Competition in 94 days

**jdspinna** · 04-12-2007, 05:20 PM

I'm looking to enter my first ever competition on July 14th. What I'm looking for is opinions if I should enter or not based on my BF levels (see thread title).

Unfortunately my lady is out of town right now and has the good camera so I used my phone to take a few shots of myself. I would wait but, time is ticking if I am going to start getting pepared.

These shots make me look more smooth and than Iam but, they should at least help give an idea of my condition.

Right now I am 5'8.5" 215 right now and a littel carb ***leted. Started dieting 4 days ago. . Not sure of BF% I'm thinking I should probably be competing in the low 170's.

If anyone says I should go for it I'll post my diet up Immediately in the diet forum. Let em' rip.

**spound** · 04-12-2007, 06:05 PM

Here is my take. If you are on here asking people if you think you can make it, then no, you can't. You have to believe 100% in your heart that you can, otherwise you won't even stick to the diet 100%. Now, from my realist point of view. To me, it looks like it would be a long shot, but I believe just about anything to be possible, I have seen some pretty damn amazing transformations, however, if you were to pull it off, you would have to bust SERIOUS ass, know EXACLTY waht you are doing, and follow it to a "T". I would say it would be damn near impossible without hiring someone who has experience prepping ppl and bringing them into shows, and even then you would be pushing it. Not to mention you would have to utilize fat burners such as T3, clen etc in order to try to avoid as little muscle loss as possible while burning maximum amounts of fat

**spound** · 04-12-2007, 06:08 PM

After having said that, I think it would be a good idea for you to drop some bodyfat whether you are doing a show or not. THat way, if you decide to do one at any other time, you will not have to plan it so far ahead of time. Why don't you jsut pick a later date to compete, like 16-17 wks away?

**jdspinna** · 04-12-2007, 06:24 PM

Thanks spound. And no I'm not asking if for people to tell me if I can do it. I'm just asking if it is a realistic time frame, because I have never prepared for a comp before. I know you can't tell by my pics but, I do know a good bit about dieting and nutrition I just havn't been applying it, obviously.

I am very dedicated and have no problem busting my ass. I get up every morning at 4:00 to go to gym, cook my meals for the day before I leave for work etc...

No doubt I'll need some dieting guidance tho. I won't be using AAS. The comp is for a "natural" federation.

I don't know what bit my ass when I saw this comp today but, I thought I'm going to go for it. I really really want to do it. There are a couple in Michigan a little further away but, my wedding is in early Sept and I would like to do one before then.

**spound** · 04-12-2007, 08:49 PM

Originally Posted by jdspinna

Thanks spound. And no I'm not asking if for people to tell me if I can do it. I'm just asking if it is a realistic time frame, because I have never prepared for a comp before. I know you can't tell by my pics but, I do know a good bit about dieting and nutrition I just havn't been applying it, obviously.

I am very dedicated and have no problem busting my ass. I get up every morning at 4:00 to go to gym, cook my meals for the day before I leave for work etc...

No doubt I'll need some dieting guidance tho. I won't be using AAS. The comp is for a "natural" federation.

I don't know what bit my ass when I saw this comp today but, I thought I'm going to go for it. I really really want to do it. There are a couple in Michigan a little further away but, my wedding is in early Sept and I would like to do one before then.

I do not doubt that you know your stuff or that you are dedicated (hell you carry a lot of mass at that height for a natural! Great job!

I know a lot about nutrition and I haven't been applying it lately either LOL. However, when you diet for a show, experience REALLY helps, if you don;t have it, then you need guidance IMO. Knowing a "good bit" about diet and training" is one thing, but doing it for a competition is a completely different ball game. If you PM me I can help you out there (refer you to some insane prep guys).

Judging by the pics and the info. you gave me, I would have to say that if you dieted down for this show you would be able to make HUGE progress in the time frame given, but I do not think you would be stage ready. Give it a shot, hell the worst that happens is you are not quite ready, but at least you will have lost a lot of fat and be looking great! Then you could jsut stay around that bodyfat until after the wedding and then you will only need another 4-8 wks of dieting to before another show after you get married. Congrats on the wedding by the way bro! Good luck whatever you do!

**IBdmfkr** · 04-12-2007, 09:06 PM

A little over 12wks to lose over 20%bodyfat is not realistic and very unhealthy. Not to mention you'd probably lose 10-20lbs of muscle while doing so.

Bodybuilding isn't in your near future but getting into a healthier state should be. Goodluck and props for posting the pics and posing the question.

**kaberle_15** · 04-12-2007, 09:50 PM

Originally Posted by IBdmfkr

A little over 12wks to lose over 20%bodyfat is not realistic and very unhealthy. Not to mention you'd probably lose 10-20lbs of muscle while doing so.

I agree, take your time with cutting down

**Dude-Man** · 04-12-2007, 10:07 PM

you'd need around 5 months to get into shape.

**jdspinna** · 04-13-2007, 05:01 AM

Thanks for the encouragement guys!

Last time I got my bodyfat checked I was at 15% per calipers. I'm definitely not much different from then so I can't believe I'm more than 20%. These shots even look terrible to me so I can see how I may look heavier. I even double checked with a buddy of mine at the gym and he said no more than 18% and he has competed @ nationals so, he is pretty experienced. (Not that it makes him an expert by any means)

Either way I guess that would mean at least 3.46lbs a week to get to 170. Even I know that's not realistic for fat loss. I was just assuming the last 15 or so lbs would be all water weight which would put me closer to 2.3lbs a week. Still too high but, a little more resonable.

I don't have to register until July 7th I believe. So, the plan off attack will be to lose around 2lbs a week up till July and I'll have you guys re-evalute.

