Rich's New Beginning: WNBF Pro Stage in 2009!

[bull.dogz]

Holy! look at all those veins.

[rich55]

Holy! look at all those veins.

That's how we role...SHREDDED!!!!!

LOTS OF WORK ON LITTLE SLEEP AND LOW CARBS

Yup, the Mrs. had another rough night and we were up at 3am again. While I have just 8 days left, she has 8 weeks till our baby girl comes. The pain and stretching woke her up and has us for a while. 7:30 am came quick and depletion was rough. I am now without contacts so my eyes can heal from the infection, so that I can see what I am doing on stage. Legally blind and exhausted I pushed through 40 minutes of walking on an incline and elliptical. I then ate the rest of my carbs for the day across two meals and hit some shoulders giant set style and another 30 minutes of walking on an incline.

SHOULDER GIANT SETS:

3 times through with round 3 going rest-pause on each exercise. Pump was non-existent but the burn was most certainly there.

Bent-Over Cable Laterals
Standing Cable Laterals
Seated DB Laterals
Standing DB Shrugs
Upright Bar Rows
Bent-Over DB Laterals
Behind Back Bar Shrugs


MY PEAKING PLAN IN SHORT:

First of all this is specific to me and what my body can and has handled based on prior and current prep. I drink 2 gallons (lil more) at the start of the week and cut back to 1.5 gallons or normal levels to finish. I salt normally and then I don't add on Friday or Saturday. But there is 1 g in my diet on Friday without adding and a little more on Saturday particularly in the morning.

Supplements are the same with Reduction, Orange Triad, Green Bulge, Purple Wraath, MaxGlutamine, MaxPro, CLA, Green Tea and Insuload. Gotta love the Blue Gene, White Flood and Blue Up as well but that won't play a big role this week.

I have been tanning each day and Tuesday through Thursday I will apply Pro Tan's sunless tanner. Friday we are using commercial grade Jan Tana & gun ourselves and will touch up as needed. I prefer posing gel by Jan Tana as well.

Tomorrow:
Refeed up to 500 g carbs
Arms, Calves, Abs Circuit Style & Lots of Posing

Saturday:
100 g carbs
Hard Hamstrings, Cardio & Hard Posing

Sunday:
Plenty of Church & Praying
100 g carbs

Monday:
100 g carbs
Light Chest & Abs
Double Cardio

Tuesday:
Light Back, Calves & Cardio
Hard Posing
250 g carbs

Wednesday:
Lights Shoulders & Arms
Light Cardio & Posing
300 g carbs

Thursday:
Hard Posing & Lots of Routine Walk Through
350 g carbs

Friday:
Pump Upper Body, Light Walk & Light Posing
410 g carbs

Saturday:
More carbs & WATCH OUT!!!!

[rich55]

7 DAYS OUT!!!!!

That's right ladies and gents only one week till showtime! By this time next week, I will be done and cheering on my bud James at the Mid-America. We blasted arms, calves & abs hard yesterday by doing separate circuits of tris, then bis, calves, then abs. Later in the evening I posed for two rounds and worked on my routine. My music is AWESOME! Perfect for my WNBF debut and promises to entertain.

I have certainly hardened up since of the start of the week with noticeable improvements all over. Tris, rear delts, midsection, tops of quads, hams and glutes are all looking sharper. Now, the work continues as planned!

POSING, HAMS & CARDIO 7/25:

I took Yo Yellock (WNBF Heayweight Pro) and James through 3 rounds of posing including one with mirrors and two without. Yo is also making his pro debut at the Mid-America. Then James did the pleasure of taking me through the same. I certainly felt flattened back out a touch and sore from the previous night's posing. 500 g of carbs came and went reinforcing my upcoming protocol. Then we trained some hamstrings, WNBF PRO STYLE!!!! Giant sets continue with 4 nausea-inducing, staggering rounds....

Seated Hammer Leg Curls - up to 110
Deadlifts - up to 205
High & Wide Stance Leg Press - up to 5 plates/side
More Deadlifts - up to 205
Abductor Machine - up to 80
Lying Leg Curl Machine - up to 90

We did one warm-up round, then a middle of the road round, a painful round and then a all out gut-wrenching, don't stop till your finished, nope then 2 more round 10-30 reps in some cases if you're big Yo. James and I then headed upstairs and moved on a treadmill for 30 minutes. 100 g of carbs with next to none after that workout is not very fun after yesterday's refeed.

