Hayward Blog|Your Blog About Hayward
Oct
08
Filed Under (Bodybuilding) by
Lee Hayward asked:
The desire to build a better body unites all bodybuilding enthusiasts, but for most of us, the gains come too slow. So we look for shortcuts. In this article we are going to dive into 5 of the most common workout “shortcuts” that people take.
Shortcut # 1 - Training More Often
A lot of times aspiring bodybuilders think they are not training enough and fall into the more is better mentality. After all more workouts must mean more muscle, Right?
It is not uncommon to find less experienced bodybuilders to start spending more and more time in the gym. Daily workouts become the norm and the length of those workouts gradually gets longer and longer. They usually think they are doing themselves good, and sometimes even brag about how they workout “everyday”.
Is there a better way?
Your body can only recover and grow so fast. Training a muscle again before you have fully recovered from your previous workout will lead to overtraining. Generally the most you can train a bodypart is twice per week and still recover and grow.
While there are some rare exceptions to this rule. You should limit yourself to working each bodypart at most twice per week and take at least 2 days off from weight training each week for optimal muscle gains.
Shortcut # 2 - Doing More Sets
Making the transition from a beginner, to intermediate, to an advanced lifter usually involves increasing your workout training volume to some extent. The better shape you are in physically, the higher your work capacity, and the more volume of training you can handle.
For example, a beginner workout may consist of 6 sets per bodypart. An intermediate workout may consist of 9 sets per bodypart. And an advanced workout may consist of 12 sets per bodypart. While this is all good general training advice, it breeds the “more is better” mentality. After all no one wants to be a newbie for long so they jack up the training volume too much, too soon.
Another problem with this train of thought is that if 12 sets per bodypart are good for an advanced lifter, will more sets be even better? How about 15 sets, or 20 sets, and beyond…?
Is there a better way?
Generally it takes at least 3 years of training to progress from the beginner, to the intermediate, and on to the advanced levels of training. Once you reach the advanced levels adding more sets and training volume beyond this is often counterproductive.
While there is no hard set rules for exactly how much training volume you should do, there are some general guidelines that you can follow. 9 sets per workout should be adequate for smaller muscle groups like biceps, triceps, calfs, and abs. And around 12 sets per workout will be enough for larger muscle groups like chest, back, and thighs.
Once you are at the advanced training level the key to more muscle growth is using progressive overload and by adding variety to your workouts. NOT from adding more training volume.
Shortcut # 3 - Training Less Often
The world of bodybuilding is full of extremes, for a lot of guys it is either all or none… there is no middle ground. So after learning about the negative impacts of training too often, as outlined above, many bodybuilders make a complete U-turn and go the opposite direction and drastically cut back on their workouts figuring that “less is more”.
Some experts have gone over the deep end with the fear of overtraining. Mike Mentzer and his Heavy Duty style workouts were one of the biggest influences of the “less is more” idea. Overall the basic principles of this workout were good because it implemented a solid plan of action, used progressive overload, monitored your progress, etc.
But one major flaw of the system was that if you weren’t making progress with your workouts it was automatically assumed that you were “overtraining”, so your workouts were cut back. Sometimes going to the point of working out once a week or less.
Is there a better way?
For some extremely hardgainers training less often (i.e. every second day) may be the best frequency for muscle gains. But most people will respond well to more frequent workouts (i.e. 2 days on, 1 day off).
There are no hard set in stone rules that work for everyone, but a general guideline of working out 4-5 times per week and training each bodypart twice per week is a good place to start. As you get more experienced you be able to find out exactly what your body responds the best to and customize your workouts to fit your specific needs.
Shortcut # 4 - Heavy Weights & Low Reps
One of the basic bodybuilding principles is a bigger muscle is a stronger muscle. So in order to get bigger, you need to get stronger. Progressive overload is the cornerstone of all successful workouts. You need to gradually increase the weights you are lifting over time in order to make progress.
During the early phases of a starting a workout program beginners can make fast gains because all training stimulus is new at this stage. And a lot of the initial strength gains come not only from increasing muscle strength, but also from improved lifting technique and better coordination.
But once you get past the initial beginners phase, your strength gains come more slowly. When this happens a lot of lifters will simply do fewer reps so they can continue to increase the weights.
