My Contest Prep/Workout Log

Mrodz said:
Good Idea, it'll hopefully subside in a few days. :)
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I ended up skipping the gym yesterday as it started to tighten up again and I didn't want to risk any further setbacks. I did go today though...update to follow shortly
 
I did arms today and did mainly machines and cables to minimize movement and stabilizing with my back. My back felt a bit better today and my exercising actually seemed to help loosen it up a bit.

I did this:

-Preacher Curls (machine)
supersetted with
-Tricep Pushdowns (machine)
supersetted with
-Cable drag curls

Did a few sets and then did this:

-Tricep Overhead Extensions (machine)
supersetted with
-Bicep cable curls
supersetted with
-Bench dips (bodyweight only)

did a few rotations with minimal rest and had some great pumps.

Then I did some delt work.

-Rear delt cables

-Hammer Strength shoulder press

Figured that was probably enough this time!
 
Today was...different. I was concerned about my back still but its been feeling MUCH better. Still a little tight though, so I decided to do what I wanted to do, but to monitor it. This workout turned out to be excellent for me and I was able to get a PR!

Here's what I did and in this exact order.

-Incline DB Press
did several sets and worked my way up to 90lbs db's. I didn't want to do more without a spotter as I was going solo today.

-Flat Bench Press
warmed up with the bar and then 135.
Did a set and 225 and then decided to go straight for 275.
I grabbed a guy at the gym and had him spot me and had another take the video.
I was able get 5 reps at 275, the last two with help!

Here's the video:



That felt good and I was able to get multiple reps so I decide I would try to max out at 300. I was able to get 3 reps but the spotter assured me that I did either one or two without any help and that he just had his hands there for safety. PR at 300! :)

Here's that video:



I then tried the 300 again and did two reps but with alot of help as I was pretty much spent now.

-Decline Bench

-Incline Bench

-Pec Flyes
compound setted with
-Pec Dec
 
so the day after that ^^^lift, I hit back really hard and strained what I believe is the origin of my brachialis. I tried to play ball later that night but it started to hurt too much and I had to leave to keep from aggravating it worse. Took the rest of the week off until saturday night.

So last friday I went camping and had some fun, saturday morning it snowed on us. I took a nap when I got home and ate a bunch of chocolate chip cookies that my wife made for me. I mean like a full dozen or so, which made me feel like crap so I forced myself to get up and go to the gym. It was one of those days that I wasn't very motivated so I took some extra Maximize to help give me a boost.

I did legs and was going to do arms afterwards. However, after legs, the staff started closing down the gym. I looked at the clock and it was only 8pm. I asked them if they were closing early for Easter and they said, uh no, we always close at 8 on saturdays. Oh. I went home and forced myself to finish my workout there. I was worried about my arms because of the strain which was finally feeling better so I did really low weight/high reps. All of my reps were in the 20-30 rep range. It kept my arm from hurting and actual got some decent hypertrophy.


Yesterday I did my normal chest day but did lighter weight and higher reps again but closer to 12-15 reps. I did:

Incline DB press

Flat DB press

Decline DB press

and finished with incline smith press.

I missed this morning's workout with some stomach issues that kept me up most of the night. Not sure if it was from something that I ate but I don't feel sick. I'll be back at it tomorrow and also play some ball tonight.
 
Hey! I could have sworn I posted here earlier today!
Congrats on the PR man, nice vids :)
Snow at the end of April! I can't even imagine.
 
mw1 said:
Congrats on the PR
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thanks em, it was nice to hit that.

Mrodz said:
Hey! I could have sworn I posted here earlier today!
Congrats on the PR man, nice vids :)
Snow at the end of April! I can't even imagine.
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yeah, it snowed again yesterday and last night. so tired of snow. Next time I move, it's going to be somewhere warm where there is no such thing as snow.
 
I just saw this log today. I'm sort of in vague contest prep myself, as the show i'm entering is near the end of August. So i'm not in a super rush now, but will fat loss hit hard come june.
 
EasyEJL said:
I just saw this log today. I'm sort of in vague contest prep myself, as the show i'm entering is near the end of August. So i'm not in a super rush now, but will fat loss hit hard come june.
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nice, have you competed before? I have 8 weeks and 3 days until my next show. I'm starting conditioning for it now. I learned alot from the last one that will hopefully help me do better this time around.
 
