Brett Azar

I am starting a new bodybuilding, figure, fitness, and bikini federation. It will be a natural league, and the best part is we will be giving out cash prizes!!! We hope to be having our first shows next Spring. Two regionals, east and west coast, and then a National show in the center of the nation. Let me know if your interested. Please check it out, and leave your questions and comments on this site:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/National-Association-of-Body-Fitness/89730901361?ref=ts

Yesterday was leg day and I was 2.5 weeks out from my show. Last year I remember being so much weaker than I am now. Last year around this close to a show I wouldn’t think of squating 405 or 495 or even squating at all. Yesterday I made 405 look like a warm-up. Did 15 full reps so easily. My training partner made me go for 495, and I told him "dude, im dieting im low in body fat, and 2 weeks out…you want me to die?" he said "Just do it Sally." So I did… 5 perfect reps. I was doing this weight for 5 reps before, but it was when I was bulking and weighed 270. Now at 230 I actually feel stronger, I feel like I went deeper, pushed harder, and owned that weight. I never felt so strong so close to a show before.

We went onto Leg press where I worked my way up to 1300, stacking out the loading area and then had my buddy stand on top… I know, such a meathead thing to do, but again full 10-15 reps everytime. The full stretch felt amazing.

This workout was a Hammy focused day, so my squats were a little past shoulder width, my legs were placed high on the press to incorporate less quad and more glute.

I followed these two exercises with lying and seated leg curls. Just freestyling the weight and reps. Sometimes going back and forth between the exercised. BUT I went heavy than I ever have on both machines. I not only stacked both out, but I clipped a 45 to the stack. It felt so good at the time. When I reached failure I took the 45 off and continued with just the stack. My hams felt amazing.

I posed and flexed after the exercises and immediately the pain set in. It felt like 2 days after the workout when DOMS really sets in. I couldnt walk out of the gym. After drinking my shake I had to lay down and stretch for another half hour. Then I got hungry again and my stomach led me out of the gym.

My stomach leads me every where these days. Never too far from my next meal.

This time around I had a very unstrict diet. Well to me it seemed unstrict. I played with my carbs more and ate less "bodybuilder typical"

My main day of food looked like this:

 Breakfast- 15 egg whites, 1 slice of wheat bread, 2 tbs ketchup

Snack- MRP- 50g protein, 25g carbs

Lunch- 6.5oz Chicken breast (or 15 egg whites), 1 slice of wheat bread, salad, 2 tbs ketchup

During workout- MRP 50g protein, 25g carbs

Post workout- 1 slice wheat breat, 2 tbs ketchup.

15min later- 6.5oz chicken breast, Mustard, Salad-(carrots, onions, cucumber)

Snack- MRP- 50g protein, 25g carbs

Dinner- 6.5oz chicken breast, Salad, Mustard

Before bed- 1 cup low fat cottage cheese.

Basically I ate around 350-400g protein, 140-160g Carbs, and 25-35g fat everyday. It worked really well for me. My energy levels were fine. I did need a nap every mid afternoon. I did my weight training at night around 630pm to about 10pm. AND this time around I did NO CARDIO!! thats right NONE. I look much more improved than last year. Bigger and more cut and crazy vascular (got veins in my abs!! never had that before, and my veins in my quads are coming out… i love it). Biggest change I made in my training was stretching A LOT. I made the stretching feel like i was posing. I made the stretching a second workout, sort of like yoga.

Supplements-

MRP

Fish oil

Vitamin C

Fat burner

In this post I will go through my diet, training, cardio, and other miscellaneous things I did to prepare for my contests.

DIET:
I started my diet about 12 weeks out. I was eating around 4500 cals in the off-season, and I went from this directly to 2500 cals along with doing cardio once a day. I lost about 15 pounds in the first 2.5 weeks, about 10 of it was water weight. I stayed at this amount of calories and cardio for 4 weeks total. By the middle of the 3rd week I notice no significant changes in my body so I decided to drop my calories to about 2000 a day and double sessions of cardio for the last 8 weeks. I really cut up on this program. The thought of this not being enough calories did cross my mind but I didn’t think it affected me. I got exactly what I wanted out of it. Here’s my daily rundown:

3g. L-Carnitine

Cardio 45 minutes

9:00- 15 eggwhites

.5 cup oatmeal

Multi Vit.

Vit. C

10g. Glutamine

5g. BCAA’s

12:00- 6 oz. of

Chicken breast

.5 cup oatmeal

Multi Vit.

Vit. C

1:00-Pre Workout
            Fat Burner

3g. L-Carnitine

            5g. Glutamine

            10g. BCAA’s

3:30- Post Workout

MRP

            10g. BCAA’s

10g. Glutamine

5:00- 6 oz. Chicken

Breast

            2cp. Broccoli

            Mulit Vit

            Vit C

7:00- MRP

9:00- 6 oz. Chicken

Breast

2 cup Broc.

10:30- 1tbs. Nat. Peanut

Butter

1 scoop Whey

Cardio:

12 weeks out I did one 45 minute session in the morning immediately after waking up on an empty stomach. This was good for the first two weeks but plateau my weight in weeks 3 and 4. So 8 weeks out I upped my cardio to two 45 minute sessions, I kept the morning session but also threw in another post workout, or if I didn’t want to do it then I came back later at night on an empty stomach, which is atleast 2 hours w/o eating anything.  I was very specific about keeping my heartrate between 130 and 140 bpm. With this intensity, 65%-70% I was able to burn fat and maintain lots of muscle. I couldnt stress to you enough that you need to stay in your low fatburning percentages, otherwise if your too low your just wasting your time, and if your too high your burning all your muscle away.

Before any session of cardio, except right after weight training, I would take 3g. of L-Carnitine and a fat burner.