Just a few random shots.

[chipmartens]

Hey, I'm a new member here. Not sure that I have the "needed size" or not.. Here are a few more recent shots for you. I apologize for the crazy face in the first one... no explanation for that one, ha

http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/img/user_images/growable/2010/07/12/26822541/gallerypic/1jVSRQ7ZUdZB0SgBD9YLeVD5eO251833e.jpeg

http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/img/user_images/growable/2010/07/12/26822541/gallerypic/1DyVsX37Ekuiwl4KnIa2WJIsbn80655e.jpeg

http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/img/user_images/growable/2010/07/06/26822541/gallerypic/1dNffqF4b9FjsM0tOHqAeCkq0UClR0301e.jpeg

Here is the progress from where I started at.. kind of hard to compare, but you get the idea..

http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/img/user_images/growable/2010/04/28/26822541/gallerypic/1QirCJQK1gbW2SDl8HwePKpA9EvW21942e.jpeg

[Big D]

Awesome work man,

thats some really good progress, you put on some good quality mass.

[yAr]

wow.. good job man!

[bigtavi8]

Yah def good work on that transformation. The way i see it you are very balanced and ripped so id just keep up what your doing man its working. You are def the needed size for the site. LOL.

[L3]

good work man. hows the back look?

one thing id suggest is focusing on your traps.

other than that u have a respectable physique :)

[GYMBRAT]

Welcome to CBB and great work, good for you!!

[Mr Ontario]

How about a double bicep pose so can get a better look at the tattoo :)

[chipmartens]

I'll work on getting a double bi picture and some more up-to-date back photos. These two are from beginning of April-ish... there's definitely been some progress from these shots, or at least I think so.

http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/img/user_images/growable/2010/04/15/26822541/gallerypic/1Q27NrOM8wqAYZ8x6tFFtUDU4AWc6942e.jpeg

http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/img/user_images/growable/2010/04/23/26822541/gallerypic/1CsC5ldcHfEF67nrbVsAZV6Xqnragj336e.jpeg

[Delt King]

Good work so far Chip, just keep hitting it consistently and the best advice i can give you is have a plan for your meals always. Welcome to the board BTW.

[Gemini]

Very good transformation mate, if you don't mind me asking. When was the picture of you before the transformation taken and how old are you now?

Keep it up!

[Andre Gregoire]

Good physique. Do you stay lean like this year round or did you peak for something?

[chipmartens]

Thanks for the comments everyone!



Very good transformation mate, if you don't mind me asking. When was the picture of you before the transformation taken and how old are you now?

Keep it up!

The before picture on the right was from 2007 before I was 18, now I'm 21.




good work man. hows the back look?

one thing id suggest is focusing on your traps.

other than that u have a respectable physique :)

I agree, my traps need a lot of work, it looks so empty there. I've been focusing them on the days I work on my "weak spots", sloowly they're coming in... but still needs a lot of work





Good physique. Do you stay lean like this year round or did you peak for something?

This is how lean I am year round. I've never competed before, but I would like to compete at the MABBA novice comp in Winnipeg, next March I believe..



I know I still need to put on some mass, I'm just scared / nervous that I'm not the right shape to compete.. What are your opinions, if the contest is in March, should I start bulking and work with that weight for a few months and then cut back down, or just keep working the way I've been doing it now?

[natenator]

I hate March shows. It pretty much means you need to diet over christmas.

it sucks ass

[Andre Gregoire]

You have about 35 weeks left for an early march show which doesn't leave much time for a big bulking period and then a diet. I would do a slow lean gains phase instead.

You are very lean now for offseason and could be contest ready in 8-12wks. Are you currently doing cardio? What is your diet like?

If you aren't doing cardio and your diet is not hypocaloric and you are still this lean, I would have you slowly increase calories to increase your weight until you need to start dieting. I would aim to gain 0.5lbs per week for about 4mths and then depending on bodyfat have you slowly start dieting.

