Gettin ready for a show what percent do you think im at?

[Lift to live]

HEy guys I'm getting ready for a show and was curious to what percent you think I might be right now. Thanks

[FireGuy]

You look well under 10% in that picture but I am reluctant to call people under 10 without seeing their low back, quads/hams/glutes.

[Lift to live]

These were from about ten days ago maybe it will help I was bod pod tested at 10.9 at the end of feb weighing 214. I am 194 now so I know I have lost some mass hopefully a good bit of water from reduction of test since then. By the way fireguy you know your stuff do you think I should shoot for 187 1/4 and under for men's junior middles I have 3 weeks left? I'm 5'10 next class is straight heavies no between By the way pardon the acne issues lol.

[oatmeal69]

Outstanding development, man! Good luck with your show!

[V-ROID]

I would guess 9% tops, maybe close to 8%. Looking good and good luck in the show!

[FireGuy]

These were from about ten days ago maybe it will help I was bod pod tested at 10.9 at the end of feb weighing 214. I am 194 now so I know I have lost some mass hopefully a good bit of water from reduction of test since then. By the way fireguy you know your stuff do you think I should shoot for 187 1/4 and under for men's junior middles I have 3 weeks left? I'm 5'10 next class is straight heavies no between By the way pardon the acne issues lol.

Absolutely. You can make that easy with water manipulation. Better to be at the top end of the weight class as long as you dont have to sacrifice all sorts of size to get there. If I am with 10-12lbs of a class 2 weeks out I will make the drop. Looking solid BTW!

[Lift to live]

By the way guys I thought it would be cool to show you guys what I looked like summer of 2009 when I decided that I had become a fat slob after being in great shape from 18- 21. Here in this pic I was 23 it's great motivation for me to look back on.

[oatmeal69]

Awesome work! My "befores" of about a year or so ago were like yours too. You're an inspiration, I hope to get that lean before Summer!

[Lift to live]

I Appreciate the kind words just figured it could help others who feel like they can't do it.

[Gaspari1255]

By the way guys I thought it would be cool to show you guys what I looked like summer of 2009 when I decided that I had become a fat slob after being in great shape from 18- 21. Here in this pic I was 23 it's great motivation for me to look back on.

Wow....When I first saw your thread I looked at the pic and said "another lucky genetically lean son of a bitchh." I was wrong though. Your hard work is a great inspiration.

[M302_Imola]

Wow....When I first saw your thread I looked at the pic and said "another lucky genetically lean son of a bitchh." I was wrong though. Your hard work is a great inspiration.

Lol, I would be lying if that thought didn't enter my head as well. Great work OP...goes to show research, hard work, and dedication can take you far. I looked alot like your before pic about 3 years ago and have made leaps and bounds to where I am today. Still looking to get alittle leaner although I won't be doing as show.

[paulzane]

Wow ..... great before and after shots!!

[Lift to live]

Wow....When I first saw your thread I looked at the pic and said "another lucky genetically lean son of a bitchh." I was wrong though. Your hard work is a great inspiration.[/QUOTE]

Lmao, yeah it's funny my dad actually has great genetics but he's only 5'5 he was a national level competitor with great balance and I ended up with my moms genes ( taller, child bearing hips, non responsive calves, and a great ability to go into lee priest offseason mode). Nah its cool those are just things I like to complain about but I tell everyone I come across that asks for advice that dont say you want to look like this guy or that guy because you probably wont. Just be (cheese alert) the best you can bc if you do that you can't be disappointed, mainly because you know you earned it and know what it took to get there wether your lean physique resembles arnie or carrot top you will be happy.

[oscarjones]

I like your optimism and dedication.. Solid physique too man! True inspiration. Good luck with your show.

[adamjames]

nice work, you gotta be under 10 % here.......surely

[swol_je]

I say 8% judging by ur legs. How far out are you?

[t-gunz]

solid progess.

did u sort the diet and training yourself or hire a trainer?

[Lift to live]

I say 8% judging by ur legs. How far out are you?

Well the first relaxed shot was on Saturday 3 weeks out. The back shots were 4.5 out I may post some this weekend with 2 to go then. Yeah my wheels and lower back always seem to lag behind.

[Lift to live]

solid progess.

did u sort the diet and training yourself or hire a trainer?

I did my own diet. For two reasons 1. Money 2. It seems like a lot of the supposed experts give out the same cookie cutter plan to each client they have I believe that of course calories in calories out is number one but I think everyone reacts differently to different macros. I started out low carb and 6 weeks out switched to carb cycling.

[oatmeal69]

Anyone who is honest with themselves, and is willing to count, weigh and measure can build and personalize a diet here using the forum better than any personal trainer can.

[BG]

By the way guys I thought it would be cool to show you guys what I looked like summer of 2009 when I decided that I had become a fat slob after being in great shape from 18- 21. Here in this pic I was 23 it's great motivation for me to look back on.

Well fucing done !!!!

[BG]

Anyone who is honest with themselves, and is willing to count, weigh and measure can build and personalize a diet here using the forum better than any personal trainer can.

I agree you can do very well yourself, but a posing coach is a must, it was my down fall. Back stage a bunch of people asked me who i trained/prep with, I told them myself and a few good internet friends. They looked like they didnt believe me, and I didnt come in near 100%.

[Lift to live]

Here's a few newer pics guys any feedback is appreciated 2 weeks to go!

