This a full week of peak week strategies
Each individual?s health, fitness, and nutrition success depends on his or her background, dedication, desire, and motivation. As with any health-related program or service, your results may vary, and will be based on many variables, including but not limited to, your individual capacity, life experience, unique health and genetic profile, starting point, expertise, and level of commitment.
Introduction
You?ve trained and dieted for months. You?ve sacrificed family dinners, social gatherings, parties, dinner dates. You're at the point where you have nothing left, but you still keep going because you see yourself at the end of this crazy 20+ week diet, complete with one month of self-induced torture, a week full of waterboarding, starvation and a nasty temper. Fun!
It all boils down to the final week, the ?Peak Week.?
I?ve been there. I remember it like it was yesterday. I trained my ass off for the NPC Pittsburgh Nationals. Harder than I ever trained before. I practiced my poses where each poss was held for 5 minutes with a timer. I practiced and even extended my time just standing there in a front standing relaxed, because that?s what you do up there. I dieted and counted every macro ate. My water intake was marked with a magic marker.
Do your best and learn from this show?s peak week. Keep detailed notes about different feelings, physiological changes and allow yourself to make mistakes. Let this and future contests be the education of an educated physique athlete so that you can be better prepared for your future shows.
Good luck!
Nutrition
Everyone?s metabolism is different. What works for a 290 pound juice monster will be different for a 185 pound natural competitor. Everyone is different. My purpose is to give you the guidelines to assist you.
Let?s start with Saturday. This is the highest day of carb front loading. Carb front loading means you?re putting the highest amount of carbs in the beginning of the week for the toughest day of training. I like to use this on the first day out because it will be the final body part to drop most of the water to bring in the most defined look possible of the lower body.
Protein takes a back seat this week. Carbs will be the main driver, fats are second, and protein last. We will use a percentage-based approach for your carb loading and later for water loading.
This whole plan is contingent on assuming your show is on the following Saturday. Take pictures early in the morning for the first day. Begin eating carbs before your workout, during and right after training.
CARBOHYDRATES
150-125% of your normal carbohydrate intake. If you are an endomorph, err on the side of caution and use the lower percentages. If you are an individual that can drop weight relatively fast, use the higher number or somewhere in the middle.
FATS
0.2 grams times your bodyweight. Watch for gram changes during the week.
PROTEIN
1 gram multiplied by your bodyweight. This is the day where your protein intake will be the highest.
You now have the layout of what will take place each day. Numbers will fluctuate according to how you look and how the pictures look.
Sunday
Carbohydrates: 125-100% of your normal carbohydrate intake.
Fats: 0.2 grams times your bodyweight.
Protein: 0.9 grams x bodyweight. Protein starts to change here.
Endomorphs, be aware that you?re probably going to look a little smoother and if you get on the scale, a bit over your previous days' weight. No worries. Use the lower percentage of carbs.
As you will see, the carbs will drop during the week. Take a morning front, back and side head-to-toe picture and compare from yesterday?s photos.
If you are an ectomorph or mesomorph, chances are you?ll appear fuller, and maybe with some veins possibly popping out. Use the higher percentage or somewhere in the middle of high and low percentage.
Monday:
Carbohydrates: 100-75% of your normal carbohydrate intake.
Fats: 0.2 grams times your bodyweight.
Protein: 0.8 grams x bodyweight.
Those of you who appeared smooth may be a little drier, and your muscles may be harder. You will most likely see an increase in vascularity from yesterday and increased separation should be more apparent than the day before. This a strong indication that you are on the right track. Keep up the good work.
If you appeared a little depleted, flatter and less full than yesterday, stay on the higher side of your carb intake. You?ll want to fill out a bit more.
Don't forget the mirror and photos in the morning.
Tuesday
Carbohydrates: 75-50% of your normal carbohydrate intake.
Fats: 0.3 grams times your bodyweight.
Protein: 0.7 grams x bodyweight.
Your physique is changing day by day.
