Aerobics, while burning fat, can also destroy muscle. Even if it doesn’t do appreciable damage,
it will still limit the amount of muscle you can put on to some degree. As a rule, the less calories
you take in and the more time you allow yourself to lose the bodyfat, the less aerobics you’ll
need to do and the more lean body mass you’ll retain. You need to allow yourself time to lose
the bodyfat and gauge yourself effectively as you move toward a contest.
That’s one of the things this diet does so well. With the weekend portion of the diet, you’ll
learn what foods to eat and how much to make yourself successful. You’ll be better able to track
your progress and know what you’ll need to do for the contest beforehand. There’ll be no need
for those rash decisions that throw a curve ball at your metabolism.
MESSING UP A GOOD THING
Above all, you want to make a smooth landing into a contest. You shouldn’t be doing anything
out of the ordinary. You certainly don’t want to experiment.
But some bodybuilders, in full control of their senses, will decide to try something new just
before a contest. They’re looking to get that final edge. They mess up. Their water table increases.
They start with the sodium depletion or sodium loading trick. They’ll let loose with all sorts of
things they’ve never tried before, and all of a sudden they end up wondering how it was that
they were looking so great and now look so bad.
Again, don’t shock your system before a contest. Make a smooth landing into it. Don’t throw
everything away by trying to get the extra edge through some crazy stunt.
FLUID RETENTION
If you do tend to retain fluid, begin to restrict yourself to distilled water and low levels of
sodium 24 hours before the competition. Also increase your potassium and calcium intake.
Actually, most people tend to retain some fluid, so these suggestions should be considered by
all bodybuilders. You want as little extracellular fluid (i.e., water under the skin) as possible to
avoid smoothing out. On the other hand, intracellular fluid (i.e., fluid inside the muscle) will
increase cell size so you’ll be bigger. It also aids vascularity.
Distilled water and low sodium will serve to lower the extercellular fluid. Potassium will
increase the amount of fluid inside the cell. Higher potassium levels are also better for muscle
contractions, though you want to be sure not to create potassium levels that are too high. Calcium
is, of course, important in avoiding cramping.
DON’T OVERDO IT
As we discussed above, you can go through the “pre-contest” phase in preparation for a contest
several times a year, as long as you keep your fat levels lower. In this way, it really doesn’t take
much time to get into contest shape.
That being said, I’d suggest that you only go through the “pre-contest” phase 4 times a year.
That means a maximum of 4 contests a year. More than this is self-defeating, because I don’t
believe you’ll have the time to go back into the mass phase and use it properly.
44 CHAPTER 3