daz's offseason journal fresh from the brits and stars. stars pics pg 308!

i guess i was missing being very lean, but im certainly not fat at the moment either!  and i was thinking that i would probably get another rebound gain from it, and that keeping BF very low in the off season, i would be able to come in much tighter next year!  It was also in the back of my mind to do another show, earlier in the year as more practice, but that would be out of the question if i had to spend long dieting for it.

  But i have to balance that with having a good amount of time to gain some new muscle!

Should probably concentrate on the ukbff leeds which is my real target anyway!

its just aaaagggeeesss till i can be on stage again doing that show! lol

i'd scrap the cut and just keep an eye on the waist mate... cutting for the sake of cutting will lead to a half assed attempt IMO and time wasted that you could of spent bringing up other areas.

my show is 18 months away so i hear you on the far far away goals but maybe you should look at setting some in the mean while, like gym lifts?

Incredible Bulk



my show is 18 months away so i hear you on the far far away goals but maybe you should look at setting some in the mean while, like gym lifts?

reluctant to set lift targets, while i have crappy genetics for gaining muscle, i can get pretty strong fairly quickly, BUT with that has always come injuries, so i stay away from the really heavy stuff!
 
i target moving on physique wise month by month, but its hard to quantify without cutting to see!
 
know what you mean though, hmm, ill have to think of some target to set

It's for the greater good that you don't do the cut, if you're serious about competing...

For the record, once you've started competing it's really flippin' hard to cut when there's no comp, IB's right, just work on watching your waistline, which I'm sure girlf will help with too!

I stay just lean enough to see gains I've made... And granted I won't see shape developing necessarily, but mass is hard to miss.

I read a quote yesterday that made me grin I'll post for you shortly, it's relevant to both of us... :-)

still not training, the antibiotics for the chest infection have given me the sh!ts.

the sooner these couple of weeks are over, and i can get back to normallity the better!

i will be officially skinny soon  :-(

hope everythin picks up mate.. ur Hypo episode sounds hellish mate, and as papa said, is a good job u were on ur feet in a crowded environment rather than in ur car or on ur own..

the chest infection will be gone soon fella, and as soon as u step foot back in the gym, ur desire to hit it hard will be back larger than ever.. the weight u have lost will be back on quickly so dont worry on that front!!
just keep ur head up fella.. uve a lot to look forward to and work towards

cheers mate! its hard keeping the head straight at times like this, so the positive posts really help!

Hi daz, I've just enjoyed catching up with your journal. As I've said before, it's a great inspiration.

Would like to pick your brain on something if I may.

I  notice that you are trying to bring your v-taper up and I don't see deadlifts in your routine. The last time I stopped doing deadlifts my waist seemed much smaller than when I deadlift/rack pull (my avi pic was after a few months not deadlifting).

Since starting to deadlift/rackpull again I'm sure my midsection looks much thicker...and being 5"5' is giving me quite a 'blocky' look, taking away from the v-taper.

Just wondered what your thoughts were, as all over the net/forums etc, the mere mentioning of not deadlifting results in 'man up...don't be a pu55y'....etc.

Would be cool to hear first hand experience from you, as I see that your back routine seems to be focused on widening the lats.

ReRaise


Hi daz, I've just enjoyed catching up with your journal. As I've said before, it's a great inspiration.

Would like to pick your brain on something if I may.

I  notice that you are trying to bring your v-taper up and I don't see deadlifts in your routine. The last time I stopped doing deadlifts my waist seemed much smaller than when I deadlift/rack pull (my avi pic was after a few months not deadlifting).

Since starting to deadlift/rackpull again I'm sure my midsection looks much thicker...and being 5"5' is giving me quite a 'blocky' look, taking away from the v-taper.

Just wondered what your thoughts were, as all over the net/forums etc, the mere mentioning of not deadlifting results in 'man up...don't be a pu55y'....etc.

Would be cool to hear first hand experience from you, as I see that your back routine seems to be focused on widening the lats.

hi mate, how are you? looking in very good shape in your avi there!
 
i used to do deadlifts years ago, but i just dont think they are necessary for bodybuilders, and people concerned with how they look rather than what they lift!  They arent muscle specific, so have far too much crossover, when what we really want is to be specific to a muscle group, then we know the work its had and the rest!  deadlifts, in my mind, just thicken everything, including the waist.
 
