There is no doubt that preparing for a bodybuilding/physique contest can be quite intimidating, especially if it’s your first time. There are so many vital components necessary for bringing to the stage a ripped, dense, full, and muscular body that it’s very easy to become both confused and overwhelmed.
I myself have competed in more than 20 bodybuilding competitions and have worked with clients all over the globe (novice to pro level), assisting in their contest prep for 25-plus years. And while each of us is unique in the way we respond to specific diets, training programs, and supplement regimens, I have been able to create a sensible, efficient, and healthy foundation protocol that will help just about anyone hit the stage with the kind of physique that will definitely grab the judges’ attention!
Before I get into the nuts and bolts, I want to mention something regarding the off-season. It is my firm belief that those who are serious about competing and moving to the highest levels of the sport should keep their body fat in a range that will allow for a prep period of no longer than 12 to 16 weeks.
I actually prefer the first four weeks (16 down to 12) to be a “break in” phase, starting by simply eliminating all junk foods (alcohol, too, if needed) from the diet while also getting used to consuming six meals per day on a regimented schedule. By keeping body fat at a respectable level year- round you will not only make contest prep easier and less mentally/physically exhausting but also allow for maximum retention of muscle mass.
Below you will find a list of high-quality foods that can be included in your diet for the first four weeks of prep, as well as a sample meal plan so you can see how to put things together. As we move along, more and more foods will be removed, and the macronutrient profile will be adjusted.
This is to allow for continuous progress to take place every week right up till the show:
Proteins: 93% lean beef, 93% lean turkey, turkey breast, chicken breast, steak, egg whites, game meats, white fish, salmon, nonfat cottage cheese, protein powders (can be used for up to three meals per day).
Carbohydrates: Brown rice, white rice, sweet potato, white potato, whole-grain bread, oatmeal, cream of wheat, quinoa, rice cakes, pasta, carb powder, all fruits.
Now that we have a solid list of foods in place, let me give you an example of what a typical day of dieting might look like at this point for someone weighing about 200 pounds and carrying between 10% and 12% body fat.
MEAL PLANS
MEAL 1
P | Whey/casein protein powder mix (approximately 2 scoops)
C | Oatmeal (3.1 oz uncooked)
F | No added fats
MEAL 2
P | Chicken breast (7.1 oz cooked)
C | Brown rice (6.7 oz cooked)
F | No added fats
MEAL 3
P | Tilapia (8.3 oz cooked)
C | Large mixed salad
F | Olive oil (1 tbsp)
MEAL 4
P | Whey protein powder (approximately 2 scoops)
C | White potato (10 oz cooked)
F |No added fats
MEAL 5
P | Top-round steak (7.1 oz cooked)
C | Sweet potato (5.5 oz cooked)
F | No added fats
MEAL 6
P | Casein protein powder (approximately 2 scoops)
When it comes to supplements, always remember that no matter how much you take, they can never make up for a faulty diet or training program! However, if everything else is on point, then certainly there are a plethora of excellent products on the market that will assist you in reaching your best condition.
Here is what I recommend for this stage of your prep:
Creatine
Beta-alanine
BCAAs
Multivitamin / Minerals
Fish oil L-leucine
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Jose Luis Pelaez Inc
Weeks 12-9: Cardio
Yes, there are a few genetic freaks out there who have such naturally high metabolisms that they do not need to utilize cardio as a fat-burning tool leading up to a competition. However, for the rest of us mere mortals, cardio is a necessary evil. That said, there should never be a need for excessive amounts, which will only serve to burn of lean muscle—a definite no-no!
As I mentioned earlier, the key to a truly successful, easy, and efficient contest prep is making sure you never let yourself get too out of shape during your off-season.
I like to start competitors o with a base amount of cardio at the beginning of prep and then progressively increase the amount each week.
I should also note that while there are tons of conflicting studies (and expert opinions) out there, my experience has shown me that morning/fasted cardio (except for five to 10 grams of BCAAs) is the best when melting body fat is the primary goal.
12 Weeks Out
30 minutes on non-workout days.
11 Weeks Out
30 minutes on non-workout days and 15 minutes on workout days.
10 Weeks Out
35 minutes on non-workout days and 15 minutes on workout days.
