Week 27 (One week to go!)
Posted by Jeff Alberts on Saturday, July 11, 2009
Under: 2009 Capital City Journey
One week away from the big day! It has been a long journey from January 2nd to now. I started at 202 lbs and as of this morning I am right around 159 lbs. This week I have made great progress as I dropped the water weight I was holding and I seem to be tightening up a lot. I have to be careful not to over do it though. I do not want to get too stringy looking. As long as I keep doing what I have been doing I will be ok. This week was totally brutal for my energy levels. They were low all week but I never strayed off my diet. I still did my 60 minutes of cardio this week except tonight as I literally ran out of gas at 46 minutes and 34 seconds. I finished my leg training today with squats, leg curls, and standing toe presses. It was a really tough workout as I had little energy but I pushed through it. The last 3-4 weeks I have been extremely hungry! This has been by far the most hungry I have ever been when preparing for a contest. I give a lot of credit to all the bodybuilders out there who really get very low on body fat because it is very mentally tough to sustain a diet for this long. With one week to go, I just have to suck it up and show up as best as I can. Today was also my last day of work. I have the upcoming week off so I should be well rested. Having the week off does have a disadvantage though, I will not be as active. I have a really fast pace job and it really burns the calories, so I will have to make a slight diet change due to this. I will probably drop my carbs slightly from 240 grams per day to around 210-220 grams up to Wednesday and then I will start to increase them again.
My plan for the week is to make Tuesday my last training day. This includes weight training and cardio. By Wednesday I will start to gradually add carbs and increase them slightly on Thursday and Friday. I usually take in 6 meals per day so Wed. will be 7, Thurs will be 8, Friday will be 9. However this is always subject to change as I evaluate my physique on a daily basis and I will make adjustments if I feel it is necessary. I will not cut my water intake as I did at my last show. That strategy just made my muscles go very flat. So I will keep water the same as I always do on a daily basis. Last show I was eating nothing but oats and shredded wheat for my carb intake but I got really bloated from all that fiber. This time I will eat what I always eat everyday. Some meals with oats, some with shredded wheat, and some with brown rice. I want to keep everything the same as any other day. I did notice that my photos from 2 days prior from my last show, I looked better than I did at the actual show. Those photos were taken without cutting back water or sodium or even carb loading! I just have to keep doing the things that got me to this point and do not resort to any voodoo bodybuilding tactics like cutting water intake, cutting sodium levels, and extremely high carb loading.
I have to check in for the show on Thursday morning at 11:00 a.m. where I will weigh in and take a polygraph test. The polygraph is given to all athletes to ensure everyone is all natural. The cut off weight for lightweight is under 156lbs. so I do not think I will be a lightweight but it really does not matter. I will probably be around 158-159lbs which will put me in the middleweight class. As long as come in at the best possible condition I can, I should do ok.
My best friend Mike, since the 5th grade, is flying in on Sunday night to stay the week and go to my show. He has never been to one of my shows so this is really exciting for both of us. It should be great week just hanging out with him again just like old times! My wife Jhanna's Uncle Oscar, Aunt Anita, and lil' cousin Forest are also flying out from New Mexico to see the show and have a family party the following day. Her Grandmother Edna is also coming to my show and this is her first bodybuilding show as well. We call her Gigibu or just G for short! She is really a great person and I always enjoy being in her company. My sister in law and her friends are coming from San Diego as well and a lot of other family members are coming. I also have friends from work coming, so I really want to be at my all time best and not disappoint anyone! If I forgot anyone I do apologize as I am really hungry and my mind is not operating at 100%!
Anyways I will be ready and it does not matter if I win or lose because I have put 100% effort for this show. All the work is almost done and now I just have to show up and do the best I can. If I win it will be great and if I lose I am sure it will be a little disappointing but at least I know I put all my effort on being the best I can be and I did not beat myself.
I took a few pictures today and I am around 159 lbs in these photos. These photos are taken cold without a pump and I feel I am a little flat. With a few more days of cardio I feel I can get a tad bit leaner and then all I have to do is just make sure I am fully carbed up and ready to go! Anyways until my next blog, which will be Friday evening before the big show, keep training hard and naturally!
My plan for the week is to make Tuesday my last training day. This includes weight training and cardio. By Wednesday I will start to gradually add carbs and increase them slightly on Thursday and Friday. I usually take in 6 meals per day so Wed. will be 7, Thurs will be 8, Friday will be 9. However this is always subject to change as I evaluate my physique on a daily basis and I will make adjustments if I feel it is necessary. I will not cut my water intake as I did at my last show. That strategy just made my muscles go very flat. So I will keep water the same as I always do on a daily basis. Last show I was eating nothing but oats and shredded wheat for my carb intake but I got really bloated from all that fiber. This time I will eat what I always eat everyday. Some meals with oats, some with shredded wheat, and some with brown rice. I want to keep everything the same as any other day. I did notice that my photos from 2 days prior from my last show, I looked better than I did at the actual show. Those photos were taken without cutting back water or sodium or even carb loading! I just have to keep doing the things that got me to this point and do not resort to any voodoo bodybuilding tactics like cutting water intake, cutting sodium levels, and extremely high carb loading.
I have to check in for the show on Thursday morning at 11:00 a.m. where I will weigh in and take a polygraph test. The polygraph is given to all athletes to ensure everyone is all natural. The cut off weight for lightweight is under 156lbs. so I do not think I will be a lightweight but it really does not matter. I will probably be around 158-159lbs which will put me in the middleweight class. As long as come in at the best possible condition I can, I should do ok.
My best friend Mike, since the 5th grade, is flying in on Sunday night to stay the week and go to my show. He has never been to one of my shows so this is really exciting for both of us. It should be great week just hanging out with him again just like old times! My wife Jhanna's Uncle Oscar, Aunt Anita, and lil' cousin Forest are also flying out from New Mexico to see the show and have a family party the following day. Her Grandmother Edna is also coming to my show and this is her first bodybuilding show as well. We call her Gigibu or just G for short! She is really a great person and I always enjoy being in her company. My sister in law and her friends are coming from San Diego as well and a lot of other family members are coming. I also have friends from work coming, so I really want to be at my all time best and not disappoint anyone! If I forgot anyone I do apologize as I am really hungry and my mind is not operating at 100%!
Anyways I will be ready and it does not matter if I win or lose because I have put 100% effort for this show. All the work is almost done and now I just have to show up and do the best I can. If I win it will be great and if I lose I am sure it will be a little disappointing but at least I know I put all my effort on being the best I can be and I did not beat myself.
I took a few pictures today and I am around 159 lbs in these photos. These photos are taken cold without a pump and I feel I am a little flat. With a few more days of cardio I feel I can get a tad bit leaner and then all I have to do is just make sure I am fully carbed up and ready to go! Anyways until my next blog, which will be Friday evening before the big show, keep training hard and naturally!
In : 2009 Capital City Journey
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