It's really hard to say, without knowing your diet history, your training, supplementation, etc...

Some might say since you are so lean you should bulk for 2-3mths..

[chipmartens]

You have about 35 weeks left for an early march show which doesn't leave much time for a big bulking period and then a diet. I would do a slow lean gains phase instead.

You are very lean now for offseason and could be contest ready in 8-12wks. Are you currently doing cardio? What is your diet like?

If you aren't doing cardio and your diet is not hypocaloric and you are still this lean, I would have you slowly increase calories to increase your weight until you need to start dieting. I would aim to gain 0.5lbs per week for about 4mths and then depending on bodyfat have you slowly start dieting.

It's really hard to say, without knowing your diet history, your training, supplementation, etc...

Some might say since you are so lean you should bulk for 2-3mths..


Thanks for the info :)

On an average day, this is my schedule / diet.

-------------------------------------

05:45 - Wakeup, eat half an orange or lemon, have a shake. 30 minutes of cardio.

06:45 - Breakfast. 4 eggs ( with yoke ) Half an orange, 2 pieces whole grain toast, glass of milk

10:00 - Morning snack. 1 protein shake, 1 handful almonds, 1 oatmeal bar, 2 small yogurts

12:00 - Pre-workout shake. Resistance training.

01:30 - Post-workout shake. 2 chicken breasts, half cup of rice, 1 cup of snap-peas, red peppers, broccoli

03:00 - Afternoon snack. 1 protein shake. 2 pieces whole grain toast with peanut butter, 1 handful of almonds.

05:30 - 1 or 2 pieces of pork tenderloin, about 3/4 cup of rice mixed with veggies and a light sauce

06:30 - 30 to 45 minutes of intervals, either eliptical, stepper or sprints.

08:00 - Evening snack. 1 protein shake or a fruit and protein smoothie, sometimes I have steak strips or a chicken breast.

10:30 - Bed time.


The meals change, but the amounts of protein / fat / calories are pretty close to the same. I don't measure too closely, and occasionally I snack on other stuff here and there, but that's a pretty good overview of what my days look like. I also have conditioning every monday evening after cardio ( rolling tires / climbing ropes / running sprints / etc etc ) with some friends just for fun.

I workout with a guy who loves to lift heavy, so my workouts are a combination of his "power-lifting" and my isolation stuff. I have about 50 minutes every lunch hour to workout, so I take my workouts seriously. I try to keep my body going the entire time, so a lot of super sets and stuff. I hate if people talk to me when I'm working out at lunch, I've recently started keeping a log of my workouts, only on day 3 though.

As far as supplements go, I take a multivitamin, fish oils, and the occasional caffeine pill to add some energy to my workout depending on how I feel that day. I've tried a few different nitric oxide products, my favorite seems to be N.O. shotgun from Gaspari, but I haven't taken it in probably 2 or 3 months.

-------------------------------------

A sidenote, A few of the guys I workout with suggested bulking with a weight gainer like "True-mass" for a month and a half or two, keep my cardio up during that period and lift heavy with the weight I put on for a few months... What are your thoughts on that?

[Andre Gregoire]

So you are doing 60-75min of cardio per day that's a lot for off-season.

I personally do 5 x 30min per day off-season but that's only because I have a sedentary job, not very active, put on fat easily and want to stay heart healthy.

For someone that has trouble putting on weight I would have them do no cardio off-season, plus cardio is more effective when you do introduce it during pre-contest. If you are already doing that much cardio to maintain how much do you think you will need pre-contest 2-3hrs per day...

I would start by removing cardio and keeping the diet the same, once you stop gaining weight increase your fat a little, when you stop gaining weight increase the carbs a little.

I would aim to add 0.5lbs per week not faster.

How much do you weigh, what is your height?

Have you been gaining weight in the last say 3mths?

