Jimmy

Ok, its now time for me to put my fingers to the keyboard and explain one of the many ways a bodybuilder will get cut for competition. It is in no way designed to overshadow any other ways of prepping for a show. Rather its designed to give a "first timer" a basic idea of what to do.

If any of you have a coach that is willing to get you into shape, then go with their formula as its far better to be guided.

I like to split up a diet into a 16 week period. This may sound long but its what it takes to slowly strip fat off the average man with no/little muscle loss. Some people require longer while others need less time. This depends on the level of bodyfat the individual is holding before dieting. Its best to determine how much fat is needed to be lost before dieting so as to come to some sort of time frame, as well as the rough amount of lbs to be lost per week.

The first stage the pre-diet phase is cleaning out all junk food and un-necessary calories. This would last for about a month/4 weeks and involves sticking to a moderate calorie meal plan,consisting of clean whole some foods high in protein and fibre with moderate fats and substantial carbohydrates which will add a few extra pounds of muscle tissue. Its surprising just how much one can benefit from these few weeks. This seven day menu may consisted of eggs,poultry,beef,fish,rice,oats,fresh fruit and veg and essential fatty acids(efa’s) containing omega 3, 6, 9 oils. Fluid intake should be nothing but black coffee, diet drinks (if a sweet taste is really needed), and mineral water around 3-4 litres a day.

These 4 weeks would be considered dieting by most peoples standards, but in reality this is just the beginning because we have to achieve a level that is beyond most peoples comprehension. We need to be rid of all body fat so that the skin in the region of the glut’s (bottom for those of you that don’t know) is paper thin. Read on to find out how to do this.....

The diet is now broken down into several stages over the next 11 weeks. The reasoning behind this is because losing all subcutaneous body fat can not be done with a set amount of calories. You see the body can only get so far before the rate of fat loss grinds to a halt, to over come this one needs to further reduce their calories in the form of carbohydrates every time the visible weight loss stops. I like to use a carb cycling/rotation approach for maximum benefit. For example a 3 day carb cycle in the first few weeks of hard dieting may be as follows; 400g, 300g, 200g then repeat. It doesn't take much to work out that this is an average of 300g a day. As said above, when the fat isn't visibly shifting, a substantial drop in carbs should be made. What ever the starting level is a cut of 20% is typical for the body to resume fat loss. Although I dont like to depend on weighing scales, a steady loss of 3lbs should be aimed at, right up until the week before the show. Again this varies on the body fat the individual is holding in the first place.

Now this is where the cardio work comes in to play. Cardio should be done every morning before breakfast for approximately 40mins to begin with. In sync with calorie reduction, the cardio should be increased in time and if possible intensity as well. I like to add some cardio after training before increasing the time in the morning. I also like to keep my precious food intake as high as poss so I may up the cardio rather than cut food when the fat burning slows.

Protein should remain high throughout the whole diet, only lowering in the final stages when the body starts to use it for energy. I like to set my protein at 4-500g a day but this varies from person to person, depending on how much lean mass they are holding.

I like to keep fats moderate at this stage but they may increase towards the end if needs be. 30-70g are adequate.

A typical example of a diet may look like this at 12 weeks out


Meal 1
oats
whey in water
banana

Meal 2
chicken
rice
olive oil

Meal 3
lean red meat
rice

Meal 4
whey in water

Meal 5
tuna
salad
rice cakes

Meal 6
chicken
rice
olive oil

PWO
whey in water

Bed
lean red meat
veg

Obviously amounts have been left out as we all require a different level of macronutrients depending on our lean mass etc

One week from the show date all whey (other than PWO) will be substituted for whole food and carb levels will be very low indeed. All bodyfat should now be totally gone so that we can concentrate on the finishing touches to our physique.

The last week gets harder, we now need to deplete all carbohydrates for the first five days eating nothing but turkey and broccoli in order to rid the body of all glycogen (stored energy within the liver). Protein is lower than before so its not used for energy and fats are at a minimum. Even the broccoli is controlled to 1 sprig per meal!! Massive amounts of sodium are consumed which all adds up to an extremely flat, soft look!!

