1st Time Stepping on Stage!

[justhime]

Howdy guys, justhime checking in from the land down under. Been training/involved with bettering my image for awhile now, and competing has definitely been something that has been on my radar for quite awhile but has been something that I have put off for far too long.

Needless to say, I decided to bite the bullet, and finally step on stage for the very first time! I've never been one to enter journal entries, but I feel that this will be a great way to communicate with people that have more experience than me and will understand the feeling of mood swings during that contest prep!

I'm entering the INBA NSW Titles in the Novice Division.

I haven't gotten a prep coach as of yet but am planning to do so ASAP. Really hoping I am able to nail my conditioning and peak at the correct time.

As of now I'm consuming 2000 - 2100 Calories a day, split into 180C/230P/40F, been dieting now for a good 8 weeks very gradually tapering my carbs and manipulating my fats to see what works best. Getting leaner every week which I assume is a good sign Strength hasn't suffered too much as of yet, but I'm sure as I continue to drop my carbohydrate intake it may.

Weighing in at 73.2 KG as of this morning, started dieting at around the 76KG Mark.

This photo was taken 63 days out:



Anyway will continue to log my progress here with pictures and let the people know how everything goes!


Justhime checking out!

[Devils]

You look good for the novice Division, should do well, how old are you?

Macro's look good although I would have your calories higher and fats, maybe 60-70g.
Keep up the log and good luck.

Practice posing every day, as a novice you will really stand out if you polish your stage presence and presentation.
Conditioning is key, get into the best shape of your life.
Enjoy the experience and don't pressure yourself too much.

[justhime]

You look good for the novice Division, should do well, how old are you?

Macro's look good although I would have your calories higher and fats, maybe 60-70g.
Keep up the log and good luck.

Practice posing every day, as a novice you will really stand out if you polish your stage presence and presentation.
Conditioning is key, get into the best shape of your life.
Enjoy the experience and don't pressure yourself too much.

Devils! Just the guy I was going to PM asking for some advice! So maybe up the carbs and fat intake or all three macros together? If I up my fats to the 60-70g mark should I drop that number down each week?

Been practicing my posing every night after training in my home bathroom for awhile now! I have definitely taken into consideration the importance of being able to hold a pose properly and with proper presence, but will still definitely need a coach to help tighten up the flaws!

Thanks for the words of encouragement brotato!

Edit: I'm 24.

[JVDTWG]

IN!

Good luck brah!

[justhime]

IN!

Good luck brah!

Thanks for joining brah!

[JVDTWG]

Thanks for joining brah!

No worries bro

[Devils]

Devils! Just the guy I was going to PM asking for some advice! So maybe up the carbs and fat intake or all three macros together? If I up my fats to the 60-70g mark should I drop that number down each week?

Been practicing my posing every night after training in my home bathroom for awhile now! I have definitely taken into consideration the importance of being able to hold a pose properly and with proper presence, but will still definitely need a coach to help tighten up the flaws!

Thanks for the words of encouragement brotato!

Edit: I'm 24.

I would bump it up without changing anything else and then track your weight over the next 4-5 days, weigh in after a piss in the morning each day.

If it's staying the same or creeping up then you can see about adding cardio (HIIT), depending on what you're doing right now I don't know you haven't spoken about that yet.

[justhime]

I would bump it up without changing anything else and then track your weight over the next 4-5 days, weigh in after a piss in the morning each day.

If it's staying the same or creeping up then you can see about adding cardio (HIIT), depending on what you're doing right now I don't know you haven't spoken about that yet.

Ok, true true, I will definitely up the fats for the next few days and report back with the weight results.

And of course as to what I am doing in terms of weights and cardio at the moment.

I'm still training my usual way. 6 Days a week split into:

Sunday - Legs
Monday - Chest
Tuesday - Arms (Bicep Focused)
Wednesday - Shoulders
Thursday - Rest
Friday - Back
Saturday - Arms (Tricep Focused)

I am and always have trained with lot's of volume, and at quite high intensity. I always try to keep my rest between sets to a minimal. On each given day I complete around 5 exercises per muscle group almost always superset and/or do a drop set. I'd like to think that my muscular endurance is pretty good.

