Adelfo Cerame - Road to Wheelchair Nationals '12: From Man Boobs to Striated Pecs - Looking Back at 2011

Image 1: Looks like Santa's sweet treats
just ricocheted off Adelfo ;-)

Although we are amidst the "holiday season" (you know the time of the year where the term off-season gets a whole new meaning ;-), there is one fellow who must obviously have read my blogpost about the not so amiable gifts Santa has in stock for some of us (cf. "Santa is Coming to Town")... judged by the pictures Adelfo has attached to the latest installment of his amazing "Road to Wheelchair Nationals 2012" series, Santa's sweet treats must have had a fat-burning, muscle-building effect on him. Well, at least this is what you could think, if you did not know how much hard work and dedication it cost him to get to where he is now. But, I guess I will let him tell you the whole story...

Without the "small" things the bigger one's "lose" all their meaning

It has been 12 months, now, hwen I got my medical release from the doctor... 12 months from the day I was finally able to leave the bed and go back to work... and eventually (!) go back to the gym and train! For almost all of 2010, I was confined to being bed-ridde. With the deep MRSA infected ulcer on my behind, I even had to lie on my belly - unable to sit, unable to move for almost a year.

Image 1-2: Looking back at December 2010 - All the abdominal fat and the man boobs that I accumulated after 12 months of being bed-ridden… I just hope that I will never have to go through that again.

That these memories are coming back now, is probably because New Years Eve is approaching. The last days of a year, where I have made a habit of reflecting on the little things that we usually take for granted. Looking back, none of this things, like being able to go to the grocery store, running errands or doing what I love the most, which obviously is going to the gym, was completely out of reach, back in 2010. Isn't it amazing how we always have to lose something until we appreciate its value?

Think about it, wouldn't  "Live life… cherish every moment of it… and be thankful for even the simplest things that this life has to offer!" be a much better new years resolution than the usual "I want to lose 5 pounds of fat!" or "I want to quit smoking"?

For me this (fortunately) temporary loss of mobility and, ultimately, freedom, marked another turning point in my live. I have ever since been trying my best to live life to the fullest, improve and better myself spiritually, mentally and physically. I have begun to cherish the simple things in life, constantly reminding myself that they could be taken away from me (and you!) at any moment. And for me, training, of all these little things, is the one I cherish the most: waking up in the morning, getting into the wheelchair and off the the gym to do the one thing I love the most is something I never want to lose again.

December 2010 to December 2011 = from man boobs to a striated chest

I don't know if you can empathize with the way I feel, when I look at the pictures from 2010, now. I mean, you know that about 8-6 weeks ago, I decided that I wanted to look "as stage ready as can be" at my 12-week mark (which actually is today) and today, after 12 weeks of intermittent fasting, eating whole "real foods", and training heavy and intense (plus minimal cardio and abdominal exercises) the result are eventually paying off:

Stats/Measurements

• Weight: 141 lb.
• Waist: 29 in
• Arms (flexed): 17 ¼” in
• Chest: 41 in
• BF%: around 8% [at least that’s what my digital calipers read ;-)]

As you can see from the images from last year… I don’t have the best genetics in the world (I’m more on the endomorphic side of the body types), and I obviously let myself go (not of my choosing, but due to illness), but my point is: No matter what genetic barriers you think or feel you may have, or how far off you’ve let your body and health go, it’s not impossible to achieve the physique of your dreams, with just a little bit of hard work, consistency and balance.

I guess, I can say I’m pretty satisfied with what I have achieved so far and I’m definitely looking far better than I was at the my last show in April @ the INBF Natural Buckeye. Fortunately for me, I have 13 more weeks to improve on my physique and push myself even harder with my training and dieting.

3 things I want to try and improve on within the next 13 weeks…

You think you could use some advice on your  training, diet and supplementation regimen from someone who knows what it takes to build muscle and lose fat? Reach out to Adelfo via Facebook.

1. Vascularity… I want people to (figuratively ;-) throw up because they’re so disgusted with how many veins are popping out through my skin. Genetics aside, pushing my body-fat level to the lower limit will be the major factor in achieving that.
    
2. Maintaining muscle mass and maybe even possibly gaining a little bit more… When you are dieting it is already difficult not to lose at least some of the fullness you have in the off-season. Putting on extra mass, on the other hand, is near impossible. Yet, although I have been dieting hard (and with visible results), I have been getting stronger throughout my prep and those strength gains are still coming... and though we all know that there is no 1:1 (or other quantifiable) relation between strength- and size-gains, I would expect to see at least increases in what people call "muscle density" or "maturity", if I can keep upping the weight on all my major lifts.
    
