First Competition

[smokinal]

refeeds are beneficial to everyone cutting, as long as you're far enough out. How long till comp?

[waldoehf]

refeeds are beneficial to everyone cutting, as long as you're far enough out. How long till comp?

Currently just under 6 weeks out.

[waldoehf]

UPDATE:

So after purging most of the known bloating foods i.e bread, xanthan gum, diet soda, cruciferous veggies, etc. I have not seen a huge difference. While also drinking a lot of water and eating foods known to reduce bloating (asparagus, cucumber, lettuce, oats, lemon juice) and drinking tons of water, my weigh ins did not change much.

After the first day, I weighed in at 155.2, which was just above my lowest weigh in to date. The following day (this morning), I was back up to 157.6 - so it seems as though there were no major bloating issues.

That being said, I guess I just have more fat to lose, and bloating isnt a major issue. Will most likely plan a refeed (despite not feeling like I desperately need one) to hopefully break through this minor plateau.

Before doing so, I am eating normally today (bringing back in the bloating foods I purged) and I will see how the scale looks tomorrow. If it is within the normal range of weigh ins I have had lately, I will plan on doing a refeed.

Attached are pictures from this morning to show the results of my "no bloating foods" experiment

[deltpecx]

UPDATE:

So after purging most of the known bloating foods i.e bread, xanthan gum, diet soda, cruciferous veggies, etc. I have not seen a huge difference. While also drinking a lot of water and eating foods known to reduce bloating (asparagus, cucumber, lettuce, oats, lemon juice) and drinking tons of water, my weigh ins did not change much.

After the first day, I weighed in at 155.2, which was just above my lowest weigh in to date. The following day (this morning), I was back up to 157.6 - so it seems as though there were no major bloating issues.

That being said, I guess I just have more fat to lose, and bloating isnt a major issue. Will most likely plan a refeed (despite not feeling like I desperately need one) to hopefully break through this minor plateau.

Before doing so, I am eating normally today (bringing back in the bloating foods I purged) and I will see how the scale looks tomorrow. If it is within the normal range of weigh ins I have had lately, I will plan on doing a refeed.

Attached are pictures from this morning to show the results of my "no bloating foods" experiment

BRB: to embed pics; Click on the pic and click view image, copy url and paste it between [img][/img].

BRB: rotate the pics to vertical.

You look the same as the previous pic.
I don't see much bloat and you've made great progress from the start.

[smokinal]

You have made great progress man. And a ton of water, lettuce, cuces etc...can make you feel bloated too.

And you are holding some extra water as well which will come off on Thurs and Fri of peak week.

You have plenty of time for a refeed; then get back into deficit to loose .75-1 lb per week and you'll be mint.
And remember a refeed is not a cheat day! There is a difference!

[waldoehf]

Thanks so much guys, it really helps to have support through the process. Even when I know what I'm supposed to do, it always helps to have someone with more experience reassure!

PS - sorry for the picture mistakes, ill post them correctly from now on!

[deltpecx]

Thanks so much guys, it really helps to have support through the process. Even when I know what I'm supposed to do, it always helps to have someone with more experience reassure!
...

Just wait until the last two weeks.

Everything comes to together the last two weeks.

Also the mental game gets tougher...doubting if you're on track, should I change something, will I be shredded..etc.

[smokinal]

Just wait until the last two weeks.

Everything comes to together the last two weeks.

Also the mental game gets tougher...doubting if you're on track, should I change something, will I be shredded..etc.

Good points! I always think I'm too fat but the last 2 weeks really do seem to improve things greatly.
Stay on course, believe in the system.
You'll lose some water and be in good shape for Sat.

[TrainBeastMode]

Sorry, I got lost in this thread. Everything that Smokinal and Deltpecx have said have been spot on. You do look great waldo and keep it up. You'll do great.

[deltpecx]

Good points! I always think I'm too fat but the last 2 weeks really do seem to improve things greatly.
Stay on course, believe in the system.
You'll lose some water and be in good shape for Sat.

How's your posing practice going?

[smokinal]

How's your posing practice going?

My show was last Sunday. I ended up taking 1st place in both of my classes, Open 5-9 and down and 40+

40+ was a Pro Qualifier so I ended up getting my Pro Card too!

[deltpecx]

My show was last Sunday. I ended up taking 1st place in both of my classes, Open 5-9 and down and 40+

40+ was a Pro Qualifier so I ended up getting my Pro Card too!

Well then VERY WELL DONE!!

What show and federation?

[smokinal]

OCB

OCB Pine Tree State

So next spring I'll compete as a pro in the OCB Maine Event

[waldoehf]

Sorry for not updating yesterday. After doing the bloating test, I was back to my strage weigh ins as well.

Therefore, I am doing a refeed today. The carb sources I selected were as quickly digesting as possible - crazy how little volume you get out of these types of foods LOL XD. That being said, I'm not complaining about the cinnamon toast crunch and french toast I got to eat for breakfast

[TrainBeastMode]

OCB

OCB Pine Tree State

So next spring I'll compete as a pro in the OCB Maine Event

Congrats Smokinal! Looking great!

[TrainBeastMode]

Sorry for not updating yesterday. After doing the bloating test, I was back to my strage weigh ins as well.

Therefore, I am doing a refeed today. The carb sources I selected were as quickly digesting as possible - crazy how little volume you get out of these types of foods LOL XD. That being said, I'm not complaining about the cinnamon toast crunch and french toast I got to eat for breakfast

Wasn't the sugar rush great? Refeed days are a definitely necessity and keeps your sanity.

[waldoehf]

Wasn't the sugar rush great? Refeed days are a definitely necessity and keeps your sanity.

it was amazing! Felt really energetic despite not getting as much sleep as usual due to some school assignments.

