realdeal

Alright, lets start off with my stats as of Feb 24/02.
18yrs old, 5'9in, 215lbs.

Measurements Sept 25/01 Compared to Feb 24/02 (5 months)
Sept 25/01 Feb 24/02
Chest expanded around: 45in to 48 1/2in
Thighs: 24in to 27in
Arms: 15 1/2in to 16 3/4in
Calves: 15in to 16 1/2in
Neck: 15in to 16 3/4in
Forearms: 12in to 12 3/4in

My routine in the gym would change every 3 weeks or so, so i could see what exercises and routines react good to my type of body. That was my off season, i start my diet and training for my competition on April 1st, for July 20th 4 months of HELL!! I eat 6-7 meals a day in pre-contest mode with 5 days of low carbs (50g) and hit it high for 2 days of about 300g carbs. My protien intake is around 280g.

Last year i competed at 165lbs in the Teen Division. This year i will be around 175-180lbs. I am natural and my competition is Muscle Mania Canada 2002 in Toronto.

My pre-contest routine will be as follows:
1hr Cardio every morning at 5am on an empty stomach.
Day 1: Chest, Hamstrings, Calves
Day 2: Back, Rear delts, Traps, Abs
Day 3: Rest (pose at home)
Day 4: Quads, Triceps, Calves
Day 5: Front/Side Delts, Biceps, Abs
Day6/7: Rest (pose at home)

I have my own posing room in my basement with mirrors so i can see my body at every angle. I take pictures every two weeks starting 12 weeks out, so i will post them and you guys can see my progress. Thats all for now.

Keep Educating, KNOWLEDGE is the POWER

w8lifter

Very cool...your stats are awesome...this will be fun to watch, especially since I plan on being there to watch you win!

realdeal

are you not planning on competing W8?

Keep Educating, KNOWLEDGE is the POWER

w8lifter

Haven't decided yet...gotta see how these first few comps go...most likely yes though

realdeal

When getting ready for my competition this is what times i will be eating at:

Monday-Friday:
5:30am- Cardio 1hr
7:00am- Meal 1 (25g carbs)
10:00am- Meal 2
12:00pm- Meal 3
2:30pm- Meal 4
5:00pm- Meal 5
6:00pm- Train with weights
7:30pm- Meal 6 (Protein Shake)(25g carbs????)
8:30pm- Meal 7 (25g carbs????)

Saturday/Sunday I carb load around 300g. Protein stays around 270g-300g everyday.

QUESTION- Should i take in my last 25g of carbs with my protein shake after my workout OR with my last meal?????

i was thinking with my shake

Keep Educating, KNOWLEDGE is the POWER

w8lifter

Carbs after your w/o....not before bed. What are you using for carb sources? And how many grams fat are you getting w/ each meal?

realdeal

i use yams,oatmeal and rice. I dont know how many grams of fat i get with each meal until i actually eat the meal because then i can calculate them. why do u ask?

Keep Educating, KNOWLEDGE is the POWER

w8lifter

Up the carbs to 30 grams per sitting. You need to be taking additional fats...do you mean to say you're not adding any flax or anything?

realdeal

i am taking flaxeed oil. But i want to keep my carbs to 50g for 5 days to see how my body responds to it. If i start going down too fast them i will up them.

Keep Educating, KNOWLEDGE is the POWER

realdeal

well last weekend I had a chance to meet my Favorite bodybuilder in the world, the guy who i inspire to look like and be like, Jay Cutler. He was in downtown Toronto for autograph signings last saturday. It was at a GNC in the Eatons Centre. I dont think they did a great job at promoting him coming so there was'nt a line up as usual. That made the experience even better, because i talked to him for like 30 minutes about Diets, training, competition, and overall life in California. He said for the Arnold he stuck to a diet consisting of just Seafood, egg whites and Protein shakes for 16 weeks. If anyone gets the chance to see him I highly suggest you go, because he is a very very nice guy who does give a lot back to the fans.

Heres 1 pic out of 3 of me and him.

And im on my loading phase of Creatine so im holding a lot of water right now.

Keep Educating, KNOWLEDGE is the POWER

realdeal

Every bodybuilder knows, when it comes down to looking at the calendar to begin contest preparation, there’s a feeling that tingles inside the body at the thought of preparing for the FINAL POSEDOWN! We usually start out smooth and over weight, a bit sluggish and unmotivated but when the ball gets rolling and the cardio kicks in with the diet, we begin to feel it coming in the air tonight!

First, the incredible pumping sensation after a great work out, to get the blood rushing through our veins. Then the fire we feel, as the amount of blood engorges the muscles. Next the pain begins to set in, as we reach failure from the weight resistance and lactic acid build up. We love it, we live for it!

