2008 Transformation Contest

Today marks the end of my workout week for week 1, as I hit the gym Sunday and Monday before the contest started, I decided that my shoulders would pay for being such a lagging bodypart. When I woke up this morning I went to the mirror, struck a front double bicep pose and said aloud, "You are going to kill it today, you are going to push yourself to the limit."

As I was up at 6am, I had plenty of time to eat and do supplements with proper timing before taking the wife to work at 7am. I can’t wait for the Gaspari stuff to come in as right now I’m literally keep supplementation to a bare minimum until those come in. Just pretty much Xtend and 3rd Degree Burn along with some Bulk BA.

After dropping off the wife at work I went straight to the gym, the roads were kind of crappy due to it deciding it still wants to keep snowing. I love the fact that it snowed Christmas day, but I mean is 3 days of snow really neccesary!?

After getting to the gym I was so pumped up that I didn’t even need the sauna. I went straight over to the preloaded barbells and started warming up my shoulders.

The weights on quite a few shoulder exercises went up, which will from henceforth be ‘bolded’ and ‘colored’ to indicate a personal record.

For an easy to read format of the weights, click here.

Weights:

Machine Military Press - 115×15, 135×15
- I think I’m going to go 125 for both sets next week, I had to rest/pause 3 times on 135, which means it might be too heavy and 115 felt too light.

Dumbbell Shrugs - 70s x 15, 75s x 15
- Next week is 75s for first set and 80 for second. Again, grip is causing some issues.

Smith Machine Shrug - 225×15, 275×15
- I am struggling here with grip vs difficulty, I can pull of 275 without a rest/pause but grip becomes an issue. I’m considering getting some new Straps since my old ones snapped.

Machine Upright Rows - 55×15, 65×15
- These will be purposely light for a few weeks to ensure my AC joint doesn’t act up on them. They felt good today and even with the light weight the timing scheme I used it burned like hell.

Side Lateral DB Raise - 15s x 15, 20s x 15.
- I can tell I’m getting stronger in the shoulders with these.

Front DB Raises - 12s x 15, 15s x 15
- Focus on these is now ensuring that I am raising the DBs towards the center of the body to get the full ROM for this exercise.

Rear Delt Raises - 40×15, 45 x 15.

After my Rear Delt Raises I felt like my shoulders were boulders and I was ready for some Abs and Calves. I did a bit more than called for on both exercises, but only because I have the next two days off from the gym.

Abs -
Obliques (weighted) - 50×15, 40×15 (both sides)
- I think 40 is better here as I can ensure I’m using JUST the obliques for the motion, 50 gets a bit hard and I’m starting to pull with my arms.

Weighted Crunches - 50×15, 60×15
- My abs are definately responding here, 60 is the perfect weight for now.

Calves -

Seated Calf Raises - 70×25
Standing Calf Raises - 150×25
Donkey Calf Raises - 125×25
Donkey Calf Raises - 310×8, 310×10, 325×5

As you can see I went a bit crazy with the Donkey Calf Raises. The range of motion was still good on the higher weight, but I just CANNOT push many reps on it.

Then I hit up some Cardio!

Incline Treadmill - 15 minutes
Track Walking (4.0mph) - 15 minutes

I walked out of the gym in a daze, never have I been so worn out by a shoulder workout. I literally got into someone else’s Cavalier (same year/make, different color) before realizing it wasn’t my car.

Nutrition has been on point, no deviations at all to note. I did end up substituting in an extra shake as a meal due to time constraints last night, but still on point. I’d share my current weight, but I want my competitors to be shocked next weigh-in

SCT

So, if you read my blog yesterday about leg day, you’ll know that it was just ‘grueling’ beyond all belief. However, when I got home I was expected to still be able to play and wrestle around with the nieces and nephew as normal. My nephew Domanic watches WWE wrestling all the time so likes to use me as a jungle gym. He got the great idea, AFTER a leg workout, to have me use him as weight and do squats, the result was fun and humorous:

SCT

So, I knew before going to bed last night that today would be an overall ‘difficult day’ since we had all my two nieces and nephew last night overnight while their mother was still in the hospital. I had to wake up early, 6:30am, to take the wife to work, with the baby in tow, and then came back home to crawl into bed until 9:00am. I was just exhausted my leg workout yesterday and dealing with kids.

After I awoke a second time this morning I took the girls to daycare and Domanic and I did some Christmas shopping for my Wife’s secret santa gift exchange for work. Target was hectic, but not as bad as before Christmas obviously. We got in and out, and then headed home for some lunch.

