Tough Pill to Swallow

Whats up everyone. It has been about four weeks since the Olympia and things seem to getting busier by the day. I have an appearance in Texas in a couple weeks so I am looking forward to that since I have some good friends down that way. Plus, what can I say about those Southerners, they really know how to get it done. Maybe I will hit up MetroFlex just to get that dirty hard work feel that I had the last time I banged out some iron there.
It should be fun regardless but that is only some of the good news. My first DVD, 'Sacrifice Without Regret' should be done soon. We are just putting the final touches on it so I am really looking forward to seeing the final product. I am trying to incorporate some nutritional advice into the DVD but am still unsure how to do it. I think I may just take you all for a walk through my kitchen to show you some of the things I eat and take on a regular basis.
That's really all I got for good news. I have been going through kind of a tough time lately so I have been compensating by shopping again...its my vice what can I do...lol. Although I have to say at least some of my purchases have been smart. I have bought a few things for the home and since I did I thought I would reward myself by buying something for my car...lol. I guess I'm the only person on earth who rewards themselves for buying something by buying something else...how stupid..lol.
The other bad news is I have been ordered to take a rest. I am to take a break for the next couple weeks by order of my trainer. Since I did four shows and I haven't taken a break yet he thought it would be good for my physique and my mental state to take a break now and I don't have a say in the matter. I am a full time bodybuilder and don't really do to much of anything else other than watch TV and shop. If all I can do is buy stuff for the next two weeks, man I am gonna be broke as hell.
The rest should be good for me though. My joints are really starting to get sore now and I found I have really been sleeping a lot of the time, not by choice. I will just be sitting there and find myself nodding off in the middle of the day, so I guess that's my body telling me something. Maybe I will take up yoga for the next two weeks, I'll have to hide out in the back though, I have a reputation to keep...lol.
I have received my first start up program from my nutritionist and I have to say I feel much better. Its not as much food as I thought it would be but my body feels much better. I guess my fears of the last few weeks getting a new nutritionist were overblown. I thought it was going to be a lot harder than it has been. I get two cheat meals a week and the diet is set up so that I don't ever really get hungry but I think its enough to keep growing.
I have been learning moderation. My cheat meals in the past when I did my own offseason nutrition weren't cheat meals, they were cheat days. I would take a whole day off and eat whatever I wanted. I am learning now that everything doesn't have to be black and white and instead of eating a bucket of ice cream and two large pizzas, I can have a good meal that my body can use and that get back to the program. So far it feels good to have control over myself. I have to try and employ the same technique when I go out...that might not be as easy, I let you guys know how that works out.

