Legacyfighter's Contest Prep

[Legacyfighter]

Alright so here it goes. This week starts my first ever bodybuilding contest prep. I've dieted down pretty hard for a Need2 contest before and had plans of possibly doing a show at the end. 2 weeks prior to the end of the need2 contest, i broke my right ulna, left thumb, and several bones in my face while playing in the National championship rugby playoffs. I had to completely stop working out, other than LISS cardio or I'd go blind in my right eye...

Now, I'm back to try this again. Last time through I did all my own dieting and workout plans. This time, I've hired a coach to help me out and I'm currently not playing any sports to get injured in. The show I have planned is in the last week of November. I may add another show in the time period around this or change this date, but this is the one planned for now.

I'll be updating this log daily. Videos and pics will come once a week minimum. This will be a fun journey.

Beginning stats:
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 199.8
BF: 12%
Measurements: Will update this tomorrow.

[StackedCop]

Im in give it hell

[Legacyfighter]

You know I will. I'm going all in on this. I plan to win my first show, not just make a good showing. Hoping to be around 185 on contest day. Should give me a decent shot in the size department. Conditioning will be insane, I can promise that.

[LiveToLift]

In bro

[benmayro]

sub for this!!

[Legacyfighter]

Just received my new training program and all of my diet. Man this is gonna suck and be awesome at the same time. Coach wants me to come in at 176... Not excited about that, but i'm going to be PEELED!

[StackedCop]

You know I will. I'm going all in on this. I plan to win my first show, not just make a good showing. Hoping to be around 185 on contest day. Should give me a decent shot in the size department. Conditioning will be insane, I can promise that.

185 would be beast!

[LiveToLift]

Just received my new training program and all of my diet. Man this is gonna suck and be awesome at the same time. Coach wants me to come in at 176... Not excited about that, but i'm going to be PEELED!

Just think of the end result and it will be a breeze bro.

[Legacyfighter]

Yea the end result is going to be sick no matter what. Honestly I'm really hoping that I lean out super easy and in 8 weeks I'm sitting at 4-5% at 190ish. Then he decides to have me do a 4week bulk followed by another 4 week cut and I come in peeled at 190.

[Legacyfighter]

Day 1

Weight: 199.8

Before pics:

[Legacyfighter]

I cant go into too much detail about diet and training, but carbs are moderate-high roughly 200-250g per day. protein at 1g per pound lbm and fat is relatively low. Every meal is based around my workout timing.

top lifts today:
DB Bench: 85'sx16
Tri Ext: 120x16
Body Tri Ext: BWx20

There were some more lifts thrown in there as well, but mainly for a pump. The tricep pump I had was INSANE. I was having trouble hitting full range of motion on body tri extensions because my arms were too pumped. After i finished my session, my tris were so dead I couldn't even lock them out with no weight. Really good session.

[Legacyfighter]

Weight was 198.6 this morning. My leg workout today was brutal. Very tough on your mind.


Sumo Squat: 315x7
Sumo squat: 275x10
Sumo squat: 225x14,
High Bar GM: 145x8

These were my best sets from each weight. There were multiple sets at each weight. By my last set of 225, I wanted to just give up and leave. Rest periods throughout were kept relatively short. Quads are blown out right now.

[Legacyfighter]

I wish I could put into words how much pain my legs were in post workout. I was having such a difficult time walking. That has to be a good thing.

[Legacyfighter]

Weight: 198.2
Pull-ups: 5lbx11,
Pull-up Giant: 15 =8,3,4
DB BO Rows: 40x18

Again, these are the top sets of the day. There were 11 sets total. Fairly low in volume, but there was a very specific and strict way of performing each rep. Pump was insane again, and by the end I could barely put my arms by my side. Solid session.

[Legacyfighter]

Weight: 196.6

Top sets today:
Calf Machine: 135x18
Upright Rows: 85x16
DB Curls: 30x10

I know these numbers seem extremely low, but nothing is to failure. There is also absolutely zero cheating on everything. On top of that the way he has me doing the reps makes things a bit more difficult than it appears. There were a total of 15 working sets today so pretty high volume considering such small muscle groups.

My pump today was insane. My calves were on fire after my second set and that burn stayed for the rest of my sets. Delts were pretty well torched by the end, again a very nice pump. I'm already beginning to get separation in my delts. By the time I got to biceps my arms were quite pumped and it made each rep a struggle. Very good session.. enjoying the rest of my day off. Probably going to walk around the beach for cardio today.

[Legacyfighter]

Weight: 194.6

So after yesterday, which was a slightly lower carb day, I'm down a couple pounds. Today was no carbs other than green veggies, so ill probably be 193 by tomorrow. Getting a little worried that I'm cutting too fast. So we may be bumping up cals a bit. Waiting to hear what my coach has in store.