At three days out we start to carbohydrate load, this involves taking in massive amounts of carbohydrate in the form of potato.This is a very delicate procedure that I will only describe in brief as its such a personal thing that cant be done the same for everybody.

Day 1 of the carb up will be eating pealed potato every hour of the day. The next day and a half the amounts lower depending on how full the individual is looking. Large amounts of vitamin c are used throughout the day to help dry out any over spill from water gained from the carbs. Vit c may go up as high as 10g. Fluid intake at this stage is cut to water only and should be around 6-9litres a day whilst all sodium intake is cut.

The de-carb and carb load work together to polish off a physique before a competition. The de-carb flattens out the muscles totally then the carb load does totally the opposite driving massive amounts of glycogen back into the muscles. The result is a totally ripped and full looking body.

There is now one last adjustment needed which is merely twelve hours before the show, this was to cut all carbs, eat massive amounts of dry turkey and high doses of vitamin c, and stop all drinking water. This process acts as a natural diuretic which pulls all subcutaneous water left under the skin. We should now have no fat or water left on hour frame, looking de-hydrated and gaunt , this may sound very unattractive but it is the look required to show off all the muscle during competition, vascular and cut to the bone.

The day of the show one would wake and have a breakfast of something like toast and butter, with eggs and steak. This may be the first day where we feel normal again!! As said before, there are many ways of aproach but I personally consume modest amounts of ice cream along with my usual turkey and potato in the morning, taking great care not to bloat the stomach. I only sip water before the show just to quench my thirst....dont want to look soft on stage eh?!!

The last thought I have for you all is this. Preparing for a show is one of the hardest things one can ever go through! I cant put into words the experiences that I had, I truely was like the walking dead. A strong mind is needed during your prep if you want to succeed, so dont give up and remember that the harder you try, the better you look on stage....If you cheat, you look fat, and that is the truth!

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'Genetics is the science of heredity and variation in living organisms. Inheritance in organisms occurs by means of discrete traits, called genes.'

robdog

Man thats a realy good article mate. Is it a new one?

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Jimmy

Cheers robby

i wrote it last year sometime

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'Genetics is the science of heredity and variation in living organisms. Inheritance in organisms occurs by means of discrete traits, called genes.'

robdog

Lets hope i get to try it out 1 day!!

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DB

bump that robdog i hope also 2006 maybe

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DB
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:bounce: often imitated never duplicated
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Cheater2K

Im aiming for middle 2006, robdog, maybe we would be both on stage together, lol, advertiseing UK-M :p

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Cheater

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SportDr

You posted too many good articles all at once Jimmy! I can only rep you once, shame:boohoo: might have to give some to a less worthy recipient........Winger! then I can come back and give ya some.

Well done Jimmy (you got a lot of time on your hands lately?)

SD

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I don't like Sports and I am not a Doctor!



Any advice given is for information only, always seek the advice of your medical practitioner.

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big pete

must be waiting for that pitter patter of tiny feet (not robdog, lol)

hows that goin now Mr.W??

and great article to boot!!

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'there is greatness inside all of us, how deep are you willing to dig? '

Jimmy

cheers pete

she is gonna be induced tomorrow night!!!!!

Lets hope it doesnt come out speaking welsh or I will be visiting you soon....last time she saw you was 9 months ago at bills show HHMMmmm

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'Genetics is the science of heredity and variation in living organisms. Inheritance in organisms occurs by means of discrete traits, called genes.'

Jimmy

LOL

I wrote them all last year but never posted them here before

Dont worry about the rep points, I dont even know what they are let alone pay attention to them LOL

I just want to do my bit to help the members as best I can :lift:

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'Genetics is the science of heredity and variation in living organisms. Inheritance in organisms occurs by means of discrete traits, called genes.'