Tomorrow is an off day with James and I going to church in the morning. When I get back, I am surprising Angie with a "Mother-to-Be Massage" for her birthday. I will send her to get her massage, while I cook a big meal for her. I'm cooking Rigatoni with Red Pepper, Almonds & Bread Crumbs topped with Meatballs and finished off with a killer Oreo Banana dessert. I'm freezing half to eat a week or so later

My final thoughts for the day: 7 days till I gorge on the trifecta of IHOP, Coldstone & Cici's Pizza & Dessert Buffet!!!!

[conda]

7 DAYS OUT!!!!!

That's right ladies and gents only one week till showtime! By this time next week, I will be done and cheering on my bud James at the Mid-America. We blasted arms, calves & abs hard yesterday by doing separate circuits of tris, then bis, calves, then abs. Later in the evening I posed for two rounds and worked on my routine. My music is AWESOME! Perfect for my WNBF debut and promises to entertain.

I have certainly hardened up since of the start of the week with noticeable improvements all over. Tris, rear delts, midsection, tops of quads, hams and glutes are all looking sharper. Now, the work continues as planned!

POSING, HAMS & CARDIO 7/25:

I took Yo Yellock (WNBF Heayweight Pro) and James through 3 rounds of posing including one with mirrors and two without. Yo is also making his pro debut at the Mid-America. Then James did the pleasure of taking me through the same. I certainly felt flattened back out a touch and sore from the previous night's posing. 500 g of carbs came and went reinforcing my upcoming protocol. Then we trained some hamstrings, WNBF PRO STYLE!!!! Giant sets continue with 4 nausea-inducing, staggering rounds....

Seated Hammer Leg Curls - up to 110
Deadlifts - up to 205
High & Wide Stance Leg Press - up to 5 plates/side
More Deadlifts - up to 205
Abductor Machine - up to 80
Lying Leg Curl Machine - up to 90

We did one warm-up round, then a middle of the road round, a painful round and then a all out gut-wrenching, don't stop till your finished, nope then 2 more round 10-30 reps in some cases if you're big Yo. James and I then headed upstairs and moved on a treadmill for 30 minutes. 100 g of carbs with next to none after that workout is not very fun after yesterday's refeed.

Tomorrow is an off day with James and I going to church in the morning. When I get back, I am surprising Angie with a "Mother-to-Be Massage" for her birthday. I will send her to get her massage, while I cook a big meal for her. I'm cooking Rigatoni with Red Pepper, Almonds & Bread Crumbs topped with Meatballs and finished off with a killer Oreo Banana dessert. I'm freezing half to eat a week or so later

My final thoughts for the day: 7 days till I gorge on the trifecta of IHOP, Coldstone & Cici's Pizza & Dessert Buffet!!!!

Awesome man! I'm rootin for ya big time. And All you can eat IHOP FTW!

[rich55]

Awesome man! I'm rootin for ya big time. And All you can eat IHOP FTW!

Thanks bro! IHOP is definitely on the brain haha, but more importantly I have some tweaking and preparation to do this weekend. Simply dialing it in

[rich55]

5 DAYS OUT!!!

So, the last of low carbs days left me struggling a bit as expected but pushing through when the show is that close is much easier. We pushed out a good chest and ab routine plus a killer 80 minutes of cardio across two sessions. Flat and VERY carb-starved we still looked pretty darn good at the end...





Oh, wait till we sharpen up just a touch more, get some color and FILL OUT!! GAME OVER!

[bull.dogz]

You guys look amazing. Your waist looks so tiny too.

[rich55]

You guys look amazing. Your waist looks so tiny too.

Thanks!!! It is tiny 18 weeks of dieting will do that though.



3 MORE DAYS!!

It's all downhill at this point. Coasting with cardio and training, eating more carbs and focusing on tanning and posing really. I'm also tapering my training schedule down and getting ready for the trip.

I have definitely hardened up throughout my glutes and hams since Saturday to a level I have not seen. I imagine the progress will continue a bit till Thursday following all the work we did through today. Still very depleted despite the bit of carbs today, but that all changes soon enough. Looking forward to breakfast!

OH, AND I PICKED UP A 24-PACK ASSORTMENT OF COOKIES FOR BACKSTAGE TO SHARE AFTER THE FINALS. Chocolate chunk, macadamia nut and oat walnut of good size! YUMM! Haha.

