Pete's Contest Prep- OCB Midatlantic Classic

[Pickle]

props for moving all the furniture while ur dieting man, hope you wern't grumpy lol. Wheres the next bunch of pics? Have you worked out your posing routine and music etc? keep strong bro.

 

[PistolPete]

Thanks bro, I have been slacking on the pics!! I want to take some this afternoon. My girlfriend is going home for a few days (Kansas City), so if I don't do it this afternoon, I won't be able to until Tuesday Yikes! I need to get that done for sure.

I stayed pretty level headed the entire time yesterday, but by the end of the day I was getting a little tired of it all, and probably a little bit grumpy. I think I was most grumpy because we stopped to get lunch at 12 PM. I had my lunch packed (turkey sandwich with string cheese), but since we went to a pizza place, I decided not to be weird and eat my packed lunch, and just order something. I got a grilled chicken salad, with hot sauce on the chicken.
When I get this at other places, its usually pretty fresh and delicious. However, this salad didn't have any mixed greens (all iceburg), the chicken was a little undercooked, hardly seasoned, and the hot sauce was GROSS!!! How can hot sauce be gross?? How can you screw that up?? The hot sauce was like, pink. WTF? It just pissed me off, cause I was tired, wanted a salad, and I got shit lol.

Thanks for keeping along pickle, I really appreciate it bro. Hope your training is going well too! Looking awesome in your avitar!
I still have yet to pick my music for my posing. I just made a thread on MMheadquarters for music suggestions. post on it!

 

[PistolPete]

12 weeks down, 8 to go!!!!

Little update:

Threw up doing legs today, not because I was training crazy intense, but because I took a preworkout supp called Quake by Scivation. I have nothing against this product, as I'm sure its really good, my body just hates preworkout supplements. I either get too antsy, have diahhrea (sp?), or my stomach hurts the entire time. With EVERY preworkout supp! It blows.
I got a free sample from bodybuilding.com a month ago. I was a little tired today from work and classes, and from the moving process yesterday. So i figured I would take it as a pick-me-up. BAD MOVE.
In conclusion, ill just stick with my green tea extract, and thermogenics for extra energy. I still love Scivation products, just can't use their preworkout supp.
I probably wouldn't have thrown up if I was working a different muscle group. But legs, forget it. Those lunges killed my stomach with all the up and down motion.
I threw up twice, then finished with some leg extensions, leg curls, and calf raises. Also I did some low intensity cardio for 30 minutes. NO PAIN NO GAIN!!!!!!!!

I just dropped my girlfriend off at the airport. I 'll miss her for the time shes gone but before she left, she took some pics

 

[PistolPete]

2nd set..

Also, I'm definitely a little flat in these pics. My weight this morning was 204.0. And boy was I FLATT!!!!! The moving process yesterday seriously depleted my glycogen stores. It was such a long process of carrying, lifting, up stairs, down ramps, down stairs, etc. etc. It was somewhat of a marathon session. SO yea, I was 204.0 flat this morning. A hour or so after my workout I was 203.6! so needless to say, I was even more depleted But still, I think the pics look pretty good. Theres just not as much POP in them. I think this is evident in my side chest pic, where I usually show good thickness in my arms and chest.

 

[PistolPete]

3rd set

 

[PistolPete]

last pic. I noticed my abs have been coming in better the last week or so, so im going to start posting AB/Thigh shots

 

[Pickle]

last pic. I noticed my abs have been coming in better the last week or so, so im going to start posting AB/Thigh shots

they are coming in for sure man. your quad seperation is killing it as well. front double bi is flowing well as well. Seems like you can just phone this one in for the next 8 weeks your going to show up awesome. keep it up

 

[mvsf1]

your quad seperation is killing it as well.

Yeah man!

 

[PistolPete]

I have a few theories on why my quad seperation is good.
1. My quads are one of my better body parts. And Generally, a bigger muscle POPS out more, so it looks more defined. Look at professional bodybuilders, although a lot of them get kinda fat in the offseason, there muscles are so huge, they look leaner then they really are. Just an illusion!
2. There have been some studies that shown (and no im not a complete believer in this) that muscle group that were worked extremely repetitively have better fat oxidation then other muscle groups.
In my case, I rowed on a crew team competitively for 4 years. Our seasons would last from November-June. And then I would do rowing camps in the summer sometimes as well. To give you an idea what rowing is like, look at the ergonomic rowing machines (cardio equipment) at your gym. Yes, you're pulling with your arms and back, but its honestly MOSTLY in your legs. It's like doing a leg press, THOUSANDS of times.
Before I even started bodybuilding I rowed.
A typical practice we would row, 8-10,000 kilometers. We would row an average of 30 strokes per minute, and it would take us about 7.5 minutes to do 2,000 kilometers. Thats an average of 1,125 strokes in a practice. THATS ONE PRACTICE!!! All those leg presses!! Now, imagine doing that for four years...
It may be all Bull shit, Im not sure. It may be complete coincidence, that my quads come in before other muscle groups. Or it could have to do with better fat oxidation, because of my past. Who knows! lol
Either way, I wish it would do the same for my glutes and hams!

 

[PistolPete]

Thanks for the comments guys, I appreciate it. I need these sets of eyes to tell me whats looking good, what's not. If you think im on schedule, etc. It really helps a lot. It's tough to look at your own physique and make honest judgments. Please keep the comments coming throughout the weeks!