In terms of cardio, I throw in maybe 1-2 HIIT Sessions a week going 2 minutes at 60% then 1 minute at 90-95%, and I do about 4-6 cycles of this.
My other main form of cardio comes from skateboarding, but that can be quite subjective. I skate around 3-4 times a week, most times skating from 1-3 hours(This of course would include resting as well)

[justhime]

Just got home from the gym, was shoulder night tonight, felt great, good energy, extremely pumped!

Seated DB Press:
22KG x 12
32KG x 10
34Kg x 10
36KG x 10

Seated Military Press(Smith Machine) superset Standing Side Lateral Raises
40KG x 10, 8KG x 10
50KG x 10, 8KG x 10
60KG x 10, 8KG x 10

Lying Rear Delt Flys Dropset
14KG x 14, 8KG x 12
14KG x 13, 8KG x 12

Seated Bent-Over Rear Delt Raise
16KG x 15, 10KG x 15
16KG x 13, 10 KG x 15

Front Lateral Raises with a Plate superset Standing Cable Side Lateral Raises
20KG x 10, 6KG x 10
20KG x 10, 6KG x 10

DB Seated Side Lateral Raises Dropset superset Standing Cable Front Lateral Raises
10KG x 8 then 8KG x 6, 6KG x 9
10 KG x 8, then 8KG x 6, 4KG x 9

Bent Over Rear Delt Cable Raises
4KG x 10
4KG x 10

[justhime]

Weighed in @ 73.0KG this morning.

[nvs180]

Weighed in @ 73.0KG this morning.

Subbed and repped man, saw you in the Aussie thread. Keep this log going, I've learnt so much from a lot of the guys Journals/Blogs/Logs !

[justhime]

Subbed and repped man, saw you in the Aussie thread. Keep this log going, I've learnt so much from a lot of the guys Journals/Blogs/Logs !

Thanks mate!

Took a break from the weights last night, went skateboarding for a good 2-3 hours. Hitting back tonight!

[justhime]

Back:

Warm up:

3 Sets of Wide Grip Pull Ups to Failure. Some stretching and foam rolling.

Lat Pull Downs Wide Grip superset with One Arm DB Rows

44KG x 10 (Warm up set)
77KG x 10, 30KG x 8
79.5KG x 10, 34KG x 8
88KG x 10, 34 x 7

Bent Over BB Row superset with Standing One Arm Cable Rows

60KG x 10, 13KG x 10
80KG x 10, 13KG x 10
90KG x 10, 13KG x 10
100KG x 4 dropset to 80 x 6, 13KG x 10

Conventional Deadlift

20KG x 10
60KG x 10
100KG x 10
130KG x 8
160KG x 5

Seated Chest Supported Rows (Wide Grip) Superset with Seated Rope pulls
120KG x 10, 19KG x 10
140KG x 10, 26KG x 10
150KG x 10, 26KG x 10

Energy Levels were great tonight, gym wasn't packed either, was in a great mood and that goes a long way in the mental game!

[transformerchad]

72KGs im 71KGs but im over 16% BF. you soooooo much more lean than me and even an inch shorter . Have to get that LBM up

Good Luck brah!

[justhime]

72KGs im 71KGs but im over 16% BF. you soooooo much more lean than me and even an inch shorter . Have to get that LBM up

Good Luck brah!

All in good time bro! Patience and consistency is key!

Went out last night, watched the alcohol intake, didn't get home too late either. Did legs today despite feeling a tad bit more tired than usual.

Leg Extensions for Warm up
55KG x 15
55KG x 15

Barbell Squats
Bar x 15
60KG x 10
60KG x 10
100KG x 10
130KG x 10
160KG x 6

Seated Leg Press Machine superset Front Barbell Squats
125 x 18, 60KG x 10
135 x 18, 40KG x 10
137.5 x 16, 40KG x 10

Barbell Stiff Legged Deadlift superset Standing Single Leg Curls
60KG x 12, 30KG x 10
90KG x 10, 30 KG x 10

Dumbbell Stiff Legged Deadlift superset Standing Leg Curls
32KG x 10, 30KG x 10
34KG x 10, 30KG x 10

Seated Leg Curls superset Single Leg Seated Leg Curl
55KG x 10, 25 x 10
65 x 10, 25 x 10

Machine Glute Extensions
65 x 10
75 x 10

Seated Calf Raise on Leg Press Machine
135 x 18
125 x 20

[lukamura]

Dat dere Asian genetics of peace, looking thick. Will be coming back to see the progressions.

