The Final Week Fallacy

[FireGuy]

I was talking to Reed the other day and we are both coming to the conclusion that "Less is More" when it comes down to the last week of contest prep. Amazing how many people look awesome, only to mess up their look by trying to manipulate so many things in their diet and training in hopes of improving their look a bit. Stumbled upon this the other day, it was post by Layne Norton..

Ah yes, the so-called 'secrets of success.' How much potential in bodybuilding has been wasted with competitors trying to find the 'magic formula' for the final week that would finally leave them shredded and full? The reality is that there really is no magic formula. The secret to looking awesome onstage is looking awesome weeks before the show, and not screwing up anything in the final week. In other words, you need to be shredded.

I remember a scene that played out while I was pumping up backstage at the 2006 NGA Heart of America Natural Classic, where I won the Overall and earned a pro card. As I was pumping up, I noticed a fellow competitor frantically digging his hands through a box of cereal, heaving down as many of the wheat-filled morsels as he could. This individual was in good shape by most standards. He was about 9 percent body fat, and had good size. But 9 percent is not going to cut it on a bodybuilding stage.

As he plowed his way through the cereal, I couldn't help but overhear him talking with another competitor about how he had cut out his water on Thursday, and had not had sodium since Wednesday. Later, after he received his placing (he was out of the top five) he told his friend, "I miss-timed my carb load." I thought to myself, "You miss-timed it by about eight weeks."

There was no magic formula he could have used to look shredded onstage. To look shredded, you have to BE SHREDDED! I've got news for you— if you don't have striated glutes one week out, you won't have them onstage.

So why do competitors believe in this kind of 'black magic'? Part of the problem has to do with feedback from judges. I can't count the number of times I have heard a judge tell a competitor, "You just need to find a way to cut your water more" or "You were just holding a little bit of water," when it is painfully obvious that the person in question was simply not lean enough. I think many judges don't tell competitors "You weren't lean enough" because they don't want to listen to a 10-minute sob story about how hard the person dieted.

Think about it for a minute. If a judge tells you that you were just "holding water," that doesn't hurt your ego nearly as much as a judge saying, "You weren't lean enough." That's because "holding water" is something that can be fixed in the final week— it's just a 'formula' that you've got to figure out or a top-secret protocol that is eluding you. If a judge says, "You weren't lean enough," however, that hits us right in the gut. That is an indictment on the competitor's work ethic, and nobody wants to hear that. Unfortunately, that is the very thing most of us NEED to hear.

You can't really blame judges. They are donating 12-16 hours of their time, and are either poorly compensated or not compensated at all— so the last thing they want after the show is over is to have to sit around and hear a sob story from some competitor about how hard he dieted. Now before I get e-mails from angry judges, realize that I am just generalizing— and I know there are great judges out there who will tell the competitors exactly like it is.

Bodybuilding Myths and Truths

In the previous two articles, we covered the main reasons why some competitors don't look awesome onstage: improper manipulations of water and sodium. Now I'm going to cover a few more common myths.

Myth: I need to stop training early in the week— otherwise I will just be depleting glycogen and won't be as full.

Truth: If you don't train, then your muscle has very little reason to hold on to muscle glycogen. Not training for four or five days will only decrease your potential to store glycogen, and possibly allow glucose that was stored in the muscle to start heading in the wrong direction. You should not be training hard late in the week, and you definitely don't want to be sore onstage. But doing a quick, 20- to 40-minute circuit routine for one or two days leading up to the show will not significantly decrease glycogen levels, and it will help drive more of the glucose you are eating into the muscle— where you want it.

Myth: I need to train super-high reps during the final week to help with glycogen loading.

Truth: You do not want to make any drastic alterations to your training during the final week. Those of you who have read my posts and articles know that I recommend a wide variety of rep ranges. However, if you are not accustomed to doing 20-rep sets and you suddenly start doing them in the final week, you could cause inflammation in the muscle caused by the response to the new stimulus, and this may cause edema in the area. Ever see your leg definition completely disappear after a super-hard leg-training session? Same principle.

Myth: I need to cut out protein shakes during the final week, because they make you retain water.

Truth: If your body tolerated the shakes during your diet, why would the final week be any different? If this were true, it would put you in a perpetual state of water retention and bloat. That certainly would be very uncomfortable. The reality is that unless you are allergic to some of the fractions in these shakes (some people are allergic to proteins like the beta-lactalbumins in whey), there is no reason you can't continue drinking them.

Myth: I need to cut creatine out, because it will make me retain water.

Truth: Creatine does cause you to retain water— inside the muscle cell, exactly where you want it. Creatine shifts the water balance where you want it by putting more water inside the cell. It will help you maintain your fullness.

Now, that said, many people try to load creatine in the final week in an effort to super-compensate this effect. This is also not a good idea. If your body is not accustomed to taking creatine and you start loading it, there is a good chance it will bloat you! Your digestive system will not be able to dispose of all the creatine you are taking into the bloodstream, and much of it will remain in the GI tract and will draw water into that area, causing you to bloat. The rule of thumb is to continue taking creatine as you have been taking it during contest prep, but if you have not been using it, don't start in the final week!

I could literally write a book on all the myths out there, but these are some of the most common issues faced by bodybuilders. I've written a lot in the last few articles about water and sodium, but exactly what are my recommendations for them? In short, keep them the same. If you are used to drinking two gallons of water per day, continue to drink two gallons per day, up to the show. The only time I reduce water is about one to two hours before stepping onstage, so you don't feel like you have to pee onstage. If you are accustomed to eating three grams of sodium every day, continue to eat three grams of sodium every day. In fact, I have found that a meal relatively high in sodium, carbs and fat can drastically increase vascularity in fullness, when consumed about two hours before going onstage.

As for carbohydrate recommendations, I typically recommend only very moderate carbohydrate loading. If your body is accustomed to having 100 grams of carbs per day and you load 800 grams for three days, you will have disastrous results. I never recommend consuming more than three times more carbs on any given day during a carb-load than what you normally take in during prep. If you usually take in 100 grams per day, I'd never recommend having more than 300 grams in any one day during a carb-load. I usually front-load carbs earlier in the week, because you are still training hard and your body can tolerate them better. Additionally, it allows you more leeway to adjust— depending on how your body responds. If you spill over, you have time to reduce carbs before the show and regain your tightness, whereas if you load right before the show, you have no time to adjust.

[GetSwole83]

FG I think I am gonna subscribe to all your threads...you are a man of wisdom.

[MACHINE5150]

He is a genius.. through and through

[FireGuy]

That wasnt my writing guys, that was written by Layne Norton. I made mention of it in the original post but want that to be clear. Cant take credit for another mans work.

[BG]

Thanks for the post FG, great read.

[MIKE_XXL]

Although as you all know i have my own way of thinking for last week...i do agree with the principle here, less is more, i do not like to manipulate sodium, no carazy routines, no piramiding water intake, i hate too much diuretics...the bottom line is if you are ready you are ready...if you are 9percent then you are not ready and nothing will change that last few days...good read, thanks FG.

[greekfreak]

nice thread FireGuy 1....u r right. the last week can make or break u... beta to be ready at least 2 weeks out and coast in with final tweaking on the day...i just saw at my last comp this russian chomping on 25mg lasix tabs 3 a day 3 days out.. on sunday he almost passed out with dehydration and his eyeballs literally popped out his head....he couldnt get a pump and it was a shame.. he was in good condition b4 messing around with duiretics...