Rich's First Precontest Journal

1Fast400 Forums > Journals

Posted by: rich_55 Jun 14 2005, 08:52 PM

RICH'S FIRST PRECONTEST JOURNAL

Why Compete?

A year and half ago I needed to get ripped for Cancun. How? Crash diet? Excessive cardio? NO! I decided to try a bodybuilding-style cutting phase for 12 weeks. I had been weightlifting for 10 years and consistently the last 4 years, but I had never truly led a bodybuilding lifestyle.

For sake of brevity, the 12-week period of time was enlightening and I went leaned out from 168 lbs (bodyfat unknown) to 155 lbs at 5.4% bodyfat. If I could handle it for 12 weeks, why not try competing. I am all or nothing kind of guy, so I decided that I would give it a try, but I would have to stack on more muscle before ever stepping on stage.

So, I began clean bulking in March of 2004 and managed to get up to185 lbs at 8.3% bodyfat, after adding 23 lbs of muscle over the past 15 months. I had NEVER consistently eaten 3000+ calories in my life or effectively periodized my training.

While I am not exactly where I want to be, I do feel confident enough to make a decent run at some local and state level natural shows. I will be competing in the ONBF Mr. Natural Ohio Bodybuilding Competition on October 22 and I am tentatively planning to compete in the INBF Ohio Cardinal Classic Bodybuilding Competition on October 15, depending on the number of entrants for this first-time show.

This puts me nearly 4 months out and thus begins my precontest preparation!

Posted by: rich_55 Jun 14 2005, 09:07 PM

Stats

I began dieting 10 days ago, so these stats are as of June 4.

Age: 25 (beginning June 19)
Height: 5'8.5"
Weight: 185 lbs
Bodyfat: 8.3% (per 9-point caliper)
Lean Mass: 169.6 lbs
Bodyfat: 15.4 lbs

Arms: 15.5" flexed
Forearms: 11.5"
Chest/Back: 44.5"
Legs: 23.75"
Calves: 15.5"

Posted by: MusicMan Jun 14 2005, 09:12 PM

Sounds great bro. That's awesome that you're prepping for a contest. Lookin forward to checkin your journal out. Near contest time some pics would be sweet.

Posted by: Jake Varner Jun 14 2005, 09:38 PM

Good luck, Rich. All of your logs have been very interesting and I will definatly be checking in a lot here. Get some pics up!

Posted by: rich_55 Jun 14 2005, 09:42 PM

I've decided to begin my preparation 16 weeks out b/c I want to be shredded and if I come in nice in slow I can retain all my muscle and maybe even make some gains in the beginning. Plus it is my first time, so I may need some room for error!!!

Diet

The most important aspect of my precontest preparation is diet and thus I've pursued the services of Beverly International to assist me with my prep. The service is free with the use of their product (which are great anyway) and they've helped many athletes in the midwest do very well in their respective competitions.

I am working w/ Jeremiah Forster of Beverly who has much experience having place 6th at NPC Nationals in 2000 in a class that included Troy Alves, Victor Martinez and Chris Cook. Had it not been for a severly torn pec, this man would be probably be gracing the IFBB stages.

The following diet consists of 3600 calories (25% carb / 55% protein / 20% fat). Non-workout days I nix the pre and postworkout meals dropping me down to 2800 calories. This is a 1000 calorie cut on my workout days, so I will keep my cardio to once per week and no lipotropics/fatburners are needed.

This is still very high and I used to consume around 3500 cals to 3800 cals for clean bulking, but Beverly has ramped them up really high the past few months to give me more room to cut.

Meal 1
3/4 c oatmeal
6 egg whites + 1 whole egg
5 oz chicken
1 t flax oil

Meal 2
6 egg whites + 1 whole egg
5 oz chicken
1 c strawberries/blueberries
1 t flax oil

Meal 3
6 oz sweet potato or 1 c cooked brown/basmati rice
5 oz 95% lean beef
5 oz tuna
2 c veggies
1 t flax oil

Meal 4
6 oz sweet potato or 1 c cooked brown/basmati rice
8 oz sirloin or 10 oz chicken
2 c veggies
1 t flax oil

Meal 5 - Preworkout
1 scoop Muscle Provider
3 scoops Mass Maker

Meal 6 - Postworkout
1 scoop Muscle Provider
3 scoops Mass Maker

Meal 7
3 scoops Ultra Size

Posted by: rich_55 Jun 14 2005, 09:44 PM

I'm taking some pics this weekend. There will be plenty of pics as I will use how I look to really determine my progress. I'll post a pic of me a year and a half ago (pre-bulk) too.

Posted by: rich_55 Jun 14 2005, 09:50 PM

Supplements

This will obviously change/increase as the contest approaches, but here is the list so far:

1 Superpak am
10 g BCAA powder during workouts
4 Ultra 40 / meal
4 Mass Aminos / meal
R-ALA am, pre, postworkout
Joint Care postworkout
Vitamin E postworkout
Clout am and preworkout (Thanks again J-Rod!)
Caffeine and L-Tyrosine preworkout
ZMA before bed
Flax Oil, Mass Maker, Ultra Size and Muscle Provider per diet protocol

Posted by: Jake Varner Jun 14 2005, 09:52 PM

Damn, I like the looks of that diet. Eggs and hamburger are like an orgasm in my mouth.

Posted by: rich_55 Jun 14 2005, 10:11 PM

Training

Cardio
Now I am doing just 20 minutes per weeks of moderately paced jogging outside in the heat. I will switch to HIIT as the contest nears adding cardio as appropriate. I don't imagine I'll need to run more than 3 x's per week though.

Weight Training
I am currently training in the 8-10 rep range. I'll spend 5 weeks doing 8-10, then 5 weeks doing 6-8 rep training and the last 5 weeks doing 4-6 rep training. This will keep me strong, plus my joints really needed a break after training in the 4-6 rep range for a while. This is subject to change as I feel necessary. I will change up my exercise during each phase.

Training Split

Day 1: Legs, Calves
Day 2: Arms, Abs
Day 3: Cardio
Day 4: Back, Calves
Day 5: Chest, Shoulders, Abs
Day 6: Off
Day 7: Repeat

Legs
Box Squats 3 x 8-10 (To really focus on depth!)
Hack Squats 3 x 8-10
Leg Curls 3 x 8-10
Seated Calve Raises 3 x 8-10
Dorsi-Flexions 3 x 8-10

Arms
Barbell Curls 3 x 8-10
Lying Triceps EZ Bar Extensions 3 x 8-10
Reverse EZ Bar Curls 3 x 8-10
Close-Grip Bench Presses 3 x 8-10
Incline Hammer Curls 3 x 8-10 (drop set)
Cable Pushdowns 3 x 8-10 (drop set)

Back & Calves
Low Rack Deadlifts 3 x 8-10 (to isolate back and not hit legs)
Close Grip Weighted Chins 3 x 8-10
T-Bar Rows 3 x 8-10
Hammer Strength Low Rows 3 x 8-10
Seated Dumbell Shrugs 3 x 8-10
Reverse Incline Rear Lateral Raises 3 x 8-10
Donkey Calve Machine 3 x 8-10
1-Leg Smith Machine Calve Raises 3 x 8-10

Chest & Shoulders
Flat Dumbell Presses 3 x 8-10 (needed a break from flat benchpresses)
Decline Bench Press 3 x 8-10
Incline Flys 3 x 8-10
Military Press 3 x 8-10
Dumbell Lateral Raises 3 x 8-10

Abs
I mix my abs up alot, but I do 6 total sets w/ 2-3 exercises. Weighted ab work and a little oblique work here in there, not weighted!

Weighted Crunches
Rope Pulldown Crunches
Hanging Weighted Leg Raises
Reverse Crunches
Twisting Crunches
Barbell Rollouts

I'll begin posting my workouts on Friday.

Posted by: rich_55 Jun 16 2005, 09:14 PM

17 WEEKS OUT

I've doing the workout below (8-10 reps) for about 3 weeks now and will continue for roughly 2 more weeks. I will be going to Put-N-Bay for the 4th of July weekend for one last hurah w/ booze! I'll take 4 days off from the gym and that will put me a little over 12 weeks out

Training

6/11- Box Squats 395-395-385, Hack Squats 400-410-410, Leg Curls 135-140-140, Seated Calves 145-150-150, Dorsi-Flexions 31.25-32.5-32.5
6/12- Bar Curls 3x100, Lying EZ Bar Ext 3x110, Reverse Curls 3x80, Close-Grip Bench 3x185, Incline Hammer Curls (DS) 37.5-32.5-30, Cable Pushdowns (DS) 115-105-95+, Rope Pulldown Crunch 105-100-100, Hanging Leg Raises 3x15
6/13- 20 minutes jogging at moderate pace
6/14- Rack Deadlifts 395-405-405, Weighted Close Chins 3x10, T-Bar Rows 135-135-125, Hammer Low Rows 3x210, Seated Dumb Shrugs 100-105-105, Rev Inc Rear Lat Raises 26.25-26.25-25
6/16- Flat Dumb Press 95-100-100, Decline Bench 3x225, Inc Flys 3x65, Military Press 165-170-170, Dumb Lat Raises 3x40, Donkey Calve Mach 3x360, 1-Leg Smith Calve Raises 2x75
6/17- Off

Diet Variations
I was in Cleveland for training for work, so I cheated a bit. I chose to eat the healthy options such as grilled chicken, asparagus, egg whites, cream of wheat, etc. But that crap is all cooked in butter. I had 6 drinks while doing some schmoozing too. I cut my evening carbs out tonight to make up. A little cheating keeps you sane. I packed some Ultra Size pudding for meal replacements w/ mashed sweet potatoes. I also had some cold chicken breasts and steak I was pounding in between meals.

People were giving me strange looks. I was thinking "Eat another piece of cheesecake, tubby"

Progress
I've definitely leaned out a bit during the first week. I weighed myself at 183.5 lbs on 6/16 (down 1.5 lbs). Yeah! I'm staying strong and I even got stronger on some exercises. The Clout is probably helping out.

Posted by: rich_55 Jun 21 2005, 09:39 PM

16 WEEKS OUT

The week went well in the weight room as I made a some progress strength wise.

I dropped a 1/2 pound (to 183 lbs) in the past 6 days despite quite a few cheats caused by my b-day weekend. I just took some pics and should have them up in a few days. I haven't seen pics of myself in a long while, so hopefully they look decent.

Training

6/17- Box Squats 395-395-385, Hack Squats 3x410, Leg Curls 3x140, Seated Calves 3x150
6/18- Bar Curls 100-105-105, Lying EZ Bar Ext 3x110, Reverse EZ Bar Curls 80-85-85, Close Grip Bench 3x185, Weighted Crunches 3x50, Reverse Crunches & Twisting Crunches
6/19- 20 minutes moderate jogging in am
6/20- Rack Deadlifts 405-415-415, Weighted Chins 10-12.5-12.5, T-Bar Rows 3x135, Hammer Low Rows 210-220-220, Seat Dumb Shrugs 3x105, Rev Inc Rear Lat Raises 3x26.25
6/21- Flat Dumb Press 3x100, Dec Bench 3x225, Inc Flys 65-67.5-67.5, Military Press 3x170, Dumb Lat Raise 3x40, Donkey Calve Raises 360-370-370
6/22- Off tomorrow

Diet Variations-
I had like 6 drinks on Friday night boozing it up and pounded a Nitrotech bar while out. Saturday I had a glass of wine and a crab cake and some tort soup. Sunday I had bbq chicken, a cheeseburger, potato salad, ice cream cake and about 6 beers!!!

It was my b-day on Sunday. After that feast I cut out my pm carbs and replaced them w/ veggies. I ALWAYS tend to eat 1-2 total fewer meals across the weekend b/c of sleeping in and longer time between meals. As a result of my feasting this weekend, I am going to take it easy this week on the cheating and boozing.

Progress
I do not feel much leaner if at all despite losing a 1/2 pound. I do feel slightly more muscular in my bi's, shoulders and chest. Can't see my back.

Pics are on the way!!

Posted by: TheKashi Jun 21 2005, 09:42 PM

nice journal so far. any pics going up?

Posted by: rich_55 Jun 22 2005, 09:08 PM

Here are some before pictures of me a year and a half ago (11/03) at 168 lbs.

Posted by: rich_55 Jun 22 2005, 09:09 PM

Back before pic...

Posted by: rich_55 Jun 22 2005, 09:16 PM

6/21/05 Standing Relaxed Front

Posted by: rich_55 Jun 22 2005, 09:17 PM

6/21/05 Standing Relaxed Back

Posted by: rich_55 Jun 22 2005, 09:18 PM

6/21/05 Front Double Bi

Posted by: rich_55 Jun 22 2005, 09:23 PM

6/21/05 Front Lat Spread

Posted by: rich_55 Jun 22 2005, 09:24 PM

6/21/05 Abs & Thighs - Not too pretty...yet

Posted by: rich_55 Jun 22 2005, 09:25 PM

6/21/05 Side Chest

Posted by: rich_55 Jun 22 2005, 09:26 PM

6/21/05 Back Double Bi

Posted by: rich_55 Jun 22 2005, 09:28 PM

6/21/05 Back Lat Spread

Posted by: Jake Varner Jun 22 2005, 09:37 PM

Looking good, Rich! Your lats and your quads are definatly your strong points.

Posted by: TheKashi Jun 22 2005, 09:58 PM

Quads are looking big. you should be in good shape for the contest in 3+ months.

Posted by: MusicMan Jun 22 2005, 11:05 PM

Lookin good, just don't forget to shave before the contest

Posted by: Bryan60275 Jun 22 2005, 11:18 PM

yea dude your lats are monsters. are you looking for a physique critique at all?

Posted by: VBigNate Jun 23 2005, 10:58 AM

wow great difference, excellent job. The only thing i think is lacking are the traps triceps and abs, but everything else is looking good

Posted by: rich_55 Jun 23 2005, 08:56 PM

Thanks for the compliments Kashi, Jake, Music and Bryan! Quads and Lats are definitely my strong point. I'm just glad nothing stood out too much. Symmetry is the key and I'm not that asymmetrical but still need work. Oh well, I just got to shred up and do it. Rome wasn't built overnight.

Musicman, I'll be sure to take some of the hair off. I'll probably lose a few pounds alone there.

VBigNate, I disagree on the critique a bit. My side tricep and most muscular didn't turn out well so it is hard to see my tris and traps. I think it is more like follows:

My weak points are:

-Biceps & forearms need much improvement
-Chest, calves and triceps could use a little size
-Abs....yeah they're coming soon hence "15 weeks out"
-Left quad and lat are slightly smaller too (1-arm work coming in 2 weeks)

I'm my own harshest critic. Bryan feel free to add...seriously.

Posted by: sdf42450 Jun 23 2005, 11:43 PM

nice solid base! looking good man...

another 2-3 years and another 30 lbs and you're gonna be a MONSTER

Posted by: Bryan60275 Jun 24 2005, 12:26 AM

I was gonna suggest calves and hamstrings. Your upper core is very solid (all the back, chest. The bi's maybe, but those might start to stand out more as you cut down.

Posted by: MusicMan Jun 24 2005, 06:36 PM

I think the legs are good, it's just hard to tell at this point because they're still a little bulky. Farther down the road when you get leaner and some of the bulk comes off the legs they will look much more defined.

Posted by: GuardDog Jun 24 2005, 08:55 PM

Looking solid Rich. Make sure you don't forget to post the comp pics.