For example, if I can lift 100 lbs. for 10 reps, maybe I could drop the reps to 8 and lift 120 lbs., or drop the reps to 6 and lift 140 lbs., etc… While this may work to some degree initially to get you growing again, there comes a point where it can back fire and bring your gains to a screeching halt.
Is there a better way?
Lifting heavier weights for lower reps increases your odds of getting an injury such as a muscle tear. When you are doing fewer then 5 reps per set you lose the mind muscle connection. The lift becomes an end in itself and no longer a means for building muscle. Lifting too heavy makes it harder to concentrate on the muscles you are working, your focus switches to simply moving the weight and not getting crushed under a heavy barbell.
For bodybuilding purposes try to stay within the 6-12 rep range. This is the “sweet spot” for keeping your muscles under tension long enough to stimulate growth, while still allowing relatively heavy weights to be lifted.
Shortcut # 5 - High Intensity Techniques
A lot of hardgainers think the key to making faster gains in the gym is to simply work harder. So they increase the intensity of their workouts with various advanced training techniques such as forced reps, super sets, drop sets, and so on… Thinking that the harder they push themselves, the better gains they’ll make.
Is there a better way?
For the average drug free lifter using advanced training techniques and pushing yourself to the limit will quickly lead to burnout, overtraining, and possibly injury.
A very common mistake that you can witness pretty much any day of the week in the gym is to see a couple of eager young lifters doing bench presses with WAAAYYY too much weight on the bar. One guy will be getting ready to bench while his trusty spotter is standing by ready to assist the lift. After getting psyched up the lifter plops down on the bench and takes the bar from the rack, he manages to struggle up 2-3 reps using **** poor form and every ounce of effort his body can muster. Then he gets his spotter to assist him with an addition 3-5 reps.
At the end of the set you wonder who worked the hardest, the guy benching or his buddy pulling the bar off his chest…?
Once you reach failure with an exercise you have stimulated the muscle. Doing more then this is often not only waste of time, but could potentially set you back in your training through risk of injury. Simply doing your sets to positive failure is intense enough to stimulate your muscles to grow.
After each workout record it in your training journal. Each workout strive to do better by lifting an extra 5 lbs. or doing an extra rep with the same weight. Using progressive overload like this will ensure that you constantly push yourself to make steady strength and muscle gains.
The Real Shortcut To Fast Muscle Growth
Gains in muscle and strength don’t come overnight. They take consistency over the long term. By taking things at a manageable pace and making small frequent improvements week after week with your workouts your muscle size will increase faster then you ever thought possible…
Inch by inch life’s a synch… Yard by yard life is hard…
STILLMAN
The desire to build a better body unites all bodybuilding enthusiasts, but for most of us, the gains come too slow. So we look for shortcuts. In this article we are going to dive into 5 of the most common workout “shortcuts” that people take.
Shortcut # 1 - Training More Often
A lot of times aspiring bodybuilders think they are not training enough and fall into the more is better mentality. After all more workouts must mean more muscle, Right?
It is not uncommon to find less experienced bodybuilders to start spending more and more time in the gym. Daily workouts become the norm and the length of those workouts gradually gets longer and longer. They usually think they are doing themselves good, and sometimes even brag about how they workout “everyday”.
Is there a better way?
Your body can only recover and grow so fast. Training a muscle again before you have fully recovered from your previous workout will lead to overtraining. Generally the most you can train a bodypart is twice per week and still recover and grow.
While there are some rare exceptions to this rule. You should limit yourself to working each bodypart at most twice per week and take at least 2 days off from weight training each week for optimal muscle gains.
Shortcut # 2 - Doing More Sets
Making the transition from a beginner, to intermediate, to an advanced lifter usually involves increasing your workout training volume to some extent. The better shape you are in physically, the higher your work capacity, and the more volume of training you can handle.
For example, a beginner workout may consist of 6 sets per bodypart. An intermediate workout may consist of 9 sets per bodypart. And an advanced workout may consist of 12 sets per bodypart. While this is all good general training advice, it breeds the “more is better” mentality. After all no one wants to be a newbie for long so they jack up the training volume too much, too soon.
Another problem with this train of thought is that if 12 sets per bodypart are good for an advanced lifter, will more sets be even better? How about 15 sets, or 20 sets, and beyond…?
Is there a better way?
