# Whats your process the 2-3 day prior ot stepping on stage?



## mickus (Aug 30, 2007)

Hey all

Been flat out dieting, down to 10% BF at 103kg and looking to get some photos done but I cant find anywhere the best process for bringing out my conditioning and shape

I understand there is alot to it all but just chasing the best way to get a full muscle belly while keeping that skin nice and thin!

Am I best off just dropping all salts a few days prior plus keeping water load up around 7-10lts daily then cut it at mid night the night before pics and just sip water all day?

My first crack at it so please take it easy on me and would love some help as said any info would be greatly appreciated, still low carb 6 out 7 days a week so a carb up process will also be needed Im guessing


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## FelonE1 (Dec 23, 2013)

Wouldn't say you're 9% bf mate


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## andyhuggins (Nov 21, 2008)

You are not 9% bf or 103kg imo.


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## mickus (Aug 30, 2007)

Was by far closer to 10 than 9 so Ive corrected my post!!! Sorry for rounding down, any help with info Im chasing in regards to post?


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## nitrogen (Oct 25, 2007)

Have a read on sodium loading / carb depletion and carb loading. It is usually a week long process.

My approach. The process consists of eating lean protein such as chicken breast or white fish with greens like broccoli with added salt to each meal. Some people drop carbs down to zero but I wouldn't go lower than 50g of carbs a day. During this period (3-4 days)you should do whole body workouts. Go medium to heavy weights.Water intake should be high. Stop training legs ten days before the comp day.

Assume the comp is on Saturday I'd do last depletion workout and diet on Wednesday and straight after workout have a high carb intake.

I found that eating a large baked potatoe or rice cakes every two hours for three days( not during nights when you sleep) filled me out. During these carb loading days you should be gradually decrease water intake and only sip on the day if your comp. I'd still eat little lean protein maybe three times a day. The day of the show a high fat meal with carbs for breakfast used to give me lots of energy.

All the above is only a guide and can work for some but not others. Fiddling with salt and water intake can be harmful in extreme cases. If you had a history of high BP, kidney disease I would steer clear of thus approach.Don't forget that onstage competitors are usually 3-5% body fat.

There are members on this forum who competed and would probably disagree with this approach but as I said everyone is different.

Remember that lots of competitors reach for diuretics and stop drinking water 24 hours before the show. This can be very dangerous.

I would never stop the water completely.

Be careful when you deplete and carb load.You may risk your health and spoil your hard work. Many competitors look better a week before the show before start messing with salt, potassium and water intake or look better the day after the show after an all you can eat Chinese buffet.

*i take no responsibility for following my advice. Above is what I did and it often work for me.*


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## mickus (Aug 30, 2007)

nitrogen said:


> Have a read on sodium loading / carb depletion and carb loading. It is usually a week long process.
> 
> My approach. The process consists of eating lean protein such as chicken breast or white fish with greens like broccoli with added salt to each meal. Some people drop carbs down to zero but I wouldn't go lower than 50g of carbs a day. During this period (3-4 days)you should do whole body workouts. Go medium to heavy weights.Water intake should be high. Stop training legs ten days before the comp day.
> 
> ...


 thank you for your tips, will take all info onboard and look to make a few changes! cheers


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## Dark sim (May 18, 2013)

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/layne-norton-peak-week.html


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## BoomTime (Feb 19, 2009)

Dark sim said:


> http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/layne-norton-peak-week.html


 This.

But best of all just be in the best shape possible. No amount of trying to beat science and your body will help you if you are not in great condition already.

The peak weak can make or break you but only if you haven't put in the work already.


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## banzi (Mar 9, 2014)

I found this a couple years ago, never followed it.

I think its meant to be aimed at natties as well.

Last days contest prep.

By: Dr. Joe Klemczewski

I could fill a book with the quotes I hear at contests from competitors who placed from second to last in their class. There are many versions, but just one quote. I'll paraphrase: "I screwed up my peak." That's it - end of quote. It's usually sandwiched in a paragraph including words like carb loading, sodium manipulation, water depletion, and it always comes right before the line, "I tried something new this time." Now, I'm talking about legitimate peaking screw-ups, of which there are many.