Sacrifice Without Regret,
Fouad 'Hoss' Abiad

Gonna Be a Tough Year

Wow, what a turn since the last time I talked to you guys. In the last two weeks my life has taken a drastic turn in what I hope will be the best decision of my life. I have decided that I will work with a nutritionist all year and I have chosen Hany Rambod to be that guy. I think his focus on his athletes and attention to detail will really help me get the most out of my physique.
That being said, my god I am in for hell this year as is everyone around me. From what it sounds like Hany is going to have me on what seems like a contest diet pretty much year round. No, in all honesty I really don't know what he has in store for me other than he doesn't want me to get fat and that starts with dropping the binge weight I have already gained. He has put me on a low carb diet that started about four days ago, the nice thing is I am able to breath again and I have lost ten pounds so I don't feel like a beached whale anymore (maybe a beached baby whale).
I have never really done anything like this. Throughout my career my life has been black and white pretty much. When its time to diet I hit the switch and I bust ass to look as good as I can. When its the offseason then I eat a base diet and then pretty much whatever I want on top. I have never really been meticulous with taking vitamins and I think in the past I might have drank a little too much when I was supposed to be sleeping.
This year will be different. Hany is teaching me moderation and that starts with getting rid of the binging and that means binging with food or alcohol. So this new diet I have is low carb with only a couple cheat meals (that's right meals not days...shitty) a week. Although I am scared of this new philosophy I trust Hany and I am willing to do what it takes to get to the next level. Whats the point in competing if you never get better right.
Ya know its weird. I had all these plans to go on vacation and do a whole bunch of nothing after the show and then I go and hire a nutritionist for the offseason and there is no rest for the wicked. I think I will still get that vacation it just might have to wait until Christmas time or after the New Year.
The other exciting part of working with someone in the offseason is he will be writing my training programs for me as well. This is something I have never had before. I have worked with Chad in the offseason once before but that was just nutrition. This will be the first time I have someone guiding my growth in the gym and I really think Hany will be able to bring up the weak points in my physique.
Enough of all that it gets a little boring after a while...lol. So I have pretty much finished screwing around with my car. Last week I put in a new GPS/DVD system and that has pretty much finished off any major purchases...for a while anyway. Now I have turned my attention to my apartment. I know, I know, who fixes there car before there apartment, what can I say, she's my baby. Regardless I figure its time for a new bedroom set and maybe some new paintings of something to spruce the place up a bit. I have been living as a minimalist for a long time now trying to get my career off the ground and I think I have finally reached a place where I can afford to live a little.
Other than that everything else is pretty much the same. My friends are terrified of this new program because they think if I have to eat clean all year I am going to be a complete ass....they might be right..lol. I do have a little bit of a procedure getting done this week but its kind of a secret so I won't let you guys in on it just yet. All I can say is that it will make my stage appearance a little different, some of you will think better and some of you won't even notice. Anyway, until next week or the week after or until I have something to talk about, train insane and always keep your focus, nothing is more important.

Sacrifice Without Regret,
Fouad Abiad

Back in the Saddle

Okay, its been a week and it already looks like I have never seen a treadmill in my life. My ass doesn't fit into any of the jeans I bought, my shirts that used to be tight in all the right spots are now only tight on my gut...lol. Man, you work so hard to get it all off and keep it off and then one week of eating and forty pounds later and I don't even look like the same person! No, in all honesty though, most of it is water retention from being on a low sodium diet for so long, my body will balance out over time....I think?..
Anyway, things have been good since the O. People have been very encouraging through email and in person. Everyone has something nice to say about my performance of even the fact that I have achieved that standard for myself. Even though all of the kind words keep me motivated and in good spirits nothing is more motivating than the feeling of standing on stage and NOT being able to compete. Nothing has ever felt worse.
Part of the fire that fuels my sets and reps since the show has been that humbling feeling of the last call out. I took Sunday and Monday off after the Olympia and Tuesday I was back in the gym blasting the weight like never before. The added weight I've gained has made me feel strong again so I am throwing iron around with confidence again and getting mind blowing, skin splitting pumps.....man there is no better feeling. When I put a weight on the bar and get into my set, whenever I feel like I am done that feeling from Firday night at the O replays in my mind so vividly that it makes me train that much harder. I know people are proud of me but I want more from myself!
I think I stayed on a contest diet for so long this year I can't go back to regular life. I am so used to the go, go, go lifestyle of contest prep that now that the time is done I don't know how to relax. I still wake up and go to the gym and do cardio. Then I run errands for a couple hours then later on in the day I go back for my workout. It seems like the only thing about my day that's different is the ten bagels a day I have been tearing through...lol.
I am thinking of working with a nutritionist all year this year. Its something I have never really done before and am unsure if I need to. It seems exciting to me to think that with proper guidance I could go that much further in the sport. For the time being I am writing my own program and it is a little different than last year.
My training is higher in volume and just a little lighter than before, not much though. My diet is more regimented with proper vitamin/mineral supplementation and I actually have added some other supplements to my program that I used before but only sparingly. The NanoX9 from Muscletech was always a favorite of mine but this last week I have been using the Nano Vapour before and during my workout and I think its playing a big part in the good feeling I am getting in the gym.
Food wise I am trying not to eat to much junk but man I love food. It seems like I am getting all the good nutrition I need but then after each meal I end up adding things like M&M's (peanut of course), muffins, cookies, ice cream. I can't help it right now but at least I am getting all the quality too so I don't feel so bad. I'll give you guys a tip that I have been doing this last week and I did a little last year as well. I love cereal (cheerios to be specific) but I am not a huge fan of milk. So I have been buying big boxes of cereal and instead of milk I have been using Nitro-Tech Vanilla RTD's (Ready To Drink) for a milk substitute. It looks like milk and almost tastes like it too, not to mention its an easy way to get my protein in the morning without having to make eggs or anything like that. What can I say, I get kinda lazy in the offseason and what could be better and less work than a ready made shake...lol.
On the career side of things I have wrapped the last session of my DVD and am in the process of editing and polishing it up (don't worry I have a professional doing it, I'm not sitting here cutting it myself)..lol. It should be released in November but if any of you want to buy pre-orders of my DVD email me at fouadabiad@gmail.com or go to my site www.fouadmuscle.com. I think you if you guys like my blog you will like the DVD. It's an honest account of real training sessions, that means you won't see me screaming and throwing weights across the gym, its real. Not to mention you'll see me out at the club (yes big men can dance...lol), the chiropractor's office and bloopers between me and my friends which I am sure so many of you meat heads out there will appreciate.
I am excited for this year, I have achieved most of my goals that I have set out for myself over the course of my career. I have a couple more for next year and I don't know if I already wrote about them but I guess I will tell you all now. I don't normally do this, I like to keep this kind of thing between me and some close friends but here goes. My goals for 09 are to win a small show and crack the top ten at the Olympia. So with that being said I guess I'm gonna take my vitamins and hit the sack, I gotta a lot of growing to do.

