Time to Compete (Part Four)

In part three of this 4-part series I presented and reviewed my standard daily diet. Keep in mind that I’m training for and competing in the Hawaiian Natural Muscle Bodybuilding Championships on June 8th, 2013, in Nanakuli which is located on the west side of Oahu. So Hang loose Brah, the best is yet to come!

My standard daily diet is by no means conventional, thanks to a process called research guided by self-determination and a gift from nature stored in my front lobe called reason. Reason is man’s tool for survival and logic is the hand of reason.

My acronym for D.I.E.T. is Discipline In Energy Transfer. For love of health, not money, fame or glory, I devote a ton of discipline to the process of transferring clean energy into my body without violating it. To do otherwise, which based on simple observation is the standard norm, is illogical. The first law of life is Do No Harm

My dietary construct is designed to meet the prime directive of biological supply and demand for my species, which is why I don’t eat French fries covered in gravy or drink soda pop. I used to as a naïve and ignorant kid, but I am no longer a kid or ignorant. To sustain life one must come to terms with what life is and how to sustain it. That’s my obligation as a free-thinking sovereign being.

Although the whole food I consume tastes delicious, culinary pleasure is secondary to my objective of sustainability. If I followed the Canada Food Guide since its inception as advocated, that objective would be impossible to achieve.

I did not learn how to “think, eat or live” for the prevention of obesity and chronic disease in the compulsory public education system. In that system of mind engineering, subjects like math and science have evolved over time since I graduated from high school in 1975; however, when it comes to nutrition science for humans, the system today remains just as dark and backwards as it was for me in my time.

The corruption is plainly visible in the food being dispensed to our children in the school cafeteria. Public schools do not teach our children to avoid eating sugar or refined acid-forming food. How could they? How can you teach a young mind not to eat what is harmful, then serve it to them for lunch?

After being out in the real world for many decades now, out of child prison as it were, I can say without question or doubt that human health is a billion times more important than memorizing irrelevant, non-essential data over and above knowledge that stimulates, motivates and educates us to live and stay well.

The intelligent management of self is infinitely more important and relevant to life than learning how to become an obedient wage slave. Don’t kid yourself. How you start is exactly how you’ll finish. You’re not where you are right now by accident.

As of this writing, I’m in my third of four training mesocycles. My last workout was yesterday morning. I trained Back. After a good warm-up, I performed 5 sets of barbell bent-over rowing, for a target rep range of 12 reps per set. The weight was medium but the intensity was high. Lots of sweat equity there. BB Rows were followed by 3 tri-sets of Hammer shrugs, front close-grip pulldowns and seated cable rowing. Rep range was 15-20 per set. After some serious core training I skipped with a leather rope for three 3-minute intervals then performed a complete body stretch on the floor.

Competition Diet Plan – 100 Days Out

In competitive bodybuilding, timing is everything. The whole idea is to show up on contest day with extremely thin skin, very low bodyfat and as much muscle as possible spread evenly and symmetrically across your entire body. If you have that then the next challenge relates to how well you present it on stage.

This is where preparation and practice come in. Find a good choreographer with a special eye. Choose your music score and design your posing routine so that in sync and on time, your body moves just right in front of the judges and audience. What you want is fluid movement and a smooth transition from one pose to another. Get online and watch Arnold do it. Posing on stage is where the rubber hits the road. What you see is what you get!

Beginning March 1st, 2013, I officially begin dieting for the show and it goes something like this.

Day 100 – 70 (30 days)

• Regular daily workout (warm-up, weights, core, cardio, stretch)
• Increase evening walk to 30 minutes (from 20)
• Cut out starchy carbs like yams or brown rice normally eaten with evening meal
• No whole grains or flour of any kind (muffins, bread, pasta)
• Alcohol – 1-2 days per week only (microbrewed Ale or Mead)

Day 69 – 39 (30 days)

• Regular daily workout (warm-up, weights, core, cardio, stretch)
• Cut out carbs normally taken after post-workout shake
• No red meat, all animal protein <20% fat (turkey, white fish, tuna sashimi)
• Increase protein intake by 20% (up to 300g daily)
• Alcohol – 1 day per week only (microbrewed Ale or Mead)
• Practice mandatory poses for 15 minutes