Posted by: rich_55 Jun 28 2005, 07:20 PM

15 WEEKS OUT

Thanks for the positive comments and criticisms from all! I'll try my damndest to make some progress from now till contest, but it will get tougher by the week as I consume less and burn more calories to rip up.

I dropped another 1/2 pound (down to 182.5 lbs) over the past week. I've noticed a little extra detail in my deltoids and serratus too.

I've got a partial week in the gym , then I'll take a small vacation to Put-in-Bay island on Lake Erie (July 1-July 4). I'll get my last boozing in to the fullest and then start back next Tuesday. I'll then jack up my cardio then to twice a week and keep my caloric intake and supplementation the same till my follow up with Beverly on July 16 (12 weeks out). Don't worry, I'm bringing a cooler of food to the lake since we have a kitchen.

Training

6/23- Box Squats 295-295-285, Hack Squats 3x410, Hammer Str Leg Curls 115-120-125, Seated Calves 150-155-155
6/24- Bar Curls 3x105, Reverse Curls 3x85, Hammer Curls (DS) 37.5-32.5-30+, Lying EZ Bar Ext 3x110, Close-Grip Bench 185-190-190, Pushdowns 120-110-100+, Cable Rope Crunchdowns 2x100, Hanging Leg Raises 2x15, Twisting Crunches
6/25- AM moderate jog for 20 minutes
6/26- Low Rack Deadlifts 3x415, Weighted Chins 12.5-15-15, T-Bar Rows 3x135, Hammer Low Rows 3x220, Seated Dumb Shrugs 3x105, Rev Inc Rear Lat Raises 3x26.25
6/27- Flat Dumbell Press 3x100, Decline Bench 3x225, Inc Flys 3x70, Military Press 3x175, Dumb Lat Raises 3x40, Weighted Crunches 3x50, Seated Leg Tucks (DS) 45-35-25
6/28- Off

Diet Variations

I stuck to my diet all week. Friday I had a glass of wine and Saturday there was a pool party at my apartment complex. I probably had a 12 pack of beer and boy was it fun. I had some chicken kabobs and hawaiin pizza too. The chicks at the pool were off the hook. They were pawing!

I can't wait until Put-in-Bay. Because of boozing and passing out, I missed 3 meals across the weekend.

Progress

I'm a little leaner and made small progress at the weights. While I may not have gone up in weight on bunch of exercises, I got a rep or two more on several bi, tri and chest lifts.

Posted by: snipersdad Jun 29 2005, 09:19 PM

Hey would be very interested to see some recent pics, as far as traing goes man and this comes from experiance stop all the junk food and hit the diet. I say this because you dont want to second guess yourself the day of the show and wonder if you could have came in harder if you hadnt cheated. Good luck man competing is a rush.

Posted by: Bryan60275 Jun 29 2005, 10:27 PM

I'd be interested in this competition organization you are involved with being a fellow Ohioan myself!

Posted by: rich_55 Jun 30 2005, 08:48 AM

Snipersdad, the pics were just taken a week and a half ago so the progress made is small. I'm cracking down on my diet after this weekend (small vacation to Put-in-Bay). I'll then be 13 weeks out and will cut out booze, but I will still have a cheat meal once per week until I am instructed to cut that out too.

Bryan, information about the shows can be found at the following addresses:

INBF Show: http://www.karenprobody.com
ONBF Show: http://www.onbf.org

Some info on some NPC drug-free shows can be found at:

http://www.daveliberman.com

Posted by: rich_55 Jul 13 2005, 09:36 PM

13.5 WEEKS OUT

Alright, it has been a while since I've posted. I finished up with a half week of my prior routine and then went to Put-in-Bay, an island on Lake Erie. I partied my ass off for 3 days straight! I consumed alcohol and smoked the ENTIRE time!

It took me 2 days to detox and getting back in the gym was pretty rough last week. While there I ate 4-5 meals a day 2-3 of which were clean.

After the binger, I was a little softer but I didn't weigh myself until 2 days ago (week later). I've since cut the booze until postcontest and I've upped the cardio to twice per week. I am now down to 180 lbs (down 2.5 pounds in 2 weeks) and I am noticeably leaner. Additional detail is showing in my quads, abs and back. Strength and size has remained constant since the small vacation but now I've begun some new stuff to keep it fresh and keep my body guessing. See training below.

It has been hard for me to post b/c I am now training 3 people in the evenings after work plus I met a hottie, so my evenings have been very busy. I'm not sleeping as much as I should, but sometimes I'll accept the deprivation.

Training

I've changed my split a little and changed my rep range from 8-10 reps now to 6-8. After doing the first week of the new program I was EXTREMELY sore! That is always nice.

I am deadlifting from the ground again, doing some 1-arm back and 1-leg work to balance out my lats and quads. I've also changed my squat drastically by practically dropping my ass nearly to the ground (record-holding powerlifter was helping me). The result is much less weight used, but I was sore for 4 days. I'm moving my calves to just one day b/c of increased cardio and am going to be doing some heavy bar shrugs again.

The new program looks a little something like this now:

Day 1- Back, Traps, Rear Delts
Day 2- Delts & Tris
Day 3- Off
Day 4- Legs & Cardio
Day 5- Chest & Bis
Day 6- Cardio
Day 7- Repeat

7/5- Deadlifts 365-375-375, Bent-Over Barbell Rows 3x165, Wide-Grip Weighted Pullups 3x20, 1-Arm Dumbell Rows 100-105, Standing Barbell Shrugs 3x355, Bent-Over Lateral Raises 3x25
7/6- Arnold Dumbell Presses 3x80, Standing Cable Lateral Raises 40-42.5-42.5, Dip Machine 300-310-310, Lying Dumbell Extensions 2x37.5, Rack Lock Outs 2x225
7/7- Off
7/8- Squats 3x255, 1-Leg Extensions 60-65-70, Leg Curls 3x135, No calves b/c really sore from prior evening activities

7/9- Benchpress 225-235-235, Decline Dumbell Press 2x90, Incline Bench Press 3x185, Preacher Curl Machine 3x85, Incline Zottman Curls 35-37.5-37.5, Bar Curls 2x95
7/10- Ran 4 miles at moderate pace taking 33 minutes w/ my roommate

Diet- I've eaten REALLY clean since coming back. I went out for dinner last week to an Italian place for a cheat meal w/ the hottie but no booze or other crap. I am going down to Beverly on Saturday to visit Beverly for additional changes to my diet and supplementation for 12 weeks out. I am feeling great though and have definitely leaned out!

Peace!

Posted by: rich_55 Jul 17 2005, 09:35 PM

13 WEEKS OUT

Training

7/11- Deadlifts 3x375, Bent-Over Rows 3x165, Wide-Grip Pullups 3x20, 1-Arm Rows 3x105, Barbell Shrugs 3x355, Bent-Over Lat Raises 3x25
7/12- Arnold Presses 3x80, Cable Lat Raises 3x42.5, Dip Machine 3x310, Lying Dumbell Ext 3x37.5, Rack Lock Outs 3x225, Abs
7/13- Off
7/14- Squats 255-265-265, 1-Leg Ext 3x70, Standing Calve Machine 180-190-200, Seated Calve Raises 3x155, 20 minutes on treadmill @ 7 mph
7/15- Bench 235-240-240, 3x90, Inc Bench 2x185, Preacher Curl Mach 3x85, Inc Zottman Curls 3x37.5, Bar Curls 2x95
7/16- Off

Progress- I moved up in my squats and bench but that was it. I am happy with that considering I am dieting. I visited with Beverly today and it went well. I went from 8.3% to 7.0%. I do not use caliper testing to judge my lean body mass but rather my drop in body fat. I am on schedule so far. I will be visiting w/ them again in 3 weeks and will w/ work them on my posing.

I'll post diet and supplements updates tommorrow.

Posted by: rich_55 Jul 18 2005, 02:09 PM

Diet Updates

-My calories have dropped about 300 on my workout days (3600 to 3300) as I've nixed my 3 scoops of Mass Maker preworkout and replaced it w/ an additional scoop of Muscle Provider (now totaling 2 scoops MP) preworkout.
-Chicken during breakfast replaced w/ 1 scoop of Muscle Provider due to my often inability to finish breakfast. 1 egg white added (totalling 7 + 1 whole).
-3/4 c washed cottage cheese to replace chicken in Meal 2. 1 egg white added (totalling 7 + 1 whole).
-3 scoops of Ultra Size replaced with 2 scoops Ultimate Muscle Protein in Meal 7
-Non-workout days breakfast carbs replaced w/ whole grapefruit and meal 3 and 6 carbs replaced w/ half grapefruit. This drops my non-workout day cals from 2600 to 2200 calories.
-Veggies are only consumed in 1 c servings

Supplement Updates

-Various changes to protein powder supplementation as mentioned above
-Added 2 Lean Out capsules before each meal
-Xtend instead of 1Fast400's BCAA powder (wanted to give it a try for a few weeks)
-My Clout will be gone in a few days, so I've added my own version of Beverly's Muscle Synergy due to what I feel to be insufficient amounts of L-tyrosine, creatine and rhodolia rosea. I'm going to be taking the following instead:

Primaforce's Nitrocharge in am & preworkout (Arginine supp)
1Fast400's HMB @ 2.5 g in am & preworkout
1Fast400's CEE @ 3 g preworkout
1Fast400's L-tyrosine @ 2 g preworkout
NOW's rhodolia rosea @ 500 mg in am and preworkout
NOW's niacin @ 275 mg in am and preworkout

My Thoughts
The calorie cut was great and combined with cardio twice per week, this should have a very positive impact. Cutting the Mass Maker out preworkout will help my burn fat during workouts too. I have always been a huge fan of Lean Out too as this helps your body burn fat and preserve muscle. I am excited to try my own version of Muscle Synergy as this should help preserve/boost my strength and muscle. I will begin practing posing in 2 weeks and shave the legs & arms for my posing session with Beverly.

Posted by: J1Q Jul 18 2005, 02:22 PM

Nice Journal Bro. Keep up the hard work man.

Posted by: rich_55 Jul 20 2005, 12:20 PM

Thanks J1Q, keep on runnin' man!

I have some bad news to report. I hurt my lower back doing heavy shrugs 3 days ago and it is still killing me.

I have prearthritic conditions in my lower back (runs in the family) and have pulled my lower back countless times. This feels pretty bad though b/c it hurts to walk and move around. So, I scheduled an appointment w/ a physician w/ much back experience at OSU Sports Medicine Center next Tuesday.

In the meantime, I am going to eliminate exercises that put alot of stress on my back such as squats, deadlifts, bent-over rows, etc. I am going to just feel my way around in the gym. If it hurts too bad I won't do it. I've started taking Ibuprofen (anti-inflammatory) and I'll stretch out my back and hamstrings twice a day.

Today, is my leg day so I'll just do alot of extensions and curls and see if it possible to do leg presses or some variation of that exercise. Calves shouldn't be a problem. I'll ride the bike or walk fast for my cardio afterward.

This is a big bummer and I hope it doesn't set back my training. I've been looking forward to competing for a year and a half now.

Any additional thoughts would be useful?

Posted by: rich_55 Jul 25 2005, 09:15 AM

12 WEEKS OUT

This was a rough past week as I hurt my lower back while doing shrugs. I skipped 1 warm up set b/c I thought deadlifts warmed me up enough. Wrong. I spent 3 days in some pretty bad pain, but I recovered nicely later in the week. I feel 90% w/ just a very acute and occassional tightness/pain in my lower portion of the erector spinae muscle. I'm happy it was nothing serious.

I dropped to 179.5 on 7/21 (down from 180 lbs) and noticed a little additional definition in my abdominal area. Despite my injury, this was a good week in the gym. I felt very strong in the gym and often got an additional rep on exercises where I did not increase the weight. My shoulder and tricep day was a little rough on 6/18.

Training

7/17- Deadlifts 375-385-385, Bent-Over Barbell Rows 3x165, Wide-Grip Pullups 3x20, 1-Arm Dumbell Rows 2x105, Barbell Shrugs 3x355, Bent-Over Rear Lat Raises 25-26.25-27.5, Abs, 25 minutes on treadmill at 7mph
7/18- Arnold Presses 3x80, Cable Lat Raises 3x42.5, Hammer Dip Machine 3x320, Lying Dumbell Extensions 2x37.5, Rack Lock Outs 2x225
7/19- Off and In Lots of Pain
7/20- NO SQUATS but Leg Press 540-560-560, Seated Leg Curls 135-125-125, 1-Leg Extension 70-75-75, Standing Calve Machine 200-210-210, Seated Calve Raises 3x155, Abs, NO RUNNING but 20 minutes on Stationary Bike
7/21- Bench 3x240, Decline Dumb Presses 3x90, Incline Bench 2x185, Preacher Machine 3x85, Inc Zottman Curls 3x37.5, Barbell Curls 2x95
7/22- 4-mile run outside including warm-up and cool-down at 37 minutes
7/23- NO DEADS, Bent-Over Bar Rows 3x165, Wide-Grip Pullups 20-22.5-22.5, 1-Arm Dumbell Rows 105-110-110, Seated Hammer Shrugs 230-240-240, Bent-Over Rear Lat Raises 27.5-28.75-28.75
7/24- Arnold Presses 3x80, Cable Lat Raises 3x42.5, Hammer Dip Machine 3x320, Lying Dumbell Extensions 2x37.5, Rack Lock Outs 2x225

Diet

I followed the plan to a T. I had a huge cheat meal on Saturday at my family reunion that included 3 LARGE pieces of lasagna and a small loaf of garlic bread. It was damn good.

My family was thoroughly entertained by my eating habits and me lugging around a cooler all weekend.

Supplements

Bulk's powder CEE & HMB and Primaforce's Nitrocharge are not for those with week stomachs. This stuff tastes like poison. I have to add a TON of sugar-free koolaid and I can still taste the nasty bitterness. I think I may have created the worst-tasting stack ever.

The things I do for bodybuilding.

Posted by: rich_55 Jul 26 2005, 10:53 AM

We've been business casual during the summer for work and I just put on my suit pants for the first time in a few weeks. I thought I may have missed a belt hole or something, but now they are just fitting me REALLY loose! The fat in my midsection and rear must be melting off!

Yeaaaaah!

Posted by: MusicMan Jul 26 2005, 12:05 PM

Looking forward to seeing your next set of pics. Keep it going bro!

Posted by: Neitagor Jul 27 2005, 07:25 AM

Way to go Rich!!! Glad to hear your back is doing better, keep up the great work!

Posted by: rich_55 Jul 27 2005, 12:52 PM

QUOTE (MusicMan @ Jul 26 2005, 12:05 PM)

Looking forward to seeing your next set of pics. Keep it going bro!

I'll be taking some new pics in a week and a half (9 week point). I'll be shaving in the next few days and will begin regularly practicing my posing. I'll also start putting together my routine.

Posted by: GuardDog Jul 27 2005, 12:57 PM

Sounds good, can't wait.

Posted by: rich_55 Aug 1 2005, 11:09 AM

11 WEEKS OUT

This week started out great, but then fizzled a little towards the end due to a rough shoulder and tricep workout and a subequent extreme feeling of smallness. It was a long weekend though and I could have slept much better. Damn bachelor party! I've dropped to 178 lbs as of 7/29 (down 1.5 lbs in 8 days).

