Joey’s BodyBlog

It’s been a long time since my last post. I spent a few months adrift. Unfocused. Then, finally, got my head together, did some serious reading & thinking about how to redesign my training, and got to work. Since then have put on 5 solid pounds, and a few pounds of blubber.

Time to trim off the blubber, so I’m going to do start a CKD this weekend and pull it back to 10%-12%. The goal at that point will be to add lean mass until spring of 2012 while keeping body fat in that range, then diet down for competition in October of 2012. Going for max growth while staying 12% or less is a new thing for me - but necessary, as my skin would probably not retract fast enough if I dieted more radically at the end of the process.

Some of the competitors I’ve seen in Ultra Masters are showing a fair amount of muscle, but their biggest problem seems to be an inability to get tight. I’m postulating that the skin just doesn’t have the elasticity necessary to keep up with a fast diet process. We’ll see if I’m right.

CKD is a counter-intuitive bastard of a dieting approach. I get the logic of it, but I’m going to have to prove to myself that it works. The articles on here have certainly helped….

Like the old song - I’m going back to the familiar. I’ve had a few days of cardio only - even a rest day or two - but I have to feel the weights in my hands again.

A funny thing happened yesterday morning. But here’s some deep background first, so it will make sense….

For most of my adult life I’ve been working in the area of computers and workflow/collaborative systems. Only when I was in my mid-40’s did I start working out in earnest, and started working as a trainer after the age of 50, when I’d realized how hard it was to find age-appropriate training out there. So I’m used to thinking of business/workflow problems with a systems approach.

So, anyway, until Wednesday I’d been bummed about the last contest. Bummed that I’d been washed out - bummed that I was not good enough to make the cut - and thoroughly confused by the placement of one competitor up in the middle of the pack whom I thought my training partner and I had both pretty well tromped. The score sheets aren’t out yet, so I still don’t KNOW what happened, although I have speculated. I’ve also circulated the comparison shots to a couple of NPC judges and they’re at a loss to understand it, too. — So this thing was eating at me.

Wednesday morning I woke up and suddenly my focus had shifted. No longer focusing on that which cannot/will not be changed - the past - it had occurred to me that there’s no comprehensive contest/judging management software out there. Let’s act on the assumption that there weren’t intentional judging irregularities - the promoter and the head judge have great reputations, and I trust them both. But suppose there were a couple of innocent clerical errors, or suppose there was a judge in the panel who was simply less trained, and skewed the results. Or both! It seemed to me that, statistically, reported judging patterns were pretty well subject to analysis.

I went back to previous contests and did a cursory examination of the tally sheets. There were a surprising (to me) number of unanimous votes - all judges giving a 1, or a 3, or whatever to a given competitor. There was a fairly high number of sheets showing a deviation of 1 place (say, second & third place swapping a judge or two), a much smaller number of 2 place deviations (say, third & fifth swapping judges) and very very few deviations of 3 places (say, a 2nd and a 5th). In no cases that I saw were there two judges on each end of a 3 place deviation. When there was a 3 place deviation, the judge out on the limb tended to be out of synch with the other judges with respect to all or most of the competitors in the round - suggesting perhaps a training issue, or a simple error in transcription in the heat of the moment.

But that’s the reason we have judging panels, and cast out the high & low votes. Unfortunately, casting out high/lows is not enough to mitigate these effects. And the way most ballots are handed in and tallied makes it essentially impossible for the head judge to see that there might be an issue developing - or at least certainly not in "real time" when the ballots are being tallied and the results announced.

Enter my consulting brain……..

Software could very easily spot unusual judging patterns and draw them to the attention of the head judge for his examination. A rule change (I believe - haven’t been able to get a full copy of the judging rules yet) could allow the head judge to invalidate with cause the entire work of a given judge for the day or, having discovered a clerical error, put it right - PROVIDED there was a practical way to re-tally the votes. Again, software could provide a solution here. With a few keystrokes the error could be corrected or the rogue judge identified and eliminated. With the click of a button, the placing reports could be re-run.

Used properly, this tool could improve the quality of judging, give the competitors a fairer shot, and ease greatly the clerical burden on contest day. Even in the best of circumstances, rushing to pull ballot numbers onto a tally sheet in the half-light at one end of a folding table while a contest is going on is a prescription for clerical errors. Computer generated ballots could even be scanned, if you want to get that fancy, further reducing the chance of error. Think of the way you enter your SSN on most standardized tests and forms - you know, the old "fill in the dot with a #2 pencil" thing.

