Written by: David Robinson
Week 3 (NEW 2008)
Change
So it’s been a long time… a little more than a year. A lot of shit has changed since then… Good change. Productive change. I worked my ass off with the same workout and same intensity and I gained about 30 lbs in about a year. Granted, a fair amount wasn’t the desired “lean muscle mass”. So in order to prepare for the recent Richmond Open, I decided to cut down to compete at the 165 weight class. I began a 12 week diet on the second week of January. The first 3 weeks I spent just cleaning up my daily food intake, getting rid of the junk food and beer but still taking in a fair amount of calories. The next 3 weeks I spent cutting out a lot of the excess food and focusing a lot more on limiting my unhealthy fats and carbs and increasing my protein. The final 6 weeks of my diet I ate extremely clean and it fucking sucked… chicken, steak, tuna, eggs, whole grain oats, brown rice, skim milk, whey protein, etc… The result???
April 5th, 2008- USAPL Richmond Open - 1st place in the Raw Junior Division (20-23), 165 weight class with a total of 1130. Here’s how it played out-
1st lift 2nd lift 3rd lift
Squat 315 345 375
Bench 225 255 270 (NL)
Deadlift 455 500(NL) 500
So I won… that’s great, right? Yeah that’s great… except I was fucking pissed. I’m happy to have won, but I fell short of my ultimate goal: to qualify for nationals. There are also some deadlift state records that I would like to see change hands sometime in the future… This year I wasn’t ready… next year I will be. Guaranteed. Along the way? A lot of hard fucking work and sacrifice.
Tomorrow I start my new diet for the next 16 weeks. I’ve got some lofty goals for the end of the summer… so preparing starts today. Basically, for the next 8 weeks I’m going to eat as clean as possible and judge how my body reacts to what I’m doing and go from there. I’m going by the traditional high protein/low carbs formula, but instead of adding low fats to the list, I’m experimenting with how my body reacts to high essential fats supplementation as a means to cut fat and preserve lean muscle... Next week I’ll further outline what exactly I’m eating and how the first week has worked out, as well as some other tips, goals, and thoughts… whatever the hell I want.
I guess a lot has changed over the past year… and alot will change over the next 16 weeks too. Train hard, lift big.
Week 1
No matter what you’re trying to accomplish, nutrition is one of the most important aspects of working out and being fit. It is said that 70% of abs are made in the kitchen, meaning diet plays a huge role if you’re striving for that 6-pack for spring break. However, most of us don’t have the same fitness goals or timelines, so over the next couple weeks, I’ll discuss strategies and tips on how to gain weight, lose weight, lose weight really fast, and overall nutrition. I’ll also discuss various diets and why they do/don’t work.
This week I’m going to focus on overall nutrition. No matter what you’re goals are, if you you’re trying to be fit and healthy by any standards you have to cut out junk food and saturated/trans fat from your diet. This means all the refined starches such as white bread, sugary cereal, donuts, candy, most chips and cookies. Most people can accomplish their various goals by simply eating healthy and clean, no junk food. You also must increase your protein, fiber, and good fat intake, because all three of these keep you feeling full and help burn off calories. The ideal percentage of calories should be about 50% whole-wheat and grain carbohydrates, 35% protein, and 15% from good fats (mono-unsaturated, poly-unsaturated, etc…) Next week I’ll talk about how to effectively gain weight while keeping your midsection intact.