[HotRod]

OH, AND I PICKED UP A 24-PACK ASSORTMENT OF COOKIES FOR BACKSTAGE TO SHARE AFTER THE FINALS. Chocolate chunk, macadamia nut and oat walnut of good size! YUMM! Haha.

It will be nice to eat some junk food for a change!

Lookin good, my man!

[bull.dogz]

Did I ever mention I love cookies?

[rich55]

It will be nice to eat some junk food for a change!

Lookin good, my man!

SOME...TRY A WHOLE LOT! Haha, no seriously. Months of deprivation and dieting and I really need to put some fat back on. Thanks, now the fun really begins! SHOWTIME!!

Did I ever mention I love cookies?

Yes, you in fact did. One of my clients has also baked banana nut bread and muffins. YUMMM!!!!


HITTING THE ROAD IN THE MORNING!!
DESTINATION: MID-AMERICA PRO-AM

Alright guys and gals, things are exactly in order and now I'm prepping for the trip to Evansville, Indiana for the Mid-America Pro-Am. CAN'T WAIT! Feeling so MUCH improved, shredded, and ready to do some damage on stage. Refeed process is on point for my WNBF debut and I've spent much of the day prepping food, posing and getting things in order at a well-deserved slow pace. Big James is looking NASTY as well and will be a force to be reckoned for a WNBF Card. Top two overall at this show get the nod, so he has to win his class again and then beat all but one other class winner.

Stay tuned for updates along the way! I'm bringing my laptop and multiple cameras. I will try to make the whole experience comprehensive. Time to keep cooking and packing!

[bull.dogz]

Good luck!!

[rich55]

Checked in, weighed in and getting ready to put our Jan Tana tan on. Yes, interestingly enough I weighed in at 157 lbs. We are both BEYOND ripped!

Just some teaser shots from our pump workout this afternoon. Saving the leg shots for the stage.




There are 9 pros in the lightweight division including Shaun Clarida and Brad Steere. YEAH BUDDY!!! We will see how I stack in the natty pros real fast! And I feeling sorry for James' competition. Let's do this!!

[rich55]

UPDATE FROM THE MID-AMERICA PRO-AM

Alright, alright a mid-show update as promised! My pro debut in one word....BRUTAL!! The WNBF does not play around! I was on stage for approximately 30 minutes and feel like I did giant sets for legs due to the soreness. At first I thought I was just kinda weak, but then I noticed every one else sweating profusely and hurting a little. Brad Steere did say it was the longest time out on stage in pros yet. Never had I experienced posing like that! We did 4-5 rounds of quarter turns for the symmetry round first and then 3-4 of the muscularity round compulsory poses. They would just leave us in the lineup all together at once for a minute at a time as well to make us work for it.

Both pro divisions were loaded and the lightweights were fierce and big. Frankly, I am in the bottom of the pack and am outsized. My conditioning is on and I was a little flat due to the 9am start, but sitting at my best ever 157 versus a class that goes up to 174 on a pro level is no joke. I did wake early to eat (430) and drink plenty of food and water, but I obviously needed more from what I see in the pictures and what I see now after eating and drinking more. I looked like I belong on that stage and I'm happy with that, but am certainly using this as a learning experience and motivation to take 2 years off to focus on family and grow.

I am putting more color on, eating and coming back to wrap up a year's worth of work with show during my routine. They are judged and factored into the scores, so I plan on coming in darker, fuller and with so flair to see if I can end a little further up from that bottom. It's a tough pill to swallow if you've placed in every show you've done, and won all but one natural show you've done, BUT hey winners accept defeat like champions and take it straight on the chin to improve. I'm giving the finals all I have!!

I'm looking forward to eating some straight up junk and miss my wife very much who could not make the trip due to her pregnancy. Angie and my little girl on the way are my first and number one priority. My number one goal in life is to be a champion husband and father, while giving praise and glory to God who strengthens and leads me!

One question is....WILL JAMES GO PRO? That we will have to wait and see on. He is certainly in the running for his class against a VERY familiar face, the improved Mick Winzeler. Not to mention some incredible looking middleweights and some competition in the light-heavies and heavies.

Here are some shots from my camera that are of okay quality. The pro lightweights:






And some of BIG James. These pix do not do him justice in the least. He had a wow factor on stage and his transitioning and everything were just on. VERY proud of him for improving SO much since last year!

[bull.dogz]

Wow! You guys look amazing. I can only imagine what a tough job this will be for the judges.