Well, it's about that time again. It's contest prep
time. After winning the INBF Mid-America Muscle
Classic Teenage and Men's Novice Tall class titles I
told myself that I would take a year or two off from
competing. It was my first competition and at the
time I was a bit burnt out after all the low carb
dieting, sodium depletion, and everything else that
goes along with preparing for a contest. I decided I
would take it easy for a while. Well, I should have
known myself better. I am a competitor, always have
always will be. I cannot stand not competing against
something or someone and after rugby season was over I
had no one to compete against. So I decided that I
would do another contest this year. At the time of my
decision I weighed 206lbs and had been slacking a bit
and losing intensity in the weight room. From the
moment that I decided to do another competition my
intensity went through the roof. The idea of being
onstage competition against some of the best natural
bodybuilders in the country drove my intensity up.
When it was time for me to start cutting I weighed
216lbs and I had gained very little body fat.
Now it was time to begin cutting. I started cutting
14 weeks out this time instead of 12 weeks out like I
did last time because I think I crash dieted a bit
last time and lost a bit more muscle than I would have
liked to. Right now I'm at 11 weeks out and I weigh
208 lbs. Most of the weight I lost in the first two
weeks was water weight so I wasn't concerned that I
was losing weight too fast. I usually lose around 5
lbs on the first week of dieting. This is from
reduced carbohydrate consumption. When you lower your
carbohydrate consumption you also reduce the amount of
glycogen your body stores. And since the body stores
2.7g of water for every gram of glycogen, it is only
logical that you will lose a lot of water weight when
you begin. My diet for the first two weeks consisted
of 250g protein, 300g carbs, and 60g fat. Once every
seven days I raised my carbohydrates up to 400g to
prevent metabolic backlash. I designed my routine so
that my high carb day also fell on my leg day which is
my most demanding workout of the week.
The foods I ate are as follows:
- Protein Sources
- Chicken, lean red meat, fish, eggs (mostly whites),
- cottage cheese, low fat milk, and turkey
- Carbohydrate Sources
- Oatmeal, bran cereal, whole wheat bread (non-enriched), dextrose (workout shake), apples, and vegetables
- Fat sources
Most of my fat came as a by-product of the protein I
was eating. However I did have ½ a serving of peanut
butter with cottage cheese before bed every night for
it's slow digestion properties.
I didn't divide up the carbohydrates evenly. My carb
consumption centered on a few crucial times:
breakfast, pre-workout, in workout, and postworkout.
Out of the 300g of carbohydrates I was consuming, 75g
of those were consumed at breakfast. Another 50g of
complex carbs were consumed pre-workout in order to
refill my glycogen stores so I would have more energy
when I trained. I consumed 75g of dextrose during my
workout, and another 60g of complex carbs were
consumed an hour after my workout. The other 40g of
carbohydrates were spread evenly among my 5 remaining
meals.
Now that I'm at 208 lbs and 11 weeks out it is time
for me to tweak my diet a bit more. I have lowered my
carbohydrate consumption down to 200g per day, with a
300g carb up day once every week to prevent metabolic
backlash. I raised my protein intake by 25g to 275g
per day. I lowered my fat intake to 50g per day,
which is where it will stay the remainder of my diet.
I have also started doing 30-minute sessions of
walking before breakfast 2 times per week. This diet
should get me to around 200 lbs in about 4-6 weeks.
My carb distribution is similar to the previous two
weeks as far as carb distribution. I consume 40g of
carbs at breakfast, 50g pre-workout, 50g in workout,
and 50g post workout. The other 10g of carbohydrates
are spread out over the other meals.
My carb and protein choices have remained the same
however, I have begun drinking less milk and eating
fewer apples. My only sources of fat come as
by-products of my protein intake. I have done away
with the peanut butter before bed as well.
When I am using a diet in which I am calorie
deficient I use more supplements than when I have a
calories surplus. This is due to the fact that it is
harder to stay in an anti-catabolic (with relation to
muscle tissue) when you are dieting than when you are
trying to gain weight.
The following is a list of supplements that I am currently taking.
- Whey Protein (40g in workout shake)
- Blended Protein source (whenever I cannot make a meal
- or do not have time)
- Glutamine (10g with pre-workout meal, 10g in workout
shake, and 10g before cardio)
- Creatine (5g in workout shake)
- BCAA's (10g in workout shake, 5g before cardio)
- ZMA (3 capsules before bed)
In two weeks I am going to also begin taking ALA
(alpha lipoic acid) with my high carbohydrate meals.
My Goals:
As of now my goals are to come into the contest
weighing anywhere from 188 lbs to 193 lbs. It all is
a matter of what weight I am when I hit my body fat
low. This will put me anywhere from 10-15 lbs heavier
than I was at last years contest. Most of that weight
gain has been in my legs as they have increased a full
inch and a half in the last year and my calves, which
have grown by ¾ of an inch in the past year. I will
be entering the same contest I did last year (the INBF
Mid-America Muscle Classic) in Henderson, KY. The
only decision I have to make is whether or not I want
to enter the open class or the novice class. I won
the novice heavyweight last year but lost the overall
so I would like to win the overall but part of me also
wants to get out there with the big boys. If I
entered the open class I would be competing for a WNBF
pro card against some of the best natural bodybuilders
in the country. I will make my decision based on how
I look in 6 weeks as to which division I will enter.
I am not yet sure what this contest will bring but I
can assure one thing. I will be totally focused on my
training and diet for the next 12 weeks and I will
come in to the contest in the best shape of my life!
*I am sorry but I have no pictures to post at this
time I will be receiving a digital camera to track my
progress with shortly so my next article will have
pictures to go with it!*
As always email me if you have questions or comments
at biolayne@yahoo.com or visit me on the message boards
and ask for str8flexed!
biolayne@yahoo.com
Recommend this article to a friend by e-mail here!
Visitor Reviews Of This Article!
Read Visitor Reviews - Write Your Own Review
Back To Layne Norton's Main Page
Back To The Articles Main Page.
Related Articles
My Detailed Plan From 12 Days Out From My Contest!
Pre-contest Dieting: The Right Way!
What Is The Best Pre-Contest Training Routine?
