ok, let's try again - USBF Teen Middleweight

[DJaRiHardstyle]

ok, so i started a log and can't seem to find it. i'm really not getting BB.com's new layout. if anyone could tell me how i find my posts that'd be great!

Well, let me start. I'm currently 181.5 lbs., about 11-12% bodyfat. I'm 16 weeks and 2 days out, after recovering from a really long, really dirty bulk. The bright side is i'm naturally ectomorphic, so I burn fat pretty easily, but on the downside maintaining muscle is very difficult.

I'm holding onto some fat especially on the underside of my abs, where most people do. my butt's looking better, it was holding onto a lot of fat before.

My diet at 16 weeks and 2 days out:

Meal 1:
2 scoops Universal Milk and Egg Protein
6 oz skim milk
1/2 cup Quaker oats
2 CLA softgels
1 multi vitamin
1 fish oil softgel

Meal 2:
2 scoops Carnivor Protein

Meal 3:
8 oz ground turkey breast
1/4 cup brown Basmati rice (measured dry)
6 brussel sprouts

Meal 4:
1 serving greek yogurt (2% fat)
1 pineapple cup
1/2 cup Quaker oats
2 CLA softgels

Training Days - Pre: just finished my Animal Pump, now using Labrada Super Charge Xtreme N.O., starting tomorrow
Intra: 3 scoops Scivation Xtend
PWO: 2 scoops ON Hydro Whey, 1 scoop (down from 2) Primaforce Carb Slam Waxy Maize

Meal 5:
3.5 Tilapia fillets
2 petite sweet potatoes
6 brussel sprouts

Meal 6: (before bed)
1 serving greek yogurt (2% fat)
1 serving baby spinach

diet's been pretty tough, but I've been able to push through it, each day with that goal in mind. I'm competing in three classes: Teen, Open Men's Novice, and Open Men's Middleweight, and although this is my first ever competition, i'm going for the gold. I want to win this, like I've never wanted anything. Each day is pure torture but it's worth it. I'm training on a 5-day split:

Monday
Back (w/ Abs and Calves)

Tuesday
Traps and Shoulders (w/ Abs and Forearms)

Wednesday
Biceps and Triceps (w/ Abs)

Friday
Chest (w/ Abs and Forearms)

Saturday
Quads, Hamstrings, and Calves

my cardio is looking like this so far: I've been doing 15-17 minutes medium-high intensity on the stationary bike each weekday, except Friday, after training. I may, later, begin throwing interval training into the mix. Fridays and Sundays I do about 20 minutes low intensity walking on the treadmill on an incline; Saturday's my day off (it's also my refeed day, where I double carbs and allow more leeway for fat intake).
it's really tough, i'll admit. I'm sitting here in my marketring class while everyone else eats Chick-Fil-A and i'm sticking to my goal, waiting for lunch to eat my third meal. i'll keep you posted!

[DJaRiHardstyle]

Today's my little brother's birthday. Wow, he's already 15, kid's growing up fast. I try to be the protective big brother but he's really catching up in height and pretty soon that role might be his LOL.

Well, last night I trained chest, abs, and forearms. Usually on Fridays I train right after school, but I was scheduled in court to pick up my license card (we got stuck in traffic so we have to reschedule!), so I trained a little bit later, but it was nice, because my dad was there so I got some more spots. Normally, I'll only ask people at the gym to spot me when I'm on my last set using a barbell, but with my dad, I can get spots whenever which is really nice!

Anyways, it was my first time using my Labrada Super Charge Xtreme N.O. and I've gotta say; I absolutely love it! The stuff works like magic, although it may just be because I've been building up a tolerance to my Animal Pump (I used two whole containers of that stuff, separated by my Universal Storm which I HATED!). I switched up my workout a bit so I can't tell for sure if I went up in weight, but I definitely got a nice pump! I'm putting more emphasis on pec isolation exercises, such as cable crossover (my pre-exhaustion), pec deck, and flat dumbbell pec fly's. I definitely need to work more on my inner pecs, so that's helpful.

Today's my leg day. I'm really psyched to see what this stuff can do for my legs, which have always been my weakest area. When I began training, I neglected my legs like crazy, so when I started bulking for this contest, a little over 6 months ago, I was hitting my legs super intense to catch up. They're certainly getting there, but they're still my weakest muscles. Last night I noticed for the first time the teardrop on my right quad is really visible, most likely from cardio (cutting off the fat in that region). My step uncle told me legs will come in last, but I'm still pushing them!

Since legs are my lagging area, my re-feed day is today (every Saturday), so I'm adding in some extra carbs. For example, this morning instead of 1/2 cup oatmeal, I made 3/4, and with my protein shake, I had a bowl of Golean (I haven't eaten cereal in forever!), tonight when we go out to dinner to celebrate my brother's birthday, I'll actually eat at the restaurant, too, since it's a re-feed day. Any other day I'd avoid food that's not part of my diet like the plague. Well, I'll come back on here after my legs workout to tell how it went and write out my meals today, since it's a.... I've probably said this about 5 times in this paragraph alone.... RE-FEED DAY!

Oh and I'm 16 weeks out officially today, weighing in at 182.3 (up a half pound from last weekend, but it's okay, I've got time to slowly cut it off)

[DJaRiHardstyle]

Ok guys, so last night I had a pretty intense session at the gym training legs. I went a little bit heavier on my pre-exhaustion (seated single leg extensions) than last time, which was sort of a mistake, because i went down in squats. The nice part was that I went up in lunges. I don't know if it was the Labrada Super Charge Xtreme N.O. or maybe even the Xtend, but after I went up in every single set for my lunges, cutting it off at 3 sets, I decided to go for a fourth set and by the time I was done my legs were dead. I threw the 55's at the ground.

Well, for dinner we ended up not eating out, but rather ordering in. I got a chicken parm from Domino's and two of my brother's cheese pizzas. Although it felt nice eating something out of my diet for the first time in about 2 weeks, I counted up my macro's last night and I was way too high. The point of a re-feed day is to hit maintenance cals, going about 40% protein, 45% carbs, 15% fat. well i also looked at my regular diet and I'm still high on carbs, so I'll need to switch that up too

[DJaRiHardstyle]

Wow, I just got back from training my back with abs and calves, then did some cardio for 20 minutes. I'm realizing how much of a promotion this log is becoming for Labrada Super Charge Xtreme N.O. lol. Well, either way, I felt awesome with it this workout. My veins were showing in my forearms, my back looked huge and even resting my arms by my sides felt as if I was hitting a front relaxed pose. So, yeah, the workout was awesome. I've been really stressed with school and cooking and training and eating and cardio and anything else that decides to poke its head into my bodybuilding prep, lol. I'm trying to ease out the stress, because I don't want my body to release extra cortisol and prevent my fat loss, which has been going pretty well.