It's starting to show more. Take a look at your quads and lower back. You should be seeing some more definition. Choose to go on to the higher side of carb intake or again, somewhere in the middle.
If you still appear a little smooth, drop to the lowest percentage of carbs. You?re going to start thinking a little more about food, craving food you usually don't eat. You'll be constantly hungry and edgy. At this point, I had donuts wallpapered to my phone and I was watching more Food Network shows, thinking about the food I wanted after.
If you haven?t apologized to your partner, do so now because the rest of the week is going to suck.
Wednesday
Carbohydrates: 50-25% of your normal carbohydrate intake
Fats:0.3 grams times your bodyweight.
Protein: 0.6 grams x bodyweight.
You?re full-blown cranky, edgy and probably need a little more black coffee today. By now, you?re going to appear flat and you probably won't be able to get a strong pump in the gym. Check yourself in the mirror and take your pictures. Today will start using the use of supplements. More on that later.
Thursday
Carbohydrates: 40-20% of your normal carbohydrate intake
Fats:0.3 grams times your bodyweight.
Protein: 0.6 grams x bodyweight.
Life sucks today and training with circuits will be a challenge. Posing will be a challenge but persevere. The end is in sight. Continue being cranky and monitor your photos and progress.
Friday
Carbohydrates: 40-25% of your normal carbohydrate intake
Fats:0.3 grams times your bodyweight.
Protein: 0.5 grams x bodyweight.
Today is the day when you start a moderate carb load, keeping everything in check. You will feel better and changes will start to take place right after you begin the carb load. Macros stay the same for the duration of the day.
We are going to assume that your bedtime is 10pm. At 6pm, you will add 20% of your Friday carb intake. I would suggest pasta or potatoes. I love Yukon Gold potatoes without the skin because they made my veins pop a dy muscles fill fast. Have a small amount of protein with your meal. Add a pat of butter or half teaspoon of olive oil.
After eating, wait 15-20 minutes. You're feel a surge of energy and your skin may fall like it's expanding. Begin pumping up and posing, then take a look in the mirror. You should start to fill out and start to see veins rise. You will have much more energy. Things will be a little happier-a little brighter. You realize tomorrow is the day and you are PUMPED!!!
If you still appear flat or stringy, add another meal and shortly after, pump and pose. Call it a night and try to sleep.
Training
Take the exercises that you have used and deduct 20 percent off your maximum weights. Do not go to failure on your reps. Stop short and leave two reps in the tank.
We want to use the carbs in the most effective way possible and as the carbs are reduced, the smaller body parts will then be trained.
Below is a sample of what I did the last time I competed. I used all of the exercises that I used through my prep. Most of my work consisted of 3-5 sets of 12 repetitions, except for the circuit days which are listed below.
This is just an example of how I ran my peak week training. Adjust it to your training exercises, health history and injuries, rep counts and sets. I?ll list below what I used and you can swap out the exercises you use. Just dont trade a bench press with a fly or a leg extension with a curl.
Day 1: Quads/calves/Abs
Day 2: Chest/Biceps/Abs/Calves
Day 3: Hamstrings/Back/Abs
Day 4: Delts/Triceps/Abs
SATURDAY
Front squats
One Leg Squats
Leg Extensions
Seated Calf Raise supersetted with Leg Press Calf Raise
Heavy Cable Crunches
Leg Raises
Cardio: 25 minutes HIIT and 30 minutes of low impact cardio. This can be broken up in the day by doing low impact first, HIIT later in the day.
Posing
SUNDAY
Guillotine Press
Incline Dumbbell Press
FLIES
Barbell Curl
Incline Curl
Concentration Curl
Planks for Time
Leg Raises off Bench
Standing Calf Raise
3 rounds of moderate to heavy Farmer Walks
Cardio: 20 minutes HIIT and 25 minutes of low impact cardio.
