44 contest prep fat the set up

UNIVERSITY

Contest Prep
The Set Up


Lesson Overview
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Are you ready for contest prep?
How long to prep for?
How to pick the right coach or self coach?
Initial Nutrition Set Up
Initial Cardio and Training Set Up
Initial PED Set Up
Initial Posing Set up and waist training
Lifestyle Set up


Are You Ready for Contest Prep?
Mentally
Know you why?
Self Confidence and Positive Outlook (outcome vs process focused)
Work ethic and motivation

Coping Strategies
Core beliefs and faith

Physical
Division Optimization
Body Composition
Health Status
Recovery Capacity
Extrinsic
Lifestyle
Relationship Status
Job/finance
Leisure Time


Picking a Timeline for Prep
Division choice (how lean, how muscular)
• Essential fat 3-4% men; F 10-12%

Starting and End points for Body Composition
• Van Der Ploeg 2001
12-week prep: 5F BBer, Dexa 18% to 12%; skinfold 25.5mm 8 site
• Rossow 2013
6-month contest prep natural males
14.8 to 4.5% (10% body fat change (3% fat free mass loss)
• Hulmi 2016
20 +/- 4 weeks females
27 Female, training, hormones. 20 +/-4 weeks
23% to 12% body fat, more body fat loss = more muscle loss
Rate of Loss

• Garthe 2011
0.7% vs 1.4% (resistance trained females, 0.7% no change in lean body mass, 1.4%
decreased muscle mass)
• Mero 2010
0.5kg vs 1kg (1kg decrement in bench press strength)

Extra factors
• Byrne 2017
30wk vs 15wk fat loss diet (30week had 2-week diet, 2 breaks) 50% more fat in 30week diet, same diet period, decreased drop in RMR)
• Ready 2 weeks out
• Diet style (calorie cycling and days in a deficit)
• Level of competitor (muscle mass level and experience)
• Drugs enhanced fat loss rate


Picking a Timeline for Prep
Putting it all together:
• 20-30 weeks of contest prep (10% body fat total)
• 0.5-1.5% weight loss rate
• Faster fat loss initially, slower at end
EXAMPLE:
• 220lbs M 12% body fat
• 9% fat loss= 20lbs of fat (~25lb)
• First 10 weeks 0.8% 17lbs
• 1 week diet break + deload
• 8 weeks 0.5%- 8lbs
• 2 week ready early
• 21 weeks for contest prep
• Potential 1–2-week buffer added

TOTAL FAT MASS (LBS

Fat loss Change
Over Weeks of Contest Prep
30
20
10
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
WEEK TO SHOW


Selecting a Coach
Coaching Components:
• Track record of experience
• They have done it themselves
• Applicable education background
• Communication and Personability
• Passion
• Do they truly care?
Self Coaching:
• Self development
• Self educating
• Finding mentors and consultants


The Contest Prep Phase Overview
Contest Prep: Like a fat loss phase, but taken to extremely low body
fat levels and peaking for stage look
Goal: drop body fat and hold muscle tissue

• Nutrition is progressively decreased, interspersed with cyclic
increases
• Training Stimulus must be held high to maintain tissue, but will be
manipulated based on recovery
• Cardio/NEAT will increase from offseason baseline or step count
increased
• If Enhanced, PED usage is elevated and progressively increased in
prep, along with addition of phase dependent drugs
• Posing practice is progressively increased
• Sleep, stress, relaxation time and Routine is highly consistnet


The Fat Loss Phase and Contest Prep Phase
Physique expectations and assessment
• Holding new muscle or recomp if using PEDS early in Prep
• Decreased body fat down to division appropriate leanness
• Initial weight loss can be from GI weight (food volume decrease, Muscle
glycogen decrease) Rate first week can be >1.5% body weight
• If PEDs increasing may see no change or increase in weight from water
retention.
• Plan will be adjusted based on subjective and objective data
• Optimally progress or at minimum maintain gym performance
• In a contest prep phase, we likely will reach a point of metabolic
adaption and need for hard fat loss digging causing many negative
physical and mental alterations (sleep disturbance, libido change,
performance drops, menstrual changes, digestion changes, food focus)

Fat loss rate Goals:
• From a high body fat a high rate of fat loss is possible and preserving
muscle tissue is much easier than in a lean state.

• This should be “easy” fat loss before hard stalls happen
• We don’t want to take too much time away from offseason
Rate:
0.5-1.5% weight loss per week


Starting Prep From a Holding Phase
• Need to not have dieted for weeks prior, holding phase and weight
stable
• 5-10% above stage weight, no more than 10% body weight loss ideally
• Prep not started from low calorie level and/or high cardio level
• Health markers in a good spot
Have all your tracking tools ready
Weekly Pictures
Waist Circumference
3 largest caliper sites
Body weight
Fasting Blood Glucose
Weekly Blood Pressure
Daily Step Count
Gym Performance
Biofeedback
Let's look at each variable set up….
(Nutrition, cardio, training, PEDs)


Nutrition Contest Prep Set Up
Coming off a holding phase
• Food intake has been close to maintenance level or slight surplus
• Should have adequate protein, carbs and fat to initiate