Generally it takes at least 3 years of training to progress from the beginner, to the intermediate, and on to the advanced levels of training. Once you reach the advanced levels adding more sets and training volume beyond this is often counterproductive.
While there is no hard set rules for exactly how much training volume you should do, there are some general guidelines that you can follow. 9 sets per workout should be adequate for smaller muscle groups like biceps, triceps, calfs, and abs. And around 12 sets per workout will be enough for larger muscle groups like chest, back, and thighs.
Once you are at the advanced training level the key to more muscle growth is using progressive overload and by adding variety to your workouts. NOT from adding more training volume.
Shortcut # 3 - Training Less Often
The world of bodybuilding is full of extremes, for a lot of guys it is either all or none… there is no middle ground. So after learning about the negative impacts of training too often, as outlined above, many bodybuilders make a complete U-turn and go the opposite direction and drastically cut back on their workouts figuring that “less is more”.
Some experts have gone over the deep end with the fear of overtraining. Mike Mentzer and his Heavy Duty style workouts were one of the biggest influences of the “less is more” idea. Overall the basic principles of this workout were good because it implemented a solid plan of action, used progressive overload, monitored your progress, etc.
But one major flaw of the system was that if you weren’t making progress with your workouts it was automatically assumed that you were “overtraining”, so your workouts were cut back. Sometimes going to the point of working out once a week or less.
Is there a better way?
For some extremely hardgainers training less often (i.e. every second day) may be the best frequency for muscle gains. But most people will respond well to more frequent workouts (i.e. 2 days on, 1 day off).
There are no hard set in stone rules that work for everyone, but a general guideline of working out 4-5 times per week and training each bodypart twice per week is a good place to start. As you get more experienced you be able to find out exactly what your body responds the best to and customize your workouts to fit your specific needs.
Shortcut # 4 - Heavy Weights & Low Reps
One of the basic bodybuilding principles is a bigger muscle is a stronger muscle. So in order to get bigger, you need to get stronger. Progressive overload is the cornerstone of all successful workouts. You need to gradually increase the weights you are lifting over time in order to make progress.
During the early phases of a starting a workout program beginners can make fast gains because all training stimulus is new at this stage. And a lot of the initial strength gains come not only from increasing muscle strength, but also from improved lifting technique and better coordination.
But once you get past the initial beginners phase, your strength gains come more slowly. When this happens a lot of lifters will simply do fewer reps so they can continue to increase the weights.
For example, if I can lift 100 lbs. for 10 reps, maybe I could drop the reps to 8 and lift 120 lbs., or drop the reps to 6 and lift 140 lbs., etc… While this may work to some degree initially to get you growing again, there comes a point where it can back fire and bring your gains to a screeching halt.
Is there a better way?
Lifting heavier weights for lower reps increases your odds of getting an injury such as a muscle tear. When you are doing fewer then 5 reps per set you lose the mind muscle connection. The lift becomes an end in itself and no longer a means for building muscle. Lifting too heavy makes it harder to concentrate on the muscles you are working, your focus switches to simply moving the weight and not getting crushed under a heavy barbell.
For bodybuilding purposes try to stay within the 6-12 rep range. This is the “sweet spot” for keeping your muscles under tension long enough to stimulate growth, while still allowing relatively heavy weights to be lifted.
Shortcut # 5 - High Intensity Techniques
A lot of hardgainers think the key to making faster gains in the gym is to simply work harder. So they increase the intensity of their workouts with various advanced training techniques such as forced reps, super sets, drop sets, and so on… Thinking that the harder they push themselves, the better gains they’ll make.
Is there a better way?
For the average drug free lifter using advanced training techniques and pushing yourself to the limit will quickly lead to burnout, overtraining, and possibly injury.
A very common mistake that you can witness pretty much any day of the week in the gym is to see a couple of eager young lifters doing bench presses with WAAAYYY too much weight on the bar. One guy will be getting ready to bench while his trusty spotter is standing by ready to assist the lift. After getting psyched up the lifter plops down on the bench and takes the bar from the rack, he manages to struggle up 2-3 reps using **** poor form and every ounce of effort his body can muster. Then he gets his spotter to assist him with an addition 3-5 reps.
At the end of the set you wonder who worked the hardest, the guy benching or his buddy pulling the bar off his chest…?
