2008 Transformation Contest

In an effort to really dial every aspect of my transformation in, I haven given up control of my nutrition to those who have much more experience than me. I set out to find a program that could combine what I know works well for my body with foods that were sustainable as a lifestyle and not just a ‘diet’. A few weeks ago I found that very plan in the form of a free e-book from Scivation, it is called The C.H.A Diet, or Carb Haters Anonymous.

This plan is based around the premise that carbohydrates are not neccesarily for physique purposes. Now let me also state here at the beginning that this nutrition plan is not intended for endurance or performance athletes, but is a very viable and feasible option for those of us who like to lift heavy and keep our cardio moderate.

One of the key reasons I chose this nutrition plan is that in the past I have had great success with lower carbohydrate diets. In fact, most of my weight loss has come at the hands of either a Cyclical Ketogenic Diet or a Targeted Ketogenic Diet. In addition, Carb Cycling has also provided me with much success.

However, during most of my lower carbed experiments I always found that it became difficult for me to use my carbups or high carb days in a clean and efficient fashion. I’d end up either eating bad foods or sleeping all day. However, the CHA diet changes all of that since you don’t have a standard carbup but instead a protein/veggie day once to twice per week. For more in depth details you’ll have to read the book, but for now, I’ll share my personal menu for the program.

**Note - Slight modifications have been made based on my available foods and the personal preference for a post-workout shake**

Meal 1 - Preworkout
4 Egg Whites
6 Whole DHA eggs
56g protein, 30g fat

PWO Meal
2 Scoops IntraPro - 48g protein, 5g fat, 9g carbs (2 fiber)
   OR
2 Scoops Protein Component - 40g protein, 4g fat, 7g carbs (4 fiber)

Meal 2 - Post PWO Meal
8 oz Ground Turkey
12 Almonds, 4 tsp Peanut Butter, 2 tsp Flax Oil
56g protein, 30g fat

Meal 3
8 oz Chicken Breast
36 Almonds
56g protein, 30g fat

Meal 4
8 oz Chicken Breast
36 Almonds
56g protein, 30g fat

Meal 5
8 oz Chicken Breast
36 Almonds
56g protein, 30g fat

Meal 6
8 oz Ground Turkey
12 Almonds, 4 tsp Peanut Butter, 2 tsp Flax Oil
56g protein, 30g fat

Meal 7
8 oz Tilapia
28 Almonds
56g protein, 30g fat

Meal 8
8 oz Ground Turkey
12 Almonds, 4 tsp Peanut Butter, 2 tsp Flax Oil
56g protein, 30g fat

**Any meal can be moved around in time, as all have the same macro breakdowns, however I will most likely stick to the exact form presented as scheduling will be tight. **

Veggie/Protein days are pretty simple to explain. You take the grams of fat that would normally be in a meal, 30g, and replace it with 30g worth of green veggies. I prefer Green Beans or Spinach.

SCT

As the contest nears officially starting, I have finally worked all of the kinks out of my workout plan for the 13 week duration. I will be following Scivation’s High Reps To Hugeness workout plan, which is a high rep plan geared towards gaining and defining your physique even while dieting.

Some key high-lights of the program are explained below:

- Cardio is performed each day following weight training. For at least the first 8 weeks of the contest I will be strictly following the prescribed cardio plan of lower intensity extended duration. I will be aiming for right at 130 beats per minute, using mainly incline treadmill or very light jogging to achieve this. I may add in extra frequency at any time, but not neccesarily more intensity. I’m going to truly put the notion of Low Intensity Cardio for High Intensity Fat Loss to the test. If I reach any sticking points then, and only then, will you see the usage of High Intensity Interval Training.

- Each workout uses 2 sets of 15 repititions. If I cannot complete all 15 reps I will use a rest-pause fashion and take 4-5 reps and grind out the rest. Once I can finish both sets using a weight, the weight will increase.

- Both abs and calves are hit at each and every lifting session. Since the calves get ‘work’ everyday just by being mobile beings, I feel that they require extra stimulation to just really force growth and definition upon them. Up until now I’ve been doing 3 sets of 15. Get ready though, because for the 13 weeks of the contest I will be hitting calves 5x per week at 3 sets of 25. Referenced below in the ‘workout listing’ are some of the exercises I’ll use to really bring my calves to a new level. In regards to abs, despite the fact that my abs are not visible I will not ignore them. I treat them as any other muscle group. However, since they are also used for everyday lift I will train them frequently to strength them. This is more for the purpose of increasing core strength and stability than ‘getting rock hard abs’, but more on the exercises which will be used for abs in the ‘workout listing’ below.

- A few of the exercises listed in the link provided above tend to aggravate my old AC joint injury, so they will be substitued out, but rest assured all of the big compound movements remain in place.

