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will be on Sunday, the day after the carb-up. This helps establish ketosis quickly without
negatively affecting the Monday and Tuesday workouts. After the second week of the diet,
aerobics can be gradually added as necessary. Although a maximum of forty minutes, four to five
times a week is allowed, bodybuilders should gradually build up to this level to avoid putting too
much stress on the body. Bodybuilders should begin with twenty minutes of aerobics done three
times per week and increase each session by five to ten minutes per week and add sessions as
necessary. A sample weekly schedule appears in table 1.

Table 1: Sample weekly schedule for a pre-contest diet

Day Workout

Sun: 30-60 minutes of low intensity aerobics

first thing in the morning

Mon/Tue: 2 day split of preferred training regime.

Wed/Thu: *

Fri evening: Full body workout and then begin the carb-up.

Sat: No workout while carbing.

Sun: Repeat cycle

* Wednesday and Thursday should be used for aerobic workouts. Alternately, calories may be

reduced an additional 10%.

Section 5: The Final 2 weeks before the contest

The final two weeks prior to a bodybuilding contest differ from the rest of the pre-contest
diet. Table 2 provides a fairly generic schedule for the two weeks before the contest.
Unfortunately it is impossible to say what will work ideally for every competitor. Novice
bodybuilders should not be surprised if they don’t come in perfectly at their first contest. With
practice and repetition, they can determine what type of contest carb-up schedule works best.

Table 2: Overview of the 2 weeks leading up to the contest

Day Training Diet Water Intake

Mon Normal Mon training Lowcarb Normal

Tue Normal Tue training Lowcarb Normal

Wed cardio optional Lowcarb Normal

Thu cardio optional Lowcarb Normal

Fri Last heavy day of training Lowcarb Normal

Sat Cardio optional Lowcarb Normal

Sun Cardio optional Lowcarb Normal

Mon Cardio optional Lowcarb Normal

Tue Depletion workout in morning Start carb-up High

Wed None 2nd day of carb-up High

Thu Posing/none Continue carb-up 1/2 of Wed

if necessary

Fri Posing See below 1/2 of Thu

Sat None See below As needed

Sun None Go eat