Training

7/25- Off
7/26- AM Cardio & PM Lifting: Squats 265-275-275, 1-Leg Ext 3x75, Seated Leg Curls 3x135, Standing Calve Mach 3x210, Seated Calve Mach 3x155, Abs
7/27- Bench 240-245-245, Dec Dumbells 90-95-95, Inc Bench 185-195, Preacher Machine 85-90-90, Inc Zottman Curls 37.5-38.75-38.75, Bar Curls 2x95
7/28- PM 4 mile run at 37 minutes including warmup and cooldown
7/29- Deads 345-365, Bent-Over Bar Rows 3x165, Wide-Grip Pullups 3x22.5, 1-Arm Dumb Rows 2x110, Seated Shrugs 3x240, Bent-Over Lat Raises 3x28.75, Abs
7/30- Arnold Presses 3x80, Cable Lateral Raises 3x42.5, Hammer Dip Machine 3x320, Lying Dumbell Ext 2x37.5, Rack Lock Outs 2x225
7/31- 3 mile run at moderate pace in the baking sun

I had the best workout and a long time on my chest and biceps day as I went up in weight in 5 of my 6 exercices.

My shoulder and triceps workout was pretty bad as I got 1 less rep than last week on nearly every exercise. v I was able to squat where I left off and actually increase my weight and my back felt fine. On my back day I eased into deadlifts and was able to due a set at 365 for 7 reps with caution.

Diet

Weekend eating was kind of tough due to the bachelor party. There were 2 occassions where I went 4 hours without food and didn't get much sleep. In all I ate on diet but missed a meal, which is not unnormal for a weekend. I had a cheat meal consisting of leftover lasagna and garlic bread. Yummm!!

Miscellaneous

I've shaved my legs and arms which has drastically improved the visibility of my definition and vasularity.

I visit with Beverly this coming Saturday and will be doing some posing practice in addition to diet/supplement changes.

I start practicing posing regularly tomorrow on my own and hopefully will have my music mixed by the end of the week to begin putting together my routine. My song will be the Jay Z & Linkin Park mix of Brush the Dirt of Your Shoulder/Lying from You, which is kickass! We have to condense 2 parts of the song into 60 seconds.

Posted by: HeadlessVerseman Aug 3 2005, 11:10 PM

great journal, good drive

my only negative, is that i dont agree with their comments about your legs. to me, those are definitely the weakest points. chest, lats, strong. could even see a six pack, though vague.

now, ill say for your size, and the size of your legs, they arent weak, just lacking some mass. i'd say to add bb or db lunges, and maybe front squats. i got lost through the 3 pages though, so if your on a cut phase *forget*, contine what your doing, but if your still looking for size now or after the competition, workout legs 2 a weak, heavy and light, and you should be good

just my thoughts though, continue your shit man. ima start my log in 2 weeks when i return back to my university. gluck man

Posted by: rich_55 Aug 4 2005, 08:41 AM

QUOTE (HeadlessVerseman @ Aug 3 2005, 11:10 PM)

Thanks for the constructive criticism. They could use more mass, I agree; but I definitely don't think they are my weakest points. I've got a decent outer sweep which makes them a strong point. The new pics will make it easier to see now that I've taken off some of the fat.

My legs grow best hitting them really hard and heavy every 4-6 days. I'm a big proponent of light and heavy leg days, but not for myself and especially not when dieting. Fortunately, my legs can still make some gains during dieting due to decent leg genetics. My squats have gone from 255 for 8 to 285 for 8 with my new rock bottom form since dieting.

On a side note, I just counted the weeks and it looks like I'm 10 weeks out and not 9, so I'll be changing the headings. Damn, I wish it was a week closer! *Anxiousness growing*

Posted by: rich_55 Aug 8 2005, 09:27 AM

10 WEEKS OUT

Training

8/1- Squats 275-285-285, Seated Leg Curls 3x135, 1-Leg Ext 75-80-80, Standing Calve Mach 210-220-220, Seated Calves 3x155
8/2- Bench 3x245, Dec Dumbells 3x95, Inc Press 2x195, Preacher mach 3x90, Inc Zottman Curls 3x38.75, Bar Curls 2x95
8/3- Off
8/4- Deadlifts 365-375-375, Bent-Over Rows 3x165, Wide Pullups 3x22.5, 1-Arm Dumb Rows 2x110, Seated Hammer Shrugs 240-240-180 (drop set on last), Bent-Over Rear Lat Raises 28.75, 22 minutes on treadmill at 7.5 mph pace
8/5- Arnold Presses 3x80, Cable Lateral Raises 3x42.5, Hammer Dip Mach 320-330-330, Lying Dumb Ext 2x37.5, Rack Lock Outs 2x225
8/6- 4 mile run in 33 minutes
8/7- Squats 285-295-295, Seated Leg Curls 3x135, Leg Extensions 3x180, Standing Calve Machine 220-230-230, Seated Calve Mach 3x155, Dorsi Flexions 3x25

I had a good week in the gym this past week. I was able to deadlift up to par again and felt very strong on all lifts. I had 2 great leg days and I feel every day in the gym was very productive. I got good sleep nearly every day this week, which probably had something to do with it.

Diet

I followed the plan to a T. No cheat meal b/c I'll have 2 next week for business purposes.

Posing

I've been practing my posing every day before I workout for 10-15 minutes. I also had a 30 minute session hitting each pose twice with the mirror and once without on Friday. I also practiced posing for about 20 minutes at Beverly on Saturday and they had several critiques, which will drastically improve my presentation. My friend is working on my music.

Progress

Well I went from 7.25% bf to 6.75% over the last 3 weeks. The posing session at Beverly was very motivating. They described my phsyique as "aesthetically pleasing" which was a confidence booster and also complimented my back and legs which I knew were strong. I am right on track.

Changes to Diet, Training & Supplementation

Cardio has increased from twice a week to 3 times per week.

I will be relatively low carb now 3 times per week on my cardio days instead of just on my off day. My oatmeal & two servings of sweet potatoes will be replaced with a whole grapefruit and 2 half grapefruits. I will run caloric totals later.

New supplements include ALCAR, Durablast & extra BCAA's. I will add 1 gram of ALCAR in the AM and 1 serving of Durablast preworkout. Recall I am already taking 2 Lean Out caps before each meal. I will also add 10 extra grams of BCAA's to my 4 scoops of Xtend, which is taken during workouts and before cardio.

Pictures

Have to develop and will be posted during the middle of this week.

Posted by: rich_55 Aug 14 2005, 10:08 PM

My pictures didn't turn out to well, so I'm only going to post a front and back relaxed. I need to get a digital camera.

Here is a pic as of 8/6. Standing relaxed front.

Posted by: rich_55 Aug 14 2005, 10:09 PM

Standing Relaxed Back. FYI, these pics are me at 10 weeks out last weekend.

Posted by: rich_55 Aug 14 2005, 10:44 PM

NINE WEEKS OUT

Training

8/8- Bench 3x245, Dec Dumbells 3x95, Inc Press 2x195, Preacher Mach 3x90, Inc Zottman Curls 38.75-40-40, Bar Curls 2x95, Behind Back Bar Wrist Curls 95-100, 20 minutes on treadmill moderate pace
8/9- Off
8/10- Deadlifts 3x375, Bent-Over Bar Rows 3x165, Wide Pullups 3x22.5, 1-Arm Dumb Rows 2x110, Seated Hammer Shrugs 240-240-180 (drop set), Bent Over Lat Raises 2x28.75, 15 minutes on treadmill fast pace
8/11- Arnold Dumb Press 3x80, Cable Lat Raises 3x42.5, Hammer Dip Machine 3x330, Lying Dumb Ext 2x37.5, Rack Lock Outs 2x225, Abs
8/12- 4 mile run at 35 minutes
8/13- Squats 3x295, Glute Ham Raises 7-8-9, Leg Extension 195-215-225, Standing Calve Machine 100-110-110, Seated Calves 3x90 and Dorsi Flexions (at Hilliard Location so weights were different)
8/14- Bench 3x245, Dec Dumbells 3x95, Inc Press 2x195, Preacher Mach 3x90, Inc Zottman Curls 3x40, Bar Curls 2x95, Behind Back Bar Wrist Curls 100-105, Abs

This week was okay in the gym. I got more 1 more rep on some lifts and 1 less on others, but my weights stayed nearly the same. This was my first week on my new lower carb diet and increased cardio plan, so maintaining my strength made me happy.

Diet

On point except a cheat meal held over from last weekend this Tuesday, Donatos Pizza, and some chicken quesadillas and chili on Saturday which wasn't too bad but really good.

Progress

I've noticed additional definition in my abs this week and I'm staying strong.

Posted by: TheKashi Aug 15 2005, 09:10 AM

Wow big difference...and still nine weeks.

Posted by: rich_55 Aug 22 2005, 08:52 AM

EIGHT WEEKS OUT

This week was on par in the gym. If I am able to maintain strength, while improving my conditioning then I am happy. My bodyweight has dropped to 174 lbs (from 185 lbs) but strength has remained the same. Some of this is less water weight from few carbs consumed. My conditioning has improved most notably in my abdominal region and legs with enhanced vascularity in my arms and calves. My skin in those areas is approaching paper thin, but my abdominal and hamstring/glute areas still have excess fat.

During my posing practice on Saturday I saw some things that weren't there 2 weeks ago, particularly some veins in my traps which were pretty sweet! My veins are close to popping out in my quads too.

I feel confident in meeting my goal of super shredded in 8 weeks and have had some comments from fellow competitors saying I may even be ahead of schedule by about 2 weeks. In about 3 weeks I'll have to take some better quality pics.

Training

8/15- Off
8/16- AM Cardio - 2.6 miles at moderate pace, Deadlifts 3x375, Bent-Over Bar Rows 3x165, Wide-Grip Pullups 3x22.5, 1-Arm Dumb Rows 2x110, Hammer Shrugs 240-240-180, Bent-Over Lat Raises 3x28.75
8/17- Arnold Presses 3x80, Cable Lat Raises 3x42.5, Hammer Dip Machine 3x330, Lying Dumbell Extension 37.5-38.75, Rack Lock Outs 2x225, Abs
8/18- PM Cardio - 20 minutes HIIT working up to 12 mph runs
8/19- Squats 3x295, Leg Extensions 3x180, Seated Leg Curls 3x135, Standing Calve Raises 3x220, Seated Calve Raises 125-115-115 (12-15 reps)
8/20- Bench 3x245, Dec Dumbells 3x95, Inc Bench 2x195, Preacher Curl Machine 3x90, Incline Zottman Curls 2x40, Bar Curls 2x95, Behind Back Wrist Curls 2x105, Cardio after - 15 minutes moderate to high pace, posing after
8/20- Off

Diet

Right on w/a cheat meal yesterday of Subway. I wasn't craving anything greasy so I got a foot long double meat club w/ a cookie. Boy was I stuffed!

Supplements

I got a free container of Neurostim, so I've been taking that with my Durablast. I've added Scivations's Fenotest to naturally increase my test levels during the last 2 months of contest prep. I wanted to stack with a trib product in full force but decided just to get some ZForce, so I can give more of an objective review of the product since its new.

Misc

My music is still being worked on. I will increase my posing from the 10 minutes 3 times per week and a longer session once a week to 15-20 minutes 3 times per week with an additional longer session.

Posted by: rich_55 Aug 29 2005, 09:07 AM

SEVEN WEEKS OUT

This past week was great! I began a new lifting program with all new exercises and a heavier rep range of 4-6 versus 6-8. I felt strong and very pumped to be doing something new. As a result of the new program, I was extremely sore much of the week.

My bodyweight dropped to 172 from 174 in the past week. It looks like I may be heading down to the lightweight class at this rate (155 and under) once I dry out. Oh well, I'd rather be at the top of a class than the bottom!

Conditioning has improved quite a bit all over. During my posing practice yesterday, the most notable areas with improved conditioning were abs, obliques and arms. My hamstrings are starting to show through a bit too! Posing is getting much more fun as time progresses.

Training

8/22- Low Rack Deadlifts 405-415-415, T-Bar Rows 3x135, Close Grip Pulldowns 2x200, Dumbell Shrugs 100-105-110, Rear Delt Machine 2x100+, Abs, 20 minutes HIIT cardio
8/23- Military Press 3x185, Dumbell Lateral Raises 40-40-45, Skullcrushers 2x110, Close Grip Bench 2x185, Rope Pulldowns 2x110
8/24- 4 mile jog at moderate pace
8/25- Squats 3x315, High Stance Leg Press 3x630, Barbell Lunges 95-115-125, Seated Calve Raises 115-120, Standing Smith Calve Raises 2x225
8/26- Inc Dumbells 3x100, Benchpress 2x225, Cable Crossovers 2x70, Barbell Curls 2x105, Alternating Dumbell Curls 45-47.5, Reverse EZ Bar Curls 2x85, BB Barbell Wrist Curls 105-110, Abs, 15 minutes low intensity cardio on treadmill
8/27-Off
8/28- Low Rack Deadlifts 415-425-435, T-Bar Rows 3x135, Close-Grip Pulldowns 2x200, Dumbell Shrugs 110-115-120, Rear Delt Machine 2x105

Diet

Right on w/ cheat meal on Saturday at my buddy's wedding reception. The food wasn't that impressive but I ate plenty of cake!

Supplements

My Fenotest/Zforce stack has noticeably increased my libido and I am experiencing a mild increase in acne after just one week.

Misc

I go down to Beverly on Saturday for a revaluation of my progress, some posing and to make modifications to my diet and supplementation. This meeting will be very interesting as it will occur at six weeks out - THE FINAL STRETCH!!!

My friend is to get my music in a week so that I can begin putting together my routine. My mandatories still need tweeking on the little details.

Posted by: rich_55 Sep 6 2005, 09:51 AM

SIX WEEKS OUT

Crunch time baby! This past week went really well in the gym, as I saw some strength gains. My bodyweight maintained at 172 lbs. My evaluation at Beverly went really well. I lost the target amount of bodyfat and came in just under 6%. My posing went well and Jeremiah (Beverly consultant) noticed substantial improvement in conditioning.

Now it is time to lose the last little bit of fat and get down under 5% to really bring out my ab, oblique, lower back, hamstring and glute definition. I'm officially low carb and I'll post my diet this evening. I've also added a thermogenic stack.

Also, I must pose, pose and pose some more! I've put together a rough routine, but the transitions need much work. Man its hard! I must also work on my posing conditioning, practing each pose for a hold of at least 30 seconds. There are some little tweaks I need to make, particular to keep my chest up in every pose.

Training

8/29- Military Press 185-190-190, Dumb Lat Raises 2x45, EZ Skullcrushers 2x110, Close-Grip Bench 185-195, Rope Pulldowns 2x110, 20 minutes hiit treadmill
8/30- Off
8/31- Squats 3x315, Leg Press 630-660, Barbell Lunges 125-135-145, Seated Calve Raises 2x120, Stand Smith Calve Raises 2x225, 20 minutes treadmill
9/1- Inc Dumbells 3x100, Bench 2x225, Cable Crossovers 2x70, Barbell Curls 3x105, Dumbell Curls 47.5-48.75, Reverse EZ Curls 85-90
9/2- 30 minutes jog outside
9/3- Low Rack Deadlifts 3x435, T-Bar Rows 3x135, Close-Grip Pulldowns 200-210, Hammer Low Rows 240-250, Dumbell Shrugs 120-125, Rear Delt Machine 2x105, Abs
9/4- Military Press 3x190, Dumbell Lat Raises 2x45, EZ Skullcrushers 2x110, Close Grip Bench 2x195, Rope Pulldowns 2x110, 20 minutes treadmill

Diet

Right on track! I ate my second to last cheat meal on Saturday consisting of a medium deep dish pizza and I get only one more at the 4-week out point.