No, never competed, never have seen a 6 pack even :) I've kept procrastinating about it, and making relatively mediocre fat loss progress so I finally decided this would be the year. Comically, the original shows that I would have done one or the other of happen to be a week apart in June, and are on the weekends that my timeshare in PR begins and ends... so no dice for either of those this year. But luckily one of the IFBB pros local to me decided to set up a class II show (just local counties) for the end of August this year for the first time. The downside to the class II show is theres no weight classes for the Over 40 group. But I'm not sure whether thats necessarily all bad for me, as i'm guessing i'll come in low 180s for it, which most of the other shows have their over 40 cutoff at 176 1/4 for 2 weight classes
 
EasyEJL said:
No, never competed, never have seen a 6 pack even :) I've kept procrastinating about it, and making relatively mediocre fat loss progress so I finally decided this would be the year. Comically, the original shows that I would have done one or the other of happen to be a week apart in June, and are on the weekends that my timeshare in PR begins and ends... so no dice for either of those this year. But luckily one of the IFBB pros local to me decided to set up a class II show (just local counties) for the end of August this year for the first time. The downside to the class II show is theres no weight classes for the Over 40 group. But I'm not sure whether thats necessarily all bad for me, as i'm guessing i'll come in low 180s for it, which most of the other shows have their over 40 cutoff at 176 1/4 for 2 weight classes
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That would be cool. You should definitely do it. As you can see even in this log, I was uncertain about it and finally signed up for the bodybuilding division the day before the show at the weigh-in's. I was just very critical of myself and wanted to present the best overall package that I could. Regardless, I learned a ton just from participating and meeting others and seeing how its' done behind the scenes. Let me know if you decided to do any kind of contest prep journal, I'd love to follow along.
 
I will. I just have my normal log now, but once i'm back from vacation it all gets extra serious, and i'll be tracking diet too. I do need to start to do posing practice I gues. That will give my wife something new to laugh at.

Picking music is also a bit on the rough side really. What did you go with? I didn't notice you saying it in the post about the show, but i may have missed it.
 
EasyEJL said:
I will. I just have my normal log now, but once i'm back from vacation it all gets extra serious, and i'll be tracking diet too. I do need to start to do posing practice I gues. That will give my wife something new to laugh at.

Picking music is also a bit on the rough side really. What did you go with? I didn't notice you saying it in the post about the show, but i may have missed it.
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lol, yeah posing is difficult to do right. I'm still working on it and probably not as much as I should. For music, I wanted something that was upbeat but not gangsta, trendy, or popular that people hear all the time and are sick of. About 75% of the contestants picked rap for their song. One guy at a previous contest got dq'd because he didn't edit it. My song started off slow at first which is where I come into my initial pose nice and slow, and then the song hits and is full of energy. It was funny cause when the song "hit", I saw one of the judges jump! :D I had to keep from laughing. Here's the song that I picked:

Skillet, Whispers in the Dark
 
Yeah, I had already decided on making sure my music choice is a bit further out than most that i've heard :D

So far I'm probably leaning most towards this Invalid Link Removed

But was also thinking about potentially using some 70s music like maybe this Invalid Link Removed

its some of the stuff I listen to while I work out so I figure why not.
 
EasyEJL said:
Yeah, I had already decided on making sure my music choice is a bit further out than most that i've heard :D

So far I'm probably leaning most towards this Invalid Link Removed

But was also thinking about potentially using some 70s music like maybe this Invalid Link Removed

its some of the stuff I listen to while I work out so I figure why not.
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def go with what you like. I just listened to both of those and like the MIA one better. Sounds like Straight to Hell by The Clash, but I think MIA improved upon it, which isn't often the case with remakes.
 
yesterday I did legs and delts, not my optimal workout combo but I needed to get them in there this week. I'm heading out to do back now and then superset arms tomorrow with some light chest and abs.
 
Had some good workouts last week. This week and next week will be rocky though because I got finals during both. That will take precedence for now. I was still able to find some time to go to the gym today though. I made use of studying as well as I downloaded some podcasts that were lectures on the topics I was studying and listened to that as I lifted. I didn't go till this afternoon after I got some school work done but apparently I missed out. I found out that two chicks got into a physical fight and the police ended up responding there.

I did chest and then back today so I don't have to worry about coming in tomorrow and can focus on studying.

Here's what I did and since I haven't logged too much with my weights in awhile I'll try to remember what I did and keep it accurate. You'll notice that my rep range is up now that I'm starting to change my focus to condition for my next show.

Chest

Incline DB Press:
15x40 (warm-up)
15x60
10x80
7x100 These felt really good and I was surprised so I decided to push it today.
5x110 (each dumbbell) PR! Always love it when that happens. I'm going to go for 120's next week and record it.

Flat Bench Press:
7x225
5x275
decided that since 275 felt good with no help and I was able to do 300 a couple weeks ago, that I would push it further and see if I could max out at 315.
0x315 fail. :( Oh well, at least I had a good spotter who allowed me to fully try and struggle it up with help.
8ishx245
8x225

Bent Over Cable Flyes: (high reps for hypertrophy)
15x50
15x60
10x70
12x60


Back

Pull-ups:
BWx8-10ish?
BWx 8ish?

Pendlay Rows on Smith:
10x135
no more, my lower back started hurting, still hasn't fully recovered and put too much pressure on it.

Yate Rows on Smith:
15x135
12x185
12x225
6x300

Back Extensions:
BWx20
BW+25x15
BW+45x12
BW+100x5 nice that this gym actually has 100 pound plates but it was very awkward to hold


light abs

Leg Raises (supporting body on forearms and flexion at the hip):
BW of legs x25
compound setted with
Knee Ups:
to failure IDK 8ish?

did that for a couple sets


Super Decline Sit-ups:
I raised one side of unattached decline bench to its' maximum height and then put the raised end on a box platform. Did 21's. 7 reps from all the way down on my back to half way up, straight to 7 reps full range, then finished with 7 reps from half way point to all the way up. Those were killer.

