6:30am weigh-in 206
Zero carbohydrates all day yesterday total calories 1600 (400 grams of protein) and my weight only dropped .06 pound for the morning before and I trained Chest and Arms last night.
My BF (the mirror) tells me I'm tighter and dryer (legs have deeper cuts) then I was at “28 days out” weighing 206.2 (pretty much weighing the same) so my water is shifting the way I want.
I am a little of the flat side (not as big and hard) but you need to give this up until all your fat is gone, I don’t have too much time left. (Remember I can carb up in 48 hours by engorging myself with carbs)
I want to make a correction on yesterdays post (already corrected on post). I use the wrong terminology. I meant, I wanted to put my body into “survival mode” and what I said was “starvation mode”.
In “starvation mode” everything slows down i.e.: your metabolism and a lot people do this when the go long periods in between eating. This is not what you want to do.
In "survival mode" I’m eating all day long, but my calories are low and not quite enough for a day’s energy.
This heightens all your sensors and causes your brain (the ultimate survivor) to burn what it needs to survive and since I wasn’t taking in carbs for the day, my body reaches into my stored liver carbs and uses them for energy, thus burning fat during my workout last night and I can notice a difference in just one day
Training last night was good, I got a nice pump, my skin looked great, deep cuts, very vascular. I had plenty of energy, rest was minimal (30-45 sec in between sets), but my strength wasn’t all there, having only eaten 1600 calories.
From this point on, I’m not looking to go heavy as much as getting a pump, with less rest and more reps
The damage was as follows…
Flat bench 185/4 sets/15 reps (8reps last set)
Inclines smith machine 185/4sets
Incline flies/ 4sets
Machine flies/ 4sets
Onto Triceps;
Close grip benching (smith machine)/ 4sets
Skull crushers/ 4sets
Pushdowns superset with overhead/ 4sets
Onto Biceps;
Dumbbell curls/ 4sets
One arm preacher curls/4sets
Barbell reverse curls/4sets
Wrist curls off the end of the bench both ways/4set
I end every workout with 3 sets of stomach crunches or 3 sets of leg lifts
Now today I'm going back to eating as I would on a none workout day, which is as follows
7:30am- 50 grams protein (200 calories)
9:30am- 50 grams protein/200 calories in carbs (400 calories)
12:00pm- 50 grams protein/200 calories in carbs (400 calories)
2:30pm- 50 grams protein/200 calories in carbs (400 calories)
5:00pm- 50 grams protein/200 calories in carbs (400 calories)
7:30pm- 50 grams protein/200 calories in carbs (400 calories)
10:00pm- 50 grams protein/200 calories in carbs (400 calories)
On a normal training day there would be an extra 25grams of protein and 100 calories of carbs post workout
Time for a protein drink
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Monday, October 5, 2009
26 days out from competition - 0 carb day
6:30am weigh-in 206.6
Body weigh is down 1 pound from yesterdays weigh-in. But it's up 2 pounds from after Yoga.
Today’s best friend (the mirror) tells me I’m still flat and have not carbed back up from yesterdays Yoga class. Skin still is on the dry side though.
Decisions, decisions, decisions… Plans this week is to have zero carb days. I am planning on going zero carbs on training days. (Today)Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
I'm pretty lean right not, definitely 5% body fat. The belly button has changed, which tells me, my BF is around 5%.
When your this low, your body doesn’t want to give up the remaining fat (I have around 3 pounds left) so you have to put yourself into a survival mode, which forces your body to strip the remaining fat.
By just eating protein my caloric intake will be 1600 calories, that’s 50 grams of protein ever 2 hours for 8 meals.
Will I lose muscle, no. Will I lose size, yes, but only water weight held by carbohydrate in the muscle, which can come back with in 48 hours.
I’m going to do zero carbs every other day. I pick the training day to do this, so my body reaches into my carb reservoir (cup of water) to help contract the muscles doing my workout, to assure I’m emptying the glass, only to fill back up the following day, for the next workout… this will force my body to strip the remaining fat.