I need to fix my diet; I'm doing some more research and realizing my carbs are a little bit too much on the low side. Whether I like it or not, I've got to come to terms with the fact that I'm not doing a physique competition, where a low carb diet is perfectly acceptable. I've got to keep my muscles full and hard while cutting bodyfat.

Tonight and last night are a little wacky, considering I forgot to pick up my tilapia and greek yogurt at the grocery store last night, so we had to pick it up tonight and of course the grocery store didn't have tilapia, so I bought some flounder instead. Victor Martinez reccomends it so why not?! Anyways, I'm about to go take a shower than have a protein shake and sweet potato. I've got to remember for next week, keep buying brown rice and switch back to brussel sprouts, rather than steam in bag asparagus (WAY too expensive).

Well, I'm 15 weeks and 5 days out, feeling leaner, stilling holding onto fat, but I'm seeing the abs a bit more and the legs a bit more. I definitely need to work on my arms and hamstrings, but I'll get there!

Another day, another dollar. Let's do this!!!!

[DJaRiHardstyle]

Alright guys so I got my arms workout in today; my arms are definitely lagging but, of course, the Xtreme N.O. delivered a sick pump and energy/strength increase. Unfortunately, I can't say whether or not I went up in strength, as today was focused on using weights I can control for appropriate reps (still need to work on that). I don't want to be in pre contest mode, swingin 60 lb dumbbells like crazy for curls; my diet isn't high enough in calories to support that kind of gym attitude lol.

Well before I get to where I am, yesterday I hit shoulders and felt pretty good, but I'm thinking I need to change something. My back workouts are on Mondays and then my shoulder workouts are on Tuesdays, earlier in the day, so I'm not even getting a full day's rest before hitting my rear delts, which are obviously sore from prev session. I may switch Tuesdays to anterior delts/traps/hamstrings day. Here would be the new, improved schedule, then:

(adding in couple sets of bis on back day, tris on chest day, simply to keep frequency up, as arms are behind - im against a true back/biceps regimen, but since i have an arms day, it's all good)

Monday - Back/Biceps
Tuesday - Hamstrings/Anterior Delts/Traps
Wednesday - Arms/Forearms
Thursday - Cardio
Friday - Chest/Triceps
Saturday - Quads/Posterior Delts/Calves
Sunday - Cardio

keep in mind i do cardio EVERY day, except saturday, so sunday and thursday aren't the only cardio days. Monday's biceps training, like Friday's triceps training would be low intensity exercises focused more on stimulating muscle breakdown than burning out muscle completely. So Monday I'd probably finish with rope curls on the cable machine and then 21's with dumbbells. Friday I'd likely finish with dips and seated single handed dumbell overheads.

My diet's getting more on point, though I increased cals too much, I need to find a median, so I think I'll subtract 120 cals, and keep carbs low (around 200) because I'm seeing more and more how much stubborn bodyfat I have from my dirty bulking.

I'm 15 weeks, 3 days out. I'm right around 180, probably around 11-12%. I'll keep you guys posted!

[DJaRiHardstyle]

Ok guys so I'm 15 weeks out today, about 177.8 morning weight, 181 during the day. Yesterday I hit chest, didn't lift as much as I'd like, but ultimately got my pump, and stayed intense. I started the new split I talked about in the last post and actually, finishing up my chest day with triceps felt pretty good. Today's my quads, rear delts, and calves day. I got new Underarmour shorts and a shirt from my dad as an early Christmas present (This year I'm not going to New York with the rest of my family; I may have gone over that? So I'm spending it at my mom's house. It won't be very exciting but I don't need to be exciting, I just need to train, eat, and sleep.) so I'll try out the shirt today at the gym!

So the contest organization, USBF, put up the poster as well as registration and ticket information on their site. I reviewed it and was very happy with it; the USBF seems like an ideal organization to compete for the first time in; they're very family friendly, they keep you posted all the time, and the fact that most of their contests are nearby doesn't hurt!

Well today is another refeed day. Dinner will probably be some sort of cheat meal, like Chipotle. I've got to go get my second meal, two scoops Carnivor and maybe some more oats.

[DJaRiHardstyle]

Ok guys so it's sorta late so I'll try making this quick.

My workout was nice, let me go through it. First I get to the gym and this girl's using the leg extension machine I like, so I used the other one and it actually felt really nice, although it was pretty rough on my shins. I'm going to go heavier on this next time, and then lighter on the squats (focusing more on separation in quads and depth in squats). Next I hit squats, and used the power rack as opposed to the squat rack I usually use. It's the same concept, except you can adjust the safety bars. I squatted off of two 5-pound plates and didn't end up getting the quality form I wanted out of those reps. Next time, as I said before, lower weights, higher reps, better form, aka ATG squats.
After that, I got on the leg press, feeling pretty exhausted. 6 plates felt good; I got out a good 18 reps. Then came 7 plates and while it was pretty brutal, I still got through it and knocked out about 16. Then came 8 plates and I was in so much pain; still not sure where I got the motivation to knock out all 12 or so reps (Super Charge Xtreme N.O. maybe? lol). So afterwards, I lowered to 7 and pushed out 18. At that moment, legs = dead. Still, I had to do walking lunges and if you think I did it quietly and politely.... you're wrong. I really used everything I had in me to get those reps. Then I did the glute machine, which felt sort of awkward and I don't think I'll be doing it again, it felt completely unnecessary and I'd much rather hit my glutes with deep squats, walking lunges, and stiff legged deads (on hams days).
So after that I got to my rear delts and started with reverse pec deck, which I went a bit heavy in, so I'll lower it next time. By that time, I was getting a nice pump in my rear delts and a little in my triceps and it felt nice, filling out a slightly big shirt. Then I got to cable face pulls with external rotation and it felt so different than it normally does, as my last exercise on shoulders days. Being the second rear delts exercise on a primarily quad-orientated day, it felt much easier and my form was much better. One thing I didn't like about this workout though was the concept of my legs losing stimulation after I finished delts, which made my seated calf presses actually a bit harder to do. Still I finished it up and felt good.
Afterwards, I downed my shake and then my mom brought me and my brother to Chipotle, where I endulged upon a burrito stuffed with brown rice, black beans, double chicken, tomato, cheese, and lettuce. It was a very satisfying cheat meal, and Chipotle is now officially called CHEATpotle. I know, I know, I'm funny.