Finished with extreme and static stretches.
 
I went to the gym last night after class. I went to Gold's instead of my other typical gym. Both gyms have their benefits so I've kept memberships to them both.

I doubled up to keep from having to go in this morning and to get some extra study time in for my last final next week. I did legs and delts.

For legs, I did more light weight work to get a better stretch, focus more on form, and keep from aggravating anything. I warmed up and then was stubborn and decided to give squats a go again. After thoroughly warming up, I decided to try something different. I decided to try box squats for my first time. I actually really liked them and didn't have any lower back strain/pain, ect. I only went up to 185 since it's a new variation for me and I want to make sure I'm doing it right and prepare myself for heavier loads.

Here's some basic info on it that I found OL:

Benefits of Box Squats. Many of you will struggle to do Squats correctly. While giving up an exercise too early is never the option, switching to Box Squats can allow for safer & faster progress. Benefits:

Enforce Proper Technique. You can’t cheat depth and you learn to sit back by moving your hips first. Box Squats also improve hip mobility.
Develop Hip Power. Box Squats have you start from a dead stop in the bottom position. This develops a strong, explosive posterior chain.
Safer. Rounding the lower back on Squats is common. While you still can do it on Box Squats, it’s much harder and often goes away faster.


Getting The Box. Grab a box on which your hips end up below your knees when sitting. A box big enough for your glutes to sit on. Best is a box that allows for different heights so you can vary depth.

Box Squat Starting Position. The starting position on Box Squats is similar as for Squats. Although you’ll use a slightly wider stance.

Low Bar. High bar doesn’t work for Box Squats. Put the bar low, on top of your scapular spine. If this position feels hard: thoracic mobility.
Narrow Grip. Makes it easier to keep your upper-back tight, which adds strength. Do shoulder dislocations if you struggle with this position.
Foot Stance. Doesn’t need to be a sumo stance, but should definitely be wider than your shoulder-width. Feet turned out about 30°.
Tight Upper-back. Imagine you try to squeeze a pen between your shoulder-blades. Keep this position during the whole lift.
Chest Up. Make a big chest and keep it up. This together with the tight upper-back will prevent your back to bend.
Look Forward. Fix a point in front of you during the whole lift. Don’t look up or down: look forward. If it’s a mirror: look through it.
Push Your Abs Out. Increases lower back stability. Push your abs out as if someone was going to punch you in your stomach.

How to Squat Down on The Box. Lower yourself by moving your hips first. Your knees should hardly move during Box Squats, it all comes from your hips. Read the article on how NOT to Squat.

Sit Back. Lead by pushing your hips back as far as you can. Think sitting on a toilet. Your knees don’t move, your hips move back.
Shins Perpendicular. Or even past perpendicular to the floor. You’ll get this by moving your hips first. Push them back as far as you can.
Knees Out. Your upper-thighs must stay inline with your feet to avoid knee injuries. Push your knees out, point them where your toes point.
Sit on The Box. Do not let yourself fall on the box. Lower yourself under control. Not slow, and not a touch & go. It should be controlled.
Stay Tight. Don’t relax your muscles, it can cause back injuries. Keep all your muscles tight on the box.

How to Squat off The Box. Stay tight, keep your chest up and look forward. Squat up by thinking hips up, do not lean forward.

Heels on The Floor. Curl your toes. Heels on the floor so you don’t lose balance. Push from the outer side of your feet (wear Chuck Taylor’s!)
Explode. You can’t do Box Squats slow. Squat up by exploding from your hips. That’s how Box Squats build hip power.

Common Box Squat Mistakes. Box Squats – like any weight lifting exercise – can mess with your lower back if you don’t do them correctly. The key is to sit on the box and stay tight. Do not bounce or relax.

Bouncing off The Box. Sandwiches your spine between the bar & the box, causing back injuries. Lower yourself under control. Sit on the box.
Relaxing on The Box. Your spine gets the whole load as surrounding muscles can’t provide support. Stay tight, push your abs out.
Knees Forward. Kills posterior chain strength. Keep your shins (past) perpendicular to the floor. Lower yourself by pushing your hips back.
Rocking Forward. Can’t use your glutes effectively this way and risk back injury. Squat up by moving your hips up. Keep your torso still.
Leaning Forward. Can make your back round. Look forward, big chest, shoulder-blades back & down, arch your back, push your abs out, Squat.
Knees In. Puts uneven compressive forces on your knee joint. Push your knees out from start to finish. Keep your thighs inline with your feet.


I then did some light SLDL's.
I did neck-ups for my abs in between sets.

I then did leg press, then laying hamstring curls, and then some hanging leg lifts compound setted with knee ups.


I then moved on to delts.