3. Strength… I just don’t want to look the part, but I also want to be strong also. As I already mentioned, this is the first prep I’ve had, where I have not noticed any decline in strength. I partly ascribe this to the combination of intermittent fasting, raw and whole foods eating, and some of the training methods I have used from Rob Regish’s Blueprint, which have really taken the variety of my workout routines to the next level. And I hope that the latest addition of Anadraulic State, Creapure (creatine monohydrate), D-Pol (d-Aspartic acid) and Recycle (a herbal natural test booster) to my supplement regimen will help me with lifting (increasingly) heavy(-ier) lifts throughout the rest of my contest-prep.

For the time being, I am on my pre-planned last week of the year famine/detox. Those of you who have followed the whole series will remember that I have been quite skeptical about whether the theoretically sensible (cf. Famine/Detox Episode), yet for any bodybuilder totally counter-intuitive idea from Robb Regish's blueprint would work, but the results I had back in October were so convincing that I decided to make it a staple within every macro-cycle of my training. And now, after 12 weeks of intense training and dieting, the time seems to be right.

Image 4: Example of a "detox meal"

Recipe of the week: Spartan Detox Food (example meal) - Eat this (or a similar meal) 3x a day to benefit from a simulated "famine".

• cucumbers, 
• a handful of fruits, and 
• a cup of vegetable juice from Trader Joe’s…

During my last detox, going extremely low on both calories as well as protein and fat worked quite well for me, but in general Rob's protocol allows for a  maximum of 1,200kcal (for you bigger guys out there) and <50g of protein, fill up the rest with veggies, fruit and a lot of water and you are good to go ;-)

During the 12 weeks, my body has eventually adapted to my diet and training, and is pretty much in an exhausted state, where gains in size and strength usually stall. In order for me to get my body back into a growth state, I have to shock the whole system by putting my body through a mild state of tissue breakdown with added stress (think of it as triggering the alarm). The mild tissue breakdown and added stress through training during the famine phase will accelerate the entire protein turnover cycle. So basically I want to get my body back into a phase where it feels like I just started lifting weights and training for the very first time in order to be in that growth state again, so that, even at an average calorie intake of roughly 1,400 calories per day, I can still maintain (or hopefully build on) the muscle

Final thoughts... at least for this year ;-)

Image 4:  No clue what "intermittent fasting is all about"? I suggest you start with reading the first installments of the Intermittent Thoughts, then (click here for Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and more)

If there is one thing that I have really come to appreciate during the past weeks, it is yet neither the famine, nor the detox or the different training techniques I have learned. The one thing, I believe has made the biggest difference was intermittent fasting - all I can say is… I love it! The protocol is simple and easy to follow and I was able to tweak it to my liking by applying other methods that have worked for me in the course of the last 4 years of competing. And the results are mind-boggling. I mean, this has by far been the easiest prep I have ever had! Without being distracted with having to prepare meals, I got to focus more on training, school, and fun stuff like social events. Add to that the amazing results I have (and still am) seeing in the mirror and you know why I believe that “IF” is definitely something I can, and will do long-term.

I will leave it to that for today, and even the year 2011 and wish all of you a happy and safe New Year! And just in case you happen to be one of those people who like to make "New Year's Resolutions"… Good Luck! Let me know how that works out for ya in a week or two? Hahaha! Just kiddin'! But seriously… You shouldn’t have to wait till New Years to make resolutions and set goals ;-)

Adelfo Cerame - Pre-Contest-Prep: Rest, Recovery and the Underestimated Value of Taking a Week Off.

Image 1: If this is how you feel, than it is about time you take one week off from whatever routine you are on.

It's only Thursday and I feel like I could use an extended weekend (luckily this will be one, with Monday being a holiday, here in Germany ;-), already. Some feel like it's life or work that is getting in their ways, for others its their hobbies, like blogging and training (that's me ;-), but, after all, if we are honest with ourselves, in almost all cases there is "no one" or "nothing" that really stands in our way, other than we, ourselves. I mean, oftentimes we are so busy with our everyday routines that we begin to feel to be externally controlled, although, in almost all cases, we are the ones who decide / believe that we must follow the exact same routine day in and day out.

The results of this practice, in the best case, are boredom and discontent - in the worst case, however, our routines will burn us out and make us sick. Adelfo, our man at the  2012 Wheelchair Nationals, is well aware of the fallacy of routines - especially when it comes to going to the gym day in and day out and he knows that taking a day off before you feel it is utterly necessary is way smarter than digging a whole out of which you cannot escape, no matter how "hard" you rest ;-)

One Week Out = One Week Off

I'm taking a week off from training, before the hot phase of my contest preparation begins. The time, this stands out of question, is well spent to heal my nagging pains, to rest my body, who has already been sending me the first signs of a cold and, most importantly, to be able - mentally as well as physically - to really kickstart my contest preparation in October.

