Guest viewing limit reached
  • You have reached the maximum number of guest views allowed
  • Please register below to remove this limitation

Mr iForce Dusty Hanshaw...journal to the USA's

Definitely in on this one. Can't believe I missed out since February. You da man Dusty. Get some!
 
7.5 weeks out and I am finally starting to start to feel the diet and cardio by the end of each night. Today was the first day of the new cardio and diet plan and wouldn't you know it...it also fell on the same day as hamstrings. Prior to meal one I headed into the gym for my first 60 minutes of cardio. The first 45 minutes were done on the stepmill rotating between level 6 for 4 minutes and level 12 for three minutes. In all honesty the speed is not that bad but I did well over 3000 steps in that time and at over 270lbs you definitely feel the quads and glutes working as you trudge along for 45 minutes. Pretty much the only thing that really helps me is I drink my iForce Compete during my slow times on the stepmill to make sure I am not completely running on empty since cardio is prior to meal one.

Once I finished my cardio I began my day of eating. For me the carbs don't typically dip to low but today I only got 1 cup of oats and 3 cups of potatoes. We also dropped the fatty meal from meal six so rather than it being 10oz of flank steak it is now 12oz tilapia. Needless to say not only do I not enjoy meal six like I used to but I also am pretty well guaranteed to wake up starving in the morning which will put me back on that stepmill even earlier than usual.

Like I mentioned in the beginning of this post i am starting to feel the effects of the diet but contrary to what you were probably thinking I am not complaining. In fact, the suffering is my favorite part of prep because it is this feeling that lets you know that you are working hard and it also is the reason that after a show you truly enjoy so many things that you tend to forget about in the offseason such as the feeling of not wanting to eat another bite of food or the ability to trade out one food for another because even though the macros are not perfect in the offseason I feel close is good enough for me but in the precontest phase I only do exactly what Chris Aceto tells me to do in regards to my diet and supplements.

On that note...I am exhausted and need to crash! Tomorrow is another long day in the trenches.

DH~8
 
It's that time again...separates the wanna be bodybuilders from the competitive bodybuilders.
 
As I sit here exhausted after my second round of cardio I cannot help but notice the mental transformation I am going through as the body fat starts to fall, the workload starts to increase, and the energy starts to fade. This is easily my favorite part of the journey to the stage and the reason why I feel that all bodybuilders should share a bond and respect for one another whether they are getting ready for their first show ever at the novice local level or they are on their way to winning the Olympia. I say that because the level of the athlete or the level of the show does not alter the struggles or the hardships associated with getting ready for a contest. I personally believe that the journey is almost identical so whatever someone is going through as they prep for their first show is no different from what i am going through as I get ready for the USA's, or a top pro is going through as they get ready for a big contest in the IFBB. We all deal with hunger, cravings, exhaustion, mood swings, etc...The only difference is that as you have been in the game longer you know what to expect and you are probably better prepared for what is to come as your condition gets better and better and your body/mind get more and more exhausted.

Having been through these "struggles" many times I have learned to truly enjoy them and actually have learned to sit back and take in the emotions that I am feeling. Tonight as I pushed through a grueling workout followed by my second session of cardio I realized that today I was being mentally driven by gratitude for where I am at in this sport and more importantly the people who have propelled me to this level. The main focus as I was trudging through my cardio was my sponsor iForce Nutrition. Obviously anyone who is following this thread knows I have been blessed to be the "front man" of this company for years and they have been by my side through the major highs and disappointing lows that I have experienced on stage and even just in life. The owner of iForce and I sat down years ago and had a conversation about where we were and where we wanted to be in the future both them as a company and myself as an athlete. During that conversation we both agreed that it would be best if we worked as a cohesive team to better get myself and the brand to the masses. Now, fast forward about five years and here I am walking on a treadmill getting ready for the biggest show in my career. I have countless supporters following my journey and supporting both me and the great line that iForce Nutrition has become in the sports supplement market. I am literally sipping on the best intra workout formula on the market (Compete) that is in my iForce Nutrition shaker cup, I have a pre mixed serving of Hemovol in my iForce Zip bag to the left of my machine, I can see the glistening of my chrome plated iForce Nutrition Tee Shirt in the mirror as I walk, and I am still feeling energized by the latest and greatest preworkout product the industry has seen in the iForce Nutrition FP flavored Conquer. To those of you who are reading this you may be thinking "of course you have all of those products, iForce Nutrition is your sponsor" but what you are missing is that the words that Dave (iForce owner) had spoken to me over five years ago are all coming together. He had a vision for his company and I was fortunate enough to be a part of this amazing vision. We have had a few rough patches along the way but as a team we have pushed through and now iForce Nutrition is a worldwide company and our growth is just getting started. I have been given an inside scoop on some of the big things coming your way courtesy of iForce Nutrition and I can promise you that I plan on using this positive inspiration to help propel me to the USA's at my very best and to continue to share with all of the people that follow my journey just how well having belief in yourself and finding a solid team can push you to heights you never invisioned possible.

