I will be competing in Body Building again on 8/2 at the Knox Classic in Knoxville, TN and again on 8/9 in Nashville at the TN State Championship.
Off-season training has gone very well for the most part. I have increased my off-season weight by roughly eight pounds which is a few pounds less than where I wanted to be going in. My bodyweight seemed to plateau around 192-193 and it became difficult to continue eating as much. I expect to be 175 lbs @ 4% BF at the next show which is 10 lbs heavier than my lean weight last year. My thighs have grown over 1/2" year over year (comparing off-season measurements). In the long term, I still want to add another inch to my thighs and another 1/2" to my calves.
My bench press max has increased 35 lbs to 315. My squat max has increased 40 lbs to 385. My deadlift max has increased 30 lbs to 435. The only lift I tried to increase was my squat, and my legs definitely responded in a positive way.
The toughest challenge this year will be no longer competing in the Junior division and jumping up into the Open division. This division is full of athletes who have been competing and training for much longer than myself. Since my opponents will be tougher than before, I am not raising the bar on my goals. My goal for this year will be the same as last year - to place in each division I enter. Some may ask, why set the bar low? Well, I have only been training for this since Jan 2012 and I think I need more time to develop before my goal becomes to win my weight class or win the overall.
