June 23, 2009

Well, I was dreading this day and it has come. For some reason the cravings that weren't there at all over the last eight weeks have all of a sudden just shown up all at once. Last night I didn't care about food and it was pretty much the last thing on my mind. Until today winning the show has overcome all other thoughts. Today, thoughts about pizza, doughnuts, and chocolate ice cream all broke into my mind and wouldn't leave as much as I tried. I think I know the reason and it happened all at once.
Somebody please explain to me why people feel the need to watch the food channel while they do cardio. I always do my cardio on an empty stomach in the morning. My cardio of choice is the stepmill (the moving stairs) and I trained legs yesterday so it wasn't feeling very good anyway. To top it off there are about five T.V's in front of the stepmills at my gym and three of them were on food channels! What is wrong with people?! Why would watching chefs making delicious food on t.v make you want to train harder or make cardio any easier? I do forty minutes in the morning and today it felt like four hours because I had to watch people make gourmet pizza and some other stuff that I don't even know what it was but it looked so damn good...lol.
So I finish up and leave the gym and for some reason I couldn't get the food out of my head. It was like all the fast food signs were brighter, more colourful and actually were the only signs I could see..lol. Then I get home and I had mail, so I thought. In my mail was a Pizza Pizza flyer, a KFC flyer and a McDonlald's coupon book. Man when it rains it pours.
Well I am happy to say that the warrior in me was able to eventually (after burning my mail) get my head on straight and block any negative thoughts about food or anything else. There is only thing on my mind right now and that is winning this show coming up and I don't want to give anyone an easy road by messing up my diet and looking like shit.
People always ask me if I feel lucky because I don't have a normal nine to five job? I am always very grateful for my career choice and that I was able to follow my dream but today I actually felt like I worked eight hours in a factory. I barely got out of bed this morning, for some reason after a great leg workout my body needs lots more sleep. When I finally did get out of bed and made my way to the stepmill at the gym, it was a chore with every step since my quads were already burning after the first three minutes in. After coming home to eat I was out to the grocery store to stock the fridge and then cook more food. By the time that was done I was back at the gym for a forty set training session of chest and tris and before I could leave I did another cardio session. When I got home I sweaty and gross and I swear I felt like I did when I was eighteen and I was working in a factory. Just getting home exhausted and sweaty, getting into the shower all recalled those memories of real blue collar work.
Don't ever let anyone tell you what we bodybuilders do is easy, even if it looks that way from the outside looking in. When its done properly and pushed to the very limits it can be one of the hardest jobs on earth. All that being said I wouldn't trade it for the world! My dad was a blue collar man and if anything when I work this hard it makes me feel like him. That makes me proud...