Image 2: Comparison shots from September, 1st to September 21 2011 - the prep has not yet begun, therefore no major changes in this time of experimentation (photos by Adelfo Cerame, 2011)

As it happens, I am also just reading Rob Regish's Blueprint. In his book, Regish mentions that a depressed immune system, and subsequent infections, like if you're getting a cold out of nowhere are tell-tale signs that is is about time to take a week off from training... Now, while this idea obviously was not new to me, reading it black (or should I say blue ;-) on white, from someone with Robb's years of experience in training people, and as one among a whole host of other valuable tips, really helped to put me at ease with my decision to take the week off... Let's be hones, I assume for many of you it won't be different: we are always hesitant to just stay at home lying lazy on the couch, when we "ought" to be in gym. For some its the fear to gain fat, for other's (as myself) it's because we are afraid to lose some of the muscle we have been working so hard for over the past weeks, months and years. And this fear haunts us, although we all "know" (our brain knows, but our hearts don't) that all we will lose (if anything) is some easily replenishable muscle protein, i.e. there won't be any substantial loss of muscle mass, the muscles will only lose some volume.

"You should always listen to your body!"

Well, I guess you will have heard this verdict before "listen to your body" - but what if your heart, certainly a part of your body, cries - "I am afraid I could lose muscle!" and it cries so loud that you can hardly hear the your aching muscles under the pain of weeks and months of continuous training. Now, what can your do? I guess, the best thing will be to advice your brain to tell your heart to shut up and rest. At least that is what I decided to do and to take my mind off the issue of losing muscle or getting fat, I am sitting down and getting the plan for my contest preparation stream-lined. I am planning my workouts (and off times !), sketching the meals I will be eating and deciding on which  the foods that will make up the majority of my diet in the next 4-5 months.

"Rest appropriate nutrition" - cutting back carbs, when you don't need them

Image 2: Healthy post-workout meal of the week - 7oz raw wild caught salmon, 12oz sweet potatoe, 6 carrots, 1c mangoes, 1 tbs raw blue agave and some refreshing coconut milk - the all natural sports beverage!

A pros pos nutrition, I am still fasting 16 hours and feeding for 8 hours, but during my off week all my meals are high in protein and fat and low in carbohydrates. Examples would be ...

• raw milk, carrots and raw cheese, or 
• raw/seared steaks / sashimi with carrots or fruit and coconut oil, or
• raw wild caught salmon from image 3, but without the sweet poatoe 

Basically a high quality protein source + some additional fat (if the former is not high in fat) + a minimal amount of carbs from veggies or fruit. I must admit that I still sneak in a meal from time to time, but this is partly psychological, because I know that this is the last week I can to it without messing up my contest prep, where I have already planned on the three days were I will deliberately "break" my diet:  thanksgiving, christmas and my birthday... and even those will be pre-planned refeeds.

Refeed? I guess you have already been waiting for this keyword to occur. After all, I promised you to report on my experience with a fruit based refeed... Well, I gorged on fruits just as I would have done with pancakes and the processed carbs that I usually eat on my re-feeds, and... I would have to say that even though I stuffed myself with fruits I did not get that comatose or sick feeling that I usually get, with the crappy foods from the grocery store. While I am still not a 100% sold on the idea, I am toying with the idea to start out my prep with fruit-based refeeds. We will see whether this will be sustainable, once I start getting leaner... for now, it works fine, though.

Adelfo Cerame's personal blueprint: Mens sana in corpore sano

Video 1: Adelfo does single arm cable rows 2 weeks before the hot phase of his contest preparation.

As far as my training is concerned, I have been toying back and forth with some of the suggestions from Regish's Blueprint. I've been reading the whole book on the past weekend and am still in the process of sorting out those training principles of which I think that they make a valuable addition to my routine. Don't get me wrong, the book is awesome, but if there is one thing I have learned in the past, then this is never to copy a routine from someone else to a T. Yet despite the fact, that there are some profound differences as far as the nutritional protocol is concerned (this is quite obvious, as the book outlines a muscle building not a contest prep diet), I really do like the weight training protocols and I hope to find a way to combine my constantly evolving contest prep diet with some of the training strategies from Regish's Blueprint...

I will also try and use my week wisely to do some meditating, soul searching and spend some time with the Lord, as I like to be spiritually healthy just as I am physically healthy. And, in case spirituality is not for you and you do not feel like taking a week off, anyway, you may want to check out the promised training video (video 1), head to the gym and treat yourself to a large portion of wild-caught salmon with delicious sweet potatoes and some carrots (cf. image 2) ;-)

New Results From the "Test Tubers": Paleolithic Men Could Have Been Healthier Had They Microwaved Their Potatoes.