My diet is now low carb and I'll post it tonight. I've eaten it for a few days now and I'd have to say that it is satisfying. The extra veggies, strawberries and fats keep my full.

Supplements

I'll drop the Neurostim/Durablast stack preworkout and will be taking my own thermogenic stack. I'm stacking Blue Rhino, Lean Green and Syneburn. The Blue Rhino will also provide me with some natural test support in addition to the Fenotest. I'll also added Vitex as a mild anti-estrogen. Acetyl L-Carnitine will be taken 3 times per day instead of twice. I'm going to post all my supps tonight.

Misc

I must email Jeremiah some pics on 9/16 to make the last dietary cuts and supplement additions to implement at the 3-week point. At that point, I'll post some pics.

Posted by: rich_55 Sep 7 2005, 09:24 AM

DIET UPDATES - 6 WEEKS OUT

Before I go into what I will be eating I will summarize the progressive cuts over the past 10 weeks or so.

Offseason- Total calories as high as 4800 on lifting days (30%c / 50%p / 20%f) with average calories well above 4000. 1-3 DAYS OF BOOZING NOT INCLUDED

& cheat meals 2-3 x's per week. Cardio once per week.

17 Weeks Out- 3600 calories on lifting days and 2800 on off days (25%c / 55%p / 20% f) with average calories of 3370. 1-2 DAYS OF BOOZING NOT INCLUDED & cheat meals 1-2 x's per week.

15 Weeks Out- No more booze & cheat meals once per week

13 Weeks Out- 3300 calories on lifting days (20%c / 55%p / 25%f) and 2200 calories on my off day (15% c / 60%p / 25%f) with average calories of 3140. Added second day of cardio.

10 Weeks Out- 3300 calories on lifting days (same %'s), 2200 calories (same %'s) on off day and 2900 calories (20%c / 60%p / 20% f) on cardio days. Added third day of cardio.

6 Weeks Out (Shown Below)- 2400 calories 5 days per week (15%c / 60% p / 25% f) and 2900 calories two days a week (33%c / 45% p / 22%f) due to carb up meal. Cardio remains at 3 days per week. Last cheat meals at 6-week and 4-week point.

The above plan combined with more than adequate supplementation has dropped my estimated bodyfat from 8.3% gradually down to 5.9% (via 9-pt caliper), while maintaining my strength. I have not used a thermogenic yet, but will be implementing my own stack.

I think my bodyfat was higher to start due to caliper testing not performed on glutes or hamstrings. My bodyweight has dropped from 185 lbs to 172 lbs. My pressing exercises have dropped about 10 pounds, but I'm told that 95% of men weaken on their presses during precontest dieting.

6 Week Out Diet

Meal 1
1 cup strawberries
1 cup washed cottage cheese
4 egg whites & 2 whole eggs
1 t flax oil

Meal 2
2 scoops Ultimate Muscle Protein
2 T heavy whipping cream
1 c strawberries

Meal 3
4 cups vegetables (lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers)
8 oz chicken
1 T olive oil & 2 T apple cider vinegar

Meal 4
8 oz lean steak
2 c broccoli
1 t flax oil

Meal 5 - Postworkout Meal
10 egg whites
1 grapefruit

Meal 6
2 scoops Ultimate Muscle Protein
2 T heavy whipping cream
1 c strawberries

Pre, During & Postworkout
25-30 g of BCAA's (Xtend and 1Fast400 powder)

Carb-Up Meal on Tuesdays and Fridays
Consumes in place of meal 6, but drinks shake in place of meal 5
1.5 c oatmeal
10 oz sweet potatoe
4 oz banana
1 c veggies
1 T butter or oil

Posted by: toddmarquis Sep 7 2005, 04:07 PM

i'm also doing the Mr Natural Ohio show. thought about doing the the INBF show the week before( i already have my INBF card, but i want to do 3 shows, and already planning on the Big Dust (oct 8), and the Monster Mash (Oct 29--just one week after the ohio. what class are you doing? it's your first show, so does that mean you're doing novice? i am doing novice, but will be a heavyweight (come in around 190-195). i just registered for this forum. in fact, this is my first post.

off to the gym. hit me up when you get around to it. where in OH do you live?

Posted by: rich_55 Sep 8 2005, 09:07 AM

QUOTE (toddmarquis @ Sep 7 2005, 04:07 PM)

Awesome! I knew it was a matter of time before this journal would catch the eye of someone doing one of these shows. Welcome to the board!

Yup, I will be competing in the Novice lightweight class, but the open will depend on what I get down to (172 at 6 weeks out with about 5 lbs of fat to lose). It appears that I'll probably just miss the ONBF lightweight cut of 154.

I can't crossover in the INBF show, so I'll have to choose in a few weeks. The cutoff for open lightweight is 156, so I might be able to do that.

If I were to do three, I would do the Monster Mash and not the Big Dust. I've got some friends and clients doing the Monster Mash. Two is good for me, plus I don't want to pay for a third show and NPC card.

I live in Columbus and train/work at World Gym downtown. You?

Posted by: toddmarquis Sep 8 2005, 09:43 PM

crazy. i train at the world gym north....or as i call it, the freak zone. hmph. we both have passes to the same gyms. maybe we'll train together at some point. lol...even doing the same shows (at least one of them anyway). i'm doing the novice heavy and the open light-heavy. should come in around 190. ya know i am getting more tempted to do the INBF show, but the Big Dust, even if it's not natural, will be fun b/c it's their first ever show. also i'll be doing the novice and the collegiate.

i was actually at the gym downtown a week or so ago. i was downtown walking around and wanted to peak my head in to see how that gym faired compared to the one in worthington. huuuuge difference.

Posted by: rich_55 Sep 9 2005, 08:15 AM

QUOTE (toddmarquis @ Sep 8 2005, 09:43 PM)

i was actually at the gym downtown a week or so ago. i was downtown walking around and wanted to peak my head in to see how that gym faired compared to the one in worthington. huuuuge difference.

Yup, huge difference. Downtown you get more of an alternative crowd if you know what I mean. More of a fitness crowd. There is a small group of successful competitors downtown though, which creates a good amount of comradery. I'm the noob to it, but am very enthusiastic.

I never get up North b/c its out of my way, but I've seen it and heard the crowd is very motivating to say the least. I swing out to Hilliard on occassion, which is a good gym.

Yeah, that is pretty funny we train at the same gyms and are doing the same shows. I'm sure I'll meet you on Oct. 22 if not before. Good luck on your contest prep!

Posted by: toddmarquis Sep 9 2005, 11:03 AM

well i would imagine that there are quite a bit more in the 7 or 8 world gyms in the metro that are doing the same shows as well. i know of at least one at my gym who is doing the natural ohio...either you or i will go against him. he's entering the novice and at first wanted to get to the lightweight div...and said he was pushing it...and that's when he thought the cutoff was 176. now that he found out it's 170 he'll be in more of a strain. but...unless something dramatic happens between now and then, i don't foresee a problem. not to disrespect him in any way. he just has a ways to go. but as we both know...bodybuilding is more about competing against yourself than anyone else, b/c you never know if you're entering a show of fish or a show of monsters.

i'm sure you've detailed it on here, but what diet scheme and cardio routine are you using?

Posted by: rich_55 Sep 9 2005, 12:40 PM

QUOTE (toddmarquis @ Sep 9 2005, 11:03 AM)

Yeah, there are 2 guys from my gym that are doing the ONBF show. One never comes in hard or ripped and he just doesn't seem to learn. The other, Carl Lynch, may get down to the light-heavy open class with you. Great guy and competitor.

You never know who will show up, but you just have to look your best!

My diet progression is detailed on page 3 under diet updates. I work with Beverly International on my diet. Cardio is now up to 3 days per week for about 20 minutes.

Actually, I was interested in coming up to the North gym for some of Davie's posing classes. Let me know if you have any details. I was going to send him an email or call the North gym.

Posted by: toddmarquis Sep 9 2005, 01:06 PM

they have those posing practices on Saturdays at 2:45. cost is $15. i may make it this weekend to my first one, though i've watched a few. next weekend (17th) they won't have it b/c of the Mr Ohio. i intend to do the ones on the 24th and Oct 15...oct 1 if i can make it, and this saturday if i dare (i just don't feel ready...but who does at 4 weeks out?) i watch them from time to time, and there are some freaks in there. had a couple that were in the north americans last week, and they looked like they could step onstage at 4 weeks out. i think there are more details at http://www.mikedaviesfitness.com . are you practicing your poses? that's one thing that would be cool to do (and free)...get all the guys from at least our two gyms that are doing october shows...especially the ONBF...and meet up a couple times/week to do our own posing. shoot, i'm game if you are. i only know of one other guy, like i said, but i can get with him and you get with your boys and we can figure something out. that would be very beneficial to all of us.

Posted by: rich_55 Sep 10 2005, 07:28 AM

I mentioned to Carl heading up there maybe in 2 Saturdays (the 24th) for the posing practice. He seemed down. I'm game for some additional free practice as its motivational having others with you during posing (yeah, a few more weeks would be better

). I'll keep you posted.

On a journal-related side note, my bodyweight dropped to 170 lbs (from 172 last week) with my diet changes and it looks like I may be able to make the open lightweight cut of 156 for the 15th and 154 for the 22nd.

I still have a few more pounds to lose and after drying out....

Posted by: rich_55 Sep 12 2005, 09:03 AM

5 WEEKS OUT

This past week was good despite the lower carb intake. My conditioning continues to improve and I dropped down to 170 lbs. Lightweight class here I come!

I unfortunately reaggravated an old wrist injury and it has been bugging me the past few days.

I will play each upper body day by ear and just see how it feels. I have some wraps that help and I've been popping some ibuprofen occassionally.

I'll be posting some pics at the end of the week as I need to email some pics to Jeremiah for my last dietary cuts before our final week prep.

Training

9/5- Off
9/6- Squats 3x315, High Leg Press 650-670, Barbell Lunges 145-155-165, Seated Calves 2x120, Standing Smith Calves 2x225, Abs, 15 minutes moderate pace on treadmill w/ hard finish
9/7- Inc Dumbells 3x100, Bench 2x225, Cable Crossovers 70-72.5, Bar Curls 2x110, Dumb Curls 48.75-50, Reverse EZ Curls 2x90, Barbell Wrist Curls 110-115
9/8- 30 minute fast-paced jog outside
9/9- Low Rack Deadlifts 3x435, T-Bar Rows 3x135, Close-Grip Pulldowns 2x210, Hammer Low Rows 250-260, Dumbell Shrugs 2x125, Rear Delt Mach 2x105, Abs
9/10- Military Press 3x190, Dumb Lat Raises 2x40, EZ Skullcrushers 2x105, Close-Grip Bench 2x195, Rope Pulldowns 2x110, 20 minutes moderate pace on treadmill
9/11- Off - Long posing session (1 hour)

Diet

No variations from the plan at all. I get my last cheat meal this weekend! My carb up meals feel like cheat meals though. I haven't had a banana in a long time.

Supplements

My new fat-burning stack of Blue Rhino, Syneburn, Lean Green & ALCAR is working well. Gives me a nice controlled boost, but it does mask my vascularity for a few hours. My Blue Rhino, Fenotest, Zforce & Vitex natty test stack is keeping me rather charged. My back is breaking out a little.

Posing & Tanning

I got some good posing practice in this week. I'm holding each pose for 30 seconds which is a bitch!! My friend and client, Sue, is helping me with my posing routine transitions and choreography w/o music. I'll begin with the music next week. The transition between poses are tough! I just ordered my second pair of trunks (dark teal) in addition to my red trunks.

I just ordered a couple bottles of some exfoliator and Protan's golden sunless tanning lotion too, which I already use once a week. My goal is to stay pretty dark from now until contest time between tanning, the pool and fake tanner. I will get really dark the week before.

Posted by: ShotGunShep Sep 12 2005, 12:35 PM

A quick question on the natural shows?

A friend of mine was telling me about a guy he knows who won an Oregon natural contest. My friend told me that they used lie detector tests on the competitors to validate their veracity.

Is this common?
Also, what supplements besides AAS and other illegals such as T3 Clenbuterol are not allowed?

Posted by: rich_55 Sep 12 2005, 01:56 PM

QUOTE (ShotGunShep @ Sep 12 2005, 12:35 PM)

The "natural" protocol varies by promotor and organization. The INBF does use lie detector tests b/c there is a professional status in their organization, thus necessitating higher standards. It is not too common though. Most shows and orgs test the winners and randomly.

Banned substances are similar to IOC standards with specific bans on any prohormone, prosteroid or AAS. Prohormones and prosteroids were allowed by some orgs before the ban of these products. You must not have higher than a 6 to 1 test to epitest ratio, so if there is a inhibition of your natural test then a positive would probably trigger. No DHEA or ephedra either. They pretty much list all of the popular prohormones and prosteroids. Here is a link to the page http://www.onbf.org/Forms/Rules%20&%20Regulations.pdf

Posted by: toddmarquis Sep 16 2005, 11:11 AM

on the topic of what shows are natural...shoot, there's a huge difference. the INBF has disqualified anyone for using ephedra for a good 10 years now. but the NPC Natural (at least the one i'm doing at the en dof the month) only does urinalysis to class winners. most people don't get tested! if i'm not mistaken, Rich, we have to do a lie detector for this ONBF show, right?

i don't know how often you check this or if you get on while at the gym (since you work there), but i'm coming down to world gym downtown in a few hours. i have to stop by my agency to pick up my latest prints (came in after like 8 weeks since the test shoot), and i plan on training down there for a change of pace. if you're there, we'll chat about that posing idea. if not, then i guess we'll talk on here. good to see things are going well for you. (wish i could say the same).

Posted by: rich_55 Sep 17 2005, 10:24 PM

Well, I finally took some pics and I'm pretty pleased with my progress and where I stand at 4 weeks out. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to come in shredded with a few more dietary cuts and some more cardio.

Front Relaxed Pose

Posted by: rich_55 Sep 17 2005, 10:27 PM

By the way, I'm down to 168 lbs.

Back Relaxed Pose

Posted by: rich_55 Sep 17 2005, 10:29 PM

Back Double Bi

Posted by: rich_55 Sep 17 2005, 10:31 PM

Side Chest

Posted by: toddmarquis Sep 18 2005, 10:50 PM

wow...you're sure you've never been on a stage before? that technique looks great. i still need tons of practice and coaching for mine. (also blew the diet slightly for the weekend during my modeling workshop). i'm 3 weeks out from my first of the 3 shows, so i have some work to do.

but i'm not even working yet, so i'm wide open to pose anytime you want...if you want to come up to north and see if any of those guys will work with us...or if you would rather do it down there...no matter.

keep up the good work man

Posted by: rich_55 Sep 19 2005, 09:34 AM

QUOTE (toddmarquis @ Sep 18 2005, 10:50 PM)

Thanks for the compliments on my posing. Jeremiah (from Beverly) takes me through my poses once per month. I practice a few times per week and about once a week for an extended period of time with my friend/client/figure competitor Sue. I recently used a digital camera to self critique and adjust my posing which was VERY helpful.

Todd, start practicing! Don't be one of those guys I saw all sloppy at the Ohio State show this weekend. Rather be graceful and make it look easy due to lots of practice. Some guys were holding poses for several minutes at a time!