Well my morning weight was about 177.8 as mentioned before, I then weighed myself mid-day and got 179.4 and then at night and I got 182.1. It being a refeed day I was bound to get fluxuating weights throughout the day. Tomorrow's a rest day and I'm probably going to have my girlfriend come over so we can watch some Christmas movies and I can get my meals in and ultimately relax and rest up.

I'm pretty happy about this whole week being off from school, as well as part of next week, because I've been so stressed, this is just perfect. Still, I don't take days off, and I don't lower my intensity. So Christmas Eve and Christmas are regular training days, with only time switches, because the gym will be closing early. Anyways, I need to sleep, it's 11:30pm and my competition's probably resting and recovering.

Peace

[DJaRiHardstyle]

Okay well today was a good old rest day. I woke up around 7:30 to make breakfast, morning weight was around 177 like yesterday. I had my breakfast, then played video games to waste away the day, got my second meal, and did cardio. It was especially exhausting as I had little energy this morning (I feel like it was more of a mental thing, though, as my diet has been steady). Then I had my third meal, and went with my mom to pick my girlfriend up. It was really relaxing; we sat on the couch, watched a Christmas movie (Jack Frost) and she gave me some early presents, spoiling me lyke crazy!

The first two presents were just samples that came with the present she hasn't given me yet, which is my Proton 7 from Universal (very excited for that). One of the sample packets was ON's "Pre" which I actually want to save for when I finish my Xtreme N.O. (I'm going to try the Pre first and then try my three sample packets of Universal Shock Therapy I got in the mail a while ago). The other was "Xpand 2x" by Dymatize. I've heard some reviews about how blatantly uneffective this stuff is so I just thought to myself what the heck, and drank it with my fourth meal to try the taste. I made the mistake of putting the entire packet into water, when the packet actually had two servings, meant to be taken before and after training. So I just drank it all, and I've gotta say, as you reach the bottom, that stuff is absolutely awful. I'm normally pretty tolerant to most piss-tasting pre's, but this was horrendous! Makes me very thankful of my Xtreme N.O., that's all I've got to say:P

The last present was pretty nice; it was a Y-back (or T-back or whatever you call those things) Beast tank. It's a size Large and I usually like wearing tighter clothes for training, but large is my size normally, so whatever, but it actually looks really nice and I'm psyched to train back and biceps with it tomorrow! Tomorrow I'll be training earlier than usual, as we have school off and it's Christmas Eve so the gym's closing early, though I'll still get a workout in Christmas day. I was deciding between going to see my girlfriend play her bassoon at a Christmas Eve event at her church or have lunch with her family Christmas day, and I decided lunch, as I have no formal clothes with me at my mom's house for the church event. So I'm planning on packing a lot of my food and bringing that with me on Tuesday.

Anyways, it's late again. I've gotta get sleep if I'm going to wake up at 6am tomorrow! I'm feeling pretty good, quads and glutes are sore as hell now. I'll keep you guys updated after I come back from the gym tomorrow. Oh, and I'm about 179 mid-day weight

[DJaRiHardstyle]

Okay so I got in a CRAZY back workout today. I wore the Y-Back tank my girlfriend got me and I was so pumped, it was incredible. I love getting pumped on back days, because I feel huge and my arms can barely move with my lats pressing up against them and I fill out my clothes like crazy. And I got a pretty good workout in, despite the fact that the gym was packed because it's the day before Christmas and everyone wants to get in shape before they pig out on Christmas day, and while that's strong enough bro science to make Professor Ian McCarthy of Bro Science University proud, I can see how it can mentally make you feel better about eating that much food. Eh.

Well I had a nice Christmas Eve dinner, jk, it was what I always have; my two cod fillets with brussel sprouts and a medium sweet potato. Tomorrow, Christmas day, I'm training hammies, traps, front and superior delts, then finishing it off with calves. Since I'm training so many body parts, I keep the amount of exercises short and precise and boost the intensity. So I'll do 3 hamstring exercises first, as that is easily my most lagging bodypart now, then hit four sets of bent over dumbbell shrugs (don't be confused by the name, they're just regular dumbbell shrugs, except I stick my tush out and arch my lower back just a tad bit to hit the back of my trapezius and really give my lats serious volume. Then I'll go do some side lateral dumbbell raises, cable front raises, and isometric shoulder presses, followed by calf presses. I'm doing this all at a pretty small gym, which is the only one open, due to it being Christmas day.

Ok, guys, I don't normally do this, but I'm going to rant a little bit. My mom always gets drunk at night and it really pisses me off. It shows very little of her to do that on a consistent basis, while my brother and I are here. Every once in a while is totally fine and every weekend is a little strange, but nothing too serious. But now that I'm staying at her house during the week and I see that she still drinks here, it's really upsetting. My mom works as a fitness instructor as a second job and my dad is an experienced lifter who used to manage a health club, and since they're both in shape (my dad more than my mom) they're definitely both role models for me, but as I get older and more into bodybuilding, it's pretty disappointing to see that my mom's less responsible than I am. She gets drunk every night, pretty early, and is impossible to talk to when she's in that state. She's oblivious to everything around her and can't carry out a normal conversation. I don't mean to whine or anything, but it's almost like she's robbing me of the time I get to spend with her. I'd rather her just be in her bedroom quiet not talking to me than stumbling around drunk as ever, embarrassing me in my own home. That's always been one of my goals through bodybuilding, to be a bigger man than the rest of the people in my family. My mom always acts like this, my step-mom is a strict woman who's mean for no reason, my mom's boyfriend is extremely immature for his age and disrespectful, and my brother seems to not really care about anything. My dad's probably the biggest person, based on personality, I know, and I look up to him so much. He's the reason I want to go to the college I want to go to; because he's so knowledgable about near every topic, so I wanted to go to a similar college; he's the reason I started lifting weights, to get strong like him; he's the reason I'm able to push myself so hard, because I know no matter how hard I push myself, he will always help push me further. He knows when I have potential at something and he won't let me give up on those things, and for that I'm so grateful for him. Him and my step-mom never seem to want to discuss my competition, because I think it's not what they want me to do, but that's okay because I remember calling him about a week or two ago and he told me he wants me to come with them to New York, because he supports what I do, and he's willing to buy the foods for me that I need. That meant much more to me than he probably knew. Just like when my step-uncle sent me an e-mail, telling me my dad is proud of the progress I've made and admires it. MY DAD? Admiring MY PROGRESS? He's been my inspiration for lifting for so long and now he's looking up to me in a way? That is the greatest feeling I can ever describe, and it also places a huge burden on my back that I'm willing to go through with. I'm responsible for doing everything I can to prove to my dad what kind of a person I am. I'd like to think I'm a humble person; I never go out of my way to brag and I make sure to try and never place myself above others, as we're all human beings. I love my dad to death, he's the greatest dad I could ever want and he's always there for me. Let me tell you guys something, if I do win this competition, or at least get top 3 in junior's overall, the first thing I'm going to do is hug my dad. I haven't hugged my dad in a long time. Sorry for getting sentimental, I've just put myself through so much in these past three weeks and I've got so much longer to go, but I know that the actions I do aren't what's hard about this, it's the mentality that brings me to do those actions, and I will strengthen that mentality until I am unstoppable in my mind and in my heart, because this is what I want.

