Bodybuilding Training Off Season Basic Movements to Pre-Contest Weight Training

Off Season Bodybuilding and Pre-contest Bodypart Training

How to alternate muscle groups and bodyparts for off season training then to prepare for contest training

Roger Riedinger, Beverly International Nutrition Center
Bodybuilding World Fall 1997

I met Jeff Baugh at the 1993 Northern Kentucky Championship where he won the middleweight class and overall title. I thanked him for competing, congratulated him on his conditioning, and asked him about his diet and supplement plan. Jeff told me his diet was primarily low fat and low calories during the entire contest preparation period and that he was using Beverly International supplements and was very pleased with the result.

1995: Up a class to the Light Heavyweights

Two years later Jeff called and asked Sandy and I to monitor his condition in preparation for the 1995 Kentucky Bodybuilding Championship. When Jeff came to the Nutrition Center he'd already dieted down from 217 to 189 at 8.2% bodyfat. There were just four weeks to the show date and Jeff felt that he was not "coming in" as quickly as he'd like. We made a few suggestions regarding his diet and supplements to accelerate fat loss. The first week Jeff's weight stabilized while his bodyfat was reduced to 6.6%! Still there were only three weeks left so Jeff stepped up his cardio and cut calories. As it turned out, Jeff was able to go up a class to the Light heavies, but at a weight of just under 180 lb. He won his class but lost the split overall decision to his friend, John Clark.

Jeff at the 1995 Kentucky Bodybuilding Championships

1997: An early start

For the 1997 season Jeff asked us to help him from the beginning of his contest preparation program. His first visit was 16 weeks out from the Powerhouse Classic, a prestigious National Qualifier. Jeff weighed in at 214 with 13.1% body fat. Our goal was 190 at 5%, more than ten pounds heavier than Jeff's previous best. In the past Jeff started his diet by immediately cutting calories and lost a great deal of weight right at the beginning. We added calories and upped his red meat intake to thirty-two ounces per day while recommending low glycemic carbs to replace his usual carb sources. One month later Jeff's weight was still 214, but his bodyfat had decreased to 11.7%, a net gain of three lb. lean mass. With twelve weeks to go Jeff began visiting the Nutrition Center every other week. Believe it or not we advised Jeff to delay the start of his pre-contest supplement program until his initial progress came to a halt. Instead, we continued to monitor his diet and only began the supplement program when progress stalled at the February 15 session. Jeff's lean mass was 193.5 and his bodyfat was 8.9%, at eight weeks out. Compare these statistics to 1995 when his lean mass was 173 at 8.2%, four weeks out - a 20 lb. gain!

Jeff Baugh at 191 lbs
at less than 5% body fat
- 1997 -


Thursday: 3/20

6:15	6 MASS AMINOS / MULTI V / C / coffee - dymetadrine

8:00 12 eggwhites / 2 yolks
	 1 cup oats

10:40 6.5 oz chicken
	8 oz sweet potato



11:00 MEETING w/ Roger: He thought I looked great!

	Diet changes1 - 12 eggwhites (1 yolk) / 1/2 cup oats

	2 - 6.5 oz sirloin / 8 oz sweet potato

	3 - 6.5 oz sirloin / 4 oz sweet potato

	4 - Pre-workout Ultra Whey

	5 - 6.5 oz sirloin / 2 cups fibrous carbs

	6 - 12 eggwhites (0 yolks)

	Supplements:Ultra 40 6 / meal

			Mass	4 / meal

			Lean Out 2 / meal

			Muscularity 3 / meal

			EPH meals 1-2-4 (pre workout)

1:00	6.5 oz sirloin  started supplements
	4 oz sweet potato 

4:00	Ultra Whey (Pre-workout)

5:00	Back / Bi's strength fine - good pump!
	6.5 oz sirloin / can green beans

9:00	12 eggwhites

Jeff learns a new technique for shedding water

Three weeks later, Jeff entered the 1997 Cincinnati as a warm-up and took top honors in a very tough light heavyweight class. Jeff was not satisfied with his conditioning, nor the way he felt on stage so he asked if we could help him with his water management for the Powerhouse Classic. Here is the program we gave him:

Continue regular diet and sodium until Thursday
Thursday: 1.5 gallons spring water; cut sodium, take 1 - 99 mg potassium tablet every hour, take 1 - 200 mg B-6 tablet per meal; 5 grams Creatine Monohydrate per meal; add 1 cup oatmeal or 6 oz. sweet potato at each meal beginning with meal #3; eliminate vegetables; cut protein to 3 oz chicken.
Friday: 1 gallon spring water; no sodium; 2 - 99 mg Potassium tablets per hour; 2 - 200 mg B-6 per meal; 5 grams Creatine Monohydrate per meal; same meals as Thursday but eat every two hours.
Saturday: add sodium back in; continue 2 - Potassium per hour up until prejudging and 2 - B-6 per meal.

Here's another page from Jeff's journal so you can see exactly how he ate the day before the Powerhouse Classic:

Friday: 4/25
· cut water to 1 gallon today
· 2 B-6 per meal
· 2 potassium / hour
· 3 Density on empty stomach between meals

8:00	3 oz chicken
	1 cup oats

10:00 3 oz chicken

	6 oz sweet potato

11:00 ON ROAD TO CLEVELAND !

12:00 3 oz chicken
	6 oz sweet potato

2:00	3 oz chicken
	6 oz sweet potato



4:00	3 oz chicken
	6 oz sweet potato



4:30	AT HOTEL stripped down looked awesome!
			veiny - more separation (deeper), harder
			excellent change since last night.
			Can't believe the change in my condition
			carbing up, adding B-6 and potassium and
			cutting sodium worked!

6:00	3 oz chicken
	1 cup oats

8:00	3 oz chicken
	1 cup oats

9:30	Balance Bar - treat!

This plan worked for Jeff. He stated, "I've never felt or looked better on stage in my life". He weighed in at 191 with bodyfat less than 5%. Jeff finished 2nd to Curt Law in a tremendous class at the Powerhouse Classic and is now qualified for national competition.

Training

I thought many of you would be interested in Jeff's training as well as his nutritional program. Off season he trains shoulders and arms only six months out of the year so that he can concentrate on adding more size through heavy, basic movements. For pre-contest he follows a 4 on - 1 off pre-contest training program: Day #1 - Chest and Triceps, Day #2 - Quads, Day #3 - Back and Biceps, Day #4 - Shoulders and Hamstrings.

Here is a sample Chest Workout pre-contest:
Bench Press: Warm ups with 135, 225, and 275, then the following 4 sets for as many reps as possible. This past year he was able to stay stronger and would shoot for 315 x 10, 330 x 4 - 6, 315 x 8 - 10, and 275 x 10 - 15.
Incline Barbell Press: 275 x 6; 255 x 8; 235 x 10 and 225 x 10
Flyes or Crossovers: 4 x 10 - 15
On alternate chest workouts Jeff substitutes the following exercises for those listed above:
Incline Barbell Press (same method as Bench Press above)
Decline Barbell Press (same method as Incline Press on the first workout day)
Flyes (flat, inclined or a combination for a total of 4 sets of 10 - 15 reps)

Fall 1997 Articles:

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