The Story of The Bodybuilding Powerlifter

[DanCR]

Seated Cable Row- done with what I call the “inverted handlebars” - neutral grip barely outside of torso, cambered handle
70 lbs/15 reps
add-set warmup: 70/4 + 100/4 + 140/4 + 180/2
180/14 - used Versa Gripps for this; ROM may have been short on last rep or two

An “add-set” is what I call something I saw in a John Meadows video, which is basically the opposite of a drop-set, and none of the rounds in the set are done to failure.

I hadn't heard of this concept and am intrigued. Is it essentially just a no rest warmup, outside of changing the pin / plates / what have you? Or did Meadows recommend / have a use for it for work sets as well?

[Clearwater47]

Seated Cable Row- done with what I call the “inverted handlebars” - neutral grip barely outside of torso, cambered handle
70 lbs/15 reps
add-set warmup: 70/4 + 100/4 + 140/4 + 180/2
180/14 - used Versa Gripps for this; ROM may have been short on last rep or two

An “add-set” is what I call something I saw in a John Meadows video, which is basically the opposite of a drop-set, and none of the rounds in the set are done to failure.

I hadn't heard of this concept and am intrigued. Is it essentially just a no rest warmup, outside of changing the pin / plates / what have you? Or did Meadows recommend / have a use for it for work sets as well?

Intrigued as well... Another question I had is if you're trying to maintain the same RPE/RIR across all sets?

[MailmanMuscle]

I hadn't heard of this concept and am intrigued. Is it essentially just a no rest warmup, outside of changing the pin / plates / what have you? Or did Meadows recommend / have a use for it for work sets as well?

That’s exactly what it is. I think I heard him say that if you’re really pinched for time, you could do it for a work set. But in the videos I saw him doing it, he was using it as a warmup. He also had a protocol that was a bit more standardized than my application. I think it was 4 reps or 5 reps, but whatever it was, you hit that number of reps at each weight, and kept going until either you couldn’t hit that number, or you reached failure at that number. I don’t always do the same number of reps with each round of the set, and sometimes I’ll overshoot my expected working weight on purpose with 1-2 reps at the end of the warmup.

Intrigued as well... Another question I had is if you're trying to maintain the same RPE/RIR across all sets?

By “across all sets”, do you mean within the add set, or all sets for an exercise?
I’m going to guess you mean the latter, and answer yes, I’m trying to keep the same RPE/RIR on work sets. Those are the sets I put in bold when I do my log entries. It’s typically only one or two per exercise, and it’s RPE >= 10, RIR <+0 on work sets The highest I want to be on a warmup is probably 3-4 RIR, and that’s at the absolute most.

Actually, let me quantify that a little better. From now until May 4-6 (that’s 5-7 days before the show) I’m not going past failure on any set, and I’m not doing more than one work set on anything with the possible exception of abs and calves. I’ll be at 0-1 RIR until then. Once I’m about 4-5 days from the show, I’ll be using my 3-4 RIR “absolute most” warmup threshold as the ceiling for work sets, and I’ll probably do 2-3 work sets for whatever exercises I’m doing. I haven’t figured out exactly what I’m doing in the last few days. The only things I have decided about that week’s training is that my last leg day will be either Monday or Tuesday, and I don’t know about Friday because I get my first round of spray tan at 11:45 that morning. I don’t think sweating or showering helps, but I’ll ask how that works.

Tuesday 4/23/24: 17,038 steps, 7.8 miles, 8 floors climbed

One last observation, and it’s not something I’ve just noticed, but I think it’s my first time sharing it here: I look better at night. My muscles look more full, lines are more visible, separation is better, veins are more veiny - everything looks better. The only time that isn’t true is if I’ve eaten something that makes me bloated. My guess is that it has to do with all food, beverage, salt, etc. that I’ve consumed over the course of the day. Unfortunately, I will be on stage at about 8:30 am.

In order, my top 3 priorities from now to the show are:
1. Stay healthy and intact so I make it to the stage.
2. Posing, posing, posing (I have a one-on-one virtual session with my posing coach on Monday)
3. Figure out how to replicate the way I look at night in the morning.

[MarkKO]

Wouldn't the answer to that be to try to mirror as closely as possible what you do over the day the night before the show?

My guess would be that it's down to how much water, carbs and salt you hold by the evening on an average day. If you can get an idea of what those levels are, wouldn't you be able to work out a way to make sure they're in place by 0830? Close to, at any rate. You could probably play around with how to achieve that over the next week or so right?

[MailmanMuscle]

Wouldn't the answer to that be to try to mirror as closely as possible what you do over the day the night before the show?

