[Gumby51cm]

Originally Posted by Banshee20

You know your body best, However, you still may want to decrease carbs a bit before the contest. Depleting glycogen stores by high volume may not be the best idea just before a competetion.

banshee....tisk tisk, have you read my sticky on carb depletion?

actiondave, if your metabolism is that fast then your body would have no truble with a massive amount of carbs the friday before the show. you could start your loading phase on wed, thurs, or friday. if your losing weight on 3500 calories a day (assuming your counting your calories correctly), then you will metabolis all the carbs you eat on friday without a problem.

[ActionDave]

Originally Posted by gumby51cm

banshee....tisk tisk, have you read my sticky on carb depletion?

actiondave, if your metabolism is that fast then your body would have no truble with a massive amount of carbs the friday before the show. you could start your loading phase on wed, thurs, or friday. if your losing weight on 3500 calories a day (assuming your counting your calories correctly), then you will metabolis all the carbs you eat on friday without a problem.

I am not worried about being able to handle the carbs, I am worried that if I start loading on Friday, I will not have time to get full by Sat. I guess the first time is always a crapshoot. I think i will try starting thurs.

Should I lower my protein intake slightly while I am crab loading to keep my total calories somewhat constant?

[Banshee20]

Originally Posted by gumby51cm

banshee....tisk tisk, have you read my sticky on carb depletion?

Actually, Eli wrote that under my name. But we'll check out your section regardless. Thanks Gumby

[eli80cal]

"This added-exercise-drop-in-calorie approach can quickly lead to overtraining. Most bodybuilders fail to recognize the signs of over training as they’re usually pre-occupied with getting in great shape and are constantly worried taking a day or two off from training to avoid overtraining might prevent them from getting as ripped as possible. Not resting sufficiently leads to over training which, in turn leads to a loss in muscle, a drop in the metabolic rate, and a drop in testosterone and IGF levels."

This was taken from Pain's sticky on pre contest training. My point wasn't supposed to be focused on the carb depletion as much as the second sentence of my post...

"Depleting glycogen stores by high volume may not be the best idea just before a competition."
I was not disagreeing with anything Actiondave said...just a reminder to watch for overtraining to deplete glycogen. My apologies for not being more specific the first time.

[ActionDave]

Thx for the warning on the over training. From my understanding, cutting carbs can make you feel tired, lethargic, and crabby. Sounds like the symptoms of over training to me. Dunno how to tell the difference.

Because of fear of over training, and the fact that I want to keep lifting heavy to maintain muscle, I am just going to up the volume (and lower the weight accordingly) for the last 4 workouts during my glycogen depletion stage. I think my body can handle the added intensity for 4 days without over-training.

[StayBig]

Thank you for watching the video (if you did.) And I hope you picked up some good tips from it. Anyways, I really wouldn't recommend "upping" your volume, even if you are "on drugs" because it will mess you up. Don't worry about loosing too much muscle, focus mainly on your diet and when you are training, stay above 12 reps. I feel like I want to pass out when I am dieting and doing less than 12 reps due to the fact that I am carb depleted. Also, lower the volume frequency and intensity, it will actually help you come in better condition for your show. If you over-do-it you won't come in as hard due to the fact that you are already low on caloires, and doing more work will throw you off. Good luck on your show bro.

[Gumby51cm]

Originally Posted by StayBig

Thank you for watching the video (if you did.) And I hope you picked up some good tips from it. Anyways, I really wouldn't recommend "upping" your volume, even if you are "on drugs" because it will mess you up. Don't worry about loosing too much muscle, focus mainly on your diet and when you are training, stay above 12 reps. I feel like I want to pass out when I am dieting and doing less than 12 reps due to the fact that I am carb depleted. Also, lower the volume frequency and intensity, it will actually help you come in better condition for your show. If you over-do-it you won't come in as hard due to the fact that you are already low on caloires, and doing more work will throw you off. Good luck on your show bro.

no no no.....dont stay above 12, you will lose size that way. leep training heavy or you wont give your body a reason to keep the muscle.

[eli80cal]

Well, now we're just confusing everyone!

[StayBig]

Originally Posted by gumby51cm

no no no.....dont stay above 12, you will lose size that way. leep training heavy or you wont give your body a reason to keep the muscle.

Actually bro (ActionDave) listen to Gumby becuase he has done this twice. (I'm not being sarcastic.) I still think that alot of my shit makes sense, but also Gumby, 12 reps is actually the best target rep range to put on size (induce hypertrophy gains.) If you don't want to loose stregth (which I'm sure is almost unavoidable, even with drugs,) then go way lower like 4's or 6's. Just my advice, but you're sort of a pro at this so let me know what you think bro.

[Gumby51cm]

yeah, anything above 12 wont help you out ot much. i started to go up to 15-18 ish, and then i lost a ton of size. once you lose the size while your dietingfor a show, there's no going back. i would stay 12 and below. i do 8-10 on most days

[umdlifter22]

whether you lift with or without drugs is not the point. you can say 'the hard way' just because someone uses drugs doesnt mean they get to eat wendy's, watch TV and watch your muscles grow. you still have to put the time in the gym and still have to follow a strict diet. you have a better chance of dying if you have 8beers and drive home. i dont want to make a huge issue out of it because either way it offends both sides. but whatever side you are on, you still have to train hard, and live the life to obtain your goals

'born weak, train hard, die strong' - myself

[Ironslave]

I disagree about the higher reps for depleting glycogen, granted, the FG and FOG (type IIx and II-A respectively) store far more glycogen than the SO muscle fibers, higher reps for the week only will utilize both anerobic and aerobic glycolysis moreso than a normal set. I think they should be used in the last week.

[StayBig]

--^ So what the hell are you saying bro, you're a smart guy and we don't have IQ's of 1,000 like you. LOL. So please explain this in laymans's terms.