appearance will suffer. Guidelines for the pre-contest bodybuilder to track body composition
changes appear below:
- Weigh and take skin folds the morning of the last low-carbohydrate day of the week. This is
when a bodybuilder should be their leanest and is most representative of overall body fat levels
and appearance. - Weight should be taken again at the end of the carb-loading phase. This tells how much weight
needs to be lost during the next low-carb cycle for fat loss to occur. If body weight increases 7
pounds from Friday morning (pre-carbup) to Sunday morning (after carbing has ended), body
weight will have to drop more than 7 lbs by the following Friday for fat loss to have occurred
(assuming similar levels of hydration, etc). Skin folds taken after the carb-up will tend to over-
estimate true body fat due to an increase in water underneath the skin. - Finally, pre-contest bodybuilders should keep visual tabs on how long after the carb-load they
look their absolute best. There will be some time point when the water underneath the skin has
been lost but muscles are still full from the increased glycogen storage. This will help to plan the
week immediately before the contest. For example, if a bodybuilder’s physique is at its best 36
hours after ending the carb-up, this will be used to adjust the timing of the carb-up for the
contest. The specifics of the pre-contest week are described below.
Section 4: Other Issues
Many competitors begin having muscle cramps as they reach excessively low body fat
levels although the reason for this is unknown. Ensuring adequate calcium (up to 1200 mg/day),
potassium (up to 1000 mg/day) and magnesium (up to 1000 mg/day) can help. All should be
taken in divided doses with food to avoid stomach upset.
Also, some competitors suffer from insomnia late in their contest preparation. Various
herbal sleep aids, such as Valerian root or melatonin, may be of help. Finally, female competitors
may stop menstruating as their body fat reaches low levels. While the fat intake of the CKD
seems to prevent this, supplementing with DHEA (25-50 mg/day max. for women) may help.
One advantage of the CKD is that it allows bodybuilders to practice the carb-up each
week. Judging by their appearance each week, competitors can determine what food choices and
timing works for them. If a bodybuilder has determined that they can only handle 30 hours of
carbing and it takes them 3 days to drop the water, adjust the following schedule accordingly.
Ideally, bodybuilders should record how their body responds to different types of carb-loads and at
what time of the week they look their best.
Section 5: The pre-contest diet
Having discussed a variety of topics which pertain to the pre-contest diet, we can set up
the details of the diet. During the first 2 weeks of a pre-contest diet, the only aerobics performed