12 weeks out. The Road to my first competition.

[beast2007]

Hi guys, im new to this board and looking to compete in my first Natural competion this year which is in july. Now the background to my bodybuilding life goes like this....I started of getting into bodybuilding around July 2005. I was really fat back then, at age 16. i was weighing around 245lbs.! i got depressed with my body and the way i looked., i simply hated myself. I decided to start working out. I started of dieting, nothing major, just cleaned up my awful diet from before, i was still having a bad day of food now again, but because i was so over weight, my weight started to drop just through cleaning up my diet generally. Thing started to get serious though around july 2006. My older bro, competed in his first in july 2005, and has been competing
since.For his first show, i helped him prepare his tanning and stuff, the usual support you give to someone. EVERYTHING changed after that day. I was back stage, and even though i wasnt competing just helping my bro out. The feeling of one day being on stage was pumping through my veins, this is something i want to do. I wanted to be the one on stage not off.! I started dieting properly around July 2006. Just training and eating.
My contest preperation started at the beggining of this year Jan 07.
I started to do cardio now again and keep a tag on my weight loss. From July 2005 till the Jan 07, my weight went from around 245-195. from Jan 07, my weight had been stuck, it wasnt going any where, my fat wasnt dropping, i started doing more and more cardio, and nothing was happening, what was wrong? The problem was in my diet, the best success, i found was to carb cycle. After a lot of research, and studdying my diet day and night, i finally found out what worked for me. also many thanks to my bro aswell.
My stats are as follows:

AGE:18
WEIGHT:184 (IN PICS)
HEIGHT: 5'11
BF%: 8-9.

THIS IS my before picture.
**broken link removed**

This is me 12 weeks out.
**broken link removed**
**broken link removed**
**broken link removed**

Diet is as follows:
Protien:250-270
Carbs:180
Fats:40

Diet on Re-feed days (usually day 4 or 5)
Protien:150-180
Carbs:360-400
Fats:0

At 11 weeks out I will drop 20g Carbs from my normal diet brining it down to 160g carbs a day. Then every 2 weeks ill drop 20g Carbs from my diet untill in literally on no carbs, this may vary depending on weight loss.

I will be uploading pics on a weekly basis, and also my diet aswell and days events . This board has amazing articles on it, from the likes Of Big A, Phil and other people. One person which journal inspired me is MAIN EVENT. He goes into a lot of detail, and i can relate to some of the things he says. I urge people to read his article looking to get ready for a show, aswell as Big A's Article on dieting.

 

[beast2007]

Heres a a breakdown of my diet and training:

Meal 1: ( BreakFast) 100g Oats / 2 scoops Iso Pure Zero Carb
Meal 2: 130g Chicken / 15 seeds
Meal 3: 130g Chicken / 15 seeds
Meal 4: ( Pre-Workout ) : 60g Oats / 1.5 scoops Iso Pure Zero Carb / 20g Sultanas
Meal 5: ( Post-Workout ) : 60g Oats / 1.5 scoops Iso Pure Zero Carb
Meal 6: (Bedtime) : 7 Egg whites / 30g Almonds.

Supplements: 20g Scivation BCAA'S : 10g Sipped through day ( frozen/Ice )
10g Sipped through Training
Totals:
Carbs: 180g / Protien : 250-270g / Fat : 40g

I do an 11 day Carb Cycle:

Days 1-4: 180g / 250-270g / 40g
Day 5 ( Mini Re-Feed ) : 280+ / 150-170g / 0g
Days 6-10: 180g / 250-270g / 40g
Day 11: ( Big Re-Feed ) : 360+ / 150-170g / 0g

Training:
Days 1-4:
Quads/calfs/Hamz
Back/Lats/Traps
Arms
Chest/Delts

Day 5: Off

Days 6-10:
Quads
Back/Lats/Traps
Arms
Hamz/Abbs/Calfs
CHest/Delts

Day 11: Off.
Repeat.