IN!

[justhime]

Dat dere Asian genetics of peace, looking thick. Will be coming back to see the progressions.

IN!

Thanks mate! Strong avi to user title ratio, mirin them quads!

Weighed in this morning at 72.7KG, lowest weight in thus far during my prep. Going to be have a de-load week this week.

[justhime]

73.2KG this morning....probably shouldn't have eaten all dat chocolate last night...feccck.

Will edit later with the chest workout I did yesterday.

Currently at 165C/240P/50F.

Any input on my current macros? Are they ok? not enough of something? Too much of one thing?

Edit: Chest Workout

Flat BB Bench Press
40KG x 20
60KG x 12
60KG x 12
80KG x 10

Incline DB Press (Incline level is normally set on 3)
32KG x 12
32KG x 12
32KG x 10
32KG x 10

Incline DB Flys
18KG x 12
18KG x 12
I put the incline up 1 level for my 3rd & 4th Set
18KG x 12
18KG x 12

Cable Crossovers from the Top superset with Cable Crossovers from the bottom
13KG x 10, 8KG x 10
13KG x 10, 8KG x 10
13KG x 10, 8KG x 10
13KG x 10, 8KG x 10
With my 3rd & 4th Set of Crossovers from the top it was more near the middle.

Seated Chest Press superset with Dips
40KG x 10,12 Dips
50KG x 10, 12 Dips
40KG x 10, 12 Dips

[ghoulsy]

sub'd.

gjdm.

[justhime]

So weighed in yesterday morning and this morning at 73.3KG. Have dropped my Daily Caloric intake by 50, a small amount, but we shall see if it makes a difference. Took Tuesday off from the gym as I was just not feeling in the mood the whole day @ work. Was quite nice actually getting a good 8 hours sleep that night (a rare thing for me) and had me feeling waking up feeling super refreshed on Wednesday.

Yesterday night I went and did Shoulders. Still on that de-load time.

Warmup:
Various Rotator Cuff exercises ranging in the 15-30 rep range

Seated DB Press superset with Shrugs(Using 15KG plates in each hand)
24KG x 12, 15KG x 18
26KG x 12, 15 KG x 18
26KG x 12, 15KG x 18
26KG x 12, 15KG x 18

Seated Bent Over Rear Delt Raise, Dropset
14KG x 15, 10KG x 12
14KG x 15, 10KG x 12
14KG x 13, 10KG x 11

Seated Military Press superset with standing side delt raises
30KG x 12, 5KG x 10
30KG x 12, 5KG x 10
30KG x 12, 5KG x 10

Seated Side Delt Raises x Cable Front Delt Raises
10KG x 10, 3KG x 10
10KG x 10, 3KG x 10

Seated Front Delt Raises (Hammer Curl Grip) x Cable Side Delt Raises
10KG x 10, 3KG x 10
10KG x 10, 3KG x 10

BB Front Delt Raises superset Cable Rear Delt Cross Overs
15KG x 10, 3KG x 10
15KG x 10, 3KG x 10


As much as doing a deload week doesn't cater to my ego's needs, I really enjoy it as I'm able to make a much stronger mind muscle connection with each exercise and really go 100% strict form. Feels very nice to give my CNS a rest as well!

[Devils]

How's it all going, still feeling good with training and eating?
Have you added cardio yet? I didn't notice in the last few workouts

[justhime]

How's it all going, still feeling good with training and eating?
Have you added cardio yet? I didn't notice in the last few workouts

Thanks for checking up Devils!

