No Fancy Titles: red_cat's 2013 Prep Log

[red_cat]

125 competitors! Dude, that's a massive show and yeah, nothing to be ashamed of. I think the largest show to date I've competed in maybe had 60+ competitors across all classes. Maybe the midwest has few and far between options when it comes to competing, I don't know. In the northeast we have a show every weekend if you wanted one. You know what you have to do though and I have no doubt you will execute and come back bigger and better.

Biggest show for me as well. The Heartland in Omaha was about 95 and that WAS the biggest show I'd done. I think part of why the turnouts are so huge around here is that the sport is absolutely booming around here. There's at least one show per weekend from mid-May until mid-July, though I'm including Kansas and Missouri in that mix as well. We get a lot of people from Chicago as well and they've got Cliff Wilson, Mike Neumann, et al prepping people over there.

Great season man. You looked great.

That Cheesecake factory. NOMOMOMOM

Thanks, JP! Didn't realize you were lurking in here!

Ooooooooh lawd it was good. We also went to a place called Village Inn for brunch the next day. Kinda like Perkins or Denny's but a much smaller chain and way better food....and pie.

[Rypt1]

Gotta say great job! I've been lurking throughout and thought you looked great and really held your own on stage. Here's to a great season!

[jpfaherty]

Thanks, JP! Didn't realize you were lurking in here!

Ooooooooh lawd it was good. We also went to a place called Village Inn for brunch the next day. Kinda like Perkins or Denny's but a much smaller chain and way better food....and pie.

Big time lurker! Sorry I was more outspoken, next time around I will be!

I'm on dat dere bulky time, so I want to crush everything you just mentioned...AND I CAN

[red_cat]

Gotta say great job! I've been lurking throughout and thought you looked great and really held your own on stage. Here's to a great season!

Here here!! Thanks for the compliments, man!

Big time lurker! Sorry I was more outspoken, next time around I will be!

I'm on dat dere bulky time, so I want to crush everything you just mentioned...AND I CAN

*mentally flipping you the bird*

Soooooooon I will crush all of zee foodz. For now, just enjoying some extra carbs around my workout! Trying to stick to a reverse plan and make some serious improvements.

[red_cat]

06/04/13

Weight: 194.4 lbs (-2 from Post-Contest Nom Fest)

Macros: "Reverse" 240p/304c/72f = 2825 kcal

Legs (Power) on 6/3

Squat (Belted only on final set) - 215x5, 5; 245x3, 3; 275x1, 4 (New Working 1RM = 315)
Leg Press - 500x12; 590x9
Leg Extension - 165x10; 175x10
RDL - 185x10; 205x9; 225x6
Ham/Glute Raise - BW w/ Pole Assistancex6, 6
Hip Thrust - 135x10; 185x10, 10
Smith Standing Calves (4:4:1) - 90x8; 110x8, 7

Chest/Delts/Arms (Volume) on 6/4

Incline DB - 55x15; 65x12; 75x9, 8
Smith Shoulder Press - 90x10; 100x9; 105x8
Cable Side Raise - 25x13; 20x18, 18
HS Rear Delts - 45x20; 60x19; 70x15
Rope Pushdown/DB Curl - 40/30x19/20; 45/35x16/15, 15/12
Skullcrusher/DB Concentration Curl - 70/22.5x12/20; 50/25x16/16, 15/15
Wrist Curl/Reverse Curl - 40x18/12; 50/40x20/12; 60/40x15/12


Thoughts: Starting out my reverse diet at the same calorie level I was at for the last four weeks of my prep. All I did was take about 30 grams of protein and switch it to carbs. My stomach is definitely a lot more comfortable with these numbers and I've been killing it in the gym so far this week. This is a huge switch from last time when I just dove straight in to increased calories. I plan on keeping these numbers for the rest of the week and doing some sort of surge/refeed day on Mon or Tues of next week. I figure my body is going to be quite happy with these macros until then and if I start to struggle with energy then I'll just surge earlier than planned. I'm new to this reverse dieting thing, so I'm still getting a feel for it.

Shot some training video for a review of AEN's new PreSurge formulation. Hope to have that up soon. First time I've done any talking on camera...hopefully I don't sound too stupid. lol

[red_cat]

06/05/13

Weight: 195.4 lbs

Macros: "Reverse" 240p/304c/72f = 2825 kcal

HIIT (Adam Lalikos Style )

5 min Step Mill lvl 6
5x 3:30 Easy, :30 Sprint
5 min Step Mill lvl 4


Thoughts: Ah, yes...gotta love cardio. At least I don't mind doing it when it's HIIT. I was dead by the last interval and felt like a real wuss on the Step Mill afterwards. Pretty much hunched over and gasping for breath while the casual gym goers stared at me and wondered if I was going to die. Love it.