Cardio is performed Every day 40mins Before Breakfast and 40mins between Meal 5-6.

Only on re-feeds cardio and training is not performed.
Every 2 weeks (11 day Carb Cycle ) i will be dropping 20g Carbs. If i get more hungry, the 20g Carbs i droped will be replaced with 20g Protien..
Ill post up every week. Ill miss week 11. as its this sunday, however week 10 next sunday ill post up my week events.!

 

[skookum]

Tremendous changes, beast!!! Stick with you program & you will see your physique change right before your eyes - it's the most awesome thing in the world!!!

 

[beast2007]

thanx bro. Yeah im going to stick the game plan, any little tweeks will be noted and posted on here, hopefully it will be a help to other people aswell. Having a journal online, is motavating, as your always looking to improve when you put weekly pics up and also its something to refer to for the future.!

 

[Northwatch619]

Congrats for taking control of a health issue that plague so many young people today. You look terrific! At 5’ 11” tall and at 184 #’s you’re doing great! Keep doing what you are doing and more mass will be added and BF will come off, which doesn’t look to be very high %. Good chest and trap development. The body building Bug will add many other good things to your life. Stay with it. It’s great story of how you got started, I’m sure your brother is proud of you as you are of him.

NW

 

[beast2007]

Congrats for taking control of a health issue that plague so many young people today. You look terrific! At 5’ 11” tall and at 184 #’s you’re doing great! Keep doing what you are doing and more mass will be added and BF will come off, which doesn’t look to be very high %. Good chest and trap development. The body building Bug will add many other good things to your life. Stay with it. It’s great story of how you got started, I’m sure your brother is proud of you as you are of him.

NW

Cheers bro. I found that reading other people articles,dieting and training, and taking little tips from each article helps towards finding what works for you. So hopefully something in this contest prep will be helpful to some one else.

 

[MAINEVENT]

That change is amazing.....from the first pic to the second set. Good job!

Im glad my article helped, if i've said, i just wanted to be able to show anyone it can be done if you put your mind to it.

If there is anything i can do to help let me know.

 

[beast2007]

thanx bro, i really apreciate it. Well today is my re-feed day. I weighed in at
183 1/2 lbs this morning. Ill probably be weighing around 185lbs tmmw morning (water weight). However tmmw is my slight diet change, ill be dropping 20g Carbs, which will bring me down to 160g Carbs. Small changes make big differences. Im hoping . ill keep the day 1-4 diet which will be 160/250/40. then day 5 will be a mini re-feed. day 6-10 will be 160/250/40. and day 11 will be my big re-feed. The difference between the mini re-feed and the big re-feed incase any one wants to know, is the mini re-feed carbs are kinda limited , i might exceed the carb intake depending how i feel. The Big re-feed is a much higher carb day, carbs are always kept as clean as possible. These carb re-feeds are done to help keep my matoblism raised, as you know when in a calorie deficit and low carb, your matoblism wants to slow down. I look to drop 3-4lbs inbetween re-feeds as i gain i 2lbs on the re-feeds. making an overall loss of 2-3lbs on an overally basis.
Just one question for Main event., did you find when you dropped your carbs slightly week to week it made a massive difference? and the carbs you dropped e.g 20g carbs = 80 calories. did you replace them with protien e.g 20g protien = 80 calories. or just keep your protien the same?...
Ill be posting some 10 week pics out soon!

 

[MAINEVENT]

Just one question for Main event., did you find when you dropped your carbs slightly week to week it made a massive difference? and the carbs you dropped e.g 20g carbs = 80 calories. did you replace them with protien e.g 20g protien = 80 calories. or just keep your protien the same?...
Ill be posting some 10 week pics out soon!

To a certain point....up to where i was taking in about 1.5-2 g of protein per pound of bw. If i would go lower my bodyweight would drop quickly.

