Progress/Results Post from my 2nd Place Victory in the 2014 INBF South Western Natural Championships

[paparazi257]

tl;dr got 2nd place in the men’s open middleweight bodybuilding division of my first bodybuilding competition the INBF South Western Natural Championships held in Austin, TX on July 26.

Preliminary Round (I’m #34 in maroon trunks) - http://flexphotos.zenfolio.com/p540062946

Finals (#32 in red trunks got 1st and won Overall) - http://flexphotos.zenfolio.com/p671167151

Preliminary Round Album -

https://imgur.com/a/dw0Js

Finals Album -

https://imgur.com/a/eTqiu

Competition Stats: 27 years old, 6'1", 175 lb, body fat 7.9% (Measured by DXA week of show though felt like should be lower)

Before 5 month Cut: 195 lb, body fat 12.9%

Measurements (taken Monday morning peak week)

Arms: 15", Chest: 42.75", Waist: 29.5", Thighs: 23", Calves: 14.5"

Before cut - Arms: 15.25", Chest: 43.5", Waist: 31", Thighs: 24.25", Calves: 15.5"

Poses:

Front Relaxed -

https://imgur.com/KqgD9v4

Side Relaxed (right) -

https://imgur.com/5eVZ5j0

Rear Relaxed -

https://imgur.com/pbfRaZV

Side Relaxed (left) - http://imgur.com/mCTlaZp

Front Double Bicep - http://imgur.com/fNNuUZd

Front Lat Spread - http://imgur.com/yYc0Pu5

Side Chest (right) - http://imgur.com/TsxQMJs

Side Tricep (right) - http://imgur.com/g4XKiLA

Rear Lat Spread - http://imgur.com/cPUQaTL

Back Double Bicep - http://imgur.com/cFjqYdk

Side Chest (left) - http://imgur.com/1TwBpWM

Side Tricep (left) - http://imgur.com/LG1JoxZ

Most Muscular - http://imgur.com/R53lO9s

Abdominal and Thigh - http://imgur.com/K2YlOrc

Serratus Pose (right) – http://imgur.com/e3CQKEH

Diet

February: Avg 2706 cal, Avg Deficit 250 cal/day after exercise

March: Avg 2441 cal, Avg Deficit 250 cal/day after exercise

April: Avg 2686 cal, Avg Deficit 250 cal/day after exercise

May: Avg 2570 cal, Broke even most of the month

June: Avg 2648 cal, Avg Deficit 250 cal/day after exercise

July: Avg 2699 kcal, Avg Deficit 500 cal/day after exercise

The increase in calories is because I bike to work and got a new job 5 miles away

2 Weeks Out – cut out dairy and tried low sodium (~1000 mg, normal for me is ~2100mg) to see effect. Thought looked slightly better but trying reversing slowly to see if changes went away.
Peak Week – Tried carb load at beginning of the week to see effect but either that or the added dairy or normal sodium caused me to look softer so started lowering sodium again and cut out dairy just in case, kept carbs higher than normal but not as high as Mon/Tues. Avg macros for the week 154g pro, 83g fat, 428g carb, sodium got down to 700-800 mg leading up to the show

High calorie breakfast:

• Pancakes w/dark chocolate chips & blueberries ~ 480 calories
  
• 1 Tbsp Honey
  
• 2 Egg omelet with fat free cheese
  
• 1 Cup Skim Milk
  
• Fish Oil Pills

Low Calorie breakfast:

• Oats w/blueberries & ground flaxseed (sometimes ½ scoop vanilla protein powder)
• 2 Egg omelet with fat free cheese
• 1 Cup Skim Milk
• Fish Oil Pills
  

Lunches:

• 96/4 Beef 1/4 lb - 1/2 lb or 93/7 ground turkey ~1/3 lb
  
• Potato/Sweet Potato cubes baked in olive oil ~ 350 calories
  
• 1 Apple
  
• 1 Cup V8 Low Sodium
  

Snacks

• 1 Banana
  
• Almonds
  
• Greek Yogurt or Greek Yogurt/Oats mix (regular yogurt when had to cut calories further)
  
• ½ PB&J Sandwich (when needed extra calories)
• Post Workout Protein Powder 110 cal (22g pro, 4g carb)
  

Dinner 1

• 1/2 lb grilled chicken
  
• Brown Rice cooked in olive oil
  
• Broccoli
  

Dinner 2

• Whole Grain Spaghetti
  
• Spaghetti Sauce
• 1/4 lb 96/4 Beef
  
• Broccoli
  

Dinner 3

• 1 Can tuna ~4 oz
  
• Brown Rice cooked in olive oil
• Brocolli

Macros

I shoot for 25% pro/25% fat/50% carb which comes out to be 185g pro, 88g fat, 320g carb

Supplements

Normally all I use is a whey protein supplement post workout along with creatine monohydrate as well as fish oil and a joint supp with breakfast and that is all I recommend. However, at my new job I have access to free supplements from one company (I don't get to choose) so I have added on a HMB, BCAA, and a caffeine free
pre before my workouts as well as a ZMA supp before bed. Honestly haven't noticed a change in my workouts or recovery but maybe no change after cutting this long means they're doing something? Going back to just whey protein, creatine, fish oil, and joint supp during bulk.

