THis is HOw we Do IT!

As the song goes...

We never have the opportunity to have someone video our workouts, never mind try doing it ourselves with out losing your focus and pump, except for today. I pulled my right quad pretty bad last Saturday and I was hoping to be ready today, but that is not the case. So I decide to seize the opportunity and video our workout

Started with Squats (my demise last week) 1 plate, 2 plate, 3 plate for two sets, back down to 2 plates for one more

Leg Press, 5 plates and then just keep adding 2 plates at a time until you cant fit anymore

Stiffs, 1 plate, 2 plate, 3 plate, 3 plate!

Extensions

Curls

Cows, as I like to call them

Pikes

Crunches

And that is the way we do it (today), or should I say, the way Alex did it!

Although there was a lot of muscle damage in the making of this video, no animals other then the one you see in the video, were harmed!

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2012 Masters Nationals

9th out of 30 in the over 40 heavyweights; What a big show! All the weight classes were big!

First they split us up into four groups; I was in the last one. We stepped out on stage and hit our poses and where then winged off onto the sides of the stage in four lines, two on each side. First call out was only four numbers and they ran through their poses; then they were dismissed and done. Then they called out the next six numbers and I was the 5th one called. I knew I was top 10 but I also knew I wasn't top five when the had me switch places with the guy on my left, who was on the end, after we hit a few poses. After prejudging, my family and I went out and I had beers, pulled pork, slaw... I didn't care how I would look for the night show, which was smoother.

I am very happy with this placement. Being in the top 10 for two years in a row, is something to be happy about. Of course, if I nailed my condition, regardless if I still took 9th I would be much happier. But I have grown in a lot of places and even though I didn't come in at my best, I've brought myself to a new level in size and condition and that whats it's really all about, growing and improving

I've grown a lot since my last show where I weighed 207. This time I stepped on the stage at 215 and I was pretty ripped at 2%, I could have been fuller which would have made me harder looking and even more lean. When you are properly carbed up and ripped, you look even more ripped.

The question I have is, why do I need to get fat and eat myself up to 240 to grow? Why can't I do that by just eating in excess? Why do I need to eat fat, when the carbs not used will turn to fat? Where does the fat go first? Into the muscle (where you want it)? or on the muscles where you don't?

I have no cravings at all, for any type of junk food, I would much rather over eat clean fat free foods. Don't get me wrong, when in Rome I will eat like the Romans. It's not that. I'm not dieting for a contest. I just don't care to eat junk food, I have no interest in it, even if it is in the house... and I have a 10 year old living in my house, so trust me, it's there if I wanted it!

I am a firm believer, if you are craving something fattening, like cakes, chips, cookies, pizza,  hamburgers, fries, peanut butter, you are not eating enough food. Yes I said peanut butter is junk food, and you can tell yourself what you want, you will not get abs to show off, if you eat peanut butter, its high in fat and low in protein, low quality too. I would not use it for a staple in my diet

220 under 5% bf

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Fill up the water balloons baby!

In less then two weeks I will take my second shot at the Masters Nationals. Last year, I took 7th out of 24 in the 40+ heavyweights. Last year, I stepped on stage at 207, which should have been 210, if it wasn't for a lesson learned the day before. Right now, I'm waking up at 213 and have 2% body fat and I'm in the best shape of my life thus far. I like saying that, because it's true. I've never been this big nor ripped this big, so that makes the statement stand true, right?

I started dieting 11 weeks out for this show and at that time I weight 224 with 8% body fat. I hadn't allowed myself to get too fat, so that I would be farther ahead near the end of the diet and that I would have to eat more food to stop from losing muscle, because of no longer having any body fat.

I got to that point a week ago.

I started dieting by eating 50 grams of carbs with each meal every 2.5 hours, that got me shredded in 7 weeks, oh and no fats by the way. My fat intake for an average day is 10 to 15 grams total.

What do you do when you have no more body fat?

You need to eat more food, because you don't have anything in reserve. Now I could just eat some fats and that would increase my calories, which is what I need to do, but I'd much rather eat more carbs and see how big I can get without smoothing out.

I woke up last week weighing 210, wrapped, and realized I was on the low end of my carb levels and need to increase them, having 3 weeks to go. So for the next day and a half, I ate 100 grams of carbs each meal and in 2 days I was waking up at 215, just at ripped. Since then, I have eaten 100 grams with two of my meals and that's holding me at 213.

You see where I'm going with this right?... Fill up the water balloons baby! Its time to grow! It's party time!

I'm going to slowly change out meals, adding more carbs and see where it takes me.

My sodium is just over a 1000mg and when I drop that to 300mg, I'll lose 1.5 pounds of subcutaneous water weight.

The plan is to see if I can eat myself up to 217 and dry out to 215... but even if I were to dry out at this weight here, 213, that works for me too

Not only is having no body fat and being in kick ass shape the best part of the dieting, now is when you really learn your body

Like I've always said, first you get ripped, then you grow!

Master Nationals July 21th!

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All within one years time

This past weekend was the 2012 Jay Cutler Classic and Alex took 3rd in the light heavy weight class out of 14 competitors.

Now that's a great accomplishment being only his 3 time ever competing, all in less then one years time. I was very happy with the package Alex brought to the stage, his condition was tight, his posing improved.

This was a BIG show, the Jay draws more competitors then the New England, because it's in the beginning of the year and more people start with this show to qualify for a national show later in the year. Placing third in this type of show is huge.