 

[beast2007]

ok thanks bro. Im all set to go lol. another week , another step to the competition. I actually hate re-feed days lol. Ive been re-feeding today, and becuase im not training or doing cardio today, i feel like a slob lol, im use to having such a hectic life style, of cardio working, training and then cardio. Spose i might go cinema tonight and watch spiderman 3. take my mind of things lol.

 

[hardcoremuscle]

Love the transformation, good job!!!!

 

[oldfella]

Great job. The change is like night and day. You stick with this and in a few years you will have some thick, dense muscle all over your frame. After this show is done concentrate on the big three. Squats, deadlifts and bench,chest work. Build up those legs. Work your legs extremely hard as this will envoke growth over you whole body. Good job so far!!

 

[TONE]

Pic 1= G g g G g g G UNIT!!!

 

[beast2007]

11 weeks out Abb Shot.

This pic was taken today 11,weeks out. After My Re-feed. Abbs is my worst point on my body lol. Im holding some water, weights up around 2-3lbs after my re-feed. I went abit over board ... But. after doing cardio this morning, im holding less water , Waist is around 31inches. small , considering when i first started it was 44 lol. XXL! ...
My carbs have bin dropped by 20g. As stated before. Protien and Fats are the same, ill see how i go. I might need to add abit more protien depending on weight loss. 10wks pics will come next week.! BTW IM FEELING GREAT, I feel like shit on my re-feed, feels like i put on fat, but the day after, which is today, even though im holding water, its much easier to squeeze my muscles, i feel harder and more energetic. I was 183.5lbs on the morning of my re-feed and today morning after im 186.5lbs which is 3lbs of water weight. Ill be looking to drop these 3 pounds in a day or so, which will bring me back down to 183.5, then im looking to go down to around 180-181lbs on my next re-feed, which is in 5 days time.!

**broken link removed**

 

[skookum]

It's all there, buddy...Keep killin' that shit!

 

[beast2007]

day after re-feed. 12/05/07.11wks out.

Just a quick update on todays events....
Today was the first day of my 20g carb drop. WHich brings me down to 160g carbs. I feel f*king fantastic though lol!.... The carbs from my re-feed seemed to be still working, trained legs/calfs/hamz today, totally killed it. Im really focusing on squeezing the muscles to bring out the definition. Doing supersets aswell, on my legs, i think they work great. I also did cardio twice today, 40mins in the morning and 40mins before my bedtime meal... i could of done much longer and much more intense becuase i feel very energetic. However i kept it at a moderate pace, and didnt get carried away becuase theres still 11weeks to go, everything needs to be done bit by bit. I trained my abbs after i did cardio aswell, just really squeezed them.
One thing which ive learnt from this sport is that its a 24/7 sport, pure dedication. I remember around 3weeks ago i got really depressed becuase things werent going right, and i went mad.! i had a massive binge day, i ate 2 15inch pizzas, 10 doughnuts, chocolate bars, crips, cereals , u name it i ate it, i didnt even enjoy eating bad, it was through depression and stress. After that day i sat back, and composed myself, i was down but not out... I got back on track, sorted my diet out, which took me ages to do, and since then the results keep on comeing, the more i plug away. You gota have the mental power probably more than physical power. Keep pushing and pushing...''Its not about being the best, its about being the best i can be''....A saying which levrone goes by, and so do i... Its bedtime now...And another day at the gym tmmw.....................................

 

[beast2007]

Slight change of diet....

hmmm...Now i did my cardio this morning, everything in the past few weeks have been going great... However after reading several articles, i think i could make more results from my diet, by manipulating my carbs/protien/fats slightly to maxmize my fat burning.
The articles which made me think are these 2:

Massive G's Post: http://www.professionalmuscle.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12054

And this Post:
**broken link removed**

So im going to switch my diet slightly this week, still having the same macro intake just going a different way around it.

