Must Win, No Other Option

you posted 3 pictures of the exact same pose.

i didn’t like that to much.

show us your back and legs, and maybe your ass

Other thing that you wanna consider and should know is that you have to be conscious of what you’re eating, unless you’re a genetic freak who can gain off eating whatever he wants, which is not the case.

If you intend to do drugs to get those goals that’s not the option, diet has to be in place before you even think about it. I’ll assume that you’ll make that natural;

You have 15 weeks, let’s say that you could cut in 8-10 weeks from the condition you are now, probably more. You plan to add 20lbs of lean mass in 5 weeks?

[quote]MEYMZ wrote:
Other thing that you wanna consider and should know is that you have to be conscious of what you’re eating, unless you’re a genetic freak who can gain off eating whatever he wants, which is not the case.

If you intend to do drugs to get those goals that’s not the option, diet has to be in place before you even think about it. I’ll assume that you’ll make that natural;

You have 15 weeks, let’s say that you could cut in 8-10 weeks from the condition you are now, probably more. You plan to add 20lbs of lean mass in 5 weeks?[/quote]

Even if the OP managed to get all that muscle on, most of it will melt off fast when he goes into the rapid cut he’s planning. That amount of muscle needs time to “settle”, so to speak.

Dude I think you should wait another year or two. What is the hurry? Why try and sneak a win, when you can train hard and eat hard for a year or more and then come back and crush the novice div.

Agreed - totally unrealistic.

You have a good base - plan to do the show next year(meaning summer of 2010), then your plan sounds much more realistic.

I can see that you’re lean already, but these guys are all right - trying to get 20 pounds of new muscle in just a few months sans juice is not realistic, nor is a rapid cut afterward…

I know you can never compare two individuals b/c of all the differences, but let me just say that when I started my diet, I was 205, and not fat either (you could see my abs a hell of lot clearer than you can see yours in the pics you posted, and I also had a lot more muscle mass).

Anyway, losing 1lb a week (of what I believe is 90% pure fat), and I’m now sitting at about 176 lbs 5 weeks out from my show. I don’t think you truly realize how low you bodyfat needs to be, nor do you have any concept of what percentage you are right now. Not a dig, but most guys who are “in shape” by everyday standards tend to underestimate their percentage. Yes, you have a vein or two in your biceps, but that’s a genetic thing, not always a bodyfat thing.

I’d certainly love to watch you log your progress and do well in a show, but being towards the end of my own show prep, I have to agree that you’re being a little unrealistic, not intentionally, you just don’t realize it because it’s your first time. Again, check my profile pics if you want, I’m only about 5’8/5’9, and I STARTED CUTTING at a very solid 205 (I’ve been as large as 220). You’re 6’ and 210, and (without sounding like a jerk) not nearly as thickly muscled.

S

It’s not happening, novice or not. Unless you want to compete just for the experience, and not for any realistic chance of winning, though, more power to you.

[quote]jerm wrote:
I feel where you guys are comin from but to clarify a few things here, I just want to win the Novice division not the whole show, so that makes a pretty big difference in what kind of size were lookin for here. The Novice division I believe is for first timers. My buddy won the teen division last year and plans to compete in Juniors and the Men’s Open, he’s 6’2 250 and a complete beast.

Last year I honestly didn’t see anyone in the Novice division that was that beastly. I think with 20 more lbs I can definitely win the Novice division, in my mind its just a matter of gettin those 20 more lbs. [/quote]

What if a person who actually waited until they had some decent size to compete shows up?

Just because you will be in the novice division doesn’t mean you get a free pass out of paying your dues before winning anything.

You look fine by normal person standards, but you aren’t going to impress anyone at an NPC show.

You want to gain 20-30 lbs of MUSCLE and then have time to diet down to meet the standards at that sort of show? And you have 3 months to do this? Either you are going to go in small and lean, or slightly larger and not very lean.

To me it sounds like you are willing to half ass it in order to just say you have competed. I would bump that date back to 2011 or so and take some time to get big enough to actually be noticed once you get lean.

[quote]Aragorn wrote:
jerm wrote:
I appreciate the opinion but I’m pretty sure it can be done. I mean I’m not sittin at 15% BF by any means, I don’t need 6 months to lean down and lose water. I just need to lose a few % points. I think it can be done and I plan to prove it can be done.

I’m sorry, but unless you’re going to juice, it can’t. Mighty Stu is a natural competitor, keeps himself mostly lean, and he started his cut about 7 weeks out, but he’d already been lightly dieting for another 2 or so. Typical pre-contest diet time is about 12 weeks, with 8-10 being on the short end. You have no idea how lean a true stage ready physique is.

1 month is nothing.

Not trying to discourage you, because you have a good base, but you need to either come in lighter but in good condition and start your diet 7-8 weeks out, or you need to skip the contest and gain 30 lbs, then cut for another one.

