Todd's Pictures.

[DaRkAnGel]

Originally Posted by Streax

This is why I got frustrated with DarkAngels reply to my picture postings and his never ending "your arms could be bigger" posts in people's picture threads when he first got on the board. How does one that has been weightlifting for a matter of weeks/months, and has not been in the game very long critique a body that has taken a person years to develop?

If you are very familiar with the human form then it is fine to critique, go right ahead.

Glad you are still dwelling on that streax. As for my opinion i will continue to express it. Your arms could be bigger replys... i have stopped doing as many of those because i realized that not all people have big arms. If it has taken you years to develop something and something doesn't look too good i should be able to comment.(people that have been lifting for years arn't the only ones with eyes... and i have been lifting for 5 months... not a few weeks)



Todd:
I saw the recolered shot of your back... nice man. Can you get some up in color so we can get a different kind of view of what you look like now? Also, get up some "most muscular" pics. People seem to look a lot fuller in those.

[Todd]

Yes, I will post some color ones soon...I have some already taken, just have to get them downloaded off my digital camera and then resize them...and I can't remember if I have any most muscular ones on it or not....but if not, then in due time I will take some more color ones with some most musculars.

[jackie]

Todd - good response, shows a lot a character. Good luck in the future. I am sure you will succeed in whatever you do. You have a winning attitude.

Kitara - You are clueless. If someone puts pictures up in a public forum on the Internet they should be open to all comments. Do you have to be a great painter to critique a painting. Are contests judges in better shape then the contestants. Everyone, no matter how much of a so called "expert" they are can provide valid input. A great bodybuilder wants to hear what everyone has to say.

Streax - You suffer from the same cluelessness that Kitara does. If someone's personal preference in a body is big arms then so be it. If you don't like what someone has to say don't listen.

Cursor - I wanted to give you a plug because I have been reading many of your posts and you provide a wealth of information. You are helping a lot of people. My hats off to you.

My last post. I don't have the energy or desire to argue this sort of stuff anymore.

Jackie

[Symzie]

*waves*

bye, miss you

[TommyD]

She was always my favorite

So insightful and full of helpful information

[cough] sarcasm [/cough]

[TommyD]

Originally Posted by Tom_Drahos

She was always my favorite

So insightful and full of helpful information

[cough] sarcasm [/cough]

^^^ My version of HTML: Hypertext Make-fun-of Language

[Kitara]

Originally Posted by jackie

Kitara - You are clueless.

Ok - gonna have to say I won't miss you so bye bye

Are contests judges in better shape then the contestants[?] Do you have to be a great painter to critique a painting[?]

No, but do they know equally or more about the sport than the contestants? YES! Can you critique a painting without being a world-class painter? Yes, but do you need to know something about painting? To provide any type of USEFULL feedback you do!

Everyone, no matter how much of a so called "expert" they are can provide valid input.

A comment like this " you need to work on your abs "does NOTHING. A comment like this "It seems that your body fat percentage is not low enough for competition. Your left arm does not look as balanced as your right arm and the muscles in your back need to become more defined if you're looking to place." Now THAT is constructive criticism. "You need to work on your abs" is just a worthless comment that, if true, he probably already knows anyway. It's not a "critique" as you say of your painter. You want to critique, then do it. "You need to work on your abs" is NOT a critique .

Obviously you're not getting it so let me dumb it down a bit for you .

If you have something to add then ADD IT. If not, then encouragement will also do. No be gone with you mortal.


Todd - I apologize for hijacking your thread. If you would like me to delete all this useless banter please PM me and I will take it all out. --edit: I wrote this and thought later "DUH! You're a mod so if you wanted it out, you could have edited it."

[Todd]

Hey Kitara, no, you can leave all the above posts in, it's no biggie to me...I like freedom of speech, so yah, just leave it as be! If you guys are wondering where I've been the last few days or so, I have been on 3 trips in the last 3 weeks, and I am currently writing this very post from my lap top in San Antonio, Tx. I just thought I would pop in and see what's up and so here I am. I have been busy with work lately during the last week or so, so that is why you guys have not seen too many posts from me. It sucks being so busy with everything, but that is the way things are for now. I just wanted to say that I am not gone or anything, just busy, so I will be back and I will post when I can. I hope everyone's fitness is going well and people are still obtaining quality advice from this amazing forum.

Until later everyone, take care...and..... eat clean, lift heavy, sleep good and think positively! :thumbup:

[cursor]

Yeah ... I noticed your missing quality posts. Get your butt back in here and share more info!

