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Final Week Before the Show
Carb Depletion/Loading
Some people carb deplete and then carb load the final week
before a show. The theory is that once depleted, muscles
suck in more glycogen directly afterwards and one can look
slightly larger for the contest. Carb depletion usually
consists of cutting your carb intake in about half and doing
many high rep exercises for 3 days (usually Sun. Mon, Tue
for a Sat show). At the end of the third day energy will
likely be low, and muscles should look flat. Then one carb
loads for 3 days taking in about twice the carbs as what
their normal diet before the final week consisted of. Cardio
or weights are usually not done during this time since it
would interfere with glycogen loading. This process can be
tough to master though. If you look great first thing in the
morning, you may not want to fool with carb manipulation and
risk messing your look up. Also, for fitness and figure
competitors, it is not really necessary to manipulate carbs
during the final week. As these competitors generally
compete at a slightly higher body fat level, carb
manipulation has little effect on how you look the day of
the show. A fitness/figure girl may instead choose to carb
deplete the final 2-3 days and not load until the morning of
the show, to avoid holding water in the glutes.
Sodium Manipulation
Some people manipulate sodium levels right before a show to
try to keep from retaining water under their skin on contest
day and looking soft. The underlying theory is, if you have
less sodium, your body won’t hold onto as much water and you
will look harder and more defined. It’s not quite that
simple though as other electrolytes (like potassium) factor
in. A common misconception with respect to sodium is that
you have to eliminate it completely. This can actually cause
water retention. If the body doesn’t get the daily minimum
required sodium (which is somewhere around 500mg), it will
begin to produce aldosterone that in turn retains water in
the body. Again, on this one… if you look good first thing
in the mornings, you may not want to mess with things. If
you do manipulate sodium, you should cut it in half, a
gradual decrease, not a drastic one. For example, taking in
3000mg daily, then switching to 1500mg the day of and maybe
the day before the show.
Water Intake
Thinking one must refrain from drinking water on contest day
is another common misconception. Again, a drastic decrease
can be harmful. Not taking in enough water can cause water
retention, plus dehydration is dangerous. A gradual decrease
is recommended. Like if you take in 2 gallons per day, cut
back to one, or a half for contest day. Remember that
muscles are made up using a large percentage of water. If
they lose water, they will look smaller. People who take in
too little water often have troubles looking full and
vascular. The goal is to not hold water between the skin and
muscle, not lose water from the muscles themselves.
Training Style
The final week you may elect to do no lifting at all. Your
work is done. A few days rest will refresh you and bring you
into the show fully charged. If you do lift in the final
days, be a little careful not to overdo it. If you’ve
reached extremely low body fat levels, there’s higher risk
of injury (little cushioning in the joints).
Last Meal
A typical class for prejudging takes about 10 minutes. You
can get a rough estimate for when your class will go on by
estimating through use of the schedule of events for the
day. Try to schedule your last meal about 3 hours before you
go on so your belly isn’t bloated. Avoid certain foods that
can cause bloating, like high fiber foods (vegetables), or
other foods that can have an effect on bloating (pretzels,
bagels, ice cream, chocolate).
Pumping Up
Pumping up should only take about 5-10 minutes. You don’t
need any longer than that. It’s not a workout. You’re just
doing a couple of light sets for high reps to pump blood
into your muscles and make them look fuller. If you have a
weak body part, you can pump it to try and balance out your
physique more. You can get pumped just from posing too.
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