Goodnight.

[DJaRiHardstyle]

14 weeks and 3 days out. I'm posting a bit late because yesterday was really exhausting and the dreary weather this morning just made it ten times better! Lol jk, but let me talk about yesterday and today's workouts.

I just realized that in the past three days, I've trained at three different gyms, huh. On Monday, I trained near my dad's house, hittin that BACK, getting swole. Yesterday, Tuesday, was my hams/delts/traps/calves workout. It kind of sucked, but I attribute part of that to the fact that I didn't plan drinking my PWO accordingly. I know for a lot of people, they have a range of time where their PWO has the best effect, but, for whatever reason, if it's not near spot-on for me, I don't feel it. I have to begin sipping 40 minutes from training, and I did that on Tuesday, but I assumed we were going to the gym we usually go to, which is further away, but much better (the only reason we went to this one was because it was one of two gyms open on Christmas day). So I ended up finishing my PWO (yes, I'm calling it that now, because I'm tired of saying Labrada Super Charge Xtreme N.O. all the time! Crap, I said it!) right as we got to the gym. Nonetheless, I tried to kick my workout into full throttle, but it was tough.

For starters, the gym was hella small, and just had the basics there. If it had been a normal day and not Christmas morning, getting an open machine would be a workout within itself, although I doubt too many people train there. I tried to ignore and just go through the movements, but the eery silence in the gym, excluding a couple other people, made it really strange, despite the loud music blasting in my ears. I also felt really gassy for some reason and let a couple loud ones get out during stiff legged deadlifts. I eventually got through the workout, keeping my weights where they were. My hamstrings are sore today, though nowhere near as sore as they would be without my good old Scivation Xtend and Primaforce Carb Slam Waxy Maize!

Today I trained at a gym at the mall, because my mom wanted to give me and my brother money to buy clothes afterwards as a present. It was an okay session; definitely better than yesterday, but nothing TOO outrageous, like Monday, which I hope will happen again. I've even switched my meal plan to simulate Monday's training. When I have a day where I have 3 or 4 meals before training, I make sure the one before training has less protein, i.e. my Chicken Breast and Rice/Oatmeal meal. The turkey and rice meal is higher in protein, and therefore, calories, so I have too much in my stomach when I train, and I'm really sensitive to that. I know to most people I seem to be really OCD about this, but, hey, pretending to be like someone else doesn't get you anything in life. So I trained arms and it was nice. I'm trying to put more emphasis on the long head of my bicep (the peak) as well as the long and medial heads of my tricep (the bulk on the back as well as what helps define the separation between bi and tri, that nice line). Damn, I use parentheses too much... and I can't even spell them.

Anyways, after the workout, I went shopping with the $140 my mom gave me and I bought two new pairs of jeans to RUIN with some squat-infested quads and stiff legged deads-induced hams.... wow, that was horrible. Anyways, afterwards, I went to Vitamin World, and bought some Power Carb from Labrada Nutrition for when my WMS runs out, which should be soon. I'm pretty excited to see how it affects my recovery and growth. I'm also thinking of buying some Beast Creature Creatine Powder from bb.com, but I don't know if I need to be taking creatine, if I already get some from my PWO. It may just be for off-days, eh.

So, looking forward, my schedule is kinda screwy. Friday, my brother has tennis pretty early in the morning, and normally he has it later, which is when I train, because he goes to the health club to play tennis. I don't think I can train at 9:30am, but we'll see. The rest of the week is sort of the same, because of New Year's and gym closing times. Again, we'll see.

It's 10:50pm so I've gotta go to bed! Night, guys!

[DJaRiHardstyle]

Wow, yesterday, my rest day, was beyond exhausting! It's probably a combination of the fact that my body's adjusting to this lower carb diet, as well as the fact that my body was basically on autopilot up until winter break, as I was basically doing something the entire day. Whether it be making meals, eating meals, lifting weights, doing cardio, doing homework, studying at school, hanging out with my girlfriend, you name it, I didn't really have time to be tired, if that makes sense. So when I finally got all this free time, it was like a shock to my body and now I've been tired for two days. So yesterday, I took two naps and still got a nice amount of sleep in. Today is a chest day and I'm hoping I can make it as good as my back workout was Monday. The clavicular head of my chest, as well as my outer pecs, are lagging, so those get primary treatment.

My workout will go as such: 1. Pre-exhaustion: Cable Crossovers, 2. To hit clavicular head with power movement: Incline Bench Press, 3. To work on outer pecs and keep upper chest stimulated: Incline Dumbbell Pec Fly's, 4. Basic Movement: Nautilus Machine Bench Press, 5. Finish off outer pecs: Pec Deck (keep weight low, high reps, limit sets to 3). I finish off my chest workouts with dips and then single-handed overhead tricep extensions. Because my arms are lagging areas, these help to keep them stimulated.

