Hi Everyone,
First off T-Nation is my #1 site for training information. Love the articles and alot of the feedback/comments from the members here are great (mostly).
So with that being said, I’m going to be preparing for bodybuilding contest (drug-tested) in about 6 months. I did a novice bodybuilding contest about 5 years ago and did fairly well. Due to family, work and regular life stuff, I was not able to continue to consistently train to continue competing. I never stopped working out, but it was infrequent and not consistent. Anyways, it is what it is. The past few months I’ve been able to be consistent and have decided to do another contest.
It’s a struggle for me to put good weight on, I’m 6’2" and when I competed 5 years ago at a novice level i weighed in at 173lbs (yes i know, very light :-\ ) The good thing is I can get lean, its just muscle mass I have problems keeping when i diet.
So the past few months I’ve been eating alot , and I’ve gotten up to roughly 210lbs (approx %15 bf), this is pretty heavy for me and I usually don’t like to carry that much bodyfat but i needed to gain weight. My biggest struggle is my lower body, due to knee pains its hard for me to keep a high volume of lower body without it really killing my knees. Theres no secret i need to get my thighs up and especially my calves. I’ve started doing calves everyday , 2x a day.
So thats a quick background on myself. Again, i think T-Nation has some of the most knowledgeable members in the training field. I read alot of posts and every article out. So i come here to look for feedback and suggestions during my the next 6 months as I prepare for amateur bodybuilding contest. I feel very heavy, soft and just not how i am use to, typically. So even with 6 months out. I am planning on starting to being smarter with my eating. I plan in May to start diet prepping which would give me about 4 months and a half (18 weeks).
I will have pictures posted of my current self (this weekend) and I know i need to put more weight on, I’m just worried I’m going to get too “fat” so I’m trying to walk a thin line of watching my carbs but still eating alot.
I consume around 3500-4000 calories a day. Roughly 400 grams of carbs or more. and about 275 grams of protein (under a 100 grams of fat). This has helped me put weight, but again, not “great” weight, as my bodyfat has gone up. At 6 months out, I’d like to hear what you all think as far as how soon should i start “dieting”. I drop weight fairly easily, which is good and bad. But I want to make sure I come in ready for the contest, so I’m thinking if should give myself 5 months to diet, and just one more month to try and add some weight.
I look forward to your comments/feedback/advice/suggestions. Thanks!
I’ll be posting pics soon.