Competition prep Men/Women

sernas23
sernas23 Posts: 4 Member
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
I’m about to step on stage for the first time, and just wanted to see if anyone had any tips or words of advice for a newbie. I’m 6 weeks out, and dieting down pretty well, but I’m nervous I wont be “lean” enough on stage. On the flip side, I don’t want to overtrain and lose muscle mass. Any advice on how to gauge how/when to seriously crank down on losing body fat?

Replies

  • ily_is
    ily_is Posts: 3 Member
    All the best
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    Are you working with a coach?
  • sernas23
    sernas23 Posts: 4 Member
    sardelsa wrote: »
    Are you working with a coach?
    Yep I have a coach and a team, he keeps telling me I’ll be fine and he’s not gonna give me a set diet/plan until 4 weeks out. There’s many members of the team that he has turned pro; so I know he’s trustworthy, but I’m still hesitant that I can be stage ready in 4 weeks.

  • Keto_Vampire
    Keto_Vampire Posts: 1,670 Member
    Just saying, 4 weeks seems extremely short unless you are staying fairly lean year round and/or are trying to hit a particular weight cut point for strategic purposes.

    What class are you competing in? Natural, classic, physique, etc.?
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    Does he measure your body fat weekly and if so what method does he use? Does he give you calories or workouts? I'm 21 weeks out and already have macros plus workouts.
  • sernas23
    sernas23 Posts: 4 Member
    Keto_Vampire wrote: »
    Just saying, 4 weeks seems extremely short unless you are staying fairly lean year round and/or are trying to hit a particular weight cut point for strategic purposes.

    What class are you competing in? Natural, classic, physique, etc.?

    I’m competing in men’s classic physique. I’ve been doing my own macros and workouts, sitting at 6 weeks out I’m at 180g carbs, 50g fat, and 200g of protein. Every week I’ve been dropping 20g of carbs, slowly getting my body to lean out. I did the hydrostatic bf test about 8 weeks ago, and was between 9%-11%. Im down about 15lbs since then, so I can’t imagine I’d be any more than 6%-8% right now.
  • sernas23
    sernas23 Posts: 4 Member
    usmcmp wrote: »
    Does he measure your body fat weekly and if so what method does he use? Does he give you calories or workouts? I'm 21 weeks out and already have macros plus workouts.

    He will do girth measurements and skinfolds to measure bf but I know skinfolds aren’t reliable. Even if done perfectly, it is still a 10-12% Margin or error so I don’t find it useful. Workouts I don’t really need coaching on, other than focusing on the mind muscle connection, I know at this point I need to be doing high volume exercises to deplete the glycogen stores within the muscle cells. Macros I have been doing on my own, currently at 180g of carbs, 50g of fat, and 200g of protein to try and retain as much muscle mass as possible. Im dropping 20g of carbs week by week in order to keep my body burning fat rather than shocking it and forcing it to begin storing carbohydrates.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    usmcmp wrote: »
    Does he measure your body fat weekly and if so what method does he use? Does he give you calories or workouts? I'm 21 weeks out and already have macros plus workouts.

    21 weeks? Which show you doing?
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    My tip is to listen to your coach, and your coach only... not random snippets of advice from internet strangers.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    sernas23 wrote: »
    usmcmp wrote: »
    Does he measure your body fat weekly and if so what method does he use? Does he give you calories or workouts? I'm 21 weeks out and already have macros plus workouts.

    He will do girth measurements and skinfolds to measure bf but I know skinfolds aren’t reliable. Even if done perfectly, it is still a 10-12% Margin or error so I don’t find it useful. Workouts I don’t really need coaching on, other than focusing on the mind muscle connection, I know at this point I need to be doing high volume exercises to deplete the glycogen stores within the muscle cells. Macros I have been doing on my own, currently at 180g of carbs, 50g of fat, and 200g of protein to try and retain as much muscle mass as possible. Im dropping 20g of carbs week by week in order to keep my body burning fat rather than shocking it and forcing it to begin storing carbohydrates.

    So what exactly are you paying him for? I have never heard of a coach doing a 4 week prep for a novice. Dropping carbs simply drops calories, cutting carbs isn't necessary for weight loss or to "shock" your body. If you're in a deficit you're not storing carbs.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    usmcmp wrote: »
    Does he measure your body fat weekly and if so what method does he use? Does he give you calories or workouts? I'm 21 weeks out and already have macros plus workouts.

    21 weeks? Which show you doing?

    @quiksylver296 I'm doing the NPC Idaho Cup on November 3rd.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    usmcmp wrote: »
    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    usmcmp wrote: »
    Does he measure your body fat weekly and if so what method does he use? Does he give you calories or workouts? I'm 21 weeks out and already have macros plus workouts.

    21 weeks? Which show you doing?

    @quiksylver296 I'm doing the NPC Idaho Cup on November 3rd.

    Awesome!
  • Keto_Vampire
    Keto_Vampire Posts: 1,670 Member
    edited June 2018
    Well anyhow, good luck. I'm liking this more alluring Classic division uprising (nothing too extreme)

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