man? got any competition plans for '11?

in here!

thnx Mike! when you gonna start up prep?

In for the journey!

thnx brother! i lurk your journal on the regular. i like your style!

subbed...I'll be expecting a food porn buddy in no more than two months...corey is tired of bacon paradise re-runs...

haha i'll be right there w/ you man! we can sit around watching man v. food while eating shrimp pita wraps you'll be adding kcals each week while i drop them...what's your prediction for when we meet in the middle? i'm gonna say early February.

HAHA!

In for this!

lol...i'm still a child in my head...i can't be 25!

You know im in for this ride playa, will be good to actually get in some lifts with someone that will be on prep. Should be a great season man!
i wanna see some big numbers come tomm

thnx brotha! i hope i don't let you down man! we got in a couple of awesome workouts while you were just a few weeks out. hopefully i'll be able to hang w/ you for a while at least.

Definitely in on this. I've said it before and I'll say it again.......In for group starvation! It'll be great to use everybody's prep journals for motivation.

thnx brah! group starvation is a helluva lot better than solitary starvation. i know i'll be reading your log everyday to keep my ass on track cuz i know you won't be slacking on leg day!

in on this buddy!

thnx Evan! it's gonna be great season for us.

In for sure man! Excellent offseason conditioning, shows me that I need to get my fatty self and loosing weight!

Lets do it man!

thnx bro! i definately got a little chunky late last year. went all the way up to 205 actually...but i didn't see any benefits really...strength didn't sky rocket, didn't pack on pounds and pounds of muscle, and i just generally felt like poop.

fortunately i was helping a buddy thru his first prep early this year, fed off his motivation and was able to do a 4-5 week mini-cut in January-February...got down to about 185 and just hung out there for the rest of the offseason. hit pr's, felt great and had a nice little six pack to show off all summer

as of now i have no intention of seeing anything over 190 ever again. assuming my stage weight ends up somewhere around 155-160 i just don't think >30lbs over is beneficial for me.

[DanTheManB]

In. strong quads/v taper. good improvements on pecs

[bwelch1985]

In. strong quads/v taper. good improvements on pecs

thnx Dan! i'll never have those ridiculous round/full pecs like yours but i do think they're much better this year than they were in '09.

weighted dips FTW amirite...

[DanTheManB]

thnx Dan! i'll never have those ridiculous round/full pecs like yours but i do think they're much better this year than they were in '09.

weighted dips FTW amirite...

IMO yes.

Just be careful of the shoulders...

and like most things, genetics reign supreme unfortunately. You've done a great job though

[adamrochester]

will be whatching mate !

[zbert]

With the looks of your numbers man, i am worried i might not be able to keep up with you, the last few workouts we did i was dying.
i started my prep a few days ago (nothing crazy though) for the SC States show you mentioned and prolly going to swing two or three more shows if i can.

[ErickStevens]

In for this!

[ScottishMark]

thnx brother! I lurk your journal on the regular. I like your style!

<3.

[mivi320]

Pics look great B (no homo). you def have a good v-taper. i am excited to follow this journey. as for prep, i have my eye on a show in may 2011. it's a small, local natty show but i will have my mind made up next month about it. if i chose not to, i am going to do a few PL meets instead next yr. there is one in april i really want to do.

[boatnerjg]

Never say never bro. Time and consistency.

How you liking nursing school? You gonna try and specialize or anything after (nurse anesthesiologist or NP??)

thnx Dan! i'll never have those ridiculous round/full pecs like yours but i do think they're much better this year than they were in '09.

weighted dips FTW amirite...

[bwelch1985]

IMO yes.

Just be careful of the shoulders...

and like most things, genetics reign supreme unfortunately. You've done a great job though

will do. good look.

will be whatching mate !

thnx brotha!

With the looks of your numbers man, i am worried i might not be able to keep up with you, the last few workouts we did i was dying.
i started my prep a few days ago (nothing crazy though) for the SC States show you mentioned and prolly going to swing two or three more shows if i can.

killed it today bro! best leg workout i've had in a loooooong time. thnx for the continued motivation!

In for this!

thnx Erick!

<3.

i'll try to be more "vocal" in there from now on although i don't have much to say...you've got your sh*t pretty well figured out.

Pics look great B (no homo). you def have a good v-taper. i am excited to follow this journey. as for prep, i have my eye on a show in may 2011. it's a small, local natty show but i will have my mind made up next month about it. if i chose not to, i am going to do a few PL meets instead next yr. there is one in april i really want to do.

either way i can't wait to follow along....but i'm definately hoping you pick the bb'ing show!

Never say never bro. Time and consistency.

How you liking nursing school? You gonna try and specialize or anything after (nurse anesthesiologist or NP??)

i like it a lot. i'm really interested in biology and i hardly did any "real" science for my bachelors (psychology).

long term i'd like to go for NP....preferably in an ER. i need excitement and sponteneity in a career so i think the ER would be a good fit for me.