9 Weeks Out
35 minutes on non-workout days and 20 minutes on workout days.
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Per Bernal / M+F Magazine
Weeks 12-9: Training
The goal when preparing for a contest is to keep every ounce of muscle you worked so hard to accrue during the off-season. In order to accomplish this, you must continue to train intensely but also vary your methods so that you are stimulating every pathway responsible for hypertrophy.
At 12 weeks from a competition, I normally begin utilizing a workout protocol I developed around the year 2000, known around the globe as Power/Rep Range/Shock, or P/RR/S for short.
While I cannot go into detail in this article about the specifics of this program and why it is so effective, I can provide you actual sample workouts that can be used for the first four weeks of prep.
I should mention that you can change the exercises from the ones I list below when necessary, but make sure to stick to the rep range, rep tempos, rest periods, and basic structure.
Weeks 12 to 9 will have you training in the first phase of P/RR/S: power.
Your progress should be continuous and progressive. The goal of any contest-preparation regimen should be to manifest an improved physique every week by making small, painless, and highly strategic tweaks to your diet, training, and supplements so that your peak is timed perfectly for contest day.
Often the first four weeks of contest prep are the most difficult from a mental standpoint. Why, you ask?
Well, that’s because after four weeks your body fat will be down, but it might not really show just yet on your physique. Because your skin has been stretched due to off-season weight gain, hopefully not too much weight gain, it is likely that it needs more time to adhere and “shrink-wrap” around your muscles.
This can make you feel smaller and flatter (rather than more ripped) and leave you wondering, “What the heck is going on?” But I assure you, my friends, this is all a normal part of the process—and that if you stay on point, you will soon be rewarded greatly for your efforts!
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Kevin Horton / M+F Magazine
Weeks 8-5: Diet
Below you will find the slightly updated list of high-quality foods that can be included in your diet for Weeks 8 to 5 of prep, as well as a sample meal plan so you can see how to properly put things together. As we move along, more and more foods will be removed, and the macronutrient profile will be adjusted.
This is to allow for continuous progress to take place every week right up till the show:
PROTEINS
96% lean beef, 99% lean chopped turkey meat, turkey breast, chicken breast, steak, egg whites, game meats, white fish, salmon, nonfat cottage cheese, protein powders (can be used for up to three meals per day)
CARBOHYDRATES
Brown rice, white rice, sweet potato, white potato, whole-grain bread, oatmeal, cream of wheat, quinoa, rice cakes, pasta, carb powder
For these four weeks of the program, 93% lean beef was replaced with 96% lean beef, 93% lean turkey was replaced with 99% lean turkey, fruits were removed from the carbohydrates list, and cheddar cheese was removed from the fats list.
At this point in the prep, it is time to lower overall fat intake, as well as remove fruit sugar (fructose). While fruit is very healthy, I have found that fructose is not an optimal carbohydrate when fat loss is the major goal.
Additionally, cheddar cheese was removed so that greater focus is put on essential fatty acids.
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Kevin Horton / M+F Magazine
Week 8-5: Meal Plan
MEAL 1
P | Whey/casein protein powder mix (approximately 2 scoops)
C | Oatmeal (2.3 oz uncooked)
F | No added fats
MEAL 2
P | Chicken breast (6.4 oz cooked)
C | Brown rice (5 oz cooked)
F | No added fats
MEAL 3 (PRE-WORKOUT)
P | Tilapia (7.5 oz cooked)
C | Large mixed salad
F | Olive oil (1 tbsp)
MEAL 4 (POST-WORKOUT)
P | Whey protein powder (approximately 2 scoops)
C | White potato (10 oz cooked)
F | No added fats
MEAL 5
P | Top-round steak (6.4 oz cooked)
C | Sweet potato (4.1 oz cooked)
F | No added fats
MEAL 6
P | Casein protein powder (approximately 2 scoops)
In the first installment of this series, I explained how it is vital to keep training with 100% intensity and drive during the entire contest- prep period, but also to vary your method of attack so that all your anabolic pathways are triggered in a cyclical fashion (every four weeks).
We began by utilizing the “power” portion of my P/RR/S training protocol, which requires the use of heavy weight for lower reps, with slow eccentric contractions and explosive positives.