[oatmeal69]

Awesome, I can't imagine how hard it is to get that lean. I hope to do it soon!
The only place I see any area for improvement (to my uneducated eyes) is maybe the backs of your legs on your hamstrings??

[OnTheSauce]

Looking great bud. Keep up the hard work

[FireGuy]

Looking good man,upper body is ahead of the lower from a conditioning stand point. Quads, glutes and hams could all be sharper with more detail for sure. Two more weeks....you still have time to drop another lb or two of bodyfat, pull water and you should be fine. Poses look solid, shoulders look great, nice thick and round.Assuming u r going to make the under 187 1/4 no problem?

[Lift to live]

Looking good man,upper body is ahead of the lower from a conditioning stand point. Quads, glutes and hams could all be sharper with more detail for sure. Two more weeks....you still have time to drop another lb or two of bodyfat, pull water and you should be fine. Poses look solid, shoulders look great, nice thick and round.Assuming u r going to make the under 187 1/4 no problem?

Thanks fireguy my thoughts exactly. I have been irritated with my wheels lately my quads are coming along faster than my hams it seems and I was curious to know how much water you think I may lose since today was my last test prop shot and I started letrozole yesterday. I am not planning on using a diuretic bc I'm not well versed and heard it could backfire. If you have suggestions on the subject I would love to hear them as I'm still open to the idea.

[< <Samson> >]

Amazing change, great work!

[FireGuy]

Thanks fireguy my thoughts exactly. I have been irritated with my wheels lately my quads are coming along faster than my hams it seems and I was curious to know how much water you think I may lose since today was my last test prop shot and I started letrozole yesterday. I am not planning on using a diuretic bc I'm not well versed and heard it could backfire. If you have suggestions on the subject I would love to hear them as I'm still open to the idea.

Dropping the Prop isnt going to give you a dramatic water loss, as far as the letro, I dont know if you were running an AI prior but the letro should have been added weeks ago. Anyways, there is no way I can give you an accurate number on how many lbs of water you can drop. Some guys drop crazy amounts, others very little. With a strong diuretic I can drop 10-12lbs overnight. The counter part of that is you can end up looking extremely flat. If you want to do something simple just keep your water high leading up to the show, cut it around noon friday and use an herbal diuretic. You can pull some sodium as well but unless you really know what youre doing that can backfire or lead to some major cramping issues. The last 72 hours is always a chess game and learning what your body needs and responds to is something that you will develop better and better the more shows you get under your belt.

[Lift to live]

Thanks again fireguy, I had been running exemestane past 2 months and switched I letrozole for a stronger effect. I heard it can be very hard to stay on letro very long because of sides and thought 2 weeks at 2.5 a day would be solid got this advice from ronnie Rowland. My plan was to cut out added sodium on Wednesday and go with all fresh produce thurs and Friday to restrict more so. Do you recommend any OTC diuretic I know most have the same stuff in them. By the way what is the last day you do cardio?

[FireGuy]

Glad to hear you have been doing estrogen suppression already, the switch over should be well. Wednesday is very early to eliminate sodium in my opinion. It doesnt take more than 24-36 hours for it to clear. When you say produce thursday and friday what exactly are you referring to? You can find several OTC diuretics at any health food store. Watershed seems to work well for many. There is another one as well but the name is slipping my mind right now.

[Lift to live]

Glad to hear you have been doing estrogen suppression already, the switch over should be well. Wednesday is very early to eliminate sodium in my opinion. It doesnt take more than 24-36 hours for it to clear. When you say produce thursday and friday what exactly are you referring to? You can find several OTC diuretics at any health food store. Watershed seems to work well for many. There is another one as well but the name is slipping my mind right now.

Thanks again man. Looks like sound advice I was thinking cutting sodium to early would backfire. By produce I just meant no frozen chicken or canned green beans fresh instead to reduce sodium and switch to asparagus and spinach.

[Misery13]

Holy balls bro... Your before and after pics are worlds apart. Great great job.

[dooie]

Wow man, nice work, some questions though! Not being mean but im interested! How long have you had the acne? When did u first get it? Will the judges mark you down for having bad skin? How many cycles have you done and what were they?

[kaotiktravis]

By the way guys I thought it would be cool to show you guys what I looked like summer of 2009 when I decided that I had become a fat slob after being in great shape from 18- 21. Here in this pic I was 23 it's great motivation for me to look back on.

Great work and Transformation!! very inspirational!! maybe i could pick your brain on what you did to get form before to after? inbox me if you care to share Thanks!

[Lift to live]

Wow man, nice work, some questions though! Not being mean but im interested! How long have you had the acne? When did u first get it? Will the judges mark you down for having bad skin? How many cycles have you done and what were they?

I was always prone to acne as a teen and had shoulder chest acne till 22 then it flared back up after my first cycle last year. I have never seen any deductions for the acne when it comes to judging I so I would think gyno would be worse hopefully Protan will mask some of it lol. This is only me 2nd cycle by the way.

[ghettoboyd]

nice work bro...im enjoying your preparation conversation with fireguy, im learning a great deal...ive never really had any intentions of compeating but im starting to consider it now...good luck....

[Awesome_Archy]

Awesome work bro, that's a great transformation for the the 2009 pic.

[rj2k10]

Amazing before & after shots dude. Looking lean too, good effort

[Lift to live]

Alright guys today was show day just hot done with prejudging we will see how unplaced tonight. Big shout out to fireguy and Ronnie Rowland for all their help!