Bodybuilders understand they have to radically alter their nutrition plan previous to competition in order to shed as much excess body fat as possible. While there is great emphasis on diet- eating less carbohydrates, increasing protein and keeping dietary fat to a minimum, many bodybuilders don’t know how to change their training in order to maximize muscle size. This month, I plan to share with you 5 important tips that can help you maintain your muscle mass while getting as ripped as possible.
1)
Stay Heavy
While there is some wisdom to performing higher reps before a contest, the fact remains, bodybuilders should not train in a rep range higher than 12. Heavy weight is a core stimulus for muscle growth. Every bodybuilder knows to add size and get bigger, you have to increase the amount of weight you lift on most of the basic exercises. On the other hand, bodybuilders often train lighter before a contest which is a mistake. When you train too light, muscle tissue shrinks giving you either a smaller or flat appearance. In addition, when your muscles shrink – or you loose size from training too light – the metabolic rate tends to drop.
While no ripped to the bone bodybuilder can expect to train as heavy pre-contest, all the way up to the final week previous to a competition, as he does in a mass building phase, it is essential to train as heavy as possible before competition. Heavy weights maintain the stimulus on muscles before competition which helps you
retain muscle while engaged in a rigorous diet. When the poundages or ‘weight’ you use plunges before a contest, the result is a loss in muscle mass. In general, you ought to be able to lift 85-90% of your normal weight in a pre-cotest phase. For example, the bodybuilder who bench presses 150 kg for 8 reps in the off season, ought to be able to lift 127 kg (85%) and up to135 kgs (90%) in before a contest. When a bodybuilder lifts less than 85 to 90% of his off season weight, rest assure, he’s going to shrink and lose a lot of mass.
2)
Shorten The Rest Periods
Before a competition, decreasing the amount of rest in between sets is a good way to increase the total calories burned in each training session. In particular, shorter rest periods tend to burn up stored muscle glycogen which, in turn, causes a shift in metabolism causing the body to burn additional body fat. The pre-contest bodybuilder can rest as little as 40 seconds on smaller body parts such as biceps, triceps, calves, abs and 1 minute for larger body parts like chest, back, quads and hamstrings. As a rule of thumb, bodybuilders can burn more calories and body fat with shorter rest periods. In fact, very short rest periods – even shorter than those I just recommended might even be better for ripping up. However if the poundages or ‘weight used’ drops below the 85% threshold mentioned in tip # 1, then you will end up losing muscles mass. Therefore, keep your rest periods brief before competition yet maintain heavy weights. If your weight begin top drop below 85% of your off season poundage, you may be training too quickly between sets. In that case, I would suggest you slow down a bit and jeep the guidelines I suggested; 40 seconds for smaller body parts and 1 minute for large. Of course, there are always exceptions. That is, you might want to rest 45 seconds to a minute on smaller bodyparts and up to 90 seconds on larger body parts. Keep an eye on your poundages. If you can maintain them close to off season poundages, then try shorter rest periods. And if the poundages start to fall, make an adjustment and rest a bit longer.
