I can’t imagine the suffering it took
1 Like
Right. One has to experience it to truly understand.
There were no tricks with salt and water throughout any of my prep. I drank what seemed liked buckets of water in the last month, plus a lot of water-packed veggies like cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, and celery. I salted all my foods, as I usually do anyway.
All that talk about restricting water and salt, I believe it’s nonsense. To look “dry”, one must be shredded. That’s it!
4 Likes
Yup, yup! 
I tried “for funsies” some water and carb manipulation one week, but I wasn’t shredded so it didn’t really change much. Honestly drinking 3-4 gallons a day was horrible. Also I literally don’t have the mental fortitude to do a 24 hour fast.
Too many people think some last minute “magic” will make a ton of difference, but if you’re honestly lean enough without it, then it might add a little extra polish. If you’re not lean enough then it won’t matter in the end.
S
2 Likes
Wow the changes after you carbs and pump is crazy
Here’s how I looked this morning after a low carb day yesterday.
One day out.
On the left is after consuming ~350g carbs (July 4).
On the right is after lowering my carbs to ~160g (July 5)
Should I keep my carbs constant today and reduce sodium a tad little while keeping water high?
1 Like
You need to remember that your daily intake of carbs doesn’t magically reset when you wake up. If you ingested 350 on 7/4, and it topped off your reserves, but then you didn’t burn through the 350, only 50, then even taking in those 160 the next day is putting you at more than you need and that’s why you may appear blurry.
I believe I said it before, but you’re always better off slightly under rather than over carbing for a show. If you’re a little less than full, but have enough water, and sodium in you, getting a good pump backstage, and sporting some vascularity should be no problem even if you could theoretically have taken in more carbs on show day than you did.
S
1 Like
Here’s an update!
Placed 5th in the Top 5 today. The line up was pretty though and prejudging took a long time
It was my second ever competition and learned a lot in terms of timing and the types of food necessary to use to pump and carb up. Also the importance of sodium!
4 Likes
Congrats! Pics look good! Best case scenario is that every contest is even more of a learning experience. That’s how experience adds up to knowledge!
Yeah sodium is huge! I can’t believe when I read of anyone advising to cut sodium going into a contest. Good luck carbing up and getting a good pump without any sodium or water on contest day -lol.
S
1 Like