Hello people,
So im looking to compete in May in the physique division. Im currently sitting at 83kg around 11% BF. My bulk ended at 84 - 85kg around 13% BF, I am now cutting. I do not want to cut back on my carbs during my cut as this does not work for me, it strips away all my muscle.
So below is my diet, I wanted to know if my post workout CHANGE is sufficient.
8am: Oats and Whey isolate shake (60g carbs/35g protein)
10.30am: Banana and whey shake, green tea
1pm: 120g rice and chicken or pasta and salmon
4.30pm: THIS IS WHERE I NEED ADVICE
Usually I will train here after eating a banana, but I am thinking of eating my post workout meal here before training and changing my training time to 6pm. Post workout meal is the same as 1pm meal. So instead, post workout I will have an oats and whey shake instead of a meal.
The reason why I am considering this is, I feel I am eating my meal too late which is impacting my ability to wakeup at 5am for my morning cardio.
So my question is, is an oats and whey shake (maybe with some dextrose) sufficient post-workout instead of a heavy meal (which is moved 1.5hours preworkout)?
SB
Are you sure cutting carbs âstripsâ away your muscle? Or do you just get flat and think it does? Are you assisted or doing this natural?
I always found that having a better pre-workout meal (high in carbs, and sufficient in prot) helped me train hard. Then, usually an hour or so after, I would have a smaller meal, then maybe a shake or something else small before bed.
This helped me as I get up at 5am as well, and usually train around 5pm or so, so feeling like I needed to have a serious amount of food in the few hours before I went to bed just didnât work.
S
[quote]eatliftsleep wrote:
Are you sure cutting carbs âstripsâ away your muscle? Or do you just get flat and think it does? Are you assisted or doing this natural?[/quote]
It sure does. I did a cut last year this time and dropped to ~7% BF shredded, and it was on high carbs. However I did not have enough muscle to start with so this time im much heavier.
Yes I am natural.
SB
Ok gotcha well i would just do what you did before right?
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
I always found that having a better pre-workout meal (high in carbs, and sufficient in prot) helped me train hard. Then, usually an hour or so after, I would have a smaller meal, then maybe a shake or something else small before bed.
This helped me as I get up at 5am as well, and usually train around 5pm or so, so feeling like I needed to have a serious amount of food in the few hours before I went to bed just didnât work.
S[/quote]
Thanks for the response Stu. Ah your schedule as far as I can see, seems the same as mine. That has helped me, so you think the oats and whey shake is sufficient post-workout?
I usually have a big glass of hot milk with organic cacao before bed too. Thought Iâd include that in there.
SB
[quote]eatliftsleep wrote:
Ok gotcha well i would just do what you did before right? [/quote]
Diet - wise I am doing the same, however last year I was not working so my eating times were much more flexible. So I did my fasted cardio later than 5am, but now that I am working 8 - 4pm its a little tighter. I need to have a light meal post-workout as I aim to sleep by 9.30-10pm and having it post-workout around 8pm is just not long enough for it to digest.
SB
[quote]Singhbuilder wrote:
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
I always found that having a better pre-workout meal (high in carbs, and sufficient in prot) helped me train hard. Then, usually an hour or so after, I would have a smaller meal, then maybe a shake or something else small before bed.
This helped me as I get up at 5am as well, and usually train around 5pm or so, so feeling like I needed to have a serious amount of food in the few hours before I went to bed just didnât work.
S[/quote]
Thanks for the response Stu. Ah your schedule as far as I can see, seems the same as mine. That has helped me, so you think the oats and whey shake is sufficient post-workout?
I usually have a big glass of hot milk with organic cacao before bed too. Thought Iâd include that in there.
SB[/quote]
Sounds like a bunch of sugar before bed which i wouldnt do. But thats just me.
[quote]Singhbuilder wrote:
Thanks for the response Stu. Ah your schedule as far as I can see, seems the same as mine. That has helped me, so you think the oats and whey shake is sufficient post-workout?
I usually have a big glass of hot milk with organic cacao before bed too. Thought Iâd include that in there.
SB[/quote]
Yeah, youâre fine. Some trainers used to freak out about their âpost workout windowâ and would knock people over racing home because heaven forbid they ate something 21 minutes after their last set instead of under 20 like they had read in FLex magazine-lol.