I think I might swing up North for Davies' classes on October 1 and October 8, but aside from that I don't think I'd be able to get up there with my hectic schedule. I'll be doing a long posing session downtown this Saturday sometime after the Buckeyes game or maybe Sunday. I'll be glad to pose with you as we both could use the extra practice!

Posted by: rich_55 Sep 19 2005, 10:09 AM

FOUR WEEKS OUT

I made good progress again over the past week as I stayed strong and improved my conditioning. My bodyweight dropped from 170 lbs to 168 lbs.

I will be making another small dietary cut to continue my improvement in conditioning and will be adding a Sesamin/CLA/Super EPA fatty acid stack in place of the typical flax oil. I will also be adding a fourth day of cardio.

I had to mix up some of my biceps training a tiny bit to accomodate my nagging wrist pain.

Training

9/12- Squats 3x315, Leg Press 2x670, Barbell Lunges 2x155, Seated Calve Raises 2x120, Smith Calve Raises 2x225, 15 minutes moderate pace on treadmill
9/13- Inc Dumbells 3x100, Benchpress 2x225, Cable Crossovers 72.5-75, Preacher Machine 2x85, Dumb Curls 2x50, Reverse Cable Curls 2x80?, Abs
9/14- 20 minutes moderate pace on treadmill
9/15- Low Rack Deadlifts 3x435, T-Bar Rows 3x135, Close-Grip Pulldowns 2x210, Hammer Low Rows 2x260, Dumbell Shrugs 2x125, Rear Delt Machine 2x105
9/16- Military Press 3x190, Dumbell Lateral Raises 2x40, Skullcrushers 2x105, Close-Grip Bench 2x195, Rope Pulldowns 2x110-
9/17- Off but lots of walking around for SD State game and bodybuilding shows
9/18- 20 minutes AM Cardio jog, Squats 3x315, Leg Press 2x670, Barbell Lunges 155-165, Seated Calve Raises 2x120, Smith Calve Raises 2x225, Abs

Diet

Carb up meals are like cheat meals! Speaking of cheat meals, I got my last one on Friday and boy did I make the most of it. I went to a pretty good Italian restaurant with the girl I'm talking to. I ate two loaves of bread before the appetizer, a stuffed portabello mushroom. I then killed my pasta that was in some awesome cream sauce with prosciutto and cleaned up with some chocolate cannoli.

I will be doing my carb up meals on Monday and Thursday and then on Tuesday and Friday I will be dropping my cream from my shakes (200 calories total), whites only with breakfast (100 calories cut) and eliminating my grapefruit and egg white postworkout meal (300 calories).

My metabolism will be jacked up from eating my huge carb up meal the night before. I will take some extra BCAA's postworkout (10 g) on these days and will take 3 Muscularity caps per meal (Beverly specialty precontest BCAA supp).

I'll be making some cuts at 2 weeks out too.

Posing

I practiced posing only twice this week with one extended session on Thursday night for my pictures. I feel much more comfortable and was able to tweak many of my poses by self-critiquing digital pictures. I really need to work on my routine this week by focusing on transitions to my music.

Supplements

As mentioned above I'll be adding a capsule of Sesamin, CLA and Super EPA in place of my teaspoon of flax twice per day. I'll add in an extra cap of Sesamin and CLA in the evening for a third dose.

My homemade fat-burning stack of Blue Rhino, Synephrine and Lean Green is working very well!

My strength is maintaining so I'm happy with my natural test stack of Fenotest, Blue Rhino and Vitex. The massive amounts of BCAA's, L-Carnitine and AAKG/HMB/CEE stack is also deserving of credit. Man, I'm looking forward to my offseason budget of supplements!

TIME TO GET SHREDDED!!!

Posted by: rich_55 Sep 25 2005, 08:33 PM

THREE WEEKS OUT

I dropped to 166 lbs this past week (from 168 last week) and my conditioning improved a bit most noticeably in abs and quads. My quads are getting that graininess on the outside sweep. I still need to see more definition in my abs, hammies and glutes but I'm confindent I'll get there.

This week has been pretty difficult in terms of grumpiness from dieting and maintaining strength. A few days I was unbearable to be around.

My presses weakened a little bit, but my strength remained on other exercises.

I dropped the Xtend midweek and am going solely with BCAA's, due to glutamine's conversion to glucose in the absence of blood glucose.

I've also added some additional isolation exercises in a superset format to bring out detail such as front dumbell lateral raises, abductor machine, adductor machine and dorsi-flexions (primarily to combat shin splints). These exercises have made me a little sore since they are new.

I'll be heading down to Beverly again this weekend for my final plan going into the shows. I'm growing more excited by the minute.

Training

9/19- Inc Dumbells 3x100, Flat Bench 2x225, Cable Crossovers 2x75, Preacher Machine 2x85, Dumbell Curls 2x50, Reverse Cable Curls 2x60
9/20- 25 minute jog with face-paced ending, Abs
9/21- Rack Deadlifts 3x435, T-Bar Rows 3x135, Close Pulldowns 2x110, Hammer Low Rows 2x260, Dumbell Shrugs 125-130, Rear Delt Machine 2x105
9/22- 20 minute am jog at moderate pace, Military Press 3x185, Dumb Lat Raises 2x40, Front Lat Raises 2x20, Skullcrushers 2x105, Close-Grip Bench 195-190, Rope Pulldowns 2x110
9/23- 30 minute pm jog at moderate pace
9/24- Squats 3x315, Leg Press 2x670, Barbell Lunges 2x165, Seated Calves 2x120, Standing Smith Calves 2x225, Dorsi-Flexions 2x25+, Adductor 100-105, Abductor 80-85, Abs
9/25- Inc Dumbells 100-95-95, Flat Bench 2x225-, Cable Crossovers 2x75, Preacher Machine 2x85, Dumbell Curls 2x50, Reverse Cable Curls 260, 20 minute jog after

Diet

Followed plan to a T. Carb up meals are yummy!

Supps

Xtend out and plain BCAA's in.

Posing

My last half of my routine needs some work, but the first half is pretty good. I'll be viewing my videotape of the Arnold Classic this year for some ideas. I must practice my posing more over the last few weeks to improve my ability to hold the poses for comfortably for long durations.

Posted by: Jake Varner Sep 25 2005, 08:39 PM

Things are looking great, Rich!

Keep it up!!!

Posted by: toddmarquis Sep 26 2005, 10:10 AM

yeah we should get together and pose sometime. shoot, i'll come downtown for it. i don't mind. just let me know when/where. i have my first show in 12 days...and definately do not feel ready for it. and the nat ohio is in, what, 26 days? i have a total problem with focus. if we were to get a group together and just pose...i don't care how many...that might cure my ills and help everyone involved as well. you tell me what time works for you and i'll make it downtown.

Posted by: rich_55 Oct 3 2005, 11:58 AM

TWO WEEKS OUT

As the shows near each day, my focus and drive increases. I am extremely excited and my conditioning improves each day. I weighed in at 165 lbs this week, down from 166 lbs last week and my bodyfat was measured at 5.1% at Beverly this weekend.

My consultation with Beverly went well and Jeremiah was very pleased with my improvement in conditioning and posing! Now it is crunch time and he has given me my final plan from now until the first contest. I'll post the final week prep next weekend. The plan for the interim week between the 2 shows will depend on whether or not I nail my conditioning for the first one. Lets hope that I do, although the second one is much more important to me since it is closer to home and more friend will be there to cheer me on!

I had a good week, but man was all the lifting, running and posing tiring! I took a vacation day today to sleep in!

I decreased the weight 5 lbs on some lifts to maintain form and not injure myself. Before I was pushing 150% just to get the minimum 4 reps and I wanted to tone it down just a notch to be safe and not get hurt.

Training

9/26- Off
9/27- Rack Deadlifts 3x425, T-Bar Rows 3x135, Close-Grip Pulldowns 210-200, Hammer Low Rows 2x260, Dumbell Shrugs 2x130, Bent-Over Lateral Raises 25-26.25-27.5, 20 minutes moderate treadmill after
9/28Military Press 3x185, Dumb Lateral Raises 2x40, Dumb Front Lat Raises 2x20, Dumbell Skullcrushers 35-36.25+, Close-Grip Bench 2x195, Rope Pulldowns 2x110, 17 minutes moderate treadmill after
9/291 hour posing, abs & 25 minutes moderate treadmill
9/30Squats 3x315, Leg Press 2x670, Barbell Lunges 2x165, Abductor & Adductors, Seated Calves, Standing Calves 2x180, Dorsi Flexions
10/1Inc Dumbells 3x95, Flat Bench 2x225, Cable Crossovers 2x75, Preacher Mach 2x85, Dumbell Curls 2x50, Reverse Cable Curls 60-65, 20 minutes moderate treadmill after
10/2Off- 45 minutes posing

This next week I will lighten the load to the 10-12 range (from 4-6 rep range), but will continue to train to failure (except legs). Lightening the load the second to last week will give me a better idea of what to lift during the last week, b/c I will not train even close to failure to prevent soreness from lingering on contest day. Legs should not be trained in the last 6-7 days before showtime to prevent blurring of definition, so I'll just hit them light this coming Saturday.

Diet

This part has changed quite a bit with there being much less carbohydrates, fat and calories, so that I can go from ripped to shredded. This will be the toughest part over the next 2 weeks. This will change slightly during the later part of the final week. The carb up meal will keep me going.

Meal 1
1/2 grapefruit
5 egg whites
5 oz lean turkey breast
3 EFA caps (sesamin/super epa/cla)

Meal 2
2 scoops Muscle Provider

Meal 3
8 oz cod
1 cup asparagus
3 EFA caps

Meal 4
2 scoops Muscle Provider

Meal 5
8 oz cod
1 cup spinach
3 EFA caps

Meal 6 (Mon & Thurs only)
1.5 cups oatmeal
10 oz sweet potato
1 banana
1 c veggies
1 T butter

Supplements
Same as usual but....

-6 Lean Out 3x's/day instead of 2/meal
-1.5 grams ALCAR preworkout only instead of 3x's/day
-3 Muscularity/meal
-Extra Mass Aminos taken during last meal to improve Nitrogen retention during sleep since no more Ultimate Muscle Protein

My test boosters and fat burners should run out mid way through the final week, which is fine.

Posing

I will be posing each day to improve conditioning and hardness. I will be sure to get 3 long sessions in before contest day to simulate the difficulty. My routine is finished, but I'm going to have my friend Sue check me out and see what she thinks. I'm thinking about adding a second (longer) version for my last show since we're allowed 90 seconds.

Until next week....TIME TO GET SHREDDED!!

Posted by: Bryan60275 Oct 6 2005, 12:53 AM

It's coming close to go time! Me and my lifting buddies are planning on being there at the ONBF show!

Posted by: rich_55 Oct 6 2005, 09:46 AM

QUOTE (Bryan60275 @ Oct 6 2005, 12:53 AM)

It's coming close to go time! Me and my lifting buddies are planning on being there at the ONBF show!

Awesome! My first is show is in 9 days and I'm not sure if I'll nail my conditioning perfectly for that show, but I definitely will for the ONBF show. Trying to get rid of the last abdominal and glute fat is a bitch, but it WILL come off!

I'll do my best to make the open lightweight cutoff of 154 lbs for that show too, but it'll be tough. I've got 16 days though and I'll get a good feel for how much water I drop after the first show, which will not have a harsh weight cutoff for me since I'll just be doing the Novice (only 2-3 classes).

I'm sitting at 164 lbs now and am amazed at how ripped I look. I can't help but look in the mirror when I walk by one.

I'm putting together a more entertaining and longer routine for that show too b/c I'll have a big cheering sectionl. It will be pretty cool to see you there!

Posted by: toddmarquis Oct 6 2005, 11:25 PM

it is in our nature to second-guess. i have four coats of bronzer on me right now for the Big Dust, and although i'm in far better shape than i've ever been onstage (i think), i still wonder if i could nail my conditioning better or if i'm playing my carbs right or you name it. you'll do fine, based on what i saw in posing the other day. and the night show routine...i might put something together for that, too.

Posted by: GuardDog Oct 7 2005, 07:01 AM

Can you guys make sure someone is there taking pictures or videotaping the the show? I think it would be great to see it.

Posted by: rich_55 Oct 7 2005, 10:21 AM

Thanks Todd, good luck to you this weekend at the Big Dust. I know a few people who are doing that show. I met a guy named Scott out at Hilliard who'll be doing the Lightweight open and novice and Ann who I work with at WG who'll be doing the Figure tall division.

I'm extremely pleased with my 60 second routine for my first show. My friend Sue is a former gymnast and cheerleader and was impressed with how well my posing matched the music.

A video recorder would be awesome, but I don't know if I can manage that. I will have my friends take MANY pictures!

Posted by: GuardDog Oct 7 2005, 06:08 PM

If you have any friends with a digital camera, some of the digital cameras have built in video capabilites.

Posted by: rich_55 Oct 9 2005, 10:09 PM

ONE WEEK OUT - PEAK WEEK!!

This past week was pretty tough and this weekend was the most difficult. My energy is really low and I'm hungry quite often. I'm keeping my eye on the prize and am really excited to compete. I'm also looking forward to my cheat meal after the first show in 6 days!

Actually, I'm now just looking forward to carbing up!

I lightened up this week by lifting in the 10-12 rep range, but continued to lift to failure with the exception of legs yesterday. I only performed 2 sets of each exercise and I kept my rest between sets to a minimum. This kept the weight training portion of my lifting under 45 minutes, which was great since my energy was low. I also performed much more cardio this past week and posed almost every day for 20-30 minutes.

My bodyweight is now 162.5 lbs, which is great considering I was a little worried about the 154 lb cutoff in 2 weeks.

Outlined here will be all of my final week plans up to showtime. By the way, 3 gallons of water is a lot of water!

Training

10/3- Rack Deadlifts 335-345, T-Bar Rows 2x105, Close Pulldowns 2x170, Hammer Low Rows 2x220, Dumbell Shrugs 2x115, Rear Delt Mach 2x90, 25 minutes moderate treadmill
10/4- 28 minutes moderate treadmill
10/5- Inc Dumbells 2x75, Flat Bench 2x185, Cable Crossovers 2x65, Military Press 2x155, Lat Dumbell Raises 2x35, Front Dumb Raises 2x15
10/6- Dumbell Skullcrushers 30-31.25+, Close-Grip Bench 2x155, Rope Pulldowns 90-80, Preach Mach 2x70, Dumb Curls 2x40, Reverse Cable Curls 55-50, 25 minutes moderate treadmill
10/7- Off
10/8- Light Legs - Squats 2x225, Leg Press 2x450, Barbell Lunges 2x95, Adductors, Abductors, Standing Calves, Seated Calves, 22 minutes moderate treadmill
10/9- Morning 20 minute jog outside, evening 25 minute moderate treadmill

Diet

Right on track and boy am I hungry!

Supplements

My fatburning stack of Blue Rhino/Syneburn/Lean Green has been replaced with Caffeine/Tyrosine/Syneburn/Lean Green. I ran out of Blue Rhino and didn't want to repurchase with such little time left, but the new stack seems to be giving me a good boost.

Everything else is the same. I've started to take Claritin an anti-histamine.

PEAK WEEK PLAN

Training from here on out will be light with me not coming within 4 reps of failure, but more of a light pump workout. I will pose each day up to 45 minutes. Legs should not be trained within 6-7 days of show and they are finished.