Posing
Monday
Conventional Style Deadlift
Stiff Leg Deadlift
Pull Throughs
Barbell Rows
Reverse Grip Lat Pulldown
Stiff Arm Lat Pulldown
Ab work: Ball Crunch + Leg Raise + Roman Chair Situps + Pole Twists
Cardio: 15 minutes HIIT, 20 minutes of low impact cardio.
Posing
TUESDAY
Strict Press + Side Laterals + Rear Laterals
Upright Rows
Shrugs
Face Pulls
Hammer Strength Tricep Dips
Tricep Pushdown
Ab work: Ball Crunch + Leg Raise + Roman Chair Situps + Pole Twists
Cardio: 10 minutes HIIT, 20 minutes of low impact cardio.
Posing
WEDNESDAY
The circuit training benefit is to move glycogen and to add a pump. DO NOT use heavy weights. That is not the purpose. Feel a slight burn and move to the next exercise.
Machine Circuit:
4 sets. Each set will be to 15 reps. 30 second rest.
Leg Extensions
Leg Curls
Chest Press
Lat Pulldowns
Shoulder Press
Machine Bicep Curls
Tricep Pushdowns
35 minutes of low impact cardio-no running.
Posing
Thursday
Upper body circuit
3 sets, one exercise after the other. Rest 30 seconds and repeat. Each set will be to 15 reps.
Chest Press
Lat Pulldowns
Shoulder Press
Machine Bicep Curls
Tricep Pushdowns
30 minutes of low impact cardio.
Posing
Friday
Posing
Cardio 20 minutes low impact cardio-no running.
Saturday
20 minute walk in the morning after posing.
Posing
Different federations have different rules about posing. What is allowed in the NPC for bikini competitors may not be allowed in the OCB or the ANBF.
To the left is the ANBF pose, to the right is the NPC/IFBB pose. If you make the mistake of posing the right side pose, you will be scored lower.
I will not go over all of the poses listed, but this example is a clear indicator of doing your homework and researching guidelines. Each federation has their rules and regulations posted on the respective website. Judges hate when you don't follow rules.
POSING TIPS
Take pictures of your poses in the morning. You will be your driest and look your best. Taking pictures later in the day after eating or drinking certain fluids may create water retention.
Practice posing with a mirror for the first two weeks. Make sure you feel the muscles being used. Each pose has its own feeling.
After two weeks, close your eyes and feel the pose, then open your eyes and check your form. If it looks good to the coach and your buddy or significant other move to the next pose.
Have your coach sit down on a small low bench or on the floor. Remember, you?re being viewed from the bottom up. The judges are below you.
After four weeks, you should barely use a mirror. At this point, you should be posing for one minute easily, especially after adding 20-30 seconds after the first two or three weeks.
Dont flex too hard. You?ll shake. Control your breathing and pose, don't tighten up to the point where your or legs begin to shake.
Practice poses at least two months prior to show day. Three positive benefits of practicing pose repeatedly:
Increase your conditioning capacity to hold a pose longer without shaking
It will increase muscle hardness
You are more aware of the mind-muscle connection. When I pose with a client, they will be required to pose with their eyes closed, both at home and in session. Only then will be able to feel the muscles being used for that pose as well as fix the mistakes made.
As a judge, three things piss me off;
Failure to adhere to the rules of the federation
Posing routines that go well over your time limit.
Failure to pay attention to your backside (rear delts, glutes, hamstrings and calves).
Make every attempt to keep your physique balanced. Rear delts, lower back, glutes, hamstrings and calves are IMPORTANT to a good placing.
How to dry out for bodybuilding competition
I do not believe drying out at the beginning of the week is beneficial. In my years as a competitor and as a coach, I have used the water loading method several times and it works so much better.
Water loading instead of water depletion? Yes. Very simply, water in-water out. Depleting water causes more water to trap and retain inside the skin, over the muscle tissue. Instead, if you continue to stream water through the body, water doesn?t stay trapped. To push even more water out, towards the end of the week, you will use a natural diuretic and lower some of the sodium.
