90 MUSCLE & FITNESS JUNE 2017
BE READY EARLY
Onethingtobenotedrightoffthe
batisthatpeakweekcannotget
aphysiquethatisfourweeksout,
looking ripped and well-conditioned
inaweek.Infact,especiallyinless-
experienced competitors, I suggest
that clients should be virtually “show
ready”14daysout,andthisiswhere
thefirstcontroversyrearsitsugly
head.Manycoachessimplyputthe
showdateintheirdiaryandattempt
to get their client to peak on that
date.Thisisfineforexperienced
competitors, but for those who
haven’tbeenthroughtheprocess
before,itcanbearecipefordisaster.
Thebestthingtodois,forthetwo
weekends before the show, try some
“practiceruns”.So,pretendtheshow
is on the Saturday and go through
your full peak week prep (except the
tan)andrecordeverythingyoudoand
howyourbodyresponds.Ifyouwere
fuller after a Saturday night pig-out,
thenyoudidn’teatenoughcarbsand/
or fat. If you looked better the day
before,thenyouoverdidit.
Doing practice runs allows you to
identify where you went wrong and
correctit.Beingreadytwoweeks
outmeansthattheresultsyouget
from these practice runs will be
more valid and applicable to what
will happen on the big day. Also,
being ready early means many guys
can actually make gains in muscularity
and fullness, without gaining fat in the
daysleadinguptotheshow!DEPLETION/
REPLETION
Depletionandrepletionistheprocess
of substantially burning off most of
your muscle glycogen (the sugar
stored in muscles that is used for
energy) and then restoring it. This
technique is the most important and
fundamental part of peak week. The
concept came from one of the oldest ALL IMAGES: ISTOCKPHOTOproven sports nutrition techniques
— carb loading. Many decades ago,
scientists realised that by removing
most carbs from athlete’s diets and
having them do exhaustive exercise,
followed by re-introducing lots of
carbs they would hold onto more total
carbs (as glycogen) and this would
top up their fuel tank, allowing them
to out-perform other athletes. Well,
more glycogen doesn’t just improve
energy storage, it also fills out
muscles. You see, each gram of carbs
that is stored brings with it almost
three grams of water and more water
and carbs in the muscle equals a
bigger, fuller muscle that will hold
a better pump! The best way for a
physique athlete to use this strategy
in peak week is the following:Depletion training
Between 7 and 4 days from
competition, do three workouts
— Day 1: upper body; Day 2: lowerith so many people doing contests and photo shoots these
days, and so many different opinions on the best strategies
to put the finishing touches on your physique in that crucial
last week, in this article, I’m going to look at all of the different
controversial “peak week” practices and get to the bottom of
which ones work best, which ones don’t work and which
ones work for some people and not others.
“Peak week” is that last week or so before a physiquecontest (or photo shoot, pool party, etc), during which you can make that last 5-10%
improvement and even lose a little more fat. There are several well-accepted
strategies, like depletion/repletion (which includes “carbing up”) and there are
several controversial practices around salt/sodium intake, water/hydration, etc
and then there are several little tricks which various coaches use. I’ll be looking at
all of these and giving you my thoughts on their effectiveness (or not). Beyond the
time-tested strategies, some others are complete myths and the rest may work
for some people but not others and must be implemented in the correct way or
they can backfire and sabotage all of the hard work and discipline you’ve put in.
W
CONTEST PREP