• Those using PED ’ s ( Performance Enhancing Drugs ) that are causing them to retain more water than usual
Chances are that most won ’ t need to use the above , and just still have body fat to lose ! 3 ) Completely changing training I ’ ve seen it where competitors have either completely stopped training a week out , or gone on the opposite way and hugely increased their rep ranges on exercises . Remember what we mentioned in one of the paragraphs above – the body likes balance ? The key in peak week is to keep as many variables the same as possible .
By completely stopping training a week out from the show , the first thing you ’ ve just done is completely changed your energy balance . Your body has gotten used to expending ‘ x ’ number of calories per week on your weights sessions , so not only are you about to carb / calorie load , but you ’ re also going to pull back on one side of the energy balance equation and completely skew things .
( Please note : A gradual taper in cardio in this final week to allow the legs to recover is fine for most .)
Also , most of you may know about a process known as ‘ glut-4 translocation ’. Put simply , it means that muscle contraction aids in shuttling glucose into our muscles cells . By training as usual while carb loading , we ’ re aiding the process by giving our muscles a reason to store and hold onto glycogen , thus remaining ‘ full ’.
On the other hand , going from training in ( for example ) the 6-12 rep range throughout the entire prep and then suddenly jumping to 20-30 reps probably isn ’ t the wisest thing to do either .
What happens when you start a new training program , or introduce a new stimulus ? You get sore , right ? Well , this soreness is often accompanied by a pooling of fluid ( inflammation ) around that area to aid in recovery . We ’ re usually too fat to see this . But , in that final 5-7 days leading into the show , it will definitely be noticeable ! Or at least should be , if you ’ re lean enough .
In that last week , the aim should be to keep training pretty much the same . The only two things we ’ d alter is : Stopping 1-2 reps shy of failure ( same inflammatory response above ) and to shift legs to slightly earlier in the week . Still train them , but not so close to the contest . Perhaps move them to the Wednesday before a Sunday show , for example .
BONUS Tip : Another Absolute …
Be contest ready at least 7-10 days out from your show ! Going into peak week looking half-baked and hoping it will ‘ fix ’ you is only going to end in disappointment . Don ’ t kid yourself . The goal of the peak week is to touch up and refine your physique , perhaps tightening it by 2-3 %.
If at a week out you ’ re sporting love handles and your ass still jiggles – that ’ s body fat . No matter how your friends word it , it ’ s not water . Pick a different show and work harder .
Now that we ’ ve covered what you shouldn ’ t do , we ’ re going to dive into three example peak weeks with ( what we think ) you should / could do :
MARCH 2018 | FLEX 123