Excerpt from my blog... (2-3 parts)
After having fun last year, well at least as much fun one can have when pushing their bodies with insanely strict diets, restricted water intake at times, and constant monitoring of the body. Not to mention keeping yourself in check mentally (staying out of depression is hard the first time losing so much mass... previous year I went from 225 to 192 and hated it and got extremely depressed because of it... this year I was prepared for the huge loss necessary and went from 242 down to 199, then 198, and a wk later 194... read on for more) and trying to maintain a semblance of a normal life (ie relationships).... despite all of that... I would say I had fun last year. Placed 3rd in Light Heavy's at the Tampa Classic and one show was enough last year. I then set forth a plan to do 3 shows in a row in 2006 to essentially kill 3 birds with one stone and actually use the expensive 75 dollar NPC card for more than one show. Three shows in a row would be a rare feat to accomplish or even attempt and while I failed to even come close this year I certainly learned alot. The following is a basic outline of the events, it is also an insight to those of you who have no idea what happens to the body and the mind and the soul as far as competitive bodybuilding goes. And so the rambling begins... Enjoy!
Bradenton:
I pushed my body's limits the final wk, so much so that I looked sharp on Thursday night. Very dry after limiting the water and sitting in the Sauna with Terry for an hour (thanks buddy I still owe you for keeping me aware and alive). I also pushed it so hard that when I arrived home to the apartment, I fell flat on my face writhing with both hamstrings cramping like crazy. It should be noted that I was pounding Calcium, Magnesium, Zinc, and Potassium so as to not cramp during the dehydration process. I think everything added up against me. The lack of sleep from work, the limited water, and what I thought was sufficient as far as the C,M,Z,P stacking and taking... I noticed later the next wk that I hadn't used enough... But we'll get into that further below when I talk about Tampa. Needless to say I missed a few Potassium doses here and there thus I was laying on the floor of the apartment crying like a little baby for 20-30 minutes while my hamstrings cramped to all hell, then my arms as I reached back and massaged them, then my face as I writhed in pain. You get the picture. Thankfully my girlfriend was insanely helpful during all of this, albeit a lil annoying here and there, but that could have been a culmination of carb depleting and the situation at hand. But I could not have asked for anybody to deal with me and help me as well as handle me as great as she did, then again I'd like to think I was as good for her during her show last year... But yeah I'm certainly glad she's resiliant in her own ways so as to bounce back from whatever mayhem my moods might cause. So to continue this monsterous story even further and either entertain or bore you more...
Thursday night, I begin carb loading but also sip massive amounts of water simply trying to feel better. How is this different than last year and why did I struggle with things so much this year you might ask? Well last year I came in "wet" as bodybuilding terms go. My legs were holding water and showed no separation. So I studied more, decided to change things, and it cost me my health for Bradenton. (Mentally it sucks to know that I came in better in my very first show than I did in my second... then again anytime you change just one thing it can all go to hell. Needless to say if you keep reading and you've seen all the pics from my first show, to the sloppy second, you'll see my finest conditioning in the third one) As for Bradenton, compared to the feeling I had last year in Tampa... I was miserable. You can take a man's food away and he'll get cranky, take his water away and it's a nightmare. (As I said above I learned what's best for myself and came in better at Tampa but I'm not done with Bradenton yet so let's continue...that is of course if you've even read this far) Needless to say while I push the limits and might be extreme to most of you, I am still realistic about chasing a trophy and trying to take care of my overall health and people around me a little bit. So, I gave in and drank water while starting to carb up. It should be noted that the carb depletion of Mon, Tues, Wed turned out fine even though my Mom tempted the crap out of me on that Memorial Monday with all the carbs in the world... Thus without really giving in to temptation I flattened out (another bodybuilding term about the appearance of muscles when depleted and not "full"... essentially looking smaller and not freakish :) ) So as I said, started carbing up Thursday afternoon, hit the sauna, and started dropping water. Which led to the aforementioned nightmare of cramps, and then the essential give in/baby out on diet... which led to a soft/wet/flat me. It should be noted I also went crazy with the food because I felt so crappy. To diet pretty hard and bust your ass on cardio for 12-14 wks and have it fall apart the final 2 days can really set one off. Little did I know that an entirely different class of athletes would be in Bradenton this yr compared to last.
If you go to a show... competitors have weigh ins on friday night. This allows the athlete to successfully dehydrate enough and be in the proper class and can allow sufficient time to truly load one's self with mad carbs and be popping heavier on stage than at the weigh ins. Needless to say with a full on carb up going on and a hunt for the heavyweight class rather than lightheavy... I stepped on the scale and was forced to make a decision. The cutoff is 198.25lbs I rang in at 199 (on the "always lighter digital scale" that they kindly provided) So I had a decision to make. Stay a Heavyweight or drop lbs and be a LightHeavy again. I looked around the room and decided I'd rather be at the top of my weight class than the bottom. I neglected to remember that weight is not always everything... muscle maturity, dryness, and detail will win out everytime. (Luckily for me symmetry is usually never a problem as I always train for symmetry year round) Needless to say that I would have been placed the same in either class after a review of pics and seeing everybody in person. A 4th or 5th was most suitable for the body I brought that day. Oh, I got ahead of myself. With Terry and Julia at weighins with me, and a friend Anna from the gym... I sought their opinions... Should I try to make weight? It was a rather quick decision and I had made my mind up a long time ago about always preferring to be at the top of a class rather than the bottom. So I headed to the bathroom looking for weight loss options in all the wrong places. Having to force yourself to puke is the worst thing imaginable when trying to carb up and also not ruin a physique/balances within a body. Not to mention it just isn't a healthy practice in general. I stayed in there until I had successfully grossed out all takers... myself included. Returned to weigh in and lost a whopping lb. The much needed one. And so... for the second year in a row I was a light heavy. I'm getting tired. That's enough reading for you guys for now. I will continue later. Hope you enjoyed this. There's at least one more big writing coming. Thank you all for your support. I hope this has been insightful and you've learned a little something. Good night. I'll see you in the next blog. Be sure to check back within the week and hopefully I will have written the rest. Thanks for the interest. PEACE.
