Greg's Fitness Blog: April 2010

4/21

So the next competition I am looking at is May 22nd here in Arlington. I want to do this show for a couple reasons: it's close to home so more friends & family can come more easily, and also I don't have to worry about traveling/finding a place to stay. I mean, it's literally 5 minutes from my house!

The only potential problem is to stay at the same weight class I have to drop to 176 or under. I weighed in at 181.4 on Saturday, and that's the lowest I've been in years. The problem right now is I have no idea where I am as far as my real weight goes. After the competition I had a nice Sunday off, had a bunch of food (all pretty healthy: whole wheat pancakes w/ a bunch of strawberries, blackberries, apples & raspberries, puffins w/ milk & more berries, apples w/ natural peanut butter, whole wheat pasta w/ black beans, chick peas, & chicken) and a ton of water. I stepped on the scale monday morning and saw 195.5. 195.5! Almost 15 pounds in the course of 2 days! I know most of that weight is water, excess food, and glycogen in addition to bodyfat gained from my semi-gluttonous Sunday. I'm already down to 186 as of this morning, but with all the fluctuation I don't really know where I am right now. I would need to get down to 184 by Saturday to have a shot at getting down to 176 (2 lbs per week is probably the best I can average w/ a perfect diet & working out 7-10 times per week, including doubles). Going to re-evaluate on Saturday, on which I am going to foxfield and probably won't be able to drink =( Dagger.

So it's been a long time since I've even thought to update. My second bodybuilding competition was this past weekend, a smaller show than I had anticipated...there were only 2 other guys in my weight class. So, I'm thinking...hey, sweet at least I'll take first pretty easy. WRONG. Too bad 2 of the biggest freaks (freaks in a good way, I'll explain) were at this show. One, a 15 year old kid who has been doing shows since he was 13, and the other a 50+ year old guy who was at the last show I was in (won his weight class in the masters 40+ age division). These two guys were beasts: the kid was jacked for his age, actually won the teenage division at the same show last year; the older guy was in my weight class (185 lb and under open division). In the picture, he is the man on the left.

Apparently this guy is very well known in bodybuilding circles, (not to mention already has pro status in the masters division in another organization), so he ended up taking first and I got second. A little disappointing considering he is literally twice my age, but I figure he's got time and experience on his side. Judges said I need to work on my legs, both size and definition which is something I already knew and am currently working on. They were definitely better than they were in November, but I guess it's something that will just take time. I felt better about everything this time out...it's just hard being a tall guy in a short man's game (judge's words). Anyways, here is the probable layout of how the summer will go competition-wise:

May 22 - INBF NATURAL NORTH AMERICA PRO-QUALIFIER (Arlington, VA)

July 24 - NGA 18TH ANNUAL POTOMAC CUP NATURAL BODYBUILDING AND FITNESS FIGURE CHAMPIONSHIPS (Woodbridge, VA)

September 25 - NPA Natural USA (Richmond, VA)

My goals are to finish in the top third of each class I enter, and to win my class at least once before the year is over. If I can do that, I can go into the offseason feeling a little more accomplished for 2011. Anyways, that's it for now. Here are more pics from the show over the weekend, along with the video of my evening routine: