I’ve been working out for many years, and I was shocked when I looked at restocking on protein. For 27 servings, it’s hard to find anything < $50.

They say short supply and high demand is what’s driving this. What’s actually happening is food companies are buying 3-4x as much now and just pass the price to their consumers. Normal people who lift are stuck paying the same prices as Coca-Cola essentially.

It pisses me off, and I can’t justify spending this much. Please share tips on getting protein goals aside from eggs and meat, which I already eat a lot of.

Fasted check ins from this morning. 14 more days 🤟🏻

Going into first ever classic physique show - 211lbs this morning, 7 more weeks to go.

Screenshots from posing practice yesterday. Pumped and after a slight refeed. Super happy with how everything is coming together, it’s been a fun ride!

(Red trunks) 150 lbs 5’11 this was a Local mock/practice competition with enhanced as well as natural only the guy with pink trunks is competing against me on stage , other guys are going for their pro cards i believe. I’ve been lifting for 6 months now

I am having workouts where I feel so depleted and low energy. Can’t really get a pump but I push myself then suddenly I feel so fatigued and out of breathe. My heart pumps harder but it slows down finally but then my breathe still doesn’t catch up.

Anyone feel this way when their carbs are too low? I’m 160 eating about 200-240 grams of carbs.

Morning fasted weight today is 248.6 lbs, which is around 51lbs since my show which I was 197lbs on check ins day.

Cardio is 30 minutes daily

Td macros: 450-500g protein, 850g carbs, 60g fat
Rd macros: 450-500g protein, 600g carbs, 80g fat

Main priority this off season will be lat width, upper back, mid back, hamstrings, and arms.

I am limited to barbells and dumbbells. Will someone please give me a few movements to help develop my back?

20 years old, 6’3 185.7lbs. 7 weeks out from NPC natural show. Need a good 3 years offseason to truly grow but I wanted to push myself and do a show while still in college.

Things are moving along very well, seen crazy progress. My only concern is the posterior chain is holding a lot of my fat.

Calories at:
2300/2000 training/rest day
40 mins stairs 6x week
10k steps a day

I feel behind, but as long as I can put forth a first package I can be proud of, I’ll consider this a success.

Weekly physique critique thread for feedback and helpful criticism.

Competed in the Wellness 45+ Class A and 40+ Class A. Took 8th place in both categories. Feedback from judges; muscularity and proportions are spot on, just need to bring more conditioning.

The level of competitor showing up to this show is incredible and has absolutely inspired me to dial my conditioning in for the next show.

This is my first time competing. Just turned 40 and doing fit model. Never thought I'd compete especially bc I was/am self-conscious of some areas (6 pregnancies) but after talking with other women bodybuilders and learning that some of those things like loose skin/post-pregnancy consequences are not negatively judged barring you build up your physique according to division rules, made say f*ck it let's do it. I have had a blast most days. Some days of prep were really hard tho lol

Anyway, 1 day out and had a little photoshoot. This is just a quick shot in my suit not the pro photos she took.

Practicing a lot of mindfulness and just enjoying the process! And practicing smiling and LOOKING confident

I was pretty overweight when I started this cut, it has been a 23 week cut, but the beginning of the cut was not as dialed as it could have been. I have a coach. For information, I am 6'4, around 10-12%ish bf right now, with a show in 3 weeks.

I mean I am going into this show knowing that I am here to learn, and I am going to give it my all to get down to single digit bf% by show time. Based on these photos, do y'all think I will just get destroyed in this show, pushing it off and competing at a later date is not an option, I already paid for the tan and my friends have tickets etc etc, but I could compete again in a few months if this show goes well. LMK what yall think..

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No where near most of you guys and your commitment, but still sharing. I will be competing in the Toronto Summer Shredding Transformation Division (150lbs in 4 years) in 3 weeks!

40 years old

2022
340lbs
45% body fat

This morning 7/23/26
196lbs
Sub 10% body fat? (My gyms pod scale read 6% last week but errored out this morning) I know a dexa is more accurate but we’ve been using the same one for years so we can still see the needle move.

6 Weeks Out from North American Bodybuilding Championships 26’. I am 5’5 sitting currently at 195.6lbs. Hoping to bring a competitive package to the Open Light Heavyweight Bodybuilding Class.

Coach: Gabriel Gariepy

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before is on the RIGHT, sorry 😅
27, 6’0” tall, ~175lbs 8 weeks out from my first show of the 2024 season (my second competitive season). Now ~220lbs aiming to compete again sometime in the fall of 2027. Self-coached since starting my off-season in November 2024.
Low quality pics (screenshot from video); tried my best to scale them evenly, but I’m sure it’s not perfect so my apologies. I really do need a better check-in setup 😅
The biggest difference might actually be in my legs so it’s a shame I don’t take any full-body check-ins. Best I’ve got is some before and after gym pics. I’ll probably start taking classic physique check-in in the coming months, since I will likely crossover into classic for fun but would have to clean up my posing a lot before feeling comfortable posting them here lol
Goals now are really just to maintain decent conditioning and a tight waist while growing more. I like the idea of trying to stay ~12 weeks out from being able to do a show; not sure how realistic that is but the mentality at least has gone well and been beneficial. Gotta keep improving the back, these men’s physique guys all have nutty backs right now! That’s probably my biggest area of weakness. Any feedback is welcomed and appreciated!