Round III

[Sperwer]

Today was the kick-off for Round III prep, commencing with an effort to start remedying my most glaring structural deficiency - lack of sufficient leg definition.

Warm-up Stretches

Ham Curls 20x20, 25, 32, 39, 46, 53 kg

Quad X 20x40, 47, 54, 61, 68 kg

Hack Squats 20x60, 80,100, 120 kg

Incline Press 20x160, 240, 280, 15x320 kg

Front Squats 20x60, 80, 100, 15x120 kg

I also need to work on posing technique in order to better express what's there. In fact that may be more of a problem than the actual lack of definition - although my standing around definition is no great shakes, because I seem to be carrying most of the last bits of stubborn unwanted fat in my thighs. Interestingly, I do have some visible vascularity there notwithstanding, so I'm going to work for the next 4-5 weeks to get the body fat down to below 4% to see what that looks like. I'm now at 6.5 in the post-contest rebound, but I've become a bit of a tyro with this contest fat cutting, so I don't think this is going to be much of a problem - but do ask me again late next week when I will have been in Bali for 10 days as corporate eye candy for she who must be obeyed. While I'm doing that, the plan is to adapt Duchaine's Body Opus/Lyle MacDonald's Ultimate Diet 2.0 to move things along cut wise while maintaining existing muscle mass, then adjust the 2.0 protocol to preserve the fat loss while doing a lean bulk for 4-5 weeks before the next contest, leaving 1-2 weeks for further cutting or lean bulking as the circumstances require. More later on how I plan to capture this Holy Grail.

In the meantime, in a bow to the reality that between the physical changes I've got to make, and the much harder body control I have to master for posing purposes, I've decided I'm not likely to be ready for Muscle Mania prime-time, where in the Korean iteration there is no Masters Division and I'd be going up against the 20-35 year-olds. So I won't register for MM, but instead will shoot for another Korean regional contest with a Masters Division in mid-September

Another factor in this decision, and one that speaks directly to my need for better body control, and the flexibility that is a prerequisite, is the latest news from my chiro. The hits just keep on coming. I managed to find some old full spinal x-rays and MRIs from back when I was treated for a coule of ruptured lumbar disks and frozen shoulder. So we did another run for comparative purposes. The report isn't good. Too many parachute jumps and too many motorcycle accidents, on top of what the doc surmises was a congenital disposition, has given me DISH - diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis. This is a progressive form of degenerative osteoarthritis in which the soft connective tissues of the skeletal structure gradually calcify and may end by completely ossifying and locking up. In my case, it seems limited for the time being to my upper lumbar and lower thoracic spine. It's likely that left unchecked it will spread up and down. There is no treatment other than daily exercise to maintain skeletal, in my case, spinal flexibility and mobility to try to stave it off. The good news is that the Pilates stuff I've been doing is just the ticket - and I have seen a marked improvement over the past two months. And while it's not bad news, exactly, it looks like I'll be doing it for the duration. Anyway, I'm hoping that it will do for my posing even more of the same that it already has produced in terms of restored scapular and rotator cuff mobility.