1 week out Pre contest question

[chriscecc914]

I have been reading that alot of bodybuilders stop lifting and stop cardio days before a contest. Can anyone explain the reasoning of this? I would think that lifting and cardio all the way up until the day before contest would make you look more vascular/leaner. Im a newb to contest prep. Thanks

[UCFBuilder]

it really depends on the person...most have their last day of lifting on wednesday simply cause u dont want to be sore on stage..i know quite a few guys tho who do cardio up until the day before the show..hell..one guy on here even said he did cardio on show day

[AniMaLizTik]

the idea is to show up on stage, big, full, ripped, and lean.

Lifting "primes" the muscle for glycogen reception after a good depletion which is best done on a Wednesday or Thursday.

Any lifting or cardio done AFTER the initial carb load will only deplete the muscles, but alot of folks do low intensity circuits or light cardio or posing practice just to keep the blood flowing

[mrusa85]

It's a common practice to try and be in shape one week before your actual competition. If all the fat is burned off by then you really don't have to burn any more off. The last week is used for carb depletion the first few days and then carb loading the last few days.

Training with weights the first few days of the week empties the glycogen from the muscles. It also helps you lose water by going on very low carbs. When carbs are reintroduced later in the week and no weight training is done, the carbs suck into the muscle and can also draw upon water under the skin to make you appear tighter for a little while during the competition.

Adding cardio into the mix risks the balance of carb loading and depletion. That's why is not performed the last few days.

Although light cardio is still sometimes done because it helps to calm the nerves a bit. Or keep the blood flowing. Same thing.