WATER/HYDRATION
MANIPULATION
Aswe’vealreadytouchedon,we
wantwatertoberetainedinthe
muscleandnotundertheskin
(subcutaneous). Since glycogen can
only be stored in the muscle when
accompanied by almost three times
itsweightinwater,thatwaterhasto
come from somewhere. By following
the depletion diet and training
protocols,you’vecreatedahuge
demand for carbs/glycogen (an
active male can store up to 500
gramsorevenmore)andthat’s
wheretherepletioncarbsyoueat
aregoingtogo.Inthisscenario,
ifyourestrictwater,theoretically
your body should suck water away
fromotherpartsofthebody(like
subcutaneous stores) so it can top
up the urgently needed glycogen.
The question is, how much should
yourestrictwatertogetthebalanceright? The answer is, again, trial
and error and practice runs.
More and more competitors these
days only moderately restrict water
andmanyofthemcomeinrippedto
thebone.Others,probablystillthe
majority,restrictwaterquiteabitin
thelastdayortwo.Sometakeitso
farastobarelyhaveanyliquid(or
none)inthe24hoursbeforehitting
thestage—thisisalmostcertainly
notnecessary,putsalargestresson
the kidneys and could be dangerous
or in extreme cases, even fatal.
Of course, the larger competitive
bodybuilders who use various
pharmaceutical agents can
experience unwanted water retention
due to complex hormonal fluctuations
and may have to go to extremes of
watermanipulation.Icouldwritean
article (maybe even a book) on this
alone, so it is beyond the scope
ofthisarticle,butsufficeittosay
that cutting water dramatically is
probablynotnecessary–evenfor
the drug-enhanced physique guys.
Justfindanintakethatworksforyou.SALT/SODIUM
First off (for ease of conversion
between the two) 40% of salt is
sodium. I’m going to refer to sodium
in this article because it is the
molecule which actually has the
water-altering effects. Sodium intake
needs to be considered in parallel
with water and carb intake and
this is the most controversial and
complex topic of them all. I have yet
to read or hear any coach or “expert”
properly explain sodium’s effects in
physique athletes. In fact, no one has
even come close (it is probably my
work in fitness genetics over the last
several years that has pointed me in
the right direction on this). The fact
is, the way sodium affects the body
is governed by genetics — changes in
sodium intake have very little effect
in some people and substantial
effects in others. It is also strongly
influenced by potassium intake.
This is another topic I could write
an article on (actually, I have), so
I’ll just touch on the basics here.
There is a gene called ACE (among
others), which determines if you are
affected by higher sodium and lower
potassium intake. If big changes in
sodium intake don’t seem to make
any difference to your physique, then
congratulations, you’re probably in
this category and there is no reason
to change your intakes as long
as you have a good diet and/or
supplementation (you could do an
experiment and get your blood
pressure tested after sodium
restriction and then again afterHave about 12
medium to large
spears the night
before — fried in a
bit of butter is best.
ASPARAGUS
CONTEST PREP
92 MUSCLE & FITNESS JUNE 2017