Image 1: Potato roasting caveman-style - probably not the best way to "cook" your potatoes

As a non-native-speaker, I must admit that the first time I heard someone talk about "tubers" was on Robb Wolf's famous podcast, back in the day, when I was "listener #6" (or seven ;-). Contrary to common (foreign) belief, not all Germans subsist on potatoes and sauerkraut and, what's more, even those who do, don't really care that a potato is a "tuber", i.e. a "Knolle" in German - I suppose the idea that it grows in the dirt is not too appealing to some, while the large majority probably just doesn't care as long as those "tubers" make a good addition to their Schweinebraten... yet, whatever the reasons may be, my first encounter with "tubers" has ingrained the link of these "underground structure[s] consisting of a solid thickened portion or outgrowth of a stem or rhizome, of a more or less rounded form, and bearing ‘eyes’ or buds from which new plants may arise" (OED.com), as the venerable Oxford English Dictionary would have it, to the paleo style of eating so deeply into my brain that I have been seeing cavemen with roasted sweet potatoes on their sticks in front of a fireplace in my mind's eye, ever since. Now, if that really was the way life went, back in the paleolithic days, our ancestors did probably miss about 32% of the antioxidant magic of the tuberous roots - at least this is what the results of a recent study on the effects of different cooking methods on polyphenols, pigments, and antioxidant activity in potato tubers from the San Luis Research Center at the Colorado State University  would suggest (Perla. 2011).

In their experiment, Venu Perla, David G. Holm, and Sastry S. Jayanty

• boiled - 1h in a sieved double-boiler,
• microwaved + cooked - 10min in a commercial microwave oven at max. highest level +10min boiling, and
• baked  - 1h at 204°C in a commercial pre-heated oven

six months old stored potato tubers of 5 cultivars and 9 advanced selections of Colorado state (skin-color: 4x russet; 6x red; 1x white; 3x purple) and analyzed the samples for total phenolics, total flavonoids, total flavonols, and DPPH (2,2-Diphenyl-1-pikryl-hydrazyl) radical scavenging activity.

Figure 1: Loss in total polyphenol content of 5 cultivars and 9 advanced selections of Colorado state potato tubers due to cooking, microwaving, and baking (data calculated based on Perla. 2011).

As the data in figure 1 shows, all three preparation methods led to profound reductions of the potatos' total polyphenol counts. With Purple Majesty being most and Russet Nugget being least perceptible to the heat induced reduction in total polyphenol count. The cultivars CO97222-IR/R and CO97226-2R/R exhibited the highest total polyphenol counts (+77% and +137% above average in the raw state), with the former being particularly resistant to cooking (+119% above average) and the latter being particularly resistant to microwaving and baking (+154% and +169% above average, respectively).

Figure 1: Loss in polyphenol, flavenoid and flavenol content of 5 cultivars and 9 advanced selections of Colorado state potato tubers due to cooking, microwaving, and baking (data calculated based on Perla. 2011).

The superior resistance of these red-fleshed potato cultivars to cooking treatments is yet relative polyphenol-specific, due to their extraordinary high flavenoid and flavenol content in the raw state, CO97222-IR/R and CO97226-2R/R do yet retain a 241%, 155%, 199% and 243%, 331%, 395% higher flavenoid and 78%, 34%, 17% and 80%, 98%, 181% higher flavenol content  than the average potato (in the study) even after cooking, microwaving and baking, respectively.

The scientists also observed that, contrary to the white and yellow fleshed tubers, where the major pigment was lutein, the "dominant pigments in the red and purple fleshed tubers were anthocyanins", the antioxidant activity of which has been implicated in the prevention (by some even the treatment) of obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hyperlipidemia and even cancer. Unfortunately, these pigments are just as susceptible to cooking, microwaving and baking as the polyphenols, flavenoids and flavenols, so that the total anti-oxidant activity (as measured by DPPH free radical scavenging assays) of the tubers that were tested in this study was reduced by -26%, -32% and -38% by boiling, microwaving and baking, respectively.

Please note: While it is unlikely that you will die from eating a single raw potato. The solanine that can be found in all parts of the plant, including the leaves, fruit, and tubers, is a natural fungicide and pesticide the plant produces to protect itself from insects, the ingestion of which can potentially be fatal!

Now, despite the fact that microwaving is only slightly less damaging that baking, I assume that putting the potatos directly into the fire, like the paloelithic men and women in my daydreams use to do it, probably is the worst way to prepare your tubers. Yet while even microwaving would have been a healthier option, the best and, from an evolutionary perspective, more natural solution would be to boil your potatoes.

Student Spotlight: Adelfo Cerame - A Terrible Accident Paved His Way to Competitive Bodybuilding

Image 1: Adelfo Cerame in his job as a firefighter (backrgound) and as a competive bodybuilder at the 2011 Buckeye Classic, where he took an amazing 2nd place (foreground).

