Shane Copley NABBA Mr Universe 2010

[bodyworks]

Hi Guys, Just wanted to introduce myself, I'm Shane Copley from the UK, i competed in the NABBA Mr Universe last weekend. I won my class (3) which was an amazing feeling, especially after finishing 2nd last year. Realising my ambition is a very satisfying feeling and i'm stillon cloud nine. I plan to stick around on these boards for a while so please feel free to contact me with any questions. Below is a pic with my trophy just after i got offstage. all the best with your training, shane.

[The Wolfman]

Congratulations, and wow..
Amazing development!

[HawaiianPride.]

You look great Shane. Congrats!

[marcus300]

Hello shane how are you? Well done on the win and its was well deserved.

[bodyworks]

hi Markus, on top of the world just now mate. getting some life back into me now through eating REAL food ha ha.

[marcus300]

hi Markus, on top of the world just now mate. getting some life back into me now through eating REAL food ha ha.

I bet you are lol

How was the dieting this time around, was is hard work? how many weeks did you out from?

[Matt]

Good to see you here Shane, great work and im sure many people will have questions..BTW what part of the UK are you from???

[marcus300]

He's from Yorkshire,

[olderfella]

Hi Shane big well done many congrats mate people said you looked awsome,shame gaz didnt pull off the pro,s.

[tbody66]

congratulations, welcome aboard, glad to hear you're gonna stick around for awhile.

[oldschoolfitness]

great job!! glad to see mr. univ. contest getting some prop. all ya here about is the O. back in pumping iron's day mr. univ. was a very important contest and i'm glad to see it still is.

[bodyworks]

thanks guys. i did a 16week precontest diet this time around. It was certainly the toughest diet i have ever done. ever. Had a few personal problems too during my prep which was tough but i stuck with my goal and was rewarded in the end, and the success is more sweet because of this. I carb cycle as opposed to the often used Keto diet these days. Although be under no illusions my carbs were rock bottom for the last 8 weeks. i was doing up to 3 hours cv daily and was totally wiped out from all this, then horror of horrors day one of carb up (the wednesday) i came down with a stomach bug and couldn't eat or drink anything. up to and including the day of the show. So i was as flat as i could possibly be, totally depleted but, the one saving grace although i wouldn't recommend it, dry as a bone without any use of diuretics needed. To illustrate the difference, i was leaner than the previous year i will readily admit, but this year i competed 23lbs lighter than last year ! and moved up one place. so forget the scales everyone, they are a negative influence on a bodybuilders pysche, go by the mirror or tape measure never by the scales.

[terraj]

Hi Shane,

Was reading that you train heavy with low volume. What frequency do you use?

This is your girl- Rachael Grice – Miss Universe ??

[bodyworks]

Rachael is my business partner and best friend, and yes my exgirlfriend. As far as i know we have the unique distinction of being the only gym in the UK owned and run my a Mr and Ms Universe. not bad eh ?

i train very much in the Dorian Yates approach. One all out set, beyond failure, low volume strict form. I change my routine around but usually i train 5 days a week, i'll split bodyparts in to single sessions so i may end up training twice some days, bi's and tri's get done in one workout. I will add that i wouldn't recommend this approach for anyone but experienced trainers, it's very difficult to fully tax the target muscle in just one set. for years i tried this and always felt there was a little left in the tank, so i used to perform 2 working sets per exercise. with time and experience though, and a greater mind muscle connection, i was able to fully exhaust the muscle using only one working set, so that's what i've stuck with ever since. I say be honest with yourself, if you feel there's something left, do another set, if not don't be afraid to move on to the next exercise. Oh by the way, beyond failure means just that, my workouts are extremely intense and i regularly employ drop sets, my favourite would be rest pause sets, assisted reps, partial reps not really into cheat reps though i prefer to keep the stress where i want to aim it and cheat reps don't achieve this.

[terraj]

Not bad at all mate!

Thanks for the info.

Will you be talking cycles on here?