After we ate we cleaned up a bit from the whirldwind that was his two sisters and then I took my supplements. I found out that I won’t be getting my Gaspari package until Jan 3rd, so that just means I’ll have a good ‘week 1′ in the books and then Week 2 and on will be with Gaspari at the helm for supplementation.

Domanic stayed in the kid’s gym while I worked out, with the deal that we’d swim after I worked out. So after I dropped him off there I hit up the gym for some weights. Today had been slated as a shoulders day, but my triceps demanded some work and they got what they wanted.

View my Workout Tracker on my personal bodyspace for an easy to read breakdown:
Click Here!

Weights:
EZ-Bar Curl - 35×15, 45×15, 55×15, 65×15 (rest pause on last set)
- Really focus on the mind/muscle connection of these. The ramped up sets allows me to really kill the biceps right off the bat, and since they are my weakest bodypart I enjoy this.

Preacher Curl - 55×15, 70×15
- Focus on slow negative motion here.

Skullcrushers- 65×15, 75×155
-Quite possibly my favorite exercise for one of my favorite bodyparts. I set a personal PR for both reps and weight on this one today.

Dips - Assisted - 120×15, 150×15
- These were assisted, the amount of weight listed is the amount of resistance.

Cable Hammer Curls - Rope Attachment - 60×15, 70×15
- Focus on getting solid squeeze at top of motion, biceps were dead at this point.

Machine Overhead Tricep Extension - 85×15, 105×15
- I use a machine for this exercise to allow me to finish heavy.

After this my triceps felt like they were carved in stone, I wish I had a short sleeve shirt on to do some vanity checking, but alas a long sleeve shirt is more practical in the cold gym. I immediately went and did my abs and calves, because I was so wiped I had to do them right away or miss them.

Abs -
Weighted Crunches - 40×15, 50×15
Obliques - 50×15 on each side
Hanging Leg Raises - BWx20

Calves-
Standing Calf Raises - 120×25
Seated Calf Raises - 70×25, 115×25 (the 70 burned more than the 115)
Donkey Calf Raises - 100xFailure (approx 57)

I then hit up cardio, because I ain’t no quitter.

Cardio:
30 minutes Incline Treadmill, sweating like a pig in a bacon factory

After I did cardio I went and got Domanic and we went swimming in the pool for about 35 minutes, we did some laps and just general goofing around, including his ‘water workout’ which is pretty much pool pullups into tricep extensions and then diving to the bottom and touching with both hands. It is just goofy, but fun.

After we swam I stretched out and we shared a meal in Simon’s Cafe in the gym. If you ever make it out to South Dakota make sure to check out Simons inside of Sanford Wellness, the place can make something to ANYONE’s nutrition plan. Since around 40 minutes had passed since I quit ‘working out’ I had a 3 egg bake with some freshly shredded parmesan and cheddar cheeses and turkey bacon. Oh god, heaven. Domanic ate my bread, watermelon, and homemade chips.

A great day, a great workout, personal records shattered, and it’s just Day 2 my friends!

SCT

p.s. I’m also going to be posting a ‘funny’ video later today that my nephew helped me make. Not a ‘workout’ video, just something cute.

So, after allowing myself to use Christmas day as a carbup before the contest, I knew I would be a tad ‘fuller’ for my starting weight and pics. I won’t let this upset me, mainly because my side tricep shot showed some definition, so we’ll count it as a win.

However, being one who hates being bloated, I immediately went back on plan this morning in an effort to get back into ketosis and rocking out my normal workout as soon as possible.

You can click here to find my BodySpace Workout Tracker, which shows the workout in an easy to read format. Alternatively, for those who like to get all of the information in one place, keep reading!

This morning I hit up the gym for some semi-fasted cardio. Semi-fasted meaning the only thing in my stomach was some BCAAs (Xtend) and some Gaspari 3rd Degree Burn which I am using until my Gaspari Sponsor package comes in the mail.

Morning Cardio

- Walk/Run Intervals - 28 minutes total -1.5 laps walk, 1 lap run, repeat x 8 (total 1.75 miles)
**Interesting note about these is that for my last run interval I hit a
27 second 1/12 mile time, which is a 5:25 min/mile pace, don’t I wish I could sustain that.**

- Stationary Bike - 15 minutes, Fat Burning Level 10, Total Distance 4.25 miles

- Stretching - 15 minutes deep stretches to ensure my legs were fresh for later lifting.

I then came home and shoveled the sidewalk and driveway, which was just FUN on my lower back and hamstrings.

After some nice rest and a few good meals, all according to my nutrition plan, the wife and I took my before pictures (see earlier blog) and then we were off to the gym for some heavy leg work and light cardio.

Legs:

Leg Extensions - 100×15, 110×15
- These are slow and steady, to get the blood pumping into the quads.

