# First bodybuilding 3 weeks out...HELP!



## aces_high_4 (Jan 11, 2011)

Hi all, I have some questions I would really apperciate help from people with competing experience.

I am currently 3 weeks out today from my first novice bodybuilding contest. I have been training for 3-4 years and have been very dedicated to every aspect. I have been on a 12 week cutting program and I'm concerned with my current conditioning.

I am 5"11 and currently 209lbs, during my cutting routine I have gone from 250lbs to my currrent weight. I'm taking 100mg/test p and 75mg/tren ace eod and plan of taking clen, t3, winny and var 20 days out.

My current concern is time is creeping up on me and I feel i'm not where I need to be 3wks out. I seem to be retaining stuborn fat in my legs, glutes and lower back. I do understand I need to calculate in factors such as water loss but I'm a long way from that being a concern.

My current diet and trainning looks like this:

Diet:

Porridge whole grain oats 70g

Semi skimmed milk 200ml

Sweet potato 400g

Chicken breast 660g

90% mp whey unflavoured 60g

Mp smooth milk protein (casein) 90g

I eat 6 meals a day. Porridge as meal 1. Meal 6 i have 60g of the smooth milk protein before bed, the other 30g i have post workout. The rest of the food is split between the remaining 4 meals (100g sweet potato and 220g chicken or 60g whey).

I did have 30g of maltodextrin with my post training casein but have recently dropped it.

My macros are 9f/29c/62p

1980kcal, 146g carbs, 19g fat, 304g protein. These amounts are exact and all I eat. I really store fat easily from sugar (endomorphic)

Training:

Im doing 1-2 hours of weight training mainly doing highish reps between 10-20 per set also using intensifing techniques. I use the mirror to judge what to train training laging body parts more often but every muscle at least once a week. My actual muscle size isn't a concern as I understand I have already done my building phase and on this restricted diet I really struggle to lift heavy.

I do a minimum of 30mins low intensity cardio every day sometimes up to an hour and I tend to train twice a day.

That is about all I can tell you I have a picture I took last week I will attach and I will get some better recent ones. Diet wise i am willing to do what it takes. Any help will be greatly appericated. I just really want to do well in this so no holds bared I won't take offence to any advice/criticism given. Thanks all.


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## Queenie (May 30, 2013)

Bump! Guys help this man out


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## mygym-mytemple (Jun 8, 2012)

Sorry mate never competed but a quick

Bump

Good luck


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## DiggyV (May 6, 2011)

This is a bump for maybe @Pscarb @Tinytom @ah24 dont know if any of you guys can help this dude?

(couldn't think of any more stage guys this early)


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## ah24 (Jun 25, 2006)

Really need to see proper pics of mandatory shots, front, back and sides.

My opinion - before seeing those - is that you have 2 options.

1) Personally what I'd do... Pick another show in another 8 weeks or so time, and be ready *early*. I know it sucks, and you'll prob look at it as a 'failure' but at least you'll step on stage looking respectable at your first show.

2) Look at a PSMF / Keto diet for last 3 weeks, along with the meds you've mentioned. Not ideal as 1) You'll feel like sh1t 2) You'll flatten out and look like sh1t, which will headf*ck you and 3) You're pretty certain to lose muscle. But, if you HAVE to drop a lot of fat at the last min then IMO it could be an option.

As said though, these are just my views without seeing proper pics, you could look a lot better than I imagine or a lot worse.

As for 'water', that's the least of your worries.. Just get lean enough!


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## ah24 (Jun 25, 2006)

One other thing..

Both your training & cardio seem a bit random and sporadic. I'm all for training by instinct, however with 3 weeks to go before the comp I'd expect it to be structured at this point..

Sometimes 30mins CV, sometimes an hour.. How are you meant to make adjustments as BF stalls if you don't really know how much you're doing?


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## 3752 (Jan 7, 2005)

aces_high_4 said:


> Hi all, I have some questions I would really apperciate help from people with competing experience.
> 
> I am currently 3 weeks out today from my first novice bodybuilding contest. I have been training for 3-4 years and have been very dedicated to every aspect. I have been on a 12 week cutting program and I'm concerned with my current conditioning.
> 
> ...


what is the diet meal by meal.......

why are you doing high rep training? is this what you normally do (before dieting?

Why so little cardio?

why so little fat?


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## cas (Jan 9, 2011)

That's high in calories isn't it?

I was cutting on 1500 just for the beach lol

Good luck buddy, hope you get yourself sorted


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## aces_high_4 (Jan 11, 2011)

ah24 said:


> One other thing..
> 
> Both your training & cardio seem a bit random and sporadic. I'm all for training by instinct, however with 3 weeks to go before the comp I'd expect it to be structured at this point..
> 
> Sometimes 30mins CV, sometimes an hour.. How are you meant to make adjustments as BF stalls if you don't really know how much you're doing?


The cardio is dependant on the time I have. I have 2 kids so I have to work everything around them. However im a fireman and we have a gym so when working I will do an extra 30mins cardio.

