# A Burning Desire to turn Iron to Gold



## musclepump (May 14, 2006)

The sequel to MusclePump: Drinking from the Cup

After getting my ass-kicked at the second show I did last year, which was my second show ever, I told myself I was done bodybuilding. Not the training portion, but the competition side. Well, that was a lie. Shortly thereafter (a few good, big meals later) I committed to my training partner and myself that I would try the Ironman competition in September. It's a natural show, drug-tested, so there should be far fewer juicers on stage with me. And since last year I was in the Jr. Division, and now I'll be in the Novice Men's class, I'll need to hope that holds true. I'm 6-feet tall and I'll probably compete in the low to mid 160's. Not a big guy. But, I love competing, so here I am.

My diet starts tomorrow. I took some "Before" pictures a couple days ago and to be honest, looking at them (oddly the mirror doesn't give me the same thoughts) makes me ready for this. I ate like a horse the last year to try to put on any size I could for the next show, and it's definitely showing in my midsection. I feel like the old off-season Lee Priest. Not good. 
But, I lost 42 pounds or so on my last diet, so I know I can lose the 39-41 I'll be needing to cut off this time.

Last time I cycled high/low/no-carb days. There's no way in hell I'm doing that this time. I'll stick with moderate to low carbohydrates, but the "No carb" days are out the window until it's closer to the contest. 

I plan on starting my calories-per-day at 3,200 and see how that suits me. My baseline is just over 3,800 on average, so it should be a nice start. I'll gradually introduce cardio over the next couple of weeks, and eventually as I move on I'll use different Thermogenics. Probably Instone's Leanfire and Leanfire Inferno as I have those on hand. 

I can't control the competition, but I can control me. I'm one-hundred percent dedicated to this. I guarantee--anyone reading this, my friends, my training partner, myself--that when I step on stage it'll be the best package I've brought to a bodybuilding stage. I'm quite likely to be the smallest guy up there, but it'll be the best I can bring. No second-guessing, no excuses. I will be the best I can possibly be. 

Here we go.


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## musclepump (May 15, 2006)

First day of the diet in full swing. I finished last night off with some cheese pizza and a Oreo McFlurry from McDonalds. I generally don't have either; in fact, couldn't remember the last time I had either, but being as I won't be eating anything remotely as tasty as that in the next 17 weeks, I figured it was best to just do it. 

Anyway, so mostly today I'm sustaining on chicken and rice, still keeping the carbs up for now, but bringing my daily calorie intake to 3,200. A couple shakes are in the cards, two dishes of 1 Chicken Breast + 1 cup rice, protein puddings, etc... not so bad for now. I'm still trying to find the best times to eat certain amounts. I'm thinking my six meal breakdown is going to look like this while I'm at 3,200:

600 | 600 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500


Ah, dieting. How I love/hate/loathe thee.


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## musclepump (May 16, 2006)

I've been in the process of getting Invisalign braces. Today I got my first "aligners." I'm glad I'm starting my diet when I am, but if I was still trying to bulk... this would suck. It's a pain to take them out every time you eat, brush them, and put them back in.


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## fUnc17 (May 16, 2006)

musclepump said:
			
		

> I've been in the process of getting Invisalign braces. Today I got my first "aligners." I'm glad I'm starting my diet when I am, but if I was still trying to bulk... this would suck. It's a pain to take them out every time you eat, brush them, and put them back in.



Yea, invisiligns suck, i had them. Good luck with the dieting, looks like you got your shit in order.


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## musclepump (May 16, 2006)

fUnc17 said:
			
		

> Yea, invisiligns suck, i had them. Good luck with the dieting, looks like you got your shit in order.



Thanks man. 

Yeah, wearing the aligners is a pain in the ass... but for straight teeth, gotta be worth it


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## musclepump (May 16, 2006)

Mmm shrimp tonight. Sure beats chicken


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## musclepump (May 18, 2006)

About 201 this morning.