Ready to hit a solid pressing day tomorrow. The pump last time was insane, and I'm expecting nothing different tomorrow.

[Legacyfighter]

Weight: 194.4

I woke up to some fantastic news today!!! I get to ADD, not replace a cheat meal after each leg AND pull day. Man I love food.

[Legacyfighter]

Another brutal gym session today. Very good pump from my first set till the last and the entire drive home.

Top sets:
Military: 105x16
High Incline DB Bench: 60x16
Cable OH Tri Ext: 120x12
DB Incline Bench: 35x19
EZ OH tri ext: 55x12
DB Bench: 40x14

You can see how much less weight I was putting up by the end of the workout. Cumulative fatigue plus monster pump really slowed me down towards the end. But the burn was oh so good.

[Legacyfighter]

Dont remember if I've posted this yet or not, but I'm required to do 400-600 calories of low intensity cardio every day. All combined, I'm in a huge deficit for the first 6 days. BUT I get a cheat meal tomorrow!!

[NoLimitz]

just curious, who does your diet/routine?? And could you post it up for us ? I'm curious to how much effort is goin in. Looks like a lot though!

Keep KILLIN IT!!

[Legacyfighter]

just curious, who does your diet/routine?? And could you post it up for us ? I'm curious to how much effort is goin in. Looks like a lot though!

Keep KILLIN IT!!

It's Renaissance Periodization. Specifically Michael. They have a Facebook page and website. Honestly its a very straight forward approach and they make it very easy to follow. Mike is honestly one of the most knowledgeable people I've ever met in this field.

I won't give out too much info on my diet or routine because its unethical and because I'm not going to give out free into that I paid for. Plus he is a friend of mine and i'd like to help him out as much as possible.

Now, that being said... My diet is low-moderate fat, moderate protein, and moderate-high carb. My training is relatively high volume with almost exclusively big compound mocements.

Send an email to Renaissance Periodization if you're interested say Aaron, one of mike's clients referred you. I promise you ain't regret it.

[Legacyfighter]

Weight: 192.8

Low Dead:315x8,
High Bar GM:135x10,
Hack Squat:405x16
High Bar Squat: 225x14

By my last set I could only get 8 reps on high bar squat with 225... Fresh I can do about 30... Yes 30.. Needless to stay my legs were dead. These sessions are awesome. Still dropping weight fast, I get a cheat meal today and tomorrow.

[Legacyfighter]

Weight: 193.6

Top Sets:
DB Row: 50x18
DB Row: 40x16
wide Pulldown: 105x17

Holy Lat veins batman!! Very nice pump. Bicep and forearm pump started to slow me down, so I started letting my arms drain again. Seemed to work well. Lats, , rhomboids, and lower traps got a Hell of a pump.

[Legacyfighter]

Weight: 193.6

Top Sets:

Smith Calves 225x21
DB Upright Row 30x18
Cable Curl 100x13

Weights felt good today. Pump was awesome again. I definitely don't feel any weaker yet. Yesterday I had another cheat meal but nothing insane. I know over the next 3 days I'll probably lose at least 2 more pounds. I still appear to be getting leaner everyday. Will be posting more pics in about 4 days. Hopefully some nice changes to see.

[Legacyfighter]

Cardio is so boring...

[Legacyfighter]

192.6

Leaning out nicely. still seeing daily changes in the mirror.

[NoLimitz]

It's Renaissance Periodization. Specifically Michael. They have a Facebook page and website. Honestly its a very straight forward approach and they make it very easy to follow. Mike is honestly one of the most knowledgeable people I've ever met in this field.

I won't give out too much info on my diet or routine because its unethical and because I'm not going to give out free into that I paid for. Plus he is a friend of mine and i'd like to help him out as much as possible.

Now, that being said... My diet is low-moderate fat, moderate protein, and moderate-high carb. My training is relatively high volume with almost exclusively big compound mocements.

Send an email to Renaissance Periodization if you're interested say Aaron, one of mike's clients referred you. I promise you ain't regret it.

Thanks man, ill definitely look into it. Does he happen to have his pro card?

[NoLimitz]

It's Renaissance Periodization. Specifically Michael. They have a Facebook page and website. Honestly its a very straight forward approach and they make it very easy to follow. Mike is honestly one of the most knowledgeable people I've ever met in this field.

I won't give out too much info on my diet or routine because its unethical and because I'm not going to give out free into that I paid for. Plus he is a friend of mine and i'd like to help him out as much as possible.

Now, that being said... My diet is low-moderate fat, moderate protein, and moderate-high carb. My training is relatively high volume with almost exclusively big compound mocements.

Send an email to Renaissance Periodization if you're interested say Aaron, one of mike's clients referred you. I promise you ain't regret it.