If you have been following me at all you will know that I am a very forthcoming person for better or for worse and I can easily and proudly put my name behind the entire iForce Nutrition line and say that I personally use almost every product they make and cannot believe how much this line helps me both in the off season as well as the precontest phases of my year. If you ever have any questions on what products that I use or the benefits I personally see from them do not hesitate to ask. Many of you here know your supplements inside and out but I can give you a perspective that might shed a different light on this line that you already know is awesome!

DH~8
 
Last night ended up being another late night but honestly it did not have to be. I was home from the gym after training and round two of cardio at about 8:30pm and only had two more meals to eat but somehow I did not find myself finishing my last meal and taking my Lights Out until about 12:15am. As always once my head hit the pillow I was out but with hunger on the rise and me battling that hunger with drinking a ton of water I was probably up 5 times just to piss. This isn't something that bothers me like it does some athletes because I am back asleep as soon as I am back in bed but what did suck was I noticed as I got up the last few times my calves were sore as hell and sure enough when I finally crawled out of bed this morning they are thrashed. I'm going to roll them out and stretch both them as well as my lower back and hip flexors (two areas that help release tension in the calves) before getting on the stepmill this morning but no matter how well I open them up I know they will be feeling every step of the 3500 or so I will take during this mornings interval training on the stepmill. One more thing to overcome...Funny how some days I get up there and feel like I easily blasted through the intervals and others I feel like it is taking every ounce of energy and focus I have to finish without falling off the machine. We'll see which of the two today is but one thing I know for sure is I will not get off early no matter how bad it hurts. Even if the pain is brutal it is only 45 minutes...a person can and should be able to push through almost anything for 45 minutes. Time for round one...
 
Amazing how you never really know how you will feel on cardio until you get started. This morning I woke up and my calves were extremely tight so I assumed the stepmill was going to beat my ass but much to my delight my willpower was strong and I was able to plow through 60 minutes of intervals on the stepmill. I rotated between level 6 and level 12 for the full 60 and although it was tough and I was drenched with sweat by the time I was done I did it and felt great after I was done. Fortunately today is a day off from training as well as a day off from going into my stores so my plan is to lay low, hang out by the pool for a few hours, grab a movie with the wifey, and then head back this afternoon for my last 30 minutes of low intensity cardio, abs, and some additional hip and glute work. At this stage of the game today is about as relaxed as it is going to get.
 
dustyhanshaw said:
Amazing how you never really know how you will feel on cardio until you get started. This morning I woke up and my calves were extremely tight so I assumed the stepmill was going to beat my ass but much to my delight my willpower was strong and I was able to plow through 60 minutes of intervals on the stepmill. I rotated between level 6 and level 12 for the full 60 and although it was tough and I was drenched with sweat by the time I was done I did it and felt great after I was done. Fortunately today is a day off from training as well as a day off from going into my stores so my plan is to lay low, hang out by the pool for a few hours, grab a movie with the wifey, and then head back this afternoon for my last 30 minutes of low intensity cardio, abs, and some additional hip and glute work. At this stage of the game today is about as relaxed as it is going to get.
Click to expand...

What kind of hip And glute work are you doing?

Are you doing this for strength?
 
aceroni said:
What kind of hip And glute work are you doing?

Are you doing this for strength?
Click to expand...