Now that your body fat is down, cardio has increased, and calories have dropped, it becomes increasingly dangerous to force your joints to handle very heavy weights.
So at this point we will switch to “rep range,” which will stimulate a different population of muscle fibers and ignite anabolism via varied mechanisms.
As with everything in a well-planned contest-prep regimen, cardio should be increased in small increments weekly to allow for a steady loss of body fat while retaining a maximum amount of lean muscle mass.
With cardio sessions of 40-plus minutes, you have the option of splitting it into two halves.
This would mean performing half the amount of required cardio in the morning before meal 1, and the other half in the evening, perhaps in between meals 5 and 6. Here is the cardio plan for Weeks 8 to 5.
8 Weeks Out
40 minutes on non-workout days and 20 minutes on workout days.
7 Weeks Out
40 minutes on non-workout days and 25 minutes on workout days.
6 Weeks Out
45 minutes on non-workout days and 25 minutes on workout days.
5 Weeks Out
50 minutes on non-workout days and 25 minutes on workout days.
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Per Bernal
Week 4-2: Diet
The following section will be concerned with only Weeks 4 through 2. This is because the final week (often referred to as “peak week”) must be dealt with separately, as it involves some unique dietary manipulations meant to bring about the finishing touches in one’s physique.
Below you will find the slightly updated list of high-quality foods that can be included in your diet, as well as a sample meal plan so you can understand exactly how to pair these foods to create a precisely targeted macronutrient profile.
Proteins: 96% lean beef, 99% lean chopped turkey meat, turkey breast, chicken breast, steak, egg whites, game meats, white fish, salmon, protein powders (can be used for up to two meals per day)
Carbohydrates: Brown rice, white rice, sweet potato, white potato, quinoa, rice cakes, carb powder
At this point in the prep, cottage cheese was removed from the protein list, and total protein shakes allowed for the day dropped from three to two. From the carbs list, oatmeal, pasta, cream of wheat, and whole-grain bread were eliminated. Finally, nut butters were dropped from the list of fats.
Why these tweaks?
Cottage cheese was removed because it is high in lactose. Protein shakes are still allowed, but now the limit is two per day, since whole foods are superior to powders when it comes to boosting overall calorie burning.
The carbs mentioned above were eliminated because they all contain gluten, which is a type of protein that for many can cause bloating in the stomach and overall water retention.
Finally, I dropped nut butters simply because this is a fat that many dieting bodybuilders fail to measure properly and/or cheat with when fighting hunger.
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ISAAC HINDS
Week 4-2: Meal Plan
MEAL 1
P | Egg whites (16 oz uncooked)
C | Oatmeal (2 oz uncooked)
F | No added fats
MEAL 2
P | Chicken breast (5.7 oz cooked)
C | Brown rice (4.2 oz cooked)
F | No added fats
MEAL 3 (PRE-WORKOUT)
P | Tilapia (7.5 oz cooked)
V | Large mixed salad
F | Olive oil (1 tbsp)
MEAL 4 (POST-WORKOUT)
P | Whey protein powder (approximately 2 scoops)
C | White potato (8.3 oz cooked)
F | No added fats
MEAL 5
P | Top round steak (5.7 oz cooked)
C | Sweet potato (3.4 oz cooked)
F | No added fats
MEAL 6
P | Casein protein powder (approximately 2 scoops)
In the initial phase of prep I had you utilize the “power” (greater loads and fewer reps) portion of my P/RR/S training protocol while calories were still relatively high and cardio was low.
From Weeks 8 to 5 we jumped over to “rep range,” which had you attacking your muscles with multiple angles and repetitions that varied between seven and 20.
Now that we are entering the final stage, you will unleash my “shock” method, which not only helps maintain muscle but also revs up the metabolism, burns greater calories, and helps ignite the release of natural growth hormone. In other words, your training will be geared toward turning you into a literal fat-burning machine!
As with everything in a well-planned contest-prep regimen, cardio should be increased in small increments weekly to allow for a steady loss of body fat, while retaining a maximum amount of lean muscle mass.
With cardio sessions of 40-plus minutes, you have the option of splitting it into two halves. This would mean performing half the amount of required cardio in the morning before meal 1, and the other half in the evening, perhaps in between meals 5 and 6.