 

[PistolPete]

My training split has me work my muscle groups twice a week.
This has always been somewhat challenging, but my body has responded very rapidly to it.
Just like everyone else in contest prep, my legs have been taking a beating! Training legs twice a week, on top of that, I'm doing 2 High intensity cardio sessions, and 4 low intensity sessions. Also, I walk EVERYWHERE! besides the gym workouts and cardio, I probably walk an additional 45 minutes a day, and I don't walk slow by any means. I'm always in a rush, so this is 45 minutes of fast paced walking.
All this on my legs has made them very tight.
I finally bought a foam roller this weekend. I think I did it because the extra cardio sessions Layne threw in a week ago has set my legs over the edge.
Just used it for the last 30 minutes. My legs feel SOO much better. I'm going to try and use it every day for the next week to get my legs back to feeling good.

For those of you that don't know what a foam roller does, heres the basic theory...
The muscle is surrounded by fascia. This fascia takes a beating from weight lifting, cardio, etc. The fascia builds up scar tissue all over it, which makes the muscle not be able to expand as well. Also, because of the scar tissue build up, blood circulation is also slowed down. Funny side note: My feet have been falling alseep a lot lately. I honestly believe part of the reason they have been doing this, is because my circulation hasnt been as good because of all the scar tissue built up in my legs.
The foam roller helps break up the scar tissue, which helps recovery, flexibility, and muscle pumps! It's fantastic. If you go to MD, the latest video of Evan Centopani, you'll actually see him inbetween sets (about a 15 second clip) using a black foam roller to stretch his IT band.
For those of you that haven't used one before, and want more out of your leg training, I seriously recommend buying one.
I used to use it when I worked at Bally Total fitness. But I stopped working there, and didn't have access to one. I realized how much I missed it, and what I was missing out on. So I bought my own!

 

[PrinceVegeta]

Looking great in your last pic man, your gonna kill the comp!

 

[PistolPete]

13 weeks down, 7 to go!!!!!!

@ PV: Thank you so much man. Simply hearing from others that I can win, honestly makes me believe it that much more!

So It's been 9 days since the last time I took pics, so you guys should be able to see some good changes. I definitely see it in my upper body and abs. It's hard to tell in my lower body because I killed Legs today with my boy Drexel1234. He's a great training partner, and even better friend. Shout out to him!
But yea, my hamstrings especially were fried today, and very pumped, so detail in them will be lacking in the pics. I can see more drop to them, but less detail for sure.
I hit up Stiff legged dead lifts twice this week for the first time in weeks, so that really killed them.

I dont post my workouts much in this thread, so I figure since not much is different with my prep, i'll show how I workout.

Leg Hypertrophy:

Leg Press: 8 Plates: 12 reps
10 Plates, 12, 12, 12

This was supersetted with Smith front squats. which KILLED!!!

Front squats: 185: 10 (little too heavy to focus on the muscle and pump. Although I can do the reps, they dont target the quads as desired)

165: 12, 10, 12 (MUCH better, but still tough as hell after the leg pressing)

I think I did these four super sets with about a minute or so break in between. By the last set, I was shaking and heaving for every breath. Drexel1234 did the same workout, and he can attest, it was BRUTAL!

Seated Hamstring curls super set with SLDL

Curl: 130: 13, 13, 12, 15
(I usually do 150 pounds, but the heavy SLDLs I did earlier this week carried over to this workout, so I had to go just a bit lighter)

SLDL: 185: 10, 10, 10, 11

Leg Press Calf Raises: 215: 11, 11, 11, 11
I go for 10-12, so seeing as this was a new weight, I wanted to hit the middle of the target rep range, feel the weight with my muscle a little better. Next week I'll go for all 12s and then bump the weight up the following week.

After warming up, the workout took about 45-50 minutes max. It was very intense, save the calf raises, and got done quickly! Then I hit up Low intensity cardio for 35 minutes on the elliptical burning about 375 calories.

My weight this morning was 201.2. In the last two weeks Ive lost about 5 pounds. Little quicker than usual, but I still feel good and strong, so thats what counts!

Again, if I look a little bottom heavy, and top flat, its because my legs are still pumped a bit from todays workout for sure.

 

[PistolPete]

2nd set..

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[PistolPete]

....

 

[PistolPete]

7 weeks to go baby!

 

[Cork]

I think on the side posing shots you need to flex that front hamstring. Yours is hanging loose and it would look much bigger if you kept it flexed and pushed up against the other leg.

Everything facing the judges should be tensed. You should practice it now because it can be tough to keep the calf and ham flexed at the same time for an extended period of time. I know my calves and hammies are near cramping by the time I step off stage.

 

[PistolPete]

Very good point Cork. So when you do your side poses, do you flex your calve, then your hamstring, and then upperbody?

Right now what I do is just, flex my calve, squat down and push my hamstring out as much as possible, then flex my upperbody. I really dont focus on flexing the hamstring in my side poses. I thought I was just supposed to push it out to show the hang of it.

I definitely need to keep working on my posing, its getting close to stage time!

 

[PistolPete]

Also, not to make too many excuses, but my hamstrings were FRIED that day. They still are pretty sore. I hit up Stiff legged dead lifts for the first time in a while last week. I did them on my heavy day (275 for 5 reps, 4 sets) and again on my hypertrophy day (185 for 10 reps, 3 sets) along with leg curls. my hamstrings could barely flex that day as it was. But next time I take pictures, and when i pose this week, I will focus on flexing my hamstring on the side poses for sure.

Thanks again for the tip, keep them coming! Presentation is such a crucial component in this sport.

 

[mvsf1]

^^ You are progressing now faster than I expected. Detail is showing all over your body. Great job!