The ‘Workout Listing’:

Day 1 - Chest
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
Isolateral Bench Press
Barbell Bench Press
Machine Flyes
Rack Pushups (Pushups off of the 2nd/3rd notch of the squat rack)

Day 2 - Back
Deadlift
Lat Pulldown
Seated Cable Rows
Wide Grip Lat Pulldown
Single Dumbbell Rows

Day 3 - Legs
Leg Extensions
Squats
Leg Press
Seated Leg Curls
Hack Squats
Dumbbell Step Ups

Day 4 - Shoulders
Machine Military Press
Machine Shrugs
Dumbbell Shrugs
Seated Lateral Raises
Alternating Front Raises
Rear Delt Raise Machine

Day 5 - Arms
EZ-Bar Curls
Preacher Curls
Skullcrushers
Assisted Dips
Rope Pulley Hammer Curls
Machine Overhead Tricep Extension

Options for Calves:
Seated Calf Raises
Leg Press Sled Calf Raises
Donkey Calf Raises

Options for Abs:
Hanging Leg Raises
Planks
Crunches
Weighted Ab Machine
Crunch Machine from Hell

Thanks for reading, it is going to be a wild ride my friends!

Josh/Stonecoldtruth

Ok so maybe it doesnt deserve an entire post, but anyways..

Forgot to add I’ll be taking ZMA at night.

And they finally posted up all the items they will be adding to the gym in Jan 08, once every year or so the golds adds some equipments etc.

In addition to the 20 TV’s we already have they are revamping the cycle room, and adding a 110" screen surround sounds etc.
Its called Cardio Cinema….

Should be interesting. I might make a video of my gym so everyone can see what I get to work with..

Well, its not going to work.  I am not certain which one of my competitors bribed the gym owner to not open until mid-afternoon on Day 1 of the contest but it wont throw me off course.  What? You want me to believe that the owner is just going to be partying to much on Christmas Day that he cant get the gym open at 5am the next.  Likely story!  *wink*

Seriously. I wont let it be an excuse for me not to get all hot and sweaty in the am.  I have to get that metabolism burning at 5 am so I can keep that fat melting all day.  If there is one thing I have learned over time is that cardio can be done anywhere.  Besides that I made a call and pulled a couple of strings and I am back on track.  Different gym.  Same cardio plan.

Supplements can be a wonderful thing.  Because of the intensity of my training efforts and my desire to burn some major fat during this contest, I will be adding the following supplements to my diet.  I want to thank Gaspari Nutrition and bodybuilding.com for giving me the hook up on the majority of them.  I would also like to thank Daniel and Fern for helping me make the decision on which to use.

1. Gaspari Superpump 250
2. Gaspari IntraPro Protein
3. Gaspari Cytolean
4. Gaspari Plasmajet
5. Universal Animal Pak
6. Universal Flex
7. Now Acetyl-L-Carnitine
8. Higher Power Beta Alanine Plus
9. Shredded Mass Creatine
10.  Water! Water! Water!

Why does it seem like I’m following SCT with my posts…sigh. Hopefully in the end I’m not following the leader

My supplement plan is pretty straight forward. Since my current supplements are limited to mainly protien and creatine this will be a good adventure for me.

Of course I’ll be taking the Gaspari Lean Mass Stack, if you want more info read SCT’s long post.

My additions.

1- Optimum Nutrition Opti-Men Multi Vitamin- Gotta keep that immune system up, and the vitamins a flowin since my diet wont provide all the vitamins needed
2-Optimum Nutrition Whey- MMMM mmm good. It mixes easy, taste great, and I dont get sick off of it…what else is there to say?
It will be used for last minute meals when I dont have a hunk of meat available
3-Controlled Labs Creatine- Apple one of my favorite flavors….mixes easy, tastes great…Might drop this product if Gaspari lineup takes care of this area
4-MAN Vaporize- EFA’s baby..cut inflamation, helps overall health and of course aids in fat loss.
5-wATER- Flavored with Lemon, Lime, Stawberry, whatever fruit I have..1-1.5 gallons a day.

These supplements will help in taking my whole foods nutrition plan, and pushing my results to the ‘XTREME’

So, as part of bring my most complete transformation possible, I have decided to BRING IT when it comes to supplementation. This is of course with the gracious and GENEROUS assistance of both Gaspari Nutrition and Bodybuilding.com. Below is my supplementation plan for the 2008 BodySpace Transformation Contest:

I will list each supplement, the logic behind taking it (for me):

**Notice ? All products will be dosed as directed by the box/bottle/container they come in, unless otherwise cleared with a Company Representative.**

#1 - Gaspari Nutrition Cytolean  - This will be the corner of my fat loss based supplements, I have yet to be able to try the product, but based upon review of the formulation have very high hopes for the product.

