Great thread Steve. Both you and Ange look awesome. I am having some major injury issues myself right now and it is inspiring to see that with a little time and a good attitude things will work out. Best of luck to both of you.
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Great thread Steve. Both you and Ange look awesome. I am having some major injury issues myself right now and it is inspiring to see that with a little time and a good attitude things will work out. Best of luck to both of you.
Pics from this morning: 180 am weight. 4 pounds to go! I am pretty dry particularly in the legs each day, but I know there is still a bit of water to lose. Rear double bi needs a little work in my stance...I have been really neglecting practicing posing this year as I am always so tired, but definitely going to keep up with the weekly picture updates from here on out!
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Dang Steve you are super rip!!! Where is the water ? Spit and your out of it! lol
You are what, 6 weeks before the show ?? Water would not be my worry but not loosing too much muscle till then.
Congrats!
Eric
Steve is more ripped now than I have ever seen him. I think there will be striations in his striated glutes, lol.
I have been struggling a little as to whether I belong in figure of physique for provincials. Bottom line is I don't really like the physiqe style posing and my heart is really in the sport of figure (I like sparkly things and 5" high heel shoes) and has been for years. I have toned down my training, eliminated really heavy training (which I don't mind at all), and added some more cardio. I am actually really excited that figure in Canada might finally become more about long, lean physiques instead of the bulkier bodies we have seen on recent winners. So, it will be interesting to see what happens...
My pic's tomorrow am...last night was killer. Our 6 month old is teething and I was up all night with her. The last thing I wanted to do was have my pic taken this morning. Instead I drank a ton of coffee and Anabolic Link while lying on the couch, lol. Hopefully a better night tonight!
Oh boy am I excited to see the Atlantics.
My girlfriend is competing in the show, and I'm excited for her but I dunno I might be more excited to see the condition you come in Steve, looking good :)
What division? You should have her join the board, we could use some more ladies here!Quote:
Originally Posted by Evolution31
6 weeks out...
I was kinda dissapointed with this weeks pic's at first. Then Steve put the pic's beside the ones from 2 weeks ago and the changes can be seen. Slow and steady I guess.
Pic's taken after drinking a litre of water and coffee. I woke up so dry in my mouth I could not wait to drink, even to take a pic, lol.
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You hide pretty well that 1 liter + coffee! lol
IMO you are on schedule for 6 weeks out, Steve is ahead, like if he was 1 or 2 weeks out.
Eric
I totally agree. Sometimes it's tough on me to see him so far ahead...but I am on track. Lots of time to tighten up that pregnancy butt, lol. The training/diet has been pretty easy for me so far. The tough part is when one of my kids are sick, or when Steve is injured or not feeling 100%. I have to work around them and we have had a pretty rough go so far. Here's hoping the next 6 weeks run smoothly.Quote:
Originally Posted by TT Eric
^ I can for sure relate... I have a tough time seeing other competitors ahead of the game while I am in the game. Call me weird, but its just the way my brain works. Back in the good old days, I use to play a lot of catch up and used to have a 'plan' that would always translate into "x pounds of fat can be lost in the last 2-3 weeeks". But since then I realized, I hate playing catch up - I hate feeling as though things may in fact be rushed in the last few weeks and particularly now, when you just never know what each day will bring (kids) I don't want to have to rely on those last few weeks of massive cardio. I want to make sure that in 5 weeks time I am READY. No need for 2 hours of cardio a day, etc. So far so good as I only do 40-45 mins every 4-5 days per week. The less cardio I do, the more productive my workouts can be. My motto this prep has been: we're bodybuilders, not marathon runners - lol...Don't get me wrong, cardio can be very important, but if I can get away without it (for now), then I am not going to complain!@
It worked for me last time, and in fact it trained me to understand that I can actually go off my diet once a week and still get shredded. The other side of the coin is that by getting too lean too early, you have to suffer longer or more than necessary at the end. IE - I could look like this a week out and feel fine, so that means 4 weeks of maintaining - seems hardly worth it. So moral of the story for me is I am not looking at my condition as being 'too lean' or 'ahead of the game'. I may be ahead of the game by some peoples standards, but for the way I want to look, I still need to come in a little sharper. There is a couple pounds to be lost, and since I do want to make middle, I still need to lose a couple pounds before that weight class won't be 'tricky' to make. I do have a tough time with cramping when severly dehydrated as some of you know, so the less drastic measures I need to take the better. I'd rather lose an extra pound of fat now then have to lose an extra pound of water later!! Plus, I've seen other national level competitors look far leaner than me at a month out for their respecitve shows- so there is room to improve! :)
She's doing the figure model division. I'll show it to her later tonight.Quote:
Originally Posted by ange_d
Might help encourage her a little, I know when I was doing the NBs all the kind words and encouragement on this board was awesome.