Follow the water and sodium loading schedule as directed. Practice the entire schedule a two or three weeks before your peak week to see how you react. Make detailed notes.
Supplements used will include Smooth Move tea and XPel. Smooth is nothing more than a gentle laxative that you?ll use to empty the stomach. XPel is a mild, natural diuretic. Use oink sea salt if possible. Micronutrients found in pink sea salt offer many benefits.
SATURDAY
175% more water than your normal intake, salt all of your meals. By salting a meal, this means just a shake or two.
SUNDAY
Same water schedule, salt all of your meals.
MONDAY
Same water schedule, salt 5 of 6 meals.
TUESDAY
150% water; salt 4 of 6 meals.
WEDNESDAY
125% water, salt 3 of 6 meals. Begin XPel, a natural diuretic. Read the label for directions.
Use Smooth Move tea or a gentle laxative before bedtime. This will initiate a bowel movement to reduce bloat in your stomach.
THURSDAY
Normal water intake that you were using before peak week began. Salt 2 of 6 meals. Use XPel, use Smooth Move tea before bedtime.
FRIDAY
Same water UNTIL 6pm. After 6pm, you?ll take small sips.
No added salt, just what is in your meals.
Use Xpel
Smooth Move tea Friday morning ONLY.
SATURDAY
Small sips of water when needed.
Stop Xpel.
Stop Smooth Move tea.
A WORD ON CREATINE?
It has been my experience that if you have used creatine throughout your training, continue to use it. It will help you keep the water inside your muscle cells, where it belongs. One word of caution, do not skimp on water because that is when you will appear puffy and you will retain water. Drink more than enough water and you should have no problems.
Show Day
You made it. Congratulations! After all of the months of prep and hard work, your day to shine is here! Follow the schedule below. If you are hungry, add a small amount more of water and take some nibbles of food.
6AM
Wake up, pump and pose. You will appear fuller than yesterday morning. Have a meal of 20 to 30 grams of carbs, 20 grams of fats and 20g of protein. Be careful with protein because it tends to make you fuller and takes a little time to digest. Wait 20 minutes. Pump up and pose.
THREE HOURS LATER
Repeat this morning?s process. Have another meal with the same amount of macros. The objective is to gauge how you look and either drop the carbs a little or increase to the amount listed. By now, you should appear fuller.
At this time, you should be nearing the morning competitors meeting. Get an idea of when you will be going onstage.
COMPETITION TIME, UNDER AN HOUR
Have a small carb meal with a bite or two of protein. I like a tablespoon of peanut butter with one large caramel rice cake. If you won't be on until two hours from then have a small white bread based light protein sandwich. Twenty minutes after you eat, pose and go through your routine.
YOU ARE THE NEXT CLASS
When you know your class is up next and they ask you to line up, five minutes before you line up, have some candy and an alcoholic drink. I love Fireball liqueur or red wine and a small piece of dark chocolate. This is to soothe your nerves and give you some extra carbohydrates to maintain energy. If you don't feel comfortable using an alcohol based drink, stick with the dark chocolate only.
AFTER PREJUDGING
Have your morning meal again and repeat the process from the morning. Have a full glass of water, but don't go overboard. You?re body is still in a state of duress and you can't force feed it as you want.
Some federations do a straight-through show and only break to tabulate scores. As a heavyweight, this is so much better than waiting. I once got finished with a show at 11:30pm!
Continue with little bites of food. Don?t fill up to much as you need to be aware of stomach bloat. Sip water.
Final thoughts?
I hope this guide helps you with a great showing. Above all, remember to keep notes and see what works each time you compete. I love this sport, and it is my hope that you are smart about prep and remain worry free.
After the show, go out and enjoy yourself. Hopefully you have learned from the experience. Have a great meal, but don?t push it too hard. Your body isn't used to junk meals at this point. I cannot stress this enough.