Why Most Fail...

The one thing I want to eliminate from your mind at the beginning of this article is to blame your body fat percentage on peaking. Some people start peak week at 14% body fat and think that by doing one neat, new little trick that they read about, they'll wake up Saturday morning looking like Frank Zane. You've seen them. The ones at 8% body fat who say, "Yeah, I was just holding a little water today." This article isn't for them. This is for people who know how to dial in on contest shape and now want to know exactly what to do in order to wake up Saturday morning and shout, "Eureka! (or 'Damn!' -if you're on the East Coast) - I did it!! I finally nailed my peak!!"

First of all, let's begin with how you should plan to enter peak week. If you still have to be concerned with losing "the last couple pounds" in the week before the show, you won't be able to peak properly. Peak week should be thought of as recovering slightly, being fresh, and focusing just on making sure the muscles are full and hard yet visible because of proper subcutaneous water elimination. Fat elimination should be over before this last week.

The next thing I want to erase from your thought process is the myth that you have to make extreme changes to manipulate your body into looking good on contest day. You've no doubt experimented with massive sodium loading and depletion, varying carb loading schemes, and endless water depletion schedules to try to be your biggest, hardest, and driest all at one time. You also have probably experienced the shock at looking at a flat, shriveled up, smooth physique (with it's mouth gaping open in terror) in the mirror six hours before prejudging. DO NOT PLAN ON DOING ANYTHING DRASTIC DURING PEAK WEEK!

Your body is constantly being monitored by your brain with thousands of chemoreceptors that are sending feedback on millions of chemical reactions happening in the body. It's how your brain manages to balance the chemical necessities for life. This vast neuro-hormonal-chemical network is brutally dynamic and always in flux. I'm not smart enough to predict and override these millions of reactions in my body to create an unnatural super-compensation effect exactly at prejudging and then maintain it all day.

Neither are you. What we can do is understand the cycles that our body goes through in directing water into muscles or outside of the muscle cells, the way our body stores carbohydrates, and how to gently massage these cycles so that we ride the right wave into the right day and predictably peak perfectly and naturally instead of trying to force a freaky, extreme response. That is a gamble you'll lose nine times out of ten.

How To Properly Peak...

When I peak a bodybuilder, I control protein, carbs, fat, sodium, water, and training. We start seven days from the show and I provide a chart that tells the athlete exactly what to do in what amounts each day for the entire week. I use these variables to control the normal cycles of water and glycogen flow in and out of the muscle tissue. We start out the week in a certain pattern and then each day the variables change in a subtle way to be able to predict and control peaking. Obviously, every bodybuilder is different in the amounts of each of the variables.

Some people have unbelievably fast metabolisms and some people are very carb-sensitive - two extreme differences which dictate different amounts of each nutrient variable and a slightly different schedule. But, the actual flow and cycle is still very similar. It is important to know and understand what to expect on each day so you know how to adjust. For this reason, even my "long-distance" clients have daily communication with me during peak week. I want to go through each of these variables and give you some physiological insight to why peaking is so elusive.

Carbing-up is the great myth started and continuing with 250-pound steroid using bodybuilders who consume huge amounts of food anyway and then take prescription diuretics to eliminate the steroid bloat. If this describes you, traditional carb depletion and loading may work. If you're body isn't an eighth grade science experiment out of control, let's stick with normal physiology. Even the hardest, leanest bodies cannot metabolize and shuttle glucose into muscle cells at a maximum rate without having some extracellular spill-over. Read that sentence again. You cannot deplete carbs and then supercompensate and expect all of the glucose and water to end up in the muscle.

"You cannot deplete carbs and then supercompensate and expect all of the glucose and water to end up in the muscle."

You'll certainly fill out, but you'll also smooth out. Some a little, and some a great deal. Yes, a lot of carbs will go into the muscle, but a little or a lot will end up outside the muscle cell with a lot of water which makes you smooth. Next time you're dieting and you're fairly lean, log some comments every day in a journal. "Woke up pretty lean. Very smooth - must have been the sodium in the chips. Very vascular. Hard as a freak'n rock!" Just write down comments on how you look in the morning. Get a Bodybuilding.com workout log, they are great! I guarantee that you'll consistently be your hardest after a couple of low-carb, high-water intake days.