I'm 14 weeks and 1 day out. I'm feeling really lean and still looking muscular! I've been thinking about my peak week, although that's a while away.... it's important to take note of how slight changes in diet affect your aesthetics all the way up until contest time to know what works for you.... and I'm kind of sold on skipping the whole carb frontloading v. backloading dilemma and sticking to this: Starting a week out, I'll keep water intake high and carbs moderate, then slowly deplete carbs throughout the week, while keeping water relatively high, avoiding drastic changes until at least Friday night. I'll probably start reloading my carbs Friday night to carefully add muscle bellies and fullness back into my frame! But for now, all I'm focusing on is this chest workout today!

Yesterday's cardio was killer. I was so used to the incline treadmill I used at my mom's house, the bike just wiped out any remaining energy I had left. Oh, and today I made some mouth-watering southwest turkey burgers, to substitute my usual plain old ground turkey breast meal. I made them out of the ground turkey breast with mild salsa, cayenne pepper, basil, garlic salt (which I had to make with garlic powder and salt), and Lawry's seasoned salt. They were so good but so damn spicy! I crapped a storm after eating those things, lol not sure if that's good or bad! Anyways, tomorrow I'll officially be 14 weeks out!

[DJaRiHardstyle]

Ok so I just wanted to make a quick post before tomorrow. So tonight I got in a nice chest workout (late but still nice). I feel like I perform my best at night, idk why; I'm definitely not a morning person so that might contribute to it!
Tonight's workout was nice. It's kind of depressing not being able to go up in weights as fast as I could when bulking, but it's as to be expected. I still went up in some lifts though and got an amazing chest pump, as well as awesome mental focus and energy. It's days like this where I realize how awesome the PWO is (THAANK you, lee labrada!). I feel like days when I REALLY push myself to my absolute limits, like today, the PWO kicks in so much more.
Cable crossovers were nice and they gave me a nice starting pump, the incline bench was pretty challenging as always though I went up in weight, then the incline dumbbell fly's were unexpectedly easy (I kept my reps the same all while increasing from 30s to 55s), then the Nautilus press was hard, but that was mostly because of the awkward range of motion (definitely need to switch that exercise), then the pec deck was awesome, because I pushed it so hard and got an unreal pump from it! Then dips and overhead dumbbell extensions, finished with reverse grip tricep pushdowns, and ab curl machine finished it for me! Downed my shake with the Hydro Whey and Power Carbs (which made the shake really clumpy), got home, did some intensive cardio, then tilapia, sweet potato, and brussel sprouts, then took a shower, then wrote this review, now time for last meal then SLEEP TIME!!!!

Ok guys, I'm out, gotta eat.

[DJaRiHardstyle]

This morning I woke up at 7:00am, then reset my alarm for 8:00am, laziness on my part. It was a refeed day today, but I didn't realize that until too late. My quads workout kind of suffered from it, but I ended up watching the Hobbit with my family, then eating some CHIPOTLE! So I'll be back on my regular schedule for the rest of the week, except I'll probably double my carbs on Wednesday, since I didn't do that today, so I can maybe get a better arms workout!

My quads workout today was pretty tough, probably because of my lower carb intake than usual for Saturday. I started with leg extensions, then went to squats, where I lowered weight and went pretty deep. Then I got to leg press and increased my weight and bettered my form! Then finally I did some lunges and absolutely wiped out my quads. Then I got on the glute machine, which is such a strange exercise to me; I may end up replacing it with low weight high rep hack squats with my feet positioned far forward to wreck my glutes.

So anyways, not too much to write here, I'm feeling pretty disorganized and hopefully tomorrow, being a rest day, I can catch up on some of the things I need to do.

[DJaRiHardstyle]

So yesterday was a rest day; it was pretty nice. My girlfriend and I hung out at my house and I kept to my schedule like normal.

This morning, Monday, December 31st, I did cardio right when I woke up just to switch things up. I've got a back day today and we haven't bought all our groceries, which is really frustrating, because we do it every Sunday, which worked out perfectly, but my dad didn't want to, so now we have to this morning, but apparently when my dad said morning he meant 11:00, which is way late for me; so I have no turkey, and no chicken for my next meal. So I could use tilapia, but naah, that's my dinner, I don't want to mess around with using such a light protein source before training. I may just make a third shake today; GNC Wheybolic with milk and then some oatmeal. Or maybe mix it with water and then bring it to the grocery store, have some oatmeal when I come back, then train. Beautiful. The problem is my dad's not very accomodating, so I have to always work my training, eating, cardio, etc. around his schedule because it's not often that he'll change his schedule around for me, which would be fine if it was the same schedule every day, but when it's always changing, I never know which meals I'll have time to get in or when I can train, etc.

So my Valeo belt came in the mail today to my mom's house, so when I go there this weekend, I'm going to have a sick quads session! Anyways, I'll keep you guys updated! Oh and sorry about the old profile pic, it was me when I was bulking, I've been trying to upload an abs shot, but my freakin 4G doesn't exist in my house! So I've got to wait until I go somewhere else and then I'll send it from my phone!

[DJaRiHardstyle]

Well, I'm 13 weeks and 4 days out.... Yesterday I trained back, today I trained hams and delts.

Yesterday's workout was extremely intense and I tested my grip strength on bent over rows, using no straps on my last set, and was even stronger than before. Today's workout was equally intense; I had less nutrients in my body when training and it was tough. On stiff-legged deadlifts, something kicked in and I did 12 reps with 225, good form. Then I put a ten on each side (245) and can only get 3 reps, which was really strange, but a good display of my hamstring strength to work upon.

I've gotta say, though, it's been really bringing me down, the response I'm getting for this. I know pre-contest is supposed to be tough, but with the minimal amount of support I'm getting, just getting by the day is hard enough. The only person interested in this is my girlfriend. I have very few friends now, which is fine I guess, it's necessary to reach that goal, but it's really demotivating. No one has responded to this thread either, which kind of brings me down. My already strict dad and step-mom never talk about my diet or training unless they're talking about what a nuisance it is for them. I feel like I'm fighting a war with myself. Before I started bodybuilding, I was stick skinny, not an ounce of muscle on me, and I had, and still naturally have, a personality that didn't like a very controlled life. I've always liked hanging out with friends, eating whatever I want, doing whatever I want, so this lifestyle is tough for me. Every day is the same thing for me. The only thing that keeps me going is telling myself I have to do this. I don't have a very big support system at all, but it doesn't matter. My competition is probably kicking it into gear as I speak; wasting time feeling sorry for myself isn't even an option. I need to strictly monitor my diet, my cardio, my training. When I train, I need to fight for what I have. I will reach this goal; I won't LET myself fail. I need to do this for more than just myself. I've spent my whole life never sticking to anything, never getting respect, basically living a lie. If I give up now, I'm a failure to myself and everyone who has ever supported my efforts in even the slightest. It's too late to turn back now; I need to do everything the best possible way I can.

