So all is well in the pursuit for a ripped physique. I have been doing excellent on my diet, no veers off the driven path so far. I have been making my meals every third day and sticking with the plan. I’ve been consistent with cardio every day with a minimum of 30 minutes and then 60 minutes on my off days from lifting. For sake of sanity and overall motivation I am going to take the next month and just focus on my workout and diet and not worry about weight or body composition. I will let the mirror do the talking and just make my adjustments from what I see. So far I am well on my way to my 12 week overall goal. I now have about 11 weeks and my goal is going to be down to 215 around 10%. I will be taking my progress pictures next time on October 3rd which will be a month from my originals. I am looking forward to it since I have noticed some progress already. Heres to another week of a clean diet, intense training, and laser focus!
So I have set an intermediate goal for myself to keep me focused. Today has been absolutely insane realizing how much I currently have on my plate. This entire week is full of tests during school, my girlfriend is about to head over to Austria for 9 Months, and I just got a fever early this morning. So it is time to strategize so I am not absolutely overwhelmed. I am going to visit my girlfriend during Christmas break which is just over 12 weeks away. After reading over several of Kris Gethin’s Transformation Guides and buying the 12 Week Workout Log, I’m gunna do it. I am going to set my intermediate goal as a 12 week transformation to get to my maintenance stage for my contest in the spring. My goal is to get down to 215lbs at sub 11% and then maintain. If I focus on the 1.5-1.75lbs needed per week I can segment the goal into manageable means. This is the only way I will remain sane throughout this process (relatively speaking of course J). I am going to be doing my cardio in the mornings 4 times a week like I outlined in my last Blog and reducing my lifting schedule. It kills to me to cut back because I thoroughly enjoy lifting but 5-6 days a week just is too much for my schedule and may be counterproductive to my goal.
I have also tried wearing a sweat suit to increase the calories burned throughout the workout. I am more doing this because it takes me forever to get warmed up in the morning but a good sweat is definitely a refreshing and rewarding feeling to start off the day. I feel like it has increased my workout intensity and also reduced the amount of water I tend to retain. Since I am doing the cardio on an empty stomach I have started drinking Xtend when I wake up throughout the night as well as through the entire morning cardio training session. I am going to be checking Body Fat and Lean Body Mass levels every 1.5 months to check to see where I am at and to continue to plot my progress on Bodyspace. Now I just have to get over this fever and I will be back up to 10/10 motivation and get work done!
So I have set an intermediate goal for myself to keep me focused. Today has been absolutely insane realizing how much I currently have on my plate. This entire week is full of tests during school, my girlfriend is about to head over to Austria for 9 Months, and I just got a fever early this morning. So it is time to strategize so I am not absolutely overwhelmed. I am going to visit my girlfriend during Christmas break which is just over 12 weeks away. After reading over several of Kris Gethin’s Transformation Guides and buying the 12 Week Workout Log, I’m gunna do it. I am going to set my intermediate goal as a 12 week transformation to get to my maintenance stage for my contest in the spring. My goal is to get down to 215lbs at sub 11% and then maintain. If I focus on the 1.5-1.75lbs needed per week I can segment the goal into manageable means. This is the only way I will remain sane throughout this process (relatively speaking of course J). I am going to be doing my cardio in the mornings 4 times a week like I outlined in my last Blog and reducing my lifting schedule. It kills to me to cut back because I thoroughly enjoy lifting but 5-6 days a week just is too much for my schedule and may be counterproductive to my goal.
I have also tried wearing a sweat suit to increase the calories burned throughout the workout. I am more doing this because it takes me forever to get warmed up in the morning but a good sweat is definitely a refreshing and rewarding feeling to start off the day. I feel like it has increased my workout intensity and also reduced the amount of water I tend to retain. Since I am doing the cardio on an empty stomach I have started drinking Xtend when I wake up throughout the night as well as through the entire morning cardio training session. I am going to be checking Body Fat and Lean Body Mass levels every 1.5 months to check to see where I am at and to continue to plot my progress on Bodyspace. Now I just have to get over this fever and I will be back up to 10/10 motivation and get work done!
Well I started doing cardio first thing in the morning. I’m not going to lie, the first ten minutes weren’t too bad but after that the lack of calories really hit me. I ended up having my morning supps out on my table with some water, so after downing my Animal Pak, Animal Flex, and my CLA and Efa’s that really filled me up for the rest of the cardio session. I was 230.6 this morning so I am really close to my goal of 225lbs. Once I hit that point I am going to stop checking the scale period. It will be all about body fat percentage and appearance at that point. I just want to hit a point where I can maintain and focus on the specific areas I want to improve on. Well I am going to start off with the morning cardio 3 days a week. I have also been doing cardio at night at home while studying for class. I really like being able to multitask with the recumbent bike at home. So this will be a subtle tweak I will try for 4-5 weeks and assess how well it works for me.