You may not be your biggest because the carbs aren't as high, but the lack of extraneous carbs and water under the skin makes you very tight and you appear much bigger. Who wins the show: the big soft guy or the bone-dry striated competitor? The way I carb up my clients catches the wave of glucose and water entering the muscle on the way up, but not at the expense of smoothing out on the rebound effect of over-carbing.

Saturday & Sunday

My general carb cycle for peak week is to start at the highest point on the weekend before. I start at a slightly above "normal" level on Saturday and Sunday and schedule no training. I want this weekend to be a recovery time with a refilling of glycogen. As training starts again on Monday, I slowly drop carbs each day. It's a subtle drop, not a severe depletion.

Monday Through Wednesday

The training each day, Monday through Wednesday, with the slight drop will create a sufficient carb deficit without total depletion. Depending on the client's metabolism, I keep the carbs coming down and keep the water very high all the way through Friday.

For a very high metabolism bodybuilder, I'm not going as low on the carbs during the week, and I may start re-carbing on Friday. For carb-sensitive clients it's very important to wait until Saturday to reload. By waiting until later in the week to carb up, you eliminate the chance of glycogen and water spill over. Your body can metabolize glucose very quickly and you don't have to start three days ahead of time especially if you haven't completely bottomed out with a severe carb depletion. There are also some issues with the type of carbs you use to reload. There are some that create more subcutaneous swelling due to being food allergens. It's important to know which are the most common and how they affect you.

Water is just as misunderstood as carbs. The traditional carb and water theories have people drop their water sometimes days before the show. Nothing will flatten and smooth you out faster! You have to maintain a high water intake because your muscle tissue is around 70% water. No water, no hardness - just flat, squishy muscle tissue. The reason people typically start dropping water is because they've over-carbed so much that they're already spilling glycogen and water under the skin and think, "Oh, my gosh!! I've got to get rid of this water!!" With the carb reload as I described, you won't have that problem; you'll actually get harder and harder throughout the week.

REMEMBER:

Keep the water intake up and let it follow the carbs into the muscle! If you're not over-carbed, the rest of the water will be eliminated!

Thursday

Sodium also has to be cycled. Start with a moderate amount of sodium, up to two grams at the beginning of the week and around Thursday start dropping it slightly but don't eliminate it completely. If you do, you'll force water out of the muscle cell, you'll look flat and smooth, and you'll cramp like there's no tomorrow. You need approximately four times more sodium than potassium for your muscles to contract normally. Again, don't let the myths from the pharmaceutically dominated side of our sport lure you into doing things that aren't physiologically correct.

You don't have all those drug side-effects to combat in peaking properly. If you sodium load and/or deplete in a big way you're gambling with extreme chemical rebound effects that you can't possibly time. If you're lucky enough to stumble into a good effect, it will be short lived because you're on a pendulum swing that your body will adjust to and you'll look absolutely lousy in a very short time.

I also use specific tricks regarding fat intake and schedule very specific contest day meal strategies for the individual needs and characteristics of my clients. As I get to know their metabolic rates through the dieting process, I'm already planning their peak and everyone's a little different. These general guidelines, however, I hope will dispel some common mistakes and put you on a path to learn your body type and peak perfectly every time!!

About The Author

Dr. Joe Klemczewski is a WNBF Pro and has graduate degrees in health and nutrition. From his office in Evansville, Indiana he works with clients all over the country, including top WNBF Pros, using his online consulting program.


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## banzi (Mar 9, 2014)

heres another

*THE PRECONTEST STRATEGY*

by capinatl of www.MassMuscleInc.net

[email protected] 6-24-05

*NPC SHOW BASICS*

Often the weigh-in occurs on the Friday before the Saturday competition. Sometimes both options are offered; an early weigh-in on Friday and one Saturday before pre-judging that takes place in the morning, sometime around 10am. The competition and placing's all occur during pre-judging. If you are in a line of 9 guys and you are on the inside doing your quarter turns for the judges and they ask you to switch places with someone on the outside - that's a bad sign. If you are anywhere off dead center and they ask you to move inside to the middle, that means you are in the top of your class, this is termed a "callout". So, with 9 guys, if you are on the outside after the quarter turns you can bet you took 8th, or 9th. Look into dead center and you will know the top three. The winner is usually kept in the middle with second and third on either side (those two can be a guess). Compulsory poses are called out by the head judge; double-back-bi, front lat spread, etc. Some shows have individual posing routines that are 60 seconds with no music; bigger shows may leave that out to speed up the process.

