More competition pics, closer, clearer. Hulk?

Swole_2112 · 08-07-2008, 06:44 PM

Hey folks. I finally got the "professional" grade photos on cd in the mail. Even though these pics are only of me, I'd love to hear everyone's feed back. Also, they're much closer and clearer than the others. Hulk, what do you think? I already know about the gyno.

PeteM · 08-07-2008, 07:20 PM

Lots of mass there, especialy the legs, thats for sure. For next time I think you could get leaner, you can see it in your lower back and hamstrings and there is still some water that can come off. Off season, I would focus on gaining 5-10 lbs of muscle over the next year and then your competition weight should be about the same as it was for this show. What was your water plan like for drying out for this show.
In the first shot, that ab vacumm is fantasitc, much better then many of the bloated bellies that seem to be becomming much too common. Overall I would say great job and fantastic physique regardless of it being your first time out.

bluetwistedsteel · 08-07-2008, 07:46 PM

Agreed! Legs look killer. Also agree, you could come in a bit leaner and drier. Looking really good though!
I'd hit some relatively high dose letro to shrink that gyno and if that doesn't work I'd go under the knife. If you're going to continue to compete, you're going to get hit for the gyno.

Maxx Power · 08-07-2008, 09:32 PM

BIG legs Swole, wish i had em, looking good bro.

Swole_2112 · 08-07-2008, 10:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeteM

Lots of mass there, especialy the legs, thats for sure. For next time I think you could get leaner, you can see it in your lower back and hamstrings and there is still some water that can come off. Off season, I would focus on gaining 5-10 lbs of muscle over the next year and then your competition weight should be about the same as it was for this show. What was your water plan like for drying out for this show.
In the first shot, that ab vacumm is fantasitc, much better then many of the bloated bellies that seem to be becomming much too common. Overall I would say great job and fantastic physique regardless of it being your first time out.

Believe it or not, I wasn't trying to hit a vacum pose there. I was just pulling in my abs. Is that all a vacum pose is?

The show was on a Saturday. The Tuesday before, I had one gallon of water. Wednesday, 3 quarts. Thursday, 1/2 gallon. Friday, 1 quart, gone by 3 pm. After that, I just sipped water until the show.

Thanks for the props.

PeteM · 08-07-2008, 10:37 PM

I'd change your water routine. I'm a believer in the very rapid stopping vs. the tapering method. Water increases right up until some point on friday at which point its only enough to aid in digestion. I wrote about it and it's stickied at the top of this forum.

Swole_2112 · 08-08-2008, 12:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeteM

I'd change your water routine. I'm a believer in the very rapid stopping vs. the tapering method. Water increases right up until some point on friday at which point its only enough to aid in digestion. I wrote about it and it's stickied at the top of this forum.

Why do you prefer one over the other?

canecorso · 08-08-2008, 12:51 AM

Damn bro, love them legs

Mrs Croft · 08-08-2008, 12:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swole_2112

Believe it or not, I wasn't trying to hit a vacum pose there. I was just pulling in my abs. Is that all a vacum pose is?

The show was on a Saturday. The Tuesday before, I had one gallon of water. Wednesday, 3 quarts. Thursday, 1/2 gallon. Friday, 1 quart, gone by 3 pm. After that, I just sipped water until the show.

Thanks for the props.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeteM

I'd change your water routine. I'm a believer in the very rapid stopping vs. the tapering method. Water increases right up until some point on friday at which point its only enough to aid in digestion. I wrote about it and it's stickied at the top of this forum.

Firstly..

dam ..those legs are big

in fact they over power your upper body a tad (ok that is just MY opinion, definitely no where near a seasoned opinion

) so IF your going to put on more LBM I would not be trying to get more on the legs..they are just fine and dandy

As for the water. I have been reading a LOT lately that upping the water is the way to go. If you taper it off the body has not only time to adjust..but time to drop water out of the muscle not just under the skin

I am sure Pete can explain it better..

ChuckLee · 08-08-2008, 04:46 AM

Where's your head?

WonderWoman · 08-08-2008, 07:22 AM

Nice legs

MR. BMJ · 08-08-2008, 03:14 PM

Your legs are outstanding!!! They could be pro material later down the road.

Yeah bro, a little more conditioning and a better water manipulation plan improve you a lot. There was still a layer of water covering you up imo.

Other than that, just the protan and the gyno.

The gyno really had a negative effect a lot on the side chest pose. I think if you clear that up, then your chest will look much better.

I'd do what PeteM stated. I'd take the next year off to grow some and start the diet a few weeks earlier with a better water manipulation plan the last week. You need to get the upper body to catch up some to the legs.

Overall, you did excellent for a first show, much better than a large percentage of people that compete for their first time.

You should be happy.

