4-Weeks out

Very informative read, MDE.

Last summer, my primary post workout meals were dextrose & whey (back then I worked out 2x/day, too), but as you said, it's a diabetes primer if ever there was one.

I'm basically done with my cut for this year, as I like myself at this size (can fill out a t-shirt and still have abs for da beach, and still gain strength), but next year, I may try your suggestions of carb loading with corn flakes/white and rye breads, and those pudding concoctions.

I'm also tempted, having read the studies, to replace my 6 small meals with 3 or 4 larger ones. Old habits die hard, tho, and I have to be in the right place mentally to effect such a change.

....and, btw, my toilet already hates me!
laugh.gif
 
Small note:pudding concoction=something you make by yourself from protein powder/MRP powder/mass powder whatever, by simply adding less liquid(be it milk or water or whatever) and thus getting more of a paste rather than something with the consistency of a shake. For example, i mix casein with diet Coke and get something like a pudding(casein is good because it clots happily), which is more pleasing to have because it at least gives you the impression you`re eating something:)
 
How's the cut going MDE? You must be about done. All the best for your show.
cool.gif
 
This Monday it is. I`m involved in the very technical process of clearing out the water and the gut...which equates to drinking some lame woman diet tea(the significant other had something of the sort, it seems to be an efficient diuretic:) ), drinking some white wine and popping some herbal laxative something. And getting some sun-time, as there`s not much else to do in the last few days, other than eating than doing the above, posing practice and time-wasting in the sun to get a proper tan.

I`ll have some pictures for you guys from the prejudging probably. And thanks a lot for your wishes, that`s very kind of you:)
 
Thanks. I got 4th place out of 9 competitors, in the up to 90 category(first time I competed this high). The first two guys were in a different league alltogether(older, constant competitors, unlike yours truly who after two years decided to do it again), and the third guy was better. The ones that came after me were rather meh, so it`s not like I achieved some major thing. I held a bit too much water(mental-note for future carb loads).

Overall, I`d say it was OK, mostly because it allowed me to determine where I`m at and where I need to go from now on. I`ll definitely keep on competing(I`ve missed this particular aspect, I didn`t realize it until now), but before going on stage next I`ll have to work on my overall thickness and certainly add a fair ammount of mass. The fact that I`m fairly tall and I have a longish torso forces me to do this. For the next 2-3 weeks I`ll go through a maintenance phase, in order to stabilize at about 7-8 %BF, after which I`ll embark on a thickening cycle(just because everybody else says bulking). That one I`ll probably log, as I haven't been on a proper bulking cycle in ages, so input would be most appreciated. Also, through a stroke of luck, I`ll have the chance of being consulted by Lyle on this(well, actually, he`s a very nice guy and he`s helped me with the prep and has accepted to continue lending me a hand).

So that`s that. I`m hoping I`ll get some pictures from the night-show, as the only ones I have were taken before the prejudging in a hallway and they`re fairly crap. If I get those I`ll post a few.

Again, thanks to you guys for encouragement and support.
 
A big congrats MDE!

Apart from a bit of surplus water retention, I'm interested in knowing what you have learnt most from your contest prep this time around (if it's not too vague a question)? What will you do differently next time around?

Looking forward to comparing your four weeks out pics to the contest day shots.
 
Great job, MDE...I know I sure don't have it in me to take the final plunge to get down that low on the bf meter. Dittos to lol's question, and I look forward to your bulking log
smile.gif
 
You wouldn`t believe me if I told you I`m waiting for the same thing...the ones from the prejudge are horridly washed-out...anyway, we`ll see.

What I think I did wrong this turn was probably overestimating where I`d be all cut-up. As I said, I`m fairly tall, and that rather forces me to have a lot of meat on my frame. Even though I competed at a higher weight-class, I feel that I was too light to actually make the older boys sweat. Since I always want to win if I`m involved in something competitive that I care about, seeing that the guys that ended up in front were clearly out of reach was annoying, but oh, well. It may not seem like a biggie, but the water retention was probably the biggest screw-up in the entire cycle. I have a nasty habit of holding water right around the waistline, it goes there gleefully. The crap thing is that achieving balance is quite fidgety:at the end of the low-carb low-cal period, I`m very dry, very proper, but too flat...after I start carbing-up, it goes smoothly and at some point, if i push it too hard/am not really careful, wham, I get water-under the skin. In hind-sight, it would certainly have been better to limit the carbs to the minimum possible in order to achieve some degree of fullness, and eventually screw around directly before the pre-judging. Hind-sight is nice like that, but it`s fairly useless:D.

Another thing that I`ve determined is that I'm better suited for handling longer diet cycles:like the 14-day UD2 variant, or the 11-12 day PSMF in the Rapid Fat Loss Handbook. If I do per-week carb-ups/refeeds I get less than optimal results, and since I seem to hang-on to muscle without much issue, it`s probably the adequate path for me.

I`ll also probably try that trick with cardio that Bryan mentioned in one of his Thinkmuscle articles, where you actually begin ramping up cardio and upping calories a bit in order to maintain weight before the cut. I keep doing cardio even when eating hypercalorically,so that shouldn`t be a problem:). Those are off the top of my head, as I analyze my notes, move forward, and most likely as I`ll enter another prep cycle in the future I`ll see other flaws and mishandlings.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top