Once you leave the stage the hard work is done. Pre-judging backstage is often tense, while I've experienced much looser environments at night. The night show is all for the crowd, time to show off and get cocky on stage. It's all about having fun at night. After your music routine lasting 60-90 seconds their will be some quarter turns and compulsories for the crowd to make it look like the competition is actually happening at this time. However, if you look at the judges they are up walking around, getting coffee, etc. The winner of each class finally returns to the stage for the overall. There are six weight classes in the Men's Open division:

BW = Bantamweight...........143 1/4 lbs and lower

LW = Lightweight................143 1/4 lbs - 154 1/4 lbs.

MW = Middleweight.............154 1/4 lbs - 176 1/4 lbs.

LH = Light heavyweight........176 1/4 lbs - 198 1/4 lbs.

HW = Heavyweight..............198 1/4 lbs - 225 1/4 lbs.

SHW = Super Heavyweight...225 1/4 lbs and higher

Quarter turns are called, compulsories, and finally a pose-down to music. The overall winner of the class winners gets the overall trophy, and the show is over. Time to eat.

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GOLDEN RULE #1: Find someone you trust and ONLY listen to them.

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GOLDEN RULE #2: If it tastes good you can't eat it.

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GOLDEN RULE #3: If it tastes good you can't eat it.

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*WEEKS OUT OVERVIEW*

Chronologically detailed by "weeks out" from the show date. All shows take place on Saturday.

DRUG OVERVIEW

The compounds listed here can differ greatly. Anavar, masteron and primobolan are also quality cutting enhancers. This is not the exact regimen I followed but I attempted to follow this stack. I actually left out the EQ and skipped a lot of injections particularly from 3-4 wks out. There was no strategy in skipping injections - I was just sick of them. My GH dose is higher than many use, but for most the ED dose is financially related. The primary scheme followed is bulking drugs from 16-9wks while dieting, then cutting drugs at 9wks, and finally short ester cutters from 4wks out. I did not use insulin, although I assume most serious competitors use the short acting insulin for filling out. For those who think using drugs will make or break you - you are mistaken. I did half the doses this year then last year and came in 5 times more vascular, hard and lean. It's all about the food - whole foods.

ED (QID) = Every Day / EOD = Every Other Day / BID = Bi-daily / E3D = Every 3 days

TRAINING OVERVIEW

Expect to be in the gym 3-4hrs per day. The low carbs and high intensity training will offer no "extra" energy for other interests; girlfriends, work, family, friends, etc. During precontest training I accomplish little else than just making it to the gym and getting through my routine. The closer the show gets the more reps I complete, and around 7-8wks out I hit my weaker body parts twice a wk, once heavy and the other day with light with high reps. Legs are also hit hard twice a wk at 6wks out - this does not include the 20 minutes of straight no weight lunges that occur once per week. Next year I will only do weighted lunges with about 80lbs on my back, aka, "country-mile lunges". Striated glutes I hope to be the result of the use of heavy weight.

DIET OVERVIEW

When I'm asked what diet can be followed to lose weight my simple answer is the backbone of a precontest diet (save carb cycling and depletion). 6-8 meals per day of varied protein sources that include chicken, fish and lean beef. Protein shakes don't cut it - whole foods are crucial in retaining your lean body mass. Carbohydrates at 300 grams a day from potatoes, rice and oatmeal offer a low glycemic index and just enough value for muscles to stay full and have energy for training. Sweet potatoes, brown rice and oatmeal are preferred over the white potato and white rice options for competitors. Mashed, overcooked potaotes and instant oatmeal are unacceptable as the GI is raised. Throw in two 40 minute intese cardio sessions a day and anyone will average a 3lb wk fat loss.