[bodyworks]

i don't like to openly talk too much about drugs, the reason being i don't wish to endorse their use to anyone. plus, if i say what i use, then some kid half my size assumes that he should use the same as me and it doesn't work like that. that said i'll be as open and honest as i can be.

[terraj]

Cool man.

That back pic is sick! Great separation and thinkness.

What do you or have you done to get that?

[Dukkit]

Very awesome to have you on the board my friend!

And congrats on the win!

[bodyworks]

Cool man.

That back pic is sick! Great separation and thinkness.

What do you or have you done to get that?

DIET ! ha ha. usually the back/glutes are the last places to hold visable bodyfat. therefor, if you ain't 'down' enough, your development will look sub-par in these areas. Get the bodyfat low, very low, and you'll see the seperation come through.

[bigslick7878]

Your back is sick! Unreal. What supplements do you believe in in general and could you get into dosages if possible leading up to/during your prep for the contest?

[bodyworks]

by supplements i take it you mean special 'supplements' ? well without going too much into specifics for the reasons i stated above, my take on the protocol is to switch to only anabolic compounds 8 weeks out. then as the show gets closer add in non aromatising androgens, cut any slightly water retaining compounds and run into the show on the basics. if you do this, then there should be no need for the use of an anti E or AI. it's really quite a simple process made overcomplicated by too many people. and the dosages aren't crazy either, at least in my case. get dry first, then fill (if you can) then make sure you're dry on show day.

[bigslick7878]

by supplements i take it you mean special 'supplements' ? well without going too much into specifics for the reasons i stated above, my take on the protocol is to switch to only anabolic compounds 8 weeks out. then as the show gets closer add in non aromatising androgens, cut any slightly water retaining compounds and run into the show on the basics. if you do this, then there should be no need for the use of an anti E or AI. it's really quite a simple process made overcomplicated by too many people. and the dosages aren't crazy either, at least in my case. get dry first, then fill (if you can) then make sure you're dry on show day.

I meant otc supplements not anabolics. Bcaa's aminos etc

[marcus300]

Love the new avy Shane, I think those extra lbs you lost this time around made you look alot bigger.

Shane could you give our members your stats, off season and on please?

[FireGuy]

That back double bi is straight up sick looking! Very Impressive.

[bodyworks]

I meant otc supplements not anabolics. Bcaa's aminos etc

my bad, sorry dude. my staple is whey protein. simple as, cannot do without it. in fact precontest 50% of my daily protein intake comes from Extreme Whey. I prefer Whey to slower digesting proteins/combo's as i eat very often precontest, every two hours in fact so because of this fact i can use a rapidly absorbing protein such as whey because i don't have to wait too long until my next protein intake. BCAA's are a good idea for anyone on a restrictive diet same could be said for Glutamine and a decent creatine supplement although personally i occasionally use creatine only in the offseason. My main tip other than a good Whey protein powder, would be to supplement with a good multi vit + multi mineral. Pretty obvious stuff i know, but this year i didn't do this and being that my diet was so devoid of vitamin and mineral content for so long, inevitably i got sick before show day. My own fault and something i will not repeat believe me, that lesson has been learned.

as for my stats, tough to say as they vary so much depending on my goals at that time. One that doesn't change is my hight, 5' 7 1/2". offseason i can be anywhere from 235 - 265 again depending on if i have guest spots or whatever to stay in shape for. At 235 i'm in decent shape believe it or not, that might sound crazy as i'm about 200lbs in my avatar but contest weight (genuine contest weight ha ha) once the water has gone etc, is always a surprisingly low number if the guy's in shape. Drop the fluids and the scale goes south very fast.

[gonnagetmebigger]

wow, great thread. so much info for new and existing members to get their teeth into.....keep it coming. I live in southport and i was meant to go and watch the show but my work changed my day off from sat to sunday!!!! POO. you look amazing man and congrats on the win.