So I would be more than ecstatic if I got some positive feedback, but if I don't get it, then so be it, I'll just have to keep fighting for that dream! Tomorrow is an arms day, and since I didn't carb up like I wanted on Saturday, I'm going to carb up tomorrow to switch things up, because my arms are definitely a weak point. Also my new belt came, but it's at my mom's house so I'll get to use it for my quads day on Saturday.

[DJaRiHardstyle]

Today was an arms day, and I went high carb because of scheduling. I got a pretty nice workout in; the number of people here for New Year's resolutions wasn't as high as I expected, which was nice; still there may be more in time.

I've gotta say guys, I'm feeling pretty much like I'm in autopilot mode now. With the exception of training, every day is basically the same, so I'm just trying to go through the motions to keep from going crazy. Of course, when I train, I have to get out of that mindset and KILL IT! It can be so tough sometimes, especially since I'm dieting, to keep my intensity in the gym up, but I'm doing my absolute best. I got two compliments in the gym today about my physique, which really meant a lot. It's been so tough going on, but even just the smallest compliments are enough to give me the boost I need to reach my full potential. Not much to write today, but I'll be back with more tomorrow, my rest day.

[Skdrake]

Is this your first contest? I am getting prepped for my first contest and it has been real monotonous. You just have to stay consistent and keep grinding away. I just remind myself every time that my friends go have a beer or a pizza that it'll show up on contest day. It's admirable what you are doing. If it was easy everyone would be doing it. Keep fighting the good fight.

[Webber91]

Got any pics bro? Do you have macro targets for each day?

[DJaRiHardstyle]

Is this your first contest? I am getting prepped for my first contest and it has been real monotonous. You just have to stay consistent and keep grinding away. I just remind myself every time that my friends go have a beer or a pizza that it'll show up on contest day. It's admirable what you are doing. If it was easy everyone would be doing it. Keep fighting the good fight.

Awesome response! That's the mentality I'm forcing onto myself haha! And yes it is my first, so we're on the same boat!

[DJaRiHardstyle]

Got any pics bro? Do you have macro targets for each day?

Haha what a coincidence, I just logged on to post some pics and a journal entry!

[DJaRiHardstyle]

Well I just finished up a quads, rear delts, and calves workout, let me go over that and my chest workout yesterday.

I've noticed that when I train later in the day for chest, I'm much stronger and much more mentally focused, my workout yesterday wasn't exceptional, but I was able to, for the most part, keep my weights where they were. Today was really nice, though, training quads, rear delts, and calves.
I switched things up and did a lighter 3 sets of pre-exhaustion on the leg extensions, then got to back squats in the power rack and felt spot on! My goal before getting in the gym was to get 10 clean reps with 225 and I did! I used my belt for the first time and It certainly helped remove my lower back from the equation and focus all the tension on my quads. Afterwards, I messed around with my usual regimen a bit and did two sets of ATG Back Squats, to burn out my legs. Next, I replaced leg press with hack squats, and needless to say my quads were on fire, so the walking dumbbell lunges afterwards were a real pain to do. My rear delts exercises didn't hit them like I wanted, so I think I'll stick to my usual ones (Rear Delt Fly Machine and Cable Rope Face Pulls w/external rotation) from now on.

I attached some pics of where I am currently (pics are obviously with no pump or lighting or posing)

Btw, morning weight today was 177, and today was a carb up day, so I got my weekly Cheatpotle meal in tonight!

[DJaRiHardstyle]

Hey guys, so yesterday, Sunday, was a rest day for me. I took it easy, but kept up with my diet and cardio and saw my girlfriend later that day. Then I went grocery store shopping with my dad and we got everything except, of course, for my ground turkey breast, but it worked out, sort of, because they were all out of packs of 2 chicken breasts (I usually buy two of those, 4 for the Monday-Thursday) so I ended up getting a pack of 5 and used the extra chicken breast for lunch today, Monday. Well, after my back workout today, we picked up some ground turkey breast from Nature's Promise, because Shady Brook (or whatever it's called) Farms was all out. Tonight was full of stuff to do. I got home after my workout, immediately pre-heated the oven, put my frozen tilapia on a tray, washed out my shaker cups, put the tray in the oven once it pre-heated, started cooking my ground turkey breast, took my tilapia out of the oven, put my ground turkey breast in containers with brown rice, and once everything was out of sight from my dogs, so they couldn't reach it, I got on the bike and did twenty excruciating minutes.

My back workout today was nice, but nothing special. All the New Year's Resolutions people were here, hogging equipment and getting in the way, forcing me to alter my workout a bit. I got to break in the belt again, using it for the last set or last two sets of every exercise where my lower back or abs weren't supported. I ended up going up in some weights, but most of my exercises were different, so it was hard to tell. Also, when I got to biceps, I did some 21s with a barbell, while this guy kept giving me looks because his girlfriend was right in front of me, and I had nowhere else to go, so it looked like I was eyeing her haha. Honstly, I couldn't care less; I just wanted to get my workout in. I ended up finishing early, even with tons of extra ab work (leg raises) because I cut some sets out and was a bit frantic to find open equipment. My goal on back days is to really bring out the lower section of my lats, because the upper section for me is very developed; I just need to bring up the lower, as do most people. I'm also trying to focus on always getting my ab work in and not just rushing through it, because I don't wanna be the guy that comes on stage with a barely visible 4-pack and has to blow his lungs out on the front ab & thigh just to make them noticeable.

So tomorrow is my hams, delts, traps, calves workout. I'm going to keep my hamstrings routine the same for the most part, but for delts, I'm going to switch it up completely to try and force some growth. Instead of starting with lateral dumbbell raises, I'm going to use the lateral raise machine. Then, instead of Hammer Strength Shoulder Presses, I'm going to probably make more use for my belt and do some dumbbell military presses. I'll keep the dumbbell front raises; maybe try doing both arms at once for first two sets, and then I'll do some HEAVY trap shrugs with the barbell. I'll finish up with seated calf raises, going heavy. I really want to force some extra muscle into myself before I get so tired of dieting, maintaining because my priority.

For now, I'm 12 weeks and 5 days out, still motivated, going strong! Weigh about 177.7, leaning out, it's 11:16, time to get some shut eye, tomorrow's another day folks!