You guys are both looking great :)
Man your Hams are dry, and your sweep is killer Steve! Arms look great in the side chest as well.
179 this morning. Weight slowly dropped from a high of 185 after my last carb up to now its lowest of the entire prep so far. I think I just have a little water to lose at this point, so its time to try to enjoy the remaining weeks as much as I can. I'll be the first to admit, once you've come this far, it's difficult to "ease up" so I think the best thing I can do is continue my 'refeed' days / meals in order to keep things on track. If for some reason at the end of the following week I don't feel as hard as the previous week, I think at THAT point it will be time to stop.
Workouts are still going relatively well. Mornings are tough for whatever reason. It feels as though it takes a while for the water to get into my system and therefore the first few hours of work I am quite light headed, dizzy, tired, restless, etc. Eventually though, I actually feel more myself, and at that point I usually make way to the gym!! Only 1 day this week was bad for working out, the others were decent, and 1 was actually one of the BEST workouts in months. Funny I can't figure out what on earth about that day I did different that would make the workout that much better. Food remained relatively constant, sleep is non-existant, so who knows! I guess I just hope for as many more of those days as I can :)
PS: the 1 day this week that was the worst workout, coincidentally was monday and I forgot my decimate at home. So not hard to figure out why that day sucked! Last time I try to workout without my pre-workout supps! I normally have a little bit of coffee each morning to get me going - Ange makes it, and I think she says its quite weak. But 300mg caffeine from decimate surely helps :)
I should also mention another thing...both our Isolate and Whey come in vanilla and chocolate. We had only tried chocolate because normally we're just not the 'vanilla type'...We just picked up some for a change, and holy crap...Who knew vanilla could be so good! This isn't a plug - seriously its by far the best tasting protein powder I've ever had. And its not even a fancy flavor. Have to thank Cygen!!
5 weeks out now!
Steve looked at me last night before bed/after cardio and said "why do you look so nuts, what happened?". I heard a sort of jealous tone to his voice (in a good way) that I have heard in the past (lol, he gets a bit envious of my abs sometimes, hehe, I did have veins through them last night) so I know now I am a bit ahead of the game. I weighed 130 this morning, light for me as I weighed 127 onstage dehydrated at nationals in 2010. I seem to be dropping about 1.5 lbs a week consistantly even with a major junk up day every week. I guess the pregnancy hormones have finally gotten out! woohoo! In fear of looking too lean/small/hard or whatever I will eat what I want for most of today, have a wild workout with tons on energy (hopefully), and sleep well tonight. The carbs will last a couple of days and help my training. I would normally never cheat this close to a show but I think it will actually help me in the end. We made a video of my supplementation regimine and will hopefully have it posted to our blog later today.
Steve is wild looking as per usual. There is no fat left on his legs, I have never seen him this lean. His skin is starting to seem transparent. Hopefully his pain will subside and all will go smoothly from here on in.
Ange,do you think this envy about your abs might get Steve to reconsider ab work?