GI = glycemic index (http://www.glycemicindex.com/)

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*16 WEEKS OUT*

The "eat clean" mentality starts here. The last of the cheat days. I'm listening to every song I hear for a good posing count.

DRUGS

Test-E 875mg wk

Tren-E 600mg wk

GH 6iu ED

TRAINING

Heavy weight, low reps, still thinking mass. One cardio session per day 30-40 minutes.

DIET

Bulking diet, continue protein shakes, high calorie, eliminate sugars and reduce other high GI carbs.

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*13 WEEKS OUT*

DRUGS

Test-E 875mg wk

Tren-E 600mg wk

GH 6iu ED

Anadrol 50mg ED (4wks)

ECA Stack, 2 caps BID

TRAINING

Heavy weight, yet the 10-8-6 rep sets turn to 12-10-8's. Seriously speed up the routines here and include supersets for all muscle groups after the first exercise which is a compound movement. This will help burn calories. Lunges start at twice per wk. One lunge session is 20 minutes of straight lunges, the other is with 60lbs of weight on a leg day supersetted with extensions, curls and leg presses. Cardio doubles start now with two 45-50 minute sessions ED. Some cardio on Stairmaster, the rest typically on treadmill at a 7-7.5 incline at a 3.7-3.8 speed. Long strides at an incline will burn hams and glutes. This is important.

DIET

Protein shakes continued, 3-4 carb meals per day, attempting to comsume more whole foods. Daily carbs do not exceed 300 per day. The only carb sources acceptable at this time are: Oatmeal, Sweet Potatoes & brown rice. All are eaten plain. Dairy products are removed, excluding the occasional slice of cheese. Whole food protein sources include mostly chicken, then lean beef and fish. Fat intake is low.

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*9 WEEKS OUT*

The metabolism really starts to kick around this time with weight dropping at 3 solid lbs per wk. GH doubled to BID administrations. Taurine 1500mg BID is added to defeat clen & tren cramping. Attitude starts to get volatile at this time.

DRUGS

Test-E 875mg wk

Tren-E 500mg wk

GH 6iu ED BID

EQ 600mg wk

ECA Stack, 2 caps BID

Clenbuterol 120mg BID (2wks on / 2wks off > 9-8, 6-5, 2-1)

TRAINING

Supersets continued, volume increased. Legs are hit 2x per wk, once light with very high reps (25-50) the other remains heavy with reps staying 12-15 per exercise. Weak muscle groups are hit 2x per wk. Abs are done 5x per wk, calves 3x per wk. Cardio remains two sessions 45-50 minutes, yet the first 39 minutes are done on the Stairmaster, and the remianing time can be completed on a bike, or preferrably treadmill. Posing practice begins and I attempt to get in 3 sessions a week.

DIET

Protein shakes discontinued. Only whole foods eaten. Attempt to consume 450g of protein per day. Carb cycling begins;

Day 1: 250g in three meals

Day 2: 250g in three meals

Day 3: 75g in one meal midday

...and repeat the 250/250/75g carb cycling until 2wks out.

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*6-4 WEEKS OUT*

Make it or break it time! Short esters are preferred 6-4wks out. EQ is discontinued at 4wks. T3 starts at 4wks, clen is upped to 160mcg BID at 4wks as well. It's also at this time that everyone who thinks they know something start offering unrequested advice for my remaning contest prep - but, that's OK, because I remember Golden Rule #1. I have little tollerance at this time so I've found a simple head nod and a, "Yeah, I think I'll give that a try" gets me out most conversations quickly. At 4wks I'm leaning out pretty well and started to turn heads and get frequent comments in the gym. By now I've dropped about 30lbs, averaging 3.3lb losses weekly. I sweat profusely at night and the AC is kept at 60 so that it runs 24/7. I never get more than 4-5 hours of sleep at night. Waking for urination occurs at least 4 times a night. My metabolism is screaming and my body is hot all day and night. I'm lucky to get 5-6 hours of sleep per night at this time and afternoon naps are frequent. Intimate relationships start to suffer here. Getting angry is easy, and cooling off takes an eternity.