My guess would be that it's down to how much water, carbs and salt you hold by the evening on an average day. If you can get an idea of what those levels are, wouldn't you be able to work out a way to make sure they're in place by 0830? Close to, at any rate. You could probably play around with how to achieve that over the next week or so right?

Yes sir, I think that’s the answer. I also think you’re on track with the water/salt/sodium combo. The challenge in replicating what I do in an average day is that I’ll be asleep for a big chunk of that night time before the show. I’ll tinker around with some things over the next several days, but ultimately I can’t get stressed over it. It’s not that I look bad in the morning. Also, I’m usually at work at 8:30. I have no idea what I look like at that time. For all I know, it could be better than when I wake up, and also better than at night.

Since I have 2 workouts to log, I’m only going to list the work sets for each exercise to make it easier for all of us to get through.

Wednesday 4/24/24: 16,101 steps, 7.3 miles, 8 floors climbed

Lower #2, Planet Fitness

Smith Machine Good Morning
140 lbs + bar/8 reps

I tried a suggestion from Dr. Mike, and set the safety pins at the low point of my reps as a way to standardize my range of motion, and ensure that I stay tight and control the eccentric. Good call from him - it helps.

Smith Machine Squat - high bar, sitting on my ankles, video of heaviest set posted below
*190+/7 - *This was supposed to be a work set. I added my belt, but forgot to increase the weight like I planned for this set. No wonder it felt easy.
230 lbs + bar/7 reps
180+/8

Calf Press - on plate loaded leg press
180 lbs + sled/20 reps
230+/20

Seated Leg Curl
130 lbs/13 reps - tried a rep at 145, aborted that mission and dropped it by a plate



Thursday 4/25/24: 14,322 steps, 6.3 miles, 10 floors climbed

Friday 4/26/24: 15,827 steps, 6.9 miles, 13 floors climbed

Upper #3, Gold’s Gym

Rogue Bar Bench Press - neutral grip
185 lbs/9 reps

I’m replacing these with dumbbell bench press - flat or very low incline - after the show.

Cable Pulldown - very wide, MAG (anchor) handle
180 lbs/13 reps

Seated Lateral Raise Machine - the kind where you bend your arms and put your forearms against the pads
60 lbs/20 reps

Standing Triceps Pressdown - back against pad to prevent cheating, and I guess for stability
60 lbs/13 reps

Standing Cable Curl
70 lbs/18 reps

I made some clips from last night into a reel that I posted to my Instagram and Facebook pages. It was inspired by all the comments I’ve been getting lately from people telling me how slim or skinny I look. I don’t know if they realize it or not, but it’s not a compliment. I can’t wait to start eating and gaining again. Fortunately, with only 2 more weeks until I finish this story, I can see the stage lights at the end of this tunnel.

[DanCR]

@MailmanMuscle, you’re a combatant in a competition. Winning requires certain things, all of which you’re knocking out of the park. Impressing normies isn’t one of those things. Keep going and don’t even glance back.

[Renascent]

@MailmanMuscle, you’re a combatant in a competition. Winning requires certain things, all of which you’re knocking out of the park. Impressing normies isn’t one of those things. Keep going and don’t even glance back.

+1

[cgeorg]

I don't follow bodybuilding-type stuff so I have no idea what to compare it to but your back looks incredible on those pulldowns.

[MarkKO]

Your pics on IG look phenomenal. Nowhere near stringy. You'll look very large indeed under the lights with some oil, carbs and salt.

[Bolder]

The muscular details on your back, just simply amazing.

[MailmanMuscle]

you’re a combatant in a competition. Winning requires certain things, all of which you’re knocking out of the park. Impressing normies isn’t one of those things. Keep going and don’t even glance back.

+1

Thank you, and you guys are right about keeping focus. I’m too deep into this to let people psyche me out, even if that isn’t their intention.

I don't follow bodybuilding-type stuff so I have no idea what to compare it to but your back looks incredible on those pulldowns.

Thank you sir!

Your pics on IG look phenomenal. Nowhere near stringy. You'll look very large indeed under the lights with some oil, carbs and salt.

Thank you sir! And I think I’ve found that having consumed salt is one of the contributing factors to why I (think I) look better at night. I have been experimenting with different carbs on the mornings of my days off of work, but for some reason, haven’t thought about testing salt. I’ll do that Sunday and Monday morning and compare it to how I’ve looked on previous mornings without extra salt.

For the benefit of those who don’t follow me on Instagram, here are the aforementioned progress pics. They compare where I was when I started this contest prep to where I was on Sunday morning, 13 days before the show.