I did side lateral raises (with thumb up through the whole movement) and rear delt DB work.

Then did seated DB shoulder press. I only went up to 60 lbs DB's as I didn't have a spotter so after that I went to the FreeMotion cable shoulder press. I did 140lbs on that which felt great cause granted it's been awhile since I've used that cable machine, but it was also the most I've done for a full set at that weight. So it's been over a year since I've it (guessing here) but it's nice to see progress.

I then did some cable front and side raises.

I then played some basketball for about 40 minutes as my cardio. I finished up with some good stretches and spent some time in the steam room.



Oh and my gym is announcing the winner of their transformation challenge tomorrow, really hope I placed since it's a cash reward.
 
It started out as a pretty rough morning. I couldn't get to sleep, not from anticipation but because my sleep schedule has been pretty jacked up lately from staying up really late studying for finals. After a couple hours of laying in bed I finally took some benadryl. Didn't work. So then I took a pack of my Animal PM. That did't work either. So at almost 3 in the morning now I decided just to go for a walk around my neighborhood. During my walk I found $5 on the ground, that part was nice. By 4am I was finally getting close to sleeping. I was then woken by my kids, one of which was throwing up all over his bed and the hall. I ended up giving him an empty protein tub to use as a emergency throw up bucket when we were all finally ready to head over for the award ceremony. As soon as I handed it to him he was puking in it.

So now on to the award ceremony. The men and woman's each had the their top three contestant's awarded. I thought it was top for each age category but I was wrong. Interesting because it makes it more difficult. Well, I won first place! :) That was really nice cause it was actually a cash prize. I was also selected as our area representative for the Gold's Challenge for the National Team. This means I have an opportunity to win $75K! :eek: Highly unlikely but it would be an amazing blessing.



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Oh yeah, and I workedout afterwards and did cardio. Supersetted arms, did light upper pecs, and played basketball.
 
Today I did chest. I did incline DB's and worked my way up to 100's. I was disappointed because they felt heavier today and my ribs almost ate one on the second set. Uhg, oh well, just one of those days where my biorhythm is off or just too stressed from finals. I saw that today would be better to focus on higher, more productive reps rather then heavier loads.

I did inclines for several sets and then moved to flat bench. I worked up to 275 where I still managed to get a set in but even my friend who was spotting me said that I seemed off today. I went down to 225 and did 11 reps for a few sets and worked on getting a nice pump instead.

Finished with several sets of cable flyes.

Diet has been perfect today and I'm trying to keep it that way. I got my next competition in just less then 7 weeks.
 
Kudos for getting in there even when your stressed, stress works either way for me. Either it helps me hit it harder or I just get super unmotivated.
 
Mrodz said:
Kudos for getting in there even when your stressed, stress works either way for me. Either it helps me hit it harder or I just get super unmotivated.
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thanks, I can't go two days without the hitting the gym cause I start feeling like crap.



No gym today because I'm heading to school to study for my last final. After that ends this evening I will do a nice 2 hour cardio session consisting of full court basketball. Damage to the weights will resume tomorrow morning.
 
Been busy at work but I've gotten every workout in. Had some really good workouts last week and was called a "show off" from some random old dude while I was doing box squats. I looked around and didn't see anybody else around and my friend who was training with me heard it too and just started laughing. I've also increased my cardio this week as well.

***This week will have very sparse updates if any! I'm doing an interim class, which is basically and entire 3 credit semester class in one week. So I have class all day long and as soon as I get out I have several assignments due the following day. It's intense but it only lasts a week and I get a much lighter summer load because of it.
 
Updates will be better after this class ends friday.

I managed to hit the gym today. Did chest and back and then some cardio. The nice thing today was that I did a few sets of flat bench at 275 and then I did incline DB's, so reverse order of what I usually do except this time I had already done flat heavy but was still able to put up 110 DB's 4 times so I was please with that, especially since my diet is in full swing and I'm in a caloric deficit now.
 
Hit the gym today after my final. I did delts and then arms. Overall it felt pretty good but I was a little weaker with my delt exercises and I did those first. I'm hoping that it was just cause my chest is still really sore from wednesday and that was affecting it...but it might be my caloric deficit and dieting too.
 
Just put up a log that I'm doing on AI's new reformulated RecoverPro, in case anybody is interested!
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Updates

Yesterday:

Breakfast: Eggs, Tuna, and cheese!
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Had a good workout today. I did chest and abs. I don't log my workouts or weights anymore so no excruciating detail but here's about how it looked...

Incline DB Press
several sets
I did 110 pound DB presses last week so I figured I could pound them out again this week and get it on video this time. Well...my spotter wasn't too versed in attentiveness and spotting techniques. The first attempt didn't go so well as shown below...

[youtube]Mmqpg5HHlKs[/youtube]



The second attempt was better am I'm glad I was able to do it but I was still disappointed with the ROM.

[youtube]09f5uaVdHss[/youtube]



Flat Bench Press
several sets, went up to 275 as usual but it felt heavier today. Don't like that.