Let’s face it - once a contest is in the can, no corrections will be made - even if discovered. Can anyone cite an NPC contest where a clerical error was discovered after the contest was over and the competitors were asked to return trophies so they could be redistributed? I sure never have - and so far, haven’t found anyone else who has, either. To do so would just publicize a problem, create a crisis in confidence, and erode the reputations of the people involved over an innocent mistake….although a mistake with consequences.

So what do you folks think about this? Does it sound like something work pursuing? I’m working on a program spec now - and if anyone out there is in the software biz and wants to talk about partnering up with this, I’m open to it.

And in the meantime, I’m going back to the gym. Can’t wait to feel that soreness that says I’m working again….

Life is good.

Here are the shots from the comparison round:

2007 Border States - Masters 50+ Division

Rough night. My buddy, Dave, got 5th, I didn’t make the cut.

The winner was Scott Livingstone, a former Mr. USA class winner, 4th was a former Mr. California competitor.

2 & 4 were highly experienced and cut up guys who crossed over from the Ultra Masters, taking 1 & 2, respectively, in that class first. 3rd place is a mystery to me - but then, I’m not a judge.

Score sheets come out in a few days - but my guess is that I was trampled in at least 2 of the 3 areas of muscularity & symmetry, and that presentation alone couldn’t pull it out of the hat.

Let’s call it a "learning experience" - as soon as I figure out which lessons I’m supposed to be learning, I’ll post them.

So it’s reassessment time. But I’m not going to undertake that right away. I’m going to let the dust settle for a week or so first.

Thanks again for the support and encouragement. I’m still focused on bodybuilding - but whether it’s competitive or purely recreational is an open question.

All the wheels are in motion. Started putting on self-tanner last night. More today - some new stuff from a buddy in NC, giving me a good rich golden base color. Will do a couple more applications, then use Jan Tana right before the show.

Put on the skinny jeans I bought when I competed last year - and could stick my fist down the front easily - and that’s at several pounds heavier than I was last year…so there’s the objective evidence I needed to feel right about the changes. Bodyfat measurements are so erratic at this point they are virtually useless - my body water is low, so the readings go high.

Posing routine is now firmly enough in my head that I can play with it - a good thing. (Remember to SMILE this year, dammit!)

Of course all of this is a crapshoot. Who is going to show up?

My business & workout partner competes in the same class, and he’s really nailing it this time. Great proportions and thickness. As nice as winning would be, if he grabs the spot over me, it will be justified - but I’m going to give him a run for it - he’s thicker, I’m a shade leaner. Let the judges sort it all out.

Lots of support from guys (& gals) on this board - I really appreciate it. Grand Masters’ division or not, it’s still just my 2nd contest, and this process is really foreign to me.

Time to eat. Time to pack….

J.

Today I had my last back/bi’s workout. Yesterday was my last chest/tri’s, and tomorrow is legs. That’s it. That’s all she wrote.

Next week is all about water management and posing practice and cardio….and the carb-up on Thursday & Friday morning.

People - competitors and others - have been coming up to me and saying "you’re ready" - but it’s odd - I don’t ‘feel’ ready, yet. There’s still looseness below the belly button and the skin of the back is too thick. But it’s definitely better than last year at this time - and incremental improvement is what it’s all about.

The carb-cycling thing appears to be doing its job - even in this short timeframe. I’m really amazed. Having been present for carb deprivation, my training partner’s approach at his first contest, and having also tried a gradual carb leaning approach (last year), I can say pretty clearly that this is better - for me, anyway.

The attached monograph was written by a PhD friend and former competitor in Sweden. Anyone who has dieted to the point of mood swings might find it interesting:

Dieting to Win and Losing Your Mind

Keeping in mind that 13 days isn’t a lot of time to make changes - but that I have to keep the fat loss going and still do the carb load on contest day -2, here’s what I decided to do:

Each day divided into 6 feedings:

High Carb Day:
9 Egg Whites, cooked
1/4 cup (dry measure) Cream of Rice
1.5 servings of Laura Scudder’s Old Fashioned Peanut Buttter
3 rice cakes
22 oz. chicken breast
12 oz. string beans
12 oz. rice, brown, long-grain
2 cups pasteurized liquid egg whites
53 grams Vitalabs Maltodextrin
Totals: 2964 calories, 87 gms fat, 228 gms carbs, 299 gms protein