Here is the plan for Weeks 4, 3, and 2:
4 Weeks Out
55 minutes on non-workout days; 25 minutes on workout days.
3 Weeks Out
55 minutes on non-workout days; 30 minutes on workout days.
3 Weeks Out
60 minutes on non-workout days; 30 minutes on workout days.
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ALL best fitness is HERE
Week 4-2: Supplements
For the first four weeks of prep, I provided a list of very basic supplements that are proven effective, both scientifically and in the trenches, for assisting in greater muscle retention, increased strength and power, enhanced muscular endurance, and general health (which needs extra consideration when under the extra stress of competition prep). Those included creatine, beta-alanine, BCAAs, multivitamin/mineral, fish oil, and L-leucine.
In the next phase of prep I added two more supplements—a pre-workout supp and a thermogenic fat burner—to aid in revving up the metabolism to further ignite the fat-burning process, while also increasing energy, focus, and vasodilation (the “pump”) during workouts.
For the final stage of prep, my focus turns to making sure the body remains in an anabolic (muscle-building/retaining) state, while also encouraging recovery and recuperation by enhancing one’s ability to fall asleep more quickly and remain in a deeper sleep cycle throughout the night. This is a vital piece of the puzzle, as the physical and mental stresses of preparing for competition take their toll to a greater degree as each day passes.
To this end, you may wish to include:
All-natural herbal testosterone booster (containing such ingredients as fenugreek, ashwagandha, and Tribulus terrestris)
Cortisol blocker (containing phosphatidylserine)
Nighttime sleep formula (containing such ingredients as GABA, kava kava, valerian root, Mucuna pruriens, L-tryptophan, zinc, and magnesium)
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Amanda Suarez / M+F Magazine
Week 1: Peak Week
So here we are, exactly one week from the time you are to step onstage! If everything went according to plan, and you put maximum effort into every workout, cardio session, and meal, then you should already look competition ready.
The final week is not the time to try and “pull it all together,” but rather the period when small adjustments are made that allow you to look your very best on game day. (Note: I personally like to call the final week before a show “Frosting Week”—the time to simply add a little topping on an already perfectly prepared cake.)
While I certainly could write a detailed article just about peak week alone, let me summarize it by laying out some final important instructions.
TRAINING
In the final week you will train only on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. There will be no leg session, as legs tend to take longer to recover than the upper body. Use the same workouts as you did the previous weeks, but dial down your intensity from 100% to about 80% to 85%.
DIET
On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, eat the prescribed diet above, just as you did in the three weeks before on training days. On Thursday and Friday you can raise carbohydrates by about 30 to 50 grams and lower protein by the same amount. This will allow you to push a bit more glycogen/water into the muscles, which gives them a fuller look. Spread the prescribed calories/macronutrients evenly among your six daily meals.
CARDIO
Cut cardio in half during this final week and replace that time with posing practice. Run through and perfect the mandatory poses, holding each for about five seconds. Run through your routine until it becomes second nature.
SUPPLEMENTS
Utilize your normal regimen until the final two days, when you will need only your multivitamin, fish oil, and sleep aid.
SODIUM/SALT
While many competitors go through a complex sodium-loading and depleting protocol during peak week, you will not use such hit-or-miss practices. While I do not recommend the overuse of salt at any point during prep, there is no need to suddenly eliminate all sodium from your diet in the days leading up to a contest.
WATER
Drink water as your only beverage during the final week, but do not restrict it at any point. Once you have completed your final meal on Friday night, you can stop consuming any more until the next day.
TANNING
You must make sure to apply three to five coats of a quality tanning product throughout the day on Friday and a final coat on Saturday morning.
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Erica Shultz/Chris Nicoll / M+F Magazine
Contest Day
Wake up early and try to get in about three meals before pre-judging begins. Eat the same foods as the day before, but try to sip just enough water to get each meal down.
Try to relax and remain calm backstage, but make sure to pay attention to what is going on so you know exactly when you need to start preparing to hit the stage.
Take about 15 minutes to pump up with some high-rep sets of a few basic exercises. Once you have a nice pump, all you need to do to keep it is practice your poses. But more than anything, remember to have fun.
Enjoy the experience and feel proud of yourself for putting in all the work and sacrifice needed to get you there!
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