Sacrifice Without Regret,
Fouad 'Hoss' Abiad

8 Weeks Out

Wow, its been a good week! I have been crushing the iron and lifting more than I ever have at the eight week mark. Usually as most competitors know the closer you get to a show the weaker or lower on energy you become. I have been dieting for six weeks and I am getting stronger each week but still getting tighter. This week I broke a couple of my records and that has got me on fire and ready for the coming week.
Front squats are a tough thing to master and I never really did them on a regular basis until this year. Even though I was doing them week to week I was having trouble mastering the form and getting the feel. In the last few weeks I have really begun to nail it and its paying off. I broke my front squat record this time front squatting 405lbs for 10reps. I know that doesn't sound like a lot when you watch Ronnie front squat 600lbs for fun but for me it is a personal best with that many reps.
Incline press has also been a sticking point for me over the year and as of late its become one of my favorite exercises. Again there are plenty of bodybuilders out there that can lift more so I am by no means bragging but for me I broke another record of mine. I incline pressed 405lbs for 10 reps also this week for two sets and then went on to dumbell press 170lb dumbells for three more sets. I have never done that kind of weight back to back like that so I am feeling good. If I can stay healthy I am going to try to keep this up all the way into the show, within reason of course.
Hunger is still not an issue as I am still getting in 4500cals or so. Someone emailed me this week about wondering how I was eating that many calories and still losing weight. Here is the best way I can explain it.
First off I train twice a day now on some days which is something I have never done. I have a fast metabolism to begin with, not Dexter Jackson fast but I can lose weight pretty easily. So now there are days where I do cardio in the morning then eat, train a bodypart, eat some more and then train a different bodypart. This type of training is really keeping my body burning like a furnace. Secondly and maybe most importantly, all the food I am eating is as clean as can be. I am eating low glycemic carbs this year which is also something I haven't ever done before. Oatmeal, Yams and brown rice are the sources and protein sources are chicken, fish and steak. That's it, that's all I am eating every day, no fats, no sugars, no empty calories. So that being the case my body is using it all to rebuild from two a day workouts and whatever it isn't rebuilding with it is using for energy. Nothing is being wasted.
Over the years in my bodybuilding career I have been somewhat of a homebody. I like to be home to make sure I am getting my meals in on time and that way I can also make sure the quality of the food I am eating is up to par. On a more picky not I have been blessed to be able to make a living from bodybuilding so I can be home to eat meals fresh and not packed in cold Tupperware containers. This type of lifestyle has lead me to missing out on many occasions because I have to eat every couple hours so home base is the place to be for me.
I decided this year that I wasn't going to let my eating schedule dictate what I do and don't do this summer. I have always competed in late summer meaning I am always dieting when everyone else is sitting on a patio somewhere enjoying the weather.
This weekend we had a pretty big event going on in Windsor with concerts and parties going on in the streets. I thought why not make this the weekend I change things. So I ate my meal and headed out with a few friends. They were all drinking, partying and eating great food. To be honest it didn't bother me, I mean I am always interested in a cold beer while under the hot sun but I was OK. I think today showed me that you can still be a great bodybuilder and have a good social life, just because you're out doesn't mean you have to eat crappy food and it doesn't mean you have to be drunk.
All this being said, if I notice even the slightest bit of change in my performance in the gym or in my physique, its back to my old ways. Nothing is more important to me than getting better each year and reaching the top of the sport. Till next week, keep the injuries in check, the iron clanging and the motivation to be the best at its peak!

Sacrifice Without Regret,
Fouad 'Hoss' Abiad

9 Weeks Out

The show is getting closer and closer and even though things have been hard I am getting more and more excited by the week. Some bodybuilders think its easy to stay in offseason mode, just eating whatever you want and training but for me it gets tiring. There comes a point after four or so months when I just get sick of the offseason and being chubby and really look forward to getting down to business.
This past week brought some challenges but also gave me some hope. In the last blog I spoke about some of the injuries I have had and was a bit discouraged. I have had a hamstring problem for the last few weeks and my therapist has been working on it to no avail. My therapist mentioned it might be my back, as he named some of the symptoms that go with low back pain and disc problems. I really began to identify with it and told him that those were the symptoms I was feeling. This week he began working on my low back on the traction table and also making daily back adjustments. Its only been a week of these treatments and I am already starting to feel better and am able to train pain free! I think a couple more weeks with him working on my back and I will be 100% again feelin good.
This small injury has really taught me to have some variation in my training. For example my back training this week was mostly machine work to keep my low back stable. For legs I had to make other small changes, instead of hack squats which were too much for my low back I had to do reverse hacks which still gave me a burn without slowing the healing process. I guess what I am trying to get across to you all is sometimes when you are training bad things can happen. Instead of throwing in the towel you have to find new ways and have an open mind about how you can really make the muscle work.
I am still growing as the weeks go by, I am at 275lbs and getting leaner. It feels really strange because I am accustomed to the scale dropping and that ends up meaning I am looking better. This time the scale isn't budging, in fact it is going up but I am looking better week by week. I can also tell that the diet is really starting to work because I am getting very hungry in between meals. I am still eating what I was eating two weeks ago but my metabolism has really kicked into high gear. Some of you have emailed me about specifics. Daily I am eating three red meat meals, two fish meals and one chicken making up all six meals with no shakes. This is also the first time I have ever eaten six meals a day without shakes. I think I like it but it does get expensive. Carbs are simple, oatmeal, yams, brown rice and the occasional salad just for some flavor.
Usually as I start to get excited about a show I begin to visualize the stage and how I am going to do. Its not something I do consciously but most of you know how it is when you are doing cardio or in between sets on the gym floor, sometimes your mind just wanders. This is the first pro show I am entering in my IFBB career that I really feel like I have a chance at winning. I can see the callouts and I can see the battle, everyday it looks a little more clear in my mind.
I don't know if its this visualization that has given me the strength in the gym but this week I resumed lifting some of the weight that I haven't lifted in a long time. Leg press - 18 plates a side, incline press - 405lbs for ten reps. I know there are bodybuilders out there that are much stronger than me but for me putting those numbers up while in the middle of a diet is very rare indeed.
Before I let you guys go this week there is one more thing I know of that has given me strength and I have thought of it everyday in and out of the gym. A very good friend of mine told me on Sunday that her daughter was diagnosed with cancer. After hearing something like that it makes all your aches and pains, personal problems and financial issues all seem so insignificant. It made me realize that I have my strength, my family, my friends and I should be grateful for everyday with them. My friend called the other night to tell me about how strong her daughter has been in the hospital and how she hasn't even cried through all the poking, prodding and surgeries. I found a lot of inspiration in that young women's strength and decided that I will dedicate the Tampa Bay Pro show to her for giving me the strength to get through it all and be my best.
The show is getting closer and I am fighting harder and harder, my time is now and I have to break out at this show. I am shooting for the veterans and trying to make my mark, this is the show and this is my year!