I wish you the best of luck, and may you have many victories in your journey of competition
Each individual?s health, fitness, and nutrition success depends on his or her background, dedication, desire, and motivation. As with any health-related program or service, your results may vary, and will be based on many variables, including but not limited to, your individual capacity, life experience, unique health and genetic profile, starting point, expertise, and level of commitment.
Introduction
You?ve trained and dieted for months. You?ve sacrificed family dinners, social gatherings, parties, dinner dates. You're at the point where you have nothing left, but you still keep going because you see yourself at the end of this crazy 20+ week diet, complete with one month of self-induced torture, a week full of waterboarding, starvation and a nasty temper. Fun!
It all boils down to the final week, the ?Peak Week.?
I?ve been there. I remember it like it was yesterday. I trained my ass off for the NPC Pittsburgh Nationals. Harder than I ever trained before. I practiced my poses where each poss was held for 5 minutes with a timer. I practiced and even extended my time just standing there in a front standing relaxed, because that?s what you do up there. I dieted and counted every macro ate. My water intake was marked with a magic marker.
Do your best and learn from this show?s peak week. Keep detailed notes about different feelings, physiological changes and allow yourself to make mistakes. Let this and future contests be the education of an educated physique athlete so that you can be better prepared for your future shows.
Good luck!
Nutrition
Everyone?s metabolism is different. What works for a 290 pound juice monster will be different for a 185 pound natural competitor. Everyone is different. My purpose is to give you the guidelines to assist you.
Let?s start with Saturday. This is the highest day of carb front loading. Carb front loading means you?re putting the highest amount of carbs in the beginning of the week for the toughest day of training. I like to use this on the first day out because it will be the final body part to drop most of the water to bring in the most defined look possible of the lower body.
Protein takes a back seat this week. Carbs will be the main driver, fats are second, and protein last. We will use a percentage-based approach for your carb loading and later for water loading.
This whole plan is contingent on assuming your show is on the following Saturday. Take pictures early in the morning for the first day. Begin eating carbs before your workout, during and right after training.
CARBOHYDRATES
150-125% of your normal carbohydrate intake. If you are an endomorph, err on the side of caution and use the lower percentages. If you are an individual that can drop weight relatively fast, use the higher number or somewhere in the middle.
FATS
0.2 grams times your bodyweight. Watch for gram changes during the week.
PROTEIN
1 gram multiplied by your bodyweight. This is the day where your protein intake will be the highest.
You now have the layout of what will take place each day. Numbers will fluctuate according to how you look and how the pictures look.
Sunday
Carbohydrates: 125-100% of your normal carbohydrate intake.
Fats: 0.2 grams times your bodyweight.
Protein: 0.9 grams x bodyweight. Protein starts to change here.
Endomorphs, be aware that you?re probably going to look a little smoother and if you get on the scale, a bit over your previous days' weight. No worries. Use the lower percentage of carbs.
As you will see, the carbs will drop during the week. Take a morning front, back and side head-to-toe picture and compare from yesterday?s photos.
If you are an ectomorph or mesomorph, chances are you?ll appear fuller, and maybe with some veins possibly popping out. Use the higher percentage or somewhere in the middle of high and low percentage.
Monday:
Carbohydrates: 100-75% of your normal carbohydrate intake.
Fats: 0.2 grams times your bodyweight.
Protein: 0.8 grams x bodyweight.
Those of you who appeared smooth may be a little drier, and your muscles may be harder. You will most likely see an increase in vascularity from yesterday and increased separation should be more apparent than the day before. This a strong indication that you are on the right track. Keep up the good work.
If you appeared a little depleted, flatter and less full than yesterday, stay on the higher side of your carb intake. You?ll want to fill out a bit more.
Don't forget the mirror and photos in the morning.
Tuesday
Carbohydrates: 75-50% of your normal carbohydrate intake.
Fats: 0.3 grams times your bodyweight.
Protein: 0.7 grams x bodyweight.
Your physique is changing day by day.
