nsparaco1’s BodyBlog

Competition went well.  3rd place Novice Heavyweight, 5th place men open light-heavyweight.  Not too bad for my frist time.  I did exactly what I wanted to do:  be competitive and place.  I was a little underprepared in some areas and now I know what to fix.  I had a good time going through all this, hard dieting is not as bad as you think.  And once you get to know your body, dieting can turn into something you look forward to (along with looking and feeling in great shape).  I can definitely see myself doing another competition.  Met some great people along the way and learned a lot.  Back to the gym.

Any questions, let me know.

Late

Finally, last week.  Started taking my dandelion root this morning; had to sprint to the bathroom when I got to work.  No bueno.  Well, its been fun but its time to see what I got.  I’ve been working on my poses and routine every night and sticking to my diet.  I’m at 186; I’m in the 172 to 189 weight class so I just need to maintain.  I am still at 300 grams of protein and 100 grams of carbs per day.  My workouts have been updated everyday on my workout tracker if anybody wants to check those out.  Here’s what my diet has been for the past few weeks:

1 scoop of creatine(NO Explode), Animal multi-vinamins, Animal Cuts, triple-action glucosimine pill (1), handle full of blueberries

Cardio: 20 minutes @ 15% incline and 3.2 mph followed with a shake: 2 scoops of rocky road whey protein, 5 grams of glutamine, 1/2 cup oatmeal

8:00 am - 4 oz chicken with hot sauce, Potbelly’s hot peppers(ridiculously good), or with some sort of flavoring (not too much though) followed by a kashi granola bar

10:00 am - same as @ 8 am

12:00 pm - same as @ 10 am but with second triple-action glucosimine pill

2:00 pm - same as @ 12 pm but no granola bar

3:00 pm - 2 scoops of rocky road whey protein, 5 grams of glutamine

One the way to the gym in the car I take 2 scoops of creatine(NO Explode) and my second pack of Animal Cuts

At the gym I do one muscle group per day, 7 to 8 exercises, 4 to 5 sets per exercise(check out my workout tracker for more details) followed by another 20 minute cardio session at 15% incline and 3.2 mph.  What I don’t put in my workout tracker is abs.  I do and have done abs pretty much everday which consists of cable crunches, hanging leg lifts, and decline twists, 3 sets each.

Post workout(around 6:30 or 7 pm): 2 scoops of rocky road whey protein, 5 grams of glutamine, 1/2 cup of oatmeal, and a hand full of blueberries.

Before bed(around 8 or 8:30): 6 oz of mixed stir-fry vegies and shake: 5 grams of glutamine, 1 scoop of banana casein protein.

If you have any questions let me know.  That’s pretty much it.  I’ve trained hard for the past 15 weeks: no alcohol, no bad cheat meals, no fast food.  Let’s find out if it has paid off.  Talk to everyone after the competition.

Late

Sent my forms in.  Hopefully they get everything, because I’ll be showing up, tanned, oiled, and half naked.  Don’t really got much to say,the only thing that has changed is my carbs.  And my body is starting to respond a little more harshly due to my last overall increase in weights.  Last week of heavy lifting.  Let’s do this.

Late

Dreams do come true.  Found another competition 3 weeks from now.  It’s also around DC.  No hotel, no traveling.  I will be competing in the OCB competition in Springdale MD on September 13th.  I’m down to 187, weight class is from 172 to 189; like I said before, I will be competition ready.  Keeping the weight trainging strong and dropped my carbs again.  I’m also doing a more instense incline walk: incline @ 15, speed @ 3.2 for 20 minutes.  Taking in about 300 grams of protein and around 100 grams of carbs.  I’m pretty lean as it is, I’m sort of excited to see what changes happen that last week. 

Late

Wish it was more like 1 week.  Turns out, I’m a head of schedule.  Didn’t know I was going to be like this, this soon.  Time to just maintain and try to lose more fat.  My body has been craving carbs lately.  I’m down to 138 carbs/day but every now and then (like when I stop for gas) I pick up a protein bar for a snack.  I make sure I look at the sugar when I do but, it’s happening more than I like it to.  Or when my company has lunches and there are left overs like wraps or sandwhiches(I throw the bread away) or fruit, I tend to snag a couple.  I’m not really cheating(am I?).  It’s not shitty food that I’m eating extra of, it’s healthy, but in my mind anything more than my diet is cheating.  However, I’m staying strong on my 2 hours of cardio a day so that’s helping me keep the weight down and the fat off.  When it gets closer to competition day, and I’m hardly eating any carbs, it’s going to suuuuuuuuck. 

Gotta stay strong, gotta stay disciplined.

Late

9 weeks to go.  Let’s do this already.  Well it started.  My body has started finally responding in a way that doesn’t suite my liking.  This past week I have started doing 1 hour of cardio in the a.m. and 1 hour after I weight train…wow.  I’m losing more of the left over fat I have (which is good, seeing some good results), but I’m getting more headaches, and my body is starting to tell me that I can’t wake up as early as I want to in the morning.  I need to build up some more mind-over-body strength to get through these last 9 weeks or…I don’t know, but somethings gonna happen if I don’t.  I’m taking 135 grams of carbs, staying strong on 300 grams of protein, and 7 to 8 exercises per muscle group with abs afterwards ever day.  I can feel another wall coming up, so I’m gonna have to say goodbye to some more carbs.  Keep on keeping on.

 Late  

Workout has stayed the same, but I have started decreasing my carbs.  I also started increasing my cardio today to an hour in the morning and an hour after training.  I’m glad I started so far out to give myself enough time to prepare, but this regimant is starting to take a toll on me.  I kind of just want this to be done with.  I lost another 2 lbs. and if I keep this up I should be competition ready.  If I get in the 180’s(which would be awesome because I haven’t weighed in the 180’s since freshamn year of highschool), I think I should be good, but we’ll see.  My legs and mis sections still need some work.  I’ll be putting up progress pics again after this weekend.  Hope everyone has a good weekend.

 Late

Hit another wall.  Stayed at 193.  Still think I’m looking better though.  I’ll keep my diet the same for one more week and then I’m gonna start cutting some carbs and increasing my cardio.  I’m definitely getting better with posing and figuring out what looks better, and I’m staying diciplined.  That’s pretty much all I got. 

It feels like it’s been a month since my last post.  Lbs. are dropping like weights….?  Down to 193(192.8).  Definitely seeing results.  Slowly but surely my lower abdominal muscles are pushing through.  I have actually moved back into the corporate office a little while until we sign our contract with the owner and our trailers get delivered to site, and I also have been real busy helping start up this new project.  I started getting headaches and felt weak(diet and workout has not changed).  I figured out I wasn’t drinking enough water, I was getting dehydrated.  I quickly remedied that situation.  I have also been keeping up on my posing, practicing probably every other night (depending on what time I get home).  I’m gtetting comfortable with the mandatories and experimenting with various poses I see either online or in magazines.  Great week.  Oh, and I’ll be posting new progress pics next week. 

 Late

Not much has changed really.  The only thing is now I am up to 45 min. in the monring from 30 min. because I got moved to my corporate office which is closer to home.  And soon the project I am going to is going to be in DC which eventually will allow me more time for more cardio in the morning, when I need it.  I am still sticking to my diet, lost another pound, putting on more muscle, I guess everything is ok for now.  But of course things will progressively get harder and harder.  Can’t lose track of the inevitable. 

Stay disciplined, train harder, think positive.

Late