Unless you’re going to juice. Then you could probably add some, but not all, the weight by mid May/June and do a halfway decent cut in the last 6 weeks.[/quote]

I kind of get the impression that he has never used AAS before, that he plans to do so for this show, and thinks he will be a monster afterwards that will sweep the competition.

Even with AAS I don’t see this plan working.

Why are you rushing this? I just don’t understand. I’m a pretty big fella myself, 19, the same as you, and I still don’t feel ready to compete. I don’t want to “maybe” win a show, I want to be the biggest mother fucker there and leave no doubt in the judges mind.

I think you need to get your mental approach in check as well, you can’t just wing it and expect to win anything.

I here agree with the majority, unless you are on the winning steroids this quantity of then following mass a system of return down below in the competition forms all in three months is not feasible just really. Do the spectacle next year rather and you will have a good quantity of mass and will win easily.

[quote]jerm wrote:
I feel where you guys are comin from but to clarify a few things here, I just want to win the Novice division not the whole show, so that makes a pretty big difference in what kind of size were lookin for here. [/quote]

I’m entering the Novice division of my show, and I certainly don’t expect to win. It’s good to be realistic there! -lol.

S

I appreciate the insight, I think alot of it is pretty valid. The only way to find out is to work hard for the next bit and see. I think more than the leanness thing is that I really need about 20 more lbs of mass. I’ll keep you guys updated with pics, hopefully I can make this happen.

Oh, and Stu, all I know is from my experience and the one bodybuilding show I’ve ever been to in my life, which was last summer, the NPC Georgia and honestly the Novices weren’t all that. I’d say you could probably hold your own and probably win a Novice division no problem.

Look, I’ll follow your prep if you log it, and definitely offer any advice I can, I just want to say that this may turn out a little different than you’d ultimately like it to. I’ve got buddies saying that I’m gonna walk all over this thing, but my reply is that I’d love just to place in the top 5. Even if I don’t, knowing I did everything I could prep wise, and put on a good showing is damn respectable. Then I’ll take advantage of the rebound effect, and put on some serious meat! -lol

S

For sure man, I appreciate the advice, especially from someone who is walkin the walk, as you and I both know there are alot of phantom opinions from people on here who don’t have any physique to back up what they say. And yeah, looking at it now, I might really need a good bit more time to put on the mass I need to hold my own at a show, but what the hell, i’m gonna keep movin foward and see what happens in the next few months.

[quote]jerm wrote:
“I appreciate the insight” is what I’m saying, but really, I’m going to ignore everything I just heard.
[/quote]

Well, at least you’re being honest about it!

:slight_smile:

Just kidding. Best of luck, regardless of when you choose to compete.

[quote]jerm wrote:
For sure man, I appreciate the advice, especially from someone who is walkin the walk, as you and I both know there are alot of phantom opinions from people on here who don’t have any physique to back up what they say. And yeah, looking at it now, I might really need a good bit more time to put on the mass I need to hold my own at a show, but what the hell, i’m gonna keep movin foward and see what happens in the next few months.[/quote]

Are you practicing avatar discrimination in this thread?!

Completely. There are way too many know it alls on the T-Nation. How many are actually competitive bodybuilders or powerlifters? You can probably count em on one hand around here. Lets see some guys start showing a pic or two to go with all this knowledge, haha, yeah exactly most of these cats cant do that.

They will however be the first to tell what is and isn’t possible and how your training and diet is soo flawed, cause they read and article by some guru that said so. My ears are open to the cats with the photos and the experience to match the advice however. I’m not gonna listen to faceless, 165lb cats however, so keep it at home unless you got the beef to back it up please…

[quote]jerm wrote:
Completely. There are way too many know it alls on the T-Nation. How many are actually competitive bodybuilders or powerlifters? You can probably count em on one hand around here. Lets see some guys start showing a pic or two to go with all this knowledge, haha, yeah exactly most of these cats cant do that. They will however be the first to tell what is and isn’t possible and how your training and diet is soo flawed, cause they read and article by some guru that said so. My ears are open to the cats with the photos and the experience to match the advice however. I’m not gonna listen to faceless, 165lb cats however, so keep it at home unless you got the beef to back it up please…[/quote]

You seem to be losing the plot here, youngster. Quit ranting and read the advice on this thread again.

you “must win”? why, is your family being held hostage by Arnold?

Like others said, sounds like you’re rushing it, when you don’t really need to. Are there any other shows coming up that would give you a little more time?

Why do you want to compete so soon? Just wondering.

BTW- your input on my log was noted, I need to push myself more. But, at the same time I feel that sometimes when I do my form suffers and I’d rather not just be looking to increase weight if I can’t do it properly.