Decline Bench Press
just a couple sets

Hammer Strength wide chest press
Drop sets starting at 385 lbs

Finished off with some hypertrophy cable flyes.

Then I did some abs, I put a decline bench on a box and did 21's on it with a 45 lbs plate.

Then did some russian twists using the arm sleeves attached to the pull-up bar.

Afterwards I took my BCAA's and then did some cario on the treadmill. I did 40 minutes and gradually increased both the speed and incline angle as I went.

After that I did some regular and extreme stretches and then took two scoops of my delicious Muscle Pharm Combat Powder protein, chocolate peanut butter flavor.



The funny and encouraging part about today's workout is from two things that happened. I was offered a job as a personal trainer (I was training my friend who was working out with me at the time) and another guy I didn't know said he wished he could look like me! May not be much but it was a nice form of a compliment!

Here's some pics I took in the lovely bathroom mirror after today's workout. Exactly 4 weeks and 5 days out from my next competition!

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TODAY

I had a blended breakfast consisting of protein powder, whole grain oats, and a banana blended in water.

Right before my workout I took my BCAA's with some creatine mono and beta-alanine.


Back workout proceeded as follows in this exact order.

Started with t-bar rows (today I did the supported version, which I honestly like better because I feel like I can isolate my back better and hit it harder) and gradually increased weight with each set. I did about 7 sets. I normally don't do this many sets for one exercise but I have found this one to be very effective at hitting my back and plus Andy does ten when I workout with him and he's one guy I can trust.

Anyways, I decided to go for a PR for reps and slapped on 6 plates. I asked my spotter (same one from yesterday) to be there in case I can't get it up all the way or fail, but to not help. He kept his hand on it the whole time which was annoying but at least he wasn't daydreaming this time! Here's both videos I had taken.









We then did wide grip pull-ups.

Yate Rows

Lat pull-downs (behind head)

Straight arm pushdowns

and then finished with weighted back extensions

Stretches

Cardio will happen later tonight.

Afterwards, I had my post workout shake consisting of protein powder and Labrada Power Carb.
 
UPDATE

Exactly 3 weeks out from my next competition!


*I've been doing a lot of research lately and forced myself to look at some research and some philosophies in a whole new way. I have decided to completely change up my diet and do one that I have never even attempted before. I just started it yesterday. I am doing the Lean Gains/Intermittent Fasting diet routine. Yeah, I hated the sound of that last part too! :D This program was created by Martin Berkhan and backs up his belief system with not only scientific research, but with real world results. I spent several hours going pouring over the details of this new dieting plan and know that if I want to truly see how effective it is, then I need to put it to the test myself.

Here is some basic information on Lean Gains and some greater details if anybody is interested in learning more...

Very basic rundown of the program:
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Interview with the creator Martin Berkhan about his philosophy on Intermittent Fasting (IF):
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The very short Lean Gains (LG) guide on his homepage with lots of other articles and resources:
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*You can click on the "Most Popular" and the "Categories" tabs for more information and also realize that there are several other links to other articles and roundtable discussions with other well known nutrition professionals interspersed throughout the articles, which is another reason it took me so long to get though all the material...lots of info and I need to know exactly what I'm doing if I'm going to be successful at it.


*Here's a sample of Martin's setup, some very basic info, and how I will be applying it:


As for my AM workout routine, which is when I typically go to the gym...well here it is:

"Protocol needed: Fasted Training (see the Leangains Guide for details).

We're going to assume that you're at the gym at 10 AM and break your fast at 12-1 PM.

10 AM: Training is initiated on an empty stomach and after ingestion of 10 g BCAA or similar amino acid mixture. This "pre-workout" meal is not counted towards the feeding phase.

*For fasted sessions, ingest 10 g branched chain amino acids (BCAA) shortly prior (5-15 mins) to your training session. This does not count towards the 8-hour feeding window that I advocate post-workout; that starts with your post-workout meal. By ingesting BCAA pre-workout, we can sidestep the increased protein breakdown of fasted training while still reaping the benefits of the increased anabolic response as seen in this study. Not only that, BCAAs actually increase phosphorylation of p70s6k when ingested in the fasted state prior to training. So by training fasted, with BCAA intake prior to sessions, we get a double whammy of increased p70s6k phosphorylation that should create a very favorable environment for muscle growth in the post-workout period.

“The researchers concluded that "Our results indicate that prior fasting may stimulate the intramyocellular anabolic response to ingestion of a carbohydrate/protein/leucine mixture following a heavy resistance training session. "
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10-11 AM: Weight Training: I suggest using a setup similar to reverse pyramid training, which is my favored approach. This is a high intensity, low volume setup. Keeping intensity high is key in order to reap the catecholamine-related benefits. Do 2-3 sets of 4-8 reps for compound movements and 1-2 sets of 8-10 reps for assistance movements (curls, triceps work, etc). Do no more than 5 movements per session.

