My husband and I - National's 2013 Edition!!!

Wow - where is the time going. Been horrible at updating this thread with regards to my progression!

So, 5.5 weeks to go until my nationals debut. I've had a rough go the last few days (almost week now). I really don't know what went wrong to be honest! Last year, my prep was pretty hard, with injuries, pains, sciatic problems, lack of sleep, and so on. (ie more than normal from my own experiences to say the least!). This year, up until recently, things had been great! Felt great in the gym, strong, weight was holding steady, felt on track. I visited the parents for May long weekend with the kids, had some nice treats / eats over the weekend, and really felt awesome. By the time I got home, even after eating 2 days in a row of 'normal human' foods, which was a huge increase over typical daily intake, and after a day off from the gym, I returned from the weekend 4 pounds lighter... WHAT!? lol... No biggy, I figured I just lost a bit of water from driving with extra timmies coffee / caffeine, etc without. Had a great leg workout regardless, so again, right on track. Then Wednesday of last week hit and things were just funny at work, had to stay in late to give a talk, got home hungry, tired, then had another couple stressful days of work (diet just getting to me) and by the end of the week I was just wiped. Workouts were crappy, just didn't feel like myself at all! I know, its not supposed to be easy, but normally I am (relatively!) ok during the whole diet and prep mentally.

SO... saturday came, and while I was supposed to do legs, I just couldn't motivate myself to do so. Did calfs / biceps / abs instead as sort of a comprimise and even that was hard.... just couldn't feel it at all! So, my wife took over for me. Said: "listen up! you have to forget about everything, let the stress go away, be yourself again and if that means eating a tun to refuel, thats what you gotta do". Who's going to argue with an IFBB pro!! So that's just what I did. Even before going out for dinner, I felt better already. Ange and I, and both kids went to East Side Marios (it's our go to place!). Had 2 mega bowls of salad, 3/4 plate of nachos (the other 1/4 shared with everyone else) and about 3/4 of a 16 inch chicken / bacon / ham pizza (again the rest shared). Then went for some ice cream at wendys, and finished off with cheesecake I made for Ange's mothers day celebration (left frozen) and finally my favorite - Ice cream cake from dairy queen - lots of it.

So yeah - not the healthiest cheat right? Nope... not really. But part of the process is not just being able to bring out the best physically, but the best mentally. And if it doesn't halt my progress, it will only help it. Could I have made smarter choices in a cheat? For sure!! Net result? I had an amazing workout the next day, mowed the lawn, did lots of other stuff around the house, and really felt like myself again. Net result on the scale? I was up 2 pounds the day after and back to normal today. Drier and fuller then I have been this entire prep. On pace to bring in even better conditioning than last year, nearly 5 pounds up at this pace as well.


So I hope I am not boring you all with the post! But I just want to point out to everyone that cheating is not evil. Some people agree with it, some people don't. Some people have healthy cheats, some have even more unhealthy cheats than the above. The sport is about what you look like on show day. If you're on track, and you diet one way over another but you show up sliced and diced, and didn't suffer (much) in the process, than that is a successful prep.

just under 6 weeks to go and I have to already give many thanks to my wife for keeping me on track. She knows her shit. The student has become the teacher!

As for specifics about my prep... I am holding between 181-184 pounds. I was as light as 179 pounds a couple weeks ago, but have fixed a few things and am no longer waking up as dehydrated and 'flat'. Last year 5 weeks out I was consistently under 177 pounds and ended up 168 on stage. I am still hoping to be mid 170s which is do-able. I hold absolutely no water now, so any weight lost will be fat loss at this point. Just need to get the glutes sliced up now. The rest is ready as is. I did my fist 30 minutes of cardio last night. light easy cardio. Tried watching 'looper' but I think that movie requires too much brain power to try while doing cardio. Going to try something else tonight!

Hope to get pics soon.

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Originally Posted by steve_d

PS: just for IW - from about 0:30 - 1:00, our journey to baked expectations! The perfect carb up :) Thx!

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Man i miss that place, i saw my second love...German choc cheesecake in the glass cupboard..sigh...lol...Great vid.

Now Steve, glad to hear you took a deserved EARNED cheat. Good on you, it really does make a heck of a difference, and as you said, its to early to be that fatigued to lose mental desire.
Im looking forward to seeing what you bring up there this year also. Another pro to the doucette family. Pretty cool, if not this yr, it will be soon. Hopefully you blow us away when we finally get a pic to view.

Keep it up man...!!!:o:hu

Compared to pros, I look like a fitness model, lol. Until I can get my weight up into the 180s, and more realistically the 190s I won't even be thinking about pro status! I am hoping to make a good middleweight though. mid 170s is where I would like to fall and perhaps with a few more good offseasons, you just never know right? Some people compete to improve, some people compete to succeed. I do a little bit of both. If I can't improve, then there is not too much point in competing. However, if you train smart, there is no reason someone in their early 30s will not improve year after year. I turn 33 this year and improving from my last show was a given :)

The question is can I succeed at this year's nationals? I think so! Will I win? Well, that would be something else... But I can't control which freaks come out of the wood works this year. I can tell you that I will be bringing something that is very comparable to recent middleweight (176 and under) champions. I've seen welter and middle weight champs place 1st one year, and down to 5th or worse in the following year looking just as good, and even better! It's good to remind yourself that there is no pressure regardless of where you place. Experience at a bigger stage seems to be essential in future success... Take Ange for example...7th place her first nationals showing where she looked in my mind phenomenal. 3 years later, with perfecting her stage presence and overall outlook on the sport and she comes back to win both overalls at her next nationals appearance. And my brother... 5th place as a middle (mid 170s) and then turns pro 5 years later. So really, in the end - do placings matter? Sure - but once you improve enough, the placings will come. Whether I can succeed as a middle, or if it takes 5 years to add just enough to my frame to compete as a light heavy, time will tell!