Zero carbs isn’t a healthy state to be in, because you need 60 grams of carbohydrates a day to just to fuel your brain and for your organs to function normally, but it’s only every other day and should be enough to rid the remaining fat
When you do carb depletion and limit your calories right before a show, followed by engorging yourself with mega calories (4000-6000 range) your muscle reacts in such a way, that they swell up bigger then ever, which will last for a couple of days.
But the trick is to limit your water in take during the carb up process, so that you don't spill over and remain tight and dry, full and thick, but make sure you take in enough water to allow your muscle to come back even bigger then before
A lot of times competitors don't get this right and they either don't carb up enough (which is more so) or they spill over and smooth out.
When you carb deplete, in a sense, you're staving your body from carbs and sometimes calories (remember your muscles are like a sponge) so when you put large amounts of carbs back into your body following a depletion, your body reacts in such a way, its mind boggling.
You swell up to a enormous size, while your skin is thin. By limiting your water intake your muscles (sponge) thirst for water, so its going to grab water from anywhere it can, like under your skin, so you skin get sucked in even tighter like saran wrap.
This is all for the days before the contest, but I’m slowly going to bring myself down, so my body graves carbs and will react as such.
By weeks end I should have got rid of the remaining fat or most of it and will probably go back to carbs everyday and decide if I’m going to carb deplete the week of the show or not
From this point on, it’s going to get interesting and I have to stay focused on my game plan… carb limitation can cause you not to think straight, so I need to keep reminding myself what I need to do
Let the games begin
Time for a protein drink
Body weigh is down 1 pound from yesterdays weigh-in. But it's up 2 pounds from after Yoga.
Today’s best friend (the mirror) tells me I’m still flat and have not carbed back up from yesterdays Yoga class. Skin still is on the dry side though.
Decisions, decisions, decisions… Plans this week is to have zero carb days. I am planning on going zero carbs on training days. (Today)Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
I'm pretty lean right not, definitely 5% body fat. The belly button has changed, which tells me, my BF is around 5%.
When your this low, your body doesn’t want to give up the remaining fat (I have around 3 pounds left) so you have to put yourself into a survival mode, which forces your body to strip the remaining fat.
By just eating protein my caloric intake will be 1600 calories, that’s 50 grams of protein ever 2 hours for 8 meals.
Will I lose muscle, no. Will I lose size, yes, but only water weight held by carbohydrate in the muscle, which can come back with in 48 hours.
I’m going to do zero carbs every other day. I pick the training day to do this, so my body reaches into my carb reservoir (cup of water) to help contract the muscles doing my workout, to assure I’m emptying the glass, only to fill back up the following day, for the next workout… this will force my body to strip the remaining fat.
Zero carbs isn’t a healthy state to be in, because you need 60 grams of carbohydrates a day to just to fuel your brain and for your organs to function normally, but it’s only every other day and should be enough to rid the remaining fat
When you do carb depletion and limit your calories right before a show, followed by engorging yourself with mega calories (4000-6000 range) your muscle reacts in such a way, that they swell up bigger then ever, which will last for a couple of days.
But the trick is to limit your water in take during the carb up process, so that you don't spill over and remain tight and dry, full and thick, but make sure you take in enough water to allow your muscle to come back even bigger then before
A lot of times competitors don't get this right and they either don't carb up enough (which is more so) or they spill over and smooth out.
When you carb deplete, in a sense, you're staving your body from carbs and sometimes calories (remember your muscles are like a sponge) so when you put large amounts of carbs back into your body following a depletion, your body reacts in such a way, its mind boggling.
You swell up to a enormous size, while your skin is thin. By limiting your water intake your muscles (sponge) thirst for water, so its going to grab water from anywhere it can, like under your skin, so you skin get sucked in even tighter like saran wrap.
This is all for the days before the contest, but I’m slowly going to bring myself down, so my body graves carbs and will react as such.
By weeks end I should have got rid of the remaining fat or most of it and will probably go back to carbs everyday and decide if I’m going to carb deplete the week of the show or not
From this point on, it’s going to get interesting and I have to stay focused on my game plan… carb limitation can cause you not to think straight, so I need to keep reminding myself what I need to do
Let the games begin
Time for a protein drink
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Baptiste Yoga (hot room) To sweat or not to sweat...
