Whats up guys, I’m new to posting but enjoy T-Nation community and all the articles. So I’ve been preparing for my first bodybuilding competition since the 14 week mark, and have been making good progress along the way. Although now I’m at the 8 week mark and not sure where I should be at, and for the first time, my bodyfat% did not go down (I do weekly measurements with omrons bodyfat anaylzer, I know its not the most accurate but i do feel its consistant).
I have not been cutting calories since the 14 week mark, maintaining around 3000 calories, but i have been adding and increasing cardio to where I am doing it 4x a week now. I’m not sure if i should cut calories now or just continue to add cardio. Preserving muscle mass is of course the main objective.
I have some pics of myself at 8 weeks out that i have attached to the thread as well as more pics in my profile.
I have been working in carb cycling the past week, with 1-2 high days and 2-3 low days and with a moderate day on the weekend to allow me to have somewhat of a life. I plan on adding an extra day of some SS cardio, so it would be three 25min SS cardio days and two 20 min HIIT sessions, and I plan on going a little lower then normal on my low carb days then i’m use to. I’ve always been cautious of low carbing (less then 50 grams a day) b/c I feel like I lose too much weight, and usually dont know where to get the other calories to compensate for the carbs I’d normally take. Which is why I like the idea of carb cycling. I love having the feeling of having a high carb day after 2 low days, and feeling my muscle fill up with glycogen lol. I just need to get a better feel for how high on my high days, and how low on my low days.
I respect this community and any feedback/advice would be appreciated.
I’m 6 ft 2 inches
weight currently 182.5lbs
bf% approx 7% (omron’s body fat analyzer)
pretty good metabolism.