I don't do any specific core training either, Steve just likes the the shape and overall look of my abs. He is WAY leaner than me everywhere but that's as it should be.Quote:
Originally Posted by cog
Ange just had the dryness in her abs that I wish I could get without suffering so much! I really don't think you can trick where bodyfat escapes from first. Every contest diet i've done so far has been radically different, and as I get older, my legs lean out way before the rest of my body. As a junior, I used to have the driest looking back and delts months before the show. Sharpness in the delts and tris that would make you hurt if you scratched it with your fingernail the wrong way, lol.... But at the same time, barely visible seperation in the quads.Quote:
Originally Posted by cog
NOW, the quads look like a thing out of a horror movie, yet the upper back and delts only slowly becoming shredded. One thing that has been relatively consistent all my life is my core (chest / abs) seem to be one of the last things to get to a level of "lean" not shredded, but the limbs basically the first. Makes for a perfect "in the gym look" because basically, I never look fat with a tanktop and shorts on :)
CP teach in his Biosignature courses that there is a relation between body fat placement and hormone levels. I didn't follow the course, but from a few grasp I could obtain triceps fat is a good indicator of testosterone levels, you'll never see a woman with less then 6mm of fat measured on the triceps but men with can get pretty lean there. Love handles are a good indicator of insulin levels (diet too rich in Carbs). Sub-scapula is a good indicator of blood sugar levels and tolerance about it. And compared to fat level of calves, you can have a good idea of natural GH levels production. Men doesn't have much fat in legs as women do cause high fat levels in the legs = high estrogen. Etc...
Eric
I was under the impression that fat around our cores was because our ancestors lived in cooler climes.You two are lucky to not have to do any core work.
4 week out update! well, almost 4 weeks... I was sick all week, but feeling good now. 180 pounds this morning so I still have another pound of fat and maybe 3 pounds of water to drop to get into middle. I might just go light heavy if it means less suffering the day before the show. I usually like not cutting water too soon, and 180 pounds is basically the flatest most dehydrated peeing all night feeling like poop in the morning type of weight. Carbs are basically non existent, and if my past contest experience says anything, I DON'T lose much weight the last week.
So, that said, I will see where the next 3 weeks take me. I'd love to be a light heavy, just because it sounds cooler - but it's scary going against guys 20 pounds heavier! I mean, in sudbury I weighed in full of water, which put me in the next class up, but that class only jumped 11 pounds at a time. With the new cutoffs, going from 176 to 177 puts me in a class against guys basically TWO classes up. In any case, here's my progress pics from this morning after drinking water, tuns of salt, eggs, brocolli...etc. about 183 here.
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Looking good...Time to get a tan, you look like you,re from the east coast....lol..jk...Getting better and better....Time for Ange to post up...
Started with the unlimited month tanning last week, but trying not to burn so taking it slow :)
Ange is looking really tight...I'll see what I can do to get her posting some progress pics :)
Your back in the double bi is insane!
Assuming you don t lose anything more and you're a very (light) light heavy and Greg squeezes down to 196 are you going to take him down or what? lol.
Greg is going heavy :) ....hes right at his own cutoff too, so he will probably be light heavy on stage, but weigh in 200+ !
I can't worry about greg, he has pro written ALL over his physique. Even if I can stand next to him without looking like a shrimp, that is hard enough! I am very sure middle is going to be my class... I keep forgetting about the sodium and salad my intestines are filled with... BUT... Going back to my original post, my goal was to come in 10 pounds bigger and just alean. I think I will easily surpass that! Looks like 15 and leaner!
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4 weeks and so excited. Dropping the heavy training and replacing it with high rep and more athletic training has really helped me. I am not often hungry or weak and have quite a bit of energy for a month out. Weight is at 129 this morning. I am probably 5 lbs less muscle and think this is a better fit for my frame. Shrinking up nice. Bum smoothing out now, woohoo! Some carbs today (no junk). Oh and no tan, lol. I had some spots removed early this year and don't want to age my skin faster than nature is going to age me. Hopefully the spray tan will get me dark enough, people assure me it will.
Looking great, both of you. Gonna need to make sure you leave room in the car for trophies!
So 15lbs heavier (stage weight) in 2 years. I d say you surpassed the normal increases at your maturity level. Great stuff Steve.Quote:
Originally Posted by steve_d
Looking fantastic BOTH of you!