DRUGS

Test-E 875mg wk (move to Test-P, 150mg EOD)

Tren-A 100mg EOD

GH 6iu ED BID

EQ 600mg wk

ECA Stack, 2 caps BID

Clenbuterol 120mg BID (2wks on/2wks off > 9-8, 6-5, 2-1)

T3 50mcg BID, and at 4wks out 75mcg BID

Winstrol injectable at 50mg ED or doubled for an oral dose.

TRAINING

Supersets, high volume, strength dropping rapidly. Finding someone else to work out with is a must for me at this time as I just can't harness the mental fortitude to really push it, but with someone I will never let myself get punked. Posing practice begins daily - at least 30 minute sessions of compulsories and quarter turns. I free-style my music routines so I don't practice for the night show posing.

DIET

High protein and continued carb cylcling with a 250/250/75g scheme. High GI carbs are starting to call my name now, and diet breakdown intervention protocols are implimented. I've found that if I never skip my meal frequency of 2 1/2-3hrs I stay on my diet. It's when I'm sick of chicken and don't eat for 5 or 6 hours is when I break down and start rummaging through the cupboards like a heroin addict. Last year my story was 17 poptarts 3wks out at 2am. This year I found some very old, very stale vanilla cookies. I ate three and tossed the rest of the pack loosly into the trash as a preventative measure. 5 minutes later I was circling for the trash looking for any cookies that may have not touched any other discarded materials in the container. I managed to find 4 cookies to eat that met my standards of sterilization. The mind game is really on now.

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*3-2 WEEKS OUT*

The mind starts offering it's own physique criticism here; "I'm way too fat - I'm so far behind, I'm flat as a pancake, etc..." At 3wks out a third eye is needed for accurate criticism. I can't stand anyone, I don't want people near me, the way my girlfriend drives ****es me off, and I have sudden urges to yank people out of their cars and strangle helpless puppies.

DRUGS

Test-P 150mg EOD

Tren-A 100mg EOD

GH 6iu ED BID

ECA Stack, 2 caps BID

Clenbuterol 160mg BID

T3 75mcg BID

Winstrol injectable at 50mg ED or doubled for an oral dose.

Halotestin 20mg ED 2wks out / 40mg ED 1wk out

TRAINING

I'm weak, so it's all heavy to me at this point. 15-20 reps, supersets, long workouts, and cardio doubles using the Stairmaster for the first 30 minutes twice a day. One day per week my leg routine consits of presses with a 20-30-40-50 rep count.

DIET

My diet guy will be looking at me regularly and tweaking my carbs. Around 3wks out I was cycling carbs lower with a 150/150/50 rotation. At 2wks out I carb depleted on Sat and Sun, then returned to the 150/150/50 rotation. Restaurant food is no longer allowed at this time. I start smelling obscure foods, like grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup only to find it's a steak someone is eating at the table next to me. Multi-minerals added at twice label suggestions to prevent cramping. I also added Fiber Con fiber tablets to keep my gastrointestinal tract moving along.

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*THE LAST TEN DAYS*

All injections of AAS & GH are discontinued. They hold water, and it's too close to get unlucky with a bad shot and have a lump in your deltoid on stage. Orals continued through Friday, excluding clenbuterol which causes cramping, so I've stopped that on Thursday. My girlfriend keeps telling everyone we know I'm and asshole right in front of me - and for some reason it's the only time I smile anymore. At this point I just want it all to end. Regular posing occurs daily for about 15 minutes at a time. This will help pull glycogen into the muscle tissue. For the same reason, R-ALA is taken 200mg 20 minutes before each 60g carb meal.

SODIUM LOADING, DIURETICS & DISTILLED WATER

On Thursday, 10 days out I sodium load consuming as much salt as I can for six days. I've been told only Sea Salt will accomplish this, but table salt seemed to work very well for me.

