This time I took every single supplement Jeremiah recommeded rather than just taking a few like I had the previous year.
... After four weeks I returned to see Jeremiah and had lost 5.5 lbs. of fat and virtually no muscle.
... After four weeks I returned to see Jeremiah and had lost 5.5 lbs. of fat and virtually no muscle.
Three weeks out from the Battle I attended a Beverly pre-contest seminar and followed the water manipulation and diet as instructed for the final week. This helped ease my tension about the final week and is a must attend for any new competitors.
I was very nervous the morning of the show. I really wanted to improve on last year's placing, but I'd picked a National Qualifier to try to do so. I arrived at the show and Kevin told me he'd made weight for bantam. I hopped on the scale and to my amazement I was 140 lbs., the water manipulation had worked almost too well. Kevin and I were going to be competing against one another.
Currently in law school, bodybuilding has given me the confidence, stamina and discipline to do whatever I set my mind to in any facet of life
There were six guys in our class. After pre-judging everyone said it was between Kevin and me. In the end they were right. I took second to Kevin by just two points in the bantamweight open. Kevin deserved it; he was a bit leaner than me. Although I didn't win, I did finish second in the open and second in the lightweight novice. I improved my symmetry, size, condition and placing. I had already surpassed my goals for this season, but I wasn't finished.
Two weeks until the Mr. Cincinnati
I went to see Jeremiah for one last bodyfat assessment. I was down to 6.5% at 149 lbs. Two markers they use at Beverly to tell if you are in competition condition: pounds of fat should be less than ten; and sum of all nine skinfolds should be less than forty. I met both criteria-9.685 lbs. of fat and my skinfolds were 35mm. He advised me to continue on the revised fat burn diet (3 weeks out diet). So I did!
I added sprints to replace one of my 12-minute HIIT cardio sessions and decided to train straight through to Wednesday before the show with only one off day. My goal now was to get as shredded as I possibly could.
On Monday night of the final week I had my last carb-up meal. On Wednesday I completely eliminated sodium and began potassium loading. I also ate 8 oz. 93% lean beef and 1/2 grapefruit exclusively for each of my five meals. On Thursday I continued with the same meals but used 90% lean beef instead of 93% and added a sixth meal. I should add that I enjoyed the beef and grapefruit much more than my other diet and I also felt I lost a little extra fat doing this. On Friday I added white rice to each of my beef and grapefruit meals. (A tricked I got from Anthony Busacco's NNN article.) On Friday I drank more than three gallons of water yet continued to get drier and harder, it was amazing. By 10 PM Friday night I was telling Heather that Anthony Busacco was a genius. His ears must have been ringing. I was getting a pump just brushing my teeth.
Saturday morning arrived. I was the best I had ever been. For breakfast I ate 6 oz. 90% lean beef, 1 whole grapefruit, 2 glasses of orange juice and a half of jar of family size applesauce (following details from Anthony's NNN article adjusted for my lighter bodyweight). I also drank some coffee for its diuretic effects, as my plan was to continue drinking water all day long.
At the weigh in I stepped on the scale at 142.25 lbs. I was leaner and bigger than ever before. I was stoked. Then I saw that my class had just one other competitor and he was 5'3" and 140 lbs. I figured I'd look skinny next to him since I'm 5'6". I put those thoughts out of my mind and focused on the task at hand. Right after weigh in, I ate another beef, grapefruit and rice meal and chugged some water and lemonade. About 45 minutes before stepping on stage, I finished the other half of the applesauce, popped 15 Muscle Synergy and continued to sip lemonade for sugar up to the time to take the stage. I barely needed to pump up. I did some pushups and got in line.
When I came off stage I was able to watch my prejudging performance that my dad had taped. To my amazement, despite my competitor's compact structure, I looked bigger in every aspect (the more conditioned you are - the bigger you will look onstage). As I waited backstage at the night show the expeditor and some of the other competitors mistook me for a lightweight. Now that was a compliment. Finally, for a perfect ending I was awarded first place bantam open Mr. Cincinnati.
Saturday morning arrived. I was the best I had ever been. For breakfast I ate 6 oz. 90% lean beef, 1 whole grapefruit, 2 glasses of orange juice and a half of jar of family size applesauce (following details from Anthony's NNN article adjusted for my lighter bodyweight). I also drank some coffee for its diuretic effects, as my plan was to continue drinking water all day long. [ continued on next page ]