Stop screwing up your CONTEST PREP!

[deanstm]

Awesome Matt !

Thank you so much for answering !!

So just to confirm fluid wise I'm safe to have 8-12 oz around 7 am if first meal is 6.30, and another 8-12 oz at 10 am 30 minutes after higher sodium meal ingested at 9.30 ??
Then assess contractions and if needed sip another 8-12 oz of gatorade prior to pumping up??

Bathroom wise by 10.30 am I was still going but it wasn't a lot (maybe 50ml or so) so my weight wasn't continuing to drop too much.

Would I be right in saying you only run the risk of holding water if you take in a large influx of sodium and gulp a lot of fluid at the same ??

Thanks for your time as always

[deanstm]

^How do you know how many grams of Almond butter you used? How do you weigh Almond Butter?

Food scales at home ?? :P

[deanstm]

1.) Do not cut sodium down completely -- just a common sense lighter amount the day before. Drink 8-12 oz water between meals and monitor your body weight so you know what weight you look best around, and eat/drink to maintain it.
Then you can have a HIGHER sodium influx prior to PJing and that will help cramps and vascularity etc.

The previous protocol was to cut sodium approx 24 hrs before prejudging i.e. stop salting meals heavily if had been doing so and just allow for the naturally occurring sodium in meals that day e.g. beef etc.

So with the above advice one is to continue adding small amounts of salt/condiment to their meals a day out, ensuring a small amount of added sodium to their meals a day out?

[Matt Porter]

The previous protocol was to cut sodium approx 24 hrs before prejudging i.e. stop salting meals heavily if had been doing so and just allow for the naturally occurring sodium in meals that day e.g. beef etc.

So with the above advice one is to continue adding small amounts of salt/condiment to their meals a day out, ensuring a small amount of added sodium to their meals a day out?

Yes, no need to completely avoid it --- just reduce it.

-Matt

[deanstm]

Yes, no need to completely avoid it --- just reduce it.

-Matt

Cool, thanks so much for replying !!

I'm starting to think my flat/water issue may have been due to using 3 1/2 tabs of dyazide, added on top to the lack of fluid day of show.
Maybe its safer with two 1/2 tabs (one 6 hrs before cut off and the other at cut off).
Any advice on when you'd make a call if needed to use 1/4 tab upon waking next morning???

And just to confirm please, fluid wise I'm safe to have 8-12 oz around 7 am if first meal is 6.30 and water cut off was 10 pm bight before, and possibly another 8-12 oz at 10 am 30 minutes after meal ingested at 9.30 ??
Or should I be assessing contractions before deciding to add in fluid if water was ran high?

[deanstm]

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Some photos from the IFBB Nationals in Ireland where I placed Top 6 last weekend in the Classic Division, guy to my right in the front lat spread comparison with short hair won the class. My placing was 6th....
Judges feedback was my tan was off and condition wasn't right.....

Be interesting to get some feedback Matt, I know they are only photos

[deanstm]

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Some more photos from the Top 6

Guys listen to everything Matt says here, the protocols work !!!!

Loaded carbs early (350g Mon and Tues) then focused on drying out.
Water went to 9 litres Friday night and was cut at 10 pm for the 1 p.m prejudging.
Used 3 half dyazide tabs (4p.m Friday, 10 p.m Friday and 4 a.m Saturday).
Stopped adding sodium to meals from 9 am Friday and just allowed it to naturally occur in the protein sources.
Nighttime weight was 82.5kg at 10 pm and dropped to 77.5kg at 8.30 a.m (5 kg / 11 lbs lost).

First meal Saturday morning was 6.30 a.m of 50g sodium free carbs and 20g fats.
Weighed in at 9,30 a.m and then had meal of 150g beef, 2 eggs, 50 g carbs from rice, added salt and ketchup.
Then just snacked on salted rice cakes and popchips until stagetime.
Only fluid I had was 330 ml coconut water sipped when I started pumpimp up 30 mins before stagetime.
As I said, didnt get as strong a pump when getting ready and I know its definitely not sodium or glycogen related.

