I’m officially 7 weeks away from the NPC Physique Show at the GSR on June 22. I’m currently at 178.7 lbs & 9.6% body fat. The goal is to get to 175lbs & somewhere in 6-7 range in body fat %. I think if I get there, I’ll lean down but still retain my density enough to look muscular.
Throughout my 8-plus-month journey I’ve toyed with a lot of diets & training regimens to try to gain an edge. My diet has fluctuated a ton with research I’ve done in books, with dietitians, on forums & through general Google searches. I literally spend hours every night reading forums & all information I can get in front of my eyes.
For that reason, I’m not sweating having to shave 5+ lbs of fat in 7 weeks. I think I’ve learned enough that I’m confidently on my way to reaching my goals by staying on the track I’m on with slight alterations along the way.
So without further ado, here are a few key components on how I plan to cut those last few lbs:
• Continue intermittent fasting. If you haven’t heard of IF, look it up. NOW. I’ll write about the wonders of IF in a post of its own later, but to be brief: I’ve been on it for 2 weeks & have lost 3 lbs of fat with no muscle mass loss. My energy is up along with the visible veins running through my body. The striations are getting more disgustingly beautiful along my shoulders, back, quads & calves. This is all after being on a strict diet already before this, so the added results are great so far.
• Fasted cardio. I was one of the biggest opposers of doing anything on an empty stomach just about a month ago…now, I’m doing 20-30 minutes of fasted cardio every other day & loving the results. As my friend & Registered Dietitian Shanti Wolfe told me, “Fasted training burns more fat because the body will not burn fat in the presence of insulin from carbohydrate sources.” Shanti recommends low to moderate intensity if you are going to train fasted. So far, I’ve only done cardio fasted but it’s just a matter of time before I start fasted training. The benefits have been great for me so far: More pure energy during my training & definitely seeing the fat burn thus far.
• Tell as many people I can about this upcoming show. The more people I tell about it, the more people hold me accountable on an everyday basis. Earlier this week, I was doing leg raises on a pull-up bar at my gym. I was using momentum to lift my legs up since fatigue had already set in. This nice elderly gentleman (maybe early 50s) tapped me on my shoulder to take off my earbuds & politely told me, “Stop using momentum, son. You’re cheating yourself.” I immediately snapped back into the zone. Tell people about your plans & they’ll help keep you focused!
With that, my path continues. Eat clean & workout dirty, yall!.