Confirmed last night that I'll be helping out Liquid Sun Rayz this weekend at the Omaha IFBB Pro Figure/NPC Showdown. Nothing too fancy but I get to play security and take money from people! Hoping this turns into a semi-regular thing as I love being around the sport and this is one way to do that!

Finally, I put together a little video review for Pre Surge. Like I said, I've never done any vlogs or anything like this before so I just kind of wanted to get my feet wet with this one.

[adamjohn32]

That stepmill HIIT is no joke, good job dude.

[red_cat]

That stepmill HIIT is no joke, good job dude.

Oops...meant to put that I did my intervals on a spin bike. I can never get the Step Mill just right to do intervals. It's hard to get it up to a speed that feels like an all out sprint and when I actually DO get the speed fast enough I end up falling off/grabbing on to the rails for dear life. I just like using the Step Mill for steady state work or to create a little bit of an MMC with my ham/glute tie-in while warming up for spin bike intervals.

[fltallpaul]

I can't believe I missed this thread that last few weeks. I have been so caught up in my own stuff it has been hard to keep up. After looking through all your pictures I must say you brought a solid package to the stage. I know that feeling of not placing top 5 after so much hard work. If you are like me it will light a fire to keep improving, us tall guys just need lots of time under than bar to add size.

from the looks of it Aaron Lobliner was the one that won your class, he has been at this a long time and is almost as tall as you so just keep putting the work in and you will get there.

Congrats on a great season!

[wrkoutfrq]

I can't believe I missed this thread that last few weeks. I have been so caught up in my own stuff it has been hard to keep up. After looking through all your pictures I must say you brought a solid package to the stage. I know that feeling of not placing top 5 after so much hard work. If you are like me it will light a fire to keep improving, us tall guys just need lots of time under than bar to add size.

from the looks of it Aaron Lobliner was the one that won your class, he has been at this a long time and is almost as tall as you so just keep putting the work in and you will get there.

Congrats on a great season!

Been trying to catch up with this thread myself, Aaron Lobliner was PEELED. Even so you did show up in great shape, much improved over your last shows!

[red_cat]

I can't believe I missed this thread that last few weeks. I have been so caught up in my own stuff it has been hard to keep up. After looking through all your pictures I must say you brought a solid package to the stage. I know that feeling of not placing top 5 after so much hard work. If you are like me it will light a fire to keep improving, us tall guys just need lots of time under than bar to add size.

from the looks of it Aaron Lobliner was the one that won your class, he has been at this a long time and is almost as tall as you so just keep putting the work in and you will get there.

Congrats on a great season!

Thanks, Paul and no worries. You're kind of a busy guy! I've been joking with some friends that before every lift I'll be thinking about how much 6th place sucks. It really isn't far from the truth, though, as I'm incredibly determined to bring something even better to the stage next time. This placing was a wake up call in a lot of ways.

Aaron was an absolute freak. He would hit an FDB and you could trace individual muscle fibres running the biceps attachment at his elbow, through the tie-in, and into his delts. Something to aspire to. Talked to Marc very briefly about how bodybuilding isn't a team sport...funny guy!

Been trying to catch up with this thread myself, Aaron Lobliner was PEELED. Even so you did show up in great shape, much improved over your last shows!

Thanks, man! Like I said, Aaron is a freak of nature and he really deserved his card. Even just standing backstage you could tell he was the best bodybuilder in the show. Time to grow and make sure people are still saying I've made major improvements after my next show!!!

[Devils]

Good job mate, wishing you luck for the offseason.

The winners colour looked really good, did you ask him what he used?

[red_cat]

Woke up today at 193 lbs even, just a half pound over my prep low and eating about 150-200 calories more than I was when I reached that weight and refeeding/surging every fourth day. Seems like the reverse diet is going well!! I've cut back cardio to one 30 min HIIT sessions with 5 intervals and one 20-25 min MISS session after Chest/Delts/Arms. I'm also *gasp* taking days off!!! This past weekend wasn't really a day off, though, as I was working with Liquid Sun Rayz all Friday and Saturday at the Omaha IFBB Pro/NPC Showdown.

This week has started out very well...working with Middle Schoolers for a public school band camp, teaching some lessons, and getting an opportunity to do some really basic personal training for a friend. Sorry for the lack of updates lately. I'm hanging on to this log for a little while longer while I'm still transitioning out of prep mode. Might as well.

