SixEightFitness featured in Muscular Development Magazine

If you haven't picked up the brand new June issue of Muscular Development, now is the time to do so and  catch my first appearance in a bodybuilding magazine.

Ok I haven't made it on the cover of Muscular Development...yet!!! and also the word appearance is slightly exaggerated, however a picture of me with IFBB pro Bodybuilder Shawn Rhoden made it in the latest issue on page 36.

MD June Issue 2013

Page 36

At the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, I had the opportunity to meet Shawn and take a picture with him. However since he didn't want to look short next to my 6'8", he decided to grab a stool and stand on it for the picture. While my girlfriend was snapping the picture for me, a photographer from MD happened to be at the scene and take advantage of this humorous situation. 

Zoom

The "uncropped" picture

Today I am less than one week out from my competition and am eagerly looking forward to it. Besides the anticipation to hit the stage again, present my improvements and hopefully place well, I cannot wait to finally "eat" again and get some energy back. 

The last couple of weeks of modified carb drops with several days of low or almost zero carbs have taken its toll. I feel exhausted and slightly lethargic. Last week I also started doing cardio twice a day which further decreased my energy levels and increased my hunger. 

So being tired, exhausted and hungry, it is needless to say, that my life has been quite exciting for the past weeks. I would get up at 5am, do my 30 min of cardio, eat, work out, eat again, go to work, eat, eat, eat, come home, cook, eat, go to bed and repeat the next day. 

I really have to thank my girlfriend for being so patient with me and supporting me through all of this, as this routine is already starting to bore me. 

"It's the final countdown.
Oh, it's the final countdown."

                                                      Europe     

Holy Carb Drop

Talking about shocking your system. 

While my trainer has been gradually reducing my carb intake over the past 10 weeks, he went all out with this week's diet. 

We continue with a modified carb drop (MCD) as we have for the past two weeks, but instead of two high carb days followed by five low carb days, he has me doing one "high" (still nothing compared to the amount of carbs and calories I ate during my off-season) and four low, and by low I mean Mariana Trench low. 

The total caloric intake on my low days is roughly 2,900 calories total, with 1,800 coming from protein, 855 from fat and barely over 200 from carbs. To be precise, for four days, my carbohydrates will come from 1 oz. of almonds, along with some egg whites as my pre-workout, 16 oz. of Gatorade as part of my post-workout meal and two full cups of broccoli, which all together equates to 55 grams of carbs or 220 calories. 

Low Carb Day Meals without 16 oz. Gatorade and protein shakes

Needless to say, my energy levels are equally low and my mood not the best. I feel lightheaded and am easy to irritate. 

In addition to a level of crankiness that could easily take it on with any pregnant woman's mood, I am also battling a slight cold that adds to my overall exhaustion. Long story short, I am not a whole lot of fun to be around these days and should probably wear a shirt like this to work, to the gym or any form or social function that requires human interaction.

I cannot wait for my next high carb day to regain some of my energy. Instant grits, white and brown rice, as well as sweet potatoes never sounded more delicious. As typical for a high carb day, protein intake is dropped, while carb consumption and overall calories are increased. In my specific case, the total caloric intake goes up to roughly 4,000, with more than half of it coming from carbs. Just the thought of it makes my mouth water, figuratively. 

High Carb Day Meals without pre- and post-workout protein shakes

Despite all of this, I am trying to stay positive and keep on pushing myself. I am now a little less than three weeks out and can see a light at the end of the tunnel. It might be a little blurry due to my lightheadedness but it's there. 

My workouts are still relatively strong, even though I had to decrease the weights for some exercises to maintain proper form and technique. My daily cardio remains unchanged at 30 minutes of HIIT on the elliptical, complimented by ten 50 yards sprints twice a week.  

In terms of supplements, Fred upped my BCAA intake to 40gr per day, which should help to temper my hunger, and added Calcium-Magnesium and ZMA, as well as 3,000mg of fish oil pills. 

Being that close to my competition, he also told me to stop using my pre-workout booster, Gaspari SuperPump.  

If you cant handle me "cutting", then you don't deserve me when I'm shredded.

The Cardio Myth

"In order to loose weight you have to do tons of cardio. For best results do an hour in the morning, then come back in the afternoon for another half hour. Oh yes, running will work great."