It's starting to show more. Take a look at your quads and lower back. You should be seeing some more definition. Choose to go on to the higher side of carb intake or again, somewhere in the middle.
If you still appear a little smooth, drop to the lowest percentage of carbs. You?re going to start thinking a little more about food, craving food you usually don't eat. You'll be constantly hungry and edgy. At this point, I had donuts wallpapered to my phone and I was watching more Food Network shows, thinking about the food I wanted after.
If you haven?t apologized to your partner, do so now because the rest of the week is going to suck.
Wednesday
Carbohydrates: 50-25% of your normal carbohydrate intake
Fats:0.3 grams times your bodyweight.
Protein: 0.6 grams x bodyweight.
You?re full-blown cranky, edgy and probably need a little more black coffee today. By now, you?re going to appear flat and you probably won't be able to get a strong pump in the gym. Check yourself in the mirror and take your pictures. Today will start using the use of supplements. More on that later.
Thursday
Carbohydrates: 40-20% of your normal carbohydrate intake
Fats:0.3 grams times your bodyweight.
Protein: 0.6 grams x bodyweight.
Life sucks today and training with circuits will be a challenge. Posing will be a challenge but persevere. The end is in sight. Continue being cranky and monitor your photos and progress.
Friday
Carbohydrates: 40-25% of your normal carbohydrate intake
Fats:0.3 grams times your bodyweight.
Protein: 0.5 grams x bodyweight.
Today is the day when you start a moderate carb load, keeping everything in check. You will feel better and changes will start to take place right after you begin the carb load. Macros stay the same for the duration of the day.
We are going to assume that your bedtime is 10pm. At 6pm, you will add 20% of your Friday carb intake. I would suggest pasta or potatoes. I love Yukon Gold potatoes without the skin because they made my veins pop a dy muscles fill fast. Have a small amount of protein with your meal. Add a pat of butter or half teaspoon of olive oil.
After eating, wait 15-20 minutes. You're feel a surge of energy and your skin may fall like it's expanding. Begin pumping up and posing, then take a look in the mirror. You should start to fill out and start to see veins rise. You will have much more energy. Things will be a little happier-a little brighter. You realize tomorrow is the day and you are PUMPED!!!
If you still appear flat or stringy, add another meal and shortly after, pump and pose. Call it a night and try to sleep.
Training
Take the exercises that you have used and deduct 20 percent off your maximum weights. Do not go to failure on your reps. Stop short and leave two reps in the tank.
We want to use the carbs in the most effective way possible and as the carbs are reduced, the smaller body parts will then be trained.
Below is a sample of what I did the last time I competed. I used all of the exercises that I used through my prep. Most of my work consisted of 3-5 sets of 12 repetitions, except for the circuit days which are listed below.
This is just an example of how I ran my peak week training. Adjust it to your training exercises, health history and injuries, rep counts and sets. I?ll list below what I used and you can swap out the exercises you use. Just dont trade a bench press with a fly or a leg extension with a curl.
Day 1: Quads/calves/Abs
Day 2: Chest/Biceps/Abs/Calves
Day 3: Hamstrings/Back/Abs
Day 4: Delts/Triceps/Abs
SATURDAY
Front squats
One Leg Squats
Leg Extensions
Seated Calf Raise supersetted with Leg Press Calf Raise
Heavy Cable Crunches
Leg Raises
Cardio: 25 minutes HIIT and 30 minutes of low impact cardio. This can be broken up in the day by doing low impact first, HIIT later in the day.
Posing
SUNDAY
Guillotine Press
Incline Dumbbell Press
FLIES
Barbell Curl
Incline Curl
Concentration Curl
Planks for Time
Leg Raises off Bench
Standing Calf Raise
3 rounds of moderate to heavy Farmer Walks
Cardio: 20 minutes HIIT and 25 minutes of low impact cardio.