This is just detail and posing work. The hip work is hard to explain as it is done without weight and is just a matter of lifting the leg while it is bent and turning it out to the side before bringing it back to the ground...then lifting it from there and bringing the foot back to the original starting position. This is just to get used to firing the upper quad and hip so that you are able to contract it that high when posing on stage which brings out more detail.

As far as the glute work i do 300 bodyweight walking lunges, Cormier style DB Stiff deads, Sumo deads, and ass blaster. The deads and ass blaster are all done 3 sets of 20 and the point is just to bring in more detail.
 
It never ceases to amaze me just how much I feel the effects of a lower calorie day the day after it takes place. Yesterday i woke up sore and assuming that cardio was going to be tough and I ended up just blasting through it. Now today I woke up following yesterday's off day menu which is much lower in calories and every second of cardio this morning was a biatch. After only 30 minutes i was talking myself through every remaining step. Now I am only two meals into my normal training day diet and am already feeling more alive and looking forward to tonight's assault on abs, arms, and blasting out my post workout cardio.
 
6.5 weeks out and things are really starting to change now. I love the fact that the changes are now coming fast enough that Chris has me sending him progress pics every two days just to be sure that he is on top of things. After sending last nights progress pics Chris backed down the cardio on training days to just one hard interval session in the morning and we are keeping the double cardio on the off days at the moment. So every morning i do 60 minutes of hard interval cardio and then on training nights I head back to the gym about 10:00pm for training or on off days I head back around 9:00pm or so for 30 minutes of steady paced cardio on either the stepmill or treadmill.

One thing i have to report is that i have found that i am 110% a night time trainer. Yesterday was a brutally long day at the store following my morning cardio and having done an insane quad workout the night before. It was as if I was a zombie all damn day just trying to get to my next meal but at 8:30pm once I was leaving the store i took my 1 scoop iForce Conquer mixed with my 1 scoop iForce Hemavol and by the time I got to the gym at just after 9:30pm it was ON! I blasted out 16 sets of abs before moving onto delts and traps. Knocked them out and finished up the workout doing my hamstring/glute circuit that Cormier has me doing four days a week. Once that was done I hit 30 minutes on the stepmill (prior to last nights progress pics i was following the workout with cardio too) and then finally took my progress pics. What I loved was the fact that I took the Conquer at 8:30pm and when I was leaving the gym at just after 12:00am I was still very alert and had zero crash whatsoever. From there I went home ate my last meal, popped my two Lights Out with ZMA and was crashed out. I don't know the science but it is nice to have a preworkout that I can take that late that does not crash on me during the workout but also allows me to sleep when I am ready. I hate to blatantly use my log to promote the products but hey...facts are facts and adding the Conquer to this prep has proven to be worth its weight in gold and I want to share that wealth.

DH~8
 
That's what's up I did 30 min I. The stair master last night then hit up some chest , I like to train at night too, so is there a video up for this training last night?
 
yosefmax88 said:
That's what's up I did 30 min I. The stair master last night then hit up some chest , I like to train at night too, so is there a video up for this training last night?
Click to expand...

No video of last night. If I may suggest you should train before doing that cardio. You will see your training goes better if you switch that up.
 
I usually do it after training and feel the difference , some people say " oh it's better to do cardio then weight train". I think the results are better when you weight train then do cardio . I weigh 198 I would like to get down to 187 should I do more cardio and less weight ? And I know dieting is a big part of cutting too , any suggestions on types if food to eat to trim up ?
 
yosefmax88 said:
I usually do it after training and feel the difference , some people say " oh it's better to do cardio then weight train". I think the results are better when you weight train then do cardio . I weigh 198 I would like to get down to 187 should I do more cardio and less weight ? And I know dieting is a big part of cutting too , any suggestions on types if food to eat to trim up ?
Click to expand...

I'm not dusty but let me just say this.

Stop looking at the scale. Start eating clean on a regular basis: less processed foods more whole foods: potatoes, rice, lean meats and veggies.
Avoid dairy if you're trying to lose fat
and focus on just getting brutally strong on squats, deads, and presses.. Try 5/3/1 with hypertrophy assistance work.

