The Estonian championships in bodybuilding and fitness are almost here, and I’m sharing the questions that spin around in my head hundreds of times a day, two weeks before the competition:
Should I do two or three more leg workouts before the competition?
Which day should I do my last leg workout: Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday?
On which day of the final week should I do my last cardio session?
Which day should I do my very last strength training session, Thursday or Friday, if the competition is on Sunday?
How many calories should I eat on the days of the final week?
What if I overdo the cardio and lose muscle mass?
Should I limit the length of my cardio sessions in the final week?
How should I eat on the last day before the competition?
When should I cut out salt?
Should I “play” with salt at all?
Should I reduce the amount of fluid I drink before competition day?
If I cut fluids in the preceding days, by how much should I cut them?
How many carbohydrates should I load after the weigh-in?
Should I load at all after the weigh-in?
How much fluid should I drink after the weigh-in if I do decide to load properly?
How long should my sets be in the last leg workouts: go heavy, or do longer sets?
In the final week, should I train my upper body twice, or hit each body part with more volume but only once a week?
Should I still go to the hairdresser before the competition?
How will the stage makeup go?
What will the backstage “pump” be like?
What should I load with after the weigh-in: rolled oats, pasta, rice or something else entirely?
When should I have my last proper meal before going on stage?
Which stimulant and which supplements should I take while “pumping up”?
When should I apply the first layer of stage makeup?
How many layers of makeup can you get away with?
Should I deplete carbohydrates at all, or should I maybe just see it through the way I’ve done throughout the diet?
Should I chase the target weight numbers I set at all costs, or rely more on the mirror at the end?
What will the final result be?
How will the posing go?
What shape are the other competitors in?
Questions, questions and more questions. Quite honestly and without exaggeration, I’ve been caught in the “clutches” of questions like these for the last two weeks before the competition. I’m nowhere near as experienced on stage as our most seasoned competitors, but these very same questions are on the agenda before every competition. Every competition is new for me, an undertaking of its own. True, I do have experience, but in a sense everything starts from scratch with every prep, and the same questions always remain. The body has moved on over time and knowledge has grown, there are things that don’t work, and there are things you will never get clarity on. It’s not a light burden: my head works on these questions 24 hours a day, even at night…
Author: Janar Rückenberg
Come and train! ArtGym