Ang love your suit :)
I stoned that suit myself, I used my old plain black suit that is no longer required at Nationals. I actually stoned 2 suits but this one is my fav, looks unique IMO. Turns out I like stoning suits at 12 weeks out but not so much fun at 4 weeks out, lol.Quote:
Originally Posted by countrychic
WOW! Both of you look great! And Ang...how long did it take you to stone that suit? BEAUTIFUL job!
I think it was about 6 hours total...I worked on it a bit at a time. I had to keep ordering more crystals, lol, and they take almost 2 weeks to get here. Now I have tons of crystals, so I'll probably sell this suit and make a new one the next time I compete.Quote:
Originally Posted by 69challenger
Finally caught the cold going around our house, sucks! Hopefully passes quickly.
hammies are dry! i wish I had that conditioning from the back!
lol at 4 weeks the mind starts to wander making any task a tedious one ;) You did an amazing job!! Hope you kick that cold bug.Quote:
Originally Posted by ange_d
Quick back shot from gym today at the end of my leg workout.
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pretty savage definition man
you train in those toe shoes? I forget what they are called. Do you like them?Quote:
Originally Posted by steve_d
Crazy definition, almost there!
Vibrams, yeah... I like them! I had been training in them off and on for a while, and lately I find them more comfortable for cardio on the treadmill. Also, if you remember my little toe-nail incident a month or so back - my toe nail finally started falling off (side to side) and wearing socks and shoes was making it hard to walk around without pulling against the nail and ripping the entire part off. I've managed to clip 95% of it though now :), looks disgusting, but finally have my toe back!
Damn!!, looking great, both of you.....Wicked back shot Steve, saran wrap skin...
Thanks guys....I am feeling good too! This prep has had its share of ups and downs, but we're basically on the home stretch now. 3.5 weeks to go, and I feel as though things are starting to really come together. No more sick, no more sciatic pain (just slight numbness), back feels good - I am doing squats with 3 plates for loads of quick reps for multiple sets (no where near the strength of before, but I actually think I could still handle 4 plates no problem! - no risking it hehe)... I even did some conventional deadlifts today!
Workouts are I would say at 80-90% everyday! Some days I even feel at >100%. Usually if I eat just a bit more, or if I am doing an easy day (ex. bicep calf day).... whereas a few weeks ago, I've be lucky to hit 30%. being sick was what I would have to say the culprit. the 4th and last member of our household has it now, which sucks for Ange, because her workouts depend on having kids not sick, otherwise the gym daycare won't keep them in. I think she may hit up the gym early tomorrow am before I leave for work. She looks as good as ever. Shocked how she can do it after a 2nd baby. I am proud of her to say the least. More proud this time than last time even, and I`ll admit, I even felt some of the same emotions I felt watching her stick out in sudbury just the other day watching her do her thing in the mirrored room at our gym. She just belongs on that stage!
So here is crossing my fingers for another 3-4 good weeks! I am as lean as I want to be (sux its a bit early) but I guess I just have to try to enjoy it the best I can and not shrivel into nothing. The weight this morning was at 178 pounds. This is the lightest I`ve been. It also means I know for a fact I will be entering as a middle and doing my regular water deplete friday, etc. it won`t be easy, but it certainly won`t be hard to make weight. I should be able to eat some `dry carbs`as we called them in our old thread on friday and keep the weight hovering around 176 all day. All the while hoping to hell I don`t cramp up :)... so far so good though. At this point in basically ALL my preps I would have had at least a few middle of the night cramps in the legs. So whatever I am doing different must be right!
PS: I really am looking forward to some real food...I watched my son wolf down an entire bag of buttery popcorn today (he hadn`t eaten all day from being sick) and wow....I am really itching to eat! Last night I even had one of the first `sugar baked good food dreams`....up until now, I really hadn`t had too much cravings. But they are definitely here now!
Let's be honest here Steve. You know you started training in those vibrams after you watched me crushing squats in them at AC that day and ran out right after and bougth some... ;)
Looking awesome dude!