My work schedule has been really, really hectic so to put in the time needed to compete at the level I want to be at is very difficult at this point! Personal training is just so busy at the moment and my online clientelle is really picking up nicely!  I have been waking up at 3am to do my cardio and only getting to bed after 11pm! im not complaining, i would rather be too busy than not busy enough! However one thing that has made the major difference and is my saving grace at this point is the fact that I’m working with IFBB Pro guru George Farah now. It happened at just the right time(about 4 weeks before KZN’s)for me because it pulled me out of a rut I was in! it’s awesome to not have to think about my own prep, all I do is send him pics and then he tells me what to do! Big pressure off me mentally! The only thing I have to concern myself with is applying myself to the very best of my ability to follow the plan he gives me. Honestly it has been one of the most demanding and hardest contest preps I have ever done but I do have such an awesome support team this year that has helped me more than I can explain in words! I literally haven’t had time to be able to cook my food so my whole family and friends have all put in some big effort to make sure I get all  my meals cooked everyday! So basically at the end of each day all I have to do is weigh out and pack my food into containers for the next day! I would just like to thank them all quick! My Mom and Dad for always supporting me and believing in me from day one when I was a skinny teenager!! Mom I know you are so strong and will be back to 100% sooner than we all think! Dad thanks for really getting in my corner this year 100%! My dad cooks my steak most days and does a fine job of it!! Tracey my girl and biggest supporter she helps me with everything from cooking to weighing to posing practice to driving me around when I literally can’t drive from exhaustion. My two training partners Jade and Jeff for pushing me when it counts the most. My dad’s girlfriend Sue for washing all my dishes everyday! LOL you won’t believe what a job that is!!! All of this couldn’t happen without Mario and Carole van Biljon and Chris and Robynne Fitzpatrick’s help so big up to them and everyone else at SSN! Also I couldn’t leave out all the supporters in Team Hudson, you guys and gals rock(listen out for them at the shows!!). Thanks so much Timmay!

With that said I want to wish everybody well for the IFBB South African champs this weekend! I know it’s going to be a cracker of a show with lots of competitors at their all time best! One thing is for sure, if anybody beats me it won’t be because they worked harder than me! I poured my whole life and soul into this one and I know it’s going to pay off! I can’t wait to show everybody the 2010 version! I will be hanging around after the SA’s so please come say hi! Always good to meet the fans and supporters!!

I drink this  4-5 times a day (between meals)

• 10g -15g SSN BCAA (Orange flavor)
• 3-5g SSN Crea- pump
• 5g-10g SSN L-glutamine powder
• 1/8 tsp Cerebros salt lite

Shake up in 1 liters water & 500ml Fanta zero, Ice tea lite (Both have zero carbs and calories) or similar carb/calorie free beverage of choice.

Been trying this “Anabolic combo” for the last 6 weeks leading up to the world Champs and I’ve been getting some amazing results (crazy pumps in the gym! and vascular all day long despite being on low carbs and calories)

Dare I say almost drug like results! SSN style….Gotta love that! J

On this note I can’t wait to try the new SSN product CytoGuard…looks awesome! Gonna have to add that one onto the stack to blast into the new year, fo sho!

Anyway Freaks I’m off! Monday I fly to Madrid in Spain…Wow! Can’t believe it’s finally here. Really excited to get this on!!! Compete against the best Classic bodybuilders on the planet . Catch you all when I get back… hopefully with some hardware to brag about LOL

Regardless of what happens! I know when I get on that plane that I’ve given it everything I’ve got, and I’m gonna have a great time J

And then more importantly I can have a decent steak without weighing it first! J

Train hard!

Later

Justin

As far as this year in review goes, I have to say that I’m pretty happy with how things went.  I think I really made some decent progress from last year and stepping into the heavyweight category was never going to be an easy task first time out.  However next year I will no longer have that excuse will I!!!

With that in mind I have taken the conscientious decision to really make 2010 the year for me….not that I have ever not taken my training seriously…..it’s just that the time has come now, after 10 years – 1999 to 2009, of consecutive top 3 finishers at the IFBB SA Champs, to take things to the next level.  2nd & 3rd places have been acceptable up to now because quite honestly I have never felt that I was at a level to be a real SA champion contender…..that was up until now.  I honestly feel that the groundwork has been done and at 37 years of age, the time to capitalise on it is now…..no more 2nd’s & 3rd’s!!!…..from now on my goals are simple – “Win KZN & SA’s in 2010 & place top 6 at Worlds”

