The pre-competition training of bodybuilders can directly reflect their competitive level. Pre-competition training mainly includes pre-competition aerobic degreasing training and shaping muscle lines and strength to create a perfect body. Training while maintaining hard-earned muscle size.
Friends who love bodybuilding may have seen more or less domestic and foreign competition videos and photos, and found that a major difference between domestic players and foreign players is the latitude and fullness of muscles. The competition status of domestic players can be said to be that their muscles are abnormally clear, but the problem is that the muscle loss is generally severe, and the whole person looks like it has been drained, dry and shriveled. On the other hand, foreign bodybuilders, whether it is a large-level professional competition or an amateur natural bodybuilding competition, the muscle shape and fullness of the contestants are excellent. There are two reasons
one. The key is "power". The key to losing fat and maintaining muscle before a bodybuilding competition is how to maintain strength. The reason is very simple. You have a lot of strength during the off-season and can train with heavy resistance, so you will naturally gain good muscles. But what about in the process of losing fat? Carbohydrate, protein and fat are the three major energy sources of the human body. Everyone knows this. Of course, almost all bodybuilders will cut off carbohydrates, a large source of energy, and then use a large amount of segmented, high-intensity aerobic exercise to reduce fat. But before you start losing body fat, what's the first thing you lose? It's strength. Anyone who has studied biology or biochemistry knows that muscles rely on sugar to exist. Without sugar, muscles will be hungry and unable to produce force. If you lose strength, it means that you will not be able to complete the movements you completed during the off-season, let alone conquer the weight resistance as much as before. In this case, your brain will tell your muscles "You need to lift a lot lighter weight now than before, and you are now lacking sugar, so you don't need to stay as big as before, get smaller." . This is a natural reflection of the human body, just like a Spanish bullfight is always stronger than a domestic cow in the cultivated land, and an athlete who runs 800 meters must be thinner than one who runs 100 meters.
two. Most domestic athletes work part-time in other jobs or do not have more than half a year to prepare for the competition due to business reasons, resulting in insufficient preparation. Therefore, they rush to lose fat before the competition through methods such as oil and salt control, "zero carbs" or long-term saunas. Forcing out the body's water and fat will not only lead to a sluggish mental state, but also a mediocre muscle texture and lack of appearance.
At this point, everyone will ask, "If you reduce your carbohydrate intake and increase the amount of aerobic exercise, you will inevitably lose strength."Quantity, so what is the method to maintain strength?"
Readers, don’t worry, just listen to me:
First, you must prepare early for the competition. In China, many athletes start fat loss training 2 or 3 months in advance. The consequence of this is to suddenly reduce carbohydrate intake and increase aerobic capacity. As a result, the body is not able to adapt, and the rate of strength loss is several times faster than the rate of fat loss. Some foreign athletes even prepare a year in advance. Before doing aerobics, they first slowly adjust their diet and gradually reduce their carbohydrate intake, allowing their bodies to adapt. This helps maintain muscle strength.
Second, always remember that "the original weight will remain that heavy." For example, if you originally used your maximum weight of 340 pounds in the most difficult set of bench press, if you can press 3. Be sure to keep this weight constant during fat loss. This will stimulate your muscles to maintain their original size. This is actually very difficult. When you reduce your carbohydrate intake, you will feel very tired and your body will not be able to overcome such a large resistance. What to do? Quality of will. Carter fainted and vomited many times after lifting his maximum weight in preparation for the competition. What next? It’s not just about persisting in practice. Bodybuilding is a cruel sport. Since it is a sport, it has its difficulties. The pain of bodybuilding is not out of season, but during in-season training. It feels like the whole person has been drained, but you still have to force yourself to do things that your body can’t stand. matter. However, this may be the difference between an excellent athlete and an average person.
