In this article I want to go through the fine details to bring out the best in your physique through that final week. These are protocols that I have used and tweaked myself. It's worth to note that this “plan” is not going to work if you are still carrying subcutaneous fat, it is meant for an already lean athlete to achieve that 'hard' and 'dry' look for the competition or the photo shoot.
The 3 main aspects we will touch on are : water consumption, diet and training, however there will also be some added advice on supplementation.
Firstly- let's go back 3 days. I always start water loading from 10 days out. At this point your water consumption wants to be at 10 litres per day. I have found that increasing it gradually in the days prior helps. This level of water will remain the same up until the night before the competition/photo shoot.
The reason we increase water to such a level is to put the body into what is known as “Flushing mode” in turn down-regulating aldosterone – the hormone responsible for the conservation of sodium and the secretion of potassium. This level will stay the same throughout the next 10 days.
Assuming the competition/photo shoot is on a Saturday I have always found it best to decrease carbohydrates from Sunday (6 Days Out) – this is known as de-carbing – I find a 3 day de-carb followed by a 3 day carb-up works great for me although this will differ from person to person due to differing metabolic rates and how carb sensitive you are.
The diet you will follow for the next 3 days (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday) will be a very low carbohydrate and high protein diet. The restricted amount of carbohydrates will further aid in putting your body into “flushing mode”.
Sample Meal Plan:
Meal 1 – 25g Oats + 100g Turkey Breast
Meal 2 – 50g Sweet Potato + 200g Turkey Breast + 1 Whole Egg
Meal 3 – 50g Sweet Potato + 200g Turkey Breast + 1 Whole Egg
Meal 4 – 50g Sweet Potato + 200g Turkey Breast + 1 Whole Egg
Meal 5 – 200g Turkey Breast + 1 Whole Egg
Meal 6 – Casein shake
*The above diet is suitable for my proportions – I consume no other veg or sauces.
The aim of our training over these low carbohydrate days is to deplete our muscles of glycogen, to better aid in the absorption of carbohydrates when we carb-up, this super-compensation will have your muscles looking full and hard.
I will always aim to do my depletion training after meal 4 – my last carbohydrate meal.
By this point I will have stopped all cardiovascular exercise and any metabolic boosting supplements. I would only work on the upper body - due to gravity the legs tend to hold water the most so I always let them rest. Completing upper body circuits like the one outlined below, using very high volume with low weight – stimulate don't annihilate!
Sample Workout Plan:
A1 Hammer Strength Incline Press
A2 Peck Deck
B1 Lat Pull Down
B2 Low Row
C1 Front Raise
C2 Lateral Raise
C3 Rear Delt Fly
D1 Rope Hammer Curl
D2 Rope Push Down
This takes us to Wednesday – 3 Days out from the show.
From now on I will eat, drink, pose and rest. I use the posing as a guide for my muscles absorption of Carbohydrates – you should be able to get a good “pump” just from posing – contracting the muscles with no resistance.
I would now cut what little sodium I have been consuming by switching my water to Evian bottled water due to it's low sodium level – remaining at 10 litres per day. Training would also stop and I would just work on posing – the contraction of your muscle should give you a good idea of the absorption of carbohydrates, you should easily become “pumped”
The diet for these next 3 days is very individual, it is very dependent on your tolerance to carbohydrates and the speed of your metabolism. I have found through trial and error that I need 3 full days of a lot of carbohydrates to fill out, I can also get away with some faster carbohydrates without fear of “spilling” over.
Bellow I will outline what I follow during my “Carb up”:-
Wednesday
8:00/9:00/11:00/12:00/14:00/15:00/17:00/18:00/20:00/21:00/23:00/00:00 – 200g Sweet Potato
7:00/10:00/13:00/16:00/19:00/22:00 – 100g Turkey + 200g Sweet Potao + ½ Banana + 2 Rice Cakes (Unsalted) + 2 tsp Honey
No other vegetables or sauces.
Thursday
Same as Wednesday
Friday
8:00/9:00/11:00/12:00/14:00/15:00/17:00/18:00/20:00/21:00/23:00/00:00 – 200g Sweet Potato
7:00/10:00/13:00/16:00/19:00 – 100g Turkey + 200g Sweet Potato
22:00 – 200g Steak + 200g Sweet Potato + 6 Egg Yolks
With the 22:00 meal on the Friday night I will cut my water – just sips if needed – along with this meal I will take 2 tbsp of glycerine. Glycerine will aid in the delivery of fluid/water into muscle cells giving them a fuller look, without consuming water this will be forced to be taken from subcutaneous fluid, giving you that dried out appearance. To further aid in ridding subcutaneous water I would also supplement with something like Diuretic Extreme by CTD Labs.
And then it's SHOW TIME !!