This is a training log, so I suppose I should log my recent training, even though that seems almost like an afterthought at this stage. Sunday’s training is barely worth mentioning.

Saturday 4/27/24: 9,669 steps, 4.3 miles, 13 floors climbed

Sunday 4/28/24: 4,942 steps, 2.0 miles, 8 floors climbed

Lower #3, Gold’s Gym

Here’s the summary: I did some calf raises and hyperextensions, and just as I was getting into the meat and potatoes of this session (starting with leg curls), our oldest daughter called us and informed us of a power outage in the neighborhood. I went online and reported the outage to our utility company. They said it was an estimated 2-3 hours before power was restored. Our children aren’t little (18, 13, 11) but they don’t have any experience with power outages or comparable challenges. So my wife and I aborted the gym mission and went home.

Monday 4/29/24: 7,334 steps, 2.8 miles, 9 floors climbed

I had a one on one virtual session with the posing coach who has been teaching the group classes I have attended. I think this investment is going to pay off. One of the mandatory poses is “abdominals and thighs” (with hands over your head). I could not figure out how to do it in a way that would keep either of my thighs flexed, and she helped me figure out a way to do it and make it look good. Two other poses are “front lat spread” and “rear lat spread” (both with hands on waist or hips). This whole time, I’ve been doing it with my hands too low. She had me position my hands just under my ribs - higher than I’ve been placing them - and all of a sudden, my lats got an inch or two wider. A few other things got fine tuned as well.

But she said something else that has been at the forefront of my mind, and it has increased both my confidence and anxiety. Unsolicited, she said I have a very good chance to win the masters 40+ (as if she expects me to win), and depending on who shows up, I have a legit chance at the open. Now I’m nervous. I didn’t have any expectations before. After hearing that, now I might be disappointed if I don’t win something. I guess I better put my best foot forward over the next week and a half.

Tuesday 4/30/24: 12,689 steps, 5.6 miles, 12 floors climbed

Upper #1, Planet Fitness

This was supposed to start with dips and chin-ups. But every dip and chin-up station was in use, so rather than wait, I improvised.

Cable Pulldown - short bar, underhand grip
70 lbs/15 reps
add set: 100/5 + 140/5 + 160/5
180/11 - I used Versa Gripps for these

Seated Triceps Press Machine - I did these leaning forward, barely sitting on the seat pad to mimic a dip
80 lbs/10 reps
add set: 125/6, 6 (shifted seat position after the first 6)+ 160/10
test set: 205/3 + 190/5 - I wasn’t sure what my work weight should be, so I figured I should test it before committing to it. Settled on 190.
190/18 - I probably should have gone with 195 or 200 lbs.

Standing Dumbbell Lateral Raise - weights listed are per hand
10 lbs/15 reps
drop set: 20’s/10 + 15’s/8 + 10’s/10

Smith Machine Shrug
90 lbs + bar/12 reps
180+/10 - added Versa Gripps here
270+/12

Hammer Strength Ab Machine - crunch from top and bottom simultaneously
30 lbs/5 reps + 50/5 + 70/5 + 50/5, 5, 5 + 30/10

I don’t know what to call this set. I took 5 breaths each time I changed the pin, and between the clusters of 5 with 50 lbs.

10 days to go…

[EricK]

Looking great, man. You've already accomplished an amazing transformation that takes dedication, diligence and discipline. Regardless of how the competition goes you've earned success in my book.

[Renascent]

That serratus!

[MailmanMuscle]

The muscular details on your back, just simply amazing.

Thank you sir!

Looking great, man. You've already accomplished an amazing transformation that takes dedication, diligence and discipline. Regardless of how the competition goes you've earned success in my book.

Thank you so much! I don’t know how I’ll place, but I do feel like I’ve already accomplished something that I never thought I would or maybe could do.

That serratus!

It has been one of the more pleasant revelations as fat has come off. I didn’t know I had them!

Today is Monday, May 6. I am in the midst of what has already been one of the busiest months in our family’s history, and it will get more hectic every week. Last week, my son had baseball practice and games, my youngest daughter had a spring orchestra concert playing cello, and my oldest daughter had her final dance performances of her high school career. Looking ahead, my wife has to go to Dallas for work the week of the 20th, meaning I get to man the fort alone. Then in the final week of the month, on consecutive days: my son’s 14th birthday, my youngest’s lower school promotion ceremony, my son’s middle school promotion ceremony, and my oldest’s high school graduation. Somehow, we also ended up with tickets to 2 Orioles games at Camden Yards for our first of hopefully several games this season.