[teresamari]

i like the black/white photography. that's all i do. who is doing the photography. family/friend/pro? they look fantastic. if you want color, might i recommend tinting?

oh ya, you look fantastic too.

[mustang GT]

Originally Posted by Todd

Until later everyone, take care...and..... eat clean, lift heavy, sleep good and think positively! :thumbup:

Everything I haven't been doing for almost 4 months.

Well very soon when my bronchitis clears up, I will be back in action. :thumbup:

[nitromoose]

Oh my god you're such a show off.
Lol just kidding, I'm just very jealous
Great work!

[halide1]

I haven't posted a message on this forum before but I thought I would give you some advice if you would like any.

I have been bodybuilding for about 10 years now, I have competed in 3 amateur state events, worked in a weightroom for a few years while in college, and am basically a fitness freak. A disclaiming to my advice is that different things work for different people, all I am saying with this message is that these are some tips that I have used, and people that I have trained with have used and have found them very successful.

First of all it looks like you have a decent base to start from. You look like you have built some solid mass. What is your percentage of body fat? You are suggesting that 6-8 weeks before competition you are going to alter your diet to get lean. I would suggest doing this sooner. I usually started my extreme diet 10-14 weeks before a contest. Once you really know your body and how it will respond, you can go less than this. 10-14 weeks is a long time. I would start decreasing my calories in the first few weeks, and in the weeks leading up to the contest, I would cut my calories drastically, consuming around 1400 or less calories a day, and doing cardio in the morning, and a high intense, high rep workout at night followed by more cardio.

Your workout regime seems fine. If it is working for you, stick with it. However in order to really slash your bodyfat down, I would suggest going with higher reps, less rest between sets, and start making your lifting more of a cardio workout geared towards maintaining (not building) strength and burning calories. From looking at your pics I'd say your bodyfat is around 8-9 percent. You are going to have to drop it to 4 percent land. Getting that lean is one of the most difficult things in all of bodybuilding. The hunger pains, the muscle loss etc.... But if you really want to compete you will over come it.

[Todd]

Hey, thanks for the great advice, I surely appreciate it definitely! I plan on starting to diet in the beginning of January, my contest isn't until April, so I will have about 12-13 weeks to diet down. So yes, I definitely agree with your advice there.

The only thing I would choose to differ concerning your advice is with the usage of higher reps, because using higher reps means ultimately you are lifting less weight than what you could be, and in order to maintain my muscle mass (at the very least) while dieting, I will definitely be lifting as much weight as I can for my 4-6 reps. This rep range (from what I have experimented with) stimulates the most muscle mass for me, so I would not change my training principles one bit, and I certainly would not lift less weight just for the hell of it, to me, that is allowing your body to adapt to a lesser stimulus and therefore NOT maintain what you already have, not what you'd want in my opinion. If training heavy is what stimulates max gains, then why would you do anything else or change that, especially when preparing for a contest? The only thing that should change (in my opinion) is your caloric intake and cardio frequency/intensity when preparing for a contest.

Also, I don't think I am going to all of the sudden drop my calories drastically at any one time. They will be lowered gradually, but consistantly over those 12-13 weeks, as cardio is gradually increased and my training is kept heavy and hard as possible.

So, that is my plan so to speak, and we shall see how it works when I step onstage for the first time! It will definitely be a learning experience!!

[halide1]

Todd,

I think you are missing my point with regards to training. I am not saying to increase reps in order to maintain mass while dieting, I am saying you need to do some sort of resistance training to ATTEMPT to maintain mass. The high reps allow you to burn more calories while lifting. You are basically turning your weight lifting routine into almost an aerobic workout while still doing some resistence to preserve mass. Dieting and cardio alone for a contest can be enough, however, you will find once you start getting below 7 percent bodyfat it is EXTREMELY difficult to lose more fat. Your body clings to it. I find that if I up my reps, lower my rest between sets, my heart is pumping and I am burning serious calories before I even hit the cardio.

Some people are different. Some folks are genetic freaks, and they can achieve 4-5 percent bodyfat on diet and cardio alone. I am/was never this way. I had to alter my training as well to help me get the last few percent of body fat decrease before competition. If you can achieve what you feel is necessary without altering your training, more power to you. However, if you start struggling to lose the last few percent of bodyfat, I would recommend my method. Just throwing out some suggestions.