Bula's 12 weeks of hell (Contest Prep time)

[bula]

30 days out now - inside 1 month finally. Weighed in at 187.5 yesterday morning after cardio. Only 11.25 lbs now over making weight so i'm in good shape there. Feeling flat and weak. The low carbs and heavy cardio are hitting me hard now. Not many changes except i've added 10g carbs more a day and reduced the evening cardio down to 30 minutes. I'm responding well to the current protocol and diet so we're doing everything to keep timing perfect. Very minor adjustments.

Cheers,
Bula

 

[ManOfMuscle]

How do you fit in all this hardcore contest prep with work?

 

[Brat]

Your back and shoulders look sick...keep it up and good luck!!

One question - why cut out oats but keep rice??

 

[outlawtas]

How do you fit in all this hardcore contest prep with work?

It's fucking hell...my work life is somewhat suffering from dieting so hard. Your mental capacity has a lot to do with (I find). If I say "i'm on low carbs, i have no energy" then I feel that way. But if I push my self mentally I can block it out.

 

[ManOfMuscle]

After dropping all the sugars and simple carbs from my daily diet I notice my body craves them more and more as time goes by. I think it's just that your body is used to taking in so much cheap energy that it will always want the sugars, saturated fats, etc. even though they aren't necessarily healthy.

 

[adidamps2]

After dropping all the sugars and simple carbs from my daily diet I notice my body craves them more and more as time goes by. I think it's just that your body is used to taking in so much cheap energy that it will always want the sugars, saturated fats, etc. even though they aren't necessarily healthy.

when you drop an energy source (like carbs) its NEEDS to be replaced by a differnt energy source (FAT) or your going to suffer. BTW Sat Fat is not a cheap energy source depending on th esource fo the Sat Fat.

 

[adidamps2]

Your back and shoulders look sick...keep it up and good luck!!

One question - why cut out oats but keep rice??

digestablilty.
rice is easier to digest...but i am sure he may have other reasons as well.

 

[outlawtas]

when you drop an energy source (like carbs) its NEEDS to be replaced by a differnt energy source (FAT) or your going to suffer. BTW Sat Fat is not a cheap energy source depending on th esource fo the Sat Fat.

But when losing weight is the idea not to make your body stop taking energy from the carbs you give it and start using up your reserves (fat)?

 

[outlawtas]

Shouldn't thread jack thoug...

Bula, looking awesome as usual. You really make noticable progress with ever set of pictures.

 

[ManOfMuscle]

when you drop an energy source (like carbs) its NEEDS to be replaced by a differnt energy source (FAT) or your going to suffer. BTW Sat Fat is not a cheap energy source depending on th esource fo the Sat Fat.

Yeah, I switched out all the other shit for complex carbs. They give your body what it needs but it will still want the sugary, starchy foods.

 

[adidamps2]

But when losing weight is the idea not to make your body stop taking energy from the carbs you give it and start using up your reserves (fat)?

yes and when you drop carbs and replace those cals with fat and not more protien you'll burn body fat (Ketosis) also very muscle sparing. meaning BF goes down but muscles mass remains or possibly even increases.

 

[ManOfMuscle]

yes and when you drop carbs and replace those cals with fat and not more protien you'll burn body fat (Ketosis) also very muscle sparing. meaning BF goes down but muscles mass remains or possibly even increases.

I don't see how ketosis could be muscle sparing.

 

[adidamps2]

I don't see how ketosis could be muscle sparing.

to spare this thread you have PM

 

[bula]

3 weeks out. 185 lbs this morning. Upper body is ready to go. Quads, hams and lower back still have some adipose tissue to purge. I am dragging ass as expected on the low carbs and constant cardio now. However, every day closer provides motivation and energizes me. The road is almost done.

Polished the posing routine. Looks great. Just have to practice hitting the manditory poses perfectly now.

Carbs at 110g a day. Protein at 272g. Veggies twice a day now. 2 gals H20 a day. 6 day workout split still. Cardio twice daily every day. Sun tanning 1 hour 4 days-a-week. Grinding it out and trying to stay upright. Feeling confident and ready.

Bula

 

[ManOfMuscle]

How do you adjust your workouts as you get close to the contest and are on almost no carbs? Do you lower volume, do less compound movements, or just use really light weight etc ?

 

[bula]

My workouts remain the same during the whole precontest phase. Only my hams a quads are trained with a bit higher volume. For the other body parts, I stay as heavy as I can and train every set (10 reps) to failure. Only 30 seconds rest between sets. That is absolute for me. No long resting is allowed. Obviously the weights are dropping a bit due to lower glycogen in my muscles and going so quickly between sets. The key at this time is really to pump out the sugars yet try to stay as full as possible. To be honest, at 3 weeks out, I cannot do much to change my shape and detail. Fat loss is all that matters now. So i'm really not so worried about amounts of weight i'm lifting. I'm just simply working the muscle and squeezing as hard as I can - even if its just a 35 lb dumbell curl.

Bula

 

[outlawtas]

What type/how much cardio are you doing?

 

[bula]

Power walk 45 min morning. Elliptical 30 min night.

 

[AngryMuscles]

fucking ripped. very detailed

 

[reallittleguy]

Looking good!