# My Last 4 Weeks Before the Show....



## LeeB (Oct 5, 2011)

a long time ago now i started a contest prep thread.. unfortunately due to a number of reasons i was unable to keep updating the thread consistently.

so heres a new one, im currently 4 weeks out from my show (UKBFF Leicester 2nd Sept). I have been dieting since early April now (yes i know a looong time). This year i have to say my diet has been the hardest one i have ever done. not because i have had to push myself any harder than normal, but because my motivation to compete has been pretty much non existent!

i think i made a mistake, after competing last may, i decided then that i would compete sept this year, so when the time to diet came, i just got to it, without actually considering whether i really wanted it or not! unfortunately i didnt want it. ive considered not competing on numerous occasions throughout the diet, but every time i get to the conclusion that i am very lucky to have an amazing family and group of friends who all support me in many different ways. and to put them through weeks of my dieting and then to turn around and jack it in... well it just wouldnt be fair on them!

the end of last week my motivation was really low, id had a week off work with my kids, and stuck religously to my diet, and in many ways begrudged it as in all honesty, id rather have been taking it easy with the kids! but im not one to back out.

with my low motivation in mind, i made a decision that goes against all the contest dieting logic that i have... 4 weeks out from my show, ive spent the last 3 days, eating what i want when i want... well ok, probably about 50% has still been diet food. but apart from that.. if ive smelt it.. ive eaten it! lol

the reason for this, is that last week, the thought of 4 weeks of gruelling dieting and contest prep filled me with dread, and it was an attempt to pull some motivation back into myself and kick me up the arse and get my mind working how it should be! ITS WORKED!!

right now, i literally can not wait to get on that stage, i cant wait to face every single meal, every mouthfull of plain chicken, every second of cardio!

last week i was very happy with how i looked, but i know that this coming week will be mentally hard. ill be holding alot of water from the junk food.. and ill feel sh*t and look sh*t because of it!

hopefully ill be able to update this thread every day over the next 4 weeks and see how things develop.

as well as myself, im also getting a friend of mine ready for the first timers class at the same show, hes looking really good so far, and with how i know he will change over the next few weeks im very confident hell do himself proud!


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## Pikey1466867920 (Apr 24, 2004)

Good luck mate, hang on in there 28 days isn't so long and it'll all be worth it when you get on that stage


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

Keep up the hard work Lee


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## LeeB (Oct 5, 2011)

As of tommorrow (Monday 06 August) my diet will be the following:

1 - 220g chicken, 50g sweet pot, udos, veg

2 - 220g chicken, 50g sweet pot, udos, veg

3 - 220g chicken, 50g sweet pot, udos, veg

4 - 220g chicken, 50g sweet pot, udos, veg

5 - 220g chicken, 50g sweet pot, udos, veg

6 - 220g chicken, 50g sweet pot, udos, veg

very basic indeed! this will not change much at all over the next 4 weeks. however i will be having 2 days with the above, then 1 day with half the amount of carbs.

from about 2 weeks out the chicken will be swapped for turkey. ill also have steak once or twice a week for my last evening meal.

cardio is currently twice a day every day for 30 minutes each time (treadmill 3.5mph 5% incline)

Thanks for the support guys!


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## bulldozer1466867928 (Oct 8, 2006)

Man you must be hardcore to stick to that diet mate!! I wouldnt last a week!

All the best to you bud, keep up the hard work


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## LeeB (Oct 5, 2011)

bulldozer said:


> Man you must be hardcore to stick to that diet mate!! I wouldnt last a week!
> 
> All the best to you bud, keep up the hard work


lol.. i forgot to mention.. im also allowed water! plain! lol


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

Lee - when you are dieting for a show is walking less catabolic than HIIT?

Also have you now taken all shakes out of your diet?

Is your diet as plain as it sounds or will you be having any kind of sauces etc?