Once you reach failure with an exercise you have stimulated the muscle. Doing more then this is often not only waste of time, but could potentially set you back in your training through risk of injury. Simply doing your sets to positive failure is intense enough to stimulate your muscles to grow.
After each workout record it in your training journal. Each workout strive to do better by lifting an extra 5 lbs. or doing an extra rep with the same weight. Using progressive overload like this will ensure that you constantly push yourself to make steady strength and muscle gains.
The Real Shortcut To Fast Muscle Growth
Gains in muscle and strength don’t come overnight. They take consistency over the long term. By taking things at a manageable pace and making small frequent improvements week after week with your workouts your muscle size will increase faster then you ever thought possible…
Inch by inch life’s a synch… Yard by yard life is hard…
STILLMAN
Comments Off
Aug
23
Filed Under (Bodybuilding) by
Lee Hayward asked:
“Lee, I’m new to working out and I’d like to build muscle and get in shape as fast as possible. But everyone that I talk to keeps telling me different ways to go about it. Please help me, I need advice on what I should do.”
This is one of the most common questions that floods my e-mail inbox on a daily basis. For people who are just getting started with a bodybuilding workout program the whole process can be a mind boggling experience. There is so much conflicting advice out there about weight training and exercise that you really don’t know who or what to believe anymore.
I understand what you are going through because I went through the same thing when I began bodybuilding over 17 years ago. People always have a tendency to make things more complicated then they really are. But when you put aside all of the hype and get down to the basics you can see that building muscle and getting in shape is not very complex.
Don’t get hung up on having the perfect training routine, with the precise number of sets and reps, or following the perfect eating plan, etc. Just get started and do it. You can figure out the details and find ways to improve as you go.
I am going to outline a good beginners bodybuilding weight training program that you can follow. You do not need to have any fancy exercise equipment. In fact you could follow this routine with a basic home gym set up. But if you have the option, I would recommend that you join a commercial gym. In addition to having higher quality exercise equipment to choose from, there is a lot more energy in a commercial gym. And this will help motivate you to stick to your workouts and make improvements.
Start off by working out every second day. This will give your body plenty of time for recuperation and muscle growth. Lifting weights will cause minor damage to the muscles and then the body reacts by building the muscles bigger and stronger in order to handle the demands that are being placed upon them. Muscles do not grow while you are working out; they grow while you are resting. Once you workout you have to give your body time to repair and build the muscles. Then you repeat the process of working out and rest.
A common mistake that a lot of novice bodybuilders make is thinking that the more they workout, the better results they will get. This is not true because what happens is the muscles get broken down, but they never get a chance to build back up. This is what is referred to in bodybuilding as “over training”. When you over train your body can’t build new muscle and you may even lose some of the muscle mass that you have now.
Here is a good solid workout routine that you can follow. With this routine you split up your workouts by exercising your upper body during the first workout, and then exercising your lower body during the second workout.
WORKOUT 1: (upper body)
Bench Press 3 sets of 10 reps (for the chest)
Lat Pull Downs 3 sets of 10 reps (for the back)
Seated Shoulder Press 3 sets of 10 reps (for the shoulders)
Bicep Barbell Curls 3 sets of 10 reps (for the biceps)
Triceps Push Downs 3 sets of 10 reps (for the triceps)
WORKOUT 2: (lower body)
Leg Press 3 sets of 10 reps (for the quadriceps)
Leg Curls 3 sets of 10 reps (for the hamstrings)
Leg Extensions 3 sets of 10 reps (for the quadriceps)
Standing Calve Raises 3 sets of 15 reps (for the calves)
Abdominal Crunches 3 sets of 25-50 reps (for the abdominals)
With this routine you workout every-other-day and alternate the two workout routines. So for example: Perform Workout 1, Take a day of rest, Perform Workout 2, Take a day of rest, and then repeat the cycle with Workout 1.
Prior to each exercise do 1 or 2 light warm up sets using about half of the weight that you would normally use for your working sets. The weight that you lift for the first couple of weeks should be light enough so you can complete the repetitions with ease. Then gradually, over time increase the amount of weight that you are lifting.