Wow what a bunch of BS and for aspiring bodybuilders not only utterly false but also detrimental.
First of all, your goal should not be "loosing weight" but rather "loosing fat". Since muscle mass weighs more than fat, the more muscle you build up, the heavier you appear on the scale. So forget the scale and focus on the reflection in the mirror and take weekly progress pictures.
Second, while some form of aerobic exercise is necessary to a certain extend to help burn fat, it will not work wonders by itself without a proper diet or exercise plan. Actually excessive endurance training or cardio exercises at a high heart rate (approx. 70-80%) may cause muscle loss. Especially if combined with a drastic diet. 

Fat is most efficiently burned in a heart rate zone of between 60% and 70%, the so-called weight control zone or fat burning zone. Exercises performed at a heart rate within this this zone in addition to proper nutrition cause the body to burn fat without excessively breaking down muscle. The result is a better, leaner physique. 

I always like the analogy of comparing the body type of a marathon runner with the body of a sprinter. This is a good example that tons of cardiovascular exercise (marathon training) does not necessarily result in a great physique and that it can actually have an adverse effect, especially if you are training to loose fat and maintain as much muscle mass as possible. 

Now when it comes to cardio exercises for bodybuilders, it does not always have to be the same boring routine on the treadmill, stationary bike or elliptical machine. Think outside the box if you are not a fan of monotonous routines and try different ways to get your metabolism going.

Metabolic Circuits

Personally I am not a big fan of these timed circuits but a lot of people like them and have seen great results. The idea is basically setting up a course with several exercises (bodyweight, machine, free weights/kettlebells, etc.) then perform each exercise for a certain amount of time, use your "rest period" to change stations, and once completed, repeat the entire circuit several times. 

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

My preferred choice for fat-shredding cardio. You can either do it outside (hills, stadium, track or street) or in the gym (treadmill, elliptical, stationary bike) as the concept is the same. Do a high intensity exercise (sprint, uphill run, higher level/speed on the machines) for a short period of time (10-60 seconds) followed by a 30-120 seconds rest period (walking, jogging, reduced level/speed) and repeat the entire cycle several times. 

Speed Drills

Just think of your good old football days or whatever sport you played. Remember the dynamic warm-ups you used to do before practice? Yep, exactly the ones during camp in the middle of August. Well it turns out, that those exercises like high knees, side shuffles, backpedals, sprints, cariocas, etc. make for a great cardio workout. So combine a couple of them and do each exercise for 20 yds., with a couple of short and long sprints at the end.

Barbell or Dumbbell Complexes

Basically a timed circuit consisting only of barbell or dumbbell exercises performed at a high speed back-to-back without any rest. Only take breaks in between circuits, then repeat circuit several times.

Prowler 

Talking about an ass kicking workout. Pushing or pulling a sled, a car, weights, etc. is one heck of a workout  and definitely a challenging but fun alternative to any treadmill. 

Jump Rope

Yep, it's exactly what you read. Just grab a good ol' jump rope and start jumping. While it is a great way by itself to get your heart rate up and metabolism going, you could also incorporate it into a circuit or design a circuit of various jump rope exercises.  

Personally I see cardio as an evil necessity and don't even try to make it fun or exciting. Honestly all I do care about is the end result and go through the motions. I trust my trainer's expertise in this subject and do what he suggests. 

Currently he wants me to do daily 25 minutes of high intensity interval training of my choice. I have tried various routines and have seen the best results by doing the weight loss cycle on the elliptical machine. Compared to doing timed sprints on the treadmill, the elliptical puts less pressure on my joints, especially my knees, and generally feels better. I don't think I need to be in constant pain and the elliptical works has been proven to work the best for me. It increases my metabolism and lets me get a good sweat going.

This week I had some minor interruptions of my training routine, as I first went to Columbus, OH for the Arnold Sport Festival and then on an overnight business trip to Phoenix, AZ. However since my trip was just overnight and I got back at a decent time I was able to do my regular cardio and back workout Tuesday morning and just had to postpone cardio and abs from Wednesday morning to the evening. Well, now I'm back on track, which means...

Back on the elliptical

Arnold Sports Festival 2013

As I mentioned before, my wonderful girlfriend and I decided to head to Columbus, OH this year and check out the Arnold Sports Festival.

The Arnold Sports Festival is the largest multi-sport event in the United States and has been held for the past 25 years every year in the capital of Ohio.