Posing
Monday
Conventional Style Deadlift
Stiff Leg Deadlift
Pull Throughs
Barbell Rows
Reverse Grip Lat Pulldown
Stiff Arm Lat Pulldown
Ab work: Ball Crunch + Leg Raise + Roman Chair Situps + Pole Twists
Cardio: 15 minutes HIIT, 20 minutes of low impact cardio.
Posing
TUESDAY
Strict Press + Side Laterals + Rear Laterals
Upright Rows
Shrugs
Face Pulls
Hammer Strength Tricep Dips
Tricep Pushdown
Ab work: Ball Crunch + Leg Raise + Roman Chair Situps + Pole Twists
Cardio: 10 minutes HIIT, 20 minutes of low impact cardio.
Posing
WEDNESDAY
The circuit training benefit is to move glycogen and to add a pump. DO NOT use heavy weights. That is not the purpose. Feel a slight burn and move to the next exercise.
Machine Circuit:
4 sets. Each set will be to 15 reps. 30 second rest.
Leg Extensions
Leg Curls
Chest Press
Lat Pulldowns
Shoulder Press
Machine Bicep Curls
Tricep Pushdowns
35 minutes of low impact cardio-no running.
Posing
Thursday
Upper body circuit
3 sets, one exercise after the other. Rest 30 seconds and repeat. Each set will be to 15 reps.
Chest Press
Lat Pulldowns
Shoulder Press
Machine Bicep Curls
Tricep Pushdowns
30 minutes of low impact cardio.
Posing
Friday
Posing
Cardio 20 minutes low impact cardio-no running.
Saturday
20 minute walk in the morning after posing.
Posing
Different federations have different rules about posing. What is allowed in the NPC for bikini competitors may not be allowed in the OCB or the ANBF.
To the left is the ANBF pose, to the right is the NPC/IFBB pose. If you make the mistake of posing the right side pose, you will be scored lower.
I will not go over all of the poses listed, but this example is a clear indicator of doing your homework and researching guidelines. Each federation has their rules and regulations posted on the respective website. Judges hate when you don't follow rules.
POSING TIPS
Take pictures of your poses in the morning. You will be your driest and look your best. Taking pictures later in the day after eating or drinking certain fluids may create water retention.
Practice posing with a mirror for the first two weeks. Make sure you feel the muscles being used. Each pose has its own feeling.
After two weeks, close your eyes and feel the pose, then open your eyes and check your form. If it looks good to the coach and your buddy or significant other move to the next pose.
Have your coach sit down on a small low bench or on the floor. Remember, you?re being viewed from the bottom up. The judges are below you.
After four weeks, you should barely use a mirror. At this point, you should be posing for one minute easily, especially after adding 20-30 seconds after the first two or three weeks.
Dont flex too hard. You?ll shake. Control your breathing and pose, don't tighten up to the point where your or legs begin to shake.
Practice poses at least two months prior to show day. Three positive benefits of practicing pose repeatedly:
Increase your conditioning capacity to hold a pose longer without shaking
It will increase muscle hardness
You are more aware of the mind-muscle connection. When I pose with a client, they will be required to pose with their eyes closed, both at home and in session. Only then will be able to feel the muscles being used for that pose as well as fix the mistakes made.
As a judge, three things piss me off;
Failure to adhere to the rules of the federation
Posing routines that go well over your time limit.
Failure to pay attention to your backside (rear delts, glutes, hamstrings and calves).
Make every attempt to keep your physique balanced. Rear delts, lower back, glutes, hamstrings and calves are IMPORTANT to a good placing.
How to dry out for bodybuilding competition
I do not believe drying out at the beginning of the week is beneficial. In my years as a competitor and as a coach, I have used the water loading method several times and it works so much better.
Water loading instead of water depletion? Yes. Very simply, water in-water out. Depleting water causes more water to trap and retain inside the skin, over the muscle tissue. Instead, if you continue to stream water through the body, water doesn?t stay trapped. To push even more water out, towards the end of the week, you will use a natural diuretic and lower some of the sodium.
