[Insex]

As suggested by Old_Fart2, I have described my diet and workout routine prior to my first bodybuilding competition, which was on April 22, 2006.

I began my diet routine 12 weeks before the big show. This is how it went:

-Wake up at 6:15 AM, do 30 minutes of cardio.

-Eat some oatmeal and a protein shake.

-Go to class.

-Eat breakfast at 9:00 AM, have an omelet with tomatoes and onions. Take my multivitamin/multimineral pill, glucosamine chewable, and Essential Fatty Acid pill.

-Take 2 oz. of wheatgrass about 15 minutes after breakfast.

-Go to class.

-Eat lunch at around noon, usually a sandwich with a broccoli salad (no dressings). Have another EFA pill.

-Workout with weights at around 2:00 PM or 3:00 PM. Medium weight, medium to high reps, medium intensity.

-Have a protein shake and glutamine after workout.

-Have a small snack at around 4:00 PM.

-Eat dinner at 6:00 PM. Usually a balanced meal with another broccoli salad. Have another multivitamin/multimineral pill, glucosamine chewable, and EFA pill.

-Do another 30 minute session of cardio at 8:00 PM (optional).

-Have a protein shake and small snack at around 9:00 PM.

-Hit the bed at around 11:00 PM or midnight.

Workout Routine:

-Sunday: Rest.
-Monday: Arms, Abs, Calves.
-Tuesday: Back, Hamstrings.
-Wednesday: Shoulders, Traps.
-Thursday: Chest.
-Friday: Same as Monday (Arms, Abs, Calves).
-Saturday: Quads, Hamstrings.

That was my original plan, and it went well for the first 5 or 6 weeks. However, during the next 6 weeks, I slacked a little and the diet routine suffered. School was taking up too much time, and there were other things I had to fit into my schedule. I was also sleeping in until noon and missing out on my first cardio session, as well as the morning oatmeal and omelet. I was also staying up later than usual and not going to bed until 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning, a few times I didn't go to bed until 4:00 AM!

So basically, my whole schedule got delayed by 4 to 6 hours each day. My weightlifting routine stayed intact though, and the 30 to 45 minute cardio session in the evening was no longer optional. However I usually elevated the intensity (having a constant heartrate of 150 to 165) to make up for missing the morning session. I still consumed about 4 to 5 meals a day while keeping my overall caloric intake lower than it used to be.

I was 215 lbs. at the 12-week mark, and was 204 lbs. by contest time. I never actually took my bodyfat percentage. However, everyone told me that I was a bit leaner by contest time, so I knew I lost some body fat. My best guess is that I was about 10% to 11% bodyfat at the 12-week mark, and about 8% to 9% at contest time. I don't think I lost much muscle tissue, because I didn't lose much strength.

Had I stayed on my original schedule, I think I would've done much better. Maybe I would've won first place. My goal was to get down to 6% bodyfat naturally. When I say naturally, I'm talking about not using any fat burners or supplements that work like fat burners. I've never taken a fat burner, mainly because I'm not sure how fat burners work, but I think they artificially elevate heart rate levels or something of that sort to make you cook on the inside. I'm kind of afraid to try them out because back when I was playing football, all those cases about NFL players and high school football players getting heat strokes, and dropping dead was going on each year.

Next time I will stick to my schedule and not miss my morning cardio session and not have my breakfast at twelve o'clock noon. I think the next contest I'll do will be in August as well as another one in October. So for now (April 2006), I'll work on gaining more muscle, then start dieting at the 8-week mark. So around late June or early July, just so that I don't leave any room for "fat days" and don't feel like I'm lingering on an endless 12-week long diet. Any suggestions, comments, and advice would be greatly appreciated from you guys.