By: Alex Stewart

I will be competing the in BLNPA New England Natural on April 12th, 2008. I started my contest prep a little shy of 20 weeks out from the contest on November 26th, 2007. The following articles will give you a glimpse in my life during contest prep.

I will discuss training, nutrition, posing, school, work, relationships and more. Bodybuilding deals with more than just training and eating - you need to balance all your life activities to be successful as a bodybuilder and nothing is more of demanding time than the contest prep. This article will deal with the foundation of my training and diet for my contest prep.

I started this contest prep the Monday after Thanksgiving. Got to enjoy Thanksgiving with the family and definitely ate. I was not as lucky with Christmas. I dieted through the Christmas holiday. I will be stick to my diet 100%. No cheat meals, is a goal that I am setting for myself during this contest prep. No cheating at all will be tough, but it will be worth it when I step on stage shredded to the bone.

The goal of the first 4 weeks will be to tighten up a bit, but mostly to get my body acclimated to the contest diet and cardio. I eat very clean year round but my portions are bigger and less frequent, usually only 5 meals a day. When I am in the contest prep mode meal sizes are a bit smaller and I will always eat 6 and sometimes 7 meals a day. Cardio also is done year round for cardiovascular purposes but not to the extent that it will be done in the contest prep.

Click To Enlarge.
Alex Stewart, 20 Weeks Out.

Diet

Below is an overview of my diet for the first 4 week. I like to do a 2-day Nutritional Split. Workout days are the days that I lift weights minus calves and abs, which is considered an off day. Off days are the days that I do cardio or have completely off:

Off Day Diet:

• 1 Scoop of Elite Whey in water

Meal 1:

• 4 egg Whites
• 1 whole Egg
• 1 cup of oats
• 1/4 cup blueberries

Meal 2:

• 2 Scoop of Elite Whey Protein powder in water
• 1 cup of oats
• 1/4 cup blueberries

Meal 3:

• 6 oz of Chicken Breast
• 7 oz of Sweet Potatoes
• 1 cup of Veggies

Meal 4:

• 5 oz of Lean ground Beef
• 1 slice of cheese
• 1 oz of almonds
• Veggies

Meal 5:

• 5 oz of Lean ground Beef
• 1 slice of cheese
• Veggies

Meal 6:

• 2 Scoops of MHP Probolic in water

Workout Day Diet:

• 1 Scoop of Elite whey in water

Meal 1:

• 4 egg Whites
• 1 whole Egg
• 1 cup of oats
• 1/4 cup blueberries

Meal 2:

• 2 Scoop of Elite Whey Protein powder in water
• 2 Tablespoons of Honey
• 1 cup of oats
• 1/4 cup blueberries

Meal 3:

• 6 oz of Chicken Breast
• 10 oz of Sweet Potatoes
• 1 cup of Veggies

Meal 4:

• 5 oz of Lean ground Beef
• 1 slice of cheese
• 1.5 oz of almonds
• Veggies

Meal 5:

• 5 oz of Lean ground Beef
• 1 slice of cheese
• 1 oz of almonds
• Veggies

Meal 6:

• 2 Scoops of MHP Probolic in water

Differences:

The difference between my off day diet and workout day diet is as follows:

• On workout days I am going to keep the same diet but add a little over 400 calories (438 to be exact)
• Meal 2 will be my post-workout meal and I will add 2 Tablespoons of honey
• Meal 3 I will add 3 oz of Sweet potatoes
• Meal 4 I will add .5 oz of almonds
• Meal 5 I will add 1 oz of almonds

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Training

My training split at this time will be:

Day 1: Chest, Shoulders & Triceps:

• Incline BB Bench: 5x5
• Flat BB Bench: 5x5
• Decline BB Bench: 5x5
• Seated DB Side laterals: 4x12
• Smith Machine Front Presses: 3x10
• Rope Extension (Warm-up): 1x30
• Decline Triceps Extensions: 5x12

Click Here For A Printable Log Of Day 1.

Day 2: Back & Biceps (Width):

• Close-Grip Pull downs: 3x12
• Wide-grip Pullups: 3x12
• Behind the neck Pullups: 3x12
• Pull over: 3x10
• Preacher Curl Machine: 4x15
• High Pulley Curls: 3x12

Click Here For A Printable Log Of Day 2.

Click To Enlarge.
Alex Stewart Performing Preacher Curls.

Day 3: Legs (Hamstring Dominant):

• Deadlifts: 5x5
• Smith Machine Back Squats: 4x12
• Alt BB Lunges: 2x12
• Lying Leg Curls: 4x12
• Alt BB Lunges: 2x12

Click Here For A Printable Log Of Day 3.

Day 4: Calves & Abs:

• Seated Calf Raises: 5x20
• Standing Calf Raise: 3x12
• A1. Hanging Leg Raises: 4x12
• A2. Cable Crunches: 4x12

Click Here For A Printable Log Of Day 4.

Day 5: Chest, Shoulders & Triceps:

• Incline BB Bench: 5x5
• Flat BB Bench: 5x5
• Decline BB Bench: 5x5
• Seated DB Side laterals: 4x12
• Smith Machine Front Presses: 3x10
• Rope Extension (Warm up): 1x30
• Decline Triceps Extensions: 5x12

Click Here For A Printable Log Of Day 5.

Day 6: Back & Biceps (Thickness):

• T-Bar Rows: 5x8
• A1. Under Hand BB rows: 3x12
• A2. Over Hand Wide BB Rows: 3x12
• One-Arm Db rows: 3x10
• BB Curls: 3x12
• Alt Db Curls Seated: 3x12
• Machine Preacher: 2x15

Click Here For A Printable Log Of Day 6.

Day 7: OFF

Day 8: Legs (Quad Dominant):

• Leg Extension Pump Set
• Squats: 6x5
• Stiff DB Deadlifts: 3x8
• Alt BB Lunges: 4x10
• Seated Leg Curl: 4x12

Click Here For A Printable Log Of Day 8.

Day 9: Calves & Abs:

• Seated Calf Raises: 5x20
• Standing Calf Raise: 3x12
• A1. Hanging Leg Raises: 4x12
• A2. Cable Crunches: 4x12



Click Here For A Printable Log Of Day 9.

Repeat

In some future articles I will go into the sets reps and rest schemes of my workouts and tell you the reason behind my training.

I am going to continue to lift as heavy as possible with the free weight basics like always. At the moment I am trying to bring up my chest/shoulders and calves. I believe with the rep scheme and train split I will be able to make great progress in those areas during this contest prep phase.

Cardio is going to be done every morning for 30 minutes on the recumbent bike at my house after my shake upon waking. I also will be doing a second bout of cardio on off days - 30 minutes on the Stairmaster.

Supplements

• Elite Whey - Morning shake and post workout
• MHP Probolic - Last meal of the day
• First Order - Pre and Post workout
• Vitamonster - With meal 1 and 3

During Lifting I have:

• 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 - 4 of them with meals 1,3,5
• Glucosamine - 1000mg with meal 1,3,5
• Digestive Enzymes - With meal 1,3,5

Conclusion

20 weeks is a long time, but I do not want to leave anything to chance. I am doing this contest prep slow and steady so that I can come in as big and shredded as possible with some nice improvement to my overall physique.

Click To Enlarge.
I Want To Come In As Big And Shredded As Possible.

Check Out Alex Stewart's BodySpace Here.

My next article will give you a little overview of how the first 4 weeks went in contest prep mode and how I dealt with the holiday season eating 100% clean.

stewbid@comcast.net

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