Diet, diet, diet. You just can’t stress how vital your diet is to getting results. I have always been extremely active my whole life. But even in the last few years when I have seriously got into lifting I truly haven’t managed what I ate with extreme awareness. Just the last 6 weeks of a strict diet I have gone from 250lbs to 231lbs. My short term goal is to get to 225lbs by early November then close in on 10% body fat. Since I am so far out from my contest, (April 2010) I need to just get to a comfortable maintenance stage so I can hone in and focus on areas I need to improve upon. Just leaning out over the past 6 weeks I have realized several areas where I need to improve if I want to accomplish my goal. My new focal points will be further chest development–mainly central and lower pecs– to get the all important crease across the entire pectoral muscles. I also want to demolish biceps and triceps over the next several months. I have always had decent size (17inch arms right now) but I need further separation. So far I am so pumped about each and every workout and cardio session I just can’t stand waiting for the next. On that note I also purchased a recumbent bike for my apartment. I am going to integrate cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach to my routine and see how my body reacts. I don’t fully believe in the science of doing cardio on a fast so I will be supplementing with Scivation Xtend throughout the session for muscle preservation. It’s all about adjustments and tweaks one at a time!
So today I am hitting up the all important legs. I’m still trying to keep a relatively low carbohydrate content in my diet but I will add some complex carbs to my pre-workout meal. Here is my diet for today and my workout routine.
Meal #1: 2 Scoops of whey protein isolate (in water), 2 pieces of whole wheat bread, natural peanut butter
Meal#2: 2 Cups of green veggies, 3 hard boiled eggs, 1 portion of lean sliced chicken
Meal#3: Salad w/ eggs, lean meat, light cheese, no dressing
Meal#4 (Pre-Workout): 2 hard boiled eggs, 1 cup of brown rice, 1 portion of lean sliced chicken
Meal#5 (Post-Workout): 2 Scoops of Whey Protein Isolate, 35grams of Waxymaize
Meal#6: 1 1/2 cups of cottage cheese, casein shake, 1/2 cup of veggies
Workout: Legs
5 minuted warm-up:
Squat: 3X15
Deadlift:3X15
Leg Extension: 4X20
Leg Curls: 4X20
Seated Calf Machine: 5X20
Walking Lunges
30-minutes of Cardio after lifting: Incline Walk on Treadmill
So I am going to do it. I am going to be competing in my first bodybuilding show. I will be doing the NGA Natural show here in Boise late April. I recentely (Last Month) finished my bulking cycle and topped out at 250lbs. I am 6′2′’ but that was still alot of weight to be carrying around. I kept my BF down relatively speaking by doing a moderately clean bulk. I am not gunna lie, I did enjoy my fair share of bagels with peanut butter and Nutella, best bulking food ever! But no more! I am now working on my diet and leaning out. I have roughly 8 months to get absolutey shredded, which is plenty of time but I want to do it right. I am down to 235lbs right now at 14.5% BF and a lean body mass of just around 211llbs.
My overall goal is to be on stage at 205-210lbs and sub 6% bodyfat. If I do it slow and possibly do one more bulk if necessary I think I got this. I have been working on my diet and figuring out what works best for me and also what is easy because of my schedule. I am currently enrolled at Boise State University and am taking 17 credits. That ontop of working at Bodybuilding.com full time, tackling this competition will be quite the task. But I am game and ready to take on the competition and get that top spot!
I will be competing in the Novice class since it is my first show, but I will be logging my workout program, diet, and anything on my mind throughout the entire journey. So buckle up, it’s going to be one heck of a ride!
Current Diet:
Breakfast: Two Scoops of Gaspari MyoFusion, 1/4 cup of Oats and 1/4 cup of peanut butter
Meal 2: Turkey Pattie (2), 1/2 cup of brown rice, 1 cup of broccoli
Meal 3: Turkey Pattie (2), 1/2 cup of brown rice
Meal 4 (Pre Workout): 1 Scoop of Gaspari Myofusion, 1/2 cup of oats
Meal 5: Salad with 2 full chicken breasts, 1 cup of cottage cheese, 1 cup of broccoli
Meal 6: Casein shake and some veggies
For my workout routine I am focusing on high volume and generally hitting 1 to 2 bodyparts per workout followed by 30 minutes of low impact cardio. I am getting a ton of ideas from the videos series on Bodybuilding.com’s video portal. It is the Unleashed Series with Brandon Curry. This guy is brilliant and has some unique and insightful ideas on muscular development.
Leave Comment