Fouad 'Hoss' Abiad
Sacrifice Without Regret!

Nothing can stand in my way!

So we're a little over ten weeks out from Tampa Bay now and things are rolling right along better than I could have imagined. There have been a few setbacks, hence the title but overall I am happy with the progress I have been making and still baffled by the weight loss even while eating five thousand calories a day.
So lets get to the setbacks so you all can understand what we really go through on a day to day basis as IFBB Pro's. One of the goals this year was to really bring up the legs all around, hams, quads and calves. To do this we have been blasting them twice a week, heavy and high volume, the perfect recipe for injury. Most bodybuilders either go heavy or they go high volume but because of the imbalance in my physique I have had to do both all year. In the process I have managed to overwork and inflame my tendons in my knees and my elbows.
On a daily basis you could walk into my apartment at any time of day and find me with ice packs wrapped around my knees and most likely an ice pack on deck for one of my elbows. Its the only way to keep the inflammation down and allow me to keep training and growing. Anyone who has ever had tendon inflammation of any kind can understand the pain that I go through on a daily basis. These are just the day to day things that I have to live with as I try to grow and become better at what I do.
On top of the day to day challenge of keeping me feeling good enough to train I have minor tears that also come with the territory of lifting heavy for long durations of time. For example, I have a minor tear right now in the top left area of my calve and it makes it hard to do any type of leg curl. I am also battling a hamstring tear that I actually tore about nine years ago now but it has been aggravated again and I am getting it worked on. These are just two of the many minor tears I have dealt with this year. Maybe other bodybuilders are training injury free all year round but I would bet my pay on the fact that anyone training as hard as I am is going through similar problems. As I said its part of the territory so I'm not trying to complain but just trying to educate you all about some of the things you have to look forward to as you become great bodybuilders.
That's pretty much it for setbacks so I guess I am lucky that nothing really bad has happened and I am thankful everyday to still be doing what I love. On a more positive note as I said before I am still eating about five thousand calories a day and still seeing minor changes in my physique everyday. I actually am heavier now than when I started my diet but I am much leaner so I guess that means I am growing into the show which is something I have never done before.
In the past I have always gotten really heavy and then cut cals to help get me in shape. I think that approach worked because it always got me really ripped for the stage. The bad side of that approach for someone like me could have been that it made me stringy and smaller as I dieted. I have a fast metabolism so I think cutting calories drastically burns a lot of mass as well as fat in my body. With the contest diet appraoch Hany is using with me and if I can keep lifting heavy (and its getting heavier every week) all the way into the show I think you will all see a completely different physique. I am excited at what I am seeing so far and can't wait to hit the stage.
So at ten and a half weeks out my weight is 275lbs in the morning on an empty stomach, still eating lots and lifting offseason weight but precontest. So far a great report card as far as I can see. Who knows you all might be witnessing my first pro win in a few months...