Before Yoga weight was 207.4, after already consuming 800 calories (100 grams of protein and 400 calories in carbohydrates) and I want to add that “shit happens” twice this morning.
After Yoga weight was 204.6, that’s a 2.8 pound water loss. I did consume during class 32oz of water, which is 2 pounds.
So taking that into consideration, if I didn’t drink that 16oz of water, I would have lost a total of 4.8 pounds. I find this pretty amazing.
What I noticed when I’ve done Yoga in the past (4 other times) the first 20 minutes your sweat is salty. Well since dieting and controlling my sodium intake (keeping around 750mg a day) my sweat today had no salt at all, none.
After yoga I wasn’t any tighter, but I was dryer. Meaning my skin was kind of dehydrated, for a dry look to it (which is a good thing for competition). But I was also flat, the 2.8/4.8 pounds of water I lost was mainly from with-in my muscle bellies. I lost my hardness and flattened out.
I need to see what happens now in the days to follow. I’m going try lowering my sodium even more to 500mg a day and see if I can not keep my skin dry longer while I carb up.
You don’t want to go too low with your sodium, for one, it gives you strength, helps cushion your joints, aids in muscle contraction and works with your potassium for water balance for your muscles, (out of balance will cause muscle cramps) to name a few.
Would I do hot room yoga the day before a competition… absolutely not. Would I do it a week out… sure, I may be able to use hot room yoga even 3 days out.
I have to see how long my skin stays dry and is it the little bit of sodium held water removed, causing the dry skin or is it the splash over from carbs, having still too many carbs and now that I’m flat, I’m drier, we shall see… I'm think it maybe a little of both...
In any event, it was a great hour an a half class… Namaste!
Time for a protein drink
After Yoga weight was 204.6, that’s a 2.8 pound water loss. I did consume during class 32oz of water, which is 2 pounds.
So taking that into consideration, if I didn’t drink that 16oz of water, I would have lost a total of 4.8 pounds. I find this pretty amazing.
What I noticed when I’ve done Yoga in the past (4 other times) the first 20 minutes your sweat is salty. Well since dieting and controlling my sodium intake (keeping around 750mg a day) my sweat today had no salt at all, none.
After yoga I wasn’t any tighter, but I was dryer. Meaning my skin was kind of dehydrated, for a dry look to it (which is a good thing for competition). But I was also flat, the 2.8/4.8 pounds of water I lost was mainly from with-in my muscle bellies. I lost my hardness and flattened out.
I need to see what happens now in the days to follow. I’m going try lowering my sodium even more to 500mg a day and see if I can not keep my skin dry longer while I carb up.
You don’t want to go too low with your sodium, for one, it gives you strength, helps cushion your joints, aids in muscle contraction and works with your potassium for water balance for your muscles, (out of balance will cause muscle cramps) to name a few.
Would I do hot room yoga the day before a competition… absolutely not. Would I do it a week out… sure, I may be able to use hot room yoga even 3 days out.
I have to see how long my skin stays dry and is it the little bit of sodium held water removed, causing the dry skin or is it the splash over from carbs, having still too many carbs and now that I’m flat, I’m drier, we shall see… I'm think it maybe a little of both...
In any event, it was a great hour an a half class… Namaste!
Time for a protein drink
27 days out from competition
6:30am weigh-in 207.6
Having yesterday off from the gym and eating the same 2700 calories (52% carbs,40% protein and 8% fat) I gained back 1.4 pounds (just about a pound an a half) from the 2.8 (almost 3 pounds) lost from yesterday morning. I think I found my spot in terms of how many calories and how they are rationed out % wise.
I say this because of the mirror (your best friend at this point in the game) my scale sits right below my BF and it’s one of those electric scales that you have to touch first to turn on.
So every morning around 6:30 (always after I have my first cup of coffee) I touch that scale step back and hit poses. My attention is always on my legs, the last thing to come in for me. What I see just about every day is more tightness and hardness.