BMJ

ILIEKFUDE · 08-08-2008, 04:00 PM

If i understand correctly this was yr first stage appearance?
Fucking excellent job bud. Lots of hard work and dedication there. Your legs look top notch guy.
Dont sweat the gyno, if you keep at the bodybuilding - surgery is taking leaps n bounds as far as that goes. You can get ridda that no problem.
Excellent work once again, you should be proud as fuck. Lookin like a tank man.

sassy69 · 08-09-2008, 02:01 AM

Absolutely agree - fantastic first time out! To that point I'm going to offer some pickier points:

- darker protan - almost seems to wash out the striations in your legs under the lights
- posing suit that doesn't have the straight line on the side - go w/ something that has more of a scoop - the straight line cuts the "X" shape in the wrong place.
- rear dbl bi stance - not sure if its the angle of the photo or you do put your leg straight back - I think you'll get more detail showing if you put it out to the side and bend the calf back in (kinda like if you were squishing out a cigarette butt w/ the rear leg) - allows you to flex a little more and show the detail / depth of your rear calf at a cross angle.
- your legs are big enough that they do throw your proportion off a little on the front relaxed. The crab poses & side chest poses show the thickness that you have in your upper body, but I think a little more lat wing could help balance when you dont' have those thick poses going on.

Really exciting future in your next competitions!

HULK1550 · 08-09-2008, 12:32 PM

im glad you posted those bro. they help out a lot.

You have some good potential there.

your legs are definately your strongpoint (which i can relate with LOL) and your calves are ridiculous.

Overall, the biggest weakness you had in this show is the easiest to fix. your prep was behind., and thats nothing to be ashamed of your first time out. You dont know how your body is going to react and what its going to take to get to the conditioning you are after.

besides that you need about 3x as much protan as you had in that show. Those two things are going to help you A FUCKIN TON.

after you get the gyno taken care of, you need to bang out that upper chest. Again, i can feel for that. for the most part we have some of the same strengths and weaknesses. your shoulders are good, and your tris are better than mine will ever be.

We gotta bring up your abs/midsection. Even at the level of conditioning you hit, we can still see that area needs to be brought up.

beyond that i would say you need to work on your back. your detail is pretty good and your symetry is solid, but on your front relaxed you would benefit a ton with wider lats, and that would also do a ton to help balance out your legs with your upper body. Make sure you are rowing and pulling heavy and that will add some thickness to your back too which you need to address.

Everyone these days has big arms and shoulders, legs and back are what are going to win shows (provided your conditioning is where it needs to be) and you have potential there.

Overall though man, you really have a solid base to work on and the weaknesses are things that are very fixable. You see a ton of people put picks up and their biggest problem is their genetics and you cant do shit about that. Your problems will just take some time and work. thats a good problem to have.

Swole_2112 · 08-09-2008, 01:05 PM

Once again, I appreciate everybody's props and feedback. It's all very helpful and encouraging. I'm already in my off season and am taking until next competition season to put on as much mass as possible and work on my weak points. That gives me a total of about seven months, the longest bulker I've ever done. I've just got this nagging suspicion that no chemical means of eliminating my gyno will be successful. That leaves me with going under the knife. I've got no fear of that, I'll just have a tough time saving for it. But, it's gotta be done. Thanks, again, folks.

08-07-2008, 07:20 PM	#2 (permalink)
PeteM Gold Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 345 Rep Power: 57780	Lots of mass there, especialy the legs, thats for sure. For next time I think you could get leaner, you can see it in your lower back and hamstrings and there is still some water that can come off. Off season, I would focus on gaining 5-10 lbs of muscle over the next year and then your competition weight should be about the same as it was for this show. What was your water plan like for drying out for this show. In the first shot, that ab vacumm is fantasitc, much better then many of the bloated bellies that seem to be becomming much too common. Overall I would say great job and fantastic physique regardless of it being your first time out. __________________ Body Transformation Client You can contact Carter at www.precisionnutrition.com Anafit Sponsored Athlete - The AF Store Current AF supplements: Glucorell-R Beta Alanine Neurogenex Pure CEE

08-07-2008, 10:37 PM	#6 (permalink)
PeteM Gold Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 345 Rep Power: 57780	I'd change your water routine. I'm a believer in the very rapid stopping vs. the tapering method. Water increases right up until some point on friday at which point its only enough to aid in digestion. I wrote about it and it's stickied at the top of this forum. __________________ Body Transformation Client You can contact Carter at www.precisionnutrition.com Anafit Sponsored Athlete - The AF Store Current AF supplements: Glucorell-R Beta Alanine Neurogenex Pure CEE

08-08-2008, 04:46 AM	#10 (permalink)
ChuckLee WHY.SO.SERIOUS? Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Italy Posts: 657 Rep Power: 20571	Where's your head? __________________ "Obsession is the word lazy people use to describe determination..." It's so sad to be OFF

08-08-2008, 03:14 PM	#12 (permalink)
MR. BMJ EXECUTIVE MODERATOR Join Date: Feb 2000 Posts: 9,984 Rep Power: 295595	Your legs are outstanding!!! They could be pro material later down the road. Yeah bro, a little more conditioning and a better water manipulation plan improve you a lot. There was still a layer of water covering you up imo. Other than that, just the protan and the gyno. The gyno really had a negative effect a lot on the side chest pose. I think if you clear that up, then your chest will look much better. I'd do what PeteM stated. I'd take the next year off to grow some and start the diet a few weeks earlier with a better water manipulation plan the last week. You need to get the upper body to catch up some to the legs. Overall, you did excellent for a first show, much better than a large percentage of people that compete for their first time. You should be happy. BMJ __________________ "No researcher has made a human bigger than a dumb-shit bodybuilder."---Dan Duchaine (12/18/97) BMJ...aka...."SPANKY"