As far as cardio you need to be doing hiit, sprints, sled pulls, prowler, farmer walks, etc

As you get stronger you'll gain muscle weight and lose fat at the same time.

Once you're actually strong, maybe look into bodybuilding style training.
 
Thanks for the info , I used to weigh 340 and lost over 100 lbs I know how to lose weight and I know eating processed food is not good I mainly eat whole foods I know the key ways to maintaining I just like to try new things . And no I'm not a bodybuilder but I like to train like a bodybuilder .
 
mind sending me one of those chrome plated Tee shirts!!!! haha jk

but seriously I order hemavol on the reg to mix with whatever preworkout i use, plus i always get free iforce lifting straps. The straps are solid they def aren't the cheap kind

dusty in the off season i know you used to do alot of DC style training but have you ever done any time of say strength training like a PHAT program (layne norton), i know your not a powerlifter but some of the points he makes to its benefits are interesting

God Bless keep up the good work

Braski
 
Distilled Water said:
So morning cardio is almost like an extended HIIT cardio?
Click to expand...

Exactly! I always like to specify because if I were to call it HIIT that would not really be accurate.

yosefmax88 said:
I usually do it after training and feel the difference , some people say " oh it's better to do cardio then weight train". I think the results are better when you weight train then do cardio . I weigh 198 I would like to get down to 187 should I do more cardio and less weight ? And I know dieting is a big part of cutting too , any suggestions on types if food to eat to trim up ?
Click to expand...

It's not a matter of more cardio or more training. You must do the training to stimulate the muscle plus following training your metabolism stays high for hours after where as when you do cardio your metabolism is only increased as long as you heart rate is up. You need to do both if you want to get down in bodyfat. As far as the diet your question answered is only going to leave you with more questions. If you are serious and have been paying attention to what you have been eating EXACTLY then post the meal number and what you eat for each meal and I would be more than happy to make some suggestions on how you could alter it to get better results.
 
Sorry for a bit of a quiet week here but in all honesty outside of a minor injury setback (nothing major but def a little bump in the road) it has been an amazing week. I am now about where I was condition wise for the 2012 NPC Nationals and I have just under 6 weeks to bring myself all of the way in. Some would say I am ahead of schedule but I feel right on track because I know it is going to take some very calculated diet and cardio adjustments to nail the conditioning without losing and ounce of size. At the moment the changes I have made in my short time with Chris Cormier are really showing through and I know that they will onlyu continue to improve over the next six weeks leading into the USA's and then even moreso once I can start a full offseason under his guidance.

DH~8
 
Sorry to hear about the injury setback big man. Hopefully it is something that can be worked around. I have a curiousity question for you. What drew you to using Chris Cormeir for guidance as opposed to a Rambod, Glass, or other well known names in the industry? I had not heard that he was even training clients but then again I am not that versed in the industry either. Chris Aceto is definitely a big name as far as diet training in the business. Just curious.
 
dustyhanshaw said:
Exactly! I always like to specify because if I were to call it HIIT that would not really be accurate.

It's not a matter of more cardio or more training. You must do the training to stimulate the muscle plus following training your metabolism stays high for hours after where as when you do cardio your metabolism is only increased as long as you heart rate is up. You need to do both if you want to get down in bodyfat. As far as the diet your question answered is only going to leave you with more questions. If you are serious and have been paying attention to what you have been eating EXACTLY then post the meal number and what you eat for each meal and I would be more than happy to make some suggestions on how you could alter it to get better results.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info sir!
 
AZMIDLYF said:
Sorry to hear about the injury setback big man. Hopefully it is something that can be worked around. I have a curiousity question for you. What drew you to using Chris Cormeir for guidance as opposed to a Rambod, Glass, or other well known names in the industry? I had not heard that he was even training clients but then again I am not that versed in the industry either. Chris Aceto is definitely a big name as far as diet training in the business. Just curious.
Click to expand...

Honestly I went with Cormier after meeting with him verses seeing how Glass approaches his clients. Respectfully i will say that Glass is kind of King of the training mountain in the industry and when i was watching him train I felt as though the training was not being very specifically tailored to the individual. Once i sat down with Cormier I could tell that he was passionate about my success and hungry to prove that with him in my corner i would see the changes that i was wanting to make. Since then he has more than proven me correct and I will be with him for the entire off season as well following the USA's in July.
 