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## musclepump (May 19, 2006)

Still 201


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## musclepump (May 19, 2006)

Good leg workout today. Squats were just as heavy as usual, deadlifts were slightly off, but I think that attributes to having tried a new hamstring exercise beforehand. Oats for breakfast, PWO shake and a half hour later a berry smoothie (280calories), top eye of round 2oz patties throughout the day, closed the day out with chicken and a casein shake. Bed time!


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## musclepump (May 20, 2006)

200


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## musclepump (May 21, 2006)

199


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## musclepump (May 23, 2006)

Already starting to get sick of eating the same foods over and over. It ain't gonna be pretty for the next 15 weeks.


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## musclepump (May 24, 2006)

198


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## musclepump (May 25, 2006)

My wife says she doesn't feel well, so she has me go get ICE CREAM FOR HER! Asking a contest-dieting man to go get ice cream is like asking a runner to chop off his own foot. Triple Brownie Chocolate will be in my dreams tonight.


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## musclepump (May 28, 2006)

Missed a meal watching Gracie get his ass beat by Hughes... bah!


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## musclepump (May 29, 2006)

195 this morning after some stomach pain last night that kept me up awhile. Yucky.


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## musclepump (May 30, 2006)

Good workout today. Only real change so far in my workouts is that for my 8-12 and 12-15 sets I was using the 90lb barbell instead of the 100 and 110. That may just be from a lack of sleep last night, hopefully not a loss of mass. 

Been eating a lot of sushi lately. Mmm.. a lot of carbs, so I try to keep it early in the day.


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## musclepump (May 31, 2006)

195


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## P-funk (May 31, 2006)

you drop 40lbs for competition?  what BF% are you at 200lbs?

Also, at 15 weeks out, you don't have to be eating the exact same stuff everyday.  no need to suffer that long.  watch your calories and eat clean and let the pounds come off.


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## musclepump (May 31, 2006)

P-funk said:
			
		

> you drop 40lbs for competition?  what BF% are you at 200lbs?
> 
> Also, at 15 weeks out, you don't have to be eating the exact same stuff everyday.  no need to suffer that long.  watch your calories and eat clean and let the pounds come off.



I don't get my bodyfat done off season. I'm just fat 

I don't find a whole lot of different foods clean enough to be considered diet food. So I basically just fall right in line once the diet starts.


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## P-funk (May 31, 2006)

what does your training routine look like?

any cardio yet?


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## musclepump (May 31, 2006)

P-funk said:
			
		

> what does your training routine look like?
> 
> any cardio yet?



Monday - Off
Tuesday - Chest, biceps, triceps, Calves
Wednesday - Abs
Thursday - Legs, Calves
Friday - Abs
Saturday - Off
Sunday - Back / Shoulders

Generally I'm hitting anywhere from 6-10 sets per bodypart, sticking with heavy weight, 15 at the highs and 8 at the lows.

Only doing cardio twice a week as of now for a half hour, just breaking into it. I like to gradually get into cardio because I hate it so grandly.


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## musclepump (Jun 2, 2006)

About 193 this AM


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## musclepump (Jun 2, 2006)

Mmm... Muscle Milk for breakfast. Now that's good stuff.


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## musclepump (Jun 3, 2006)

Did Photography at a wedding for a friend last night (an IFBB pro, ironically), and things were so hectic I didn't eat for about 8 hours... I was so hungry I thought I was going to fall over and die. That was rough! With nothing in me, I was about 191 this morning.


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## musclepump (Jun 9, 2006)

192


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## musclepump (Jun 10, 2006)

Safeway just had a bonzer deal on steak. I stocked up. Fuck this chicken stuff. Steak for at least a week! It'll be a nice break already.


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## musclepump (Jun 13, 2006)

190

Losing too much weight, adding more calories back in.


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## musclepump (Jun 13, 2006)

I've been eating highly salted Round Tip steak for the last few days, and I'll probably eat it consistently for the next couple of weeks. I overcooked some chicken a couple of days ago and have major taste aversion to it now. That's not good at all this early in the diet. 

So anyway, I'm good with the steak as I don't have a family history at all of cholesterol problems and low carbs/higher fat diets work well for me with keeping the protein up; I've always steadily packed on the fat with high carbs. So, hopefully this will work out. I need to start adding more vegetables; so far I just have the frozen broccoli and canned corn... I need to get on the fresh stuff.