My old diet was as follows: 160/250-270/40. Carbs/protien/fats

It was:
Meal 1: ( BreakFast) 90g Oats / 2 scoops Iso Pure Zero Carb
Meal 2: 130g Chicken / 15 seeds
Meal 3: 130g Chicken / 15 seeds
Meal 4: ( Pre-Workout ) : 50g Oats / 1.5 scoops Iso Pure Zero Carb / 20g Sultanas
Meal 5: ( Post-Workout ) : 50g Oats / 1.5 scoops Iso Pure Zero Carb
Meal 6: (Bedtime) : 7 Egg whites / 30g Almonds
Supplements: 20g Scivation BCAA'S : 10g Sipped through day ( frozen/Ice )
10g Sipped through Trainin
Totals: 160/250-270/40.

My new diet will be this:
Meal 1: ( BreakFast) 8 egg whites / 1 scoop Iso Pure Zero Carb / 15g Seeds.
Meal 2: 220g brown rice(cooked) / 130g chicken
Meal 3: 130g Chicken / 15 seeds
Meal 4: ( Pre-Workout ) : 50g Oats / 1.5 scoops Iso Pure Zero Carb / 20g Sultanas
Meal 5: ( Post-Workout ) : 50g Oats / 1.5 scoops Iso Pure Zero Carb
Meal 6: (Bedtime) : 7 Egg whites / 30g Almonds
Supplements: 20g Scivation BCAA'S : 10g Sipped through day ( frozen/Ice )
10g Sipped through Trainin.
Digestive Enzymes Taking 15mins Before Each Meal.2 Tabs.
Totals: 160/250-270/40.

As you can see, Totals are exactly the same, or near enough... However im going round getting these totals a different way to help maxmize fat burning. Ill keep people reading this journal informed, to see how im getting on, it could be a really good move and results im trying to be as clever with my diet as possible, as i believe Most results are made through correct nutrition. Once you get the correct nutrition/training/cardio right, You can take your body to the next level. I wonder what you guys think?

 

[oldfella]

Kust be careful with cardio and don't cut calories too drastically, esp as a natty. You have 11 more weeks to go. your bf is already low. You cannot afford to lose any more muscle. So keep your protein through the roof and carbs around middle of the road. When you drop some carbs increase fat slightly and up your protein again. It is about muscle sparing. With meal 1 I would throw down two whole eggs and six whites. The yolk is actually good for you and will give you the same protein. But will add valuable vitamins and fat to your diet.

 

[luckyone]

Nice work and great traps!! Good luck in your show.

your brother in Christ,

Lucky

 

[beast2007]

Kust be careful with cardio and don't cut calories too drastically, esp as a natty. You have 11 more weeks to go. your bf is already low. You cannot afford to lose any more muscle. So keep your protein through the roof and carbs around middle of the road. When you drop some carbs increase fat slightly and up your protein again. It is about muscle sparing. With meal 1 I would throw down two whole eggs and six whites. The yolk is actually good for you and will give you the same protein. But will add valuable vitamins and fat to your diet.

cheers bro, ill look into doing that. I usually have a pack of multi vits with my first meal, and getting fats through my seeds. Ill add the yolk in when i drop my carbs abit more and increase my protien. Also for my bedtime meal, which is 7 egg whites and 30g almonds, im going to replace it soon with some pure casien protien, it has glutamin in it, and slow digesting, just what i need for the night i spose, my protien intake will also be higher when taking this. Cheers for reply. And everyones help, and morale support...This is the best forum on the net.!!!

P.S... for people who want to know why my carbs are so low, its because i never had an off season bulk. My carbs in the so called ''off season'' were only around 250-270, so as you can see they werent very high then, ive bin dieting since my before pic, july 2005. However i only start dieting 'CONSTRUCTIVLY' sine around jan/feb... Ive tapered my carbs to this point 160g carbs, by taking bit by bit away, i also added re-feed days, balanced with fats and high amount of protien for my body. Next year ill probably be on higher carbs when leaning down for a show, as im looking to have my first off season, where im going to increase my carbs high for once in my life! lol.