Good job mate, wishing you luck for the offseason.

The winners colour looked really good, did you ask him what he used?

Thanks, Devils. Aaron did a Pro Tan base and a coat of DT#2 at the venue. Thought his color was definitely one of the best on stage and WAY better than the people who got sprayed at the venue (they ALL turned green...glad I didn't use that chick)!

[red_cat]

Uuuuuuhhhhhhh....lost this post accidentally........oops.

[DJaRiHardstyle]

much respect for keeping cardio as a big part of offseason.. i honestly don't even like the sound of the word!:P

also it's really impressive how organized you've managed to stay on this log.. keeps it interesting and easy to track keep up the hard work!

[DJaRiHardstyle]

Some carb loading material:

dude.... didn't even see this. you're a good man. take my REPS, take em!

[red_cat]

much respect for keeping cardio as a big part of offseason.. i honestly don't even like the sound of the word!:P

also it's really impressive how organized you've managed to stay on this log.. keeps it interesting and easy to track keep up the hard work!

dude.... didn't even see this. you're a good man. take my REPS, take em!

lol you inspired that part of my contest prep, so I give you the credit. I actually had some fluff yesterday as I've still got about half a jar left over. Quite nice for a change of pace.

Yeah, the cardio thing is never my favorite, but doing HIIT makes it better/more interesting. It's also easy right now because I've got a close friend in the final weeks of prep and he's killing it...might as well kill it with him!

[red_cat]

06/15/13

Weight: 195.6 lbs

HIIT (Prowlers)

No Weight x 5
90 x 6
Break
140 x 4
Break
210 x 2

27 min total

Thoughts: No off season, right? For those curious about how we do Prowlers, my buddy IFPA Pro Jeff Hoover uploaded this to ********. He's 4 weeks out from the Sacramento Pro Show right now and did 6 pushes on each weight.

https://www.********.com/video/embed...00907371053103

[red_cat]

6/18/13 - Chest/Arms/Abs - Volume "Bro Day"

Weight: 193.6 lbs (funny that I went down in weight considering my macros were........)

Macros: 197.90p/595.20c/58.26f

Full Stop Bench Press (2-3 sec Pause at Bottom) - 155*6; 165*6; 175*5; 185*5
Flat DB - 65*16; 70*10.5, *9.5
HS Wide Grip - 80*15; 90*12
Machine Fly - 5x90*12-15 (FST-ish pacing without a ton of stretching)
Flat DB - 70*9/DROP/55*6/DROP/40*6/Stretch 30*27 sec
DB Curl/V Bar Pushdwon - 35/110*15/15; 40/120*13/12, *12/12
Cable Spider Curl/EZ Bar Overhead Extension - 80/60*16/16; 90/70*11/11
Life Fitness Curl Machine - 5x40*11-15+10 sec stretch in between
Trunk Twist/Reverse Hyper Crunch/Trunk Twist Drop
3x50/BW/30*12/7-9/10

Chest Total Volume = 17 sets
Biceps Total Volume = 10 sets
Triceps Total Volume = 5 sets
Abs Total Volume = 9 sets

Thoughts: Bench has always been a weak point for me, but I'm going to do everything I can to improve it. I think that over the past couple years I've worried a little too much about isolating my chest on bench and I really don't need to. That's what isolation work is for. lol My mechanics have improved a lot since I stopped worrying about pec isolation. Got the final chest exercise from the Layne VIP Camp videos I've been watching. Phil Ricardo Jr. did something similar and I thought I'd give it a go...holy moses that was tough!

Haven't ever really added up all the total volume for my workouts but I thought that I might should if I'm going to differentiate between power and volume. Still trying to find what's "just right" with how I have things set up and the frequency I'm hitting body parts at. For instance, I probably need to add just a little more triceps volume on this day, though I'm really trying to bring up my biceps and keep my triceps proportional.

Some things are starting to fall into place as far as general life news goes. Pretty sure we won't be moving anywhere for the next couple of years. A couple of really exciting teaching opportunities have surfaced around here for next year and there are a couple of bodybuilding specific things on the horizon as well which will make competing a bit easier on the pocket book. Can't say anything for certain right now, but hopefully soon!

[red_cat]

The party has moved!!! Back over to the off-season log! http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...post1091426003

[red_cat]

Quick update from Pittsburgh: Meeting lots of pros and getting all kinds of people tanned! Racking up the free supps as well like ya do at these big shows. I'll have plenty of pics to post when I get back and I'm ready to get back to hitting the weights hard! Deloading is such a boring thing!! lol