Medium Carb Day:
1/8 cup (dry measure) cream of rice
9 egg whites, cooked
3 cups pasteurized liquid egg whites
14 oz chicken breast
8 oz string beans
8 oz rice, brown, long-grain
Totals 1750 calories, 40 gms fat, 96 gms carbs, 238 gms protein

Low Carb Day:
9 egg whites
3 cups pasteurized liquid egg whites
20 oz chicken breast
8 oz string beans
Totals 1750 calories, 51 gms fat, 26 gms carbs, 281 gms protein

The days will vary from 10/7 to 10/19 (contest is 10/20) like this:

H - L - M - L - H - M - L - M - H - M - L - H - M
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - X - - carb load day

the Medium day following carb load day will be supplemented in the morning with extra carbs as well.

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Any comments? I know it’s late to make changes, but I’d sure appreciate any feedback - at least for the informational value.

OK, it’s Sunday, and in 13 days I’ll be on stage. End game.

Body fat loss has slowed, and I’m examining my nutritional strategy closely. By most definitions, I’ve been doing a relatively low-carb and very low fat approach which served me pretty well for a while - but it’s definitely gone flat, as have I. Strength is down along with my will to do the necessary cardio and training. So, even at this late date, I’m looking for answers. A tweak rather than a radical shift in approach.

I like the Twin Peaks article, What You Need to Know About Carbohydrate Cycling, and by analyzing it and comparing it to what I’ve been doing (a modification of Keith Klein’s plan in “Get Lean”) find I have been on a consistent “Low Carb” day for weeks. I think what’s needed is to vary the intake a bit - introduce high and no carb days.

I’m also balancing what’s in that article with the information in Francesco Casillo’s article  Contest Preparation Using Science! The Final 10 Days: Carb loading/depleting, water intake, sodium intake and more!

When I get this all put together, I’ll post it here, along with a post-mortem after the contest.

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Update:
Spoke to a competitor buddy at the gym this morning who did well at Nationals a couple of years ago. He concurs that the thing to do is vary the intake. That’s reassuring. Should have the plan fleshed out in a few hours.

OK. Two weeks to shed a bit more fat, and 1 week to screw around with body water and to carb up.

It’s clear that my body fat objectives will not be met. I’ll be credible, but not as tight as I would like to be. My training partner says I should lighten up, that I’m 55 and should just chill out about it, but I’m finding it difficult to do that. I think I’m beginning to understand what the women are talking about when they complain of magazine models with impossible figures. All I seem to fixate on is the look of guys 10-30 years younger who are hard as nails, and that’s what I want to be.

I think the answer is to do the show as best I can, but to continue to diet - although not as severely - and take myself to where I want to be, just for the satisfaction of knowing that I can - and have.

Carb cycling now - and the low-carb days are a real drag. Cardio twice a day, plus lifting. This will continue for 2 more weeks, then it’s cardio only for the last week - along with the posing practice.

Kick ass music this year - at least they won’t sleep through my evening routine.

Crunch time is coming like a freight train. The fat is coming off - but enough? in time? Overall weight dropped until last Sunday - 185, then rebounded. What’s with that?

I keep being told "stay the course" "don’t mess with it" "just increase your cardio some…"

I guess it’s all on faith now. I’m projecting high 170’s for the show - maybe another 5 pounds of fat and another 2-3 pounds of water. But I have to admit that it’s a guess.

Funny thing is, each day I look leaner - even when the scales are flat. This is a freaky process.

I look at other competitors who are my height - most thicker, some with a frame similar to mine. Bad idea to compare, I suppose - but how else should I gauge my readiness? The other factor is age. I see 20-30 year old competitors who seem to start out as lean as I expect to get - and label their early shots "fat pics". Maybe I just need more time and seasoning.

Right now the plan is to give this the full-court press and see it through - hopefully with good results - then take the next 5 years off from competition to do a long, slow, lean buildup. With more lean mass (and maybe a trial "cut" in there somewhere) I should have better control over body fat & water. 5 years puts me into Ultra Masters - and a tight 200+ in that class should be pretty good, even at my height.

But make no mistake - my focus is 4 weeks + 4 days out. Ultra Masters will come soon enough…..