His name is Adelfo Cerame Jr and he is a competitive natural wheelchair bodybuilder and physical culture enthusiast. Although he says of himself that he is just a regular guy that has a passion for fitness, nutrition, and the physical culture lifestyle, his willpower, toughness and absolute dedication made him succeed even after an accident that would probably have stopped the career of any other aspiring physical culturist in its tracks.

It is thus more of an honor than a mere pleasure for me that he was not only willing to recount his story, some of you may already have heard of on Super Human Radio in the SuppVersity Student Spotlight, but that he will also be documenting his preparations for the upcoming Wheelchair Nationals in March '12 in a series of blogposts, images and videos on the SuppVersity.

SuppVersity exclusive:
Adelfo Cerame's Road Road to the Wheelchair Nationals 2012

Adelfo Cerame's Road Road to the Wheelchair Nationals 2012

Don't forget to check back for exclusive weekly updates on Adelfo's progress. In his contest-prep documentation you are goint to learn more about Adelfo's raw-foods approach to intermittent-fasting and in his pictures and videos you will see how diet and training will gradually transform a well-built athlete into a freakishingly ripped muscle-freak with a realistic chance of grabbing his pro-card at the Nationals in March '12.

The Crash, the shock... the motivating challenge

My journey started on November 10, 2005, when I was involved in a car accident that left me paralyzed from the waist down, being diagnosed as a T-12 paraplegic. The reality of paralysis and not being able to walk again was a huge eye opener and reality check for me. I had to cope with the fact that things would be a bit different now, and I would have to learn and adapt to a new way of living. The realization of being a paraplegic broke me down spiritually, mentally and physically. It took me about a year to come to terms with my situation, and once I came to terms, I embraced it with open arms, and used it as a driving tool to challenge and motivate myself. I rebuilt myself from the ground up, from my self-esteem, my relationship with God, my new outlook on life, to my physical fitness and physique.

"It took me a while to figure out the whole dieting scheme and put it all together "

Image 2: Adelfo late 2007 (left) and in summer 2008 (right), when, as a result of research, networking and experimenting, for the first time in his whole life, he was finally able to see his abdominal muscles.

I started getting into bodybuilding around 2007 when I was browsing through “you tube” videos and I saw these guys in wheelchairs posing and flexing in bodybuilding competitions. I was so amazed when I saw these incredible physiques from people in wheelchairs, like myself. After looking and reading more into wheelchair bodybuilding, I thought to myself that I can do this; and that’s when everything began for my passion and love for physical culture.

Through research, networking, and experimenting, I was able teach myself about nutrition, fitness and dieting. Grasping the concept of weight loss and dieting was like finding a formula for a math problem after trying to figure it out for years.  I eventually figured it out and did my first bodybuilding contest in 2008.

Image 3: Adelfo during his firefighting days before the accident. While he was not exactly athletic, he never had weight issues with all the physical labor.

Before my injury, I have always been athletic. I played organized sports all through my childhood and adolescent years. Even my occupation as a wildland firefighter before my injury was physically demanding. I knew about fitness and exercise but did not really understand the aspect of the nutrition side of it until I started bodybuilding. I always thought that I was a slave to my subpar genetics and that I can never attain a shredded physique with washboard abs because I was not genetically gifted, but I eventually proved myself wrong with that concept.

"I had to find a different method of maintaining my weight, because I could not run or hike anymore"

Image 4: Adelfo after his first bodybuilding competition in the summer of 2008 where I took 1st place

As you can see from my photo before my injury, I was never really over weight or obese, I considered my self in pretty good condition, but I never really had that physique that I obtain now. My nutritional habits were horrible, I ate what I wanted and when I wanted, and I drank too much alcohol. During my firefighting days my diet consisted of pizza and a 6-pack of beer on a daily basis and the occasional bar hopping. The only reason I stayed in good physical shape as I was, due to the physical demands of my job. I ran 5-6 miles and hiked on a daily basis, and during fire campaigns, I worked 14-21 days straight doing 16 hour shifts hiking up and down mountains fighting fire, so I was burning hundreds of calories on a daily basis, which allowed me to eat and drink what I wanted, and not having to worry about letting myself go. I did not realize how important nutrition was back then, but finally realized the importance after my injury because now I had to find a different method of maintaining my weight because I could not run or hike anymore to burn the calories that I was so use to just shedding.

Image 5: 2010 was not a good year for Adelfo. In the beginning stages for my prep for the 2010 season, he was bed ridden for almost the whole year, due to an pressure ulcer on my behind that was infected with MRSA and needed surgery.