Sacrifice Without Regret.
Fouad Abiad

The Mr.Olympia 2008

I know its been a couple weeks and I am late with my post so I sincerely apologize. I have been bogged down with the final week of the O prep and after traveling and all that good stuff I am finally home and able to take the time needed to explain whats going on in my life.

So, lets get to it. The last week of my prep was good, training was actually more intense than the weeks previous as the show got closer I got more and more excited which showed itself in workout intensity. My weight dropped all the way to about 239lbs so I think I hit the stage at around 242lbs or so which was a couple pounds lighter than the Europa. I think after dieting for so long I lost a couple pounds of muscle which was evident by the scale and by the way I looked on stage at the O.

Its four days after the Olympia now and I am finally able to take it all in and realize what I have accomplished but it wasn't the case right away. Here is an account of my weekend in detail for all of you.

First, I have to thank the Olympia committee for the way the take care of the athletes. For the first time in my bodybuilding career I felt like a professional athlete. My best friend Al came with me from Detroit airport and when we got into Vegas we were immediately amazed at the amount of people in the airport. After searching for a while we found our ride and it wasn't a taxi. The O committee had a limo waiting for me and it was a good feeling knowing they cared that much. The limo dropped us off at our hotel and I the weekend began.

After doing the grocery shopping and cooking out of the way it was time to relax. I had a feeling of constant tension and anxiety the first day there especially because I just didn't know what to expect from everything. It was time to get to the athletes meeting and I was still feeling anxious about things and not very happy just nervous. Then I walked into the meeting. All I thought was 'WOW, I am sitting in a meeting with the best in the world and I am not a spectator. They gave us all the speech about where to be at what time and what not and they kept saying 'You guys are the best in the world, we are here for you'. All I kept thinking was, they're talking about me too!

Thursday it was time for the Press Conference and my nerves were shot. I'm not sure why because I knew the Press Conference was really for the top six but I knew I would have to say something and that was nerve racking, public speaking isn't my thing. Yes I can dance around in a pair of XXS posing trunks but I get nervous saying a few words...lol.

It was exciting though, they lined us up backstage and we had time and all the guys we jawing at each other in good fun. Its amazing the magazines don't portray the guys in the sport the way they really are, there is so much camaraderie amongst them and honesty between them, they are all such good friends. The Press Conference started and I was so nervous I sweat my way through the whole thing...lol..I think I dropped most of my water just sitting there.