Bradenton:
I pushed my body's limits the final wk, so much so that I looked sharp on Thursday night. Very dry after limiting the water and sitting in the Sauna with Terry for an hour (thanks buddy I still owe you for keeping me aware and alive). I also pushed it so hard that when I arrived home to the apartment, I fell flat on my face writhing with both hamstrings cramping like crazy. It should be noted that I was pounding Calcium, Magnesium, Zinc, and Potassium so as to not cramp during the dehydration process. I think everything added up against me. The lack of sleep from work, the limited water, and what I thought was sufficient as far as the C,M,Z,P stacking and taking... I noticed later the next wk that I hadn't used enough... But we'll get into that further below when I talk about Tampa. Needless to say I missed a few Potassium doses here and there thus I was laying on the floor of the apartment crying like a little baby for 20-30 minutes while my hamstrings cramped to all hell, then my arms as I reached back and massaged them, then my face as I writhed in pain. You get the picture. Thankfully my girlfriend was insanely helpful during all of this, albeit a lil annoying here and there, but that could have been a culmination of carb depleting and the situation at hand. But I could not have asked for anybody to deal with me and help me as well as handle me as great as she did, then again I'd like to think I was as good for her during her show last year... But yeah I'm certainly glad she's resiliant in her own ways so as to bounce back from whatever mayhem my moods might cause. So to continue this monsterous story even further and either entertain or bore you more...
Thursday night, I begin carb loading but also sip massive amounts of water simply trying to feel better. How is this different than last year and why did I struggle with things so much this year you might ask? Well last year I came in "wet" as bodybuilding terms go. My legs were holding water and showed no separation. So I studied more, decided to change things, and it cost me my health for Bradenton. (Mentally it sucks to know that I came in better in my very first show than I did in my second... then again anytime you change just one thing it can all go to hell. Needless to say if you keep reading and you've seen all the pics from my first show, to the sloppy second, you'll see my finest conditioning in the third one) As for Bradenton, compared to the feeling I had last year in Tampa... I was miserable. You can take a man's food away and he'll get cranky, take his water away and it's a nightmare. (As I said above I learned what's best for myself and came in better at Tampa but I'm not done with Bradenton yet so let's continue...that is of course if you've even read this far) Needless to say while I push the limits and might be extreme to most of you, I am still realistic about chasing a trophy and trying to take care of my overall health and people around me a little bit. So, I gave in and drank water while starting to carb up. It should be noted that the carb depletion of Mon, Tues, Wed turned out fine even though my Mom tempted the crap out of me on that Memorial Monday with all the carbs in the world... Thus without really giving in to temptation I flattened out (another bodybuilding term about the appearance of muscles when depleted and not "full"... essentially looking smaller and not freakish :) ) So as I said, started carbing up Thursday afternoon, hit the sauna, and started dropping water. Which led to the aforementioned nightmare of cramps, and then the essential give in/baby out on diet... which led to a soft/wet/flat me. It should be noted I also went crazy with the food because I felt so crappy. To diet pretty hard and bust your ass on cardio for 12-14 wks and have it fall apart the final 2 days can really set one off. Little did I know that an entirely different class of athletes would be in Bradenton this yr compared to last.
If you go to a show... competitors have weigh ins on friday night. This allows the athlete to successfully dehydrate enough and be in the proper class and can allow sufficient time to truly load one's self with mad carbs and be popping heavier on stage than at the weigh ins. Needless to say with a full on carb up going on and a hunt for the heavyweight class rather than lightheavy... I stepped on the scale and was forced to make a decision. The cutoff is 198.25lbs I rang in at 199 (on the "always lighter digital scale" that they kindly provided) So I had a decision to make. Stay a Heavyweight or drop lbs and be a LightHeavy again. I looked around the room and decided I'd rather be at the top of my weight class than the bottom. I neglected to remember that weight is not always everything... muscle maturity, dryness, and detail will win out everytime. (Luckily for me symmetry is usually never a problem as I always train for symmetry year round) Needless to say that I would have been placed the same in either class after a review of pics and seeing everybody in person. A 4th or 5th was most suitable for the body I brought that day. Oh, I got ahead of myself. With Terry and Julia at weighins with me, and a friend Anna from the gym... I sought their opinions... Should I try to make weight? It was a rather quick decision and I had made my mind up a long time ago about always preferring to be at the top of a class rather than the bottom. So I headed to the bathroom looking for weight loss options in all the wrong places. Having to force yourself to puke is the worst thing imaginable when trying to carb up and also not ruin a physique/balances within a body. Not to mention it just isn't a healthy practice in general. I stayed in there until I had successfully grossed out all takers... myself included. Returned to weigh in and lost a whopping lb. The much needed one. And so... for the second year in a row I was a light heavy. I'm getting tired. That's enough reading for you guys for now. I will continue later. Hope you enjoyed this. There's at least one more big writing coming. Thank you all for your support. I hope this has been insightful and you've learned a little something. Good night. I'll see you in the next blog. Be sure to check back within the week and hopefully I will have written the rest. Thanks for the interest. PEACE.