[DJaRiHardstyle]

So, I haven't posted in a while, sorry about that. Let me update you guys quick; I'm currently waking up at 174.8, my quads are coming out nice, arms are sort of catching up which is nice, and my back as always is my strong point. My hamstrings are also looking really nice.

Yesterday I trained chest and it was nice, I dropped the incline bench press and switched to dumbbells because i feel it gives me a better stretch and lets me control the weights more. Today is my quads and rear delts workout, and I'm hoping to push some more weight.

Last night I talked to my step uncle, who is helping me with contest prep, as he is a former IFBB pro. He wants me to go low carb, high fiber on thursdays (like 60g carb) and high carb on Sunday (like 275g carbs), my two off days. He also wants me to increase my cardio to 30 min, and determine my resting heart rate so i can figure out what my heart rate should be during cardio (using karvonen formula). He wants me to find out what blood type I am, to figure out what I should be eating closer to contest, and finally he gave me a formula for incorporating anaerobic bursts into my cardio. So hopefully, I can increase muscle bellies and still shred up like crazy. I'll post again after training guys!

[DJaRiHardstyle]

Just came back from the gym; we've got a new routine Mondays and Wednesdays. I go to the gym, train, 30 mins cardio, then shower. Today I did back and beat it up. I finished with supinated chins, dumbbell 21s, and leg raises. I felt pretty big training today, and I got a much nicer pump in my biceps, hopefully I'm bringing those up.
Guys, being honest here, I'm completely ready for this. Earlier in the year, when I thought I'd be competing September 1st, I had some serious doubts about how I would look on stage, and those doubts were a blessing, because after only a week of cutting, it was quite apparent I hadn't put on the mass I needed. This time around, I'm ready for this. I'm going to do my best to give the other competitors a run for their money, or place in the Junior Nationals in November in this instance. Every day I have thoughts running through my mind of how I'm going to work to complete this goal and it's never a question of whether or not I will, but rather what I will do to achieve that goal. I utilize every aspect of my resources towards making something out of what I have. I want to be inspiration to kids looking to simply build some muscle, or friends/family members who just want to make a change, or even bodybuilding competitors. I promised myself coming into this prep that this mindstate of doing everything in my power to achieve this goal will remain with me until the end. When is the end? Never. That's the beauty of bodybuilding; it's a fight to see who can reach the aesthetic illusion of perfection. It's not a cocky or selfish sport, at least what leads up to it isn't. There is nothing selfish about devoting all the time you would rather spend fulfilling your short term desires, to make sacrifice after sacrifice in hopes of bettering yourself to better others.
Sometimes I pose in the gym and a person will say, "Don't be a tool" or whatever comes to mind and all I can think of is the saying that anyone who tries to bring you down to their level, must be below you. Assuming my practicing poses while I have a pump is me being a "tool" is more "toolish" than most things I know considering lifting.
So I promise you all, I will do everything in my power to win this for myself and everyone who has ever supported me. I will always remain humble and always place my loving Creator before myself, and finally I won't give up; no matter how many times I lose at anything, I WILL beat that by one. Thanks guys!

[DJaRiHardstyle]

So today is Thursday, one of my two rest days (one of my two carb manipulation days - unfortunately the low carb day).

I woke up at 4:30am, did 30min on the bike, showered, had breakfast, left for school, came back, more cardio, here i am.

Here's my current low carb day meal plan (for Thursdays):

Meal 1
2 scoops Universal Milk & Egg Protein
12 oz water
1 Fish Oil
1 Multi V

Meal 2
2 scoops Universal Proton 7
10 oz water

Meal 3
8 oz Ground Turkey Breast
6 Brussel Sprouts

Meal 4
5 oz Chicken Breast
6 Brussel Sprouts
1 scoop MuscleMeds Carnivor
12 oz water

Meal 5
8 oz Tilapia (approx)
6 Brussel Sprouts
10 oz water

Meal 6
1/2 cup 2% fat Greek Yogurt

....

Please don't hate on the first two meals, I realize they're not whole foods, and I'm considering switching my morning shake with about 6-7 egg whites, 1 whole egg, and Cream of Rice instead of my usual Quaker Oats on training days and my high carb day. The only problem is I've heard some bad stuff about cooking egg whites. Egg albumin is a tricky protein, because cooking it for too long can possibly "denature" the protein, while drinking most egg white substances raw is pointless, because the avidin in the egg whites disallows protein absorption. Egg White International, i know for a fact, removes the avidin, but it's too expensive for me. For all I know, this may be completely false, so I may start using eggs next week.

I'm currently feeling good, lean as ever, abs defined, striations not here yet, but definite separations in upper body. back looks nice, inner pecs lookin sick, arms starting to come out, still struggling with legs, though they're not bad, and delts are coming in, but slowly. calves are holding tight even though i missed a calf workout on tuesday, and forearms are gettin veiny!

I'll be back with more soon.

[DJaRiHardstyle]

So I'm 11 weeks out today, morning weight is a light 172, that's right 172! I thought I'd be 175 at stage-ready condition, but it's becoming more and more apparent I'm going to be in the MIDDLE of middleweight, so I better bring my A-game in regards to posing, coming in shredded, and peak week nutrition.

Today I hit quads, rear delts, and calves. I used my Animal Rage sample packet (last of my samples) before training, because my quads day is probably the least important to get a pump on, i'd rather just be mentally in the zone, which this stuff claims to do. I attached a random picture of my supps before I trained, they're not all pre/intra workout, and they're not ALL of the supps I have, i have many more. I took the Animal Rage before training (tastes nasty) and had my Xtend while training and then mixed my Carnivor Fruit Punch and Power Carb into the Xtend after my workout and sipped on that.

The workout was exhausting; I've gone down a bit in weights, but to be fair, I switched things up and started with leg press. I'm running out of workout logs, so I'll have to make some more BB.com workout logs tomorrow. The Animal Rage wasn't what I wanted exactly, but I did like the feeling of euphoria after my workout, and I definitely was more energized, but not exactly as mentally focused as I'd like. I'm definitely an Animal Pump fan more than Rage. Also, I got my Universal Shock Therapy in the mail, so I'll start using that on my back workout Monday and tell you all how I like it; I've been using my Shock Therapy sample packets, and so far I've been getting decent pumps (not as great as Labrada Xtreme N.O., but somehow the consistency and low-key qualities of the pump are better for me; Xtreme N.O. is definitely going to stay in my arsenal though and I'll unleash it every now and then lol). The Hawaiian Pump flavor of ST is AWFUL. it's like straight up medicine and it's disgusting. That's the one thing I don't like about Universal is their inability to flavor correctly, but their products are too effective to avoid because of flavor; besides they're getting better. Anyways, I got Jersey Fresh Peach Tea, so i'll be able to see how that tastes. The word "Jersey" sure isn't very appetizing though lol, it makes me thing of all the dirt in NJ, but whatever.