I have piss poor genetics for gaining muscle, or holding it, so im never going to be the biggest.  Instead  i need to focus on getting the best possible shape, so back movements for me are concentrated on the very top of the lat, to get the best possible v taper.  I avoid deadlifts because i think they thicken the midsection too much.  I do do SLDL but for me they focus on the hams, and only put a small amount of work on the back, which is enough lower back for me, along with some hyper extensions to keep the back healthy.  high rep abs keeps them trim but strong
 
bugger what everyone else says mate, do what gives you the best physique!  People will say well so and so top bodybuilder does deadlifts.  well good for them, with their freaky genetics!
 
 

Thanks for the advice/info mate. It's so good to hear first hand someone's experience of this rather than relying on people's regurgitation of what they have heard/read on the net.

I know many people may be looking for an excuse to not deadlift, but I actually enjoy it, but I've definitely noticed a thicker mid-section from doing them. I will concentrate on bringing up my lats.

I'm trying to decide what show to aim for for my first show, got a fair bit of mass to put on, but I'm about to embark on my first cycle so will see how that goes. I originally thought about 2010 NABBA North East first timers, but that may be a bit soon. Anyway, your journal (and Incredible Bulk's) act as real good motivation...so I'll be dropping in more. Cheers!

your soon to start a first cycle??  so are you natural in your avi mate? bloody good work if so!

i dont like nabba for the simple reason that the categorys are in height.  So you can end up stood next to a genetic freak with huge amounts of mass.  at least with the ukbff the classes are weight limited, so as long as your not too tall for the class (in terms of hitting the weight limit before you have the mass) then you cant be totally dwarfed.  what height and weight are you mate?

It will be my first 'proper' cycle mate (for want of a better term), I have done Epidrol and Hdrol cycles in the past. So in the next couple of weeks will be starting my first injectable cycle.

My avi pic was taken almost a couple of months ago at the end of a cut. Since then I've been pretty much maintaining, waiting to start a lean bulk on my cycle. I'm 5"5 and 163lbs at the moment. Before the cut i was 175-180lbs.

Ah, I didn't realise the NABBA was in height categories. I will maybe look into a UKBFF for my first then. I think the thing that put me off originally was the fact that UKBFF didn't have a 'first timers' category and was a bit apprehensive of being up against people who've competed before.

Any further advice you could give regarding competing for first time would be greatly appreciated. I'll see how I do on an assisted lean bulk (500mg Test-E 10 weeks) and put pics up to get the opinions of yourself and others in the know.

But I'm fully comitted to bodybuilding, and will keep my eye on the UKBFF calendar.

Thanks again....and sorry for filling your journal with these 'War and Peace' posts

Just try to get through this as quick as possible then onwards and upwards again :-*

flick161


Just try to get through this as quick as possible then onwards and upwards again :-*

feeling lots better today, so monday will see me back in the gym :-)  next week im going to do full body, then the week after go back to my 5 day split training 3 times a week.
 
im intending on doing some serious growing in december !!  woo hoo!  lol

ReRaise


It will be my first 'proper' cycle mate (for want of a better term), I have done Epidrol and Hdrol cycles in the past. So in the next couple of weeks will be starting my first injectable cycle.

My avi pic was taken almost a couple of months ago at the end of a cut. Since then I've been pretty much maintaining, waiting to start a lean bulk on my cycle. I'm 5"5 and 163lbs at the moment. Before the cut i was 175-180lbs.

Ah, I didn't realise the NABBA was in height categories. I will maybe look into a UKBFF for my first then. I think the thing that put me off originally was the fact that UKBFF didn't have a 'first timers' category and was a bit apprehensive of being up against people who've competed before.

Any further advice you could give regarding competing for first time would be greatly appreciated. I'll see how I do on an assisted lean bulk (500mg Test-E 10 weeks) and put pics up to get the opinions of yourself and others in the know.

But I'm fully comitted to bodybuilding, and will keep my eye on the UKBFF calendar.

Thanks again....and sorry for filling your journal with these 'War and Peace' posts

doesnt matter to me mate, i will my journal with plenty of crap, i dont mind one little bit people posting anything they want in here, im not precious about it! lol
 
cycle should go well mate, make sure you get the food down and you will add some good solid muscle!  The leeds show is normally towards the end of summer, so that gives you some good time to add more muscle and then cut for the show. anything you want to know mate, feel free to ask!

So glad you're feeling better... get ready to SMASH SMASH on Monday

Thanks again mate. And I hope you get well and back at it soon.

Good luck back in the gym today

SMASH SMASH from me!!

Sorry to hear you've not been well. Can be a tough time after competing as the body can just give up and that's when you're susceptible to illness.  And don't get me started on the weight gain after a show!!

dazc
 
im intending on doing some serious growing in december !!  woo hoo!  lol

 
kick the tyres and light the fires
 
looking forward to seeing how you get on