A good goal would be to add 5 lbs. to each exercise each week. For bigger exercises like bench presses, pull downs, leg presses, etc. this will be fairly easy to do, but for smaller exercises like bicep curls and tricep push downs you may not always be able to make those 5 lb. jumps in weight. There is a big difference between adding 5 lbs. to a 250 lb. leg press compared to adding 5 lbs. to a 25 lb. bicep curl. So just keep that in mind and do your best to increase your strength whenever possible.
At the beginning stages of your bodybuilding training it is best not to complicate things. Keep your workout routine simple and just focus on being consistent. The biggest factor with success in bodybuilding is to just stick with it and focus on making small frequent improvements overtime.
“inch by inch life is a synch… yard by yard life is hard”
SQUARE
“Lee, I’m new to working out and I’d like to build muscle and get in shape as fast as possible. But everyone that I talk to keeps telling me different ways to go about it. Please help me, I need advice on what I should do.”
This is one of the most common questions that floods my e-mail inbox on a daily basis. For people who are just getting started with a bodybuilding workout program the whole process can be a mind boggling experience. There is so much conflicting advice out there about weight training and exercise that you really don’t know who or what to believe anymore.
I understand what you are going through because I went through the same thing when I began bodybuilding over 17 years ago. People always have a tendency to make things more complicated then they really are. But when you put aside all of the hype and get down to the basics you can see that building muscle and getting in shape is not very complex.
Don’t get hung up on having the perfect training routine, with the precise number of sets and reps, or following the perfect eating plan, etc. Just get started and do it. You can figure out the details and find ways to improve as you go.
I am going to outline a good beginners bodybuilding weight training program that you can follow. You do not need to have any fancy exercise equipment. In fact you could follow this routine with a basic home gym set up. But if you have the option, I would recommend that you join a commercial gym. In addition to having higher quality exercise equipment to choose from, there is a lot more energy in a commercial gym. And this will help motivate you to stick to your workouts and make improvements.
Start off by working out every second day. This will give your body plenty of time for recuperation and muscle growth. Lifting weights will cause minor damage to the muscles and then the body reacts by building the muscles bigger and stronger in order to handle the demands that are being placed upon them. Muscles do not grow while you are working out; they grow while you are resting. Once you workout you have to give your body time to repair and build the muscles. Then you repeat the process of working out and rest.
A common mistake that a lot of novice bodybuilders make is thinking that the more they workout, the better results they will get. This is not true because what happens is the muscles get broken down, but they never get a chance to build back up. This is what is referred to in bodybuilding as “over training”. When you over train your body can’t build new muscle and you may even lose some of the muscle mass that you have now.
Here is a good solid workout routine that you can follow. With this routine you split up your workouts by exercising your upper body during the first workout, and then exercising your lower body during the second workout.
WORKOUT 1: (upper body)
Bench Press 3 sets of 10 reps (for the chest)
Lat Pull Downs 3 sets of 10 reps (for the back)
Seated Shoulder Press 3 sets of 10 reps (for the shoulders)
Bicep Barbell Curls 3 sets of 10 reps (for the biceps)
Triceps Push Downs 3 sets of 10 reps (for the triceps)
WORKOUT 2: (lower body)
Leg Press 3 sets of 10 reps (for the quadriceps)
Leg Curls 3 sets of 10 reps (for the hamstrings)
Leg Extensions 3 sets of 10 reps (for the quadriceps)
Standing Calve Raises 3 sets of 15 reps (for the calves)
Abdominal Crunches 3 sets of 25-50 reps (for the abdominals)
With this routine you workout every-other-day and alternate the two workout routines. So for example: Perform Workout 1, Take a day of rest, Perform Workout 2, Take a day of rest, and then repeat the cycle with Workout 1.
Prior to each exercise do 1 or 2 light warm up sets using about half of the weight that you would normally use for your working sets. The weight that you lift for the first couple of weeks should be light enough so you can complete the repetitions with ease. Then gradually, over time increase the amount of weight that you are lifting.
A good goal would be to add 5 lbs. to each exercise each week. For bigger exercises like bench presses, pull downs, leg presses, etc. this will be fairly easy to do, but for smaller exercises like bicep curls and tricep push downs you may not always be able to make those 5 lb. jumps in weight. There is a big difference between adding 5 lbs. to a 250 lb. leg press compared to adding 5 lbs. to a 25 lb. bicep curl. So just keep that in mind and do your best to increase your strength whenever possible.
