Hey everyone, this is a way overdue contest prep blog.  I am sorry it has taking so long to hear back from me but I am finally on my reading week and have a moment!  So where to start?  A lot has been going on including deaths with former classmates and definitely negative moments over the weeks, but I will leave it at that for now.

First school has been a lot of work and with playing variety basketball on the side it has really made life go 100 miles per hour.  We ended up losing in the semis finals and it was a disappointing ending to the season.

My contest prep progress I think has gone so well this time compared to the other preps in the past.  I decided to give myself 20 weeks to get contest shape ready and by giving my these extra weeks (what I didn?t do in the past) really has given my enough time to get a lot leaner while keeping most size.  I have found my legs have got way better striations than in the past.  I feel my condition right now is pretty much where I want it and anything from here would be just money!

Dieting for this long of a period has really taking a toll on me.  Especially when the basketball team goes on road and makes pit stops to any fast food place. I get taunted for pre making my meals and bringing them with me.  I know what I signed up for and mentally I have to stay focused on my goals on hand and deal with it.  Nobody is forcing me to compete, I do this because I love it so complaining or feeling sorry for myself doesn?t cut it.  I do get cravings but I fight them off all the time?I?ve come to far to and can see the end of the tunnel.  I can wait for those cheat meals later.  It?s so weird tho because when I?m not competing it?s not that big of a deal to see people eating junk but walking past Pizza Pizza to class in the halls and just seeing how the majority of collage students eat makes me look like some foreign species.  I started at 200 pounds and I have cut down to 177 pounds since 20 weeks out.  That has really taking a lot out of me but I?ve seen a lot of great progress and feeling like I?m bringing the best condition of my career. I am not worried about dieting for the extra 3 weeks after my first show because as soon as I get a taste of getting back on stage it will be easy to stay on strict dieting for 3 more weeks.  It is just the anticipation of being at the first show of the year because I?ve been waiting for a long time now. I also have good support coming to watch me this time so that makes this time of year even more exciting!

Being  less  than 4 weeks out I?m getting really excited and find myself waking up really early to train.  I don?t tend to get that nervous anymore days before a show it?s the weeks of preparation that I get really nervous.  The contest prep is where you make yourself and all the hard work goes into.  Contest day is the glory and your moment in the spotlight!  During school days I wake up usually at 5am and will be at the gym before 7am.  Right now I love early morning workouts because I just can?t wait til after class, I get so inpatient.  I love to get to the gym and give everything I got as soon as my eyes open.  Then after the workout it?s up to me to make sure my diet is on track. Also make sure I get a good amount of rest and sleep (naps).

The most underrated part of bodybuilding in my opinion is posing.  You can have the greatest body but if you can?t showcase it in the best way it can set you back in the end result.  Currently I?m making sure I?m working on mandatory poses, routines etc as often as possible.  Also holding a pose on stage may look easy but is definitely not as easy as it looks.

Hope everything is going well for you guys reading my blogs!  I would appreciate any support, feedback or questions.

Take care,

Hey everyone, happy New Year and I wish you all the best!  It has been exactly 30 days since my last blog I wrote so I think it?s time for an update.  I?ve really enjoyed my holidays and training back home!

In the gym:  My workouts during the holidays have been awesome.  I love waking up and knowing I can train when I want and not having to juggle around a hectic schedule.  It?s a pretty sweet change actually!  My training has been very demanding but I find myself getting better every time I step into the gym.  I?ve been so zoned in the gym sometimes a feel like machine!  I think I?m addicted to the feeling of ?muscle pump? so it makes training easier when I crave the burn!

Nutrition: My body has been reacting really well to the minor adjustments I?ve made to my diet/cardio since 20 weeks out. I?m staying away from the scale as much as possible since I?m a junior and don?t need to be a certain weight.  My strategy is to be honest with myself where I need to get leaner to create maximum definition possible.  I know I?ve dropped at least 5 pounds in the past month though.  So far I?m seeing a lot more cuts in my obloquies and quads especially.  The past couple of weeks I?ve been eating more carbohydrates on my split legs days. I?ve found it?s helped me get through the week feeling a lot more refueled.  No question training quads/hamstrings is the most demanding workouts of the week so by adding a bit more carbohydrates has been key to giving me more energy.  I?ve found it?s worked pretty well so I?m definitely going to stay with this technique.  Overall I?m pretty satisfied on the progress I?ve made so far.

Life:  It has been great seeing family and friends during the break.  My old high school had a basketball alumni game, which was a blast!   I had an awesome New Years watching the Toronto Raptors play and spending the night in T.  GOOD TIMES!

 School/Basketball: I have a week until I?m back to school for the second semester.  I know I will have to manage my time really well to succeed in all aspects of life. Also, basketball will be starting up again which will be some good cardio and fun times.

I will hopefully have some progress pictures up within the next little while?as soon as my camera is fixed!  Check up soon!

 And Remember? ?People get tired so they stop because they think they were overworked but they weren't beat physically, they were beat mentally."

AC

On the Go 2 Becoming a Pro

Hey everyone, hope all is well.  I finished a pretty solid off season making a lot of progress in developing a lot better hamstrings and back.  Now it's that time of year again...CONTEST PREPARATION.  It's my last opportunity to compete as a junior(under 21) and I am going to take full advantage of it competing three times in the month of April.  My goal is to win all three and have a fantastic birthday in May.  Being 20 weeks out I'm fired up and ready to go!

I am training 6 days a week with weights focusing on pure isolation of a muscle.  I am also doing cardio everyday.  It will be a combination of playing basketball along with skipping, biking, stairmaster etc.  Basically anything that burn excess calories.  I start my workouts with something to warm up the body/ light stretch.  At the end of my workouts I do my cardio because when you lift weights you deplete the glycogen out of the body.  Then when you perform cardio it leaves you burning fat at a lot faster rate.

My routine is the following:Monday:  Chest/Calves/Abs
Tuesday:  Back/forearms
Wednesday:  Quads/Calves/Abs
Thursday: Biceps/Triceps
Friday:  Shoulders/Traps/Abs
Saturday:  Hamstrings/Calves/ Abs
Sunday:  Off (Prepare meals for the following week) 

Right now I have 2 weeks left in my first semester at Fanshawe Collage and the I'm off for about a month.  I like how I get a taste of the challenge balancing school with training and then I can focus "living the life" for a month...eat, sleep,train (along with seeing some friends haven't seen in a while etc.).  No matter what I've got to stay focused on my goals and stay organized.  I know there will be tough days and a lot of challenges ahead of me.  Thats why I'll have to be mentally prepared. Contest prep will test me physically but you've got to love that part of bodybuilding or you need to find something else to do.  It's going to be the mental and physiological battles that will test me!

To give myself a chance to win I will have to keep a strict diet eating 6 times a day spaced out every three hours.  Currently my numbers are 225 protein, 400 carbodydrates and 68 grams of fat.  Depending on how my body reacts to the cardio I have incorporated into my routine I will make adjustments from there.  This is the earliest I've ever got ready for a show but I want to make sure I give myself enough time to get as lean as possible but keep as much size possible too.  Today I am 200 pounds on the dot but I don't have a certain weight I'm trying to get to I will monitor myself through pictures.I pride myself on gettting better every workout and making sure nobody is more intense than me in the gym.  If someone beats me in April they better believe they will have earn everything.  I won't sell myself short in any aspect and give myself all the reason to succeed.I'll be back in 5 weeks to show my progress and tell about any adjustment I've made.  Remember, what separates good competitors from great ones is the ability to read their bodies.