It's been going good, I had one day where I caved and ate not heaps but my fair share of chocolate (My weakness). Training has been going well, my lifts haven't really gone down at all. Diet's been good, since you recommended upping my fats I have done so to about 45-50G a day, weight loss is still steady. Actually weighed in this morning at 72.7KG

As for cardio, I still been doing my skateboarding about 3 times a week, but as of yesterday I actually started doing a structured routine. 10 Minutes of Rowing, 10 Minutes on the Eliptical and 10 Minutes Cycling. My Rowing was at a steady intense pace while my elliptical and cycling cardio were HIIT.

Last night I was pressed for time so I had to do my workout with minimal rest time, good thing it's a deload week so it actually worked out quite well. Did arms, will update post later with workout.

[Bnizzle163]

Looking swole man. I'm in!

[justhime]

Looking swole man. I'm in!

Thanks brother! Lookin' swole yourself!

Man it is so hard to come by quest bars here in Australia. The one time a supp store in my local area had them in, they only had them in 1 flavour....banana nut muffin. Am yet to try the Cookie Dough ones which every single person has/is raving about! Sooooon.jpg

As for my arms routine I did last night, as I stated I was pressed for time, so resting was really kept to a minimal, heart rate was pretty much kept up the whole way through, good thing I'm deloading this week so it wasn't to taxing mentally! I did my cardio earlier on in the day (Routine covered in above post)

Close Grip Bench Press superset with One arm cable tricep extensions
Bar x 20
60KG x 15, 7.5KG x 10
60KG x 12, 7.5KG x 10
70KG x 10, 7.5KG x 10
70KG x 10, 7.5KG x 10

Laying Skull Crushers superset Seated Overhead DB Tricep Extensions
30KG x 12, 10KG x 8
30KG x 12, 8KG x 12
30KG x 12, 8KG x 12

Standing Alternated DB Curls superset Bent Over Tricep Extensions
14KG x 10, 10KG x 10
14KG x 10, 10KG x 10

Seated Incline Alternated DB Curls superset Bent Over Tricep Extensions
12KG x 10, 10KG x 10
12KG x 10, 10KG x 10

Seated Alternated Hammer Curls
16KG x 10
16KG x 10

Cable Tricep Pushdowns with Straight Bar superset Cable Tricep Rope Extensions
30KG x 10, 7.5KG max out
30KG x 10, 7.5KG max out
30KG x 10, 7.5KG

Normally on a Thursday I will do 1 less bicep exercise and 1 more tricep exercise as Thursdays are my Tricep Focused arm days. But seeing as I took a rest/recovery day on Tuesday and didn't get to do any isolated bicep work I threw in some Bicep exercises too. As I said intensity was up, rest time was down, normally it's hard for me to acquire a good pump in my biceps but the short resting periods sure had the blood flowing. As for triceps normally after I've done my close grip they are already full of blood.

As of today I am officially 50 Days out from stepping on stage (roughly 7 weeks). I'm eating @ 2000 Calories a day (just dropped this down starting from yesterday) split into 175C/225P/45F.

Question for the guys with experience, should I continue to drop my carb intake weekly? Or should this just be determined by how my weight loss goes? Also at about how many weeks out should I start Carb Depleting?

I'll get a progress picture uploaded with my next update boys!

[jpfaherty]

Like you mentioned above, deloads are KEY for your CNS. Good call on that.

I'm in brotha

[justhime]

Like you mentioned above, deloads are KEY for your CNS. Good call on that.

I'm in brotha

Thanks mate! Any input/advice/words of wisdom are highly appreciated!!

[mkman]

You have a great physique!! Keep us updated.

Was wondering if you could tell me the size of your arms? They look very proportional to your body! How about a quad/calf shot?

[justhime]

You have a great physique!! Keep us updated.

Was wondering if you could tell me the size of your arms? They look very proportional to your body! How about a quad/calf shot?

Thanks brotha!




Those pics are a good 3-4 weeks old, I can definitely see more lines in legs now! I'll try to snap a pic tonight as well as a calves shot.

As for arms, I've never measured them, not to sure on how too....arm down? I'm guessing around 14-14.5 inches.

[Rufflez]

Good luck!

[Gizdawg]

Pretty close to my goal physique, nice man.

What's your ab routine look like?