contest prep 2013

[Time Bandit Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Time Bandit]

My wife made my day.. I just showed her your pics Sam and the wife said thats what Im starting to look like.

Im learning from the best .. AWESOME WORK !!!

[sam1976 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close sam1976]

My wife made my day.. I just showed her your pics Sam and the wife said thats what Im starting to look like.

Im learning from the best .. AWESOME WORK !!!

thats great, bro. keep working!! your avatar looks great

[Time Bandit Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Time Bandit]

I might just have to get on the boat come spring and get hooked up with your program Sam.. Looks like an Ass Kicker

[ODB Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close ODB]

looking like granite + still 9 wks out - get some Sam.
R u gonna hit any new compounds 8wks out?

those calves r looking like pot-roasts hanging their.

[sam1976 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close sam1976]

looking like granite + still 9 wks out - get some Sam.
R u gonna hit any new compounds 8wks out?

those calves r looking like pot-roasts hanging their.

yes, first, i'm going in to get some blood work done next tuesday. i want to do that first and foremost before i add anything else. if all is going well, i'm probably going to add a low dose of tren starting somewhere between wk 8 to wk 6. i'll keep the dose low, around 50mg EOD. i may up it a little higher in the end, but honestly, i only have about 20cc of tren ace, so i wont be upping it too much. i figured that was enough for the dose i like to use. if i got more, i'd just be tempted to do more and i've found that for my physique, more isnt always better. i feel that it gives me a real "drugged" look and takes away my healthy glow, if that makes sense. i used to not be as concerned with how healthy i looked on stage, as long as i was ripped. now days though, i have a much bigger appreciation for people with a clean, healthy look and good skin. it really can make you pop on stage, IMO. if i can get away without going too high on the tren, i'll be happy. at the other end of the spectrum, i'm going to try to run more halo than i have in the past. i've always started halo 3 wks out. this time around, im going to start it at 4 wks out and i'm going to up the dose if i can mentally handle it. halo is one compound that tends to make irritable. in the past, i ran 10mg for 1 wk, then 20 for 1 wk, then 30 for one wk. this time around, if all goes well, i plan to run it at 20mg for one wk, then 30mg for 3 wks. halo is probably something i wouldnt use if it weren't for contest prep, but it works so well at improving the quality of hard graininess, i'd consider it the best "icing on the cake" for the end of contest dieting.

[VanZane Member Find all posts View Profile Close VanZane]

looking good sam! back has gotten a lot thicker and your quad sweep is much better then it was Also those calves......holy jesus

[ALEX.18 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close ALEX.18]

Keep up the good work sam. Lookin rediculous. Still have a few weeks till the olympia

[sam1976 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close sam1976]

thanks guys. .alex, whos gonna win the O? this should be a good year. its super motivational to prep during the O. gets me fired up to do everything right!

random thoughts...

so i'm in the tail end of 8 wks out. i have reduced the gh a little and am running it 7 days instead of taking a little more 5 on, 2 off. we made the first reduction of food this wk, removing a little fat and about 15% of the carbs. for the first time in the diet, i can feel it a little. i'm still strong and having great workouts. we had a super intense back day yesterday and now today is a rest day. i went in first thing in the AM and did some fasted blood work, to make sure everything is still functioning as it should be. i feel healthy, but fingers crossed. interestingly, my MD is a national level FBB competitor and she says that in her real world experience, she has never seen milk thistle or saw palmetto to ever make a difference. she said it wont hurt to take milk thistle, but shes never seen it to make a difference. the only real way to maintain health is use sensible doses of orals and cycle off completely.

i can see things starting to come together. its been in the game plan to slowly chip away at the fat while gaining new muscle and the plan seems to be working. i'm still stretching out my 2x shirts in the right places. on a side note, i used to wear small or medium before i started lifting. but thats another story lol. we have a few guys in the area who have used DNP in the cycles they were on when they went pro and i'm strongly considering using it around wk 4, 3, and 2. in the past, i always saw it as something guys used who didnt diet hard enough or didnt do enough cardio, but i've been given a new perspective. to get to jaw dropping conditioning, most people need to diet pretty hard and do a good amount of cardio but when adding in DNP, you can increase the amount of fat burnt without having to risk messing up your leg size with hours of step mill and treadmill. if i do use it, it will be for only a short time with the most conservative dose that works. hopefully by that time, if i do use it, the weather will be cool. i always feel hot and when dieting it's worse. i sweat through my shirt with every meal haha. i couldnt imagine using DNP in the dead heat of summer

[ALEX.18 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close ALEX.18]

thanks guys. .alex, whos gonna win the O? this should be a good year. its super motivational to prep during the O. gets me fired up to do everything right

I want to say Phil but i havent seen enough of him lately. He won the last 2 with completely different packages so theres really no way to predict whats going to happen. Its all about what the judges are looking for THAT NIGHT. But with Jay jumping back into the ring and Kai, theres really no calling it

Im excited to see how Big Ramy and Kucklo do. Im a diehard Kucklo fan man. I think that dude has a real huge future in this sport

I love reading your preps too man. Could u go into the DNP a little deeper and expain what is is and how youre planning on running it? Do you need to tailor your diet a specific way to run it safely or correctly?

