| This article presents Mitch's contest preparation diet, and some special exercises (with video) to help you continue getting lean this summer. The second part of this series will give you more details about his training plus additional video. |
Video Transformation Article
From Over-Weight To Professional Bodybuilder
"Persistence and belief in myself keeps me going.
A plan of action gets me results."
Mitch Edmunds
Professional Drug-Free Bodybuilder
WNBF
Mitch Edmunds has only just begun to realize his lifelong dream of becoming a professional bodybuilder. In 2004 Mitch entered and won the Northeast American INBF contest. With this first place win, Mitch earned his WNBF pro card. Already, in 2005 Mitch has competed in his first WNBF sanctioned contest in preparation for the main event coming this November, in New York City.
While this dream-come-true story is a common goal for many people visiting Bodybuilding.com, it was a special accomplishment for Mitch considering this goal was realized at age 39. It was just a few years earlier that Mitch essentially just started bodybuilding; serious bodybuilding.
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Mitch Was A Big Man With A Big Appetite.
But What Mitch Needed Most To Realize His Dream Of Becoming A Professional Bodybuilder Was A Bodybuilding Program That Worked.
Mitch always had a burning desire to become a bodybuilder, and like most people was just going through the motions. But as you can see from Mitch's before photo he was lacking a comprehensive plan of action to become the bodybuilder he wanted to be. It was a stroke of luck that would eventually set Mitch on the path to bodybuilding success.
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Once Mitch Got His Training, Nutrition Plan & Supplement Program Perfected, His Awesome Physique Developed To A Point Of
Championship Proportions.
Enter Health & Body
At 6 foot 3 inches, and who knows how many pounds, Mitch teamed up with John Wilkins, person trainer and co-owner of Health and Body, located in Sparta, NJ. John first took Mitch through his cross-training program, which combines weight lifting and aerobic conditioning exercises, with the main focus on losing fat, while maintaining or building up muscle.
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Mitch With Personal Trainer & Co-Owner Of Health & Body John Wilkins,
Working On Resistance Training.
In just a few months Mitch shed the excess body fat. This was my turning point, Mitch explained. Once I was finally able to see my musculature that was hidden by the body fat, this inspired me in new ways to reach my ultimate bodybuilding goals.
With this new motivation, the next step was to create a plan that would work in light of Mitch's personal life. Mitch was working 2 or 3 jobs at the time, and as a father of two daughters, with grandchildren, Mitch's time was limited. But after consulting with John Wilkins, Mitch worked out a training schedule that included 1.5 to 3 hours of training a day, 5 to 6 days a week.
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Mitch With Personal Trainer & Co-Owner Of Health & Body Steve,
Checking On Mitch's Aerobic Exercise Progress.
 Nutrition & Supplementation
On the nutrition side, planning, planning and more planning was key. Mitch follows a macronutrient intake of 55-50% carbohydrates, 25-30% protein, and 15 to 20% fat.
This is spread out over several meals per day, with total daily caloric intake between 4,100 to 4,500 calories a day for a few months during phase 1 of contest preparation, followed by about a 2,500 to 3,000 calorie per day nutrition plan 4 weeks before the contest (see Mitch's exact eating plan below).
Mitch's supplement program includes using a Myoplex bar as part of one meal, and taking a special formulation 3 times a day called Explosive Growth Blend that contains all the top scientifically proven muscle building ingredients along with the top fat metabolizing ingredients.
Since 2004, Mitch's program has increased his muscle mass by over 20 pounds.
This is impressive, but more so when you consider Mitch just turned 40 years old. Since Mitch's contest in May 2005, his next six months approaching his contest in November is to pack on some more muscle and fine-tune his symmetry.
Size & Symmetry
Mitch's training is focused on increasing his muscle size and symmetry, while maintaining low body fat levels. This will help shorten the amount of time it takes for his contest preparation in the fall.
In quest of symmetry, Mitch takes a team work approach, which includes careful examination of photos each month to focus on building muscles in a sequential basis.
 
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Mitch's Training Is Focused On Size & Symmetry.
For example, in addition to following a total bodybuilding training program, Mitch focused this past year on building the inner thighs and traps. See the video clips for the exercises of choice that resulted in producing visual results fast.
Take Home Lesson
Mitch's transformation story again underscores the importance of applying your effort, in the context of an effective training and nutrition program.
The numerous articles found at Bodybuilding.com are designed to help you keep on track with your core training and nutrition program, as well as providing new information based on findings in science and from experts and professional bodybuilders like Mitch.