At the beginning stages of your bodybuilding training it is best not to complicate things. Keep your workout routine simple and just focus on being consistent. The biggest factor with success in bodybuilding is to just stick with it and focus on making small frequent improvements overtime.
“inch by inch life is a synch… yard by yard life is hard”
SQUARE
Comments Off
Feb
12
Filed Under (Bodybuilding) by
Lee Hayward asked:
It’s no secret that competitive bodybuilders are among the most successful dieters in the world at losing pure bodyfat and getting “ripped”. Bodybuilders do things differently than the 95% of dieters who fail. And in this article I will outline the basics of a good bodybuilding pre-contest diet plan. This information will really help you if you are planning on competing in the future. And even if you are not really interested in getting on stage as competitive bodybuilder, but you would like to look like one, then the info covered here will help you get that lean “beach body” look.
I’ve been competing in bodybuilding competitions since 1995 so I’ve picked up a few tricks over the years and I’m going to share them with you here…
I personally start dieting for a contest at least 6 months in advance. I want to have plenty of time to prepare myself. For the first month I simply cut out all junk foods and eat nothing but clean foods. Such as beef, chicken, turkey, fish, eggs, milk, protein shakes, rice, potatoes, pasta, fruit, vegetables, etc. I eat about 5-6 small meals each day. I drink plenty of water at least 1 gallon a day. I will also do about 30 minutes of cardio exercise 4-6 times each week, before breakfast. I will continue my regular weight training workout.
The second month of preparation is very similar to the first. I will still eat the same as mentioned above. But I will increase my cardio exercise to at least 45 minutes, 5-7 times per week, before breakfast. The whole idea of doing cardio before breakfast is to help burn up more stored bodyfat. At this time there is no food in your system to be used as fuel so you’ll burn more bodyfat from your cardio. It also helps to jump start your metabolism for the day. After exercise your metabolism is elevated and remains so for several hours.
The third month I get stricter with my diet. I will begin to cut back on my portions of starchy carbohydrates while keeping my protein intake high (between 250-300 grams of protein per day). I also eat more vegetables. My diet is now mainly foods such as very lean meat, poultry, fish, protein supplements, vegetables, rice, potatoes, oatmeal, etc. I will increase my cardio to about 60 minutes each morning before breakfast.
I’ll also start taking a fat burner. For my last show I used “Palo Alto Labs Leviathan”. I found that it worked great, I would take 2 caps twice per day on an empty stomach. Once before cardio and again before my weight training workouts because it helps give me an energy boost, curb my appetite, and raise my metabolism enabling me to burn more bodyfat.
The fourth month is pretty much like the third month with dieting and doing cardio each morning before breakfast. I will also start practicing my mandatory poses 3-4 days per week. At this stage I am getting lean and can start to see the definition showing in my abs, legs, back, chest, etc…
The fifth month before the contest I get stricter with my diet. I will eat approx. 1 gram of carbohydrate and 1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight each day. I don’t normally count fat grams, but they are kept as low as possible. But I will include essential fats through flaxseeds, fish oil, etc.
A typical day will go like this:
Cardio
- take fat burner and black coffee
- 1 hour of cardio
Meal 1
- bowl of oatmeal mixed with protein powder
- egg whites
Meal 2
- chicken breast
- garden salad
Meal 3
- can of tuna
- garden salad
Workout
- take fat burner and black coffee
- weight training workout
- practice posing
- protein drink
Meal 4
- steak
- steamed veggies
- sweet potatoes
Meal 5
- protein drink
I also salt my food and even add a couple shakes of salt to my protein drinks. This may seem off the wall to most people. But I find that if I don’t add salt to my diet I get bad muscle cramps when training. Don’t worry you will not retain water, your body will adjust to a higher salt intake within a few days and as long as you are drinking lots of fluids your body will flush out any excess water. I’ll keep doing this until 2 days out from the show.
I strive to be in shape one month out before the contest and then just keep with the diet, cardio, training, etc. to let my conditioning just harden up. I won’t lose a whole lot more bodyweight, but my skin will get tighter and thinner.
I don’t try and lift too heavy in the gym at this stage because I know that I will not gain any new muscle during the last month before a contest, I am just trying to maintain my muscle mass and get leaner. I basically have my posing routine down pat. I just want keep plugging away consistently. The temptation to cheat on my diet is very strong now. It is very important not too cheat. I keep my eye on the finish line and know that the dieting will be all over soon.
