There is a little less than four weeks until my competition on October 12th, and I would like to go over what I have been and plan on doing. So lets get the party started.
Training
There has been no alteration in my training at all. I continue to lift as heavy as I always have and follow basic Max-OT principles. I start my day with weights a 6am and follow a 5-day split that looks like this:
Monday: Legs
Tuesday: Chest & Forearms
Wednesday: Back & Traps
Thursday: Calves & Shoulders
Friday: Biceps, Triceps & Abs
Weekends: No weights
I stopped taking creatine about a week and a half ago, however, this is NOT because I believe that it will make me look bloated or watery. I've been using creatine consistently for months and it has been shown that the specific creatine receptors(CRT-1) will not only down regulate, but literally reduce in number after prolonged use.
And when a brief lay off (3 weeks) is implemented, these receptors will not only "up-regulate" but also over compensate in number. A couple days before I begin to carb load I will begin to load with creatine to dramatically increase cell volume which, in turn will allow for greater amounts of glycogen and water to be held inside muscle cells. That's exactly what I want!
Cardio
I'm sure that many of you have read anabolic aerobics and are somewhat familiar with it. Well, I do in fact practice what I preach and have been doing exactly what I outlined for almost a year straight. Here is what my cardio schedule looks like:
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday: 14 min @ 4:45pm
Tuesday and Thursday: 10min @ 1:45pm, and 14 min @ 6:45pm
Saturday and Sunday: 14min @ 6:30am, and 14min @ 4:45pm
I try to mix up my cardio to keep things interesting. I use a rowing machine, a recumbent bike, I do some swimming, and one of those old school health rider things. I like to use machines because I can always monitor if I have performing up to par or not.
So I do 11 sessions a week as of now and I don't think that I will need to do anymore than this. And as I said before, I do follow anabolic aerobics closely with calories allowing. Because my session at 1:45 is so short, I just take 10g of L-Glutamine and have my next meal at 2:30. My night sessions (and weekend) are surrounded by VP2 and a carbohydrate drink called, Hydra fuel from Twinlab. It was one that met the amount of carbs and calories I was looking for with out any creatine.
Diet
This is the nitty-gritty as far as overall diet goes. I had to bite my tongue and believe that it was possible to get, as I call it, "Cut To The Bone" with out going on an ultra low carbohydrate diet as long as my calorie amounts were in check. This has allowed me to keep pre/post work out and cardio drinks all the way through to the show.
And I'm very impressed with my progress. I've gotten down to 175lbs from 197lbs and I don't feel that I have lost any muscle at all. I feel this way, because my weight has become pretty stable the last week or so, but I continue to get leaner. Plus I am a good 12lbs heavier and just as lean I was last year around this time.
To keep my calories exactly where I want them, I do eat the same thing at the same time every day of the week. Currently I am eating 1510 calories a day divided between 12 "meals" a day (including pre and post work out/cardio). This comes to about 210g protein, 130g carbs and about 20g of fat. I also make sure to have 1 teaspoon of crushed flax seeds with every meal except pre and post workout shakes.
School
I'm in college so on top of everything I have to do for preparation; I have to stagger my way to classes. It is becoming harder and harder to walk around campus. The longer I am out and about, the more it drains me of what little energy I may have.
To be honest, Dymetadrine Extreme and a couple diet sodas a day are what keep my motor running. There are some days that I have class from 8am to 7pm, but I still eat every one of my meals on time and find time to study as well.
Plans
I have a good posing routine in line and I feel that it shows my good points. By popular demand I decided to use "The Rock's" New entrance music as my posing music. It has a great beat and I have planned my routine so I hit poses and transitions in line with the music. My posing has gotten better over the months as I practice. But I will begin to crack down and polish everything so there are no mistakes.
Even though I have dark skin, I try to get about 15 min of tanning every other day. I think I will go with Dream Tan for the show. I have ordered 2 pairs of posing trunks from Bodybuilding.com.
As for the final week I am still debating as to if I will continue to train for the first few days or do a full week carb/creatine/potassium load like I did last year. It worked out rather well. I will have to see what I look like when that time comes. But my main focus no is to continue to get leaner and show up at the contest "Cut to the Bone".
Even though I'm not entered in the national qualifier, I want to display the type of conditioning and physique that would get me there with out having to mess with water, sodium and potassium or carb load. If I can reach that level without it, I know I'll me that much better with it! After seeing the kind of condition Skip LaCour displayed this year, I have a new standard of what, "In contest Shape" means.
I've got my posing oil, I'm tanning, working on posing. I have 2 bottles of potassium pills, and luckily I found a salt sub that is made totally of potassium! I won't have to send my taste buds into shock this year (Thank God).
Well, those are my plan for the next couple of weeks. I will be sure to update everyone after the show and have some pictures to go along. I'm determined to take the whole Damn Thing, even if it means a little pain. Sometimes you have to feel bad to look good.
Thanks,