08-08-2008, 04:00 PM	#13 (permalink)
ILIEKFUDE Indeed You Are Powerful.. Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: The Death Star Posts: 2,665 Rep Power: 109226	If i understand correctly this was yr first stage appearance? Fucking excellent job bud. Lots of hard work and dedication there. Your legs look top notch guy. Dont sweat the gyno, if you keep at the bodybuilding - surgery is taking leaps n bounds as far as that goes. You can get ridda that no problem. Excellent work once again, you should be proud as fuck. Lookin like a tank man. __________________ "Consider the Predator. Let your soul be armoured with Faith, driven on the tracks of obedience which overcomes all obstacles, and armed with the three great guns of Zeal, Duty and Purity." My Training Log

08-07-2008, 07:46 PM	#3 (permalink)
bluetwistedsteel Gold Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 715 Rep Power: 76349	Agreed! Legs look killer. Also agree, you could come in a bit leaner and drier. Looking really good though! I'd hit some relatively high dose letro to shrink that gyno and if that doesn't work I'd go under the knife. If you're going to continue to compete, you're going to get hit for the gyno.

08-07-2008, 09:32 PM	#4 (permalink)
Maxx Power Gold Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 435 Rep Power: 22925	BIG legs Swole, wish i had em, looking good bro.

08-08-2008, 12:51 AM	#8 (permalink)
canecorso Gold Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 1,259 Rep Power: 140796	Damn bro, love them legs

08-08-2008, 07:22 AM	#11 (permalink)
WonderWoman Fluffy and FULL Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Jersey! Posts: 4,111 Rep Power: 478003	Nice legs

08-09-2008, 02:01 AM	#14 (permalink)
sassy69 Super Moderator Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 7,434 Rep Power: 294089	Absolutely agree - fantastic first time out! To that point I'm going to offer some pickier points: - darker protan - almost seems to wash out the striations in your legs under the lights - posing suit that doesn't have the straight line on the side - go w/ something that has more of a scoop - the straight line cuts the "X" shape in the wrong place. - rear dbl bi stance - not sure if its the angle of the photo or you do put your leg straight back - I think you'll get more detail showing if you put it out to the side and bend the calf back in (kinda like if you were squishing out a cigarette butt w/ the rear leg) - allows you to flex a little more and show the detail / depth of your rear calf at a cross angle. - your legs are big enough that they do throw your proportion off a little on the front relaxed. The crab poses & side chest poses show the thickness that you have in your upper body, but I think a little more lat wing could help balance when you dont' have those thick poses going on. Really exciting future in your next competitions!

08-09-2008, 12:32 PM	#15 (permalink)
HULK1550 Super Moderator Join Date: Feb 2000 Posts: 3,378 Rep Power: 58276	im glad you posted those bro. they help out a lot. You have some good potential there. your legs are definately your strongpoint (which i can relate with LOL) and your calves are ridiculous. Overall, the biggest weakness you had in this show is the easiest to fix. your prep was behind., and thats nothing to be ashamed of your first time out. You dont know how your body is going to react and what its going to take to get to the conditioning you are after. besides that you need about 3x as much protan as you had in that show. Those two things are going to help you A FUCKIN TON. after you get the gyno taken care of, you need to bang out that upper chest. Again, i can feel for that. for the most part we have some of the same strengths and weaknesses. your shoulders are good, and your tris are better than mine will ever be. We gotta bring up your abs/midsection. Even at the level of conditioning you hit, we can still see that area needs to be brought up. beyond that i would say you need to work on your back. your detail is pretty good and your symetry is solid, but on your front relaxed you would benefit a ton with wider lats, and that would also do a ton to help balance out your legs with your upper body. Make sure you are rowing and pulling heavy and that will add some thickness to your back too which you need to address. Everyone these days has big arms and shoulders, legs and back are what are going to win shows (provided your conditioning is where it needs to be) and you have potential there. Overall though man, you really have a solid base to work on and the weaknesses are things that are very fixable. You see a ton of people put picks up and their biggest problem is their genetics and you cant do shit about that. Your problems will just take some time and work. thats a good problem to have. Last edited by HULK1550; 08-09-2008 at 12:38 PM.

08-09-2008, 01:05 PM	#16 (permalink)
Swole_2112 Gold Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 1,462 Rep Power: 23678	Once again, I appreciate everybody's props and feedback. It's all very helpful and encouraging. I'm already in my off season and am taking until next competition season to put on as much mass as possible and work on my weak points. That gives me a total of about seven months, the longest bulker I've ever done. I've just got this nagging suspicion that no chemical means of eliminating my gyno will be successful. That leaves me with going under the knife. I've got no fear of that, I'll just have a tough time saving for it. But, it's gotta be done. Thanks, again, folks.

08-09-2008, 02:09 PM	#17 (permalink)
MR. BMJ EXECUTIVE MODERATOR