Throughout these past 4 years of my experience with bodybuilding and the whole physical culture lifestyle, I have gained a lot of knowledge about nutrition and fitness. My diet and training methods have evolved and will continue to keep evolving, because of my willingness to keep an open mind and apply and experiment with new strategies, methods and philosophies to my diet and training.

"A perfect diet should be something that you can convert into a lifestyle"

I have tried many, and different approaches to dieting. Through experiment, trial and error, I have taken what has worked for me and used it to build (or still building) a perfect diet, which suits me. I feel a perfect diet should be something that you can convert into a lifestyle not just a 12-week thing then get off of it. A diet should be flexible where you can still be happy, social, and not live like a hermit due to the fear of  “F” ing’ up your diet. I call it find your happy medium.

For my nutrition, I am a big fan of having a high fat, high protein, and low-carbohydrate diet. I feel that my body runs better on fats, but I understand that carbohydrates have their place and importance in nutrition, so I also incorporate some carbohydrates into my diet.

Making a handicap your training advantage

You think you could use some advice on your own training, diet and supplementation regimen and want it from someone who obviously knows what it takes to build muscle and lose fat? You can reach out to Adelfo via Facebook.

For my training I like to lift heavy and I’m not a real big fan of resting in between sets even if I am lifting heavy. Since I no longer have the use of my legs, I have the advantage to train individual body parts twice a week. An exemplary week would look like that:

• Monday- chest/ triceps (emphasize chest)
• Tuesday- back/ biceps (emphasize back)
• Wednesday- rest
• Thursday- triceps/ chest (emphasize triceps)
• Friday- biceps/ back (emphasize biceps)
• Saturday- shoulders and 1 body part depending on what I worked out on Friday.
• Sunday- rest

Adelfo finds sticking to basic supps both economical and effective

For my supplementation, I try to just stick to a quality protein powders, bcaa’s, creatine and oils like macadamia and coconut oil. If I have extra money to spend then I’ll supplement with N.O.’s , pre-workouts (only when I prep), fat burners and beta alanine.

Intermittent fasting is the newest tool in Adelfo's contest prep arsenal

Image 6: There is no doubt - Adelfo knows how to get (back) in shape.

What drew me to Intermittent fasting was the claims that some have made by being able to hold single digit BF% year round. I have no problem cutting for a contest and showing up on stage in great condition, but the hardest part for me, and I think I speak for most, is being able to maintain that contest physique. Even on a high fat, low carb diet (anabolic solution diet) during my off-season, I still can't hold my contest physique unless I was on a calorie deficit, but who wants to do that all year!

Convenience is a big plus of intermittent fasting

Another factor that made me want to try Intermittent fasting, and I think it was the deciding factor for me to experiment with it for my upcoming contest prep, was the relief from not having to prep meals for the whole day and waking up super early just so I don't miss breakfast. I was just getting burnt out on prepping meals and basing my daily schedule around my meals. My meals kind of dictate how my schedule goes.

Coming soon: Dr. Andro's Intermittent Fasting Write-Up - All about its effects on your training, your physique and your general health. You may also want to check out my posts on glycogen-free muscle growth in the meantime.

A final word from Dr. Andro: If Adelfo's bio got you interested - and I am pretty sure it has - make sure you don't forget to check back for the upcoming SuppVersity exclusive "Adelfo Cerame's Road Road to the Wheelchair Nationals 2012 - Raw Foods and Intermittent Fasting Pave His Way"! The best way to make sure you don't miss it, is to join the SuppVersity Facebook page, where you will find all the daily updates on what's going on in the world of exercise and nutrition science.

Adelfo Cerame - Road to Wheelchair Nationals '12: Tweaks to Avoid Overtraining. Plus: 5 Staple Supplements and How to Effectively Combine them With Whole Foods.

Image 1: If you have followed the whole series you know that there are 6 months and tons of hard work and dedication between the pic on the left and the one on the right. Time and effort  not "the right genes" it what most people lack, or simply decide not to invest.

When I look back at the past couple of weeks, or, when I come to think about it, months, and the progress my friend Adelfo has made, it amazes me time and again how careful planning, constant tweaking and above all total dedication to training and diet can take your physique to another level - and that, on an almost weekly basis! In a way, it is unfortunate that all this will eventually not be part of the equation, when Adelfo will be showing off his totally shredded body on stage. And I am not referring exclusively to the issue of not being in form on a specific day. This is part of the sports! And in fact, I am not even thinking about the athletes, themselves. I am rather thinking of you, your friend, your son or daughter, who see bodybuilders, fitness athletes, bikini models or even "normal" celebrities on the net, magazine covers or TV and think to themselves: "I can never look like this guy/girl!" ... do the reality check, look at what it really took them to get there and realize that part of their secret is that they are well aware that you cannot "peak" 365 days a year! And now tell me: Do you really believe you cannot get there or is it rather that you do not want to invest all the efforts it would take you to get there? I suppose for most of you the latter is the case and you know what? As long as you are honest with yourself and others and don't lull yourself into believing that is it all just in your genes, that is perfectly ok! But enough of me being a smart ass, ... let's see how Adelfo is doing this week.