Day 38 – 15 (23 days)

• Regular daily workout
• No ghee or feta (no dairy)
• No alcohol (sorry Charlie, no tuna!)
• Cut out all natural salad dressing oil
• Stairs at night with high knees for 30 minutes at a medium pace.
• Practice mandatory poses and posing routine for 30 minutes

Day 14 – 5 (10 days)

• Morning walk (20 minutes – listen to an educational tutorial on my iPod)
• Double-split gym routine (two workouts daily 10am & 4pm)
• No fruit, No vegetables, No carbs. Yikes!
• 8-10 small meals throughout the day of tuna sashimi, white fish mixed with egg whites and turkey meat (eat as much as I want).
• Protein shakes (100g of whey protein isolate / 2 T. hemp seed oil / water only)
• Fresh lemon juice & spices acceptable
• Increase exercise volume – increase reps (20-25) & sets (5-10)
• Wind sprints – 6 x 30 seconds (on treadmill during winter months)
• Practice mandatory poses and posing routine for 30 minutes

Now here’s a very important tip. During this time I increase my intake of Pantothenic Acid (vitamin B5) from 2g a day to 10g taken in four divided doses of 2500mg on an empty stomach between meals. I use the powder form and mix it in water.

In research and clinical application with his obese patients, Dr. LH Leung proved that lipid catabolism (lipolysis) is significantly enhanced when B5 is taken in such large quantities during a low carb diet that creates ketosis. Leung found that adding 10 grams of B5 to a calorie-restricted modified diet eliminates hunger, physical weakness, cravings and prevents the formation of ketone bodies without any side effects.

The ability to burn fat stores efficiently when dieting, decreases over time and leads to the depletion of glycogen stores. In my case that’s exactly what I want. Complete depletion of glycogen. However, as the body continues to oxidize fat for fuel, ketone bodies begin to appear in the bloodstream and urine. Over time, the ability to metabolize stored fat weakens and most people start to feel hungry and show symptoms of weakness, dizziness and sweating.

As the mechanism of fat burning, forced through a voluntary calorie deficit begins to fail, ketone bodies will appear. Dr. Leung believes that the presence of ketone bodies reflects a deficiency of pantothenic acid which of course is an essential micronutrient. B5 is water-soluble like vitamin C and as safe. This is why it’s best to take it in smaller divided doses throughout the day. It keeps the blood saturated constantly. B5 is called the anti-stress vitamin for a reason.

Day 4 – 2 (three days)

• Light-Medium intensity full body daily workouts
• Begin carbing-up on the night of day 4 and continue for the next 3 days with manna bread, figs, dates, yams, brown rice and whole grain pasta
• Eat small meals with small portion of low-fat protein
• Protein shakes (low protein, high carb, no oil)
• Practice mandatory poses and posing routine for 30 minutes

Muscle Primer Mix

Mix 50ml glycerol with 12 oz of water, 4 oz of red wine and one serving of a high performance creatine/high-glycemic carbohydrate powder mix. That equates to about 5g of creatine and maybe 20g of high-glycemic carbs. You can substitute pure glycerol with what cyclists and marathon runners use during long rides. They squeeze glycerol out from a small pak or tube right into their mouth. It comes out as a gel and is mixed with dextrin, which is a high glycemic carb derived from wheat or corn.

Day 1 (Contest Day)

I take the muscle primer mix at night before the morning of the show, and once again just before pumping up back-stage for the pre-judging on the day of the event. I find this liquid potion really helps make me look more muscular and vascular, as it helps drive water and fluid into my veins and arteries, causing them to swell up around and on the surface of my skin. It has the same effect on my muscle cells and also helps keep my energy level up. I sip on water constantly, and do reduce it a bit just prior to the show, but I don’t cut it down to the point of exhaustion or near-fatal dehydration.

So that’s it. Biological bodybuilding is not about winning. It’s too noble for that. Natural bodybuilding is about doing the work, showing up in shape and never compromising.

Time to Compete (Part One)
Time to Compete (Part Two)
Time to Compete (Part Three)

As always...Stay and Live Free!

Dr.C