Whilst I have always competed against myself rather than for a placing, my mindset is a little different right now in that I honestly believe that with another good year under my belt and if I’m at my very very best, I should be able to achieve those goals I have set.   I have never been more determined, more focused and more committed to a goal than I am right now!  I am so fortunate in having such a great support structure (from my wife, family, friends, staff & fellow SSN team mates to friends such as IFBB pro’s Gary Strydom & Francis Benfatto) that I really need to capitalise on these fortunes. In that regard I recently met with Francis Benfatto (for those who don’t know who Francis is….shame on you!  IMO one of the top 5 physiques ever to stand on a bodybuilding stage – see www.francisbenfatto.co.za ).  After some discussion we reached an agreement where Francis will work with me over these coming 12 months with the sole goal of bringing up my weak points and bringing a level of refinement and conditioning to my physique which I’m yet to achieve which will allow us to achieve the goals of winning next years provincials, nationals & placing top 6 at Worlds!

As a result I recently had Francis and his long standing girlfriend Adele, spend a few days here in Durban conducting a series of evaluation tests with me from which he has derived my first training program.  He will work with me (via e-mail, phone & in person where possible) on almost a daily basis and modify and adapt my plan when needed.  I am really excited about this as Francis has demonstrated a level of passion and commitment to this project beyond what I could have expected.  Not only that but he brings a seriously unique and interesting approach to bodybuilding that has really ignited my passion and enthusiasm for the coming year.  His approach in terms of diet, nutrition and supplementation is really pretty far from the norm and after only a few workouts “Francis style” I am more confident than ever that 2010 is gonna be my year!

More on Francis’ strategy (training, diet etc) to follow…..so check back regularly

Train with passion!

Mario

Justin is training and dieting like a freak, honestly I wish I had a quarter of his discipline! He’s one of the most hardcore dieters I’ve ever met! I think he’s been dieting for 6months now and still has another 6 weeks to go so im trying my best to support and help him to be his best ever come December. Our workouts are off the chart now that one of us is back to normal. I have enjoyed the last few weeks getting all the extra carbs but now its time to keep it clean and tidy… I like to stay a little leaner in the off-season even if it means I feel a little smaller. So from Monday onwards I will resume normal dieting with the occasional cheat meal… I remember hearing someone ask Dorian Yates how long it took him to get ready for the contest he was about to enter. He said it took him 10 years! That’s true, its not just the dieting phase that matters when preparing for a contest, it’s the end result of what you have worked for in your entire training career all the off seasons all the diets, all the times you cheated and ate junk food! So ask yourself this today if you are going to be stepping onstage for judgment next year: is what im doing today productive or assisting me for the contest next year. If you are really serious about competing your answer will be Yes. I know all the SSN Muscle Junkies are already planning for the coming year- things like what bodyparts need to improve, when to start dieting, how we go into peak weak etc etc… anyway my point im trying to make here is that if you fail to plan you are planning to fail. It is so important in this sport and i’ve seen many people at show time saying if only I did this or that I would have won… this year I got on the plane to SA champs knowing I had done everything I could, so even though I got 2nd I was so happy because I knew I was in the best condition of my life, I could have come last and I would have been just as happy!!! If you focus on being the best you can be then you will never be disappointed with your placing at a show. However if you decide that your placing is going to dictate your joy then you are setting yourself up for a big disappointment!

I just want to say a big thanks to all the people who supported me at the shows especially those in team Hudson(you know who you are-haha! ), and to my Mom and Dad for always believing in me and supporting me and also a big thank you to Mario, Carole, Chris, Mel and everyone else at SSN for believing in me and my abilities- here’s to a bigger and better 2010!!!

Eat Big to Be Big!!!

* As far as training goes I’m…

• posing nonstop for 20 minutes in the morning every day! – this is tough, at the end I’m drenched!
• I’m doing easy cardio (recumbent bike) with abs circuits most lunchtimes (10 min cardio, abs circuit, 10min cardio, abs circuit, 10min cardio) 3-4 days a week
• I do a Russian kettle ball class and another intense boxing/bag drill workout for my two upper body high intensity cardio work on Tuesday and Thursday.
• And one hill Sprint session (if my legs feel up to it) on one of my smaller upper body part gym days (normally at lunch time)
• As far as weight training I’m training with Andrew Hudson most days (One body part a day 6 days a week – legs get hit twice – One more quad dominant work out the other being more ham/glute emphasis)
• lots stretching & foam roller work in the evening after gym.

Trying everything I can for recovery right now… extra naps, massage, Epsom salts baths…
Sunday (Hi carb day) off – complete rest.

So as you can see I’m really giving it everything I’ve got right now… 49 days to go! 

Gotta get to it! Because no one’s going do it for you!