Third, about carbohydrates. I remember a few years ago, I read reports that during the National Bodybuilding Team Cup Asian Games, I changed my previous view of carbohydrates as the natural enemy and added a certain amount of carbohydrate intake during the training process to maintain training status and training quality. This is absolutely correct. Carbohydrates are a good thing, but you can’t eat too much when preparing for a competition, but how to eat them? First of all, everyone must understand the types of carbohydrates. All carbohydrates are eventually digested and broken down into sugar by the body, which is used and stored as glycogen by the body to produce energy. Physical sources are carbohydrates. I don’t want to say much about biochemistry here. First of all, during the preparation period, you must cut off all starchy carbohydrates. These carbohydrates are digested quickly and are easily absorbed by the body into stored fat, such as rice, pasta, etc. Everyone should be aware that some fruits are also very scary, such as cantaloupe, watermelon, Mango etc. Secondly, everyone must not ignore the role of oats, brown rice, and other whole grains. They are complex carbohydrates. The digestion process is complicated and slow. They can continue to function in the human body for up to 3 hours. Due to individual differences, some people are longer and some are shorter. This type of carbohydrate has very low starch content and is not easily converted into fat by the body. When preparing for a competition, you can take appropriate amounts in the first few meals in the morning and noon. This definitely helps fuel the body and maintain strength.
fourth, regarding dietary arrangements. I don't want to talk too much here. A few points to note: if the fat content is high, do not consume carbohydrates after the afternoon; eat at least 6 meals a day; it is best not to consume protein powder more than 3 times a day, as this will change some aspects of the body. The secretion of hormones is not conducive to burning fat (I won’t explain the biochemical principles here); you can only eat until you are 6 minutes full at each meal; more white meat and less red meat; due to differences in individual environments, such as the same ratio of digestive enzymes, everyone is different. You need to have your own experience about what kind of meat will help maintain weight, what kind of meat is more suitable, etc. Be sure to supplement protein powder in time after training to keep your muscles absorbing nutrients, and eat an apple in time to replenish glycogen to your muscles. This way the strength and dimension will be well maintained.
Fifth, about training. This is also what I want to share with you. I have watched the preparations of so many high-level foreign players. Here I will tell you some of the rules in their training to give you a reference.
Everyone knows that bodybuilding training focuses on volume, which is called "volume" in English. That is to say, when you train, the number of sets and the number of times in each set are multiplied, and the number you get must be large, so that your muscles can be deeply stimulated. It grows. But when preparing for the competition, some appropriate changes must be made to this amount. Due to the reduction in carbohydrate intake, you will no longer have as much sugar to support you through such a large amount of training. But you must ensure that you complete the set with the highest resistance, and you must force yourself not to reduce the resistance. You must push as much as you used to. Even if you can't push three now, you still have to push even if you only push one. This is all about the muscles remembering, "You still have to stay that big to complete this weight." Another thing to note is to reduce the amount of training between the warm-up group and the maximum weight group. That part of the training will consume your physical energy. Be sure to retain that physical energy for the last heaviest group. Some foreign athletes can even lift heavier weights than before when preparing for competitions.
Sixth, about supplements. Nowadays, it is an indisputable fact that all kinds of drugs are rampant in large levels. But here I would like to recommend something that everyone can try and not too harmful to the body. Fat burner, different brands have different mechanisms of action, but the most commonly used fat burner abroad is that it allows the pituitary gland to secrete hormones appropriately to increase the body's basal metabolic rate. This kind of thing can help you when you are short of carbohydrates. It can maintain a lot of strength under pressure, and it can also allow the body to convert the protein you take in from the real thing into your energy as quickly as possible, allowing the muscles to maintain strength.
Every year, sports conferences, gold medals, and Hong Kong invitational competitions attract a large number of bodybuilding athletes to compete on the same stage (not to mention the national competition, we all know it). We all know that in bodybuilding competitions, the circumference and definition of muscles are the most important factors to evaluate.The key criterion for judging the level of bodybuilders, and muscle definition during competitions largely depends on body fat content. Therefore, in order for bodybuilders to fully display clear and plump muscle lines during competitions, fat loss before competitions has become the most important task. Pre-training session. If the pre-competition fat loss period monitoring and nutritional arrangements are improper, it will lead to excessive loss of lean body mass and a decrease in muscle circumference. Problems such as muscle twitching, lack of energy, and decreased immunity.