Columbus, OH with Arnold Statue

In addition to the various bodybuilding and fitness competitions, several other amateur and professional sport events are held over the course of the weekend along with a huge fitness expo, attracting over 175,000 attendees and athletes from basically all over the world. 

The expo alone featured 700 vendors and packed the main hall of the Greater Columbus Convention Center.  

Fitness Expo

While the expo itself is worth a trip, another good reason for us to make the 8 hour one-way road trip across  5 states was that my coach, IFBB Pro Fred "Biggie" Smalls, was competing in this year's Arnold Classic for the first time.
So early Friday morning we got on the road straight from the gym and started our little adventure.
Since I am in the middle of preparing for my next competition on May 11th and my girlfriend started "to get ready for the summer/beach" we had all meals for the weekend prepared in advance and traveled rather heavy.
Four coolers full of chicken, brown rice, oatmeal, broccoli, water, ice, protein powder and vitamins ensured that we could follow our diets to the tee and wouldn't miss one single bite; not even during a snow storm somewhere in between Western Maryland and West Virginia or on I-70 in Ohio.
Nothing says dedication and commitment more than eating cold chicken and brown rice, smothered in mustard in a parked car next to some rusty gas station is some god forsaken jerkwater town in the middle of nowhere.

Well we survived the drive, the snow storm and the cold chicken and made it safe to our hotel right on time to refresh, eat another meal and head over to the Veterans Memorial Auditorium to watch the Ms. Fitness and Figure finals.
Even more interesting than the actual show was the people watching in the 3,916 seat venue. Pros, fitness celebrities, amateur athletes and fans packed the auditorium and were interesting to observe.
A friend of mine referred to the scene as  "freak show" and it was surely nothing less. Bodybuilders and fitness athletes of all shapes, size and bother genders made for quite a show at the show.

Female Bodybuilding

Bikini

Saturday morning we took advantage of the nice hotel gym for our daily cardio session and enjoyed a nice view over the state house and downtown Ohio while sweating on the treadmill. 

After a warm breakfast, thanks to the hotel microwave, we packed our meals for the day and headed to the convention center to walk the expo. 

Can you say PACKED? Just like our tupperware containers in the cooler we were cramped in between masses and masses of people, trying to walk the expo floor. 

We pushed our way from booth to booth, trying out protein bar samples, collecting supplement samples, taking pictures of and with fitness celebrities, watching various sport events and demonstartions and "playing" with all kinds of workout equipment. 

Working on my Strongman skills

IFBB Pro Shawn Rhoden

IFBB Pro Branch Warren

IFBB Pro Kai Greene

IFBB Pro Dennis James

Former Baltimore Raven Jamal Lewis

IFBB Pro Fred Smalls

After a fun-filled but also exhausting day of walking the expo, we went back to the Veterans Memorial at night for the main event of the weekend, the Arnold Classic men's bodybuilding competition. 

Besides the men's final, the show also included the bikini and Strongman final rounds, as well as award ceremonies for all three events. 

Freddy, my coach, put on quite a show and provided some great entertainment with his creative routine.  

Even though he did not make it under the top 6, he won the best posing award and took home a nice check for $10,000. 

Arnold Classic Winner with the Governator himself

Arnold Classic Lineup

Fred Smalls winning best posing trophy

Sunday morning we started our journey back home and made it back through the snowy Appalachian without any problems. Now it's time again to prepare more meals since my next business trip is coming up this Tuesday. Hopefully Phoenix, AZ will not surprise me with another snow storm and I will have some time to catch some rays and soak up some sun while being out there.

"Some quit due to slow progress, never grasping the fact that slow progress... is still progress"

Unknown

One Down, Eleven More To Go...

Man does it feel good to "back on track" and working towards another competition and an actual date. I know that I will probably regret this statement when my diet will barely include any carbs again and my energy levels are going to be close to zero, but I am already excited to see how my body will change over the next 11 weeks.

After "bulking up" over the winter and having the occasional cheat meal/meals, eating "clean" and lesser amounts of food feels actually good and somewhat refreshing. I feel better and already saw a slight drop in my body weight, even though it's not visible in this week's progress picture. It helps tremendously that I am working with a professional trainer/nutritionist this time, who is constantly monitoring my progress and adjusting my diets and workouts accordingly. 