Workout During Cut

Currently 5 day split

Shoulders – http://imgur.com/Q097puI

Back - http://imgur.com/zEl4aAO

Chest - http://imgur.com/CXFaAn5

Legs (fairly light since I have been having MCL issues) - http://imgur.com/1iJ3gHW

Arms - http://imgur.com/ZcfqKEg

Abs 2x/wk - http://imgur.com/RbH0McU

Adapted from the Body Beast program. Abs usually done after chest day and arm day since those were my shorter workouts with one day doing 2 sets of everything and the other doing 2 circuits.

Thoughts about my first competition

First off let me encourage anyone considering competing to try it out at least once. The atmosphere and community were amazing and extremely supportive of a first timer.

Secondly I cannot stress the importance of practicing posing starting well in advance and getting feedback from people who know what to look for. I cannot thank you enough for your tough love feedback regarding my horrendous posing when I was only a month out from my show (and still pretty bad at a week out). This comment by /@thewordgirl especially hit home “You are shredded enough to place, maybe even win your class, but not with your current posing” so thank you for that man. I immediately reached out to a fellow bodybuilder (masters athlete) I had met at the gym awhile back who had invited me to join him at this weekly posing practice. We put in 2 hours of practice the Sat before the show and again Sunday morning and the difference was phenomenal.

Lastly, do not underestimate how dark you need to be on stage. I was tied for first place after the prelim round and I had multiple people come up to me later and say they could tell I had the definition but they could not see it as well on stage. I definitely made sure I was darker by using the rest of my bronzer and having my posing coach beg some of the pros for their left over stuff for the live judging the in finals but I can’t but think I might have pulled off a win had I been that dark in the morning (still took 3 rounds of all the mandatories to finally make a decision).

I can honestly say I am happy with and proud of my 2nd place finish. I worry getting 1st at my first competition might have made me a little cocky and complacent in the off season. Now I am filled with hunger for that 1st place trophy and I have the motivation to get there!

Moving Forward

Loved the experience and definitely planning on competing again sometime next summer/fall. Planning on moving up to next weight class (to light heavyweight) so will do long slow clean bulk (going to see if shooting for 0.5 lb/week gain results in more muscle mass/fat ratio than a quicker bulk) and see how much muscle I can put on in ~9 months. Going to work out like normal for the next 3 weeks then take 3-4 weeks off/light to fully recover when I move and will lose access to my gym.

Specifically going to work on: side delts, back width, lower back, chest size, and outside sweep of quads. Any other weak points I can address to improve for next year?

The best part about the competition is that my girlfriend enjoyed the experience so much she wants me to train her to compete in figure when I do my next contest. So any advice on how to help with that is appreciated .

Old Posts:

2014, July (10 days out) - http://www.reddit.com/r/naturalbody...v/progress_post_10_days_out_from_1st_natural/

2014, June (r/bodybuilding online competition) - http://www.reddit.com/r/bodybuilding/comments/297ubz/official_competition_post/ciimzdt

2014, May (11 weeks out) - http://www.reddit.com/r/bodybuilding/comments/25gqs1/progress_post_11_weeks_out_from_1st_natural/

2014, Feb (end of bulk results) - http://www.reddit.com/r/naturalbody...results_of_my_first_bulk_5_months_clean_diet/

2013, Summer (7 Year Transformation Post) - http://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/comments/1h6d9w/7_year_transformation_60_lbs_and_25_body_fat/

 

[dingerdad]

@paparazi257 Looking good, bud!

Definitely looking forward to your next contest. Make sure the girlfriend puts up pics too! It'd be good to have some female perspective in this sub for a change.

I think you should invest in some flex cut posing trunks. No use getting striated glutes when you can't see them behind those things!!!

 

[paparazi257]

@dingerdad Definitely will! We actually met through reddit so that shouldn't be a problem at all. Couldn't agree more on the trunks, tried to find some before competition but didn't want to pay for expedited shipping to get here in time.

 

[partyvui]

@paparazi257 Check out jagwear for the trunks, my trainer swears by them.

 

[paparazi257]

@partyvui Oh nice, I'll check them out thanks!

 

[dawn16]

@paparazi257 Looking epic man, them quads!

body fat 7.9% (Measured by DXA week of show though felt like should be lower)

If you've seen the Alberto Nunez video where he gets a dexa scan you'll feel better about that number. Also, numbers don't really matter anyway.

Plans for the future?

 

[paparazi257]

@dawn16 Haha thanks! Bulking up to next weight class (light heavy weight), since I'm so tall I don't think I can get the mass and still stay in middleweight. Would love to compete again next summer but since I need to put on 10-15 lbs of muscle and still have time to cut will prob realistically not be ready for 1.5-2 years so we will see.