You will learn how you can build extreme muscle mass without the use of drugs, like Mitch did.
Mitch's Pre-Contest Diet Plan
Mitch follows this diet plan for 4 weeks before the contest. This is what he has found works best for him. It is about 2,800 to 3,400 calories per day. Keep in mind that Mitch is already at or below 5.5% body fat levels before using this diet to get extra ripped and defined.
Mitch spaces the meals to be eaten about 2.5 hours apart from each other.
Meal 1
Explosive Growth Blend before meal
6 egg whites
1 cup of cooked oatmeal
Meal 2
Meal 3
Explosive Growth Blend before meal
1 cup cooked spinach
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 cup cooked lean ground turkey
Meal 4
1 boiled sweet potato
8 ounces cooked chicken breast
Meal 5
Explosive Growth Blend before meal
1 boiled sweet potato
8 ounces cooked tuna or other fish
8 cooked spinach
Meal 6
4 egg whites
Cooked onions / peppers
Mitch drinks plenty of water all day long. He uses cooking techniques like boiling and microwaving to avoid adding oils and fats to his foods during cooking.
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Good Fats, Bad Fats.
This article will focus on fats, the recent health claims approved by the FDA regarding keeping your diet healthy with the right kinds of fats (the good fats), and how to apply this to a bodybuilding diet.
[ Click here to learn more. ] |
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Some strong points about Mitch's 4 week contest preparation nutrition plan is that it contains a healthy balance of carbohydrates, protein and fats and it uses top quality sports supplements. Mitch's nutrition plan is divided over 6 meals per day, which is also a strong point especially during a period of stimulating loss of body fat. This helps keep the body in a fat burning mode.
When you over eat even one meal a day this conditions your body to store the excess calories as fat, making your metabolism a fat building metabolism.
Spreading your food intake out over several meals, like Mitch has done, will prevent overeating at meals, and condition your body to store less fat, and use the nutrients from your meals for energy and tissue growth and repair; a muscle building and fat burning metabolism.
Some weak points about Mitch's 4 week contest preparation diet is that it might be hard to follow because it lacks diversity of foods, so you may need to substitute different types of foods if your taste buds get fatigued or you don't particularly like these foods. This diet may be low in fiber from some people which can be adjusted by including some high fiber foods or supplements.
Due to the lack of fruit and vegetable diversity there may be a concern for suboptimum mineral and vitamin intake, which can be corrected by the supplements Mitch uses, which contain vitamins, minerals, protein and loads of other ingredients.
In addition to these, a multivitamin and mineral supplement can also be taken to balance the essential nutrient intake out. Mitch's 4 week eating plan is intended for short-term use, for use by healthy people and might not be suitable for everyone.
The Video Clips
I video taped Mitch over a 4 month period as he prepared for his May 2005 contest. I videoed Mitch performing his exercises and also his basic posing each month for 4 months.
In this first part I have released the following video footage for your viewing and instruction:
Time Sequence Video Clips
The First sequence is how Mitch's back changes as he loses body fat during a 12 week period, as seen while Mitch performs the dumbbell shrugs.
The second time sequence is comparing Mitch posing before and after 12 weeks, just before his contest. In the second part of this posing sequence Mitch is at about 3 - 4% body fat, including insets of his before posing so you can compare side by side the incredible progress he made.
Exercise Video Clips
Now we have 3 exercise video clips; two for the abs and one for the traps. The two abs exercises are included to help you get your abs to pop this summer and keep them popping. The first exercise is a Russian twist from the sit-up position.
The second exercise is a Health & Body signature exercise, the sit-up with alternating leg-ups. Mitch performs these exercises 3 to 4 days per week, 4 sets of each exercise, 20 to 30 reps, usually in the evenings, with his main weight training exercises being performed in the morning.
Mitch weight trains 5 days per week and during pre-contest training performs 5 to 7 days of aerobic exercise for about 30 minutes per session, after weight training on weight training days.
Part 2 of this article will contain more details about Mitch's entire contest preparation training and nutrition program.
Copyright © 2005 by SUPPLEMENTFACTS International LLC www.supplementfacts.com
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. Contact dan@supplementfacts.com with questions regarding this article.
Notice: This article is not intended for use as a substitute for consultation with a qualified medical practitioner. If you have symptoms of any illness, it is essential that you see your doctor without delay.
dan@supplementfacts.com
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