Sunday
Cardio, Diet, Training, Sodium same
Water - 3 gallons
Tan- 20 minutes tanning bed and protan before bed

Monday
Training- Light
Sodium- same
Cardio- 75% normal intensity
Diet- No carb meal
Water- 3 gallons
Tan- 20 minutes tanning bed and protan before bed

Tuesday
Training- Light
Sodium- same
Cardio- 50% normal intensity
Diet- same
Water- 3 gallons
Tan- 20 minutes tanning bed and protan before bed
Potassium- 1 99 mg cap every other hour

Wednesday
Training- Light
Sodium- same
Cardio- None
Diet- Add 6th meal of 2 c oatmeal, 15 oz SP, 1 banana, 1T butter, 1 c veggies
Water- 3 gallons
Tan- 20 minutes tanning bed and protan before bed
Potassium- 1 99 mg cap every hour

Thursday
Training and Cardio- None
Sodium- Light after cooking
Diet- No fibrous veggies and add 5th meal of 1.5 c oatmeal, 10 oz SP, 1 banana, 1T butter
Water- 1.75 gallons
Tan- 20 minutes tanning bed and protan before bed
Potassium- 2 99 mg caps every hour

Friday
Training and Cardio- None
Sodium- None added
Diet- 6 meals of 8 oz 93% lean ground beef and 1/2 grapefruit
Water- 1 gallon
Tan- paint on competition color as needed, dry w/ hair dryer
Potassium- 3 99 mg caps every hour

Saturday
Sodium- Salt to taste
Water- Sip freely as needed, but not too much to bloat
Potassium- 3 99 mg caps every hour
Diet- Breakfast of 6 oz lean beef, 3 eggs, 1 grapefruit, 6 oz SP (if needed)
-No more than 2 additional meals of 6 oz beef & 1/2 grapefruit before prejudging
-Each meal between prejudging and finals of 4 oz beef and 4 oz SP
Clothing- Will wear black fleece and polyester track pants to stay warm 1 hour before stage. Got my black bulk t-shirt, I'll be turning into a cutoff.

30-45 minutes before Stage
1)Sip on and finish 20 oz gatorade w/5 g BCAA's, 5 g AAKG, 2 g Citrulline Malate and Niacin
2)Lightly spray on Vasculizer, then PAM, then pat down with towel
3)Pump up- Circuit style delts, chest, back then bis very light

After First Show
Grub down on whatever I want afterwards including 1-2 glasses of wine or beer, BUT then I must get back on my diet and routine the next day (will hit legs). If my conditioning is a little off I'll stay with the same plan, but if I come in tight enough, then will up the cals a bit.

Sunday through Monday taper off Potassium (3 per meal on Sunday, 1 per meal on Monday).

WISH ME LUCK!! I MAY POST A FEW MIDWEEK UPDATES

Posted by: Jake Varner Oct 9 2005, 10:12 PM

YOU CAN DO IT!

Posted by: MusicMan Oct 9 2005, 10:17 PM

I'm so psyched up for you bro! Have fun and u'll do awesome. Just don't think about the food man, Marines have a hell week, and so do bodybuilders. This is your hell week. Everyone you compete against is going through the same exact thing you are going through, so just remember that!

Posted by: rich_55 Oct 10 2005, 07:41 PM

Jake and Musicman, thanks for the words of encouragement. Energy i s l o w w w w...... But I will persevere!! Carb up meal Wednesday night is sounding great!!!

Posted by: Slayer of Souls Oct 10 2005, 08:04 PM

wow you have really gotten it together. Everything looks great!

Best of luck Rich, kick ass!

Posted by: GuardDog Oct 10 2005, 09:14 PM

Best of luck Rich. We are all behind you man! Go kick some ass during that competition!

Posted by: TheKashi Oct 10 2005, 10:38 PM

Good luck man. Must be tough right now.

Posted by: rich_55 Oct 12 2005, 09:59 PM

Thanks again fellas. The support SERIOUSLY HELPS! Saturday through Mondays sucked! But, the last few days have been much better and today my excitement began to build! My whim turned goal is about to turn reality come Saturday and I'm feeling great.

I'm weighed in at 160 pounds (down 2.5 from Saturday) and I'm liking everything I'm seeing. Glad to be at that weight b/c NEXT Saturday I must weigh 154 or less and I don't expect to lose much between now and then.

My abs look great and veins are mildly showing through a bit on my obliques. I just finished a carb up meal which tasted like heaven. I still have a small pinch of fat on my lower abs and some on my glutes, but that will tighten up as I begin to lower my water tomorrow and carb up. I am interested to see what these areas will look like on Saturday b/c the changes occur almost daily.

No lifting or running the next few days just short sessions of posing after meals.

Tan looks good but could be darker. Painting of competition color day before will take care of that.

Competitors better bring their A game this weekend.

Posted by: GuardDog Oct 13 2005, 05:35 AM

Rich,
This is probably one of the best journals in this section. Your detailed input to what it takes to get ready for a competition is amazing and very inspirational. If you don't mind, and other forum members agree with me, this should be a sticky for this section. Make sure you post pictures in here after the contest.

Posted by: Btrice Oct 13 2005, 07:33 AM

You got my vote to pin it GD, you are right this is like the blueprints for successful contest prep, wish I had this years ago!! Rich you are gonna annihilate them bro!!

Posted by: rich_55 Oct 13 2005, 08:09 AM

Wow, thanks guyz!

There is no one perfect way to diet for a contest or diet period, but I believe that this was a very effective way for me and I believe the principles are pretty sound.

If you'd like to pin it then go for it.

I'd be glad if others that plan to compete could use some of this to help them in their competitive endeavors.

Don't worry, I'll be sure to have plenty of showtime pics!

Posted by: DR X Oct 13 2005, 09:17 AM

I agree so I will pin it for you.

Posted by: rich_55 Oct 13 2005, 09:47 AM

QUOTE (DR X @ Oct 13 2005, 09:17 AM)

I agree so I will pin it for you.

Looks like I gotta bring back some trophies now!!

Posted by: toddmarquis Oct 13 2005, 12:51 PM

the guys at Beverly gave you this routine? you do the exact same as i do training and cardio-wise for the last week, but you cut your sodium a day later (which could cause a little extra water), and don't get very many carbs on your load, unless i'm reading it wrong. i've been accused of getting too few, and i usually get 150 or so on wed, 250-300 on thurs, and maybe 200 on friday until 6pm (then i begin garbage load). i noticed you didn't even list a garbage load. that's the most beautiful part for me. rice cakes, pie filling, peanut butter. some people do nothing but cheesecake. some do different types of candy bars. some do sodium-free cookies. oh, and on saturday, you WANT sodium. my saturday morning i get a stack of pancakes with a ton of syrup and some sausage. then at the competitor's meeting i have more garbage food (i usually go rice cakes and pie filling). i start my garbage load 5-6 hours after i cut my water out and then have it every 3 hours to start, then tapering to 2 hours late. also gotta get some good red meat with some fat like a sirloin steak. i've found this to work for me in the past. and between shows...honestly...go to pizza hut. enjoy yourself. as long as you don't drink anything, you're fine. i can't wait for the ONBF show. not only b/c it's my last one for a while, but also b/c that pizza hut is calling my name.

beverly might have you doing things a little differently b/c you have 2 shows so close together. it'll be interesting to see how they change things for the ONBF show.

speaking of which...after tihs weekend, PM me and we can see if you want to meet up before, between, or after the shows for some good food. before = pancakes like i said. between = doesn't matter much as long as you don't drink. after = balls to the wall (i know of an UNO's pizza right off the freeway in pickerington).

Posted by: rich_55 Oct 13 2005, 01:49 PM

QUOTE (toddmarquis @ Oct 13 2005, 12:51 PM)

Yup, Beverly.

Yeah, Saturday is a sodium day. I wrote that wrong but have since corrected it. I knew that but was copy and pasting and forgot to change.

Garbage load....hell no. Not me man! I haven't eaten garbage in 4 weeks and I don't think contest day is the time to experiment with drastic measures given all the time and effort I've put into this.

While the theory of a high fat, high sugar meal before stage is often utilized often timing for everyone is MUCH different. Beverly competitors often do a goo of natty peanut butter, Muscle Provider and honey, but I wanted a more middle of the road approach. Some do a king size snickers. Jeremiah always did simply grapejuice though b/c he didn't respond well to the fat. Everyone is different.

Layne Norton, a pretty good natural bb'er and science nut, drinks and recommends a gatorade. Its got sugar, sodium and potassium so that is good enough for me. I'm not going to guess on this and it has nothing to do with the fact that I'm doing to shows. All of the other meals are pretty standard but can vary a bit by body type, but the prestage meals can differ based on preference.

I've read SOOO much that says don't screw with your phsyique for phenomenal last minute changes if you're already looking great. Arnold bible, layne's bodybuilding.com articles, many pro interviews, etc.

Yeah, and water. They specifically told me to drink freely, BUT not too much to overly bloat myself. Muscles are comprised primarily of water, plus I don't want to dehydrate.

On Oct 22, I'll stick to clean food until postcontest then its off to La Plaia a homeade Italian place that rolls their own pastas. Expensive, but best Italian in Cbus from what I've heard and huge portions. Oh yeah, and an excellent tasting peanut butter, carmel protein bar immediately after. Welcome to come! I'll talk to you before.

I'll let you know how it goes this weekend and I don't anticipate any change in plan for next week, but we'll see. That is why I'm doing 2 with the first one being the warmup.

Posted by: toddmarquis Oct 13 2005, 08:23 PM

any particular reason you use a hairdryer to dry the protan? not sure if there's some secret i don't know about.

Posted by: rich_55 Oct 13 2005, 10:06 PM

QUOTE (toddmarquis @ Oct 13 2005, 08:23 PM)

any particular reason you use a hairdryer to dry the protan? not sure if there's some secret i don't know about.

So you don't have to wait 3 hours for the color to deepen. It should give me an idea pretty quickly how many coats I have to apply, especially to certain areas.

Posted by: toddmarquis Oct 13 2005, 10:38 PM

i feel like such a moron. that's such an obvious answer. i hate standing around waiting for it to dry. where would i be without you? lol

but remember...as far as the shade goes, it will bind to your skin and continue to darken as the hours go on. so right away you may not have the answer you're looking for.

Posted by: rich_55 Oct 16 2005, 01:08 AM

I won the Men's Novice Lightweight Class and I took the Men's Novice Overall too at my first show!!

It was awesome and I'll post details and pics tomorrow, but I'm exhausted and need to crash. I start back with my diet tomorrow and will be hitting the gym hard. I need to come in a little harder to be at my best and to make weight too.

I took first out of 3 novice lightweights and there were 4 novice heavyweights, whose champion I beat in the overall! Man was it a blast!

More details to come....

Posted by: Btrice Oct 16 2005, 07:50 AM

Rich thats AWESOME !!!! Congratulations man! And to think this was your warmup competition, you are going to need to build a new trophy room just for these two weekends!

Posted by: GuardDog Oct 16 2005, 07:50 AM

WOOOHOOO!!!!!!!!!! Congrats Rich!!!!!!

Glad to see all that hard work paid off.

Posted by: toddmarquis Oct 16 2005, 09:08 AM

man, makes me wish i did that show instead of taking this weekend off. then i could win MY weight class and lose to you for the overall.

Posted by: rich_55 Oct 16 2005, 09:20 AM

QUOTE (toddmarquis @ Oct 16 2005, 09:08 AM)

man, makes me wish i did that show instead of taking this weekend off. then i could win MY weight class and lose to you for the overall.

This weekend will be fun man! I look forward to seeing you and several others there. There were a few guys who competed yesterday who'll be doing the ONBF plus a few guys from my gym.

I'm really pumped and motivated. I just blasted out 30 minutes of cardio this morning! I MUST make the 154 cutoff and I weighed in at 158 yesterday.

Thanks GD and Btrice!

I'll post a competition day recap later today. I definitely learned alot and will make a few minor changes for next week.

Posted by: MusicMan Oct 16 2005, 09:23 AM

HOLY CRAP MAN that's f%ckin fantastic!!!! Wow, your first competition and you took it! I'm very happy for ya bro! This just made my day. I't great to see a member of this forum so dedicated get what he deserves.

Posted by: Jake Varner Oct 16 2005, 10:35 AM

Congrats!

The hardwork and tortures of dieting paid off. Enjoy some cake and ice cream.

Posted by: rich_55 Oct 18 2005, 10:04 AM

FIRST BOBYBUILDING COMPETITION RECAP - 10/15/05

Let me begin with a little narrative of the week before and competition day and then conclude with some do's and don't I learned.

Week Before

First off, Saturday through Monday of the week before was EXTREMELY difficult on me in terms of hunger, lack of energy and irritability. Being 5-7 days out from the show seemed like it was a century away and I was just looking forward to my carb up meal on Wednesday to get by. As Tuesday rolled around, my enthusiasm began to build more and more as each day passed. When Friday rolled around, I was VERY jazzed to kick some butt!

Night Before

I packed all of my meals Friday for the rest of the night and Saturday. I planned to paint myself with competition color when I got to Youngstown, OH, which was 3 hours away. My color was a concern, since I was not yet dark enough. My friend and fellow competitor, Sue, arrived nearly 2 hours late to drive me to the show.

Yeah, we didn't leave until nearly 9 and boy was I pissed, considering I still had to paint myself. I figured she of all people would understand the importance of leaving promptly, since she also was prepping for her first figure show in a few weeks.

She sped, we got there by 11:30pm and we went straight to painting me with her help, which was definitely needed to get my back and make sure I was properly blended. By the time we were finished, it was 1:30 am and I was exhausted and nervous that I might be tired the next day. We put on 3 coats of the competition color and it looked great.

Competition Day

7 am came very quickly and the first thing I did was eat my beef, grapefruit, eggs and sweet potato. Then I hopped in the shower and BAD MOVE.....nearly all my color came off! Do not shower after applying your color, even though the bottle says to do so. My friend and I quickly applied one quick coat and packed up to head off to the show at Struthers Middle School.

Prejudging

We arrive just in time for the meeting at 9am, after driving around for 25 minutes trying to find the place. We walk into in the auditorium which is filled with 30 to 40 deeply tanned people dressed in oversized, dark athletic gear.....just like me.

I sign and weigh in at 160 with pants and cutoff on (probably 158 in trunks), then the meeting begins at about a quarter after 9. I begin munching on a small bit of beef and grapefruit, so that my hunger or energy does not become an issue. I had know idea exactly how many competitors were in the total Novice and Novice lightweight class at the time b/c the meeting was pretty chaotic. Numbers were being handed out, music was being collected and the promoter was talking during.

We then head back to the nearby gymnasium where that had a small variety of dumbells, bands and barbells. It was then almost 10 am and I had until 11am until the start of prejudging. But, the women and masters men were before Novice, so I figured I had until 11:30 until I took the stage. I relaxed for a while, took my polygraph, which was very weird, and as 10:45 rolled around I began to prep for stage. The camraderie was good, but everyone has their game face on, myself included. I met 2 guys who were doing the ONBF show this week too and we chatted quite a bit, which was great!

I started to sip on my gatorade filled with AAKG, Citrulline Malate and a small amount of BCAA's. I popped some Niacin and R-ALA and began spraying on my Vaskulizer, no Pam, which I should have used. It darkened me a bit and began making my skin warm.

I then began pumping up circuit style with pushups, arnold presses, dumbell rows, bent-over lateral raises then curls. I didn't pump and my tris directly or my legs at all as this can make them difficult to pose. I would do this with light weight and take several minutes between each circuit to catch my breath and relax.

