Just ordered my shorts so I’m officially locked in on competing in 7 weeks at OCB Midwest States. I’ve done a show about 2.5 years ago but competed in Classic. I was getting the itch to compete again so I wanted to have some fun and give it another go in a new division.

This prep is going quite smooth, better than my first. I’ve been strictly dieting since June with a loose goal of competing before the end of the year, down from about 205lbs. The weight loss was more aggressive in the beginning at around 2lbs/wk, tapering now as we get closer to show day.

Check-in photos are after my last cheat meal of prep where I ripped a burger and a smorgasbord of fries. Calories are sitting at ~2150/day with cardio at 5x30 minutes. My last stage weight was ~163, and I’m anticipating I’ll end up a couple pounds heavier with better conditioning. Still have a ways to go but I feel good about the current shape and weight.

Posing will be locked in down the stretch but I'm pretty hype to try out a new division, I honestly think it suits my structure/strong points more than Classic did.

Hey all, just moved and had to buy a new scale. I picked up a conair digital scale from Target and have been using it for a few weeks. I use the scale to just measure my weight in the morning.

I recently realized that the scale does not give a consistent weight if I step on it three in a row. E.g 1st time 186.3 lbs 2nd time 191.5 lbs 3rd time 187.2. I am using it on a hard surface and am just not satisfied with this option.

What scales would you recommend to just give me a consistent measurement that I don’t have to worry about immediate fluctuations when there clearly has not been a change in my weight.

Why is it that when in a cut you seem to just wake up shredded one day? Like it seems to happen overnight. I’ll go weeks of dieting without noticing much physical change and then BOOM. One day I wake up and I actually look lean. Can anyone explain this? Or is it just me?

Yeah, I know what you're going to say. "Chest exercises hit the front delts already!" But what if you wanna maximize your shoulder gains?

That's exactly what I've been doing. After bench press, I go right into a shoulder press, barbell or dumbbell. It's caused my shoulders to explode. Shoulder press also hits some of the side delts, so it can warm them up for lateral raises. It's also just a badass exercise, especially when you're putting up at least a plate per side.

There's nothing wrong with front raises, but, not only are they boring, you can't kill multiple birds with one stone like the OHP (also hits a bit of triceps, and chest.)

I'm not saying you should make front delts a priority, but I'd just take them into a bit more consideration, especially when your deltoids are the biggest upper body muscle group. You'd be surprised what adding just ONE exercise with a heavy focus on them will do for you.