Tightness tells me, I’m not spilling over (too much carbs) and my sodium is in check and hardness tells me, I’m carbed up, not flat. Remember I eat the same thing everyday and to see the scale pretty much stay the same. Goes down, comes up, but still losing a little weight. This is exactly what you want to happen. This tell me I should be able to keep everything the same and have time to come right into this contest, big and hard, 27 days from now
Off to hot room yoga at11. I’m planning on weighing myself before and after. I’m dying to see how I look after stripping all the water out from under my skin.
If I keep my fullness, then it was only water under the skin (which I don’t think is going to be the case, you sweat way too much) if I am flat too, then the muscles lost water also.
Which is ok, I’ll still see the tightness (no sodium water under the skin) and I can carb back without sodium, to get the fullness back and see what’s what. I will be able to see clearer on how much fat is left verse water and where my weigh is… fun shit here!
Keep in mind I’m a junky when it comes to this stuff. I’m so addicted to actions and reactions and when your body fat is 5% or lower, every change causing a clear reaction. This is the only way you can truly understand your body in connection to foods.
Remember, you are what you eat and this is a true statement.
I do this for fun, because I can
Time for a protein drink
Having yesterday off from the gym and eating the same 2700 calories (52% carbs,40% protein and 8% fat) I gained back 1.4 pounds (just about a pound an a half) from the 2.8 (almost 3 pounds) lost from yesterday morning. I think I found my spot in terms of how many calories and how they are rationed out % wise.
I say this because of the mirror (your best friend at this point in the game) my scale sits right below my BF and it’s one of those electric scales that you have to touch first to turn on.
So every morning around 6:30 (always after I have my first cup of coffee) I touch that scale step back and hit poses. My attention is always on my legs, the last thing to come in for me. What I see just about every day is more tightness and hardness.
Tightness tells me, I’m not spilling over (too much carbs) and my sodium is in check and hardness tells me, I’m carbed up, not flat. Remember I eat the same thing everyday and to see the scale pretty much stay the same. Goes down, comes up, but still losing a little weight. This is exactly what you want to happen. This tell me I should be able to keep everything the same and have time to come right into this contest, big and hard, 27 days from now
Off to hot room yoga at11. I’m planning on weighing myself before and after. I’m dying to see how I look after stripping all the water out from under my skin.
If I keep my fullness, then it was only water under the skin (which I don’t think is going to be the case, you sweat way too much) if I am flat too, then the muscles lost water also.
Which is ok, I’ll still see the tightness (no sodium water under the skin) and I can carb back without sodium, to get the fullness back and see what’s what. I will be able to see clearer on how much fat is left verse water and where my weigh is… fun shit here!
Keep in mind I’m a junky when it comes to this stuff. I’m so addicted to actions and reactions and when your body fat is 5% or lower, every change causing a clear reaction. This is the only way you can truly understand your body in connection to foods.
Remember, you are what you eat and this is a true statement.
I do this for fun, because I can
Time for a protein drink
Saturday, October 3, 2009
28 day our from competition
6:30am weigh-in 206.2
Last nights workout was a tough one, I didn’t fully recovered from Wednesday legs workout. Got a good pump, but the intensity was hard to keep up, no energy.
Now I know why … just over a two pound drop in one day, 2.8 to be exact. This clearly tells me, I’m right at bottom for the amount of calories I need to sustain my workouts.
I need to see what happens come Monday, having these next two days off from the gym, to determine my next move.
Remember nothing has changed in terms of what I eat everyday. Dropping 2 pounds like that, becoming even tighter, and maintaining fully carbed up muscle bellies and still keeping my size is exactly what I want to be happening.
The only thing that’s going to be changing is yoga. Hot room (Baptiste) yoga that I started over a month ago once a week (done 4 times) and this Sunday at 11 to 12:30 will be the first time since dieting, two weeks ago.
In hot room yoga, the room temperature is kept somewhere around 95 degrees and you can lose up to 3 pounds of water easy, never mind the extra calories you will burn.
I’m looking forward to see what’s going to happen come Monday with this new element added to the mix.
