Carbing up for the big show
I was wondering if anybody has ever carbed up for a show using Waxy Maize?
Considering on the back of the PVL brand they state how to use it for a show carb-up I was just curious if anyone has ever tried it.
Seems like it would be a clean quick shuttled way in to your body however, I personally don't think I would try it Simply because it's a foreign concept lol But it does make me wonder if anyone has tried it.
LET'S HEAR IT!
Never tried it and don't think i will. I'm going to using a combination of oats and pancakes this year. (stick with whatever you've been using in your diet already is my advice)
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A few of the contest prep guys posted their experiences with using it, most said that it worked well but nothing special.
About 3-4 weeks out from a show, I always do a test run of my peaking week strategy, then I tweak it a bit so it's perfect on show day. You could try this 3-4 weeks out and see how you like it.
Like DK, I don't think it will change much of anything.
I've used it before for myself and guys I've prepped. Nothing spectacular but not bad...at that point Id rather be having someone fill up on food rather than liquids. I used it for the first day of loading only and a few times the day of if a person woke up a tad flat.
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In all your opinions:
Do you think trying a peak 4 weeks out would mess me up?
You eat a fair amount of carbs and stuff right so wouldn't I gain a lot of unwanted fat? I would obviously do it clean but It worries me. I wanted to do that though to make sure I get everything right
Most will disagree with me, but yes, I kinda do think it could mess you up. I am not talking about a weekly cheat, because leading up to my last show, I was eating between 5000 and even up to 7000 calories on my cheat day...I stopped doing that about 3-4 weeks out and no problems. But what will mess you up is going through the exact motions you would the day of the show.Originally Posted by shredded_Tris
Carbing up is a totally different story when you start messing with sodium and dropping water. My point though I should say is its not the carbing up that you should worry about, its the rebound you get from being dehydrated for so long. So I definitely wouldn't do a "mock carb up" in that sense.
Which leads me to my point about my lack of understanding of why people do a "trial run" a few weeks out. You're never going to know if it works because no one truly does a trial run...ie going through all the motions of the last week before a show - plus, most people are not nearly as lean as they will be 4 weeks out, so another reason why you can't truly guage the effects.
Don't get me wrong, you CAN get a general idea of how your body might react to certain carbs, but I guess I just never understood the term "trial run" since all conditions will change.
Great point Steve,
Those are the exact reasons I didn't think it was a good idea. I am just going into this using what I know and what my trainer knows and all we can do is hope it works haha
I respect Steve's opinion but mine is the complete opposite, what do you expect since I suggested it.
If you are a guy that has competed several times and knows your body very well there is no point to doing the trial run. If you are fairly new to competition, haven't peaked in a while, want to try something different then I think this is a good opportunity.
I plan it into my contest prep, I know I won't lose fat this week and the last week since when carbing up over the course of the week I will be at about maintenance calories. So I start dieting 2 weeks earlier to have time for it. If someone is late in their prep then they should skip it because being lean enough is more important than peaking properly. Just show up dry and not as full in that case.
I do exactly what I would do on show day including dropping water. I make sure to do lots of posing and take notes on when I look best, this helps me decide when to drop water, how much carbs should eat, etc..
I do think that competitors using prescription diuretics might screw themselves up because many guys over do it, this will affect the kidneys and there will be lots of rebound. It would be a mistake to use diuretics twice in such a short period.
If you are not using diuretics then the rebound really isn't that bad, the water is gone in 2-3 days. Remember you are going right back on the diet and besides it's just water even if you are an extreme case it won't stay on for more then a week once you are back on your hypocaloric diet and doing cardio.
Also, from year to year my body changes so I need to adjust timing and carbs every year.
If you aren't doing a trial run then I recommend being conservative with your carb load, the fact is, it's better to show up dry and flat then full and watery. Many people over do the carbs and look worse after the carb up in my opinion.
That's my 2 cents.
Last edited by Andre Gregoire; 22-07-2010 at 09:35 AM.
so essentially you set out in advance that you would be sort of doing 2 shows within a month of each other - and that you are contest shape for the first and maintenance for the next 4 weeks. The benefit to that is for someone who doesn't know how they react to thing, you get to find out with the "mock" competition day. The downfall is you need to maintain contest condition for 4 weeks.I respect Steve's opinion but mine is the complete opposite, what do you expect since I suggested it.
If you are a guy that has competed several times and knows your body very well there is no point to doing the trial run. If you are fairly new to competition, haven't peaked in a while, want to try something different then I think this is a good opportunity.
I plan it into my contest prep, I know I won't lose fat this week and the last week since when carbing up over the course of the week I will be at about maintenance calories. So I start dieting 2 weeks earlier to have time for it. If someone is late in their prep then they should skip it because being lean enough is more important than peaking properly. Just show up dry and not as full in that case.
I do exactly what I would do on show day including dropping water. I make sure to do lots of posing and take notes on when I look best, this helps me decide when to drop water, how much carbs should eat, etc..
I do think that competitors using prescription diuretics might screw themselves up because many guys over do it, this will affect the kidneys and there will be lots of rebound. It would be a mistake to use diuretics twice in such a short period.
If you are not using diuretics then the rebound really isn't that bad, the water is gone in 2-3 days. Remember you are going right back on the diet and besides it's just water even if you are an extreme case it won't stay on for more then a week once you are back on your hypocaloric diet and doing cardio.
Also, from year to year my body changes so I need to adjust timing and carbs every year.
If you aren't doing a trial run then I recommend being conservative with your carb load, the fact is, it's better to show up dry and flat then full and watery. Many people over do the carbs and look worse after the carb up in my opinion.
That's my 2 cents.
I think the better thing to do for a person just starting out is peak for your show day, and opt to do some sort of non elaborate carb load sodium drop. Nothing fancy - and see how they react. Tweak it a little the next time and go from there. Although if you only plan on competing once or twice in your life, and you really want to get it right, I suppose there is no other way to do it but the mock contest (aside from just trusting that a simple method to carb up will likely be just as good as any). The key to looking good on contest day is coming in lean - if you've done that, then the only thing to do is basically cut your water and extra salt the last day and let the magic happen.
Question for you Andre...when you do this kinda mock contest day, do you go through carb depleting and even changing your workouts around it for that day? For example, lots of people stop training squats for the last week, and perhaps less cardio or working out while carbing up (depending on how long you carb up for). I am just trying to get an idea how extreme you take it...I've always understood these mock carb up days were basically nothing like doing a show - and as you pointed out, taking prescription diuretics twice in a short period isn't the best thing to do ...but lets face it, for many, diuretics are part of the final couple days before a show...
I agree with this. Many people say its hard to peak 2 weeks in a row, but it's not physically hard, just mentally. I basically consumed 10000 calories between friday and saturday on the first show. Sunday it was back to eating very low calories, right through till the following week. Water was definitely blurring me out all week, but by friday morning it was gone. Although, it did take more cardio than normal, and less food. If anything, I looked better the 2nd week, so I suppose you could do a "mock contest" 1 week out and get away with it no problem. I wouldn't do it though - that's alot of suffering to go through just to see...Personally friday and saturday of a show is when I feel the least like competing. Cramping up like mad, dehydrated, not able to sleep etc...not something you want to do unless you have to!
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