16 Weeks Out from First Show


Competing for just the second time (first time was late 2012) … first show is around 16 weeks away … Not sure what BF% currently is but I’m a quite a lot leaner at this stage than I was 16 weeks out from my first time competing … My prep coach (who competes himself) loves to get his competitors ready nice and early via a long prep of around 6 months…

To state the bleeding obvious, I’m a natural … Have been a ‘gym goer’ since my early 20s (I’m 36) but only started training & eating properly around 2012 (boy I wish I’d started much sooner) … Like most folks on this board, I juggle this stuff with all the usual life things - career, family ect so competing is purely a ‘me against me’ thing … I’m realistic enough to know I won’t be anywhere near winning anything, but it’s the personal journey, the inner battle, the grind that’s the driver for me…And of course, being that little bit better than I was last time… Also really looking forward to doing a proper ‘reverse diet’ at the end of this as last time around I had the misguided belief that jumping straight into a huge calorie surplus immediately after a show the show would equate to slabs of fat free muscle!

So anyway, my macros from the beginning of this ‘cut’ right through to now have been 200c / 220p / 50f … no designated refeed days (hoping my coach might come to the party on this soon!) but there’s been plenty of cheating, especially around Christmas. I’ve been following flexible dieting principles so really nothing within reason has been off the menu anyway - just as long as I hit my numbers.

Cardio has gradually increased from two 30min interval sessions a week on the eliptical to five (two HIT and three steady state) … Training wise, it’s been a bit of a mix - hitting bodyparts twice a week generally, particularly legs and back which have needed improvement (still do) …

Anyway, here we are …

most muscular …


side tri …

lats …

abs …


RDB …

I’d gladly take your upper body. Side tri looks really good in my amateur opinion. What weight class are competing in?

Wheels are holding your physique back though.

[quote]usmccds423 wrote:
Wheels are holding your physique back though. [/quote]

quads are good, hamstrings need a little work

love seeing new competition threads pop up. I’ll be following.

[quote]Yogi wrote:

[quote]usmccds423 wrote:
Wheels are holding your physique back though. [/quote]

quads are good, hamstrings need a little work[/quote]

Calves as well.

Looking good dude, as others said legs are a bit weak but when lean I think your quads will look pretty sick.

Why did you blur your face in some, but not in others? just curious lol

Everything is looking pretty sharp for 16 weeks out. I think that if you posed your legs a bit better (esp. from the back) then the entirety of your physique would look better overall. What show(s) did you have in mind? Who coaches you too btw?

Thanks for the feedback fellas, always good to hear it from folks who are informed and can point out where your weaknesses are …

Yeah legs are obviously an obvious area of improvement … they’re a bit behind everything else because I’ve really only been training them for the past couple of years … Now they’re my favourite muscles to train mainly because they’re such a big challenge… Unfortunately I can’t blast away with (back) squats because for some reason my hips just get agonisingly sore after a few weeks of them …

It’s strange because front squats are no issue whatsoever … So front squats, bulgarian split squats, leg press and hack squats are my quad moves and deadlifts, stiff leg deads & glute ham raises I do for hamstrings. It’s just a matter of time, effort, frequency & consistency with for me with legs to bring them up to scratch …

@usmccds423, my weight is currently 78kg (171.5lb) (It was about 87kg (192lb) when I started the prep around 14 weeks ago) … For one of the competitions it looks like I’ll be in the U80kg category and in the other comp there’s an U77kg and an U72kg so I’ll be trying to squeeze into the U72kg if possible…

@Spidey, looks like one pic slipped through the net there ! main reason I chose to blur them was in case any guys from my local area are on this site - just felt a bit awkward.

@anthonykim421, yeah plenty of work needed on posing - my coach is running some sessions between now and the competitions with all of his competitors so that should iron out the mistakes … The shows I’ll be doing are in Australia - INBA & ANB (two natural federations)
but despite that I know there’ll be plenty of guys at those shows who ‘use’ …

Have nothing to add that hasn’t already been said, but even if all of your pics were successfully blurred your face is still completely visible in your avatar…

[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:
Have nothing to add that hasn’t already been said, but even if all of your pics were successfully blurred your face is still completely visible in your avatar…[/quote]

lmao epic fail

when you pose, try pushing your hamstring onto your other leg to make it hang more, but I agree with everyone else in that legs need some work, other than that you look lean for 16 weeks so that should be no problem at all.

[quote]Ghost_Panther wrote:
Thanks for the feedback fellas, always good to hear it from folks who are informed and can point out where your weaknesses are …

Yeah legs are obviously an obvious area of improvement … they’re a bit behind everything else because I’ve really only been training them for the past couple of years … Now they’re my favourite muscles to train mainly because they’re such a big challenge… Unfortunately I can’t blast away with (back) squats because for some reason my hips just get agonisingly sore after a few weeks of them …

[/quote]

Are you a runner? What type of cardio do you engage in and how much?

What do your leg workouts look like?

[/quote]
Are you a runner? What type of cardio do you engage in and how much?

What do your leg workouts look like?[/quote]

certainly not a runner now, although I did a lot through my late teens and 20’s …

I train legs twice a week, unfortunately regular squats are out for me … I’ve tried over and again through the last few years to re-introduce them but they always leave me crippled with the wrong kind of pain and a regular at the osteopath within a few weeks… Once this comp run is done and dusted and I have more time I might try to find out if there are any fixable structural issues that can be overcome to allow me to squat…

So anyway up until a couple of months ago I was doing a quad session and a hammy session later in the week, but have recently changed to the following:

Deadlifts
Bulgarian split squats
Leg press
Stiff leg deadlifts
Glute ham raises
seated hamstring curls (optional)

I basically do this in both sessions, 3 to 4 sets of 6-8 early in the week and 3 to 4 sets of 8-10 in the second session … As I’ve gotten leaner I’ve found I just have to manage the volume a bit depending on how I’m feeling and how sore I am from the previous leg session…

12 weeks out now … tightening up a little

Side tri …