What I’m hoping to get from hot room yoga, is to use it as a tool, ridding the skin of water held in by sodium (water on top of muscle) I’m hoping to be able to use this the week of the show (the Sunday before)
So I need to pay close attention to what happens and not so much that day, but the days to follow.
Once stripped of all water from under the skin, sodium intake would be the only thing to put it back and I can eliminate that all together if need be... we shall see, I don’t' want to get to far ahead of myself, lets see what happens with Yoga tomorrow
Time for a protein drink
Last nights workout was a tough one, I didn’t fully recovered from Wednesday legs workout. Got a good pump, but the intensity was hard to keep up, no energy.
Now I know why … just over a two pound drop in one day, 2.8 to be exact. This clearly tells me, I’m right at bottom for the amount of calories I need to sustain my workouts.
I need to see what happens come Monday, having these next two days off from the gym, to determine my next move.
Remember nothing has changed in terms of what I eat everyday. Dropping 2 pounds like that, becoming even tighter, and maintaining fully carbed up muscle bellies and still keeping my size is exactly what I want to be happening.
The only thing that’s going to be changing is yoga. Hot room (Baptiste) yoga that I started over a month ago once a week (done 4 times) and this Sunday at 11 to 12:30 will be the first time since dieting, two weeks ago.
In hot room yoga, the room temperature is kept somewhere around 95 degrees and you can lose up to 3 pounds of water easy, never mind the extra calories you will burn.
I’m looking forward to see what’s going to happen come Monday with this new element added to the mix.
What I’m hoping to get from hot room yoga, is to use it as a tool, ridding the skin of water held in by sodium (water on top of muscle) I’m hoping to be able to use this the week of the show (the Sunday before)
So I need to pay close attention to what happens and not so much that day, but the days to follow.
Once stripped of all water from under the skin, sodium intake would be the only thing to put it back and I can eliminate that all together if need be... we shall see, I don’t' want to get to far ahead of myself, lets see what happens with Yoga tomorrow
Time for a protein drink
Friday, October 2, 2009
29 days out from competition
6:30am weigh-in 208.6/208 (shit happens)
Now everything is starting to settle down in terms of my body weight. I’m slowly coming down a little at a time, which is what I want to do. Slowly eating away the little fat that’s left and controlling my water and thinning my skin each day with each workout.
It takes about two weeks before you start to run off straight complex carb (liver stored carb) which is what you want to do to control your water.
By not eating all other carbs, you will start to run on just complex carbs that are stored in the liver first, before they are used as energy (blood sugar).
Picture a glass filled with water (stored carbs) and as it starts to over flow, that’s your energy (blood sugar) by keeping that glass full you maintain full muscle bellies and burn fat efficiently.
All I’m looking to do is burn the reminding fat, by keeping my muscles full, so they work at full capacity to burn fat and controlling my water, so I can clearly see where I’m at.
Next week I will start to lower my carbs on some days, just to flatten out a little and force my body to get rid of the reminding fat.
I find when your body gets down around 6% body fat, it doesn’t want to give the rest up, and you need to force it. How I’m am to do this, is by fooling the body to think it’s getting a lot of food, by eating every two hours instead of 2.5 hours. I'll add another protein meal and removing a couple of carbs meals.
In a sense, I’m keeping my caloric intake the same, but shifting the % around to more like 60% protein 32% carbs and 8% fat… Calories are the same, but I’m lower my carbs a little more, to start to make my body reach for more fat storage, but not too much, that I eat away muscle.
Remember fat burns more efficiently with carbohydrates present, they burn 50-5o and without carbs in your blood, you will most likely eat away at your muscle and not burn fat efficiently.
Remember fat is the last thing your body wants to lose, it protects all of your vital organs.
Tonight’s damage will be Back and Shoulder!
Time for a protein drink
Now everything is starting to settle down in terms of my body weight. I’m slowly coming down a little at a time, which is what I want to do. Slowly eating away the little fat that’s left and controlling my water and thinning my skin each day with each workout.
It takes about two weeks before you start to run off straight complex carb (liver stored carb) which is what you want to do to control your water.