Yes, we all know that post training your body can uptake nutrients at an accelerated pace, BUT, unless youâre already so glycogen depleted (possibly several days without any carbs), itâs not going to really have as much of an effect on your day to day performance so long as youâre already hitting your daily numbers with other feedings.
S
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
[quote]Singhbuilder wrote:
Thanks for the response Stu. Ah your schedule as far as I can see, seems the same as mine. That has helped me, so you think the oats and whey shake is sufficient post-workout?
I usually have a big glass of hot milk with organic cacao before bed too. Thought Iâd include that in there.
SB[/quote]
Yeah, youâre fine. Some trainers used to freak out about their âpost workout windowâ and would knock people over racing home because heaven forbid they ate something 21 minutes after their last set instead of under 20 like they had read in FLex magazine-lol.
Yes, we all know that post training your body can uptake nutrients at an accelerated pace, BUT, unless youâre already so glycogen depleted (possibly several days without any carbs), itâs not going to really have as much of an effect on your day to day performance so long as youâre already hitting your daily numbers with other feedings.
S[/quote]
Great info thanks!
Do you notice a difference in the ease of waking up after having a light meal pre-bed compared to the full blown post-workout meal?
Its just hard to get into the routine of morning cardio as I have been up at that time for a while.
SB
[quote]eatliftsleep wrote:
Sounds like a bunch of sugar before bed which i wouldnt do. But thats just me.
[/quote]
Ah I might cut it out then. Thanks.
SB
So just an update,
The change in meal timings is going well so far. I am able to get up fairly easily at 5am for my cardio. I am 8.5 weeks out (8 weeks from this coming sunday). I was originally doing 20 minutes fasted cardio but I feel I am carrying slightly too much fat so I have bumped that up to 30mins every morning. I will get a picture up later. I will be competing in the physique division so a leg pic is not necessary. I have not started practising posing, can anyone recommend a posing routine?
Do you do it everyday? For how long?
Thanks!
SB
I have actual posing class once a week but you cant really practice too much. I like to practice between sets sometimes too. i would recommend hiring someone who knows what their doing. Im assuming physique posing matters just as much as it does for bodybuilding except legs obviously.
I know the pictures arnt great but thatâs all I have at the moment. I think I will assess next week if I need to bump up the cardio even more.
SB
1 Like
[quote]eatliftsleep wrote:
I have actual posing class once a week but you cant really practice too much. I like to practice between sets sometimes too. i would recommend hiring someone who knows what their doing. Im assuming physique posing matters just as much as it does for bodybuilding except legs obviously.[/quote]
Ok thanks ELS. I have someone that can is an ifbb pro so will look into getting sessions.
SB
Once you learn how best to present each pose, itâs a matter of being able to hold them and make it appear effortless. THat means frequent practice. I used to run through my quarter turns and mandatories every night before bed in front of a full length mirror. Just keep in mind that thereâs no mirror onstage, so you need to pay careful attention to the âfeelâ when it looks like youâre doing everything correctly.
And yeah, an experienced competitor (a good one) can be very helpful indeed.
S
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
Once you learn how best to present each pose, itâs a matter of being able to hold them and make it appear effortless. THat means frequent practice. I used to run through my quarter turns and mandatories every night before bed in front of a full length mirror. Just keep in mind that thereâs no mirror onstage, so you need to pay careful attention to the âfeelâ when it looks like youâre doing everything correctly.
And yeah, an experienced competitor (a good one) can be very helpful indeed.
S[/quote]
Yes! Definitely practice holding your poses so when you get on stage it will feel easy. Posing can be a workout in itself.
Thanks for the replies guys. Even though it may seem common sense, I actually never thought about the mirror subject. Now that I think about it, I definitely need to get a feel for the poses when I start.
Any comments on the amount of cardio I am doing in regards to my BF% in the pictures?
SB
Im not sure how easily you are able to get lean but for me personally it seems like my body holds onto weight pretty easily which i dont consider a bad thing. But just for reference im doing 1hr fasted cardio now every day Upon waking. Yeah it sucks but id rather be ahead of schedule than behind. If i were you i would look into some HIIT training. Ive always understood that to be more effective but shelby says do steady state fasted so thats what i do.
Oh yeah and im about 7 weeks out. Forgot that part.
Thanks for the input ELS. Iâm currently sticking to the 30mins and also my training has changed too. Still going heavy but supersetting everything. Carbs are at 300g from oats, sweet potatoes and white rice.
SB
