Bodybuilding.com - Contest Prep: BigStew's 20 Weeks To The 2009 BLNPA New England Natural (Part 3).

Printable page

Did you know?
I never have any carbs when I am eating out... -Alex

The last 6 weeks have flown by, but not without some serious training and hardcore dieting. My diet is 100% clean now. I am 10 weeks out today and everything is coming in as planned. See what's happening!

Contest Prep: BigStew's 20 Weeks To The 2009 BLNPA New England Natural (Part 3).

By: Alex Stewart

The last 6 weeks have flown by, but not without some serious training and hardcore dieting. My diet is 100% clean now. No eating out at all from about 14 weeks on. I am 10 weeks out today and everything is coming in as planned.

My desire to win is growing as the contest nears. I can imagine right now how it is going to feel when I am the last one standing with my hand held high. But till the day of the contest I am locked, loaded and ready to hit the weights hard and attack that diet.

Right now my training is going great minus a little soreness in my right knee in which some knee wraps helped greatly. I am improving each week. If my numbers are not increasing my rest periods are decreasing. My pumps are out of this world. Now lets get down to brace tacks about what has been going on.

Click Image To Enlarge.
I Am 10 Weeks Out Today And
Everything Is Coming In As Planned.

Below you will my simple yet effective approach to contest dieting and training.

dot
Contest Diet
dot

Everyday I eat the same foods.

Meal 1:

6 egg whites
2 whole eggs
3/4 cup of oatmeal
1/4 cup blueberries

Meal 2:

7 oz of chicken breast
1 cup of veggies

Meal 3:

6 oz of top round steak
Veggies (optional)

Meal 4:

7 oz of chicken breast
Veggies (optional)

Meal 5: Pre Workout

6 egg whites
2 whole eggs
3/4 cup of oatmeal
1/4 cup blueberries

Meal 6: Post Workout

2 scoops of Isopure Zero Carb
Element from SAN:

Meal 7:

6 oz of top round steak

Element is a great simple carb to have post workout. I make sure that I have enough simple carbs to help the muscle recover but not too much because I don't want to interfere with the fat loss process of worse off add fat.

FEATURED PRODUCT

S.A.N. Presents:
Element
Element consists of a high molecular weight (>500,000) Amylopectin Potato Starch that was formulated with a special process for easy mixing. Element is virtually tasteless and quickly disperses in water making it a welcomed addition for any Creatine, BCAA, and/or Cell volumizer.
[ Click here to learn more. ]

As you can see I take in more simple carbs for the bigger muscle groups and less for the smaller as the bigger muscles need more carbs to recover.

dot
Supplements
dot

Isopure Zero Carb - Post workout
First Order - Pre and Post workout
E2 Voltage - I will have one of these if I need some energy before the workout
Animal Pak- With meal 1 and 3

During Lifting:

2 scoops of Purple Wraath
5 grams of L-glutamine
5 grams of Creatine

With meal 6 I have 5 grams of L-glutamine & 5 grams of creatine
Vitamin C - 1000mg with meal 1, 3 & 5
Fish Oil Capsules - 3 of them with meals 1, 3 & 5
Glucosamine - 1000mg with meal 1 &5
Meltdown - 1 pill a day but will increase to 2 for this next segment of my diet

Click Image To Enlarge.
Alex Stewart - 10 Weeks Out.

dot
Workouts
dot

I use a rotating 6 day split and only take a day off when I feel that my body needs it:

Day 1: Chest, Triceps & Cardio (25 Minutes)
Day 2: Legs
Day 3: Biceps & Cardio (25 Minutes)
Day 4: Shoulders, Triceps & Cardio (25 Minutes)
Day 5: Back & Cardio (25 Minutes)
Day 6: Biceps & Cardio (25 Minutes)

As you can see I am working out my biceps and triceps twice a week. But the biceps get their own day as they need a little more work to catch up to my triceps.

I didn't place calves on my split because I work them out every 2-3 days depending on soreness and the results have been great.

Chest & Triceps:

print Click Here For A Printable Log Of Chest & Triceps.

Legs:

Squats: 3x15
Stiff-Legged Deadlifts: 3x12/10/8
Hack Squats: 3x15/12/10
Barbell Lunges: 3x15 with each leg
Lying Leg Curls: 3x12 supersetted with
Dumbbell Lunges: 3x50
Seated Leg Curls: 3x10

print Click Here For A Printable Log Of Legs.

Calves:

Leg Press Calf Raises: 3x20
Seated Calf Raises: 3x20

print Click Here For A Printable Log Of Calves.

Shoulders & Triceps:

Seated Smith Machine Front Presses: 3x5
Dumbbell Side Laterals: 3x12, 5 second negative (drop sets)
Seated Dumbbell Press: 3x8
Bent-Over Rear Delt Dumbbell Flyes: 3x15 (drop sets)
Reverse Flyes: 3x12 (drop sets)
One-Arm Rope Extensions: 3x12/10/8
Seated Triceps Press: 3x12/10/8
Triceps Pushdown: 3x12

print Click Here For A Printable Log Of Shoulders & Triceps.

This workout has not changed in the last 6 weeks. It is great and my shoulders are starting to improve and my weights have gone up even while dieting.

Back:

Barbell Rows: 3x12/12/10 supersetted with
Wide Grip Pulldowns: 3x12/10/8
Reverse-Grip Barbell Rows: 3x12/12/10 supersetted with
Underhand Grip Pulldowns: 3x12/10/8
T-Bar Rows: 3x15/12/10
Close-Grip Pulldowns: 3x12
Deadlifts: 3x12/10/10

print Click Here For A Printable Log Of Back.

Biceps:

EZ-bar Curls: 7x10 with 30 second rest
Incline Dumbbell Curls: 3x12/10/8
One-Arm Preacher Curl: 3x12, (drop sets)
Cable Curls: 2x15

print Click Here For A Printable Log Of Biceps.

Click Image To Enlarge.
Alex Stewart - 10 Weeks Out.

dot
Conclusion
dot

As you can see my approach is simple. No carb cycling, fancy foods and exercises, just strict dieting and hardcore lifting. From this point on I will be adding 5 minutes of post-workout cardio until I am up to 45 minutes. At that time I will see if anymore is necessary.

I am a big believer in dieting off body fat and using things like cardio and fat burners as ways to help you through plateaus. That is the reason in which I did very little cardio and no fat burners in the beginning.

Click Image To Enlarge.
As You Can See My Approach Is Simple.

I knew dieting can get you only so far and once you hit that first wall I would rather only have to do 20-25 minutes of cardio to break through that plateau rather than increasing my cardio from 25-45/10-14 weeks out from a show. Wouldn't you?

Well that about does it. You got my diet and my workouts. I am coming for that pro card and no one is going to stop me. Contest season is coming up and I hope that my summary of my contest prep can help you out. If you have any questions regarding competing or anything in fitness drop me an email I would love to help you out.

stewbid@comcast.net