• Training volume will be brought up to hold lean tissue, this will drive a
slight increase in expenditure
• Food will need to be reduced 20-30% in calories
• This reduction initially should be a removal of offseason “non tracked
meals” “cheat meals” “junk food”
• Calorie reduction should come from carbs and/or fats from non periworkout meals
• Some of this can come from cardio increase
• PED introduction can enhance the fat loss effect on a smaller deficit
• Pull calories from meals that are not around training as a starting point
• Carbs and fats can be reduced individual or together depending on
starting point and preference.
Weekly weight
Weekly
Nutrition
Recommendations

Contest
Prep

Energy

Protein

Fat

20-30%
below
maintenance

1.2-1.5

g/lb/day

0.30.7g/lb
/day

Carbohydrate

change
novice/interme
diate

1.0-3.0+
g/lb/day

0.5-1.5% per
week

weight
change
advanced

0.5-1.5% per
week


Training and Cardio/NEAT
Contest Prep Set Up
Resistance Training:
• Train within your recovery capacity. PED introduction can allow for
higher training volume, volume should be higher than a holding phase

to hold tissue in a deficit, but less than peak push phase.
• Feeling fresh in beginning of prep is not a justification to train more
• Only straight sets, remove (drop sets, rest pause sets, beyond failure
sets) manage fatigue
• Add back in the training day removed during the holding phase: EX: Pull
Push Off Legs Off then to Pull Push Legs Off
• Continue normal load rep progressions like any other phase
Cardio/NEAT:
Increase in cardio if needing to keep food high. Ideally manipulate one
variable first (decrease food or increase cardio, then monitor response
Step count can be a focus at the start of prep, we are simply trying to
increase energy output and get more active
I would try not to let direct cardio workouts exceed the number of
resistance training sessions you have per week in this phase.
We want some cardio to have adaptation in place before deep in prep
when tools to learn new skills and recover is poot.


PEDs Fat Loss Phase Set Up
AAS:

Move from TRT into a Blast
Can set up based on minimal needed for tissue holding
Can set up more aggressive to grow as well, base on previous cycle and rate of progress
Can I grow into the show?
GH:
Can hold GH 2-3 IU or move upwards to 4-8IU.
Time one dosage of 2IU pre fasted cardio

Insulin:

Not used during this phase
SERMS/Aromatase Inhibitors
Use as needed based on response
Save for final weeks of contest prep for water control
Health Support Compounds:
Metformin
ARB/Telmisartan
Fat Loss Agents
Clenbuterol and T3 reserved for later stages of contest prep
Clen can be used cycle in prep, early on, break, then reintroduced


Posing and Waist Training
Posing
Start of prep
should be started at onset of Prep
Minimum 1-2 session per week
5-10 second hold each pose
2 rounds
This can be done when taking your progress pictures
End of prep
1 session posing daily
5-10 second hold each pose
4 rounds continuous
Waist training
Every morning
Start: 10 abdominal vacuum holds for as long as possible
End: 15-20 abdominal vacuum holds for as long as possible

Lifestyle Set Up
Routine:
Organization in all things
Time management
Plan ahead
Set your eating, training, and sleep times
Plan your work schedule and time off for prep
Mentality:
Prioritize your prep
Stay within your support network
Head down and get to work
Embrace the suck
Stay thankful in all things
Don’t need to be a lone wolf, but manage social time appropriately
Remove distractions


Summary
• Contest prep is rewarding, and grueling process and we want to
come to stage ready
• Proper initial planning for readiness and giving the right timeline will
allow successful prep occur
• The initial phase of prep should be smooth and easy fat loss before
we get into stall outs and making the decisions to dig hard and scrap
off the last bit of fat


References
Mero AA, Huovinen H, Matintupa O, Hulmi JJ, Puurtinen R, Hohtari H, Karila T:
Moderate energy restriction with high protein diet results in healthier outcome in

women. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2010, 7: 4-10.1186/1550-2783-7-4.
van der Ploeg GE, Brooks AG, Withers RT, Dollman J, Leaney F, Chatterton BE: Body
composition changes in female bodybuilders during preparation for competition. Eur
J Clin Nutr. 2001, 55: 268-277. 10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601154.
Rossow LM, Fukuda DH, Fahs CA, Loenneke JP, Stout JR: Natural bodybuilding
competition preparation and recovery: a 12-month case study. Int J Sports Physiol
Perform. 2013, 8: 582-592.

Hulmi JJ, Isola V, Suonpää M, Järvinen NJ, Kokkonen M, Wennerström A, Nyman K,
Perola M, Ahtiainen JP, Häkkinen K. The Effects of Intensive Weight Reduction on
Body Composition and Serum Hormones in Female Fitness Competitors. Front
Physiol. 2017 Jan 10;7:689. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2016.00689. PMID: 28119632;
PMCID: PMC5222856.
Garthe I, Raastad T, Refsnes PE, Koivisto A, Sundgot-Borgen J. Effect of two different
weight-loss rates on body composition and strength and power-related performance
in elite athletes. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2011 Apr;21(2):97-104. doi:
10.1123/ijsnem.21.2.97. PMID: 21558571.