DAY 45: The Final Stretch: COMPETITION CUTTING. Diet, Training Strategy and Pitfalls.

Here 's my aim. Would I get there in 20 days? I honestly don't know. I have a plan though... Read on! :)

Hey. So I know I haven't posted anything for 2 days, but I can honestly say that I didn't get enough action to fill you in on something that I might deem interesting. The only thing I can say is that I'm a stubborn motherfucker and still ended up "training lightly" on Friday and Saturday. I couldn't stand not training on Thursday so instead of hitting the gym and going ape shit – I'm sure I wouldn't be able to tone it down there, I just put "Sonne" on and did Back/Biceps on Friday and chest on Saturday at home, using my total gym and some dumbbells I could stack up to 25kgs (fine for chest and whatever toned down training I wanted to have) and made it a point to have Sara around watching stupid Grey's Anatomy so I wouldn't drift in my bodybuilding intense monstrous world and get injured again. I however didn't do anything yesterday but kept my intake as barely sufficient so I would have extra calories ingested and keep the fat burning process going.

These two days got me to plan my next twenty though, and it does something like this:

I had been reading Arnold Schwarzenegger New Encyclopaedia for Modern Bodybuilding among other things – here's a good article on fat loss which actually resumes most concepts I've been using in this diet. Anyways, I figured I should think/plan like a bodybuilder before competition does to get as Super Ripped as I could. The goal is still:
1. to gain as much muscle as I can before I start focusing only on losing fat. I don't have much more time to do this since I've been forced to take a stupid break because of my injury – actually that leaves me 2 days to do that. Shoulders triceps, legs and back. I might drop it and go directly to fat loss:
2. 13th to 26th of September: Then two weeks of pure fat loss (low calorie diet with minimum carbohydrates for glycogen muscle recovery and just muscle maintenance/conservation (low rep exercises with maximum intensity versus minimum calories burned and minimum fatigue. Gonna keep protein intake as high as possible as to lose the minimum amount of muscle.
3. Finally Carb up to replenish my muscle's glycogen stores to the maximum with small meals that contain enough carbs to give my muscles a full look without overloading myself directly which will cause water retention and give my body a smooth look. I can do this for up to a week without starting to gain fat again.
4. Saturday 30th will be a resting day (unfortunately that's when the Halloween parties are happening. I just realized I'd be losing one day. So it's 64 days not 65 and I have 19 days to go.
5. Sunday: Roadsters and CASPER AND GAMBINI'S APPLE PIIIIIIIIIE! (or Applebees' Sizzling Apple Crumble!! MMMMMMMMMM!!!!)  :D (just 2 meals. I think I wanna conserve and enjoy it for a while. Fuck it. A whole crazy free day I would've deserved it.)

The challenge here is not only about reducing your Fat percentage, but trying to conserve as much muscle as possible with heavy weights and short training during the 2 weeks; then giving them a full look by carbing up for the last 4 days (starting wednesday 27th till Saturday 30th). The muscle mass would stock up on glycogen which retains 3.5g of water per 1g of glycogen and makes it look healthy.

Another challenge is to reduce water retention in subcutaneous tissues (between the muscle and skin). People mistake it with Fat. This shouldn't be achieved with Diuretics since it might cause cramps and would flush out water even from the muscles. Drinking less water believe it or not will cause even more water retention. The only logical and healthy solution here would be to drink even MORE water to cheat the body and push it to eliminate stored water – why would it need it since it's having all the water it needs and even more? 3 to 4 liters a day should do the trick. The body will start getting used to flushing more water than usual out of the body. One day before Halloween, I will drop the water intake by half. This wouldn't stop the body from flushing the same amount it has for the past 20 days and POOF! no more jelly belly and water retention! :) By the way stopping sodium isn't the solution here, any excess is flushed out anyways, just lowering the table salt does the trick.

People have been telling me to use Animal Cuts starting now on top of the diet and all the rest. I got actually interested. Haven't made a decision yet but am leaning on not taking it. Ricardo's diet has been going great so far – on thing is for sure out of what I've read about it, it definitely won't hurt to take it – it doesn't chop off on muscle mass and is even a mood uplifter; you can't believe how tired, down and demoralised you might feel on an intense diet PLUS training.


I was wondering if I should keep the creatine (Cell Mass) intake while cutting since I thought it works against getting excess water out of the body – Creatine stores water in the muscles for better performance. Out of the research I've done though, apparently it has nothing to do with water retention and even keeps the muscle not only ready to work but gives it a full healthy shape. So Cell Mass stays. Some extra articles you could read on the subject.

Well. Here it is. You know what's going down. I hope I haven't missed anything.
I'm not sure about doing P90x to be honest by the way and follow the plan I laid out a week ago. I can't afford to sculpt down and tone the muscle. I gotta give it/maintain as much mass as possible, P90x might be too intense for it. I haven't trained for 2 years and my muscle mass is already not that big, my only concern is looking like a skinny model or a starving person rather than a Spartan.

Here's hoping! No more panic.
"Do your best, forget the rest."



HAOUUUUU!!!

By the way, just wanted to mention this. Here's a cool way to knock yourself out of cheating. We got a free Brownie with ice cream at roadsters yesterday (don't get all startled, I was having the light Hamour with barely some carrots and broccoli. We didn't even ask for it! JUST GOT IT ON THE FRIGGIN' HOUSE!! (thank you roadsters :P). Anyway, the fucking brownie kept staring at me. What are the odds of just getting a brownie hek?! On the house?! WHY NOOW!?!! Anyways, Sara noticed that I started having this look on my face that hinted at me lifting the spoon and going for the kill. She broke my eye contact with the cake, looked at me and said: "really?! You're gonna cheat your diet with a BROWNIE!? IT'S JUST A BROWNIE!! Not a Casper's [or a Applebees' Crumble! mmmmmmm!] Apple pie!"...

My tasty Hamour! and ... "tasty" veggies versus...

...THE BROWNIE! How can this be "just a brownie"?!! I don't know. That's what happened yesterday. Sara's a Jedi Knight!

 ... I looked at the brownie. And it was a mere brownie. Not even made hot so the fumes would creep into my nostrils and sway me. PARADIGM SHIFT! Got up and walked away!



HAOUUUUU!!!
(yes. this post gets TWO HAOUS! "That's my reality! Who are you to say otherwise?!" got the Inception joke? :P