[mperk]

wow Shane - That is an awesome physique you brought to the show - a well deserved win! Your delts and traps are amazing!!!! any other pics of the show? Where is your gym in the UK? That would be the top attraction for me to visit in the UK! you have a website for it? i appreciate your attitude towards gear - it is too easy for younger (and older) guys to get the impression that it is "magic" and that diet and training are secondary.

Great to have you on the board - hope to see more of your posts in the future. Grats again, big guy!!!!

[paulzane]

Hi Shane .... great to have you here. I am sure you will be a great asset to this board!

[vishus]

wow, amazing size and conditioning. true inspiration. i compete in the NPC here in the states and currently working on my off-season, was wondering if you could give us an example of what your off-season diet looks like?

[Diego.PumpingIron]

Wow Shane youre a #$%& Monster !!! But most of all u keep a really impressive symetry and no Gut, Keep it up men !!!

[baseline_9]

Lookin good

nice to have another UK guy on the board

How do u n marcus know each other??

[sambud]

looks nice

[bodyworks]

wow, amazing size and conditioning. true inspiration. i compete in the NPC here in the states and currently working on my off-season, was wondering if you could give us an example of what your off-season diet looks like?

Thanks everyone for the kind words. Very nice comments from you all and much appreciated.

my offseason diet last year looked like this (let me explain however that my goal last year was to stay in good shape year round which i did, so i could do guest spots and so i would have a much lighter starting weight come the precontest diet)

daily totals were approx: 350g protein + 500 - 600g carbs + very low fat almost not worth counting. My carb sources were wholewheat pasta predominantly, potato flesh (don't like the skin) and 2 servings of fresh fruit daily usually consisting of a handful of grapes and melon. My protein sources were Turkey breast (it's lean, high protein and i like the taste) 10 egg whites and 2 yolks scrambled in the mornings,1 x 250g sirloin steak in the evening and a protein blend shake twice daily. i confess to not eating veg regularly although i should i admit, but at least i did include fruit everyday which is a commonly overlooked food source amongst bodybuilders. The fruit was in there for the vitamin content, and to provide a sweet taste so i wouldn't be tempted to cheat on my diet. The carb content is very low in grapes and melon so don't count them towards you daily totals. I don't add fats as such other than the 2 yolks in my eggs and the fat contained within the beef i eat and even here i opt for the leanest cut i could find. The most common problem i find in many peoples offseason eating is too low a carb total or alternatively a poor choice of carb source. Hey, cheesecake may be high in carbs but it ain't low GI and it ain't low fat or low on the additives. Stick to the decent sources in high amounts. protein to repair and grow and carbs to fuel your body.

[manveer1]

Thats amazing. Your stomach is incredibe, how did your stomach that way?

[marcus300]

What are your next goals?

[weknowbobbito]

congrats! glad to have you on board

[gladmax]

Looking Ripped man very inspirational

[bodyworks]

thanks guys. My next goal is too have a productive offseason. like i said earlier last year was all about staying in shape for me. now the show is over and i have achieved my goal, i can now fully focus on packing on more mass, which is what draws me to this sport in the first place. Competition wise i don't know what show i'll do next, all i know is i'll regain the lost muscle plus interest before i step back on stage so i will be much bigger when that show rolls around. Currently i'm still resting up, haven't trained yet since the show (been 3 weeks now) and don't plan to for a couple more weeks yet. The rebound is pretty much over now, weight hit 245lbs last week,today dropped back to 236lbs so proof that the excess water retention is on it's way out. i can tell by appearance too and i no longer feel like a heart attack candidate so my body is once again returning to it's 'natural' state. a bit more rest then i'll ease my way back in to it, if you notice i have torn both pecs, both done around 4 weeks after shows, that lesson has been well and truely learned now. Almost time to begin the fun part of bodybuilding, the OFFSEASON !

[energizer bunny]

looking great mate....and well done on the win!....

[terraj]

Any off season pics Shane?

Lucky the pec tears look symmetrical huh