Six weeks out and still waiting for the brick to hit me

Image 2: I guess real foods like these are part of, if not the reason "the brick" has not yet hit me ;-)

I feel like I am sitting here, waiting... not so much for contest day, yet, but rather for that day, the day, when the brick wall is going to hit me... it is part of the game - part of the prep. That brick wall, people me (in my previous preps) included hit, whenever they diet to achieve that unnatural degree of leanness people are looking for on stage. It has not hit me yet and I cannot even tell if it will... but if it does, I will be prepared!

Looking back at the last week, I might even say that I probably barely got away from being struck. Probably not so much as a consequence of overdieting, but rather as a result of overtraining. As you will probably remember, I decided to revamp my training regimen by incorporating an intensified version of the reverse pyramid into my routine. After one week on the routine, I had to realize that as good as the idea of combining a heavy lifting and high volume approach may look on paper, doing that on four training days per week may be too much. While I was strong and felt pumped on the first two days, my strength and with it my focus began to fade on the subsequent two days: Fatigue, lack of motivation, moodiness, ... all that are pretty rare occurrences with me, especially when I just started on a new routine.

It could not get any more obvious my body was showing me the red flag!

Video 1: Wheelchair chin-ups (wheelchair = 25 lb. + 45 lb. plate = 70 lb. chins) - For a while I’ve been trying to figure out a way to stimulate my lower back and maybe even my lower trunk muscles in the back… I think I just found what stimulates them… I’ve made it a priority of mine to do weighted chins twice a week when I train my back (click here to watch).

Against that background, I decided to apply another twist to the routine and split the week into two heavy 5x5 (Mon-Tuesday) days early in the week, rest on Wednesday, and two reverse pyramid training (RPT) workouts on the following two training days (Thurs- Fri) later in the week... I think by setting it up like this, I can control the tempo, throughout the week, so I don't burn myself out to early in the week.

If I were one of my clients and not so close to competition, I would probably suggest to either take a de-load week or a complete week off from the gym, but at the moment I feel like I cannot afford doing either of these options. Although I am pretty sure a week off wouldn’t hurt me, as long as I kept my diet on point, it is precious time to make forward progress... so no, I will not take the week off! What I will do though, is start to control my training tempo from here on out to make sure that I’m not burning myself out (I mean… I have been prepping since October ;-)

Nutritional tweaks: Post-workout carbs? Yes, honey!

I made some minor adjustments with my nutrition, as well. Instead of having my carbs with my PWO meal, I switched to taking the lions share with my post-workout shake right after my workouts. I did that because sometimes, I takes me too long to get home and prepare my meal, with the insulinogenic effect of the whey potentially I sometimes felt somewhat hypoglycemic, and the subsequent surge in epinephrine and cortisol which will get my blood sugar back to normal is something I want to avoid at this time in my prep. When the whole purpose of the carbs is to refill muscle glycogen, I don't want my liver to do that by turning protein into glucose before I get home and have my carbs.

Image 3: Whey Protein + the combination of 2 ripe bananas + 1 Tbs. Raw Honey = PWO bliss!

The reason I decided to go for the ripe bananas + raw honey combi are manifold, but I would be lying if taste was not at least part of the equation. That being said, let's be honest, what better fast digesting PWO combi can you ask for, if we are talking about whole "real" foods? The combination of whey + 2 ripe bananas + one tbs. of raw honey do not only meet the macros, I am looking for in my post-workout shake, the bananas are also rich in potassium, which is necessary for muscle recovery and will help with the electrolyte balance that is so crucial to keep off unwanted water weight. And the raw honey, despite being a calorie dense high sugar food, is, unlike sugar, filled with nutrients like digestive enzymes and antioxidants. Plus, You don’t have to cough up $40- $50 as you would on other carb supplements like maltodextrin or waxymaize. An organic banana costs about 25- 35 cents, and a jar of raw honey costs around $8.

You don't need tons of supplements. Just select a few staples that work for you!

Since were on the topic of PWO nutrition and timing, I guess some of you may be interested if, how, which and when "real" supplements come into play. So here is a brief rundown on what I am currently taking and how I am timing those supps around my fasting and feeding windows.