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## JerseyDevil (Jun 14, 2006)

What kind of weights are you using?  During this cut, are you using anabolics?


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## musclepump (Jun 14, 2006)

JerseyDevil said:
			
		

> What kind of weights are you using?  During this cut, are you using anabolics?



My strength is about all the same so far; I do mostly free weights and I love sticking to the basic big lifts: Bench, squats, deads. I do rows, one arm pulls, barbell and dumbbell curls, skull crushers, lunges, etc... I don't touch many machines. I think the only one I use is the pec deck which I'm only using to try to bring my chest into more symmetry.

Nope, no anabolics. Closest I might get is Clen; I thought about IGF-1 and decided to pass on that.


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## musclepump (Jun 15, 2006)

Oh dear... I tried one of those "Lean Cuisine" packs thinking it had a decent nutrient profile so it'd be ok; holy fuck, I don't care how healthy (or not) it is, those things taste like fucking cardboard.


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## musclepump (Jun 16, 2006)

190


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## musclepump (Jun 18, 2006)

189


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## Double D (Jun 18, 2006)

musclepump said:
			
		

> Oh dear... I tried one of those "Lean Cuisine" packs thinking it had a decent nutrient profile so it'd be ok; holy fuck, I don't care how healthy (or not) it is, those things taste like fucking cardboard.



Oh you are so right! Those damn things are aweful.


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## musclepump (Jun 19, 2006)

Double D said:
			
		

> Oh you are so right! Those damn things are aweful.



I have complete taste aversion to them now. Can't even look at them in the grocery store.


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## musclepump (Jun 20, 2006)

188


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## musclepump (Jun 20, 2006)

Good workout today. I hit chest/bi's/tri's. I do a lot of one-arm stuff for chest because I think the right side of my chest is smaller than my left, so I'm aiming for symmetry there.

Chest was flat bench, incline bench, flat single (right) dumbbell press
Biceps were standing dumbbell curls, standing dumbbell cross-over curls, and hammer curls with dumbbells
Triceps were push-downs and dips

Also hit calves. I'm hitting calves every day now leading into the contest; I figure it can't hurt, they aren't growing with any other method.


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## P-funk (Jun 20, 2006)

for the calves, try doing a 3 count pause at the bottom of the rep.  most people pause at the top during the contraction.  the tendons in the ankle are very good at returning elastic energy since that is what they do all day as we walk.  Pausing at the bottom will cause the elastic energy to disapate into heat and then you will have to work a lot harder to overcome the static interia of the machine.


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## musclepump (Jun 24, 2006)

186


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## musclepump (Jun 24, 2006)

I have so many fat burners I got over the last year that I figured I'd use for this diet, but I haven't touched them yet. I've used two sample pills over the last three weeks of Stacker2, and that's it. I have this theory that if you start with thermogenics too soon, your natural metabolism will slow. Because of that, I haven't gotten on any--haven't needed them. I'm always wondering when I should add them in. 

Right now I'm only doing cardio three times a week, 20 minutes a shot.


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## musclepump (Jun 27, 2006)

Chest, bi's and tri's today. Everything still feeling good; weights are still relatively heavy. All is well on the homefront.


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## musclepump (Jun 30, 2006)

184


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## musclepump (Jul 3, 2006)

186... wtf? Diet still in check, workouts as usual. I'm thinking I may just be holding some water from something I ate.


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## musclepump (Jul 3, 2006)

Wow. Too much tuna!

I've been eating meals at 500 calories a pop. One of my meals is Tuna; but there's not enough in one can to make up my calories, so I have to eat two cans worth along with some pickle chips to mask the flavor. Man, that's tough to choke down.


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## musclepump (Jul 6, 2006)

I'm starting to do cardio 5 days a week now, 20 minutes a day. Cutting back calories another 200 on Monday.


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## musclepump (Jul 10, 2006)

I'm looking better every day it seems, but I'm not getting any lighter. Not that I'm worried about that; I have to drop 16 pounds to make weight and we have 10 weeks to go. Cake walk.