Follow the water and sodium loading schedule as directed. Practice the entire schedule a two or three weeks before your peak week to see how you react. Make detailed notes.
Supplements used will include Smooth Move tea and XPel. Smooth is nothing more than a gentle laxative that you?ll use to empty the stomach. XPel is a mild, natural diuretic. Use oink sea salt if possible. Micronutrients found in pink sea salt offer many benefits.
SATURDAY
175% more water than your normal intake, salt all of your meals. By salting a meal, this means just a shake or two.
SUNDAY
Same water schedule, salt all of your meals.
MONDAY
Same water schedule, salt 5 of 6 meals.
TUESDAY
150% water; salt 4 of 6 meals.
WEDNESDAY
125% water, salt 3 of 6 meals. Begin XPel, a natural diuretic. Read the label for directions.
Use Smooth Move tea or a gentle laxative before bedtime. This will initiate a bowel movement to reduce bloat in your stomach.
THURSDAY
Normal water intake that you were using before peak week began. Salt 2 of 6 meals. Use XPel, use Smooth Move tea before bedtime.
FRIDAY
Same water UNTIL 6pm. After 6pm, you?ll take small sips.
No added salt, just what is in your meals.
Use Xpel
Smooth Move tea Friday morning ONLY.
SATURDAY
Small sips of water when needed.
Stop Xpel.
Stop Smooth Move tea.
A WORD ON CREATINE?
It has been my experience that if you have used creatine throughout your training, continue to use it. It will help you keep the water inside your muscle cells, where it belongs. One word of caution, do not skimp on water because that is when you will appear puffy and you will retain water. Drink more than enough water and you should have no problems.
Show Day
You made it. Congratulations! After all of the months of prep and hard work, your day to shine is here! Follow the schedule below. If you are hungry, add a small amount more of water and take some nibbles of food.
6AM
Wake up, pump and pose. You will appear fuller than yesterday morning. Have a meal of 20 to 30 grams of carbs, 20 grams of fats and 20g of protein. Be careful with protein because it tends to make you fuller and takes a little time to digest. Wait 20 minutes. Pump up and pose.
THREE HOURS LATER
Repeat this morning?s process. Have another meal with the same amount of macros. The objective is to gauge how you look and either drop the carbs a little or increase to the amount listed. By now, you should appear fuller.
At this time, you should be nearing the morning competitors meeting. Get an idea of when you will be going onstage.
COMPETITION TIME, UNDER AN HOUR
Have a small carb meal with a bite or two of protein. I like a tablespoon of peanut butter with one large caramel rice cake. If you won't be on until two hours from then have a small white bread based light protein sandwich. Twenty minutes after you eat, pose and go through your routine.
YOU ARE THE NEXT CLASS
When you know your class is up next and they ask you to line up, five minutes before you line up, have some candy and an alcoholic drink. I love Fireball liqueur or red wine and a small piece of dark chocolate. This is to soothe your nerves and give you some extra carbohydrates to maintain energy. If you don't feel comfortable using an alcohol based drink, stick with the dark chocolate only.
AFTER PREJUDGING
Have your morning meal again and repeat the process from the morning. Have a full glass of water, but don't go overboard. You?re body is still in a state of duress and you can't force feed it as you want.
Some federations do a straight-through show and only break to tabulate scores. As a heavyweight, this is so much better than waiting. I once got finished with a show at 11:30pm!
Continue with little bites of food. Don?t fill up to much as you need to be aware of stomach bloat. Sip water.
Final thoughts?
I hope this guide helps you with a great showing. Above all, remember to keep notes and see what works each time you compete. I love this sport, and it is my hope that you are smart about prep and remain worry free.
After the show, go out and enjoy yourself. Hopefully you have learned from the experience. Have a great meal, but don?t push it too hard. Your body isn't used to junk meals at this point. I cannot stress this enough.
I wish you the best of luck, and may you have many victories in your journey of competition