But this week is the one I have been laser focused on for months. This week is what many in the bodybuilding sphere refer to as “peak week”, when competitors strive to manipulate their intake of water, carbs, sodium, and maybe potassium in such a way that they look as full, dry and shredded as possible at the precise moment that they get on stage. For enhanced athletes, those factors also include whatever drugs on top of the macro and micronutrients. Some coaches claim to have peaking down to a science, but to truly nail a peak for someone, a degree of trial and error is involved. From what I have read and researched, there seems to be a consensus that you can improve your look by an estimated 5-10% (not sure how that is quantified) if you nail your peak. I have also read that you can worsen your look by 30% or more by manipulating those factors and missing your peak.

Since I’m coaching myself, and have had very little room to conduct trials on myself, I have decided not to try to peak. I’m going to change almost nothing, and coast into this show trying to hold the look I have right now. I’m a few pounds lighter than I was in those photos a few posts ago. Over the past 2 days, I have weighed between 167-168 pounds when waking up. I haven’t been this light since the fall of 2006, after my first summer of delivering mail. But I don’t look anything like I did then. I think my look right now is competitive with most of the amateurs I’ve had a chance to see in this organization, especially in the masters 40+ category. I’ll take my chances with what I’ve done over the past 18+ weeks, rather than taking a chance that could ruin what I’ve done over the past 18+ weeks.

Before powerlifting competitions, I have typically been all kinds of anxious. And last week, my posing coach’s complimentary words caused me to be nervous. But now that I’ve reached this week, those nerves seem to have gone away - at least for the moment. I’m surprisingly calm. The only thing that is concerning me is whether or not I’ll have enough stamina posing on stage. I’m going to be in 3 categories of the bodybuilding division. Based on the “pose-alongs” I’ve done to competitions posted by this organization (OCB) on YouTube, I suspect that I’ll be on stage for a total of 25 minutes maximum. I would like to cap it at a 20 minute estimate, but the field of competitors for men’s bodybuilding at this show will be the largest of any amateur show I can find over the past 3 years.

My daily prescriptions for macros have been the same for the past several weeks. The only change I’m willing to make is switching 25-50 grams of my daily protein to carbs, or adding the same amount to my daily total. I’ve been able to experiment with that on weekends, and along with keeping salt up, it seems to make a positive difference in appearance. That will keep my daily calories the same, or put me 100-200 calories over my daily allotment. The diet app still has me set for a deficit, so an extra 100-200 calories per day is, at worse, putting me at maintenance. It’s not enough to gain fat in a week.

The other diet consideration this week is digestion. Without getting too into the weeds, I need to make sure I’m regular all week. A lot of “diet foods” - things that have artificial sweeteners, fillers, fake fibers, etc - can cause bloating, and maybe other problems. So I’m reducing or eliminating some of those items by a good amount to make sure I don’t run into any GI distress. It would be quite the irony to be in a natural bodybuilding show with a distended gut as has become common at the top of the enhanced side in recent years.

[DanCR]

Since I’m coaching myself, and have had very little room to conduct trials on myself, I have decided not to try to peak. I’m going to change almost nothing, and coast into this show trying to hold the look I have right now. I’m a few pounds lighter than I was in those photos a few posts ago. Over the past 2 days, I have weighed between 167-168 pounds when waking up. I haven’t been this light since the fall of 2006, after my first summer of delivering mail. But I don’t look anything like I did then. I think my look right now is competitive with most of the amateurs I’ve had a chance to see in this organization, especially in the masters 40+ category. I’ll take my chances with what I’ve done over the past 18+ weeks, rather than taking a chance that could ruin what I’ve done over the past 18+ weeks.

Can't wait to see how you do. Not saying good luck because luck will have nothing to do with it - you've prepared for this.

Your strategy makes sense to me. I know little about prepping for a bodybuilding show and I understand that a big deal is made about being dialed in, but there's got to be something said for just being more jacked than your opponents.

[MailmanMuscle]

Can't wait to see how you do. Not saying good luck because luck will have nothing to do with it - you've prepared for this.

Your strategy makes sense to me. I know little about prepping for a bodybuilding show and I understand that a big deal is made about being dialed in, but there's got to be something said for just being more jacked than your opponents.

Thank you! My old powerlifting coach would always wish an athlete “the best of strength and skill” before a meet, because he said luck might affect your placing, but it has nothing to do with your performance. So I’m with you all the way on that. At this level, I would be shocked if the majority of people on stage - male and female, all categories and divisions - will have nailed their peaks. Many don’t even know how to pose. So I’m putting most of my faith in the work I’ve done over the past 4+ months, rather than in manipulating things over the final 4 days. We’ll see how it goes.