Any feedback on how I looked Matt would be great and how I could possibly tweak my approach using your guidelines please???

Thanks as always, and I hope people can learn from my approach as I have throughout this thread

[VARN01]

Hi Matt,
I have a client competing in two weeks and looks pretty much bang on already.
During the final week I will look to carb him up high on weds (possibly 600) and fairly high thurs (possibly (300-400) (carbs normally around 100) and somewhat on sunday (day of the show).
My question is how would you structure training in the final week?
My feelings where on training until and including wednesday morning before carbing up. I would then allow him to go in and get a slight pump thursday morning also.
How does this sound to you?
Any advice would be really appreciated

Many Thanks

[guindilla]

Of course if genetics are there,,,, if genetics are there, some prep natural.

Or something like primo solo...

-Matt

Hi Matt,

What is the minimum dose of injectable primo you would suggest for decent results? If you ran injectable primo acetate, would you run it all the way into the show?

Lastly, do you recommend drinking some coconut water on show day? Maybe 200-300ml before going onstage?

Thanks for keeping this thread alive and providing such great information.

[va_new_guy]

Matt,

Im currently on deployment so the internet sucks! It took me, no joke, 1 week to read every post. I enjoyed every bit and learned a ton. Im a 5'7'' 235lb endo/meso so I really paid a lot of attention to what you had to say about that subject. Thanks for the reply to my email and you have another email from me. Once again, THANKS!!!

[va_new_guy]

Matt,

Due to my deployment status, my menu selection is pretty simple. Right now, I'm keeping fats and carbs away from each other right now. Im not 100% sure of the weight of the food as I can not weigh everything but I try to eyball it the best that i can. Does this look feasible for a 235lber that is looking to lean out some? Currently 16-18%. Right now, i weight train 4 days per week with a John Meadows workout. Cardio is 15 mins post work out(except legs day) and 2 x 30 mins sessions in am on empty stomach.
Meal 1: Pro/Fat (almost everyday Egg whites, peanut butter & green tea or coffee
Meal 2: Pro/Carb (Protein and oats) pre workout meal
Meal 3: Pro/Carb (Chicken Breast, rice and broccoli)
Meal 4: Pro/Fat (Chicken breast, green salad and almonds or cashews)
Meal 5: Pro/Fat Chicken breast or lean cut of beef and nuts.)

[va_new_guy]

Thanks Matt!!! My wife used a lot if not, all of the info that I learned from reading your post and in my opinion she made a damn good transformation for 8 weeks. We even ran the last week as if she was doing a show and ran your peak week protocol. I will say this, you must have a TON patience because she was stressing me out. I would just tell her to trust the process. All in all, it helped me solidfy my choice for my next coach. Once again THANKS!!!

[JordanWFitness]

Matt, what do you think the cause of some people sleeping less during contest prep or calorie restricted times?

I would assume less food more work means less energy and the body able to sleep longer? However by about week 7-8 of my prep I was averaging 3-4 hours of sleep a day no need for naps during the day but I could still take them for an hour or so


Off season I can sleep easily 10 hours every night

[JordanWFitness]

Congrats on the last show of the year. Very long season for you, I've been following you as close as possible. Time for some rest!

Wondering your opinion on something,

Let's say someone has been off training and supplements for about two months due to surgery.

Originally had plans to compete, 6 months after this lay off.

Ectomorph focused on keeping size during the lay off. Down about 10lb from latest off season weight, 25lb above contest weight.

How would you tackle this timeline, ramp on diet as high as possible over 2-3 months then cut over the last 3?

Take a more moderate approach and stay leaner throughout and try to recompish over 4 months before cutting

Scrap the timeline and pick a new show date

[BlueC]

Hey Matt,

What kinda supplements would you advise to aid adrenal glands fatigue?