Thinking of what might be, as the fat and pounds come off through endless workouts and battles with training partners in the gym. Hoping for the right combination of dieting and training to complete the physique the judges will praise down the road. We countdown to the minute of our next meal, our next workout and next protein shake to ensure we don’t miss a beat in our preparation for the show. The mere idea of defeat is a joke, as we kick ass on everybody to achieve the maximum our bodies will allow us. It is in the air we breathe every hour of every day, consuming our lives for the possibilities are endless if we hit our peak and become a world champion! Can you feel it?

The rock hard abs and striated glutes lurking just beneath the surface of a little water retention. The onion thin skin covering my body has me looking like an anatomy chart! I want scream at times for the contest to hurry up and get here! I am shredded and have to wait two more weeks for the show! I get chills at the thought of standing in the line-up waiting to hear my name in the first call out, that would be the ultimate after 14 weeks of dieting! I hate chicken, cant stand egg whites and deplore fish! I am so hungry for some ice cream and cake I want to tear some shit down! Can you FEEL It!

The closer the show, the more the adrenaline rushes through my body forcing me to my limits. I feel like I am on autopilot at times, as I perform my ritual of Eat, Sleep and Train. However, each day that slowly passes bring the contest closer to my reality.

I live for it, I dream of it.

When my posing music is being played on the radio, I feel like stopping whatever it is I am doing and bust out with some poses! When I see the color of posing trunks I am going to wear in the show I have to tell whom ever I am with, “Look that is the color suit I am going to pose in at my show!”

I am totally possessed with the show.

It consumes me. I talk about the show; I hear about the show, everything I do relates to The SHOW!

When I say, “I can feel it in the Air Tonight” it is because I can.

I can feel the music in the background during my routine; I can smell the oil the guys apply to their bodies before hitting the stage. I hear the head judge calling the numbers of the athletes to the center stage. I CAN FEEL IT!

The pump up room, the last minute coloring, the line-up of the athletes, the quick glances of my competitors sizing me up, the rush to get on stage!

I CAN FEEL IT! The question is, can you?

Keep Educating, KNOWLEDGE is the POWER

w8lifter

Hell yeah, I can feel it Very inspirational!

That is way cool meeting cutler, he's huge!

Robboe

What's your bodyfat % currently at?

for an 18 y/o you are hyoooooooge!

How long you been training for?

Being held down by The Man

realdeal

I dont count/worry about my bodyfat% when im getting ready for a show. I just go by how i look in the mirror, because the numbers can hurt me when im getting closer to the show.

Lets put it this way, i have a friend who has a bodyfat % of 7% and he has a tight six pack, meanwhile one of my other buddies has his at 6% and you can barely see the six pack. Therefore everyone is different and when you get ready for a show the numbers are going to be going up and down all the time. Like this one day I dropped 6 pounds in one day, and the next nothing. so i just go by how i look in the mirror.

Oh and I've been training in a gym since i was 14, and seriously training for 2 years. When i was just starting out i did'nt know what i was doing so i would just copy other guys what there doing.

Keep Educating, KNOWLEDGE is the POWER

w8lifter

I've never been tested w/ calipers..I go by the mirror too!

Robboe

Dude, i just wanted to get a realisation of your size.

btw, 6% and no abs? Something's wrong there.

Being held down by The Man

Prince

Can we some see some pics?

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realdeal

He has abs there just not as visibal as my other buddies.

And i will start posting my weekly pics 12 weeks out. As of April 1st it will be 16weeks out.

Keep Educating, KNOWLEDGE is the POWER

realdeal

When all is said and done, the contest dieting is over, the final verdict is in and the isolation of contest training has passed, will you still be there for me?

A question many of us bodybuilders have to ask at times of our partners when the show is over. Why is it that bodybuilding can be so much fun yet so self-absorbing to the point where family and friends have very little role in our pursuit of physical fitness? Is it that this is not really a “Team Sport?” Can it be that the sport is so selfish by nature that we block others who care about us from the developmental aspects of the game? I believe that is two~ fold. We want the support from loved ones but we don’t want their support to become a distraction.

All to often, the support of a loved one, a family member or friend can be just one of many distractions the bodybuilders have to deal with while dieting and training. From family gatherings to special days with your girlfriend, it all just seems to get in the way when we focus on the contest and the preparation for the show. As the competition draws near, we athletes sometimes withdraw from the real world and the important things in life simply to ensure that we are physically and mentally prepared to win or lose, no matter what are up against come show time. The support system can become a distraction, to the point where we are fighting with each other over the type of food in the house while on a strict diet. Simple fights erupt over television commercials; quality time spent with one another, being too self absorbed, as well as distancing ourselves from normal functions to enable us not to miss workouts or meals. These are just a few of bodybuilding’s pitfalls that can fracture relationships with family and friends who don’t get the big picture in our total dedication to the show.

