VA Maddog 17 days out

[VA Maddog]

Hi Gang - I'm an old Team Skip member who is back at it once again. Skip helped me with my final prep last year which included trying Shit Loading for my carb up. (That worked fairly well but I'm going with another strategy this year.)

17 days out now from my yearly competition. I will be entering a NABF natural show in the Masters over 45 category and will also probably cross over into the mens open if everything falls into place.

Compared to last year I feel that I have been able to add about 5 lbs of LBM while staying lean, so for an old natty I'm fairly pleased. Trying to get leaner this year than last - following "the conditioning is what really matters" theory. I'll never be able to compete with the big boys on size, so I just have to do the best with what I have.

Lighting and glare are always difficult to manage on these digital pics but hopefully you can get an idea of where I'm at. No cardio so far and hope to avoid it, takes me too close to being even more catabolic. Carbs are down to ~60g a day now and will probably drop one more time. I stay lean year round so I will only end up dropping about 15 lbs for the contest.

Skip/Randy - I did my best to add some size to my quads this past year and to hit the shoulders hard. I think that I made some progress. Just thought that you might like to hear from and old friend. I'm hoping that I'll see more detail in the quads from the front as the contest gets closer. Quads and hams are always the last things to come in for me. Feeling flat now with the low carbs but will hopefully fill out and tighten up more with the carb loading and water maipulation at the end. Take care.

[homonunculus]

WHAT'S UP, VA!!!

I don't have old shots to compare, but the backyard shots look GREAT.

How in the world did you manage to get lean w/o cardio?... That's impossible!!! LOL

You might try to get some pointers from GerryT on your posing. Some things I'd suggest:

On your side chest: sweep the hamstring of the front leg against the adductors of the back leg - this will push the hams out. Also, keep your legs more perpendicular to the camera. Try not to let this change your upper body positioning too much - just twist into position. I would experiment with raising your front shoulder a bit to bunch up your pec (for size, keeping it more parallel with the rear shoulder), but keeping your hands low to show your mid-section conditioning.

On the front double-bi, I would sit down into the pose and go for a symmetrical position: 1 leg out and externally rotated (to make the thigh look larger) and hands semi-open with less elbow flexion (and hand more open) on the side where the leg is placed out wider. (Think Lee Labrada on this one.)

Ab shot - Make sure you're contracting your biceps, too. Also, I would place 1 leg in front, bent at the knee (showing the adductors and medial calf), with just the toe(s) on the ground.

On the lat spread (rear) - Really SPREAD!!!. You'll be able to show your (awesome) conditioning there by prefacing the pose by pulling your arms back to tighten up the lats, and then hitting the lat spread. You might also try a scissoring of the legs there, too. A symmetrical look that women often do, but that guys can pull off equally well (Levrone does this in his routines, although not as much in mandatories / pose-downs, I don't think).

Lookin' great VA!!! Congrats on a plan well executed! Def. let us know how it goes!

-R

[GerryT]

Look great, VA. Very lean and well proportioned. Get in touch if you'd like any
posing advice. But basically, Randy is right on the money with his advice and
totally agree with his assessments.

Many competitors tend to drop a shoulder in side chest, but pose looks better
if shoulders are up and parallel. Keep hands low but squeeze them together hard as you can to highlight bi and tri on outer arm. Judges are not looking at the chest
in a vacuum, but as to how it ties in to the rest of the physique.

Definitely need to flare out more on back lat. Try to get elbows out as much as possible.

Just practice the posing each day till the show and good luck.

[Ken Skip Hill]

VA, it is great to hear from you. I have thought about you over the past few months wondering if you ended up moving to another job/state or what. Glad to see you are going to be on stage again, shortly.

Your upper body is tight as hell (as usual) and of course your lower body comes in last but you seem to be looking damned sharp for 2.5 weeks out. I think the delts are up but I would need some comparison pics to see the difference in the quads. They may well be up but I just can't remember what they looked like, exactly, before. Delts are pretty obvious, though.

I wish you well and please keep us posted on how things go. Any new articles that you have penned for BI?

Take care bro,
Skip

[VA Maddog]

Thanks Randy, Jerry and Skip - It is good to touch base with you folks again. You know that I have a ton of respect for your level of knowledge and for your ability and willingness to share with others. I will definately work on your posing suggestions. As always I know it is important but never seem to be able to really concentrate on the finer details until the last few weeks. Life is just too hectic!

So to help Skip with his memory lapse (not that he sees a lot of different people or anything - lol) I dug up a couple of pics from last year to compare to now.

I always think that I look bad and that I could look better - part of the normal low carb contest run-up mentality I guess, so it is good to get feedback from folks who you do not see or talk with everyday. I make no claims as to my photography skills - getting the lighting right to minimize glare and show details is a constant frustration - but anyway here are a few comparison pics. 2 week out pics from last year and 2.5 weeks out this year.

I actually weigh about the same, but I think that I have been able to add a little size and better shape in some areas while getting a bit leaner this time around chasing the big illusion that we strive for "looking bigger" and thus trying hard to make a few improvements.

First pic is last year, second is this year for each pose. No amazing differences but I think that my back has thickened up a little, shoulders are a bit bigger (not enough yet!) and that I have better shape and detail in my quads. If you recall from last year Skip, my quads never did get the level of detail that we wanted, I'm really trying hard to get that this year but quads and hams are always the last to come in for me.

So anyway - for an old natty trying to do his Timex immitation (you know keep on ticking..) I'm happy with what I think has been a good year. Now you guys can tell me if I'm full of you know what!

[homonunculus]

Hey VA,

I think your back does look better this go 'round. Did you start adding in deads or another compound movement?...

Interesting, too - it looks like your quads and your calves have more detail, but I can't tell about your hams (I think b/c the lighting is a tad different in the two sets of pics. Same time of day?... The shado looks a tad longer in the 1st pic...)

Also, I like how you hold your arms a bit higher in the front double bi of the 1st set - it gives your pec a fuller look...

-R

[VA Maddog]

I also noticed that I liked the arm position better in the first front doublebi. And yes I did add in dead lifts this past year, but stopped them at about 2 months out as I came close to injuring myself two weeks in a row. For me dead lifts are an off-season movement and not smart when I get too lean. Too hard on my joints, tendons and ligments, etc.