Fred Smalls is an experienced professional bodybuilder who identifies my weak points and provides me with exercises to improve them. He knows exactly what the judges will be looking for and helps me to change my body accordingly. 

Having him on my team makes me more relaxed and confident going into this prep.

It also helps that this year's show prep is not my "first rodeo" and I know what to expect and what I will have to endure during this journey.

At the moment I am doing High Intensity Cardio every day for 20 minutes in the morning and lift weights five times a week. Well if I count my ab workout six times.
I kept my training days the same but Fred changed my workouts dramatically. Besides focusing more on isolation exercises and increasing reps per set, he also has me doing exercises I have never heard before, let alone done before, working muscles I have never solely focused on.
Our goal was this off-season to work on my symmetry, develop my back and increase the size of my quads.
I think we are on the right track and I can already say that my body has changed a lot compared to last year.
Let's see what will happen over the next 11 weeks, when it's finally time to hit the stage again at the:

NPC Mid Atlantic Natural Classic & Fitness

When: Saturday May 11, 2013
Where: North Brunswick High School, 98 Raider Rd North Brunswick, NJ 08902. 
Prejudging begins at 11am and the finals are scheduled for 6:30pm. 

Next weekend my girlfriend and I are planning a trip to Columbus, OH to visit the Arnold Sport Festival. Even though travelling while being in the middle of a contest prep is a little difficult and requires a lot of planning in advance (meal preparation, adjusting your training schedule, finding suitable gyms, etc.) I am excited to head out there and see what the "Arnold" is all about. I have never been before, but if it holds up to my expectations, I should bring back tons of supplement samples, freebies and pictures with fitness celebrities. Maybe I'll even get a chance to meet the Governator himself.

Preparation May 11th in full effect.

I'm Back

Did you miss me??? 

I apologize for my abstinence, but this Winter was dedicated to building mass and I didn't really have anything "blogworthy" to report.
I basically woke up early every day to lift and then ate. A LOT!!!! Boy, let me tell you. My off-season diet consisted of between 5,200 and 5,400 calories per DAY and consuming that much food was a challenge on its own. 8 meals consisting of either rice and ground beef, rice and chicken, potatoes and salmon, oatmeal and eggs or steak and potatoes. But it all paid off.

I have been working with IFBB pro bodybuilder Fred "Biggie" Smalls since my last show in August and  made some great gains this off-season.

As of this morning, I am at 305 lbs. at approximately 10% body fat and ready to start my next contest preparation.
This year I decided to enter only one contest, the NPC Mid-Atlantic Natural Classic, a drug-tested NPC event, in New Brunswick, NJ on May 11th 2013.

I was thinking about doing two shows this year, but after last year's 26 week dieting marathon, I decided to take it "easy" this year, do one show at the beginning of Summer and then enjoy life for a while. As my grandmother always says, "Life is all about balance. What's the point of getting 100, when your life is miserable. Rather live til 80 and enjoy it."

Let's get serious again and get rid of the winter flab.

Characters Welcome

It has been a while since my last post and I wish I had a good excuse, but the truth is I have just been extremely lazy and occupied with myself at the gym.
Since my last trip to Texas, I had another business trip to Germany and the opportunity to visit a bunch of "new" gyms and obviously to work out in them.

While I have been torturing my body at various gyms over the past months, I couldn't help but noticing that every gym has quite some characters training in them and regardless of where you train, a lot of these people can be found in way or another everywhere.

I think that anyone who has ever been to a gym understands what I am talking about. People that basically don't do anything productive at the gym and at best provide entertainment for other guests, or in the worst case annoy the living s*** out of everybody.

Here is my list of characters that I have "observed" over the past years in gyms around the globe.

The Inventor - This guy puts every cross gym trainer to shame with the "revolutionary" training exercises he invented himself. Regardless if it's squatting on a ball, push-ups on vertical standing dumbbells, or running on a treadmill holding a barbell over his head, if there is a chance to turn an exercise into a neck-breaking stunt, it is part of his workout routine.

The Creeper - This type is usually male, in his mid-40's to 50's and looks like he is not allowed to turn on any lights in his house on Halloween. He can usually be found knocking around fitness classes, stretching areas or locker rooms where he does some half-ass crunches on a machine, thigh adductor or extensive stretching exercises, gawking at any female within his peripheral vision.

