performed until strength starts to drop. This indicates that glycogen is being fully depleted.
Since glycogen levels should be low from the previous 10 days of lowcarb dieting, only three
to six sets per bodypart should be needed. Each set should be roughly 50% of 1 rep max. Sets
should be 10-20 quick reps (about 1 second up, 1 second down) stopped several reps short of
failure. Many athletes prefer to use machines for this workout for safety reasons (i.e. low body
fat and general depletion/fatigue). Use a variety of movements (see chapter 28 for sample
circuits) to hit all available muscle fibers. Don’t forget often neglected body parts like forearms,
traps, rear delts, etc.
Immediately after this workout, the final carb-up must begin. A liquid carb drink with 1.5
grams of carbs/kg lean body mass, 25-50 grams of protein and any supplements of choice (i.e.
creatine, glutamine) should be consumed immediately after this workout and again 2 hours later
to maximize glycogen storage. After that, bodybuilders should move to the normal carb-up and
supplement schedule, consuming ~50 grams of carbs every 2 hours or so, for a total of 10 grams
of carbs/kg of lean body mass (see chapter 12 for details).
Assuming that a bodybuilder has been on the CKD for a sufficient amount of time, they
should have a pretty good idea how their body responds to carb-ups since they have practiced it
every week. If they know that they do better with high GI carbs, those should be used. If they
have found that anything but starches makes them bloat, go with what works. Now is not the
time to experiment with anything new.
Water intake should be kept high to maximize muscle fullness and this is not the time to
start experimenting with sodium and potassium levels. Optimal glycogen transport across the
intestinal wall requires adequate sodium so reducing sodium intake will slow the carb-up.
- Wednesday: Continue carb-up
Into the second day of carbing, fats should be kept to 15% of total calories, primarily as
essential fatty acids, and carbs should be limited to 5 g/kg lean body mass. Switching to starches
and vegetables should ensure no fat spill over and chromium (up to 800 mcg per day), vanadyl
sulfate (up to 120 mg per day), magnesium (at least 300 mg per day), alpha lipoic acid (600-2000
mg), and Citrimax (750 mg taken three times at least thirty minutes before meals) may be used.
Some bodybuilders will start retaining water at this point but water intake should be kept high to
avoid increasing the body’s level of aldosterone, the hormone which causes water retention.
- Thursday: continue carb-up as necessary
Many athletes don’t eat enough during carb-ups, whether from fullness or fear of gaining
fat. This day is for those athletes. If a bodybuilder doesn’t appear fully carbed after two days of
carbing-up, they can continue to consume small amounts of carbs (mainly vegetables with some
low GI starches) during the day with protein and some fat. Water intake should be curtailed
somewhat, cutting back to half of what they’ve been drinking in the previous days. It’s probably
best to switch to distilled water so that mineral intake (notably sodium, potassium and calcium)
can be monitored.
If a bodybuilder is fully carbed up by Thursday, they should switch back to ketogenic
eating with small amounts of vegetables (30 grams of carbs maximum) throughout the day. This