Carb loading for competition

[Evil_Frisky]

I'll be printing this out... Makes more sense than most of what I've read before and alot less confusing.

Thanks Sassy

 

[Evil_Frisky]

Ok now I'm confused ... LOL!

All this up down deplete load mumbojumbo will be the death of me!

 

[Sassy69]

ok that's a valid point - vascularity is more than just the result of one thing.

So you agree that carbs require at least 36 hrs to start filling?

 

[Evil_Frisky]

ok that's a valid point - vascularity is more than just the result of one thing.

So you agree that carbs require at least 36 hrs to start filling?

So.. carb up should be on Thrusday if Prejudge is saturday morning? When does the water depletion start?

 

[courtneybcca]

okAY BUMP for what frisky said... I thought it was start slowly droping the water 3 days out and start upping the carbs 2 days out?

 

[Sassy69]

This is where, of course, with my trainer I will *NOT* be doing what the rest of the world does, but I'm in it for the experiment I guess.

This is the *GENERAL GUIDELINE* and please note I am only going to speak to my experience in BODYBUILDING and other competition categories may not require as aggressive approach to completely pull out water & fill out muscle.....

I'm not sure about the superhydration prior to Wed from the show - I just always kept my water intake at 1.5 - 2 gal.

Mon - Wed :
-Carb deplete - no starchy carbs - similar to low carb part of a carb cycle and rely on fats to maintain your energy (By the last day you will be stupid in the head from the lack of carbs)
-Water at whatever level you drink > 1.5 gal / day
-Suggest having some sodium (e.g. lightly salt your food -- you will see a diff in vascularity)

Wed - Fri
- decrease water by 1/2 each day (e.g. 2 gal, 1 gal, 1/2 gal)
Thurs - Fri
- increase starchy carbs.

 

[Miss24k]

bump

 

[musclegirl28]

Sassy, out of curiosity, how many shows have you done? You have a lot of useful info... has this worked for you after much trial and error? I'm confused because everyone has something different to say about carb loading... this is the most important part of the whole process!! Frisky is right, it could be the death of what we worked so hard for!!!

 

[Sassy69]

I'm going into my 3rd show, though I've prepped for 4 w/ 4 different trainers. There are a number of different approaches to the last week so I am not going to say "THIS" is the one. It all depends on the person, the shape they are in, etc. You have to go thru a dialing in process the last week that gets tweaked on a daily basis depending on your progress, your goal and each day's status.

I would suggest that before you go diving into competition, several weeks out, experiment with how your body reacts, for ex which carbs work best for you, how long do u take to fill out, etc.

Generally people will follow what I said above for that last week's schedule but I suggest you do a lot of your own research. There's some good articles on bodybuilding.com and also look through our own competition board.

 

[musclegirl28]

What you said in your original post makes alot of sense to me... I haven't tried it personally (have done 10 shows in my life)... and have only ever fat loaded. I found that fat loading did nothing but fill the rest of me out. (fat loading with steak and cheesecake the friday night). I didn't deviate too far from my normal diet (consisting of low carb) except for that friday night. and yes, I was kinda flat. Can you think of any reason why I lost some definition because of my fat loading?

What types of carbs do you use for your carb loading phase, and how often in that 24 hour range do you intake your carbs?