#2 - Gaspari Nutrition HALADROL-Liquigels - This is going to be the  most fun supplement for me to run, as I fully expect that this will  help me to maintain strength and lean body mass while cutting bodyfat at the same time.

#3 - Gaspari Nutrition Plasmajet - I am actually somewhat afraid of  the potency of this product. The very idea of using a product only 4 days a week either means it is overhyped or too potent. And with Gaspari, we KNOW it isn’t overhyped.

#4 - Gaspari Nutrition SuperPump250 - Adding SP250 to the already insane stack of HLG and Plasmajet is just a dream come true for a supplement junkie like me. At this point, my stack is heavenly.

#5 - Gaspari Nutrition IntraPro - With the rising cost of protein and the amount of different proteins saturating the market it is nice to see a protein that has been ‘formulated’ instead of just thrown together.

#6 - Prolab Protein Component - It is funny to see Gaspari and Prolab side by side in this list as it reminds me of Deserusan and Dvsness, aww hot cute. In reality Protein Component by Prolab is quite possibly the top rung of the low carb protein ladder, and I love the fiber content. Plus it is Cinnamon Oatmeal.

#7 - Gaspari Nutrition Novedex XT - Adding Novedex XT will come in later in the game plan, possibly at the end of my HLG cycle to assist in raising test levels and giving me the final push to the end.

#8 - Natrol Biobeads - A billion little live cultures all designed to help my immune system and digestive tract, can’t go wrong with these. In addition, they are very economical. Another product I must blame Dvsness for getting me interested in.

#9 - NOW Super Antioxidants - Another product designed for overall health and well-being. Keep in mind this is a doctor recommended formula. I had wanted to go with a different product that I have been waiting on to be released, but Dsade (owner of RPN, nudge nudge) is
being slow about it.

#10 - Scivation Xtend - This is probably the other cornerstone of my supplementation plan, as I am a big fan of BCAA supplementation. In addition, I?ve heard recommendations of extra Glutamine when consuming HLG, so I?m hoping these two work well together.

#11 - Millennium Sports Ragnarok - This will be my Creatine product for the Transformation Contest. I love the taste and have had good results with it previously.

#12 - NOW L-Carnitine - An additional product recommend by Deserusan to assist with the transfer of fatty acids for cellular energy production.

#13 - Palo Alto Labs Incarnate - This will be used mainly for the Beta-Alanine in a pill form, but the additional Cissus is a welcome benefit as well. This will be lower dosed at first as I’m unsure how the Cissus vs. AA will play out. William Llewellyn stated in a forum post, "We’ve done a good amount of testing on it, and there doesn’t seem to be any strong interation between cissus and X-Factor. Initially we were concerned because of the proposed anti-inflammatory action, but it doesn’t seem to be an issue. Like most things with a weak AI effect, I suspect it might possibly be an issue if used to the extreme, but thus far we haven’t seen it." And as such, I so go lower dosed at first before going crazy.

I do have quite a few other goodies that could be added if necessary, but for now we are sticking with the above 13. This plan may be modified, updated, or changed at any time based on results and expected needs. You will notice that I have left out iSatori based products, as I do not feel that my personal transformation journey should be a promotional one for the company I am a representative for. So while I do believe in the products I represent, I will let them stand on their own two feet.

I would also like to again thank all of the sponsors involved in the contest for their amazing support and advice, this is going to be a great ride.

If you have any questions regarding any of the products listed, please feel free to ask away, if I cannot answer I will direct you to an appropriate company representative who can.

Stonecoldtruth

I’ve finally got some free time today to post some information in regards to my plan for the next 12 weeks. I’m not big on Fad diets much like SCT, FAD stands for Failed Attempt Diet to me……..they might work intially but for the long haul forget it.

With my goals primarly being to loose as much bodyfat as possible, and not so much high weight loss I will be following a nutrition plan that includes 6-7 Meals a day. Each meal will consist of at least 6oz of lean meat, 1 green vegetable, and some good fat be it from nuts, or some other source.The diet will cycle through complex carbs with the majority of the limited amount in the morning, or pre and post workout. I plan in starting with a 3k calorie diet. I’ll be supplementing of course with Gaspari products, but in addition I will add Multi-Vitamins to keep my immune system flowing, Sesamin and Fish Oil Mixture for some natural fat burning and mild ketosis, ZMA before bed up the test some, and lots and lots of water at least 1 gallon a day.
Protien shakes will only take place in tight situations and to make my famous protien based pudding.

My workout plan will intially consist of a Middle Weight medium 10-12 rep routine, later rolling into a pyramid system to really push the bars.  The last 4 weeks I will be adding a interesting mix to take it to the next level of fat loss. Each weight routine will be followed by at least 30 minutes of low intensity cardio….however this might change as time progresses depending on results.

One really awesome piece of news I just got, the Golds Gym I attend will now be open 24 hours starting Jan 2nd….no more excuses for closed gym time!