Looks like I’ll be sticking to my cool whip, cocoa nibs and peanuts. 
@Benanything this is about getting stage ready though. I won’t be anywhere near that. I played with the idea though.
Lol, if I meet my goal I’ll still be 25lbs from stage ready…
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Fine, I’m in. I’ll take before photos on January first.
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Yeah, maybe I should have worded the original posting better… We want anyone on board who is going to push themselves, and maybe get into the best shape of their life (or their best shape in years), or even stage ready condition. We just didnt want the “I want to lose 5-10 pounds” crowd all up in the mix.
Basically anything that makes you go “holy shit” at the before and after photos, no matter where you end up.
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Hey man, if I could just get someone to say “well, at least he doesn’t look like shit,” I’ll be happy.
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Well damn, even with the new wording, I still don’t stand a chance. Oh well, not the first time.
I’m stoked. I love having extra direction in training, and feeling like I’m floundering and lost in something new has a certain satisfaction to it.
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In like a pornstar’s IUD on fashion week.
I started early though–been cutting since June. Started at 200 lb 20+%bf, down to 178 and maybe 12-15% (Im 5’7). Goal is to get to 155 and “fuarking shredded” for the first time in my life. Recently switched from a barebones strength split to hypertrophy training and loving the results
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I think I’m going to regretfully withdraw from this competition. I have just enrolled in an evening course to continue my education. This will consume 2 evenings per week (Tues and Thurs 6-10pm) and every Saturday from February until mid-June while still maintaining my 40hr/week job. I’ll be dialing it back to a 3 day per week program.
While I still intend on dropping a few pounds in the new year, I know that I won’t be able to fully commit to getting as ‘peeled’ as I had hoped. I will still be following closely and absorbing as much information from others during this time but I feel like I now fall in the category of:
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Perhaps we can find ways to get you in amazing shape even with the constraints of your current situation. Sometimes those challenges can yield some very innovative solutions. I even think the V-Diet workout program is “only” 3 days a week, with an at home bodyweight workout on the weekends.
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I have you beat, I’ve been gaining weight since 1997!
… Because I’ve never cut, and that’s when I was born.
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This is encouraging, however, I also intend on competing in my first ever Strongman competition come spring and really don’t want to sacrifice much (any) strength if I can help it. The local competitions that I will likely be taking part in are not sanctioned and therefore do not have weight classes. That being said, I wouldn’t mind walking into a local comp shredded and placing middle of the pack if possible 
I did find a V-Diet 3.0 Program that does look interesting. It does incorporate the “big lifts” which should hopefully at least maintain strength. Let’s say I’m currently ‘on the fence’ whether to compete or not.
I planned to start the cut with a 5/2 diet (with all whole foods - limiting sugar and processed foods) then slowly reduce carbs/increase cardio throughout the cut as fat loss stalled. It’s a relatively simple approach, but the 5/2 diet has worked in the past and I usually do not have a difficult time losing fat (at least the first 10lbs).
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So, for various reasons, I started cutting three weeks ago which kind of eliminates any chance of me winning because I’m already down five pounds. But, I’m still in, will have an official pic on Jan 1, and an unofficial from where I started.
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I really don’t think anyone’ll mind if you just use your pic from when you started cutting
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Yeah, I really don’t have much of a chance anyway, so I doubt it really matters.
Who here uses an Airdyne bike? Is it worth it to spend more on the A6 or the pro? I am thinking about grabbing the cheapest Schwinn (The A2) and don’t really see a reason to buy the more expensive models.
I’m not gonna win so you can share your Airdyne secrets…
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This thread in the 5/3/1 forum last year talked about the Airdyne. Long story short, Wendler prefers the AD5 but several guys there were happy with the AD2.
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Nice, thanks Chris