Cardio/Diet question on final month of contest prep.

[iluvlifting2001]

Starting from 4 weeks out what do for cardio? Also what do you cut out of your diet completely to get off the last % or 2 of BF. I seem to have a hard time breaking under 8-9 %. I will not be in a contest or anything but still like to prepare like I am once or twice yearly.

[Fit_Femme]

Cardio amount depends on the individual. What I did was add 5 minutes to each session every week until I was up to one hour in the mornings and 45 minutes in the evenings. It takes more or less for each individual, so you have to experiment to see what works for you.

By 6 weeks out you should cut out all sauces and seasonings if you haven't already. All food should be raw/unprocessed. Some people cut out fruit but I (at 3 weeks out) am still eating 1 serving in the morning of a low GI fruit. All dairy and whole grain products like bread, cereal should be out. You're basically sticking to lean meats and vegetables by this point.

[iluvlifting2001]

Thanks Fit, You know I do use a lot of seasoning. Hmmmm..I will cut it out. Also will bump the morning cardio up also. Right now I am doing 30 minutes in the morning and 45 in the afternoon.

[Fit_Femme]

Track your fat loss carefully. You don't want to lose less than a pound or more than 2 pounds per week, so add cardio accordingly. You also don't want to drop your cals too low or you'll stop losing as well.

Let me clarify something from my last post. When I say seasonings I mean anything salt-based or high in saturated fats. Seasonings like herbs are fine and really help add flavor to food. When you get down to the end of your diet herbs help change up the taste of the same old foods.

"Bad" seasonings you should eliminate include: salt & all salt-based products, ketchup, mayo, salad dressing, salsa, BBQ sauce, things like that. Mustard is OK every once in a while, but should be very very limited, like maybe once every week or two.

"Good" seasonings include herbs like pepper, chili powder (great on egg whites), basil (salads), parsley, lemon juice, etc. I also use dried minced onion and garlic for my chicken and fish sometimes. For salads, use plain balsamic vinegar.

I hope this helps you out.

Alissa

[BigRed]

For cardio - try the Max-OT 16 minute balls out - I guarnatee you will see the fat drop. I used this method for my last contest (two weeks ago) and came in shredded. I ended up losing more fat that I ever had using the longer less intense cardio. Give it a try. It is not easy, but pays big dividends. One thing to keep in mind is that if you are wondering if you are going hard enough, then you probably are not - keep the intensity up as high as you possibly can for 16 minutes. Good luck.

[iluvlifting2001]

Thanks again fit. I appreciate you clarifying your post.

Thanks to you also Bigred. I actually do swap hit interval training for the treadmill maybe I will have to try it for like a week straight and see what happens. It is rough though putting in a good effort during the week after legs training (Thursdays).

If you all can think of anything else keep it coming :-) . Thanks for helping the cardio/workout challenged.

[BigRed]

Because of the lack of energy during contest prep this is not an easy task. I used walking on the tread as it was easier on the body. Set the tread at the steepest incline and pick a speed that is challenging (I used 15 degrees at 4.5 mph), and then try to beat your previous days output everytime out - make it a game. The best thing about intense cardio is "stopping." That is why the 16 minutes works so great. You could alternate days as well - when extremely low on energy this is a saving grace. Another helpful pointer someone told me to keep the metabolism racing is to do a short 10 minute burst in the middle of the day. Good luck.

[iluvlifting2001]

Might have to try that also big red. I goto the gym at lunch time anyways to tan. Might just jump on the tread mill for a acouple of minutes.