And okay! How many calories are you taking in per day? And the with the routine. How much cardio are you using and when? - This should be basic information and not jip you on your purchased diet/training regime =]

[Legacyfighter]

Calories for the first microcycle were 2200. 2nd microcycle will be about 2600, 3rd will be around 3000. I'm doing 400 cals of cardio on most days. Non workout days are about 600.

[Legacyfighter]

He does not have his pro card by the way.

[NoLimitz]

Calories for the first microcycle were 2200. 2nd microcycle will be about 2600, 3rd will be around 3000. I'm doing 400 cals of cardio on most days. Non workout days are about 600.

400cals? so about 30min sessions, and why are your calories going up if you are cutting? Is a microcycle a carb cycle per say?

[Legacyfighter]

400cals? so about 30min sessions, and why are your calories going up if you are cutting? Is a microcycle a carb cycle per say?

30-40 minutes usually. Those calories are still well below maintenance. A microcycle is a short training period generally a week long or so. For me currently its 5 days.

[Legacyfighter]

Also remember everything is based off of me. Obviously some ppl will start with higher cals, some lower. Some high carb, some moderate. Coach and I speak quite frequently so we can adjust things very quickly if need be.

[NoLimitz]

Also remember everything is based off of me. Obviously some ppl will start with higher cals, some lower. Some high carb, some moderate. Coach and I speak quite frequently so we can adjust things very quickly if need be.

Oh, very nice! And on the microcycle, a short training period? I'm still confused. you move up 400kcals from 2200, every week until 3000? Then restart at 2200? Is this for metabolism purposes?

[Legacyfighter]

Oh, very nice! And on the microcycle, a short training period? I'm still confused. you move up 400kcals from 2200, every week until 3000? Then restart at 2200? Is this for metabolism purposes?

Well honestly, i'm not exactly sure yet. My coach sends me everything a few weeks in advance, but changes are made depending on how i'm doing, so there is no sense in sending me months of training in advance

[Legacyfighter]

Weight: 192.0

DB Bench:90x16
DB Bench:75x14
Cable pushdown:125x19
Pushup: BWx16
Bar Skull:BWx17
Incline DB: 35x19

Those are my top sets of the day. After set 1 I had a gnarly pump. Things just got better from there. Today, I felt as strong or stronger than the last time I did this workout. My triceps are blown out right now. Maybe putting on muscle while dropping fat? That would be awesome right now.

[Legacyfighter]

Today's Workout = Absolutely BRUTAL!!!

Weight: 191.4

Top Sets:
Sumo Squat: 325x7
Sumo Squat: 285x9
Sumo Squat: 235x16
High Bar GM: 155x8

Numbers up from last time through this workout. Today I had to do two extra sets of squats... Ridiculously brutal. I was huffing and puffing like a freight train after just a few sets. I never caught my breath completely during the workout. I was dripping sweat like crazy, BUT MY NUMBERS WERE STILL UP!!!! I've dropped 8lbs in 12 days and haven't lost any strength yet. Very happy with this so far. To top it all off I get to end today with a cheat meal... Makes me very happy.

[NoLimitz]

Today's Workout = Absolutely BRUTAL!!!

Weight: 191.4

Top Sets:
Sumo Squat: 325x7
Sumo Squat: 285x9
Sumo Squat: 235x16
High Bar GM: 155x8

Numbers up from last time through this workout. Today I had to do two extra sets of squats... Ridiculously brutal. I was huffing and puffing like a freight train after just a few sets. I never caught my breath completely during the workout. I was dripping sweat like crazy, BUT MY NUMBERS WERE STILL UP!!!! I've dropped 8lbs in 12 days and haven't lost any strength yet. Very happy with this so far. To top it all off I get to end today with a cheat meal... Makes me very happy.

Nice to see you making progress brotha! What weight were you planning on competing at?

[Legacyfighter]

Nice to see you making progress brotha! What weight were you planning on competing at?

I'm going to compete at 176. Should have a pair of striated glutes at that weight.

[Legacyfighter]

Weight: 194.0

Top Sets:

Pull-ups: 10lbx12
Pull-ups (giant set): 17=9,4,4
DB Rows: 45x20

Really solid workout today. Numbers are up from last time, and Bodyweight is down. Both good things. I was getting a good stretch and contraction during all my sets. Bicep pump was less today, so more stress on lats. Great overall workout today.

So I had a nice 2.5lb jump after my cheat meal yesterday. Looking forward to another cheat meal today. Then strict dieting for a few days. This may sound crazy, but right now I don't think I want anymore cheat meals. I like having the structure of a strict diet, plus the day after a cheat meal I look like crap. I know its better that I do this so I don't drop weight too fast, and maybe even put on some muscle mass, but its still messing with my mind.