WEDNESDAY: Aldactone 50mg BID

THURSDAY: Aldactone 50mg 8AM / Aldactone 25mg 8PM / Aldactizide 25mg 8PM

FRIDAY: Aldactone 25mg 8AM / Aldactizide 25mg 8AM / Aldactone 25mg 8PM / Aldactizide 25mg 8PM

SATURDAY: Aldactone 25mg 8AM / Aldactizide 25mg 8AM / Aldactizide 25mg 3pm

Tuesday I drink 2.5 gallons of distilled water, Wednesday 2 gallons, Thursday 1.5 gallons and from Friday morning to about 2pm I drink 1.5 gallons of water and stop. From that point on I only consume enough water to swallow pills. When I become obsessed with water, about midday, I chew on ice in attempt to quench my thirst.

At this time ice is the best thing I've ever had. People talk about how they cannot wait to eat pizza, but the reality is water is what we all want to consume (unless you didn't get dry).

CARBOHYDRATE DEPLETETING & LOADING

Saturday and Sunday I carb depleted, and started the infamous carb loading phase on Monday. A third eye is crucial at this time so I know how many carbs to eat as my cerebral function is running at about 15%. Mon-Thur carbs are all sweet potatoes, only sweet potatoes.

MONDAY: 150 grams

TUESDAY: 150 grams

WEDNESDAY: 250 grams

THURSDAY: 400 grams

FRIDAY the real carb loading begins. One unsalted white potato every 2 hours and not a minute longer. I was right on at about 1:45 between each potato. R-ALA was used all day on Friday and Saturday, 200mg twenty minutes before each carb meal. The function of the carbs filling up my muscle tissue and pulling water out of my subutaneous tisse is the goal of carb loading. Some water is needed for this to occur. Starting white potatoes at such frequency any earlier than Friday could put me at risk of "spill over", or when I've taken in so many carbs the water returns to subcutaneous tissue. Protein was also comsumed but not feverishly. If I was super flat from the low carbs and diuretics I would have skipped to protein intake to save room for more carbs. Remember, no water after 2pm, and in conjuction I consumed 1 cup of dried oats. At 4pm I had a T bone with a plain side of pasta, more white potatoes, and repeated the steak and pasta again at 8pm. Before bed I ate another cup of dried oats. I slept 2 hours which is 30 minutes more than last year so I guess I was pretty relaxed. Upon getting up in the night I may eat some pototoes or dried oats again.

SATURDAY is a great day for all the bodybuilders. The classic morning meal is 3 pancakes, syrup and eggs. Still no water. Between breakfast and pre-judging I ate blended peanutbutter and honey spread over rice cakes. Well, mostly topping and a little rice cake, LOL. Then it's high and low GI carb time. At this point almost anything is allowed excluding diary, sodium and water. I consumed some trail mix, 3 bananas, 3 plain burgers with just lettuce and bread, and anything else people wanted to share with me. A few minutes before stage time I eat sugar to aid in vascularity. Niacin is also taken throughout the day to aid in vascularity as well as vasodilation optimizer sprays like Hot Stuff by Pro Tan. A lot of guys eat chocolate but I don't want to have any gastrointestinal issues at this time so I stray from chocolate. One of my fellow competitors from my gym was still eating dried oats with peanut butter backstage.

Theoretically, sodium could be consumed now but then no water at all could be taken, even sips. I'm too thirsty to want to make dehydration worse so I didn't test this theory out. I've also been told that dairy fats (like ice cream) can be consumed as it takes 7 hours for the fat to affect water subcutaneously. I wasn't willing to test this out either. Multi-Minerals are taken every few hours to prevent cramping. Some competitors use an enema early in the morning to flatten out their lower stomach and reduce a constipated feeling, hence my use of the Fiber Con. I've also heard of many guys using 50mg Anadrol ED to fill out on Friday and Saturday but I don't have problems filling out. I'd use short acting insulin before I went the drol route.

It's a very long wait backstage if you are in the Men's Open class as all female, novice and masters divisions will go out on stage before you. Expect to wait 2-3hrs. This is when I hang out in the hall and visit with anyone willing to come backstage, of which there are many. I think it's also my obligation to compliment groups on their way out to the stage (for prejudging, particularly) that they look great, good luck, etc. This puts me at ease and give me a boost in confidence. When you are called by the backstage handler/expeditor he will forewarn you to get oiled up and pumped up. Original Pam is used by most males for oil - yessir - the spray on kind. Your tan should have been completed Friday night with nothing more than a touch-up on Saturday am if needed. I use Pro-Tan, many female figure competitors use Jan Tanna. A lof of guys do a complete workout backstage to pump up, but what this does is load the muscle full of blood which smooths out the cuts. Sure, you will be bigger, but you will lose the cuts. I grab the 20lb dbs and do about 15 slow reps of lateral shoulder raises, curls and kick-backs. About 8 standing lunges on each leg and I'm ready for the stage.