What I love most about all of this is understanding practical food information that I can use post competition to keep food volume up while not going crazy into calories!

[waldoehf]

REFEED UPDATE

My weight this morning was 155.8, one of my lower weigh ins. I also seemed to be holding a lot less water. Yesterday was great, havent had ice cream in months (even if it was low cal XD).

Here is a picture from this morning. It may be hard to tell, but my torso seemed surprisingly more tight than it has been. I think this is due to the high-calorie, low volume carbs I ate yesterday and the absence of tons of fibrous veggies. Now that I am back to my normal macro breakdown, I'm gonna continue experimenting with foods to see which ones make me hold water more than others...

[smokinal]

^^^Dang dude! Very nice core work! Your persistance is paying off. Judges will notice a good, lean core as not all competitors wil have this. If you can keep some sort of muscularity going and have a good peak week, you will bring a good package.

And you're about 5 weeks out?

[deltpecx]

REFEED UPDATE

My weight this morning was 155.8, one of my lower weigh ins. I also seemed to be holding a lot less water. Yesterday was great, havent had ice cream in months (even if it was low cal XD).

Here is a picture from this morning. It may be hard to tell, but my torso seemed surprisingly more tight than it has been. I think this is due to the high-calorie, low volume carbs I ate yesterday and the absence of tons of fibrous veggies. Now that I am back to my normal macro breakdown, I'm gonna continue experimenting with foods to see which ones make me hold water more than others...

The refeed worked I see..

Well done!

Now get the posing down!


How tall are you?

[waldoehf]

^^^Dang dude! Very nice core work! Your persistance is paying off. Judges will notice a good, lean core as not all competitors wil have this. If you can keep some sort of muscularity going and have a good peak week, you will bring a good package.

And you're about 5 weeks out?

Thanks so much! Yes, I am doing my best to maintain mass while getting as lean as I can. And yes, I am about 5.5 weeks out, 37 days to go!

[waldoehf]

The refeed worked I see..

Well done!

Now get the posing down!

How tall are you?

Thank you, glad i took your advice to do one! One thing I have been trying to get down is my transition to my back pose, other than that, practice has been going good. Doing my best to make it muscle memory. I am ~5'11".

[deltpecx]

Thank you, glad i took your advice to do one! One thing I have been trying to get down is my transition to my back pose, other than that, practice has been going good. Doing my best to make it muscle memory. I am ~5'11".

What's the problem with the transition?

[smokinal]

One thing I have been trying to get down is my transition to my back pose, other than that, practice has been going good. Doing my best to make it muscle memory. I am ~5'11".

I found it helpful to youtube some physique pre-judging and watch what other competitors do. You will instantly be able to tell who practiced and who didn't. You will see the movements that look smooth and catch your attention; then learn to replicate the same for yourself. You will see poses and movements you don't like as well = learn from these too.

[TrainBeastMode]

REFEED UPDATE

My weight this morning was 155.8, one of my lower weigh ins. I also seemed to be holding a lot less water. Yesterday was great, havent had ice cream in months (even if it was low cal XD).

Here is a picture from this morning. It may be hard to tell, but my torso seemed surprisingly more tight than it has been. I think this is due to the high-calorie, low volume carbs I ate yesterday and the absence of tons of fibrous veggies. Now that I am back to my normal macro breakdown, I'm gonna continue experimenting with foods to see which ones make me hold water more than others...

Well done!! I think you're giving Smokinal a run for his money . Refeed did wonders for you. Hold off on experimenting too close to the show (1-2 weeks) as you don't want to do anything that would ruin your hard work.

[smokinal]

I think you're giving Smokinal a run for his money .

Absolutely!!
Damn whippersnappers!!

[waldoehf]

Hi all,

Thanks for the encouragement! cant wait for the show, only 34 days away! Weight progress seems to have started up again, weighed in at 153.2 this morning - my lowest weigh in ever. Been trying to lower my salt intake a little to see if that helps with water retention - I usually go pretty heavy on salt and seasonings. Will most likely be doing more formal experiments and ill keep you guys posted with the results. Starting to feel pretty fatigued lately, almost fell off the treadmill this morning during my cardio :P. this is in part due to juggling school, work, and prep - Ive had to adjust to 4-5 hours of sleep daily.

Unfortunately, I think I may have tweaked my lower back slightly. Last week, wanting to keep things fresh, I went a little heavier on leg press and did lighter squats. Although nothing seemed abnormal, my back started aching later that day and has been. It has been about 4 days now. On my cardio-only day, it seemed to feel much better due to the rest. I have been avoiding compound lifts that have lower back involvement and will keep you all posted.

Although this seems like a bleak post, Im super excited for the show and cannot wait to showcase my results! Pics are from this morning - for whatever reason, they keep going sideways and even after rotating them they are still sideways.

[smokinal]

At 1 month out, don't worry too much about water, sodium etc... as all that is going to change come peak week. You can run your usual sodium intake, usual water etc... all the way up to 2 weeks out; then start the manipulation. Keep yourself full these days; you don't want to do too much depletion this far out.
You look great btw!
You should be very proud of your progress!
And remember, no matter how you place, no one can take away what you have achieved.
Bodybuilding and fitness isn't about being better than anyone else; it's about being better than you were before.
Go out on that fukkin stage and OWN IT!!

[deltpecx]

Are you still on track for your show?
How has your posing practices going?

[waldoehf]

yea! sorry for not posting, just finished up midterms. That being said, prep is going great - stayed to the plan 100% thus far! Ive started jogging to and from the gym (20mins total) for every workout and while im not cutting salt, just staying away from super high salting on my foods. current macros are 95C 50F and 175P. Posing going well - just working on transitions for each pose