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## LeeB (Oct 5, 2011)

yes walking is less catabolic - HIT mainly improves cardiovascular fitness in my opinion as opposed to burning fat.

and yes its as plain as it sounds.. no shakes.. no flavours (diet coke etc.).. no sauces! the first few days is tough.. afetr that each meal is great!


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## LeeB (Oct 5, 2011)

had a day off training yesterday, so did a good 15 mins HARD posing last night. its the first time so far ive really worked as hard as i should while doing it and i really enjoyed it!

started getting on sunbeds.. so ive gone from a milky white to a fiery red! lol


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

Random one for you Lee... I saw Bodyworks in what appeared to be Gold Body Paint (http://www.extremenutrition.co.uk/images/athletes/shane_rachael/large_shane.copley.jpg)

And having watched the Fantastic 4...

(Can you see where I'm heading...?)

Do you think that Silver Body Paint would show off your condition and get you noticed?


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## LeeB (Oct 5, 2011)

lol.. im sticking to the gravy look!


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

LeeB said:


> lol.. im sticking to the gravy look!


Northern lads love a bit of Bisto 

YGPM.


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

LeeB said:


> started getting on sunbeds.. so ive gone from a milky white to a fiery red! lol


If you want to avoid burning and get a deep tan try something called 'Rieman P20' - I've used it to avoid burning on holiday and get a nice 'Bisto Beef Gravy Colour' - it should have the same effect for long sunbed sessions.


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## LeeB (Oct 5, 2011)

had a good back & biceps session last night.. followed by 10 mins hard posing.

im still holding water from the weekend but im happy that im changing underneath.

ive been unsure as to whether ill make the u70 or u80 class.. this morning i was 10lb over the u70kg class limit.. im guessing im still holding 1-2lb of water from my weekends food... i know i can drop 4lb of water the last few days before the show... leaving 4-5lb to come off over the next 3.5 weeks to make that limit.

looking at my physique i know i can make the limit if im shredded to hell.. but whether i can make the limit in this short a time im unsure.. im not going to rush things.. maybe flatten out a little knowing that i can come back up again.


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

What do you do for your back and bicep session mate?


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## LeeB (Oct 5, 2011)

last night it was:

seated row (with double pulley handles on a chain - i find this hits the middle of my back)

close grip lat machine (basically like a dumbell row but gives a great contraction)

lat pulldown - wide grip

preacher curls

standing dumbell curls

standing hammer curls - done with dumbelsl curling accross the chest toward opposite shoulder, rather than just straight up and down

the exercises vary every week!


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

LeeB said:


> standing hammer curls - done with dumbelsl curling accross the chest toward opposite shoulder, rather than just straight up and down


 aka "Shredded" Curls after Mr George?


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## LeeB (Oct 5, 2011)

decided that as it was not a training night last night id do an extra 20 mins cardio session. then some posing practice (its bloody hard graft). fortunately my training partner owns the gym we train at.. and hes been ever so kind to install some spotlights next to one of the full length mirrors.. making an ideal area for posing practice!

tonight its shoulders & traps... ill need a push because its been one of them tired days you get when dieting (its not even lunch time yet)

my sleep isnt great at the moment.. which is kind of to be expected.. i have a half day at work today so i think ill try and get a nap in at some point this afternoon.


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

Lee is TinyTom competing at your show?

Keep up the hard work mate. I know its not easy but everyone is routing for you.


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## LeeB (Oct 5, 2011)

no BigTom has already qualified for the finals so hes just competing in nottingham in oct i think!


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

Where abouts is the Notts show mate?


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## Pikey1466867920 (Apr 24, 2004)

It's 14th October at the Royal concert hall.


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

Just found that after googling for the UKBFF site


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## LeeB (Oct 5, 2011)

seems like the water from the weekends eating is off now. looked nice n dry this morning.

feel tired, hungry, not sleeping too great, energy levels are low.. so all things as they should be!

trained shoulders last night - was hard work but i enjoyed it.

legs tonight. my knee was a little sore this morning (recurring injury) so will see how that goes..

also ill see how flat i feel after training and may have a high/moderate carb meal afterwards!