Just under 6 weeks out and today is officially a "Just Get Through It" day. One thing I hate is how a lot of bodybuilders at the higher level like to pretend that their not suffering from exhaustion, hunger, or soreness. I mean don't get me wrong I don't want to follow a guy who whines and complains all day about how hard their diet is but at the same token I think it is key for up and coming bodybuilders to know that we all suffer and if you are truly pushing yourself the way you should be the diet and contest prep never get easy. To be honest my preps have actually gotten more difficult over the years because at this point I know I cannot afford to be any less that 99% of perfect if I want to win against these other athletes who have some structural advantages or just who are bad ass athletes who are also busting their ass chasing the same brass ring come USA's. The only thing that has changed is that none of it is a surprise to me and not only do I expect to have days where I feel like crap but I actually look forward to them because there is nothing more reassuring during prep that you are doing all you can then when you are feeling beat down yet come hell or high water you stick to that diet to the letter, you do every second of cardio that is on your plan, and you push your training as if you are feeling great and don't for a second let yourself back down the weight or intensity just because you can feel the prep setting in.

To summarize this post I am feeling exhausted today but that same crap feeling is letting me know that I am on track to be at my best in just under six weeks and that knowledge is going to make killing it in the gym tonight just a little bit easier.

Whatever it takes...
 
No better feeling than knowing that you earned it big man!
 
dustyhanshaw said:
To summarize this post I am feeling exhausted today but that same crap feeling is letting me know that I am on track to be at my best in just under six weeks and that knowledge is going to make killing it in the gym tonight just a little bit easier.

Whatever it takes...
Click to expand...

Dave Pulcinellla has a nice quote, I wish I could remember it, but the point of it was, if your are not in pain, and you are not suffering, you are not doing what is required to turn pro.

Mike
 
5.5 weeks out and I am loving how this prep is going so far. As is always the case I have had a slight snag with a little injury but it only forced me to take one extra day off from upper body training. The injury is to my left tri and last night I was able to push through a delt workout without to many alterations to my program. I would say the only issue is that my arm is a bit swollen so I found that as I started pressing and my tri's filled with blood the left one got so pumped that it actually became difficult to straighten it all the way with the heavier weight once I had reached reps 12 and above. Tonight I am back to lower body so that will give it another day off before hitting back tomorrow night.

As far as conditioning goes I feel I am finally at a point where I can say I should be able to match my previous best combination of fullness and conditioning which for me was the 2010 NPC USA's. We are actually pressing pretty hard on the cardio at the moment but being that the majority of it has been on the stepmill it has not caused any negative issues with the size on my legs. I actually measure them every other morning because I understand that with the size of my upper body it is extremely important that I do not lose any of my hard earned lower body mass. I went through five months of brutal leg workouts and countless amounts of food to get these wheels to grow and there is no way in hell I would let myself lose any of it this time.

Energy is already really low throughout the day but by the time I head back to the gym to train I am flying thanks to my iForce Conquer and the five meals I have eaten before heading in to train.

DH
 
Insane weekend of training, cardio, posing and of course CHANGE!!! This is by far my favorite part of prep because body fat percentage is getting really low and energy levels are right there with it. You know your prep is falling into place when from doing the stepmill and training your lkegs are so tired and weak that with every step you take you can actually feel your hamstrings lift your feet off the ground and move them forward. Having these feelings keeps you very aware that you are in contest prep but more importantly for me it is a reminder that I am on track to achieve my goal which is bring my all time best to the USA stage in July. One thing that many people do not understand about me is the fact that I do not go into shows just to win. Instead I go into shows looking to bring a physique that is by far my best to date. I want to be standing proud on that stage knowing that I did all I could do to be my very best and that I made drastic improvements since the previous show. Sadly I have to admit that from 2011 Nationals to 2012 Nationals I do not feel I could say that. I had a very distracted prep and did not feel I did my best in representing my sponsors, my supporters, or myself when I walked out onto that stage. Now just 7 months later I am using that disappointment to push me to earn redemption of that last showing and at 4.5 weeks out I know I am on my way to doing just that.