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## musclepump (Jul 11, 2006)

Went to the doc's today for a physical and they're checking my Test levels, so that'll be good info to know.


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## musclepump (Jul 12, 2006)

Test results came back at 340. Not good. Not happy! Now my doc needs to prescribe me some HRT


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## musclepump (Jul 14, 2006)

180


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## musclepump (Jul 22, 2006)

STILL 180. Now I'm a little worried. I've been stuck here for awhile, even after ramping up the cardio and further cutting calories. Hmm...


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## musclepump (Jul 23, 2006)

Leaving in a half hour to go to Vegas to play in the WSOP. I've got my packaged tuna, protein pudding, muscle milk powder, etc... packed and ready to go. If they search my bags, I'm going to have a lot of explaining to do! Thermogenics, vitamins, the whole nine. A mini-GNC in my carry-on's


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## musclepump (Aug 1, 2006)

About 177 now.

And I'm off to California in the morning.


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## musclepump (Aug 5, 2006)

176


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## P-funk (Aug 5, 2006)

how many more weeks?


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## musclepump (Aug 5, 2006)

P-funk said:
			
		

> how many more weeks?



Six


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## musclepump (Aug 7, 2006)

I'm about to start that Herbal stuff that's in beta from Rob. I'll begin that tomorrow and we'll see what happens. Hopefully it's the ultimate get-shredded formula.. you know, like how MuscleTech advertises all of their products


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## musclepump (Aug 8, 2006)

Today's workout felt like hell. Chest and biceps and everything felt twice as heavy. Ridiculous. Incline bench felt like I was trying to push a building off of me; curls felt like I was trying to lift a MAC truck. Not cool.


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## musclepump (Aug 10, 2006)

Starting DiMaggio's beta Herbal product today. We'll see how it goes.


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## joesmooth20 (Aug 10, 2006)

musclepump said:
			
		

> Starting DiMaggio's beta Herbal product today. We'll see how it goes.




let us know how that goes. i'm thinking about using it next cut.


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## musclepump (Aug 13, 2006)

171


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## P-funk (Aug 13, 2006)

any progress pics?


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## musclepump (Aug 13, 2006)

P-funk said:
			
		

> any progress pics?



Nope. I'm afraid


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## P-funk (Aug 13, 2006)

musclepump said:
			
		

> Nope. I'm afraid




oh what?

taking a picture?

get them up here man!  lets see where you are at!

how many weeks do you have left?


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## musclepump (Aug 13, 2006)

P-funk said:
			
		

> oh what?
> 
> taking a picture?
> 
> ...



4 weeks and 6 days


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## musclepump (Aug 15, 2006)

Just a note, Met-Rx "Protein Plus" shakes suck.


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## musclepump (Aug 17, 2006)

170

And I feel even smaller now than I ever have. I was doing cardio next to Toney Freeman a couple days ago. Yikes


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## musclepump (Aug 19, 2006)

169


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## P-funk (Aug 19, 2006)

jesus man, you are dropping like mad!  You need to back off...you still have some weeks to go...nothing is worse then having to hold conditioning for a week or two.


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## musclepump (Aug 20, 2006)

P-funk said:


> jesus man, you are dropping like mad!  You need to back off...you still have some weeks to go...nothing is worse then having to hold conditioning for a week or two.



Trust me, I'm actually behind at this point.


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## musclepump (Aug 23, 2006)

Frustrated. http://ironmagazineforums.com/showthread.php?p=1428422#post1428422


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## musclepump (Aug 27, 2006)

Ok, so I ate big carbs for a couple days and no cardio, hoping to trick my body into thinking the diet is over. Now I'm back on it full throttle, hopefully to be ready by show itme.


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## musclepump (Aug 31, 2006)

I have refused to look in the mirror at all this week. Dead serious. I won't look at myself without a shirt on until Saturday, and I'll compare this point two weeks out from a show with last years two weeks out and see where I'm at. I'm not happy with how I looked last year, so I think if I'm not better than last year at 2 weeks out, I'll drop out of the show. I'm in an Open class now, I can't be off. And yet, at two and a half weeks, I'm still carrying noticeable bodyfat. I don't know that it can be dropped that quick naturally.


