The week before a competition is when most bodybuilders make the most mistakes. Not because the body refuses to cooperate, but because at the last minute they try to fix with a trick what should have been done months ago. In this article, we look at how to actually manage that week without drastic experiments.
You could write a book about the explanations of bodybuilders who finished second or third. Carbohydrate loading, sodium manipulation, water depletion – and at the end of every story comes the same line: “This time I tried something new.” It isn’t a new trick that wins you the stage, it’s discipline.
The week before a competition is not a miracle weapon
Get one thing straight right away: don’t blame your failure on your body fat percentage. Last-week tinkering has nothing to do with body fat percentage. By then, that part of the work must already be done.
If a bodybuilder is still at 14–15% body fat a week before going on stage, no trick picked up online will bring Frank Zane’s shape on competition morning. This article is for those whose body fat on competition day is 8–9% and whose homework is done – now the question is how to manipulate water and salts correctly.
If the body is as dry as possible by then and the muscles are defined, fluid retention shouldn’t be a big concern. When fluid intake is high, the body is actually in an actively water-excreting mode, and the muscles are – contrary to popular belief – relatively dry. A sudden last-minute cut in water only makes them even drier.
Drill one more thing into your head: you don’t need any special tricks or drastic manipulations to look in ideal shape on competition day.
Pre-competition confusion: why extreme tricks backfire
Our brain controls the body completely – through chemoreceptors that constantly send signals about every reaction taking place in the organism. Everything runs through a neuro-humoral network that is extremely dynamic. To scientifically account for the mutual effects of all the reactions and create that much-praised supercompensation for stepping on stage – I’m not that smart. I don’t think you are either.
The best we can do is understand the general processes: how water is distributed between the cells and the extracellular space, and on what principles cells store carbohydrates. With that knowledge, we can only nudge the processes lightly. Extreme tricks forced through provoke equally extreme counter-reactions. Nine times out of ten, we are the ones who lose.
Pre-competition plan: what to manage day by day
To make the final week work, you have to control carbohydrates, protein, fat, sodium, water and training. When I work with a bodybuilder, I start the pre-competition week seven days before the show and we put together an exact day-by-day table. The table covers every aspect – amounts, timing, training. Everything has to be adjusted continuously.
Changes must not be abrupt. The main indicator is the bodybuilder’s shape and appearance, which has to be checked every day. There is no universal scheme – every bodybuilder has to find their own approach by trial and error.
The two most important criteria that dictate timing: how fast your metabolism is and how sensitive to carbohydrates (carb-sensitive) you are. The widely promoted three-day loading applies more to steroid users, who eat more than a natural bodybuilder throughout the diet anyway. If that applies to you too, the traditional scheme works well. If not – let’s stick to what we know.
Saturday and Sunday
Usually, before the final week, I raise the carbohydrate intake a little above the diet level on Saturday and Sunday. I also rest from training on those days – that way the body recovers before a grueling week. From Monday, depletion begins and training continues.
Monday to Wednesday
I train on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and reduce the amount of carbohydrates smoothly. I don’t go into maximum depletion. Depending on metabolism, some carbohydrates should remain even in the pre-competition depletion week – a little should still be trickling in. From Sunday to Friday, I also keep the amount of fluid I drink high.
If you have a fast metabolism, there’s no need to go all the way to zero. I have an extremely fast metabolism myself and don’t go to extremes. If the competition is on Friday, I start loading only on Friday as well. For carb-sensitive people, I recommend postponing loading even until the morning of competition day – that way we avoid the risk of overloading completely. The body can absorb carbohydrates surprisingly fast.
The nature of the carbohydrates being loaded matters too. One person loads well on potato and rice, another on oat flakes and fruit. This only becomes clear through experimenting.
Water, sodium and pre-competition loading
Water intake during the final load is the most misunderstood topic. Traditional water theory demands restricting fluids several days, even weeks before the competition. That’s nonsense – nothing makes you lose more definition than that approach. After all, muscle tissue is 70% water. No water, no sharpness – what’s left is plump, watery and undefined muscle.
A typical reason bodybuilders start restricting water early is that they have already overloaded on carbohydrates. The muscles are full, the excess fluid no longer fits inside any cell, and the surplus carbohydrates float between the skin and the muscle fibers, binding water to themselves. A short, last-minute load doesn’t create this problem.
Keep in mind: keep your water intake up during the load as well. As muscles store glycogen, they pull that water in with them from under the skin into the fibers. If you don’t overload, the body flushes out the rest of the water anyway.
Translator’s note: another reason a muscle ends up watery is loading without water. Muscle takes up carbohydrates in aqueous solution, and when fluid is deficient, a large share of the carbohydrates goes unabsorbed – floating between the muscle fibers and the skin, binding water there.
Sodium on Thursday
Sodium also needs to be manipulated in moderation. Start the week with a moderate amount, even up to 2 grams a day. On Thursday sodium needs to be restricted (the food gets bland), but not eliminated entirely. Otherwise we push water out of the muscle cells back into the extracellular space and end up soft and puffy again. You also get hellish cramps.
For normal contraction, a muscle needs roughly 4 times more sodium than potassium. Let’s not be tempted by extreme myths. Sodium should be restricted, but not completely.
Many tricks work differently for steroid users and natural lifters. A natural lifter has no steroid side effects to fight. If you go big on a sodium load/depletion, competition day ends in a crushing setback.
Pre-competition summary and common mistakes
If you’ve decided to go all the way with a low-carbohydrate ration and a high-water scheme, I guarantee that after these days you’ll look dry, fibrous and defined. Not the biggest (in size), since carbohydrates have been low – but under stage lights a dry, striated look makes a far more powerful impression than a slightly softer, bigger guy.
Guess who wins: the big but slightly softer guy, or the defined, bone-dry, slightly smaller guy? This method draws the maximum amount of water and carbohydrates into the muscles and rules out overloading, which would cancel out all the work that came before.
If you’re on a diet, keep a daily journal – write down how you look in the morning, whether you’re dry or watery, and how well your veins show. The more notes you collect, the better you get to know yourself and the better you can steer your next prep.
FAQ – the week before a competition
Should I restrict water in the final week?
No. Keep your water intake up until Friday. Muscle tissue is 70% water – restricting early costs you definition rather than adding it. Cut back on water only within the last 24 hours, if at all.
How long should the carbohydrate load last?
It depends on your metabolism. With a fast metabolism, one to two days is enough. A carbohydrate-sensitive bodybuilder may do well to push the load back even to the morning of competition day. The classic 3-day load applies more to athletes who use steroids.
At what body fat percentage can you still improve your condition in the final week?
Practically not with anyone above 9–10%. If your body fat is 14–15% a week before the competition, no trick will help – the homework hasn’t been done, and the final week can only be restorative, not miraculous.
Translator’s note: a rating of the article on a five-point scale – 5 points!
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Author: Janar Rückenberg
Source: WHO – physical activity.
Come and train! ArtGym