That night there was a Meet the Olympians event and it was fantastic. The fans are amazing and so loyal to there favorites. I have a new appreciation for bodybuilding fans and I want to personally thank all of you who came to me for advice or just to give your support. Looking over at Jay's table I saw a glimpse of what I wanted from the sport. Jay Cutler had a line leading to his table as long as the room and we were in a hall so you can imagine the amount of people. One day, one day...

Friday. The day of reckoning. This was the day I was so anxiety riddin about, prejudging was at eight o'clock and I wasn't ready mentally for it but I had no choice, I had to get it together and get out there and preform. I guess in a show of that magnitude you can never really be ready your first time. I pumped up and went out and I thought the individual round went well. Then it was time for comparisons and I had no day dreams of being in the top call outs but as time passed I realized I might not get called out. It was a very humbling experience and I have to tell you its hard riding high from getting the first call out in the previous two shows. Finally I was called out in the last call out and by that time the air had been let out of my balloon and I was hitting poses and feeling worse and worse with each pose. No one wants to be last even if it is the Olympia.

After Pre Judging my girlfriend was the first one to tell me I looked great and she was so proud of me, those words helped keep me from crying even though I wanted to be better for her. My brother had a limo waiting for me so we could celebrate and even though it wasn't a celebration he took me and my entourage out for dinner. I sat and tried to be happy but like I said it was a humbling experience and I wasn't able to fake it too well. My brother pulled me aside at one point in the night and told me to hold my head high and gave some good words of encouragement and love. Good family is important and without them I don't know where I would be. My sister and brother in-law also were there and the love they gave me got me through to the next night.

Saturday was the finals and I was in a little better spirits by that time, Al who wrestled for TNA and had a shot with the WWE gave me a good pep talk before the show and told me to go out and have some fun. I have to say after the hard ship of Friday it was all taken care of in the middle of my routine on Saturday night. I walked out on that stage and took a look into the crowd, there must of been 8000 people in the arena and flash bulbs going off and cheering louder than I have ever heard. At first it made me more nervous and then in the middle of my routine I turned around and took inventory of where I was in my mind and this sort of calm came over me and then I was extremely happy. I began to hit poses with authority and excitement, wanting more from the crowd and giving them all I could. I walked off that stage and I was teared up and feeling like I just accomplished more than I could have ever dreamed. I posed on the O stage and I rocked the crowd!

I sat down backstage by myself and looked around, all the ill feelings were gone and a feeling of elation, calm and joy came over me that I will never be able to explain properly in words. I began snapping pics of the backstage area and taking note of the life I had created for myself. What a feeling.

One of the highlights of the weekend was feeling like part of the boyz when sitting in the backstage area waiting to go on. Both nights Friday and Saturday I had a chance to chill in the waiting area with Dennis James, Melvin Anthony, Dexter Jackson, Craig Richardson and more as they made fun of each other, told stories of guest posings and stories of being onstage at certain shows. They made me feel like part of the group and for a guy who still has some of there pics on my wall at home, it made the entire trip worth it. They are all cool as hell and thank every one of them for treating me with rookie respect.

The finest moment for me came in the athletes meeting when I was talking to Toney Freeman (who was like an older brother to me this year) and I was telling him how awestruck and surreal all of this was. I was telling him I couldn't believe I was there and it was all too overwhelming to put into words. He looked at me and said "You wouldn't be here if you didn't belong here". Those words will carry me through my next year of training and I will make it my mission to be back at the O and hopefully next year I will be standing next to Toney when they make that first callout....

Sacrifice Without Regret.

Fouad Abiad

Two Weeks To Go!

Whats goin on people?

Lets get down to business first I guess.  I am two weeks out from the Olympia now and I have managed to ignore all the polls and the hype so I don't get too discouraged.  Instead I have managed to see the show for what it is and that is not only the SuperBowl of bodybuilding but also the All-Star game.  So I guess that makes me a bodybuilding all-star ;).  A good man told me that and it took me a while to see it that way but I do now and being top twenty in the world at anything has to give me pleasure.  Hell, if that doesn't give me any satisfaction than what will?