[bwelch1985]

LEGS

Deadlift
-315x5
-385x2 PR
-405x1 PR
--well, i knew if i was able to get 385x2 i'd have to put 4 plates on haha...and it was heavy! i've never been very strong, especially in the deadlift so this is really a big milestone for me. not sure what i'll do next week. maybe one more week aiming for a PR. possibly 405x2. after that i'm gonna hit a few weeks of either SG deads or trap bar deads. fronts will remain in the 2 hole for the time being. i'm enjoying the higher rep range there and don't feel confident i can beat my previous best in that lift.

Fronts
-135x10
-185x8
-185x8
-185x7
--almost ate it on the last rep of the last two sets...saved by my workout partner! haha

GHR's
-8,8,8
--tough sets. really had to grind the last few of each set. may switch in lying ham curls next week to get a little more focus and tut...

Walking Lunges
-50's down the length of the gym x 2
--my buddy Zbert got 4 freaking sets of these! i literally thought i was going to die after the second set. lungs were screaming, couldn't breathe, and my glutes were spasming (no homo)...gotta get my work capacity up!

Best leg day i've had in a while. Charles (Zbert on the boards) destroyed me on every single exercise, but just trying to keep up w/ him was enough to push me to my breaking point. Preciate it bro!

[zbert]

Britt that by far was my best back and leg workout i have had in along time aswell, thanks bruh. my back is screaming and i dont think i will be able to walk tomm.
I do not think i out did you on anything bruh, i was following your lead, if you PR'd then i was going to PR- which really motivated me. Definitely going to have to work out something where we can get in a solid lift like that in once a week.
Solid sesh today man, your gonna be crazy come JUNE!

[deltpecx]

Best leg day i've had in a while. Charles (Zbert on the boards) destroyed me on every single exercise, but just trying to keep up w/ him was enough to push me to my breaking point. Preciate it bro!

Britt that by far was my best back and leg workout i have had in along time aswell, thanks bruh. my back is screaming and i dont think i will be able to walk tomm.
I do not think i out did you on anything bruh, i was following your lead, if you PR'd then i was going to PR- which really motivated me. Definitely going to have to work out something where we can get in a solid lift like that in once a week.
Solid sesh today man, your gonna be crazy come JUNE!

Cool to see you guys training together.
My training partners push me that little bit more than I would push myself.

[SgSpartan]

Good luck for those shows you have in mind!

[bwelch1985]

Britt that by far was my best back and leg workout i have had in along time aswell, thanks bruh. my back is screaming and i dont think i will be able to walk tomm.
I do not think i out did you on anything bruh, i was following your lead, if you PR'd then i was going to PR- which really motivated me. Definitely going to have to work out something where we can get in a solid lift like that in once a week.
Solid sesh today man, your gonna be crazy come JUNE!

I'm all kinds of effed up today! Glutes, lower back and quads hate me right now haha.

405x3-4 then 435x1 just a couple minutes later is pretty freakin legit bro! That's where I wanna be.

It's gonna be a battle at States brother! I know you won't slack so I've gotta bring my A-game!

Cool to see you guys training together.
My training partners push me that little bit more than I would push myself.

Oh yeh. A good training partner can really bring a workout up to the next level. On the other hand a sh*tty training partner can all but ruin a workout even for dedicated bb'ers like us. Choose wisely who you train with!

Good luck for those shows you have in mind!

Thnx man!


On another note, I'm gonna head out to do 20 minutes of cardio in a bit. My glutes are just so ridiculously sore I can barely sit or stand. I typically don't experience any significant muscle soreness until 2 days after a workout so I'm pretty much terrified of how I'll feel tomorrow. Hopefully cardio will get some blood moving around down there so I can be a productive member of society tomorrow!

[AustrianOakJr]

IN on this one. Looking good in here. Interesting how similar we are in height, weight, macro/calorie intake......and show time. Crazy. I did an 8 week mini and cut to 180 lbs and ill be maintaining through the holidays but my maintenance cals are 200P/400C/55F......which is almost identical in cals to your 230/350/60. Im hoping to hit the stage end of may through the end of June but we'll see how it goes. Ill be following along with you though.

[bwelch1985]

IN on this one. Looking good in here. Interesting how similar we are in height, weight, macro/calorie intake......and show time. Crazy. I did an 8 week mini and cut to 180 lbs and ill be maintaining through the holidays but my maintenance cals are 200P/400C/55F......which is almost identical in cals to your 230/350/60. Im hoping to hit the stage end of may through the end of June but we'll see how it goes. Ill be following along with you though.

Wow. Thanks a lot for following Sean. I'm a big fan of yours (no homo/no e-stalker) so it really means a lot to me!

Very similar kcals indeed. I'm still working my way down on the protein front haha. I dieted on 250g for my last prep (obviously way too much) but I've worked up the courage to pare it down to 230g this time (still probably excessive). I guess a part of me is still scared my muscles will fall off if I drop any lower. LOL.

Based on your most recent pics I'd say we are pretty close in bf% at the same height and weight....so how much do you expect to weigh on stage this time around? Personally, I'm trying to mentally prepare myself for the mid 150's. I know it's gonna play tricks on my mind to see such a low number, but this prep is about achieving elite conditioning for me so I'll do whatever it takes.

[co1e_train]

Solid leg workout man. Those DLs are money. Keep pounding the weight man. Are you working with anybody or are you going at this prep on your own?