• Fat burner (meltdown by VPX): One of the only times I ever mess with fat burners is when I get closer to show time. I like to use fat burners for the last couple weeks to help me increase my metabolism and burn a little bit more body fat to tighten me up some more, and to help with the stubborn areas where subcutaneous water likes to cling on to (in my case lower abdominals). I take my fat burner once I wake, early in the a.m. during my fast, this way I can take maximal advantage of its lipolytic effects. It does not help to liberate the fat from the fat cells if your body does not need to burn it, so taking the fat burner within the feeding window would at best be a waste of money...
   
• D-Aspartic Acid (D-Pol by PurusLabs): I was running test logs on this product a couple weeks ago, and really liked it, so when I ran out I actually decided to buy it. It worked well with improving my gains in strength and maybe size, but strength for sure! Probably due to the added nitrates, it also gave me a good pump, when I trained. I take this supplement early in the a.m. - probably like 3- 4 hours after I take my fat burner - for better absorption, so that the aspartic acid doesn't compete with other aminos and at least some of it does make it to the brain, where it is supposed to do its LH releasing magic.

Image 4: I believe in selected a hand full of supplements only. My tried and proven staples are creatine monohydrate, BCAA’s, a pre-workout and a fat burner. Purus Labs' d-aspartic acid is the only real newcomer in this prep.

• Pre-workout supp (Friction by VPX): I’m not much of a pre-workout supp junkie, but I do feel the benefits from taking them during contest prep, or cutting to help maintain strength and muscle. Most pre-workout supplements primary ingredients are creatine blends, with amino acids, and, or beta alanine. Usually each brand has its own proprietary blend and boasts of how unique it is... don't be fooled, the ingredients which actually work are the same for most of them. I take my pre-workout supplement about an hour after I ate my pre-workout meal, and about 30-45 minutes before I train. The whey + coconut oil for my pre-workout meal is digested by then, so if you will you can say, I take it on empty ;-) The main reason I chose friction was curiosity, I like to try new products once in a while and must say that I really enjoy this one.
   
• BCAA’s (Power Shock by VPX): BCAA’s help with muscle recovery and growth, ... but I guess the well-read SuppVersity junkie you are, I don't have to give you the lowdown on their benefits ;-)  I take mine intra-workout, to minimize catabolism and promote the exercise induced increase in protein synthesis. I mix about 2 servings in a water bottle that will last me through my whole workout. I never tried VPX’s BCAA’s, I usually use Xtend, Recoup, or Anabolic Switch, but decided to try this because of the potential benefits of the added nitrates and, most of all, the price tag ;-)
   
• Creatine monohydrate (Creapure by TrueProtein): I use to be real phobic about taking creatine while trying to cut or diet for a show, because of the “ol’ bro science” that taking creatine makes you retain water… then I thought to myself?... Well no shit!? That’s what creatine does! It draws water into your muscle tissues. Lol… As for the subcutaneous water, that people talk about they get when they supplement with Creatine? That probably has more to do with either their shitty diet, or their dump believe that creatine needs to be stacked with tons of sugary carbs to "push it into the cells". In view of the fact that my pre-workout supp already has some creatine in it, I mix 5g with my BCAA’s while I train, and take another 5g when I get home. I mix it with crystal light and drink it with my PWO-meal.

So far so good, but I still maintain that all supplement magic aside, my four whole food meals are the pillars I build my success on. And before you are bombarding me with questions in the comment area or on facebook, here is some more information on how these pillars look like:

 

Images 5-6: You know that I believe in a real food approach to dieting and this is how that could look like in the last weeks of your prep.

• Pre- workout meal: I usually break my fast at 3pm and at the gym training by 4:30pm. I don’t want to have to wait 2 hours for my food to digest, so I prefer a fast digesting protein like whey + 1 Tbs. of coconut oil for that immediate energy that my body can use. Macros= 50g protein/15g fat
   
• PWO shake + 2 ripe bananas & raw honey (cf. image 3): I eat this immediately after I train when I get into my car, because muscle tissues are primed for glucose and protein uptake right after training. Macros= 50g protein/ 75g carbs
   
• PWO meal: Since I shifted most of my carb intake immediately after training, my PWO meal is now just a P+F meal, with about 10-20g of carbs coming from strawberries, papayas or pineapples. I eat this meal around 8:30pm when I get home from the gym. Macros= 50g protein/ 10-20g carbs (fruit)/ 20g fat
   
• Last meal before fast: I like to do a shake for my last meal because my PWO meal usually gets me full, so I like to squeeze in a protein shake at around 10:40pm before I start my fast again at 11:00pm. Since I use whey protein for my shakes, I like to throw in 2 raw cage free eggs in with my shake, so the fats can slow down the digestion, since whey is a fast digesting protein. I’ll also eat about 1-2 tsp. of coconut oil to hit my macros. Macros= 50g protein/ 15g fat

That’s all I have for in stall for you, this week, but stay tuned for next week's update, when I start bringing back recipes! You're gonna love that one, I promise ;-)