Carb Loading & Water Intake…
I do not carb deplete or carb load during the last week. I have tried all kinds of crazy stuff like this in the past and I found that it is best to just diet right up to the day of the show. Carb depleting and carb loading is too “hit and miss” you risk screwing up your conditioning, it may make you look a little better, or it could make you look a lot worse. You are better off playing it safe by sticking to your diet and then just slightly increase your carb intake slightly for a couple days before the show (i.e. instead of eating 1 potatoe at a meal, eat 2 potatoes, etc.).
During the last week I will increase my water intake to about 2 gallons per day. I will stop all weight training and cardio a couple days before the contest to let my body rest and recover.
Friday night before the contest I will cut back on my water intake and just have a small glass of water with each meal. I also take herbal diuretic capsules on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday to help get rid of the excess water under my skin. I do not cut my water intake entirely, just cut back. Cutting out water entirely can leave you flat and smooth. You need some water in your system in order to pump up and pose properly.
Tanning…
I’ll go to the tanning salon about 4 times per week during the last 6 weeks prior to the contest. This will give me a base tan. Then on Friday before the show I’ll put on about 3-4 coats of ProTan. This is a spray tan that you paint on with a sponge brush. Saturday morning before the show I’ll also put on a coat of Dream Tan. This is a dark tanning cream that you rub on your skin. I’ll put a coat of this on Saturday morning, another coat before pre-judging, and again before the evening show. Dream Tan works great and it has oil in the tan so you do not need to use much if any additional posing oils.
Back Stage…
When I go to the contest I take a MP3 player with my posing music. I try to find a place by myself back stage so I can practice my posing routine. By doing this, my routine is fresh in my mind before going on stage in front of the audience and judges.
When pumping up before going on stage I will do some light, high rep, upper body exercises such as push ups, bent over rows, bicep curls, etc. with a rubber fitness band. Never pump up the legs or the abs, these muscles always look and flex better when they are not pumped. Do not pump up too much because it will make you shake when you pose. Just warm up and get the blood flowing to the muscles.
And the last thing that I recommend is to go out there and have a good time. Be confident and proud of your accomplishments and put on a good show for the crowd. At this point you have done all you can do, now it is up to the judges to decide the rest.
DEITSCH
It’s no secret that competitive bodybuilders are among the most successful dieters in the world at losing pure bodyfat and getting “ripped”. Bodybuilders do things differently than the 95% of dieters who fail. And in this article I will outline the basics of a good bodybuilding pre-contest diet plan. This information will really help you if you are planning on competing in the future. And even if you are not really interested in getting on stage as competitive bodybuilder, but you would like to look like one, then the info covered here will help you get that lean “beach body” look.
I’ve been competing in bodybuilding competitions since 1995 so I’ve picked up a few tricks over the years and I’m going to share them with you here…
I personally start dieting for a contest at least 6 months in advance. I want to have plenty of time to prepare myself. For the first month I simply cut out all junk foods and eat nothing but clean foods. Such as beef, chicken, turkey, fish, eggs, milk, protein shakes, rice, potatoes, pasta, fruit, vegetables, etc. I eat about 5-6 small meals each day. I drink plenty of water at least 1 gallon a day. I will also do about 30 minutes of cardio exercise 4-6 times each week, before breakfast. I will continue my regular weight training workout.
The second month of preparation is very similar to the first. I will still eat the same as mentioned above. But I will increase my cardio exercise to at least 45 minutes, 5-7 times per week, before breakfast. The whole idea of doing cardio before breakfast is to help burn up more stored bodyfat. At this time there is no food in your system to be used as fuel so you’ll burn more bodyfat from your cardio. It also helps to jump start your metabolism for the day. After exercise your metabolism is elevated and remains so for several hours.
The third month I get stricter with my diet. I will begin to cut back on my portions of starchy carbohydrates while keeping my protein intake high (between 250-300 grams of protein per day). I also eat more vegetables. My diet is now mainly foods such as very lean meat, poultry, fish, protein supplements, vegetables, rice, potatoes, oatmeal, etc. I will increase my cardio to about 60 minutes each morning before breakfast.
