Aikman56’s 2025 Pro Masters World log

[Bobik]

Hi, are you leaving Reto until the end of the prep or have you already finished him?

Good luck

 

[Aikman56]

Hi, are you leaving Reto until the end of the prep or have you already finished him?

Good luck

Pulled it out 10 days out.
I have never peaked with it, so I did not want to have to mentally deal with an unknown variable.

Checked in yesterday afternoon.
Ht… 6’ 1 3/4”
Wt… 220
Pics from 4 AM. Empty stomach, headed to get bronzed.

 

[Aikman56]

6:00 AM…
Post- bronzing.
I’ve had one meal.
2oz ground chicken
70g carbohydrate from cream of rice.
2 Tbsp PB cashew butter mixture.

As an aside, my wife and I ran into Brad (@b-boy) yesterday after check-in. Great to finally meet a board veteran in real life.
And not just a “random board member”, but someone who has provided so much free, valuable information to all of us over the last couple of decades that none of us can ever adequately thank him.

It’s always a relief when that “real life meeting“ reinforces all of the good things that you thought about a person!

Although I can tell he didn’t feel that great, he was a super nice guy and I’m looking forward to seeing him backstage and on stage today!

 

[OldManLogan]

Let’s fucking GOOOOO LARRY!
Best of luck to all three of you!!!

 

[FatDan]

6:00 AM…
Post- bronzing.
I’ve had one meal.
2oz ground chicken
70g carbohydrate from cream of rice.
2 Tbsp PB cashew butter mixture.

As an aside, my wife and I ran into Brad (@b-boy) yesterday after check-in. Great to finally meet a board veteran in real life.
And not just a “random board member”, but someone who has provided so much free, valuable information to all of us over the last couple of decades that none of us can ever adequately thank him.

It’s always a relief when that “real life meeting“ reinforces all of the good things that you thought about a person!

Although I can tell he didn’t feel that great, he was a super nice guy and I’m looking forward to seeing him backstage and on stage today!

Looking sick man

 

[Aikman56]

I know I waited a while for an update, but as soon as I got back, it was back to work. Career has to be my priority as (I’m sure happens with a lot of people) that last six weeks or so, let’s just say I was not performing at my best, and my numbers have shown it!

My experience was pretty much the exact opposite from last year. Last year, I wanted to make first call out and look like I belonged, and I accomplished both of those goals. This year, my goal was to place top five, and I did that.

But not in the manner that I might have hoped!

I placed 4th (I got that medal!) out of a whopping four competitors! Truth be told, I felt like I should’ve been in third, but when you finish in the ass end of a four-man lineup, what does it really matter? I’ll post some comparison pictures and stage pics in following posts. The guy that finished in third had better structure and shape than I did, but I felt like my conditioning was far away superior. Of course, we had to push so hard to get me in shape (due to the many complications caused by the cancer removal at the beginning of prep) that I was really flat and lost a good deal of overall fullness. I wish I had had just two more weeks. I think we could have fed me into the show, like normal, and had a much better look.

That being said, however, I feel good about the way I looked, taking everything that I dealt with him into consideration.

This was definitely the most difficult prep I think I have ever done. I’m trying to look at the positives. I know that at my age, 50 in January, putting on muscle is a daunting task. But after analyzing my training over the last couple of years, I feel like there are some things I can do differently with regard to nutrition, exercise, selection/execution, and volume. I think that the Dorian style, “train 6 to 10 reps to failure with forced reps and negatives“ it’s just not as conducive to progress as you get older. I spent a lot of the last two years training around injuries and in a good deal of pain. This approaching your, I’m going to implement more of a “leave a rep or two in the bank“ and do multiple sets. I’m also going to push food harder. I pushed really hard last year, the highest it has ever been, staying in good off-season shape, probably too good if I’m honest with myself.

So this approaching year, I’m going to utilize more high carbohydrate days, implement some strategic insulin use, spend the money on growth hormone, and push those things. I’m going to keep my anabiotic clothes relatively low, as I feel like food/GH/insulin/training adjustments will make a significant difference.

 

[Aikman56]

 

[Aikman56]

From left to right…
3rd, 1st, 2nd, 4th

 

[OldManLogan]

Bro you looked phenomenal. Conditioning was astounding.

 

[Aikman56]

Individual shots.

 

[Aikman56]

Gilco “creative” pics…

 

[Aikman56]

So these are from yesterday (Sunday) morning, one week after the show. I’m up about 7 pounds. We (wife and I) ate like assholes for the remainder of the day last Sunday and all day Monday.

Went zero carb on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday last week and pushed water really hard to flush out the 16 pounds of sodium that I had consumed!

Friday and Saturday, went protein/carb on training days at around 300/350 with fats very low. Kept it under 100 on my Sunday when I didn’t train. Going around 400 today

 

[Aikman56]

Exactly 2 weeks post-competition, this AM.

Pulled PEDs down to 500 test cyp, 400 mast enth weekly.

Back up to 228, up to 450g carbs on training days, holding 150-ish on none-training days. Had a high day of just under 1000g yesterday.