I really appreciate the brutal honesty around here. I know I don't post much but, I've sure as hell learned at lot browsing the boards and appreciate all the input and wealth of knowledge.

**jdspinna** · 04-13-2007, 05:25 AM

Originally Posted by spound

I do not doubt that you know your stuff or that you are dedicated (hell you carry a lot of mass at that height for a natural! Great job!

I owe my muscle mass to the last 2 1/2 years of squats and deadlifts! I've pulled 560 and I start out my squat routine with 225 from 20 -30 reps ATG.

Originally Posted by spound

Congrats on the wedding by the way bro! Good luck whatever you do!

Thanks. I'll need it. We're paying for the wedding ourselves with over 200 people. Yikes!

**IBdmfkr** · 04-13-2007, 09:40 AM

You've got to consider the fact that you're going into this thing naturally so losing bodyfat without the muscle loss is much harder to do and takes a much longer period of time. Plan on about 2lbs of fat/wk for an average, really 1-1.5lb/wk if you're not experienced.

Take is slow, no reason to diet off all your hard-earned muscle in the process of making a show that you could've easily waited a few months for and came in looking much better.

Goodluck.

**jdspinna** · 04-13-2007, 10:43 AM

Originally Posted by IBdmfkr

You've got to consider the fact that you're going into this thing naturally so losing bodyfat without the muscle loss is much harder to do and takes a much longer period of time. Plan on about 2lbs of fat/wk for an average, really 1-1.5lb/wk if you're not experienced.

Take is slow, no reason to diet off all your hard-earned muscle in the process of making a show that you could've easily waited a few months for and came in looking much better.

Goodluck.

I'll do that then. What is the best way to tell if you are losing too much muscle? Guage by Strength? Look?

**spound** · 04-13-2007, 12:13 PM

Originally Posted by jdspinna

I'll do that then. What is the best way to tell if you are losing too much muscle? Guage by Strength? Look?

Strength is the best way to judge it. That is why it is very important to track your weights while dieting. Some strength loss is expected like a rep here and there, but if you drop 20-30 lbs off of one lift in 2-3 wks, that is not good. But if you are natural and you are losing anymore than 2 lbs per week, you can almost bet that you are losing some muscle.

I agree with everything I B D said. If you are natural you need a lot more time. For instance, if I were you and I was looking to do a show (judging from your pics) I would start dieting 18-20 weeks out at least and go as slow as I could to guarantee I kept all my hard earned muscle. Muscle maintenance is MUCH more important to me than fatloss. That's jsut me though. Just take it slow, its not an overnight process, rememebr that if you start to get frustrated.

**IBdmfkr** · 04-13-2007, 09:23 PM

Agreed, you can do it!

**Valac** · 04-13-2007, 09:36 PM

you could do it, but i suggest you just start toning up now while keeping as much muscle as possible then when it comes to it u can shred up real quick and do even more pre show prep. good luck anyway :P

**jdspinna** · 04-13-2007, 10:38 PM

Found a contest on Oct. 6 in Dayton OH. Got some work to do!

**spound** · 04-13-2007, 10:43 PM

Originally Posted by jdspinna

Found a contest on Oct. 6 in Dayton OH. Got some work to do!

Sounds good bro. Keep us updated...the only thing is dieting when you are about to get married may suck LOL. You don't need to add cardio in yet or anything, but I suggest you start pulling out cals SLOWLY starting now just to tighten up a bit. If you only pull out 1-300 cals here and there while still training hard, you can keep making progress in the gym while leaning up a little.

**jdspinna** · 04-14-2007, 08:22 AM

I know. I'm thinking about the wedding and honeymoon and all that drinking and food. I guess that's way to close to Oct 6 to even attempt.

Since I've just been eating whatever for the last few months I'm going to start out with around 2600kcals a day with a macro ratio of 40/40/20. I keep my lifting sessions pretty quick and intense at 45min to 1hr. Set to set with about 60 - 90sec rest between sets. Sometimes less. Also, I'll let my diet do the work for now, see how it pans out over the next 2 months, and use cardio as a manipulation factor down the line.

**spound** · 04-14-2007, 01:22 PM

Originally Posted by jdspinna

I know. I'm thinking about the wedding and honeymoon and all that drinking and food. I guess that's way to close to Oct 6 to even attempt.

Since I've just been eating whatever for the last few months I'm going to start out with around 2600kcals a day with a macro ratio of 40/40/20. I keep my lifting sessions pretty quick and intense at 45min to 1hr. Set to set with about 60 - 90sec rest between sets. Sometimes less. Also, I'll let my diet do the work for now, see how it pans out over the next 2 months, and use cardio as a manipulation factor down the line.

I would start closer to around 3000 cals to get your metabolism up. Just switching form eating "whatever" to all clean healthy foods should allow you to be able to keep the cals fairly high and drop a little BF alone. You don't want your metabolism running too low after long dieting.

**jdspinna** · 04-14-2007, 10:04 PM

Think a ratio of 40/40/20 okay to start?

**spound** · 04-15-2007, 01:21 AM

Originally Posted by jdspinna

Think a ratio of 40/40/20 okay to start?

It ***ends, ratios seem to be a very individualistic thing. 40/40/20 should work pretty well, but if you are more endomorphic than not, then I would choose a higher protein, higher fat, lower carb diet....maybe something like a 50/15/35. By switching to a similar ratio to this, you probably will be able to get a fat burning stimulus from the change in macros alone and not have to drop calories at all right off the bat. I usually don't pay much attention to ratios, i just make adjustments according to what I have been regularly eating prior to starting a new diet, and just adjust slowly.