It’s after midnight on the east coast of the United States, which means it’s May 9, which means not only am I about 48 hours from showtime, but it’s also my 48th birthday. I don’t typically make a big fuss about my birthday, or do anything particularly celebratory for it beyond making sure I cash in all my loyalty treats at Starbucks and other establishments that reward you for staying alive another year. But it does have a bit more meaning this year because it’s basically attached to this show. I’m finishing the story of my journey to the bodybuilding stage, at the same time as I turn the page from the end of chapter 48 to the start of chapter 49 in this script called my life. So this birthday and this show are forever linked. I’ve been saying since the early planning stages that my birthday cake would have to be a rice cake with some peanut butter on it. That’s literally what I intend to have later today, and it should hold me over until Saturday evening when I get some real cake. I won’t be surprised if my wife or one of my children sticks a candle in the middle of the rice cake for me.

It occurred to me after the fact that I rambled so much in this training log on my last entry, that I forgot to actually log any training. So let me catch that up.

Daily Activity Average, May 1-8: 11,575 steps, 5.2 miles, 10 floors climbed

The next two workouts weren’t laid out like the rotations I’ve been loosely following.

Saturday 5/4/24, Lower, Planet Fitness

Calf Press - done on seated/upright leg press
100 lbs/15 reps
150/15 x 2 sets

Leg Press - 45 degrees, plate loaded
90 lbs + sled/11 reps
180+/10
270+/8
360+/16

Seated Leg Curl
70 lbs/10 reps
115/1 - I thought this might be working weight, and immediately realized it was too light.
130/18

Leg Extension
100 lbs/6 reps
160/15

Hyperextension - hip hinge only, no knee flexion at the top
bodyweight/25 reps

Adduction Machine
100 lbs/30 reps

Abduction Machine
145 lbs/21 reps

Sunday 5/5/24, Upper, Gold’s Gym

”Hydraulic” Seated Overhead Press Machine - I’ve used it one time before, and it might make the rotation after the show
empty/15 reps
40+ lbs/10 reps
70+/9

“Hydraulic” Seated Row Machine - also used once before; maxed out the stack that first time
60 lbs/10 reps
150/12 - used Versa Gripps; did not max out the stack this time

Standing Lateral Raise Machine
add set: 30 lbs/6 reps + 50/6 + 60/5 + 70/5 - all of the reps done with 70 were partials

That was the end of me doing any sets to the point of momentary muscular failure until after the show.

”Super Abs” Machine - crunch from top and bottom simultaneously, pivots to different angles
145 lbs/15 reps x 3 sets - 1 set middle, 1 set left, 1 set right

Tuesday 5/7/24, Full Body, Planet Fitness - again, no sets to failure in this workout

Cable Pulldown
add set: 55 lbs/5 reps + 85/5 + 120/5 - wide handle, overhand
120/5 - medium cambered handle, overhand
160/12 same handle
160/12 short straight handle, underhand

Triceps Press Machine - anchored my feet under the seat and leaned forward to mimic a dip
add set: 55 lbs/5 reps + 85/5 + 115/5 + 145/5 + 175/5 + 190/3
190/12 x 2 sets

Standing Dumbbell Lateral Raise - weights listed are per hand
10 lbs/10 reps
drop set: 20/6 + 17.5/6 + 15/5 + 12/5 + 8/10 + 8/8 (left arm only) - my right delt felt way more pumped, so I did extra on the left

Seated/Upright Ab Crunch Machine - feet stay planted on the floor
55 lbs/5 reps
100/15

Leg Extension
add set: 55 lbs/5 reps + 85/5 + 115/5
135/20

Lying Leg Curl
add set: 30 lbs/6 reps + 60/6 + 90/1 + 75/2 - trying to find working weight at the end
90/16

I don’t expect to touch legs again until after the show. My game plan for training later today is Arnold press, biceps, triceps, abs. Short and sweet. I also need to practice posing some more. I also need to eliminate every strand of hair on my body that isn’t on my face, and exfoliate all of my skin afterwards in anticipation of getting my spray tan on Friday morning after my polygraph test and athlete check in. Stuff is getting real.

I’m only working a half day today. My son’s final baseball game for his middle school team is this afternoon, but it might get rained out. That would be a bummer for him, but he still has rec league games through the summer. I’ll hit Starbucks for my free beverage between his game and the gym.

[Clearwater47]

Happy Birthday!

Hope you have a great time at the show.