When I say about training by the mirror I dont mean I go in the gym and train all different parts, I have a main body part planned also do abs and calves every day and if I have time left might hit some lagging body parts at the end. As I said I'm not concerned with my training as I have already done all the growing im going to do just working on definition. My problems and the area I need help in is the cardio/diet department.

Today I have really cut the diet up, 1560kcal 11g fats 311g protein and 49 carbs. Just didnt want to cut so low I put my body in starvation mode.


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## UK1989 (Jan 4, 2013)

Well from the picture you posted you look maybe 8weeks out or so...

Think its time to maybe look at another show like others mentioned and get into more of a structure for the next 8weeks so you can work out whats doing what etc.

Id be tempted to go onto about 1800cals and start back from there..

250g protein, 70g fats, and 40g carbs


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## aces_high_4 (Jan 11, 2011)

Pscarb said:


> what is the diet meal by meal.......
> 
> why are you doing high rep training? is this what you normally do (before dieting?
> 
> ...


Meal 1 70g porridge oats & 200ml milk

Meal 2 100g sweet potato 220g chicken

Meal 3 100g sweet potato 60g 90% whey

Meal 4 100g sweet potato 220g chicken

Meal 5 100g sweet potato 220g chicken

Meal 6 60g casein protein

Post workout 30g casein protein

However today I have cut the sweet potato to 50g per meal and cut the porridge and milk out reducing my carbs for the day to 49

Im not just high rep training I am also hitting compound exercises with heavier weight 8-12 reps, I just dont have the energy or strength to be squating 190kg as I was for example.

Little cardio? Is an hour not enough every day?

The diet is what was suggested to me by a guy I worked with that won amuiture mr britain which he learned from gary lister who trained him and was good friends with (olympia competitor). So I thought who better to take advice from 

Your thoughs on how to switch it up would be appreciated. Is 1500kcal the sort of amount I should aim for? Because my bmr is around 2500 with no exercise for maintaining and 1500 seems very low.


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## UK1989 (Jan 4, 2013)

You WONT be ready in 3weeks time mate....its not worth doing.

Pick another show...

Also....Meal 1 makes No Sense to me at all


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## 3752 (Jan 7, 2005)

aces_high_4 said:


> Meal 1 70g porridge oats & 200ml milk
> 
> Meal 2 100g sweet potato 220g chicken
> 
> ...


firstly diets for a comp should be written for the individual getting a diet from someone who once won something who got the original diet from a big name (so he claimed lol)......plus no competitor worth their salt would never advise oats and milk for meal 1

you don't do 1hr cardio a day you said you sometimes do 1hr cardio and you train twice a day can i ask why it is not 1hr every day and why you train twice a day?

i notice you say compounds but in your original post you said you train for as much as 2hrs and do 10-20 reps why so many reps?? what weight you use is irrelevant as long as the amount being lifted is your max.......

the problem i see is that you're doing far too much training ( can i assume at least 4 days a week or more) plus cardio and eating far too little pushing the body into burning muscle rather than fat.......i am assuming you are looking smaller but not harder/Leaner??

the best advice i can give is to train once per day reduce the reps to 8-10 and employ HIIT (2min warmup followed by 30sec sprint/2minute moderate pace x 6 each session on a stationary bike) cardio instead of upto an hour of slow and steady, drop the carbs from meals 1...so it looks like this

Meal 1 30g nuts/2 scoops whey in water

Meal 2 100g sweet potato 220g chicken

Meal 3 100g sweet potato 220g chicken

Meal 4 30g nuts/2 scoops whey in water

Meal 5 PWO - 2 scoops whey/40g in weight of cocopops

Meal 6 220g chicken/lots of green veg (peppers, celery, mushrooms, red onions, broccoli, green beans)

this is just based on what you have stated is your diet to get a more detailed plan i would have to work with you.


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## aces_high_4 (Jan 11, 2011)

Thanks for the response. I think you are definitely right. I was looking on course at about 8-7 weeks I was looking bigger lean and vascular. Then something has gone horribly wrong in the proceding 4 weeks I look smaller and less defined. Definetley been training to hard which is a bitch. Im gonna give it another week with your advice and see where im at (friend who won mr am britain is gonna assess whether it is worth it) and ill post some piccys here to get your opinion ah24 if thats alright?. If it aint happening I might just use this as a learning curve build up, then go again next year cos I think I have burnt some serious muscle.


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## ah24 (Jun 25, 2006)

aces_high_4 said:


> Thanks for the response. I think you are definitely right. I was looking on course at about 8-7 weeks I was looking bigger lean and vascular. Then something has gone horribly wrong in the proceding 4 weeks I look smaller and less defined. Definetley been training to hard which is a bitch. Im gonna give it another week with your advice and see where im at (friend who won mr am britain is gonna assess whether it is worth it) and ill post some piccys here to get your opinion ah24 if thats alright?. If it aint happening I might just use this as a learning curve build up, then go again next year cos I think I have burnt some serious muscle.


Sure post em' up.

Follow the changes Paul has given you and re-assess. Don't necessarily put off competing this year, you probably haven't lost as much muscle as you think - you've probably just flattened out.

Good luck


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