After pre-judging the handlers will tell you to stay dialed in as the final placings will come down to the night show. Going home you have a rough idea of where you have placed, but the night show really doesn't mean a thing. The judges hand in their cards after prejudging and judge nothing more at night than the overall when each class winner poses down against the other. They tell you it will finally come down to the night show so the athletes don't come back all bloated up. If the night crowd sees a high placement bloated they will boo the judges as they think placements are incorrect. It's all a scheme to keep themselves from getting boo-ed!

DIURETIC REBOUND

Finally, there is the horrific post competition time of high GI carbs, salt, no training for a week, and no intake of diuretics which can lead to the infamous "rebound". The combination of all of these things can cause the full body adema (holding excess water) causing the athlete to appear like the stay puff marshmallow man. It's an extreme reversal of the sodium/water scheme resulting in the opposite effect. Some people will get ankles and calves that swell up so bad that poking the area with a finger will leave a pitted mark from the adema. A clean diet, cardio and a mild diuretic can ease this state which is very unhealthy. After my first show I gained 25lbs in two days, and another 10lbs in the following five days. This year I only went up 15lbs over my contest weight in one week.


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## andyhuggins (Nov 21, 2008)

We all love copy and paste don't we.


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## mickus (Aug 30, 2007)

cheers for the feed back pps.... Some serious notes taken! thank you...


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## mickus (Aug 30, 2007)

andyhuggins said:


> You are not 9% bf or 103kg imo.


 Im 6.4ft tall dude...... Here is a different pic.... Happy to attach my last dexascan if you still dont think so! Was 10.1%BF and 102kg sorry not 103kg....


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## ironman1985bcn (Mar 3, 2010)

mickus said:


> Im 6.4 dude...... Here is a different pic.... Happy to attach my last dexascan if you still dont think so! Was 10.1%BF and 102kg sorry not 103kg....
> 
> View attachment 123906


 6.4%bf? Who says this? I reckon you are 10% judging from pic.


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## Nu-Labz (Dec 10, 2015)

ironman1985bcn said:


> 6.4%bf? Who says this? I reckon you are 10% judging from pic.


 Think he means 6ft 4. Which is bloody tall


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## ironman1985bcn (Mar 3, 2010)

Nu-Labz said:


> Think he means 6ft 4. Which is bloody tall


 Ah... Just woke up from a little mid day nap... My bad couldn't read propperly.


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## UlsterRugby (Nov 16, 2014)

ironman1985bcn said:


> 6.4%bf? Who says this? I reckon you are 10% judging from pic.


 he obviously means 6ft 4inch


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## mickus (Aug 30, 2007)

ironman1985bcn said:


> 6.4%bf? Who says this? I reckon you are 10% judging from pic.


 6.4ft tall dude I meant! PMSL f**k no I aint 6.4BF Im now only in singles here is more recent pic


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## Nu-Labz (Dec 10, 2015)

banzi said:


> heres another
> 
> *THE PRECONTEST STRATEGY*
> 
> ...


 Haha scavenging the bin for cookies and strangling puppies haha


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## 3752 (Jan 7, 2005)

why is it people put up pictures of their midsection to sort of prove they are at a specific body fat percentage? if you give a BF% then put up a full frontal and rear picture as body fat is for the whole body.....

after saying that it is irrelevant what number you are at to be fair no one cares when you step onstage


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## bonacris (May 20, 2015)

Pscarb said:


> why is it people put up pictures of their midsection to sort of prove they are at a specific body fat percentage? if you give a BF% then put up a full frontal and rear picture as body fat is for the whole body.....
> 
> after saying that it is irrelevant what number you are at to be fair no one cares when you step onstage


 Truth. I have great abs and quads but lower back fat and fat on my hamstrings.


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