Barbell Squats - 115×15, 135×15
- These are also considered a ‘warmup’, which is why they are fairly light.

Leg Press - 360×15, 450×15, 540×15, 630×15
- This is where I really began to ‘feel’ the effects of running earlier in the day, 720 was just a NO GO.

Hack Squat - 140×15, 170×15
- This was the most fun of the night, I alternated going parallel and going A2G with these, talk about a way to just kill the quads and glutes.

Seated Hamstring Curls - 115×15, 130×15
- I’m debating going heavier on these, I can pull them pretty easily, but I really want the negative portion of the motion to remain nice and tight.

Dumbbell Step-Ups - 12s x 15, 20s x 15
- By this point in the workout I was getting lightheaded and ready to hurl. Gotta love doing step-ups and feeling like you are going to die.

Of course, we can’t forget our calves and abs.

Abs -
- Weighted Crunch Machine - 40×15, 50×15
- Hanging Leg Raises - BWx15
- Full Plank - 30 seconds

Calves -
Seated Calf Raises - 90×25, 135×25, 135×25
Standing Calf Raises - 150×8

The wife and I got a bunch of workout filming done, but the lighting continues to be a problem in the main gym. I will figure a way around it if it kills me, look for these vids and more in next week’s workout vid!

Cardio - Part Duex

Since my earlier cardio was 43 total minutes I limited myself to only 17 minutes of cardio for my post-workout session as I can see no real point in going over an hour of cardio on a leg day, just seems counterproductive.

17 minutes Incline Treadmill

Stretching -
10 minutes stretching focused primarily on legs.

Well gang, day 1 is in the books, tomorrow is going to be Shoulders, Abs, and Calves. Lets get ready to rock this bad boy again tomorrow!

SCT

For most people, before pictures are something to be dreaded. However, when you’ve already dropped from over 400lbs into the 290s, they are merely a marker for progress. I look at the below pictures and see the areas that have drastically improved in the past 2 years, and then I also see the areas upon which I want to continue to improve.

Most of all, I see that underneath all of the fat, the gunk, the blubber, what have you.. that a beast lies within. Over the next 13 weeks, let’s unbury him.

Newspaper showing today’s date (included also in all mandatory poses):

Mandatory Poses:

Front Relaxed -

Rear Relaxed -

Side Relaxed -

Optional Poses:

Calves and Hamstrings:

Side Tricep:

Front Double Bi:

Rear Double Bi:

Lets do it!

SCT

Nothing better to wake up to than getting to take some video! This was my first video shot in the bathroom ever, and so you should all feel special to now be included in that part of my life, hahaha.

The video seems to be a tad on the dark side, but the weigh-in numbers are visible and confirmable via the attached pictures as well. In the future I will have to add some extra lighting to make things more pleasing to the eyes.

Without further rambling…

And then the photo of the weigh-in as well for verification:

I’m off to the gym for some Legs and Cardio.

Stonecoldtruth

I wanted to take a moment out of my family’s Christmas celebrations to wish all of Bodybuilding.com and BodySpace a happy holiday season. I wish you all of the best and confess that I am more excited about starting the contest tomorrow than about any of the presents I got today, just don’t tell my wife.

Get ready for a wild wild ride!

SCT

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

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

As promised, here is my video introduction. I tried not to look TOO sexy since we haven’t even started the contest yet, but I think I failed..

If anyone has any questions, comments, thoughts, etc please feel free to post away.

Thanks!
Josh

Welcome all to my first blog on the 2008 Transformation Contest Bodyblog. I will have an introduction video coming shortly, but YouTube seems to be running slow for me so I thought a brief text introduction would suffice for now.

Name - Josh (stonecoldtruth)
Age - 25
Location - Sioux Falls, SD
Over the next 12 weeks, I will achieve the following goals:

Goal #1 - Drop a minimum 35lbs from starting weight.
Goal #2 - Be able to complete 10 pushups with proper form (limit right now is about 4 or 5 to be honest, I suck at them)
Goal #3 - Be able to complete 3 pullups with proper form (limit right now is zero, I suck at pullups)
Goal #4 - Visible quad seperation.
Goal #5 - More of a peak to biceps.
Goal #6 - Some semblance of a ‘I can almost see a V-Taper’
Goal #7 - Clearly defined chin-line
Goal #8 - Visible back definition (kind of visible in person, not on camera currently)
Goal #9 - Bring it EVERY day, because if I reach this goal, the rest will come.

I will also be providing those who follow along a unique look into my everyday life, as I feel that the more you guys get to know me, the more fun this journey will be for all. Stay tuned for more on the next update tonight.

I will do my best to make you all proud, and invite you to join along for the ride.

Josh