[chipmartens]

I've always been into track and field, swimming, jogging, so I enjoy the cardio, I'm still a little bit of a n00b when it comes to being a "bodybuilder".. Which is why I am here asking questions :)

Totally makes sense, cutting the cardio out for the most part. I still wanna keep a bit of cardio, like you states, to "stay heart healthy". I never thought about cardio being more effective when closer to a contest.. again, makes total sense.

I'm currently weighing in around 196 standing at a hair over 5'10. My weight has probably gone up maybe 2 pounds in the last 3 months on average.

[ironwill]

Looking real good Chip, you have outstanding legs this early on in the game...Enhance everything and keep up on the legs, bit more thickness in back and traps, and you will do well....IMO!!!

[Andre Gregoire]

If you like cardio keep some in there but the key is to make sure to eat enough so that you still gain weight doing cardio.

2lbs in 12 weeks isn't very much but judging from your pics I would bet it was 100% lean body mass. I think you could gain weight a bit faster, like I said try 0.5lbs per week. Weigh yourself each week and if you haven't gained weight then add 100 calories per day and repeat every week.

I like to keep my protein at approx. 1.5g per lb of LBM and fat at approx. 0.5g per lb of LBM. You probably have about 180lbs of LBM so that would mean 270g protein + 80g fats and then carbs would be the rest.

[ironwill]

Thanks for the info :)

On an average day, this is my schedule / diet.

-------------------------------------

05:45 - Wakeup, eat half an orange or lemon, have a shake. 30 minutes of cardio.

06:45 - Breakfast. 4 eggs ( with yoke ) Half an orange, 2 pieces whole grain toast, glass of milk

10:00 - Morning snack. 1 protein shake, 1 handful almonds, 1 oatmeal bar, 2 small yogurts

12:00 - Pre-workout shake. Resistance training.

01:30 - Post-workout shake. 2 chicken breasts, half cup of rice, 1 cup of snap-peas, red peppers, broccoli

03:00 - Afternoon snack. 1 protein shake. 2 pieces whole grain toast with peanut butter, 1 handful of almonds.

05:30 - 1 or 2 pieces of pork tenderloin, about 3/4 cup of rice mixed with veggies and a light sauce

06:30 - 30 to 45 minutes of intervals, either eliptical, stepper or sprints.

08:00 - Evening snack. 1 protein shake or a fruit and protein smoothie, sometimes I have steak strips or a chicken breast.

10:30 - Bed time.


The meals change, but the amounts of protein / fat / calories are pretty close to the same. I don't measure too closely, and occasionally I snack on other stuff here and there, but that's a pretty good overview of what my days look like. I also have conditioning every monday evening after cardio ( rolling tires / climbing ropes / running sprints / etc etc ) with some friends just for fun.

I workout with a guy who loves to lift heavy, so my workouts are a combination of his "power-lifting" and my isolation stuff. I have about 50 minutes every lunch hour to workout, so I take my workouts seriously. I try to keep my body going the entire time, so a lot of super sets and stuff. I hate if people talk to me when I'm working out at lunch, I've recently started keeping a log of my workouts, only on day 3 though.

As far as supplements go, I take a multivitamin, fish oils, and the occasional caffeine pill to add some energy to my workout depending on how I feel that day. I've tried a few different nitric oxide products, my favorite seems to be N.O. shotgun from Gaspari, but I haven't taken it in probably 2 or 3 months.

-------------------------------------

A sidenote, A few of the guys I workout with suggested bulking with a weight gainer like "True-mass" for a month and a half or two, keep my cardio up during that period and lift heavy with the weight I put on for a few months... What are your thoughts on that?

May i add something....Personally i see to many shakes my friend....Also you really, really should add some beef in there....I would add 1/2-3/4 lb of beef to 2 of your meals, this will definitely bring on more fullness and muscle.....
Guaranteed you will feel and see the benefits quickly....If you can get free range beef grass fed , not grain finished, you will also get better fats with the beef, more omega 3s and cla.....