By not eating all other carbs, you will start to run on just complex carbs that are stored in the liver first, before they are used as energy (blood sugar).
Picture a glass filled with water (stored carbs) and as it starts to over flow, that’s your energy (blood sugar) by keeping that glass full you maintain full muscle bellies and burn fat efficiently.
All I’m looking to do is burn the reminding fat, by keeping my muscles full, so they work at full capacity to burn fat and controlling my water, so I can clearly see where I’m at.
Next week I will start to lower my carbs on some days, just to flatten out a little and force my body to get rid of the reminding fat.
I find when your body gets down around 6% body fat, it doesn’t want to give the rest up, and you need to force it. How I’m am to do this, is by fooling the body to think it’s getting a lot of food, by eating every two hours instead of 2.5 hours. I'll add another protein meal and removing a couple of carbs meals.
In a sense, I’m keeping my caloric intake the same, but shifting the % around to more like 60% protein 32% carbs and 8% fat… Calories are the same, but I’m lower my carbs a little more, to start to make my body reach for more fat storage, but not too much, that I eat away muscle.
Remember fat burns more efficiently with carbohydrates present, they burn 50-5o and without carbs in your blood, you will most likely eat away at your muscle and not burn fat efficiently.
Remember fat is the last thing your body wants to lose, it protects all of your vital organs.
Tonight’s damage will be Back and Shoulder!
Time for a protein drink
Thursday, October 1, 2009
30 days out from competition
6:30am weigh-in 209/207.8 (shit happens)
I woke up having to go #2 more then usual, so I decided to weigh myself before and after… now that’s 1.2 pounds difference, wow!. So it’s safe to say… after a pound, you’re “full of it”!
Legs last night … on man, GONE today for sure! My legs are so toasted from my ass to my calves; I have this humming feeling running through legs and what a great feeling!
The damage all started with 7 sets of squats, climbing my way up to 365 for 8, ending at 315 for 12, then onto 5 sets of hacks, working my way up to 4 plates each side, to failure on each set.
From there;
4 set extensions, to failure
2 sets walking lunges, to failure
4 sets lying down one legged hamstring curls, to failure
2 sets seated leg curls (right quad started to spasm, had to move on)
4 sets of standing one legged curls, to failure
No stiff legs today.
4 sets on kneeing down behind the lying down leg curl machine and pushing backward from the floor, working the ass muscles… Great movement really, targets the glutes
4 standing one leg calf raises, 4 seated and 4 machine seated calf press, one side at a time, starting with left calf and ending with left calf. Grabbing that extra set on the left calf (slightly smaller calf)
One of the best feelings I have, is right after I have a great legs work out, it’s a good feeling knowing you have accomplished yet another growing intense leg workout; it makes the rest of the week easier
Time for a protein drink
I woke up having to go #2 more then usual, so I decided to weigh myself before and after… now that’s 1.2 pounds difference, wow!. So it’s safe to say… after a pound, you’re “full of it”!
Legs last night … on man, GONE today for sure! My legs are so toasted from my ass to my calves; I have this humming feeling running through legs and what a great feeling!
The damage all started with 7 sets of squats, climbing my way up to 365 for 8, ending at 315 for 12, then onto 5 sets of hacks, working my way up to 4 plates each side, to failure on each set.
From there;
4 set extensions, to failure
2 sets walking lunges, to failure
4 sets lying down one legged hamstring curls, to failure
2 sets seated leg curls (right quad started to spasm, had to move on)
4 sets of standing one legged curls, to failure
No stiff legs today.
4 sets on kneeing down behind the lying down leg curl machine and pushing backward from the floor, working the ass muscles… Great movement really, targets the glutes
4 standing one leg calf raises, 4 seated and 4 machine seated calf press, one side at a time, starting with left calf and ending with left calf. Grabbing that extra set on the left calf (slightly smaller calf)
One of the best feelings I have, is right after I have a great legs work out, it’s a good feeling knowing you have accomplished yet another growing intense leg workout; it makes the rest of the week easier
Time for a protein drink
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