This isn’t for the person who hasn’t begun a contest diet. Nor is it for the person who is just a poor dieter. This is for someone who already had a modicum of success in the field of bodybuilding – someone who has actually done well and looked respectable up on the stage, but who cannot seem to get that little extra off the lower back, the abs, the quads or the glutes and hamstrings.

For those who have eating issues, get fat in the off season and can’t recover in 12 weeks, or those who are looking for how to do an entire contest diet for the first time, this is NOT for you! We might also caution that this is not for those who are looking to do a quick mop up of weeks of slips. This isn’t catch up for poor dieting, it’s about taking something that is already good and making it that much better!

So let’s say you’re 9 or 10 days out from your show. You look mostly ready and you reason, “I know I’ll make it…after all, I have 9 days!” Well, you may or may not. In fact, if you’re like 60% of amateur bodybuilders, the possibility of you actually looking worse in 9 days is very high. Some come in ready about 1-2 weeks in advance and then blow it the last few days. Why? Well, not for the reasons you think.

Many people, upon contest failure, claim, “Well, I came in ready way too early. I’ll shave a week off of my next contest diet and come in right on the mark.” This is just ignorant, plain and simple! The truth is, coming in early isn’t such a bad thing. And it isn’t a matter of this magic window of time in which you can hold your condition, and if you go outside of that window, you’re screwed. It’s much more about what you do to change things to not only maintain that condition, but take it to a new level.

Is it true that the more weeks you diet, the better you’ll be? It depends. Some people can improve the quality of their physique with each week and others just fritter that time away and actually deteriorate in condition. It’s all about knowing what to do to maintain momentum, and create a sharper generation of condition within that last week.

Here’s a great recipe for success and further tightening:

8 to 9 days out: Eat a hamburger and fries for your last meal. In preceding meals, eat steak and eggs. Eat a lot of calories on this day. You’ve been dieting for a long time and this will actually make you look like a million bucks. Don’t be afraid.

7 days out: Eat 8 oz of steak, grilled and fresh (don’t save it in the refrigerator, it strips it of all its nutrients, heat and creatine) 5 meals a day, alternating meals with a small baked potato with some butter

4, 5 & 6 days out: Eat just steak, 10 – 12 oz. per meal, 5-6 meals per day. No potatoes, just some green vegetables, such as steamed broccoli, with 2 of the meals. Drink TONS of water throughout the day and night. A gallon is minimum.

3 days out: Eat as above, but during the last meal of the day, eat a baked potato with butter, or fries.

2 days out: Depending upon how dry you are, include a baked potato, or two, dry.

1 day out: All day is steak, but last meal is steak, baked potato and butter.

Day of the contest: Get up and eat a hamburger and fries, and drink moderately – sips until you get on stage. Have a gatorade about 15 minutes before stage if you look great.

Diuretics or Not?

Diuretics have become verboten in the pro and national ranks, because of testing. We’re not advocating using or not, but the truth is, this program works even better, and the results are even more dramatic, with Aldactazide during days 4-7 and Aldactone days 1-3 and the day of the show. Aldactazide and Aldactone are both diuretics and aldosterone inhibitors. Aldosterone is a hormone that is associated with stress. Stress is a killer on a day of a show, because condition can be compromised. Supressing aldosterone, in addition to removing water and keeping dry, is a great addition to any physique on the day of the show.