11-12 AM: When you're done, which should be in no more than an hour, insulin (which was temporarily elevated by the pre-workout BCAAs) will be back to fasted baseline again. Immediately take 0.2 mg yohimbine and do 30-45 min of steady state cardio; cycling, treadmill walking at 3-3.5 mph (slight incline optional), brisk walking outside, etc. The yohimbine will rapidly take effect.

12-1 PM: Eat."


He also stated to drink BCAA's every two hours after your workout during the feeding time...so incorporating this into the MPS max stimulatory window (as described by Layne Norton here: Invalid Link Removed) I have come up with this for the 8 hour window from my understanding of what it entails in conjunction with Martin's teachings.


Ramp down carbs with each subsequent meal.

-Pre Workout: (10-11 AM---following this same example) 10 g BCAA's 5-15 minutes before workout.

-Meal 1: (12 PM) High protein, high carbs, no/low fat. Also the biggest meal and is the post workout meal, most quickly and easily absorbed meal

-BCAA’s (2 PM)

-Meal 2: (4 PM) High protein, med/low carbs, med/low fat

-BCAA’s (6 PM)

-Meal 3: (8 PM) High protein, no/low carbs, med/high fat. Last meal before 16 hour (approximately of course) fast is reinitiated, so make sure you have good quality slow digesting protein sources. The higher fat intake will also help slow digestion.


NOTE: This isn't his EXACT outline or ONLY outline, as he varies it sometimes within this 8 hour feeding window. For example, sometimes he'll have four meals instead of three, but they will still be within the 8 hour timeframe.

No processed junk food
Relatively high intake of protein all the time
Higher carb / lower fat on workout days
Higher fat / lower carb on rest days


*Now for his given food selection ideas:

LEAN GAINS FOOD SELECTION:
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REST DAY MEALS:
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POST WORKOUT MEALS:
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It was also apparent that he was NOT a proponent of nuts or dried fruit (from him saying so on LG).



*+20% of caloric intake above BMR on training days
-20% of caloric intake below BMR on resting (or low to moderate cardio for increased fat burning) days

So how did I figure out my BMR? I kinda already have a good idea from several cutting and dieting cycles I've done, but this site helps break it down pretty clearly:
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So my BMR is right about 2,500 calories, which means 3,000 cals (+20%) max on my training days for anabolism and growth, and 2,000 cals (-20%) on my rest or recovery days for increased lipolysis and fat oxidation. However, at this particular point in time, I am more concerned about merely maintaining muscle mass and losing as much BF as possible for my contest, therefore on my training days, I will be not looking to have a caloric excess, but instead shoot for just the 2,500 cals.



*My Beginning of the new diet!
So the previous night I stopped eating at approximately 8 PM, which would start my ~16 hour Intermittent Fast time frame. This would make me due to start working out at approximately 10 AM and have my first and biggest meal (post workout meal) at around noon. Well, things didn't work out as well as I would have liked them to this morning. I had to come up with a new post workout meal and I spent too much time trying to make sure it fit all the parameters, like macros, cals, solid foods, ect. Long story short, I didn't make it to the gym till 1 PM. But I didn't cheat and was still in a full fasted state, and am still within the acceptable time ranges, just later then I would have liked.

I took my BCAA's and began my typical training day...which just so happened to be LEGS today! I've never tried legs fasted---or semi-fasted since I did have the BCAA's. I also added creatine and beta-alanine to it but that was it. I warmed up and then started with box squats at 225 lbs. I was surprised that even as hungry and not super energetic that I was, I still wasn't tired and had the energy to do it with no problem. So I did a few sets and completed my workout which looked like this:

-Box Squats

-SLDL

-Weighted Leg Pushdowns, single leg (using assisted pull-up machine foot lever)

-Hamstring Curls, single leg

-Seated Calf Raises

I then did 20 minutes of cardio (low to moderate intensity only is recommend on this program especially in the fasted state). I used the treadmill and did 3.0-3.5 MPH and only went up to a 1% incline. I wore my heart rate monitor the entire workout and my HR was highest during SLDL's and second highest for squats.

I finished with stretching. During this time, my stomach was in knots with hunger, not really the overwhelming desire that I must eat, but something else.

It was now three and the exact time when I should begin eating my first meal, my post workout meal, and begin my 8 hour feeding window. This part was much harder then the workout! It took me 50 minutes to finish eating. :eek: Here's what I ate to meet ALL of my program, macro, and caloric needs.

-First I ate what I knew I would have the hardest time getting down, especially if I ate it last and on a fuller stomach. I had two cans of plain tuna. Unfortunately, that only gave me half of my need meal's protein requirements. But I knew this and planned accordingly.

-Then I had a full cup (yes 1 full cup) of rolled oats in two cups of fat-free milk for a total of 3 cups of plain oatmeal. I knew that this would need a little sprucing up and I could afford it right after my workout so I had previously added 2 unpacked tbsp's of Splenda brown sugar (total of only 9 carbs for this). I ate about half and I must have been hungry because it actually tasted pretty good! But I was getting full...really full. I was having a hard time eating every bite now and had to slow down. I then added almost 200g of fresh diced strawberries to the oatmeal, and even though it tasted good, it was a painstaking effort to get it all down.