As I'm pumping up I see some BIG and RIPPED guys walking around, now with their warm-ups shed. I have no idea what weight class they are in, I just hope its not novice lightweight. I'm trying to not think about how anybody else looks but just focus on my preparation, but boy it is intimidating!

At about 11:30 the expediter called out Lightweight get ready. I then got one more light pump in and hopped in a line of 3 to get on deck for the stage. I was out of breath, which sucked! I began examining a shredded and symmetrical older man who I identified as my competition. I then led the line of 3 on stage, practically shaking with nervousness.

We started with quarter turns and then mandatory poses. The lights were hot and bright and I could barely see the silent and evaluating audience. My arms and legs felt like they were shaking they stage with nervousness. I was later told that I looked most comfortable of the group and not quite like a Novice. Boy, I had em fooled.

After going through the poses once, they told the older gentlemen to switch places so he was next to me. I was in contention for the top spot, so I hit every pose extra hard and smiled extra big. The audience began to cheer a bit and I could here my friends rallying for me.

After walking off stage I felt a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders and I wanted to get right back up there and do my routine but I had 5 hours to kill until the finals. As I walked out of the school one of the judges approached me and told me to walk with him. I eagerly did so, and he informed me that I was the cream of the crop in my class and no longer a Novice after today. I knew his name, due to his reputation, and he informed me that I had great potential and he wanted to work with me. He said that in few years after my muscles had mutured I could contend for a natural pro card.

I was shocked and elated and found myself filled with much more confidence to tear up the night whow.

Finals

The time between dragged by but we found a park to relax in on such a beautiful autumn day. As time passed we headed back to the school to do it all over again. While I was confident I was in contention, I did not feel secure that the Novice Lightweight class was mine b/c one judge thought I had it easily.

The finals started at 6:30, not 6pm and I actually pumped up, cooled down and pumped up again. I will not do that again, but will wait until the class before me gets called to start pumping up.

When I was called to perform my routine I was much more calm and relaxed. I peformed my routine to Linkin Park's Lying from You with a Jay Z hook to start. It flew by and the audience cheered quite a bit! I thought I didn't do that well, being the perfectionist that I am, but after seeing video and talking to my friends I performed rather well.

After my routine, they brought the class back out for quarter turns and mandatory poses. Then it was posedown time and I hit all of my strong poses extra hard in attempt to convince everyone that I was the leader in the class. They announced the second runner up and runner ups with me still waiting and a huge smile came to my face as I was presented with the Novice Lightweight trophy. I hit a few poses for the cameras with my trophy and headed off stage eager to watch the Novice Heavy class.

Frank, a guy who I spoke to earlier, took the Novice class weighing just over 170 lbs so he didn't have much size on me. But, boy he looked great, so I thought he would easily take it. We was pretty tired from his posing, so I walked out first onto the stage after he caught his breath.

They took us through the quarter turns and mandatories again, which led Frank to receive huge cheers from his hometown audience. Judging from the audience, I thought he had it. Then came posedown time. I hit all of my strongest poses as hard as I could glancing slightly over to Frank to judge what I should hit. He did front double bi, I did side triceps to not reveal my small biceps but still show some arm. My friend and former competitor then yelled out, "Step up, Rich!" And I walked right in front of the judges and did a side serratus shot then turned and gave them my back shots, my strongest point. He remained at the middle of the stage with my hamming it up in front of the audience and judges.

We relaxed and went back in line. The MC then called my name for the Novice overall and boy was I shocked! My dad told me I had a surprised look on my face and I cannot explain the elation I was filled with!

Now it was time to grub and savor the moment!

Posted by: tricky73 Oct 18 2005, 10:20 AM

good for you dude. keep lifting hard and one day we will see you in the mags giving out advice. and also congrats on your win.

Posted by: GuardDog Oct 18 2005, 10:23 AM

Cool writup. I feel like you left me hanging with excitement. I want to read the writeup of your next competition.

Posted by: rich_55 Oct 18 2005, 10:43 AM

AFTER THE FIRST SHOW

I was exhausted, but stayed to watch the amazing open competition chowing down a couple of protein bars. The overall open posedown was the most amazing posedown I had seen on the amateur level. The victor was to receive their WNBF pro card, so the judges made them work for it extra hard as the went through all of the poses 3 TIMES!

After the show, I received many congratulations with compliments on my symmetry and legs. I walked towards the judges to get some constructive criticism and they were very motivational with their info. I added a few extra do's and do not's for reference

Do's
-- More sheen (aka light coat of pam)
-- Little more tan
-- Add some more muscle to my frame over time
-- Come in a LITTLE harder

Do Not's
-- Relax my legs
-- Drop my chest
-- Sacrifice my balance for sheer mass
-- Pump up to soon
-- Take a shower after using Competition Color paint

The judges had good things to say and they complimented my balance and symmetry. Man, I'm much harder on myself!

Another judges also said that within a few years I could contend for a WNBF pro card if I continue to improve. I was shocked!!

The first focus instantly became prepping for a win this weekend in both the Novice and Open Lightweight. AND I have to drop some weight to make the Open cutoff of 154 lbs.

I went out and enjoyed a little bit of a salad with Ranch, bread, some lasagna and pizza but I kept it RELATIVELY moderate compared to my ability to stuff myself. During the drive home, I began planning this week in my head. I had one last treat of some Ultimate Muscle Protein before bed, knowing I would get RIGHT back on track the next morning.

I awoke eagerly at 8:30 am on Sunday with nothing but a second victory on my mind. No rest for the victorious. I am limited to full intensity cardio only on Sunday then it tiers downward to rest my legs. So, I ran for 30 minutes bright and early, then rested and hit my legs and 25 more minutes in the evening. I want to win and this time I will have the hometown crowd!

TIME TO GET MORE SHREDDED AND OWN THE STAGE!!

Posted by: whatastud08 Oct 18 2005, 10:43 AM

Congrats Rich! Just reading your write-up made me dream of being on stage. Looks like you couldnt have asked for a better start to your career. So did winning the show qualify you for anything else or were there any prizes/sponserships offered?

Posted by: Bryan60275 Oct 18 2005, 10:46 AM

I plan on seeing your ONBF write up in person, along with 3 of my friends. We're all gonna come up. I'll be there for prejudging and the finals, so maybe I'll catch you between the two. Everyone else is gonna show up for the finals.

I'll give you a "do it for the forum!" cheer sometime while you onstage!

Posted by: rich_55 Oct 18 2005, 10:49 AM

Here are a few pics that turned out okay. There are some better ones and some video, but this is all I have right now. Plus, there was a professional photographer there who I'll be in contact with.

Front Lat Spread

Posted by: rich_55 Oct 18 2005, 10:51 AM

Front Double Biceps

Posted by: James61183 Oct 18 2005, 10:54 AM

I get red X's

Posted by: rich_55 Oct 18 2005, 10:59 AM

Back Relaxed

Posted by: ShakesAllDay Oct 18 2005, 11:06 AM

Awesome, Rich!! Congrats!!! Inspiring, I tell you!

Posted by: DR X Oct 18 2005, 01:41 PM

Congratulations Rich, Your hard work and dedication sure paid off. You’re an inspiration to all the board members.
Way to go, WOOO WOOO

Posted by: rich_55 Oct 18 2005, 03:18 PM

QUOTE (DR X @ Oct 18 2005, 01:41 PM)

Congratulations Rich, Your hard work and dedication sure paid off. You’re an inspiration to all the board members.
Way to go, WOOO WOOO

Thanks everyone for the kind words!

I surpassed my goals and this was very unexpected. BUT, I gave it nearly everything I had and stayed extremely focused. If I can be of motivation to others then that makes me very happy, because I too seek motivation from guys like Layne Norton and Tricky Jackson who are achieving success in this sport the natural way and weren't necessarily "genetically gifted" (or 200 lbs at 18).

Before this weekend I never called it a sport. But now I will ALWAYS call it sport because it is truly physically exhausting and you have to outperform your competitors on the given day in order for you to win!

And boy is it fun! I cannot wait to take the stage again on Saturday. A lot of people say they just knew from the first time they took the stage that this is something they wanted to do. I truly felt like that after I walked off stage with a small taste of success, because their is not much in life that is so all-consuming and difficult. For such hard work, to pay off literally can bring tears of happiness. I love the feeling! One step at a time though.

You guys, if you've thought about competing, check out some different shows first. Set some goals a year or so off and get after it. It will drastically improve your training and focus! Do it right, so that you can reap some reward at the end of the day, knowing you did the best you could.

Posted by: Bryan60275 Oct 18 2005, 05:02 PM

Rich that definately looks sweet. I'm all pumped up right now and wanna jump into the ONBF show right now! But that'll have to wait til next year. You need to hook me up with your back routine!

I'm definately stoked about this saturday! So add another to your fan base for the whole competition!

Posted by: TheKashi Oct 19 2005, 05:57 PM

Damn man, good job. Hard work paid off.

Posted by: rich_55 Oct 20 2005, 08:40 AM

I'm a little worried about making weight this weekend. I need to be under 154.25 lbs for the lightweight open class.

I weighed in at 158 lbs on Saturday on a full stomach and expect not eating or drinking fluid prior to 9am weigh in to take a few pounds off but that leaves a few more to drop.

Last Wednesday I weighed 160 on Wednesday before water & carb manipulation and this Wednesday I weighed 158.25 per my gym's scale, so that is a 1.75 lb loss from last week. It is going to be close.

I plan on drinking most of my Friday gallon early in the day. Some have suggested sauna the night before and drop an extra pound that way. Worst case scenario, if I weigh in a pound over I can sweat it out in my car with heat on and sweats, but that means I'll have to redo my tan.

Posted by: Slayer of Souls Oct 20 2005, 11:06 AM

wow!!

congrats man

Posted by: Btrice Oct 20 2005, 12:08 PM

QUOTE (rich_55 @ Oct 20 2005, 09:40 AM)

I'm a little worried about making weight this weekend. I need to be under 154.25 lbs for the lightweight open class.

Are you still using the regular tanning bed? Cause that could help you sweat some water weight out a bit and also give you a better base requiring a bit less competition tan before the contest.

Posted by: rich_55 Oct 20 2005, 12:11 PM

QUOTE (Btrice @ Oct 20 2005, 12:08 PM)

QUOTE (rich_55 @ Oct 20 2005, 09:40 AM)

I'm a little worried about making weight this weekend. I need to be under 154.25 lbs for the lightweight open class.

Are you still using the regular tanning bed? Cause that could help you sweat some water weight out a bit and also give you a better base requiring a bit less competition tan before the contest.

No, I stop with the tanning bed on Wednesday to prevent the possible small amount of water retained from UV exposure on skin.

I'm going to weigh in today and tomorrow and make the decision for sauna on Friday evening or not.

Posted by: Btrice Oct 20 2005, 01:14 PM

QUOTE (rich_55 @ Oct 20 2005, 01:11 PM)

Duh... sorry I had a mental lapse there, I completely forgot that it would have that effect as well (same as the irritation caused by shaving I've heard).

I think you do it man, only if because I can tell you are a perfectionist and not afraid to go above and beyond. Good luck.

Posted by: Bryan60275 Oct 20 2005, 05:05 PM

Yea, the liquid breakfast works wonderfully. I'm downing that shake for breakfast every day no problem. 730 cals to get my days started. Thing is, if i were to have a shake, banana and a bowl of oatmeal, no way it would go down. I dont know, I've just never done well with breakfast, always gave me stomach problems.

Posted by: GuardDog Oct 20 2005, 06:24 PM

Just wondering, but what happens if you don't make the lightweight class?

Posted by: rich_55 Oct 20 2005, 07:08 PM

QUOTE (GuardDog @ Oct 20 2005, 06:24 PM)

Just wondering, but what happens if you don't make the lightweight class?

I WILL make the cutoff, but the next class up is the middleweight class, which is pretty tough. I'll wait a year and a half till I hit that class.

Posted by: GuardDog Oct 20 2005, 08:41 PM

QUOTE (rich_55 @ Oct 20 2005, 06:08 PM)

QUOTE (GuardDog @ Oct 20 2005, 06:24 PM)

Just wondering, but what happens if you don't make the lightweight class?

I WILL make the cutoff

Hell yeah! That's what I wanted to hear!

Posted by: Bryan60275 Oct 22 2005, 08:27 PM

Congrats Rich! The ONBF show is over and... well I'll let you give them the results and tell your own story. Was great to meet you!

I can't believe I forgot my freaking camera at home though...

Posted by: GuardDog Oct 22 2005, 08:59 PM

So what did you think of the show Bryan? You still want to compete by next year?

Posted by: Bryan60275 Oct 22 2005, 10:19 PM

Hell Yes! And I blame it all on Rich.

Like you cant spell my name right when it's right there above every 1100+ posts on this board...

Rich! You gotta post some pictures of your new swords! I'm gonna get three of them next year.

Posted by: rich_55 Oct 23 2005, 12:07 AM

Hey guyz and galz, I won the novice lightweight ONBF Mr. Ohio and open lightweight class this weekend. I also took home the best posing award for the novice lightweights. I competed against 7 in each class too. Wow! What a good start to the beginning of my competitive career!

Bryan, thanks for coming out today. Having people cheering when you're on stage makes it so much more motivating and exciting. The crowd was awesome tonight! Boy did I have fun. We will HAVE to hook up next weekend if you can make it down to Cinci.

A short conclusion and good pics will follow.....

Posted by: Slayer of Souls Oct 23 2005, 02:34 AM

congrats man!

I will look forward to seeing the pictures!

Posted by: GuardDog Oct 23 2005, 07:21 AM

Congrats Rich!!!! That is so f'n awesome. Can't wait to read your writeups and see the pics.

BRYAN..my bad bro, it gets on my nerves when people misspell my name too.

Posted by: Christopher78374 Oct 23 2005, 11:22 AM

gratz! well deserved after all of that hard work. looking forward to the pics.

Posted by: Bryan60275 Oct 23 2005, 03:27 PM

QUOTE (GuardDog @ Oct 23 2005, 07:21 AM)

Congrats Rich!!!! That is so f'n awesome. Can't wait to read your writeups and see the pics.

BRYAN..my bad bro, it gets on my nerves when people misspell my name too.

doesnt really bother me GD

Rich, I'm planning on going and this time I'm gonna force those slackers to tag along. Regardless of whether or not they want to. Do you know if any of your guys from the gym are planning to go down with you?

(By the way, i still need to get your back/quad/core workouts from you)

Oh yea, I meant to say this to you after the finals, but that guy was right behind us. You know the guy who won overall? I was sitting RIGHT IN FRONT of his freakin family and holy crap they were annoying! His brother would not shut up the whole time. Plus that guy seemed like he thought he could do whatever the hell he wanted since he basically knew fromt he get go he was gonna take overall.

Posted by: rich_55 Oct 23 2005, 06:41 PM

Hey Bryan, I don't think anybody from the gym will be coming down with us to Cinci at 7:30 am.

Carl was thinking about competing, but I don't think that will be the case judging by his "I'm done for a while" kind of attitude. A few friends will probably be coming down for the shows later though. I'll PM you some info in the next day.

My workouts can be found in this journal, but I'll be posting a postcontest journal soon too that I'll update occasionally. Squats and deadlifts man!

Yeah, I think the guy who took the overall wasn't necessarily cocky, but rather just a little out there! I talked to him quite a bit and he was just an INTENSE guy. Nice guy though.