Based on the actual experience of nutrition monitoring of bodybuilding masters by the National Bodybuilding Training Team during preparations for the Asian Games and Asian Championships, a nutrition plan is proposed for the reasonable arrangement of meals and nutritional products during the slow weight control period before the game, the rapid weight control period and the day of the competition. For the reference of contestants, this paragraph is excerpted:
1. Slow weight control period (1-2 months before competition)
In order to ensure the quality of training, depending on the level of competition and current weight, weight loss at this stage can be controlled to about 1-2 kilograms per week. Weight control mainly involves reducing diet to reduce caloric intake while ensuring training volume and intensity. Regular weight and body composition tests are conducted, and changes in weight and body fat are paid attention to at any time. If the expected weekly goal is not reached, the staple food and sugary nutritional supplements can be appropriately reduced.
2. Rapid weight loss period (1 week before competition)
During the rapid weight loss period one week before the competition, protein supplementation should be the main focus 4-7 days before the competition to help the body eliminate excess water faster; carbohydrate supplementation should be the main focus 1-3 days before the competition to help increase muscle filling. and ensure adequate physical fitness during the competition.
In addition, during the rapid weight loss period, please note:
1. You can eat a small amount of food for three meals a day. It is appropriate to control the amount of food until there is no obvious feeling of hunger. Eat mainly staple foods. Vegetables, fruits, and avoid foods containing a lot of oil.
2. Don’t over-control your drinking water. Drink a small amount of water until you feel no obvious thirst.
If you still have less than 1 kilogram of weight to lose on the day of the competition, you can use a steam bath to reduce the last part of the weight.
3. Competition day
The dietary principle during the competition period is to increase energy and physical strength, that is, choose foods high in carbohydrates and low in fat. Also, allow enough time for digestion of food. If there is too much food in the stomach, it will compete with the moving muscles for blood supply, affecting not only the work of the muscles but also digestion. How to arrange the time to eat before the game is very important. The pre-game meal should be completed 3.5 hours before the start of the game. If you eat 30 minutes before the game, whether it is solid or liquid, you will feel full in your stomach.
Before the gameMeal content of a meal:
1. 3-4 hours before the game: Choose high carbohydrate and high protein. Low-fat foods. You can eat rice, pasta, and bread. Cakes, cooked corn. Fish, seafood, lean meat, fresh fruits and vegetables. You should drink at least two sugary sports drinks.
2. 2-3 hours before the game: Fruit and juice, rice with some fish, cooked corn, bread, sugary sports drinks.
3. One hour before the game: Eat a small amount of carbohydrates, such as Combit energy bars and juice (dilution ratio: 1 cup of juice plus 3 cups of water). Fresh fruits such as bananas, mangoes or other seasonal fruits, sugary sports drinks.
4. 15-30 minutes before the game: Drink at least one cup of sports drink containing sugar, vitamins and inorganic salts. At this time, it is best to use oligosaccharides for sugar, because its low osmotic pressure allows the body to obtain more glycogen reserves.
4 key issues to deal with calmly
Question 1: When to start preparing for war
The 6 to 12 weeks before the competition is a critical period for preparing for the competition. You can determine the specific preparation time based on the difference between your own weight and your target weight and your body fat content. If the difference between your weight and your target weight is more than 10 kilograms and your body fat percentage is around 15%, it is best to start preparing for the competition 10 to 12 weeks in advance and arrange a suitable pre-competition fat-reduction diet plan. If the gap between your weight and your target weight is 5 to 10 kilograms and your body fat percentage is around 10%, then the fat loss time can be shortened, about 6 to 12 weeks. If the difference between your weight and your target weight is within 5 kilograms, and your body fat percentage is within 10%, then your fat loss plan can be appropriately shortened to about 6 weeks.