Ok, I got all my carbs in, but still only half my protein. I knew about this and knew I would probably have a hard time completing this task so for the last half of the protein intake, I had a scoop of XF whey and a scoop of Dymatize Casein blend protein in water.

That meal looked like this macro-wise:

Protein: 114g
Carbs: 114g
Fats: 13g (saturated only 2g)

I think I'll cut down the protein just slightly and the carbs a bit more for next time. My stomach now hurt it was so full and distended. I also got horrible heart burn from the lack of food or substance in my stomach.


I then went home, got the wife, and went grocery shopping. While we were out, I hit my next meal time. Problem was, I wasn't very hungry but I knew I had to get my calories in. I refused to stop at fast food and ruin all my effort and suffering! I was at the grocery store and figured I'd just pick up a rotisserie chicken and eat it with the whole wheat rolls I got. Until I saw that for 3 oz, it was 14g protein and 11g fat, crap that's almost 1:1! No way am I about to eat 100g of protein with that high of a fat content associated. So I made myself a sandwich absolutely packed with lean roast beef and turkey and lettuce and one piece of provolone. Unfortunately I don't know the macros on it, since it was on the go but I think I hit my goals with that meal.


Next and last meal---needs to be high protein again, higher fat, and no/low carbs. I had a sirloin steak with all visible fat trimmed and a full cup of green beans. I still needed more protein and actually had another 8 oz steak pulled out but I just couldn't eat anymore. I was too full still and knew I would only waste it or suffer, so instead, I had a scoop of ON Egg Albumin Protein, and a scoop of ON Casein protein to top it off to where it needed to be for the day.

This is going to be harder then I thought. My stomach truly HURT after that last meal and I could only sit there waiting for my body to digest some of the meal. I met my goals and didn't exceed them, but this is definitely going to take some adjustment and getting used to. My stomach looked bloated and distended in the mirror. I started today at 202.2 pounds and have been at this exact weight for the last three days, so we'll see what happens.
 
Today seemed a little better. I didn't have as much energy and I didn't feel as strong though, but I wasn't exhausted either.

I did arms this morning.

Superset round 1:
Seated non-alternating DB curls
Tricep cable kickbacks
Preacher curls

did that for about 6 sets

Superset round 2:
Rope pushdowns
Drag Curls
Weighted Dips

did that for about 6 sets

all sets were done with about 1.5 minutes rest

Then finished with abs.

Did decline weighted sit-ups, 21's style

Then did leg raises and knee ups


One thing I have noticed from both days on this new diet is that I sweat much more easily in the fasted state. Plus I always seem to be thirsty no matter how much I drink.


After my workout I went to my friend's business and had a InBody 520 analysis. My BF according to that machine is 8.3%, which actually seems fairly close..yeah I got some work to do! It also measured my intra and extra cellular water levels which was in the normal range, and segmental lean development which was superior in all regions over comparative avg baseline. It also calculated my BMR as 2,249 kcal. I then tried out the Bio-Mat and the Far Infrared Sauna. I sweated like a beast but I don't know much about those latter two and can't really comment on it.
 
So doing this new diet so far, I've GAINED 1.5 pounds per day. Going the wrong direction here. If this keeps up for another couple days, I'm going to have to drop cals. I know it can take some time for the body to adjust to a new diet.

Today is a rest/recover day.
So cals are dropped well below maintenance. Didn't end the fast till later and today is low carb. So far today I've had 17.5 oz of lean chicken breast, a cup of steamed broccoli, Extra Virgin Olive Oil. The macros so far look like this: 107 pro/ 8 carb (all trace)/ 18 fat (only 2 saturated). I still have another big meal to go but man it's hard eating that much protein in one sitting.

Notes so far:
I'm more irritable throughout the day until after I've eaten. My workouts aren't quite as good as in the feed state but not as bad as I originally feared. I'll need more time to make a better and more accurate determination.
 
mw1 said:
Thats strange it is going up that much. I'd be hesitant to make a diet change like that this close to contest time without knowing how your body would react. I commend you though cause you have 100X more discipline than i do right now:(
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Yeah, I decided I needed a change anyways cause I was stagnating on my progress and not dropping any further. Looking into this diet, it seems alot of people are having good success with it, so I figured I'd give it a shot.
 
Today I did chest.

I didn't have much energy today but was still able to perform pretty well. I wasn't sure how the semi-fasted workouts would affect my strength but it seems to take a bigger toll on endurance.

-Incline DB Press, got 100 DB's up for a couple sets so strength wasn't too bad then finished inclines off on the smith to go a little heavier.

-Flat DB press

-Decline BB press

-Pec flyes


Then some ab work.

Decline sit-ups:
21's weighted
then 21's bodyweight. At the end, my abs started cramping so I knew I hit em good.

Then practiced posing

Then did an hour of cardio

Exhausting workout today but I'm feeling better now that I've eaten. Funny thing is that near the end of my cardio session I actually felt pretty good and almost wanted to run a bit...almost! I thinking the stims on an empty stomach contributed to that though.
 
