i've seen this a lot lately..guys that would prep for shows goin in as lean as they can only to appear smaller than their competition on the day of the show or go into "lean" bulk so they can see their abs more. i don't claim to be an expert on bodybuilding just seeing from what i've experienced from others first hand but to me as it has always fuckin been...you try to put on as much muscle as u can in the offseason(not lettin the bf get above 12%)and then dieting(not cutting) down to your contest weight and showcasing that hard earned offseason muscle mass onstage. i've been to 3 shows and i've seen guys onstage that look like they should be on mtv's spring break body contest. they trained for the fuckin beach...not to be a bodybuilder. you can't put muscle on if your under 10% BF...it hasn't been done that way...and the pros do it the way its always been done cause it fuckin works. yes. there is a balance u have to have depending on your metabolism. there are some that can't let it get ahead of them but most likely they know their metabolism better. but i've seen guys literally go up to their "usual" offseason weight and down to their "usual" competition weight and not make a fuckin difference in their physique.
lesson here...
#1 don't reinvent the wheel. in the offseason..add the muscle mass..don't let the bf get above 12%...moderate it by cardio and not letting your diet go to shit. its a balance u have to achieve to where addin 5-10lbs of new muscle can make a huge difference onstage. to me the more muscle u have..the easier it becomes to diet for the show cause the amount of muscle will cause the metabolism to move faster...hence the dieting process will be much smoother. this i've seen myself thru friends of mine that competed.
#2...its all about progress. you should be making gains every year if your training your ass off at all and dieting...your strength should be goin up...not like a powerlifter but still be going up..that indicates additional muscle mass. if u step onstage and look the same as u did last year...u didn't do shit but wast a year. period. will your strength suffer? that's debatable. though the two friends i know that dieted down for their show kept gettin stronger...so though its debatable...ITS POSSIBLE to be still gettin stronger while dieting. this i've seen. bodybuilding isn't about showing your damn six pack or eight pack..its about showing the amount of muscle you have as well as symmetry, conditioning, and definition.
#3...compete in shows where your bein pushed harder to be better. too many times i've seen guys win shows that look the same as they did the year before simply cause the competition didn't change...its always that one competitor that comes onstage and blows out everyone cause the competition was so far behind. step it up. so what u get 3rd place? let it make u hungrier to that first next time...
this way has worked for years..its called BODYBUILDING...emphasis on the 2nd part...building muscle. this isn't a fuckin body contest which the guy with the eight pack wins. BODYBUILDING is a sport of freaks and monsters...not pretty boys. people expect to see amazing amount of nastiness onstage in muscle mass, symmetry, and definition. so get your shit together...do it right. do it big and nasty or take your ass to the beach.
do it the way its always been done..cause the pros know...it still works.
TB
I couldn't agree more. I've let my bodyfat slide a little high this off-season (up to 15%), but we're back down to 14 and heading down back to where I want when I begin the cut late next month for shows in April and May (the May Vulcan Classic in Birmingham, Brute).
ReplyDeleteWhile my overall WEIGHT hasn't changed 5 lbs. since May, I've added an easy 10 lbs. of muscle, so one CAN add muscle and lose fat at the same time. It just makes adding muscle a little slower, I find. I'd really like to get more toward 260 before I start peeling, but am currently bouncing off 250. At 57, it's a little hard to pile it on as quickly as I used too.
This doesn't mean to say I'm not in there going balls to the wall every day -- the young kids in the gym don't want to train with me -- I train too fast, and if I have partner(s), there are a lot of forced reps involved. These kids don't like that.