Anyway, my weight is down to 242lbs today so I am back down to my ideal weight that I was before the Europa.  It hasn't been easy and I have to admit these last four weeks have been the most trying of my career.  I wake up constantly staring at the ceiling of my bedroom trying to figure out how to get through the night without going on a free for all in the pantry.  Somehow I have managed to stay disciplined and I believe it will pay off since my hard work always has in one way or another.

Hitting the 242lb mark also affords me another small piece of satisfaction....no more cardio!  Well, I guess that would be the case if I wasn't obsessive compulsive.  I can't actually bring myself to not do any cardio, I did a little this morning and probably will do a little tonight too, I just hope I don't wake up even lighter tomorrow.  I am pretty sure at this point if I get any lighter I will only be burning muscle.

The gym has been weird for the last week or so.  I have been unable for the first time since I started dieting back in June to lift heavy.  I just can't muster the strength to get my old poundage's up.  Since I am obsessive compulsive I can't leave the gym unless my muscles are screaming in agony.  So, instead of doing 14 sets of heavy duty lifting I have been doing 20-26 sets for each bodypart to make up for the lack of weight.  Only time will tell if it gives my muscle a worse or better appearance.  Looking in the mirror now it seems like everything is all good so I guess I will keep it going for another week.

Enough of business though, you guys can read that stuff in any mag or any other blog.  Let me tell you about my neurotic side....lol.  I have been craving food for so long that I am actually not craving it anymore.  You got it right, I found the answer to all of North America's weight problem.  If you just stop eating good food for long enough your brain actually forgets what it tastes like and you don't crave it anymore...lol.  Just screwin around.  Seriously though, I actually am not really craving any specific foods anymore.  

Those of you who don't compete might not understand this but I am craving situations now instead of food.  You get to a point when you diet for too long where the food you used to crave no longer becomes the center of your attention.  The center of your attention becomes the situations that involve food.  For example, I no longer crave pizza, I crave the football party on Sunday's that surrounds the pizza.  Or, I no longer crave McDonald's but I crave the road trip where I stopped at every rest stop not to pee but for some McD's because I had that much time.  Or, I no longer crave the sushi in Toronto but I crave the laughter that went along with watching the waitresses gasp that I had eaten a boat of sushi made for four.  Anyway, I think you guys get the point.  Well, those situations aren't far away now and I will make sure I revisit that Sushi place because I think it was as enjoyable for the waitresses to watch me eat all that Sushi as it was for me to eat it...although the owner couldn't have been that pleased...lol

On a much higher note.  Today while doing my obsessive behavioural cardio, after about six minutes in where I usually begin to curse the ground I walk on, instead, a warm feeling came over me at a thought I had.   I thought to myself, next week I will be standing on the same stage as Jay Cutler and I earned the right to be there...

Sacrifice Without Regret,

Fouad 'Hoss' Abiad

What is Courage?

I'm three weeks out and I am sitting at my computer at 2:00am not able to sleep.  Its not because I am hungry (well maybe a little), its not because I am nervous and its not because I have been up all night partying (although I wish it were).  I am up this late and writing this blog because there are some things on my mind I need to express to you all.

People think bodybuilding is an easy sport, you just hit the gym, eat your food, take your supplements and the next thing you know you are standing on the Olympia stage.  People also think that bodybuilders are weak minded and have self esteem issues.  Well, in my two years as an IFBB pro I have learned that nothing could be further from the truth of either of those things.

The latter of those two points is the one I want to touch on.  As an amateur I had the privilege of being able to win my first couple shows and also win my class a few times.  As an amateur you enter each show expecting to win or if not expecting at least being able to imagine winning.  This makes it easy to really train hard, diet and focus since you know anything can happen and you have a chance of winning.  This is great for a bodybuilders contest prep but does nothing to strengthen you mentally for what lies ahead if you ever do break into the higher levels of bodybuilding.

I am three weeks out from the biggest show of my life and I have finally come to the realization that mental toughness is actually a pro bodybuilders most overlooked attribute.  I say this because I have entered five IFBB shows now and haven't won any of them.  The crazy thing is I knew I wasn't going to win any of them and yet I still trained to my full extent with every intention of winning or placing. That is the courage to fear losing yet still be your best and accept your fate.  