I told Alex, he can't be a light heavy weight anymore, 5'10" is to tall to come down to that weight, it makes him smaller then he has to be.

This next year Alex is planning on growing into a heavyweight, which I see him doing without any problem. He knows how to do it now and its just a matter of time.

here are a couple of shots from the show....

























More can be seen here ... http://pics.musculardevelopment.com/index.php?mode=browse&id=29434&eventcode=1531


Just as Alex's finishes his contest dieting, I start mine the following day (Monday) I won't change too much of what I do now, I eat pretty clean year round, expect I will be more controlled with my eating and not over eat or indulging into sugary snacks.

I'm not far away from my contest weight of 213 as I'm waking up now just over 220 and I'm siting under 7% body fat and just this first week, I feel I've lost another 1% of BF

I will most likely have to increase my calories, seeing I'm 11 weeks out from the Masters Nationals, and I'm probably 5 weeks out condition wise. Which is fine, I dont' mind eating more food.. right now I'm just over 3000 a day and I'm slowing losing weight, which I need to stop. At this time I don't want to lose weight too fast seeing I'm only 8 pounds out, but I need to let this first week go by before I make any adjustments to my calories

To be honest, I could step on stage bigger then 213, I am being conservative with that number. Last year I competed at the Master Nationals 210... well really 207, but that story was already told why, so I figured 3 pounds of muscles seems about right... But, by the way I look now and that fact I have some much time in front of me.. I might find myself shredded and still have weeks to go and if that's the case, all I can do it grow from there, which could put me above 213...

In any event, its really not about the weight, its about the condition and I'll weigh whatever I'll weigh, when I'm ready!

Stay tuned!

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T minus 7

Here it is seven days out from the 2012 Jay Cutler Classic where my boy, my training partner Mr. Alex "Styling" Stylien will be competing in his 3rd competition.

Last year Alex competed at the NPC New Hamphire where he won the light heavy weight class and a week later at the NPC New England, a national qualifying show, were he takes 3rd in light heavy weights, now that's a real nice first year!

This time around, Alex brings a different package, he's bigger harder, fuller and with the same condition he brought to the stage last year. His chest and back have both come up and his legs are thicker then ever.

Alex has been working on his compulsory and his poses are looking spot on, he looks great in everyone of them

Keep it all the same for the final week and tweak just a little, to get rid of subcutaneous water and he should be stepping on stage right at 198, dry, hard, ripped and the one to beat!

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Just checking in

Workouts are going real well, I really like the split we have going on right now. We just recently changed it to incorporate dead lifts back in again, to work the legs a second time for the week.

So we broke it down like this, Monday is back and triceps. I like this combination, because after training Back my arms feel warmed up from all that stretching and pulling and really helps minimize elbow pain, plus I like having blood in my bicep, when I'm training triceps.

Wednesday we dead lift and do shoulders and traps. (we train calves, forearms and abs every workout) Man, I got to tell you, after dead lifting and then training shoulder and traps, your whole body is pumped, I am really liking Wednesday's workouts. We start with regular dead lifts for 5 or 6 sets, then end with 3 sets of Sumo's and then 4 or 5 sets of legs curls and calves, before we hit shoulders and traps and forearms, the next few days I feel so thick.

Friday is chest and biceps, tried and true, it's always a nice combination and Saturdays is legs the ultimate favorite day.
Alex just past his five weeks out mark, sitting around 208. Next weekend he heads out on weeks vacation and when he returns, it will be three weeks out from the Jay Cutler and two weeks out from the NPC Vermont, which he just recently decided to jump into as a warm up to the Jay
Alex looks good, you can see the improvements from last year. Just in the way he holds his poses now, makes his physique look that much better and with the added muscle he put on from last year, he will be the one to beat
I will probably start dieting May. That will put me just around 11 weeks out. right now I am waking up around 225 and I am probably under 8% body fat. I think I'll be at my best this year around 213. Last year at the Masters nationals, I looked the best at 210, I figure 3 more pounds is about accurate to bring that same condition or better to the stage
Here are a couple recent pictures of Alex. This was taking this past Mondays after training back and tri's at the Arlington Gold's

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You just never know

I did a Google image search on my name Rob Costarelli,  just to see what pictures where out there of me, you just never know. There were ones that said "you" at the bottom of the picture and it wasn't me, but that is just technology in the making. The more we tell it to remember, the more it will try and do for us, even if we don't want it to. The more we tell it our lives, the more it will try to decide for us, but that's another topic, one that I care not to talk about. This is about finding cool pictures of yourself, that you didn't know about!

I found pictures from the 2011 Masters National, which I think are the best ones yet from that competition. I'm real happy to get my hands on these. My Facebook friends and fans can contest to that, with all my recent photo adds, I've been posting all over the place. Speaking of my AlwaysABodybuilder fan page, I happy to say I just broke over 500 Friday and it's 505 today.

Here are some cool ones from USAMuscle... The three with the black back drop where taken Friday night during weigh in and the one pumping up, was just before I went out on stage to compete in pre-judging Saturday

 

Training is going real well, my shoulder feels a lot better and I'm able to flat bench again. Alex it starting to look freaky again, being 9 weeks out from the Jay Cutler, he's right where he needs to be, he will kick some ass!  I have until April 15th before I start kicking it in gear. Right now I'm waking up at 226-228 and feeling pretty lean, which is how I like to run

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