Contest Prep diary In review

by: DannyStevens - November 2nd, 2007

Well, here I am, hanging out, eager to get Saturday on the road! I did 2 coats of Pro Tan last night and will do another 2-3 later. I now officially smell like a competitive bodybuilder :) Between general relaxing, ordering car parts online and talking on the phone, I figured I'd search some of the larger Bodybuilding forums and get an idea how some other bodybuilders prep for a show. Wow!!!!!!! My head is spinning lol. The theories out there and all the ideas are simply all over the place. After 15 minutes of searching, I already developed a head ache.

Hear me out on this one, take a look at a lot of the criminals spending time behind bars. A lot of them are in unbelievable shape with huge chests and ripped abs. You can't tell me they're sodium loading and manipulating water intake? You could aruge that a lot has to do with genetics and it does, but good old hard work is the most tried and true method.

Below are a few of the common tactics people use for contest prep and my take on them-

1) Sodium loading/unloading
I'll never understand this one. I didn't know being a bodybuilder also certified us as scientists who can fully understand the electrolyte balance of the human body. There are a thousand opinions out there on this one. To me, it's so sensitive and so risky, what's the point? If one watches their sodium intake yearly, why modify it now, with only days left?

2) Carb loading/unloading
This one make a little more sense to me but I still have trouble with it. The concept behind cutting carbs early in the prep to cut excess water makes sense but why do people seem to think that carbing down/up within the last hours of a show is going to make the difference between winning and losing? If you look like crap the night before, I somehow doubt you're going to come in looking awesome the next morning because you carbed up that night.

3) Water depletion
This one is crazy. Water depletion??? Water is the most crucial thing your body functions on. People actually go days with NO water in order to prep for a show. This still boggles me. To me, cutting out all water intake in order to come in "lean" is like taking out all the oil of your car in attempt to get ready for a 1/4 mile run. Down your water ok, but cutting it fully???

Granted, everything is my opinion and after reading so many conflicting theories, I like my logic. Also keep in mind, this is for the natural bodybuilder, not the anabolic user. Ask yourself this, what's the point of all these drastic changes from the prep that got you here in the first place?

So, for my show, here's everything in review-
6 weeks out- Started eating extremley clean, approx. 2600 cal daily. Keep in mind, I eat clean pretty much year round so my bf% was fairly low.
2 weeks out- drastically cut carbs in order to shred excess water. I've lost 6 lbs since then. My diet was pretty restrictive, take a look at my past blogs for more info.
Morning of show- Nice big bowl of oatmeal with some pie filling. I'll also munch on some other sugary items throughout the morning. Sugar promotes vascularity thus my logic. This one I get.

You'll also notice that I made no change to my water intake. I added a natural diuretic last night and will continue it up to showtime. But, my water intake has only downed slightly.

After pre-judging, what I eat depends on how I do. If I make call outs, I'll prob. have a nice steak, potatoes, and maybe a piece of cake. If I don't make call outs, I won't be as careful. I don't care what anyone tells you but if you aren't in the top 5 call outs, you prob. won't be taking home a trophy. But, no need to binge quite yet because 6th or 7th can still be rewarding!!! Actually, just getting here is rewarding enough!!!

We'll see how tomorrow plays out!!!

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