Posted by: rich_55 Oct 24 2005, 12:15 PM

SECOND BODYBUILDING COMPETITION RECAP - 10/22/05

Week Before

The week before my second show flew by and all I could think about was making weight since I had to be under 154.25 lbs to compete in the open lightweight. I got right back on my diet after ONE cheat meal the prior Saturday and I hit my cardio hard on Sunday morning and evening. I then had moderate sessions on Monday and Tuesday and obviously my weight training was light all week but lifted at a good pace. My conditioning definitely improved over last week as noticed by additional detail in my midsection and legs.

Thursday night after my carb up meal I weighed 162 lbs and Friday morning I weighed 158 lbs and I was anxious to see my weight would be affected by the grapefruit and beef diet combined with drinking only a gallon of water. I also decided to drink most of the gallon by 6pm and hit the sauna up for 30-45 minutes to try to shed some extra water.

Boy, did Friday night suck.

I was drinking 5 oz of water to wash my meals down and sipping to keep my mouth dry. Chewing gum helps quite a bit too. This was my first experience a sauna, so it took some getting used to. I did 3 sessions at roughly 15 minutes each to sweat out some extra water. The scale only went down a half pound, but I was glad I at least made the effort. I saw 3 other guys from my gym doing the same thing when I was there and we were all talking about stepping on stage the next day. It was pretty cool.

My friend and figure competitor Sue came over and painted me with competition color. This time we sprayed directly onto the skin and used the brush to blend. We let the color sit in light areas before blending. The result was much improved!

I weighed 157 lbs before going to bed and was anxious to see what I'd weigh when the alarm sounded at 7:40 am. I would not be eating or drinking before weigh ins and would be heading out as soon as I awoke.

Prejudging

I awoke at 7am with no alarm and decided to get out of bed and take my time heading out. After dropping the kids off at the pool, I stepped on the electronic scale and it said.......154.5 lbs. I was very happy with this b/c this scale is a little heavy. I packed up and headed out the door.

I arrived at Heath High School at 8:45 am and weighed in at 154 lbs on the nose. I took a huge breath and felt alot of the pressure lifted off of my shoulders. Time to grub and drink some fluids. I happily pounded my beef, grapefruit, eggs, sweet potatoe and water. When you're this lean, you can instantly feel your muscles fill up with glycogen and water. It is great. I then relaxed until the competitors meeting at 11:15 am.

The meeting went well and the head judge informed us that he was going to make us work on stage during prejudging. I then checked the sign up sheet and learned there would be 7 competitors in both the Novice and Open Lightweight classes. I was very happy knowing there would be some competition.

Noon rolled around and the show started promptly. I met Bryan backstage before the start of the show which was very cool!!!

A fellow bulk brother came out to support. I was in the second class to go on, so I began sipping my gatorade, sprayed on my Vaskulizer and applied a light coat of Pam. I rubbed in the Pam with my hands and toweled off the excess. My trunks were bigger this week, which was kind of annoying so Bikini bite was much needed. I then began pumping up. I got SEVERAL compliments on my color and I was much happier with the result this week. After 3 circuits I relaxed and waited for our class to be called. As the competitors lined up, I felt a surge of confidence that I could take these guys.

As the Novice Lightweights were lined up on stage, the head judge instantly began moving us around. I was put in the middle and a couple guys were flipped closer to me. I felt that I had the Novice class. No matter how confident you are, you are still nervous. A slight shake controlled my posing and I focused on breathing with a relaxing rythym. And yes, the head judge made us work our tails off. We held each pose for 20-30 seconds and many poses twice. Good thing I practiced like I did. My friends cheered in the crowd that I owned the class and others whom I didn't know were cheering as well as we hit our poses.

I then headed backstage and waited for my soon-to-be-called Open Lightweight Class. I felt confident from my last stage performance and I led another group of guys onto the stage, many of whom were already onstage with me. But there were a couple competitive additions, none of whom had decent legs though that I noticed with a quick glance. The Open Lightweight was much of the same.....long, hard, and with me in contention. My friends and others continued to cheer for me. We were called off stage and it was time to relax for the evening finals at 5pm.

Posted by: rich_55 Oct 24 2005, 12:52 PM

Finals Recap

As the finals approached I was greeted by quite a few friends, who were all very excited to see me perform. Their energy fueled me into the finals. The finals were much easier then last week. Everyone went through their routines first then only the top 5 were brought back for the posedown. I performed my routine with much enthusiasm. I bounced onstage to Linkin Park's Lying From You with the Jay Z intro beat. I threw a hand in the air as I bounced a bit and my cheering section erupted. As I went through my routine the cheering continued loudly and when my music was cut short, I was disappointed to leave the stage. Next time, I'll do a slightly longer routine.

I watched the rest of the competitor's routines in warmups from the audience, knowing I had a while until posedowns. The light heavy class was loaded with talent and the overall winner was easily sighted in that class. The boy was a freak. Talk about hamstring definition. He had veins flowing all over and the crowd was amazed with his conditioning. Carl from the gym got the crowd cheering loudly too. It was a fun show!

As they posted the top 5 for each class, I happily saw my name in both and also listed as Best Poser for the Novice Lightweights. As I headed onto stage for the Novice Lightweight I felt confident I would take the class. We lined up and posed down. I headed straight for the front of the stage and stood next to Allan who is also from my gym. We had a good time as we matched eachother's poses. The called out the placing bottom to top with my name saved for last. I was happy with the win and even happier with the best poser award, which was pretty cool. I was awarded a sword and a golden poser medal.

A short time passed and I headed back onstage with the Open Lightweights. I again hit all of my best shots and felt rather confident I would take this class too and I did. As I accepted my second sword my friends cheered loudly congratulating me. What a surreal experience!

Now it was soon time for the Overall posedown, something I didn't originally expect to participate in. As I watched the heavier classes posedown, Barry, who I met last weekend at the INBF show and hung out with between the shows take the Middle crown. Carl from my gym took the Heavy crown and the freak took the lightheavy. It was going to be a fun posedown. As we lined up onstage, I was shifted next to the incredibly conditioned light heavy winner as we were taken through our mandatories again. Man, was I amazed. I was outshining some of the big boys! The posedown was extra long and fun! But at the end of the day the light heavy easily took the crown. I had SO much fun on that day and after it was done I felt kind of empty feeling.....

What is Next?

The empty feeling was a slight feeling of dissatisfaction, knowing that my physique needs improvement and that it was time to make such improvements to my physique. Don't get me wrong, I was thrilled with the victories, but even more thrilled to begin improving my physique. This was a great beginning to my competitive bodybuilding career!

I will be taking a year and a half off to add 10-20 pounds of lean muscle, so that I can hang with the middleweights. I am looking to do a few shows in the spring of 2007. I will be doing Natural shows again and am looking at an NPC show. Time to build some muscle!

By the way I grubbed down on rolls, salad, brushetta, chicken florentine, lasagna, chocolate cannoli, wine and drinks afterward. I followed it up with a belgian waffle, english muffin, hashbrowns and a "works" omelette for breakfast. I then had leftover lasagna and chicken florentine topped off with a pint of ben & jerry's peanut butter cup icecream!

Yeah, 3 LARGE cheat meals in 2 days but I deserved it. Today, I've begun my clean bulking plan which will include 1-2 cheat meals per week. I'm now back on the horse. Little swolen though from the carbs, dairy and excess sodium!

Posted by: rich_55 Oct 24 2005, 12:53 PM

Most Muscular with Carl Lynch

Carl is a fellow World Gym downtown member and friend. He took the Heavy class for the second year in a row.

Posted by: rich_55 Oct 24 2005, 01:01 PM

Overall Posedown

Posted by: rich_55 Oct 24 2005, 01:04 PM

Ab and Thigh.

Posted by: MusicMan Oct 24 2005, 01:07 PM

Wow, you've come such a long way. You should feel very happy!

Posted by: rich_55 Oct 24 2005, 01:30 PM

Back Double Bi

Posted by: rich_55 Oct 24 2005, 01:32 PM

Back Lat Spread

Posted by: rich_55 Oct 24 2005, 01:36 PM

Side Serratus

Posted by: rich_55 Oct 24 2005, 02:19 PM

Beverly International is sending me info regarding doing a story to be featured in one of their issues of Body Muscle Journal and on their website. How cool!

Posted by: GuardDog Oct 24 2005, 02:28 PM

Cool reading once again Rich. Thanks.

I think you are going to start giving Layne a run for his money.

Posted by: Speedster Oct 24 2005, 10:34 PM

Shit dude! That's Awsome stuff!! You definately succeeded in getting shredded haha. That must have been such a thrill to do all that. You really worked your ass off man, I'm glad everything went so well. I was really looking forward to hearing how the contest went and seeing some pics, thanks for sharing you really blew me away with your results. Congrats Rich!!

Posted by: Dead i Katid Oct 25 2005, 06:18 PM

show ur teeth when u smile

careful with the terms.

Posted by: cc-10 Oct 25 2005, 07:27 PM

congrats mah man ......im proud on of bulk's finest took home the gold

Posted by: Bryan60275 Oct 27 2005, 12:35 AM

i'm stoked about the NPC show this saturday, wOOt!!

Posted by: rich_55 Oct 27 2005, 09:34 AM

I just received an email back from the ONBF head judge, Tom Basso, with some feedback from the show last weekend.

Strengths: Color, Symmetry, Posing and Better Conditioning than Competition

Weaknesses: One judge said I could be just a bit harder. I concur but striated glutes will have to wait till next time.

Tom noted that I had the entire package including tight thin skin and small joints. He agrees that adding some muscle, while continually focusing on symmetry, will improve my physique quite a bit. Tom is a NABF pro, so this just furthers my motivation to improve and be as successful as I possibly can be.

Posted by: rich_55 Oct 27 2005, 09:37 AM

QUOTE (Bryan60275 @ Oct 27 2005, 12:35 AM)

i'm stoked about the NPC show this saturday, wOOt!!

Yeah me too! It will be nice just to observe and cheer on my friend and client. Sue is looking fantastic and she will definitely compete for the top figure honors.

Posted by: rich_55 Oct 27 2005, 09:11 PM

Side Tricep

Posted by: Slayer of Souls Oct 30 2005, 12:53 AM

QUOTE (rich_55 @ Oct 27 2005, 10:11 PM)

Side Tricep

thats my fav so far. Do you have anymore Rich?

Posted by: rich_55 Oct 30 2005, 10:18 AM

Yeah, the side tri is pretty.

Here is a good front lat spread pic. I king of look posessed though.

I'm waiting on a CD from my parents that had a few more good pics.

Posted by: MusicMan Oct 30 2005, 11:26 AM

shit man those last two pics are definetly my favs so far. You look a lot bigger than 150's. Back is sticking out like a rock in the lat spread. I'm jealous right now!

Posted by: Slayer of Souls Oct 30 2005, 08:28 PM

The front lat spread looks great!

I cant wait to see the rest of the pictures!

Posted by: rich_55 Oct 30 2005, 09:52 PM

QUOTE (Slayer of Souls @ Oct 30 2005, 08:28 PM)

The front lat spread looks great!

I cant wait to see the rest of the pictures!

Yeah, the other pics weren't that great. I just posted a new side serratus on the last page. Here is a one last fun pose from my routine.

Posted by: Slayer of Souls Oct 31 2005, 01:42 AM

I think you should replace Dexter Jackson's abs in your avy with the side tricep!

Posted by: rich_55 Nov 2 2005, 08:58 AM

My friend Sue and I will be taking pictures in the gym tonight and tomorrow for Beverly International's Body Muscle Journal magazine. They are doing an article on how the two of us (just friends BTW) have helped each other prepare for competition.

They want some gym pictures, so that means I've had to tan and shave again.

Oh well, I suppose its good marketing for the both of us.

I'll probably post those pics too, so you'll finally get to see pics of her.

Posted by: Slayer of Souls Nov 3 2005, 02:28 PM

QUOTE (rich_55 @ Nov 2 2005, 09:58 AM)

Oh well, I suppose its good marketing for the both of us.

I'll probably post those pics too, so you'll finally get to see pics of her.

Thats awesome! Congrats man.

Posted by: Bryan60275 Nov 7 2005, 10:42 AM

Sounds like Sue did pretty well, even though she didnt make top 5. In a show that big and it only being her second time, I dont think she has anything to be disappointed with. Any news on the Beverly article?

Posted by: rich_55 Dec 19 2005, 10:46 AM

I just found this picture on the promoter's website. My quad looks pretty nice in this one, so I thought I would post it. Sue and I are wrapping up are Beverly article for their magazine now.

Posted by: xycadambomb Jan 3 2006, 07:28 PM

Wow, your body looks a whole lot better in a higher resolution photo. That's not to say you looked bad before, just the pics weren't too sharp. =)

Great job!

Posted by: slikkballa31 Jan 10 2006, 01:15 AM

Damn man your quads are MASSIVE and CUT as hell....wut exercises do u do for those?

Posted by: Brandon48172 Mar 1 2006, 12:45 PM

Wow just read through the 9 pages of post and I must say Congrats!!! You have done an awesome job with your goals. I have always wanted to compete but have yet to really apply myself. You have inspired me to get my act together!

I don't think I could make the class you are currently in but anyone know where I can get info on contests and regulations?

Great job and goodluck with packing on the extra weight for the next class up!!

Posted by: Dave876 Feb 7 2007, 02:52 PM

Damn Rich looking sick!! Congrats and very nice work!

Posted by: Vaporize Feb 7 2007, 02:57 PM

QUOTE (Dave876 @ Feb 7 2007, 02:52 PM)

Damn Rich looking sick!! Congrats and very nice work!

Lol your about 2 years behind! read his new log and catch up.

Posted by: rich_55 Feb 13 2007, 11:16 PM

QUOTE (Vaporize @ Feb 7 2007, 02:57 PM)

QUOTE (Dave876 @ Feb 7 2007, 02:52 PM)

Damn Rich looking sick!! Congrats and very nice work!

Lol your about 2 years behind! read his new log and catch up.

Thanks Dave! Not too shabby for my first time out. Shoot, my goal was just to place and not embarrass myself.

The game has changed a bit since then with more on the line and higher expectations. Now, I'm doing NPC national qualifiers and training to win. A little over 5 weeks away too!! Wow, how time flys!

Yeah, my new journal is in my sig. I've definitely stacked on some good muscle since then and am very excited to see how all the detail comes in over the next month or so.

Posted by: calotono Feb 20 2007, 08:16 PM

where are the new pics?

Posted by: calotono Feb 20 2007, 08:17 PM

and why is this still pinned if its sooo old? heheh

Posted by: rich_55 Feb 20 2007, 11:01 PM

This is my last precontest journal and it was pinned for reference due to detailed listing of precontest preparation. My new journal is below and I will be posting up new pics there later this week at the 4-week out mark.

Posted by: calotono Feb 21 2007, 12:40 PM

looking forward to your pics! good luck andk eep up the good work/lifting

Posted by: rich_55 Jul 10 2007, 09:49 AM

This spring I did some things differently during my precontest prep. I weighed in 7 lbs heavier than the last time and was better conditioned. The biggest difference in conditioning was staying leaner in the offseason and just dieting again.

The biggest thing I dropped from my prep was potassium loading during peak week. I used this method under the advisement of Beverly and no longer support such methods.

My newest journal is listed below. I am currently preparing the a few shows in September where I hope to come in just a few pounds heavier and much sharper yet even.

http://forums.bulknutrition.com/?showtopic=34323&hl=rich