Also I have been getting a lot of requests from people wanting to see more videos of mine on the iForce YouTube channel. Because of this I shot two short videos this weekend and hired a guy to shoot more footage of me this week and every week leading into the USA's. We will have a ridiculous amount of content going up weekly so I hope you are ready. Also if you have any suggestions I am more than willing to hear them and make them happen.

DH~8
 
Like what others have said before me. Your almost there!!! I want to see the videos also. Watched a leg routine recently and I just don't have anything smart to say about it. I can tell you I got motivated to do better next time after I saw you doing what you do though.
 
yosefmax88 said:
Sounds great I look forward to viewing your training videos sir keep up the good work and god bless you
Click to expand...

Thanks as always for the support. Tomorrow night we are shooting delt training, Friday we are hitting my masseuse, and then closing out Friday night with some old school back training

criticalbench said:
Were all behind you dusty! You do so much for the sport and we all appreciate that!
Click to expand...

Just doing what we all love and fortunate enough to have a great platform to do it. Thanks as always for all you do
 
As any of you who have competed before in bodybuilding by the time you are about 6 weeks out until showtime your energy levels are at an all time low and most of the time it is purely through desire that you can get through your cardio and workouts because bluntly the fuel from food is not matching the caloric output from day to day. With that being said I can honestly say that I am really feeling the prep at this point but I am loving it. There is no better feeling when a show is coming closer than actually realizing that your body is tired enough that you can feel just how responsible your hamstrings are for picking up your feet when you walk or at the end of the night after your final meal feeling like you literally have to talk yourself into walking to your bedroom rather than just sleeping on the couch because you are to tired and lazy to get up. Many guys complain about these feelings and although I will not pretend I like feeling like crap I will say that this is when I know I am truly getting close to having the look for the stage that I am striving for. As I have stated in the past there is no feeling more reassuring in this sport than exhaustion. That feeling of exhaustion lets you know that your mind is pushing your body past where it wants to go and you are still standing. It is also at this point where I find myself somehow challenging myself to push even harder because I know that as of tomorrow morning I only have 28 more days before I step on stage and no matter how hard those twenty eight days are they will not kill me. As the saying goes "Nothing very good or very bad lasts very long."

DH~8
 
What is the weight goal for the comp and where are you now?
 
That still boggles my mind that you can hold 260 lbs and still be shredded, full, and dry. I can't wait to see you rock that big man!!
 
Hey Mr. Hanshaw just wanted to say that I watched a vid you had where you were showing your meals and I tried the chopped up potatoes with spices and it was great ! Good clean carbs
 
Hard to believe that 21 days from now the dust will have settled and what's done will be done with my 2013 USA showing. I'm not sure how many of you following this compete but those of you who do will understand what I mean when i say that at this point the biggest key is to live in the moment and not to start wishing the days away. For me personally at this point my condition is very good and to many it is even good enough to drop the water and step on stage now and because of this I have already established more or less what the finished product will look like which is dangerous because I unintentionally find myself day dreaming about the changes I need to make following the show to get my physical self closer to the mental image I have in my mind for my personal ideal physique. As I have stated in videos in the past I love the act of bodybuilding a lot more than the actual shows themselves so I tend to get a lot more personal satisfaction from the changes I make from one show to the next over the competition itself. That being said this year I am really working hard to just take each day as it comes and really enjoy the process which has been great.

At this point my weight is hovering between 270 and 275lbs depending on what the meal plan has looked like over the last few days and my condition seems to be improving with each passing day. I am not sure where I will end up competing at but I am sure I will weigh in somewhere around the 260lb mark and based on the progress I have seen I feel very confident in saying I will be my all time best which has been my goal since Saturday following the 2012 Nationals where I honestly feel/know that I was nowhere near my best. Today is my second to last quad workout and I am really looking forward to pushing myself and my training partner through the most grueling leg day in recent memory. As always we are following my training which was written by Chris Cormier but he has also added a few extra movements which include walking BB lunges and sissy squats on the hack squat machine. As soon as I received the text from Chris telling me to add those movements I was even more happy that i chose to knock out my cardio and abdominal training prior to heading into work today so it would not be left to do after training.

DH~8
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top