“All you need is the plan, the road map, and the courage to press on to your destination.”
~Earl Nightingdale

Since my last blog, I ‘ve decided to enter the NPC Central Valley Championships as a warm up show on August 20th in Modesto, Ca. That gives me 7 weeks to prepare and I will be anywhere between 165-167lbs for that first show. I’ll be entering both the open and master’s division…my first as a master :) My team and I feel I have around 10lbs to lose off of my current weight (172.4lbs) to be absolutely diced, so I should be in good enough shape to compete well on 8/20. My goal for this show is to have a good time first and foremost, but also to fine tune my posing and to work on my color…which by the way…my color really has been an issue for me in the past. I want to correct any mistakes before I head out to Kansas for the IFPA Pro International in September. So, if anyone wants to come on out and have a great time the show is on 8/20/11 at the Modesto Centre Plaza, 1000 L Street, Modesto, Ca. Prejudging is at 10:30am and the Finals are at 6pm. Hope to see you there!

The plan: 
8/20 – NPC Central Valley
9/16 & 17 – IFPA Pro International
10/1 – NPC San Francisco
10/29 – IFPA Yorton Cup *I have to qualify beforehand at the IFPA Pro International and that will not be very easy to do…no guarantees.

Weight
Start of Prep: 12/06/10 – 206.5lbs.
7/04/11 – 172.4lbs
Goal Weight: 160ish

*Note – I hit a low of 172lbs on 7/3/11. A little over 34lbs lost! Things are rolling along quite nicely!

Wednesday 6/29/11 – Lower Body (higher rep focus)
Leg Extensions – 190 x 12, 200 x 10, 10, 10
Lying Leg Curls – 90 x 12, 10, 10, 10
Smith Machine Calf Press – 405 x 8, 8, 6, 6 *Was way off on these…just didn’t find a groove.
Lying Leg Lifts (abs) – Bodyweight x 12, 10

Thursday 6/30/11 – Upper Body (higher rep focus)
Smith Decline Bench Press – 185 x 10 sets of 10 *I gave myself a 10 set challenge…had a great time doing it, but man was I sore the next day.
Seated Cable Rows – 170 x 12, 10, 10
1 Arm Pulldowns – 90 x 12, 10
Rear Flys – 52 ½ x 12, 12, 10
Upright Rows - 110 x 12, 12
Alternating DB Curls – 35 x 15, 15

Saturday 7/02/11 – Lower Body (heavy  focus)
Smith Squats – 330 x 3, 3, 3
Rack Pulls – 440 x 5, 5, 5
Standing 1 Leg Curls – 35 x 10, 10, 10
Smith machine Calf Press – 460 x 5, 5, 5

Sunday 7/03/11 – Upper Body (heavy focus)
Bench Press – 235 x 3, 3, 2
Pec Dec – 80 x 5, 90 x 5, 4
Bent Rows – 255 x 5, 5, 5
1 Arm Pulldowns – 115 x 5, 5
Military Press – 155 x 5, 5, 4
Triceps Pressdowns – 115 x 5, 5
Alternating DB Curls – 45 x 10, 10

Cardio - LISS (light intensity steady state)
6/28 – 30 min am
6/29 – I did 50 miles straight which took me 2hrs, 53 minutes and 51 seconds. I actually posted it wrong on facebook the other day as 2:33:51…oops! After 40 miles my knees began to hurt, but I plowed through and finished. Might do another long distance session in 2-3 weeks…maybe 60 miles? We’ll see.

6/30 – 60 min am/60 min pm
7/1 – 20 min am/HIIT *10 intervals…I was short on time and that is the only reason I chose to do HIIT.
7/2 – 60 min pm
7/3 – 60 min pm
7/4 – 60 min am/60 min pm

Nutrition
I was at a standstill for a few days at 174lbs, but I finally pushed through by dropping my carbs down a bit to 210-240 on low days from 260-275ish. Current macros are 170-180p, 210-240c, and 20-25f on low days. Refeeds are gauged based on my energy levels and also by my fullness/flatness. If energy is low and I’m flat as a pancake than I’m very confident in being aggressive with my refeeds. It’s not too uncommon for me to go as high as 900g of carbs. A more moderate refeed is right around 500c. I feel in being so aggressive with the refeeds I have maintained a lot more fullness/size during this prep than my previous preps.

Progress Pics - 7/3/11

Now you know why I need to work on my color LOL!


But, after 7 months my patience is beginning to pay off with some good progress. There's more work to be done!

Until my next blog keep training hard, smart and naturally!