Sacrifice Without Regret,
Fouad 'Hoss' Abiad

So it begins...

What's going on everyone? I'm back at it for the 09' season and getting ready to make a bigger impact than last year at the Tampa Bay Pro in August. I started dieting a couple weeks ago and figured it was time to get back to typing and letting you all know how messed up things really get as I get hungrier and crankier in the weeks to come.
As most of you reading this know I am working with Hany Rambod this year so the diet and training around now is really new to me. In years past working with Chad Nicholls we really only dieted for about eight weeks for most shows, Hany had me start at the fourteen week mark. I am hoping the longer diet makes a difference as we are trying to grow into the show instead of lean down. In all honesty I'm not looking forward to dieting for an extra six weeks than I do normally but if it means a big W at the end of the struggle than that's what it has to be.
One of the benefits of working with Hany this year was being able to keep my weight down throughout the offseason. I am usually known for getting very heavy in the offseason, hence the name 'Hoss' and it has worked to date in helping me obtain size, usually 5-10lbs a year since I started. The problem with this is now that I am at a higher level if I keep doing what I was doing and eating mass quantities of food at each sitting my stomach is going to start growing with the rest of me. That's why this year we kept meals small and my weight in check, although only time will tell if it was the right way to go when I hit the stage.
The other great thing about growing into the show so far has been being able to eat more while dieting. For instance, right now I am eating about 350-500g of carbs depending on the day so I am still relatively nice to people..lol. I am going to try and keep my demeanor a little more civil this year, being hungry isn't really an excuse to be an ass.
Training this year is really different for me. So far I am only doing cardio six times a week which is nice but I have three days where I train with weights twice a day. This is new for me, I have never done more than one training session a day and those three days are really taking it out of me. To counter that I am only training with weights five days a week instead of my normal six so I think it balances out in the end. The other main difference is we are doing anywhere from 30-40 sets per bodypart so its fine now but I wonder as I get down in carbs and low on energy how its going to feel to get through that. Like I said its all new and you guys can come along for the ride.
Overall I think it was a good offseason and I am very curious to see what the finished product is. As the last couple weeks have passed I have begun to see small changes in my physique as for as fat loss and that has aloud me to see some of the muscle gains that have come through hard work this year. We'll keep this blog all business but I think most of you know that followed along last prep as I get crazy in the head so does the writing!
If any of you have questions or if there is anything you want me to write about feel free to email me, fouadabiad@gmail.com.

Sacrifice Without Regret,
Fouad 'Hoss' Abiad

Cover Number Two!!

What's goin on people. I have been busting ass in the gym to bring you guys a new package for 2009. I am really looking forward to the Tampa Bay Pro in August and I wanna say I am not just looking to qualify for the Olympia but it would be nice to get my first pro show win under my belt! I don't like to make predictions so I won't but I will just say, I am past the point of just being happy to be there....I want more! Wantings not enough though so I have been killing myself to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

At one point this past month I had to take a moment to reflect on my career. MuscleMag International decided to feature me on their cover for the second time and I was really excited about that. I think the cover turned out great (if I might say so myself...lol), thanks to Paul Buceta for his awesome photography. I don't really know how to express myself about it I guess I just want things to keep rolling the way they are so I gotta keep killin it in the office.

Training is going well. I suffered a minor back injury a few weeks back but after some extensive chiro work I was able to keep smashing the weight without really missing a beat. I am still lifting heavier than I ever have before and I have maxed out the dumbell's for some exercises and some of the machines as well. I guess now I have to break records with reps when it comes to those movements.