I’ll also start taking a fat burner. For my last show I used “Palo Alto Labs Leviathan”. I found that it worked great, I would take 2 caps twice per day on an empty stomach. Once before cardio and again before my weight training workouts because it helps give me an energy boost, curb my appetite, and raise my metabolism enabling me to burn more bodyfat.
The fourth month is pretty much like the third month with dieting and doing cardio each morning before breakfast. I will also start practicing my mandatory poses 3-4 days per week. At this stage I am getting lean and can start to see the definition showing in my abs, legs, back, chest, etc…
The fifth month before the contest I get stricter with my diet. I will eat approx. 1 gram of carbohydrate and 1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight each day. I don’t normally count fat grams, but they are kept as low as possible. But I will include essential fats through flaxseeds, fish oil, etc.
A typical day will go like this:
Cardio
- take fat burner and black coffee
- 1 hour of cardio
Meal 1
- bowl of oatmeal mixed with protein powder
- egg whites
Meal 2
- chicken breast
- garden salad
Meal 3
- can of tuna
- garden salad
Workout
- take fat burner and black coffee
- weight training workout
- practice posing
- protein drink
Meal 4
- steak
- steamed veggies
- sweet potatoes
Meal 5
- protein drink
I also salt my food and even add a couple shakes of salt to my protein drinks. This may seem off the wall to most people. But I find that if I don’t add salt to my diet I get bad muscle cramps when training. Don’t worry you will not retain water, your body will adjust to a higher salt intake within a few days and as long as you are drinking lots of fluids your body will flush out any excess water. I’ll keep doing this until 2 days out from the show.
I strive to be in shape one month out before the contest and then just keep with the diet, cardio, training, etc. to let my conditioning just harden up. I won’t lose a whole lot more bodyweight, but my skin will get tighter and thinner.
I don’t try and lift too heavy in the gym at this stage because I know that I will not gain any new muscle during the last month before a contest, I am just trying to maintain my muscle mass and get leaner. I basically have my posing routine down pat. I just want keep plugging away consistently. The temptation to cheat on my diet is very strong now. It is very important not too cheat. I keep my eye on the finish line and know that the dieting will be all over soon.
Carb Loading & Water Intake…
I do not carb deplete or carb load during the last week. I have tried all kinds of crazy stuff like this in the past and I found that it is best to just diet right up to the day of the show. Carb depleting and carb loading is too “hit and miss” you risk screwing up your conditioning, it may make you look a little better, or it could make you look a lot worse. You are better off playing it safe by sticking to your diet and then just slightly increase your carb intake slightly for a couple days before the show (i.e. instead of eating 1 potatoe at a meal, eat 2 potatoes, etc.).
During the last week I will increase my water intake to about 2 gallons per day. I will stop all weight training and cardio a couple days before the contest to let my body rest and recover.
Friday night before the contest I will cut back on my water intake and just have a small glass of water with each meal. I also take herbal diuretic capsules on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday to help get rid of the excess water under my skin. I do not cut my water intake entirely, just cut back. Cutting out water entirely can leave you flat and smooth. You need some water in your system in order to pump up and pose properly.
Tanning…
I’ll go to the tanning salon about 4 times per week during the last 6 weeks prior to the contest. This will give me a base tan. Then on Friday before the show I’ll put on about 3-4 coats of ProTan. This is a spray tan that you paint on with a sponge brush. Saturday morning before the show I’ll also put on a coat of Dream Tan. This is a dark tanning cream that you rub on your skin. I’ll put a coat of this on Saturday morning, another coat before pre-judging, and again before the evening show. Dream Tan works great and it has oil in the tan so you do not need to use much if any additional posing oils.
Back Stage…
When I go to the contest I take a MP3 player with my posing music. I try to find a place by myself back stage so I can practice my posing routine. By doing this, my routine is fresh in my mind before going on stage in front of the audience and judges.
When pumping up before going on stage I will do some light, high rep, upper body exercises such as push ups, bent over rows, bicep curls, etc. with a rubber fitness band. Never pump up the legs or the abs, these muscles always look and flex better when they are not pumped. Do not pump up too much because it will make you shake when you pose. Just warm up and get the blood flowing to the muscles.
And the last thing that I recommend is to go out there and have a good time. Be confident and proud of your accomplishments and put on a good show for the crowd. At this point you have done all you can do, now it is up to the judges to decide the rest.
DEITSCH
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