I also attached pics of my quads and calf after training. It's obvious my quads need work. I don't think I'm genetically disadvantaged in my quads, because I have my dad's easy-to-grow minimal-calf-exercise-usage calves, but I don't have his quads or hamstrings and I think that's because I neglected them for so long back when I used to train mirror muscles only, like a stupid curl monkey. So tomorrow's my high carb day and I'll post again then!

[DJaRiHardstyle]

Today was a rest day; I woke up at around 8:00am, because I don't have school today, nor do I have to train, so I have a lot of time.
Here's what I ate today (keep in mind it was a high carb day, which I tend to sort of wing; I'll eventually clean up my high carb days and make them the same as regular days, except increase amounts of carb sources I'm already getting):

Meal 1 - 6 egg whites, 1 whole egg; 1 packet Cream of Wheat Cinnabon
Meal 2 - 1 scoop Proton 7; 1 toasted Multigrain bagel w/ butter, 2 chocolate rice cakes
Meal 3 - 5 oz ground turkey breast; pineapple pieces; 2 packets Cream of Wheat Cinnabon
Meal 4 - Chipotle bowl - chicken, fajita veggies, black beans, white rice, tomato
Meal 5 - 5 oz ground turkey breast, 2 oz chicken breast; 1 sweet potato; 5 brussel sprouts
Meal 6 (my next meal) - 5 egg whites

So here is my revised diet for now on (these are for regular low-carb days, not my high-carb day or carb depletion day):

Meal 1
6 egg whites, 1 whole egg
1/2 cup oats, measured dry
1 cup skim milk
1 fish oil gel
1 multi V

Meal 2
2 scoops Universal Proton 7

Meal 3
8 oz ground turkey breast
6 brussel sprouts

Meal 4
5 oz chicken breast
1/2 cup oats, measured dry
1 cup skim milk
1 pineapple cup

Pre-Workout
1-1.5 scoops Universal Shock Therapy (depending on body part)

Intra-Workout
Finishing off my Scivation Xtend, then I'll order some Universal Intra-Aid

Post-Workout
For now:
1 scoop MuscleMeds Carnivor Fruit Punch
2 scoops Power Carbs
Soon:
3 scoops Universal Torrent

Meal 5
8 oz tilapia
1 medium sweet potato
6 brussel sprouts

Meal 6 - Before Bed
5 egg whites

I'll calculate macros for that, but chances are they're near identical, as I haven't really changed much. I switched my split up a bit too, so I'm back to training quads and hamstrings on Saturday, and now Tuesday is only for shoulders. Also tomorrow is arms and Wednesday is back, switched.

[DJaRiHardstyle]

Ok so today I'm 10 weeks and 5 days out. I trained arms today and I used my Shock Therapy: Jersey Fresh Peach Tea. It tasted yummy but a little rich; i think i needed more water. I also got to use my Torrent after I finished weights and cardio, and it was epic. The Torrent was delicious and actually felt good going into my system, idk if that makes any sense. I'm liking doing all triceps, then all biceps, rather than alternating; it helps me maintain my pump and keep the specific muscle fired up.

I'm gradually noticing more visible vascularity in my arms, as well as some in my traps, calves, and even my lats, right under my armpit. My bodyfat is certainly decreasing and my abs are more visible. It feels nice being low bodyfat; I feel more active and fit, especially on or right after high carb days, when I re-fuel my body. The downside is the lack of tasty food and those dreaded 50g carb, double cardio days. But I'm willing to push through it because I want this so bad.

Tomorrow after school I'm training delts with my traps and calves. My delts are very unimpressive, and they certainly don't help mask the appearance of my long lanky arms. I'm getting more muscle on my arms, but as I get closer to the contest and go through more and more days of caloric defecit, my strength goes down and building muscle becomes much trickier. So for now I need to prioritize with all my lagging muscles, rather than just emphasizing on "hitting them harder". I also need to have my split fit my needs to the T.

So tomorrow, I'll spend a lot of time focusing on the contraction of my shoulders and try not to involve my traps too much. Well I'm going to bed now, another day, another dollar!

[DJaRiHardstyle]

So this log is turning more into an overall dieting and progress log, rather than training, but i'll let it take the direction it wants. I'm currently 10 weeks and 1 day out, about to hit chest pretty soon. Today our school had a 2-hour early release, so I got to come home and hang out with my girlfriend. I need to be more disciplined about doing what I need to get done when she's here. I always relax and waste away my time, instead of getting done what I need to. In this case, I got basically everything done, but it's something to keep in mind. It's snowing a decent amount outside, but I'm hopeful that I can still train.

I'm definitely getting more cut. My back looks pretty shredded and my abs are coming in nicely. I'll post pics soon; for now, I need to get ready to go train.

[DJaRiHardstyle]

I'm 9 weeks, 6 days out right now. Today is Sunday, my re-feed/cheat/treat/high carb, whatever you want to call it, day. I'm increasing carb intake a lot to really fill out my frame on Sundays and I'm moving cardio to my legs days on Saturdays, so that I can get the most out of this. My idea is that if I increase my calories enough, and cause my body to increase insulin by allowing more empty carbs, I can make my metabolism work harder, so that when I get back onto my strict schedule tomorrow morning, my body is primed to shed fat and I won't have to worry about the release of cortisol our bodies use when we go too low-cal, low-carb for too long. So I'm going to aim for about 350-375g carbs today, decreasing my protein just a bit so as not to increase calories more than necessary. Also, today's main focus is recovery, repair, and re-growth, which protein has a smaller part in than carbs.

My glutes are really sore from yesterday, as is my chest from Friday, hence the "sore butt and boobs" title. I'm making progress and looking forward to where I'll be this week and every week leading up to the contest. I'll reply with my macros for today, as well as a list of what I ate, so I can look back in the future and see if this carb-loading works as well as I hope.