My goal this year along with Hany's was to really overhaul my physique by bring up my strong points and making sure the lagging ones weren't lagging anymore. One of the goals was to bring up the quads which I have been killing myself in the gym to do. I am bangin out legs twice a week heavy and high volume and although I am seeing some growth its not what I want yet. I guess it means I just have to keep hammering away and let nature take its course. I seem to be stuck when it comes to the squat at a weight I am trying to break but my body just won't let it happen...its discouraging but I gotta keep reminding myself I am a bodybuilder not a powerlifter, the size will come with time.

Not too much has happened on the personal front. I am toying with the idea of adding a supercharger to my Mustang but still haven't decided if that's what I want or if its better to wait for the 2010 Camaro to hit the road. Maybe you guys should weigh in and let me know what you think. I have always been a Mustang guy so I kinda feel like a traitor looking at the Camaro but man, its a nice ride. If I get it, you guys will be the first to know.

The ASC is a few weeks away now and I am really looking forward to it. I'm not competing in it this year because I just don't feel ready to stand in that line up but I am working a booth there. You guys can find me at the MMI booth or at the Muscletech booth all three days. I will have shirts, pics and DVD's for anyone interested but I am happy to just say hello and snap a pic with you so don't be shy to pop in! Oh, if you see me out at one of the clubs, I wasn't drinking if Hany asks....

Alright, that's about all for today, just a short one to keep you all kinda informed. If there is anything you guys wanna know about that I haven't written about, feel free to email me at fouadabiad@gmail.com and let me know.

New Year, New Strategy

Hey everyone, I know, I feel horrible its been over a month but I have a lot to go over with you now so its better than getting a boring one every week...right? Anyway, some of you have been busting my balls about updating you on things so here goes.
Okay so you guys know now that Hany is now my nutritionist and things seem to be working better than I could have imagined. Last time we talked I was bitching about my joints being sore and not being able to move. Well its been a little over a month now and my body is really responding and getting used to the heavy pounding of the iron.
I'm wearing Patella Tendon bands for my legs when I train them and the bands seem to really be helping and I have really increased the amount of joint md I am using. On a really positive note I have been breaking some of my old records and I am really happy with the strength gains. Just today I did 8 plates a side for hacks and 4 plates a side for front squats, both things I couldn't do before.
I think the clean eating and taking all my vitamins and minerals everyday is really helping. In the past I was of the impression that I only needed my vitamins and minerals in precontest mode but this year I have kept them in and it may have been the added help I needed to keep me recovering and growing.
On the personal side of things life is finally settling down and things are really falling into place. I just signed a three year deal with MuscleTech, so career wise things are moving in the right direction.
I know I told you guys I bought a condo and man that has been stressful. I took possession back at the beginning of December and the place was in rough shape. I had a friend come in and start tearing it apart. It has been about a month of renovating now but the place is redone from top to bottom. It was decorated by me personally and I must say I think I did a pretty good job...lol, maybe a career in interior decorating after bodybuilding...lol?
Anwyay so that just finished up today and I have all sytems go on the new place. At the same time I just finshed up packaging and sending out all the pre-ordered DVD's. I think the DVD turned out great and I think anyone who watches it will get a real idea of who I am and how I got here which was the reason for making it in the first place. This one was more of an introduction to me and the next one will be the hardcore training vid you guys love so much.
Well, that's about all and I know it doesn't sound like much but with the holidays and the renovations it just seemed like so much. I got out for the holidays and hung out with some old friends and maybe had a little too much fun. I can't be faulted for that though, we all need to let loose once in a while so that's what I did. The fun's over now and its back to work, I need 09' to be my biggest year yet and I have a lot to prove to myself as a bodybuilder. If all goes well and I can stay healthy you guys will see a new and improved Fouad in August at the Tampa Bay show. Till next time...

Sacrifice Without Regret,
Fouad 'Hoss' Abiad