Welcome to the bodybuilding log! Here I am going to be sharing the outline of my plan for this year’s competition prep– in hopes of providing insight into what goes on behind the scenes of competitive natural bodybuilding.

TRIGGER WARNING: This blog contains content around nutrition quantities, restrictive dieting, diet-culture, body-image, and body weight.

DISCLAIMER: This is not meant to be replicated. Doing so without proper guidance or consulting with a qualified health professional can result in serious damage to one’s health. This does not replace or supplement the advice given from a health professional. Always speak with your doctor before making changes to your nutrition, exercise routine, or lifestyle.

“Alright I am 2 weeks out from my natural bodybuilding show let’s do a recap of the past 4 weeks.

Before we jump in let’s go over my current metrics, I am 182lbs, bringing the total loss of body weight to 27lbs in the past 4 months. My body fat estimated using skin caliper is 6% not very accurate but just to show the trend from my previous update.

The past 4 weeks have tested me in many ways both mentally and physically. This is the part of a show prep where there isn’t a ton of research to go off, mainly because it’s unethical to run studies where you force people to starve themselves for months. So, outside of anecdotes and a few observational studies, problem solving in these conditions really becomes more of an art than a science.

No matter how objectively lean an athlete is, competitive bodybuilding at this point for any body pushing their limit exists on a fine line between knowing when to back off and recover, and when to dig into pushing their body and mind. Navigating this line takes very fine-tuned biofeedback with the body that I am relearning, listening to what my body is telling me.

So, how well you set up your physical recovery strategies, nutrition, programming, but especially mental anchors at the start of prep get progressively more tested. My food focus, body dysmorphia, brain fog, mood swings, etc. are all at their peak. Which is one of the reasons I am also gaining such an appreciation for the support systems I have, like my wonderful girlfriend who has really been my anchor keeping me sane these last few weeks.

However, I think one of the most profound highlights of these past 4 months was learning to both appreciate how cool it is to do something as physically demanding as bodybuilding; while acknowledging its temporality. I am definitely not built to get this lean and I am so looking forward to getting healthy again.

No matter how I look on stage in two weeks, I know I have done and will continue to do absolutely everything in my power to push my body as far as it will go without breaking and managing the fatigue with precision. Since my last showing, I have put on about 12 pounds of extra muscle, so I’m confident I’ve improved. My goal was to land right at roughly the same body fat my kidney began to give out last year, and I’m doing that! This is all I can really ask for, plus maybe a McDonalds Minecraft meal post show.

Speaking of, another thing I have been working on is really thinking about what I want my recovery plan to look like. Recovering from something like this fully can take 6 months to a year or sometimes even more depending on the person. I’ll talk more about my recovery plan in a few weeks but for now we have some finally pushing to do.”

Week 0

Baseline testing was performed after a 4-week bodyweight maintenance period. The maintenance period followed 7 months of muscle growth, where 1 pound of bodyweight was added per week for 28 weeks.

Baseline Anthropometric Data

Body weight: 209lbs

Body Fat Percentage*: 14%

*Estimated using 4-point Durnin and Womersley skinfold caliper

RHR: 58 bpm

VO2max (estimated): 47.6 mL/kg/min

Resting BP: 136/70 mmHg

Baseline Nutrition

Daily Caloric Intake: 3100 kcal

Protein Intake: 220g

Carbohydrate Intake: 375g

Fat Intake: 80g

Weeks 12-16

Resistance Training

Day 1: Lower body with a hinge focus

Day 2: Push with a chest focus

Day 3: Pull with core

Day 4: Rest

Day 5: Lower body with a squat focus

Day 6: Push with a shoulder/triceps focus

Day 7: Pull with core

Day 8: Rest

2 exercises were selected per muscle group (i.e. 2 for shoulders, 2 for the chest, 2 for the triceps). Exercises were selected based on the following criteria:

Apply load into the lengthened range of motion (except when not feasible due to availability or equipment limitations)

Can be taken to failure safely

Do not incorporate antagonistic or muscles from other functional groupings (i.e. no pressing exercises were performed that also trained the core, lower body, or pulling musculature)

2-3 sets were taken within 1-3 reps from failure for each selected exercise. Long length partials and rest-pauses were used sparingly (2-3 sets per session).

Changes Made (Weeks 8-12): proportion of machine work gradually increased from 30% of session to 60% of each session. Also, exercise order was altered, placing compound movements atleast 1-2 movements into the session.

Changes Made (Weeks 12-16): Volume lowered by 30% in an attempt to maintain intensity. Long-length partials, drop-set, or negatives were used as intensifiers for one working set of all isolation movements.

Cardiovascular Exercise

Steps (average): 18,000 (+ roughly 6000 from baseline) per day

Frequency: 7 days per week

Intensity: 60-65% HRmax (120-130 bpm)

Duration: 30 minutes x 10 (+ roughly 90mins from baseline)

Modality: Elliptical Bike/Stairmaster

*Note: Additional walk added in daily at 45minutes to add additional steps while lowering the intensity of cardio

Nutritional Intake (estimated average per day)

Caloric Intake: 2000 kcal (- roughly 150 kcal from previous average)

Protein Intake: 220 g

Carbohydrate Intake: 150-250 g (- roughly 50g)

Fat Intake: 50-60 g

Fiber: 30 g

Sugar: 20 g ( - roughly 30g)

Caffiene Intake: 260-320 mg daily

Supplements (dosages not disclosed): Multivitamin, B-Complex, Creatine Monohydrate, Curcumin, Vitmain D, Omega-3, Magnesium Bisglycinate

*Note: Weekly undulating nutrition introduced (low days at 1800-1900, high days at 2400-2600).

Anthropometric Data

Bodyweight (averages)

Week 13: 188.0 lbs

Week 14: 186.6 lbs

Week 15: 187.3 lbs

Week 16: 182.4 lbs

Bodyfat Percentage Change

6.7 to 6.0%

*Estimated using Drunin and Womersley skinfold equation

Health Data & More

Average Sleep Duration: 6 hours and 30 minutes (- 73 minutes)

RHR change: -1 bpm (44-43 bpm)

RBP: 116/62 mmHg

VO2 Max: 55.5 (+8.2 ml/kg/min from baseline)

Comparison Photos

Week 0, Week 4, week 8, week 12, week 16 (top to bottom)

Bodybuilding Log 2025: Weeks 12-16