Thanks for the motivational words IW!

Here are some quick gym shots from today! felt so dead when i took these... fell asleep about 10 minutes later, lol

Attachment 34478 Attachment 34479 Attachment 34480

Looking great. Delts, bis and quads have definitely all come up for you. The delts to me are the most noticeable for sure, next is quads.
Great work.
That darn Ange just had to get in there eh??
lol, those girls, love the lens., i have one of those also...jk/jk

Thats good that you say the delts/quads/arms have come up.... - since that's all I showed :) hehe...

I guess I'll get the opinion on my back, hams, chest in next photos. Peeling back all layers - try to get the same lighting, but of course its not easy to strip down in the gym unless its quite - which it often is.

Probably try to set up some morning shots, although wow - first thing in the morning I can barely get down stairs and open the fridge let alone try to get a pose in! Yep - fun times!

Looking good Steve!!

Eric

Don't mean to be playing the whole hush hush game... I am still on track! Another cheat meal was had, and it was intense! Was ange's bday, so it was fun to get off track once again. Didn't hurt me one bit. In fact, I probably needed it. I tend to lean out quick, and without the cheat I tend to shrink up. 2.5 weeks to go, and I have 1 more planned 'cheat'. This time it will be more controlled. It falls 2 weeks out which coincidentally is MY bday... I won't be eating cake, or pizza this time, lol... But I plan on mimicking what I will be doing for my slow carb up process. So it will allow me to see what happens with 1 day of shifting macros. A little extra calories total, but more carbs than normal. I will likely only gain 1-2 pounds of glycogen at most, but I think its a good trial. I want to also see how it affects my weight, because I'd like to weigh in near 176 without worrying about cutting water early. Normally my weight around noon time is in the low 180s, so if I didn't do 'anything different' like so many people say to do, I'd end up weighing in as a light heavy, and walking on stage at what might be 170 pounds soaking wet. Not a good idea, lol....

I think I am finally as lean as I was last year now. The weight hovers in the mid 170s morning and I do get up to about 183 during the day because I hold onto water pretty quick. No matter what I do, I pee every 2 hours throughout the night and consistently lose 8 pounds from 10pm to 6am. Perhaps not how everyone else is, but I think most people once they get to those low single digit body fat ranges start to notice that crazy morning dryness, followed by daily fluctuations - especially in the humid weather we got lately!

I don't have any new pics for you guys, but things are on track. I actually haven't really done any cardio this prep. I started a couple weeks ago, but that lasted all of 3-4 days before I just decided I'd rather do more housework, go for walks with the kids, etc. Not as much calories burned, but way easier on the brain. This has been an easy prep to be honest aside from that set back a few weeks ago. In the end, I am pretty sure I had a bug in me, everyone at my work had it and basically was sick... Ever since, It's been pretty good I must say! gets better every day actually. Workouts are excellent, pumps are still going strong, and of course, getting a lot of strange looks every where I go - so that is a good sign.

I am looking forward though to enjoying the summer - Its a selfish sport, and although I do my best, I can't wait to not have to obsess over it... You guys know how it is, closer you get to a show, its all you think about, each minute is preparing for the next. Its kinda funny, as Ange sits back and listens to all my comments, she's just like - yup - you're on track those are all the same things I was saying/doing/thinking/talking about at 2.5 weeks to go... Poor girl, another 3 weeks of putting up with bodybuilder steve, then she can have her husband back! lol...

Final cheat day - was my birthday, didn't go crazy - just upped the calories, had some extra fruit and some cereal before the gym. Just tried to get the carbs up a bit before I have 2 more weeks of smooth sailing. I am lean enough to compete, so I just need to focus on not shrivelling too much. I don't really carry enough mass yet to sacrifice even an ounce for more conditioning. Was 176 this morning. Probably will be a bit higher tomorrow. Will not be doing any cardio for this prep. I simply don't need it and its fun to say I did a prep with no cardio (aside from 3-4 days at 30 minutes until I realized I didn't need it).

I hate the heat though. That's for sure. I am on fire and its way harder to get my ass from my office to the gym when I feel drenched in sweat. The lethargy just gets to me in the heat. And its not even really that hot to be honest! Let me tell you, I am glad the show is early in the summer and not in mid august! I don't think I could endure my works lack of AC in the summer months while trying to cool off my body to get some decent workouts in.

Anyway - 2 weeks to go and I still feel pretty good overall! I feel as though it should be harder actually... It's hard mentally to actually just be lying down on the couch right now, thinking the rest of the competition is out there in the gym or on the stepper... Ah well! Seems a lot funner this way :)... But if it ain't broke, don't fix it! My workouts are strong, and I am still keeping myself pretty full in the gym. Some days I am a little more drawn out than others - and I definitely am getting some comments about my sunken in face depending on the day. Early morning I am a skeleton and by the end of the day I tend to hold water like a camel. All part of the process I guess!

Now... I just need to pick a song... hmmmmmm... and a routine! ugh!!

Keep on driving Steve.