Figure Competition Diet Tips
As a figure trainer I get tons of questions wanting to know the best figure prep plan. I’ve come across some insane figure competition plans, everything from extreme low calories a day to 2 hours of cardio each day. This brings me to ask you if you want the real truth about how to prep for a figure contest.
To begin you should figure out your body fat ratio to so you know how long you should diet down. A figure prep diet can vary from 12-16 or more weeks depending on your beginning stats. Begin the dieting procedure slowly to be sure you drop body fat and not a lot of lean mass. As you diet down you will bring down your calories in small increments. If you drop calories too much too soon you will eat up a lot of lean mass and hold on to body fat.
If you come to a weight loss plateau try low-carbing for a while to get your metabolism on fire again. Be sure to add in a re-feed day every 4th day or so to refill your glycogen stores so you have fuel to exercise and fuel for mental focus.
It is important that you take in protein with every meal. If your meal doesn’t include protein, it’s not a meal. You should consume around 1 gram of protein per pound of muscle mass to keep your muscle and burn body fat. If you see you are falling short on your protein consumption you can supplement with a whey protein drink or a meal substitution powder.
You will need to weight train in your figure prep plan to hold on to and progress muscle. Figure competitions are physique competitions and you need to have the muscles and definition the figure judges are searching for so you can look outstanding and place well, and even win. Your figure workout needs to include basic multi-joint exercises as well as isolation exercises to work your muscles fully. Keep your reps in the 8-12 area for 3-5 sets.
To help excel fat loss, do cardio to burn additional calories. Cardio doesn’t have to be every day for an hour. Aerobic needs are founded on your weight and body fat percentage. Begin cardio on the low end, about 3-4 times per week for 20-30 minutes and gradually increase it each week as necessary. Don’t over do aerobics. It’s easy to get trapped in doing too much cardio and burning lean muscle mass. You have to keep a balance so you burn body fat and keep as much lean mass as possible.
One week from your figure competition, the work is complete. The last week is what’s known as peak week. During the final week you don’t need much resistance training or cardio at all, if any. During peak week take time out and rest, drink a lot of water the beginning part of the week, and manipulate your carbs in such as way that you redistribute the water from beneath your skin into your muscle cells. When you perform the final week the correct way you will look positively sensational on the figure stage!