 We are already focusing on what needs to be done to improve and come in better next year – AND are really enjoying the training again. Leading up to the contests we are so depleted and over-trained that just generating enough motivation to get to the gym is difficult, let alone lifting the weights… So it’s back to hard training, and post workout carbs (Cytomaize is the bomb!)! Yeah, that’s the fun part of what we do…. Train – to eat – to grow.

 We will soon be launching the “Training Journal” function on the website to allow people to follow weekly diets and training plans, while we change our “phases” of training and preparation. It should be a useful tool to use as a reference to guide to those of you that are wanting to learn more about bodybuilding, or just about improving your physiques… remember that’s our primary goal – and it should be yours too! To make improvements to your physique each year so that you build a better, healthier, fitter, more toned body…. So WATCH THIS SPACE!!

 Follow our entire preparation strategy “step by step” while we prepare for the 2010 contest season, right here on the SSN website.

This weekend at the Samson Classic went really well I thought! … I ended up in 3rd place out of 16 athletes in a very competitive light weight class (under 70kg)

Not a first…but…I was thrilled none the less, as I managed to beat the guy who had won the overall lightweights at our IFBB SA Champs 4 weeks earlier, and quite a few other well known athletes too!

I got a lot of callouts but I think the guys who beat me just had more muscle for their height than me, our condition & shape IMO was comparable (I may even have been harder in some areas).Mario thought I may have had it, and one thing I really appreciate about his feedback is his honesty with me (not bias) and he is a very competent Body Building judge, so that tells me how close I was.
Feedback from others was my back was the best/most dry in the class, and I got better and harder the longer I posed and was on stage (the more I sweated) Whilst others faded from dehydration and being posing unfit.

So all things considered I was really pleased with how things went this weekend. As much as I improved from the SA’s and as good as some said I looked at that show, I still have some fat to burn to get the glutes freaky hard..so there is no time to become complacent!

Friday making weight was rough! But I followed my “making weight plan” exactly, after a intense back and bicep workout I went to the weigh in venue and got on the scale and my weight was 71,1 kg! So I walked on the treadmill for 15 minutes when I got on the scale it read 70kg on the dot! I literally jumped off the scale! LOL
I then followed everything I had planned out for Saturday. I think I did look better /drier prior to limiting water/food on Friday, so if I don’t have to do that for the world champs in 9 weeks it will be ideal.

I ate a lot on Sunday…some clean… some not clean! but stayed very depleted (face sucked in) the whole day …my body seems to handle a lot of carbs very well…More than anything It was just an awesome break not weigh my food or think about carb/protein amounts for one day after 20 weeks of dieting…I can see I’ve spilled over a bit Monday but was very vascular (my weight is up to 75kg on Monday) for breakfast Monday I ate a bit off plan but for the rest of the day I was back on track. Packed all my meals and carbs at about 100g for the remainder of the day…I’m was sore from all the posing… so Monday, Tuesday I trained but nothing crazy but will start picking proper cardio and weight training up again from today (Wednesday) My weight is down to 73kg today.

Just need to refocus now, and get back into that laser focused groove I had going!
Little bit over 8 weeks (58 days) to go till the IFBB World Classic bodybuilding Championships, so it’s time to turn up the heat and really Smash it!

Stay tuned..it’s definitely going to be exciting! 
Justin

This is my first post, on our new BLOG. Hopefully i can provide some meaningful information in the future, offering some updates to my training etc. and some tips where possible. Otherwise, just follow the SSN Junkies through the prep and daily life while we train, prepare and grow for the next competitive season!!

With little more than a day and a half to go till prejudging at the Samson Classic, the end of a FIVE month diet is in sight…. looking forward to some sort of normailty to life again.

The most difficult part of such a long contest season is the fact that the part we “love” is the training… but when overtrained, calorie deprived and cardio’d out…. it makes the best part the most difficult!! Damn its difficult to even muster up the energy to go into the gym to train… looking forward to going back into the gym FULL OF CARBS and ready for an intense workout or two!

A note to all you “Junkie followers”… feel free to join me in my upcoming workouts, but beware they are going to be brutal, heavy and intense as i have learnt some new techniques over the last few months to really turn up the intensity button!

Who wants to join legpress next saturday or sunday…. try sets of 20-30 reps with 400kgs. Its very easy to slap 600kgs-700kgs on the machine and rep out 8 or 10, but when you start going above 15 reps… you wish you had called in sick that day!!

Come see us on stage this weekend at the Samson Classic – 10/10/09 at the ICC in Durban. ALL THE SSN JUNKIES will be there to give KZN a big shout out, and really hope we give our home town crowd something to shout about… and silence all the “haters”….

See you in the gym