[sam1976 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close sam1976]

im excited to see what ramy brings too. the guy is a monster and i feel like the sport has been waiting for a competitor like him to come in for awhile. we love our mass monsters. i remember seeing kucklo do a state level show at about 20 yrs old. even then, you could see that he was a pro in the making. he walked right through and took the overall, beating guys who had been competing for years. he was in a totally different class from the rest of the show. my coach at the time, who was the promoter of that show and a national NPC judge told me, there is no question. that guy is going to turn pro. and yea, should be an interesting story. this line up is going to be deep. so many good competitors, guys like branch may have a hard time making top 5. i have heard that ramy and kai have both put out some pretty amazing pics recently. i'm gonna look around for them this wkend.

as for DNP, it not for the new user by any means. the stuff is intense from what i hear. works by raising your body temp. back in the early 1900's, it was used as a diet aid but had been replaced, as it can be dangerous. it is still used today as a component of making TNT as well as being used as an industrial dye. its very strong and the red powder will stain whatever it touches. if you cap it yourself, you have to wear gloves, as it will not only stain your hands. it will also absorb through your skin and not too long after, you will begin feeling its effects. there is no outside limit as to how hot it makes you. take too much and you can literally cook yourself from the inside out. i believe that 500mg is considered a standard dose. cycles are kept short, 2-3 wks, as it will tear down everything over time. from the sounds of it, it makes t3 look like a multi vitamin. if i use it, the plan will be to come off with time to fill back out, as there is no question, it will flatten you out badly. we've been planning this diet with the idea of using DNP towards the end and this is one of the reasons that food has still been so high. im not going to take it just to take it. we'll see how things look when the time comes and just because i decide that i am going to use it for 3 wks, doesnt mean i will the whole period, if it isnt working well for me or if i get where i need to be sooner. ideally, 2 wks would be more than plenty

[Bigpump Member Find all posts View Profile Close Bigpump]

Love reading this. Just makes me want to get into the gym and work that much harder. Thanks for letting us follow along Sam.

[ODB Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close ODB]

Recent Pic's have been few+far between but I will just predict Phil MrO, Kai 2nd again. I do agree that its going to be a tough competitive show (ala 1988 Mr.O) especially for guy's like Branch. I think Ramy will do well but his lack of maturity/separation will keep him around 5th.
As and old guy I am interested to see if Jay is really serious + if he can pull off a good showing and inspire us old guy's like Dexter did + of course the great Al Beckles.

Whatever works for u Sam follow ur plan + make the right adjustments.

[sam1976 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close sam1976]

i'm seeing lately that i am running low on patience...more so, i'm running low on time. the food prep, the gym, the cardio...it all adds up and added to an already packed schedule, i've gotta figure out what i can cut out. there are only so many hours in the day and only so many hours of sleep that i can cut out before it'll take a tole, so something has got to give. i think a big key in this sport is finding balance, but a bigger key is finding acceptance for that fact that, at least for a period of time, balance is going to be impossible!

with all this time i DONT have, i've somehow managed to think about things more. dont ask me how that works, haha. i've been thinking about "humility" and how important it is to maintain. i get a lot of comments (more in the past couple years as i've gotten bigger) about my size. people have a lot to say. it can feel good to get that approval from others but that isn't the reason i train. it's gotten to a point that i just want to stay covered up. i'm always hot. in fact, as i type now, i have a fan blowing directly on me, as i sit in this very cold room, and i feel comfortable. but its gotten to this point that i can see how much i stand out in a tank top at the gym. i'm by no means a monster, but on most days, i'm the biggest guy in the gym with single digit body fat. i don't quite know why, but i dont want to stand out anymore. i just want to come in and do the work of building my body. i dont make a ton of noise on most sets and am not throwing weights around. i'm super friendly to everyone i train around, but for whatever reason, i want to be more invisible and do my thing.
i guess thats why it bothers me so much when i see blatant arrogance from guys who seem like they have something to prove. we have one guy in my gym who is doing the same show as me, but in the next weight class. he's a HW, not because he's that yoked, but because he's that tall. i dont know why i'm giving this any thought today, but like i said, i've been thinking alot lately. he's done one show, in which he looked awful, flat and soft. he has made some improvements, but still has no legs, yet he's telling people he's not even concerned about his class...that he's going to sweep it and furthermore, that he'll be going against me in the overall. not sure how he's calculated all of this haha. i think he's watched too much pumping iron because now when i see him, he refuses to talk to me unless i make conversation first. he's eyeballing me from across the gym when he thinks im not paying attention and he insists on acting like branch warren when he's lifting around me. he doesnt look awful for a local guy but even if he had a national level build, i'd still have a hard time respecting these unnecessary antics.

oh well, what are ya gonna do? he'll see whats up in 7 wks. i dont want to see him do poorly, but i think the worst thing that could happen for him would be a victory. i think the funniest thing happened today. i was told he was super offended that someone came up to him and seriously asked if he was competing in BB or mens physique. wish i could have been there for that hahahahahahaha.

ok, enough of giving any of my energy to this pointlessness. i'll post some 6 wk out pics this next wk and update on the supps and diet. things are going good. had a cheat meal tonight and am going to destroy some back tomorrow. everything is right on track. holding at the same weight and getting leaner every day.

[sam1976 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close sam1976]

i could totally see phil for 1st, the kai again. and agree. ramy probably needs a little more time, but man, that guy looks like just as much of a cartoon as phil. i want to see them standing together.

[ALEX.18 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close ALEX.18]

i could totally see phil for 1st, the kai again. and agree. ramy probably needs a little more time, but man, that guy looks like just as much of a cartoon as phil. i want to see them standing together.

Same here i cant wait to see them next to each other. I saw pictures that ramy posted on facebook today. Man that dudes got some fucking WHEELS on him. Theyre almost out of proportion with his upper body. His legs are what catches my attention every time i see a picture of him