I have seen relationships tossed aside for the slightest of disagreements, I have been apart of ending relationships because the timing wasn’t right due to the show date. Families have been at war with the rebel bodybuilder who fails to include them in all that is involved in the sport. Friends disappear from the scene because their phone stops ringing, as we prepared for 12 weeks for a show and didn’t include them.

The question is, when we chose a sport like bodybuilding and we fully explain all the things we are going to be up against, will you stand by me at the end of the day? We ask that of our families, friends, girlfriends, husbands and wives. The answer is not always what we expect, as the pressure of the sport changes some athletes and not always for the better. People around us change as well, when they become insecure with our new found look, in terms of being physically fit. Some supporters become jealous of the success we may achieve. We even have families that degrade what we do because they don’t understand what we are trying to do, therefore we become “Freaks” of sorts to them and get alienated by their ignorance. The sport as a whole is engulfed with Ego, Machismo, Insecurity, Vanity and Jealousy. Let’s analyze these adjectives of the game:

Ego: The idea that because we are bigger than others are, we are Superior than everyone else to the point where we consider ourselves above everyone, All knowing, self-confidant.

Machismo: The ultimate male testosterone filled bodybuilder who relies heavily on his “Maleness” to get over on girls, men and anyone who crosses their path.

Insecurity: The sense that, if we don’t succeed to the level of expectation of others, we begin to doubt our abilities to compete at all. The idea that we may lose control of something or someone due to the competitive state of physical fitness.

Vanity: The slight obsession with ourselves to the point where we focus more on how we look in the eye’s of others and forget that we are doing this to please ourselves. The mirror replaces our best critics.

Jealousy: The process in which the view towards others who maybe more successful or better than ourselves gets blurred with negativism at their success. Jealousy comes in many forms but most often in bodybuilding when someone hates on someone else because of the shortcomings of their own failure to succeed equally on the same playing field.

These are just a few items we deal with when we chose bodybuilding. If you do not include or inform your family and loved ones, why would they stand by us?

It is at the beginning of our transformation that we deal with the possibilities of isolation and deprivation, so that we gain the confidence of our support system and know that they will stand by us when all is said and done.

The moral of the story is;

Sharing gets you more than you can possibly ask for and of course if that is not possible, no one gets hurt when you choose to pursue your goals on your own with only yourself to answer to. Don’t expect everyone to like your newfound passion and embrace it with the same enthusiasm we do.

Keep Educating, KNOWLEDGE is the POWER

realdeal

Today is my 1st day of my training and diet for my show. I will be dieting for 16 weeks. Here's what happened today:

6:30am- 1hr cardio (walking incline)
Vitamins & Minerals
8am- 12whites
2 yolks
1/2 cup oatmeal

11am- 9oz Sole fish
asparagus

2pm- 8oz chicken breast
asparagus

5:30pm- 8 oz Sole Fish
salsa
Flaxseed oil
Glutamine

6pm-7:15pm Trained- Chest, Triceps, Hams, Calves

7:30pm- 3 scoops ProM3
1c Juice (didnt have any bananas)
Creatine/Glutamine
Flaxseed oil

8:45pm- 9oz Ex. Lean Ground Beef
asparagus

Vitamins & Minerals

Total: 339g protein
70g carbs
70g fat
2266 calories

Water: 2 gallons (i had to get up on the hour to go to the washroom)

Keep Educating, KNOWLEDGE is the POWER

w8lifter

The excessive peeing only gets worse RD

Where did you get that last article?

w8lifter

RD...I think you need more fat! 3 yolks meal 1, Meals 2 & 3 need fat. If you go too strict at 16 weeks, you'll have no where to go when you're body adjusts in a few weeks.

realdeal

what do you recommend w8?

and i got that article off of Shawn Rays website. He has a lot of inspirational articles.

Keep Educating, KNOWLEDGE is the POWER

Dr. Pain

Damn, that's quotable!


FC

w8lifter

Well, yeah...I kinda got it from this Dr. dude, I'd find the references and stuff, but it's really a Pain in the ass!

realdeal

so what can i add??????

Keep Educating, KNOWLEDGE is the POWER

Dr. Pain

Must be that Dr. Pain guy you speak so highly about?

So to quote w8, I go "lol" a bunch?


FC