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## LeeB (Oct 5, 2011)

well i havent been on here in a few days.

had a really bad time of things. looked great on friday night after training legs.

sat morning, stomach bug... oh joy... my young lad had been ill during the week.. i thought i had escaped.. obviously not!

half way through morning i got a call from steve the lad who i am getting ready for the first timers... he had same stomach bug... so weekend was wasted...

this week i am off work and after the weekend my motivation was rock bottom.. then i found out on monday my gran had gone into hospital with a severely swollen liver (shes been having probs the last few weeks)... so theres been alot of running around and not being able to eat properly.. im the type of person that family always comes first so the diet is pretty much out the window (as has been the gear for about 4 days or so now). im keeping the cardio up and am not eating ridiculously.. just eating every 3 hours or when i feel i need to..

just found out today its cancer so will see what pans out in the next few days etc..

the plan now is to do the leeds show the week after the leicester show... this week will be a complete write off and in all honesty i dont have any intentions of being 100% back on the diet until i go back to work on monday.

so its been an eventful week... and its getting harder and harder all the time to envision myself on stage.... BUT i know that getting there is a test of my characetr and will make me and my family very proud... so i WILL be there! and i WILL be my best!

hopefully ill get on here more regular!


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## steveg (Nov 24, 2006)

sorry to hear your news lee mate. keep your head up and keep chipping away, and il hopefully see you at the finals!


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## LeeB (Oct 5, 2011)

unfortunately i just have not been able to give my show prep 100% these last few weeks, and with that in mind i have decided not to compete this year.

for anyone who has competed in the past they know how much effort is needed both mentally and physically. unfortunately due to a number of reasons ive found that at the moment i just cant put in what is needed.

i know i am letting myself and the people who have helped me down but the last thing i want to do is to stand on stage and place badly and know that the reason for it is because i had not worked hard enough.

It got to the point where i was trying my best to eat the food as and when needed and i was resenting the fact that it was taking away from other things happening in my life.

i wont give any excuses as to why i have pulled out other than the fact that competing takes ALOT of focus and at present that focus is best placed being given to my family!

i will be back competing either next year or the year after.

in the mean-time i have been enjoying being in very good condition and feel good from eating again (my steak n ale pie and pint of john smiths for lunch yesterday was great!).

In terms of diet/training, for the next week or so im eating what i want when i want.. im still taking t3s so im not going to get fat as they taper off.... after that ill go back to eating as clean as possible.. training wise i havent trained for power for a long time now so think i will do that for a few months as i enjoy this type of training... also my training partner is just startin his final bulk for competing next year... and at 6'2 and 19 stone hes going to take some pushing!!!


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## razg (Nov 23, 2004)

Sounds like you've had a pretty rough time Lee, i'm sorry to read it. All the best for your gran, and your next comp, whenever that may be.


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## bodyworks (Oct 17, 2007)

had a similar experience myself this year lee. you're 100% correct mate. family before anything. all the best to your gran.


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## Pikey1466867920 (Apr 24, 2004)

Certainly the right decision Family has to come first, all the best to you and yours.


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## LeeB (Oct 5, 2011)

thanks guys. maybe ill find time get on this forum some more too!


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## Guest (Aug 28, 2007)

All the best mate, it's nice to see people putting other people first. Family comes first and im sure bodybuilding will still be here next year mate and you will be bigger and better and will nail it.

All the best.


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## crazycal1 (Sep 21, 2005)

good luck mate


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## steveg (Nov 24, 2006)

theres always other shows! i had to call off the N.I championships a few years ago because of my father taking very ill as well so i know how your feeling right now, but i came back the next year, better than ever, so take your time and itl all come when its meant to be! as you have already said, family does come first


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