Quick update. Diet has been spot on! I've hit every workout and have done an hour of cardio (LISS as prescribed by LG diet program in the semi-fasted stated for max fat oxidation) everyday as well, including recovery/rest days.

I'm heading out in a few minutes to my buddies studio again to retest everything. I know it's only been a week but I feel I've made some progress and want to stay on track.
 
Alright so quick update. When I checked my BF last Friday it was at 7.7% EFF! Still too high. One good thing is that I dropped .6 % in 6 days. I'm trying to step it up though. I do at least an hour of cardio 6 days a week. Diets been rough but on. Haven't missed any workouts so that's good.

Monday I did chest, absolutely destroyed abs, and did an hour of cardio. Felt decent. Not too much strength lost yet. Did incline DB press with 100's and did flat bench at 275. That seems to be getting harder but I have to expect it doing it semi-fasted and in a caloric deficit. Played basketball for a little over an hour last night. I definitely sweat more on this diet. I'm getting more used to it but I still have some times when I'm ravenously hungry and I have to keep busy and away from food to keep from wrecking my diet.

I'll get my BF retested again this Friday and see if I'm making any better progress. Show time is next Saturday (not this one) so it's crunch time! I'm having a custom posing suit made for me this weekend. I wasn't fond of the bb.com one. I mean it worked alright, I just didn't like the way it sat and felt. I hired another posing coach that I'm going to start working with tomorrow.

Off to kill my back and do some more cardio! Man I hate cardio so much!
 
Mrodz said:
So what do u think about the diet? easier? I do a form of IF and it's a breeze
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It's getting easier and I'm adjusting to it. I'm still really hungry in the morning. It's getting better though. I do feel that my workouts aren't as good as they were while in a feed state so it that continues, I'm going to alter it after my contests.
 
Yesterday I did delts and abs while waiting for my posing suit to be made. I then finished with an hour of cardio. I started on a spin bike that I liked. I kept the pace and heart rate up for this one. In 30 minutes I went 11.3 mi, 373 cals, with an average HR at 127. I finished the last half hour up on a Free Motion Treadmill. Later that night, I went back and did another hour of cardio. Yep, it time to bring it strong.


Today I did arms. I supersetted bi's and tri's but didn't have the energy to do my normal routine. Did a dumbed down version. I did another hour of cardio too. My legs are getting pretty sore and I'm feeling sapped of energy. Only one more week though! I'm heading back to the gym now to practice posing and then do another hour of cardio.
 
Bit of an update

It has been hard but I have been absolutely perfect on my diet without even a single cheat as small as a single chip (in the last week or so at least). No time for slacking now! I've been doing two a days as well. I do one hour of cardio in the morning, workout in the afternoon, and then another full hour of cardio in the evening.

Yesterday, I did an hour and a half of cardio. Then supersetted chest and back BUT this is my low intenisty prep week, almost like a deload. So I did lighter weights on everything and didn't even go over 225 on bench. I didn't take any set to failure either. Got a good stretch in though.

I am sooooooo tired from the caloric deficit and I've cut out all carbs now in preparation. Makes it harder to get through the exercise sessions but lots of stims help! :D

Then I went back to the gym later last night and did an hour of posing with my new posing coach. This guy is SO much better. We worked on my individual routine as well and I'm feeling pretty comfortable with it now. I then did another hour of cardio when that was done. I came right home and eat 3 tilapia fillets, 3 oz of chicken breast, and 2 cups of asperagus. My wife cut my hair (on my head not body till thursday/friday) and then went to bed.

Got up this morning, took my stims and Focus XT and did another hour of cardio on the elliptical at home in front of the TV. Helped time go by. Tonight I'm doing my last intense training this week when I play my usual full court basketball. All further cardio sessions will be LISS, typically in a semi-fasted state (only BCAA's and stims).

Things are all in order. Got the show paid for, got my custom made posing suit, have my music burned, diet and exercise is in check, have my contest bin filled and ready to go, got directions already pulled up and printed, got my posing routine down....it's go time!
 
Did a little over two hours of full court basketball last night for my cardio which put me at a little over 3 hours of cardio yesterday alone. Heading to the gym now to do another round of cardio and lightly hit delts.
 
Did an hour and a half of cardio yesterday and light delt work. My legs started seizing up so I knew it was time to let off the gas a bit.

Today I did an hour of cardio and then did a posing session with my posing coach. I also worked on my individual routine.

WEIGH IN'S ARE TOMORROW!!! I had my body fat checked and I'm at 6%. Not quite as low as I would have liked but decent still, plus I just started dropping my water weight. After I got out of the steam room, my vascularity was insane! And that's being completely carb depleted.

Tonight I shave and tomorrow I get tanned and check in and then I'm checking out a seminar put on by the IFBB guest poser...sorry forgot who it was. I'm taking tomorrow as a complete recovery day as well, in preparation for Saturday. I start carb loading tomorrow evening after weigh in's.
 
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