The New Years Resolutioners - like a swarm of locusts, they miraculously appear on January 1st and will occupy any machine and piece of cardio equipment at the gym. The night before they have made a pledge to themselves, that this year will finally be the year to "loose a couple of pounds" and "start a healthy lifestyle". They swarm out to buy new gym clothes, healthy foods, supplements and of course a gym membership. Gym owners love them, cause they will sign up for a one-year membership and never been seen again come February.

Tweedledee and Tweedledum - Usually two teenage boys who have been doing almost every fitness and bodybuilding magazine workout on this planet, but never felt the urge to ask someone knowledgeable for advice or, let alone, learn the proper technique. So here they are, looking like extremely pale copies of Steve Urkel, checking out chicks, doing curls and benching four times a week. Well at least they do what they consider bench pressing. 

That brings me to the next character, the Bench Presser - this guy trains one and only one body part multiple times a week and wonders why is neither gaining strength nor improving his physique. The workout usually starts with barbell bench press, followed by some bench press and ends with some more bench. If he feels adventurous or the urge to "change his routine up" he includes some triceps pushdowns or lat pulldowns on the machine at the end.

The Sausage - Ever seen how a sausage is made? How the ground up meat is stuffed in the casing? Well this is how this slightly overweight gym member must be getting in her spandex shorts or leggings before the gym visit, because the end result looks the same. 

The Screamer - now this is one of my favorite characters. As annoying as he is, he certainly provides the most entertainment for the entire gym. Regardless if it's a 10 lbs dumbbell curl or a bench press by which his "spotter" is basically curling the entire weight he unleashes the inner beast one heartbreaking scream at a time, putting any woman giving child birth to shame. No matter if it is the very first rep or the end of the workout the rest of the gym knows that he's doing "work". 

The Coach - ever heard the impression "Never trust a skinny chef"? This guy is the skinny chef's fitness equivalent. Usually in no physical shape whatsoever he gladly offers his training tips and advice to anybody, regardless if asked for or not. He knows everything better, talks like he has a Phd in Nutrition and Exercise Science and always has to critique any and everybody's technique. Too bad his "depth of knowledge" is not working out for himself at all. 

Bodybuilding.com Amateur Bodybuilder of the Week

Bodybuilding.com, the number one information portal for bodybuilding, fitness and physique in the world, has selected me this past week for their amateur bodybuilder of the week award and written up a nice article about me.

The article is very well written and talks about how I started weightlifting and about my beginnings in bodybuilding. 

It also includes my current "off-season" diet and sample workout plan.

I fell very honored to be featured on bodybuilding.com and am excited to share my story with bodybuilding and fitness enthusiasts from all over the world. 

The complete article can be found here. 

Everything is Bigger in Texas

Last week I had to travel again for work. Destination this time: Dallas, TX .

After my work assignment in Dallas was over, I spent a couple of days in Fort Worth and explored the area. Since I still had to lift, I simply combined sightseeing and working out and headed  to the famous Metroflex Gym in nearby Arlington, TX. 

Metroflex is THE bodybuilding mecca in the Lonestar State and home to legendary bodybuilders such as 8 times Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman, Branch Warren and Johnnie Jackson. 

The gym labels itself as a hardcore training facility and hardcore it definitely is. An old garage with concrete floors, rusty weights, worn out equipment, yellowed pictures the 1980's and an incredibly intense atmosphere. Just by walking into the place you can feel the intensity and the urge to perform. 

I always considered the Trainingcenter, my second "home", pretty bad ass, but compared to Metroflex, with its dirty floors, shared co-ed bathroom, and rusty equipment, it almost looks like the family YMCA. 

As I walked in I saw a girl running out looking for the next available trash can and throwing up. I just smiled and thought: "Yes, this is exactly where I parked my car. My kind of gym, now let's get started". 

I did my regular leg workout but left out squats since I couldn't fit my heavy powerlifting belt in my tiny carry-on bag and learned my lesson more than twice to not squat without a belt. My leg workout was inspired by Branch Warren's routine, so it was kind of cool doing the exercises on the same pieces of equipment.

After my grueling leg session I had the opportunity to watch another "Metroflex celebrity" benching over 600 lbs raw and left more than impressed this inconspicuous high intensity training facility in one of Arlington's back alleys.