Somehow today I realized why this show is different from the rest.  I have had to reach deep into my soul for a toughness and focus I didn't think I had to get ready for this show.  You would think it would be the easiest one seeing as it is the Mr.Olympia contest, but your wrong for that exact reason.  For the first time in my pro career I have to get ready for a contest and train my hardest knowing I may not even crack the top ten.  I didn't realize how hard a task this would be until I started but it is wreaking havoc on me mentally.  There is a new level of courage I have taken on in doing this show because never before have I trained this hard to potentially be 15th.

This is why I say bodybuilders have a mental toughness that is commonly overlooked.  In no other sport do you find athletes pushing themselves to the limits knowing they won't win.  In football when the other team runs up the score more times than not you see the losing team fade and begin to give up.  This is the opposite in bodybuilding.  I am going into this show knowing I can't win and yet I have to train harder for this loss than I have ever trained for any of my wins.  The other side to this coin is an even greater testament to bodybuilders everywhere.  We train and diet and we compete.  We lose but we never stop.  Why?  There is something in our hearts that tells us if you keep pushing, if you keep training your time will come....that is mental toughness that is unmatched.  That is courage...

Sacrifice Without Regret,

Fouad 'Hoss' Abiad

Four Weeks Till the Big Dance

Hey everyone,

I missed last week because my brain was a mess from eating at buffets and trying to decide what I should do about the biggest show of my life. I decided that since it is the biggest show of my life it doesn't make to much sense to skip it.
Last Monday I returned to my office (the gym) and got my ass in gear on the step mill. When I weighed myself in the morning before my cardio I was a watery, fat, 276lbs. Eating at buffets and your soon to be mother in laws house for a week straight will do that to you. I gained an unhealthy 30lbs in just one week and now it was time to get it all back off.
So, literally, one step at a time I began to take it off. Chad got me back on my diet last Monday and I got myself back in the gym working hard. I have good training partners, one of which is getting ready for the Canadian Nationals so staying on the diet and getting into the gym has been relatively easy in terms of motivation.
I feel a little burnt out I have to admit but it is an honor to stand on the O stage and I really am pushing myself mentally and physically to bring the best package I can bring. This last week of training has actually been very intense and has rekindled the fire I had when I started this precontest season. Training at Metroflex with Johnnie Jackson, seeing Flex Lewis' work ethic and watching Branch Warren tear through iron like it was tissue has made me realize what real hardcore is. It brought new meaning to the term, 'when you think your training hard, someone else is training harder'. Those guys in Texas were animals. I'm sitting here in my air conditioned heaven while they're out there in the sweltering heat building physiques cut from stone. So I brought some of that mentality back with me and my training has been on fire.
Sleeping is a sad state of affairs for me. I go to bed only to wake up two hours later, not able to fall back asleep for hours sometimes. Its choppy and very light but I am getting as much as I can for now.
The diet has been pretty easy. I ate so much food after the Europa that I think I made myself sick of eating and actually was glad to get back on the diet. It has been one week and I have dropped twenty-three pounds......can you say water weight...lol.
So I am back down to 253lbs this morning and with another 8-10lbs to drop before the O things are moving in the right direction. Sometimes I have to pinch myself because I can't believe I am going to be standing on the Olympia stage. I remember it like it was yesterday, standing on the Windsor Cup stage at 21 years old. Sometimes I don't believe it and I am not sure I will until I actually get on the stage and feel what its like to pose with the best in the world.
Just a final thought to try and really express my feelings about it. A few nights ago I was on YouTube watching some of Kevin Levrone's posing video's. Now I always get nervous before shows but not because of the crowd, more so because of the competition and wanting to do well. This video brought about a new nervousness though. At the start it shows the camera behind him just as he is about to pull the curtain to get onstage. As he opens the curtain all you see is a see of people and camera's flashing. I just realized I will be going from posing in front of 500 people to posing in front of 10,000 people! Like I said a whole new ball game and an entirely new nervousness. I can't wait.....

Sacrifice Without Regret,
Fouad Abiad