Contest Day:
5:30AM
- woke up for first meal of the day
6AM
- Bob Evans for pancakes with butter and syrup
- ½ cup of coffee
8:30AM
- 5 whole eggs and 40 grams of white rice
- 1.5 Tbsp of natural almond butter
9:30AM
- arrived at competition site to check and weigh-in
- weighed-in at 202 pounds
10AM-1PM
- rice cake
- 1 Tbsp of natural PB every 30 minutes.
1:30PM
- finally went on stage for pre-judging, hit all mandatory poses
2:30PM
- lunch at Boston's Pizzeria
- ate a cheeseburger (no bun)
- fries
- 8oz of diet pop
5PM
- 4oz of chicken in hotel room,
- 40 grams of white rice
- 1.5 Tbsp of natural almond butter
6PM
- arrived for finals
6-8PM
- rice cakes for first hour every three minutes
- then, switched to chocolate chip cookies every half hour (don't tell Shelby)
8:30PM
- did my 60 second posing routine (I didn't have a routine, I made it up as I went)
8:40PM
- "Won first Place, Heavy Weight division"
8:50PM
- hit stage again for overall pose-off (I was just ready to leave and eat)
9PM
- done and on our way to eat pizza!
That was my contest day wrap up, it was a very long and draining day.
Here is a picture of me with my Ken Richardson (left) and my dad (right).
These are two guys that have been in the powerlifting sport for decades and they are still hitting PRs. I've always looked up to them.
The Bodybuilding Experience:
I started with Shelby Starnes on my progressive diet May 31st, weighing in at 273 pounds. So I dieted for about 20 straight weeks, losing a total of 71 pounds and weighing in at 202 pounds day of contest. The first 6-8 weeks were great. I cut out all of my sugar, did cardio about five days a week, still got carbs and fats, I was still lifting fairly heavy, and losing a lot of body fat during this process. About nine weeks out from the John Simmon's, I made the decision to do a bodybuilding show. I thought, if I'm dieting anyways, let's take it to that next level and push it to the other extreme. I contacted Shelby on my next update and told him, and he said it was a great idea. At that point, I didn't know what I was getting myself into. Cardio kicked up to longer durations seven days a week, I ate less carbs and less fat. Still, I was managing this all very well and not missing a beat on my workouts, cardio or meals. About six weeks out is when this all turned from ok, to what I call "hell!" Cardio kicked way up to an hour and 45 minutes a day, to two hours a day for the last 3-4 weeks, no carbs at all for the last eight weeks or so, fat was cut in half or cut to a 2:1 or 3:1 ratio, protein was cut down to 45 grams from 60 grams. I had to get up every morning at 4:45AM for cardio, hitting it again on my lunch hour, and then again after my weight training at night. That made for a long day, especially with no carbs. But, I had a goal in sight and did not want to get up on stage looking "fat." I told Shelby to get me as conditioned as possible in this amount of time and that is what he did.
I have to say that this 20 week training/dieting/cardio cycle for this bodybuilding show was by far the hardest thing I've ever done. It was by far harder than any sport I've played, anything, and for many reasons. It consumes your life, you don't have time to do anything else. You don't have time to go out, you can't go out to eat and you can't go away for a weekend. You have to have all of your six meals a day planned out, and you have to get all of your cardio and weight training in. That is your first priority. Everything else has to come second. Plus, with a job Monday-Friday at nine hours a day, you have to fit everything into that schedule. Once you get down to the last four to five weeks, you start to change as a person. You are grumpy every day, fatigued, you do not want to be around people, and everything pisses you off. That’s from not having carbs, being mentally fatigued and physically just beaten down...my legs always felt weak. If I would've known it was going to be like this, I still would've done it. That's probably because I do like the extreme part of it; it is hardcore. There are other diets that are done with carbs, no cardio, and so on. But the one thing about those is that you won't be as conditioned as Shelby will get you for a show, that’s for sure. Like Shelby told me before, at state-level shows, conditioning always wins. I saw that first hand at mine. I had a guy in my class that was very good and probably had a better upper body than me, but his glutes and hamstrings were not as conditioned as mine, and that is what won it from one of the judges I talked to.
What Now?:
Now, I am going to relax and binge eat for a week (not really). I am going to relax, but I am going to try to rebound fairly well with a diet that Shelby set up for me. I found out the hard way Saturday night after the show that you can't eat what you want. I was sick all Saturday and Sunday from my post-show meal, and yes, Shelby warned me about that. I'm going to try to put some good size on and start working my raw strength back up slowly, but surely. I am going to try to take my bodyweight to around 250 pounds and hold it around there for my next training cycle and go 242 for my future meets (no meets planned until I get my strength back up and feel comfortable enough to hit some big lifts). Then, back to full-power. Once my weight is steady, I'll get some Metal Jack Gear and start hitting some big PR's.
Big Thanks To:
Everyone at elitefts™: Dave, Kris, Matt, Rachel, and everyone over there for the support. I'm very proud to be a part of this team. I need to give a big thanks to Shelby Starnes for his expertise in dieting and contest prep. There is no one else I'd want getting me ready for a show, at least you know with Shelby he will be honest and let you know if you are ready or not. He does not B.S. and he will get you there. I also want to thank Vinnie Dizenzo for pushing me to finish what I started, you were a big help during my dieting and training. I also want to thank my parents, my sister, Brandi, training partner, Ken Richardson, ( my ONLY training partner that came out to support me), Rob, and Justin, for coming out to the show and being there all day. It was awesome to have all of you there. Most importantly, I need to thank my wife, Brandi, for again putting up with me, helping me with my diet, meals, and just pushing me along to achieve my goal, and also putting our life on hold so I could accomplish this goal. She is the best and I am very lucky to have her.