I’m getting ready for my first show in September, but I’m wondering if I’ve got enough time to lean out. I keep going back and forth and just don’t know how realistic it is. It’s just over 8 weeks out- I put myself right now between 11-12% bodyfat; Need to come in around at least 7% bodyfat. (I’ll be doing Men’s physique; Not bodybuilding) I have the option to do another show three weeks later in October, but my gf is doing this one in September as well and I really don’t want to do the October one. It’s not as big and I don’t want to take even more time off work + traveling=less money.
It’s a natural show, so I’m not going to be up against IFBB/NPC guys and based on what I’ve seen I’m thinking I’m going to be one of the biggest in physique. The pictures might be a little misleading, but I’m 6’2" 225 lbs right now. So I’ve definitely got some room to cut down, but I am concerned about getting smaller- especially at my height. I already think I don’t look all that big.
I can control my diet, eat clean and go very low-carb + get enough protein, so that’s not a concern of mine, however I am concerned about both undereating and overeating. I’ve always found those resting metabolic rate calculators to overestimate my caloric needs. It’s kind of been an ongoing process for me to figure out what works best for ME.
I have a food journal and keep track of all my macros- obviously each day is different between low-carbing, moderate carbs, and ‘re-feed’ days. I can post it if anybody actually cares. I’ve made a lot of progress over the last five weeks, so much so that I’m thinking at any time the progress is going to drastically slow down/stop and I’ll stall out. Eitherway, the lower the bf% the harder it’s going to get.
I have a lot of water weight to lose I know, and I’ll be detoxing/using water pills towards the end to get all the excess water out. I guess I’m just looking for some general input and whether or not anyone thinks it’s possible to finish in a placing other than dead last.
Thanks
Guess I can only upload one pic at a time
Here’s another:
Squatting about 350lbs, but yeah, legs are lagging pretty bad, lol.
Yes, I would think it’s realistic.
Just get the whole “I’m afraid of being smaller” thing out your head, makes cutting a lot harder.
Also, what was the progress you’ve made the past 5 weeks? Pics/weights etc.
You can accomplish a lot in 8 weeks, and considering that it’s physique and not BBing, you won’t really need the extra time for your upper legs to really lean out.
Torso looks solid, now just dig out the deep cuts.
S
[quote]RATTLEHEAD wrote:
Yes, I would think it’s realistic.
Just get the whole “I’m afraid of being smaller” thing out your head, makes cutting a lot harder.
Also, what was the progress you’ve made the past 5 weeks? Pics/weights etc.[/quote]
This was exactly one month ago (6/19/13)
Don’t remember my weight, bf% probably around 16%.
Lifting stats (now) are roughly:
Decline bench (don’t flat bench anymore due to previous injury): 350lbs
Squat: 350lbs
Deadlift: Probably around 455+lbs. Haven’t done them in about two months since they can be hard on my shoulders. I stick with stiff-legged deadlifts for the most part- working up to reps with 275lbs.
Overhead press: 210lbs
BB rows: 250
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
You can accomplish a lot in 8 weeks, and considering that it’s physique and not BBing, you won’t really need the extra time for your upper legs to really lean out.
Torso looks solid, now just dig out the deep cuts.
S[/quote]
Thanks. I think I’m just struggling with how to go about it more than anything. I was going to experiment with that high fat/lowcarb/moderate protein idea, but I’ve found that to be nearly impossible. The macro breakdown is supposed to be 65% fat, 10% carbs, 25% protein. I don’t know how you’re suppose to hit those macros unless you’re eating nothing but peanut butter and almonds. Yesterday was my last day of attempting that (gave it a shot for 4 days) and I’m going to go back to just low fat, low carbs, high protein. It ends up being something like 22/22/56. That seemed to work a lot better for me. I think I was getting too much fat though at first. It was usually around 90g/fat, 90g/carbs. I’ll probably tweak it for less fat and more carbs and adjust it daily according to my workout routine for the day.
If anyone has any suggestions for macro breakdown or anything that worked for them, I’d be willing to entertain that. As well as any tips to ‘get those deep cuts’. Felt pretty shitty waking up this morning because for the first time I thought I looked worse than I did the day before.
Thanks again.
[quote]Uncreative123 wrote:
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
You can accomplish a lot in 8 weeks, and considering that it’s physique and not BBing, you won’t really need the extra time for your upper legs to really lean out.
Torso looks solid, now just dig out the deep cuts.
S[/quote]
Thanks. I think I’m just struggling with how to go about it more than anything. I was going to experiment with that high fat/lowcarb/moderate protein idea, but I’ve found that to be nearly impossible. The macro breakdown is supposed to be 65% fat, 10% carbs, 25% protein. I don’t know how you’re suppose to hit those macros unless you’re eating nothing but peanut butter and almonds. Yesterday was my last day of attempting that (gave it a shot for 4 days) and I’m going to go back to just low fat, low carbs, high protein. It ends up being something like 22/22/56. That seemed to work a lot better for me. I think I was getting too much fat though at first. It was usually around 90g/fat, 90g/carbs. I’ll probably tweak it for less fat and more carbs and adjust it daily according to my workout routine for the day.
If anyone has any suggestions for macro breakdown or anything that worked for them, I’d be willing to entertain that. As well as any tips to ‘get those deep cuts’. Felt pretty shitty waking up this morning because for the first time I thought I looked worse than I did the day before.
Thanks again. [/quote]
I personally feel like a lot of people could get in contest condition eating more carbs than they do…I’d suggest figuring out the approximate calories you want to hit, start at 230 p, 70 f, and fill in the rest with carbs. Basically make sure you’ve got enough protein to maintain lbm, enough fats for optimal hormonal health and production, then the rest of your calories come from carbs. Keeping a lot of the carbs around/during your workout would be a good idea also
YOu have a LONG ass torso OP.
8 weeks could be tough, but doable. When I prep I do 16 weeks but it is a gradual cut down when it comes to carbohydrates and calories. You may want to take a more drastic approach to catch up. It might mean sacrificing slightly more muscle but it wouldn’t be anything that would be hard to gain back after the show.
I don’t know how your body responds to carbs so it would be foolish to give you an exact number. Regardless of whether you are able to get yourself in the best shape you can by showtime it will still be a great trial run to see what you think of competing in general.