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## P-funk (Aug 31, 2006)

post some pics....

what do you think you did wrong?


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## musclepump (Aug 31, 2006)

P-funk said:


> post some pics....
> 
> what do you think you did wrong?



I haven't even looked in a mirror; I don't have any pictures.

I think I cut down too early, started the cardio too early, both of which have probably contributed to my body not wanting to let go of any fat. 

The biggest problem was that I had to take a couple of trips right in the middle, and food and workout wasn't a luxury I was able to partake in on these journies. If I could get those back, I'd be golden. But, I don't have five weeks, I only have two... and I don't think it's enough.


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## musclepump (Sep 1, 2006)

I'm debating if I should just go crazy on cardio these last two weeks and try to FORCE my body to drop this fat, or at least as much as possible. I'll lose muscle, but I think the trade off would be worth it as, if I don't do the show, I'm losing two years prep and four months of dieting all for nothing.


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## musclepump (Sep 1, 2006)

Resting today. I had been taking Saturday's off, but I'm taking today off (really worn out) and it'll be my last day off before the show... if I do the show...


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## musclepump (Sep 2, 2006)

Added cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. I'll do this until a couple of days out, which is where I'll figure out whether I'm stepping on stage or not for sure. 

I'm taking a serving of BCAA's as soon as I wake up, as soon as I walk into the gym, and as soon as I step off the cardio machine. Then I'm coming home to eggs. 

Shaved today; had to do it now so I can practice and keep the razor bumps down. For this reason alone I'm telling myself I had better do the show, because shaving SUCKS.


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## musclepump (Sep 5, 2006)

Either my scale is fucked, or I'm still 169-170 pounds. WTF?


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## musclepump (Sep 8, 2006)

I'm going to have to change up the final week plan leading into the show. I know most people go with the sodium depletion and a strict carb deplete then load, but I'm going to focus on losing as much fat as possible and get those extra couple of days in.

I'm going to go low-carb Sunday and Monday, and no carb Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday until weigh-in (about 7pm). Then I'll carb up Friday night and Saturday before the show. 

I'm dropping water Friday at noon.

Sodium I don't know I'll worry much about. I think I'll only do the boiled chicken and broccoli route (no sodium days) on Thursday and Friday.


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## musclepump (Sep 9, 2006)

A Week! One Week! One Week Away!


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## musclepump (Sep 12, 2006)

My scale is uber-fucked. Three days ago I was 170. Yesterday I was 165. Today? 163. Uh huh. Right.


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## musclepump (Sep 13, 2006)

I'm skipping the sodium depleting. Just decided, with some advice, that it's not a good idea in my situation. So, starting tomorrow I'm not adding any extra salt to my food, but that's the only change. And, I'm drinking two gallons tomorrow to flush my system before Friday's dehydrate.


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## musclepump (Sep 15, 2006)

Well... I'm sitting here drying from my third coat of Pro-Tan. Nervous about making weight, too. I'm two pounds over and I just quit drinking water. So... I hope...


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## musclepump (Sep 17, 2006)

It's over folks. I missed my lightweight class by two pounds! I ended up a Middleweight; I took 5th. Not great, but I brought home some hardware. It's over!


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## P-funk (Sep 17, 2006)

congrats!

got pics?


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## musclepump (Sep 17, 2006)

P-funk said:


> congrats!
> 
> got pics?



thanks bro. I should be able to get some up sooner than later.


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## musclepump (Sep 17, 2006)

Here's one with me and one of my clients. He's got 22 pounds on me. He was at the higher end of the class, and I was only a pound over the start weight for it! LOL


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## musclepump (Sep 18, 2006)

I'm already up five pounds. YUM!


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## BigPapaPump68 (Sep 19, 2006)

Great job. Im glad that you stuck with it. Congrats again on your success!


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## musclepump (Sep 20, 2006)

Thanks man


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## musclepump (Dec 11, 2006)

Just an update many months later... I'm fat and happy at 180 now


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