Perhaps someone can help through their experience with the final week. My last 3 shows I have looked the best on Thursday and then slightly progressively worse as Saturday approaches. Up to Thursday my carbs are low, potassium loading started Wednesday and my water is at 3 gallons, Sodium is also low. As soon as my water starts to decrease and carbs enter in things go down hill. This hasn't negatively affected my placings, yet, however it is very frusterating not to put my best physique on stage. Is my scenario typical? Feedback would help as I have a show coming up May 1st. Thank You.

Jesse,

Are you following a Beverly plan? What other plans/methods have you used?

Looks like potassium loading is a little too early. You should begin loading when you cut back on water.

When are you carbing up? Are you doing a glycogen depletion by pumping up a lot from Sunday through Wed?


Frank

Jesse.. there are so many ways to prep the final 'peak week' and if you ask 10 people, you'd get 10 different ways to prep. What you describe was also my experience for many shows. The pertinent elements that I have tweaked and changed slightly are to keep my water higher going into Friday and cutting back slightly after 6:00 p.m. - keeping sodium in or slightly lower on Friday but not zero. And, I did NOT do the potassium load for my show Saturday and it's the first time in 10 contests that I had NO CRAMPING! Not one.. I was vascular, dry, cut and hard. When you say water is lower and your carbs enter.. what happens?? Do you go flat or smooth over?

The exact plan that I follow is from one of Beverly's seminars that they e-mailed me. Sunday-Tuesday 1.5 gallons water, 1/2 cup oatmeal for the first 2 meals, and normal sodium. Wednesday is 3 gallons water, cut out condiments and diet colas and start potassium leading. Thursday has 2 moderate carb meals of rice/oatmeal and Friday the last meal is high in carbs. Of couse beef and grapefruit are throughout. The weeks before the final week I follow a very low carb plan typical of Beverly clients. I do glycogen deplete on Sunday by doing strenuous circuit training. On Wednesday and Thursday my legs are cross striated and I appear harder than the day of the show. Since I'm creatine loading with creatine select starting Tuesday I am still pretty full. Thanks for everyones help-hopefully I can return the favor with future advice.

I must agree with Brochas.
Last weekend I competed in the NPC Cincinnati, which was my 7th contest, and I feel I didn't need the potassium. I cut sodium Tuesday at noon and began potassium loading 90mg every other hour. Wednesday 90mg per hour and Thursday 180mg per hour. By Thursday night I was cramping really bad! Keep in mind I was drinking 3 gallons per day since Tuesday. By Friday night, I completely stop taking all potassium because the cramping wouldn't let up. By prejudging I was still cramping, but barely made it through. And I didn't cut my water Friday evening. I drank 3 gallons of Friday and 2 on Saturday.
Next time I'm going to cut all sodium on Tuesday again, but just not potassium load. The last set of shows I did in 2002 I had cramping pretty bad and a really bad bloating rebound effect from eating sodium on Sunday, following the Beverly plan exactly. Which isn't to say it's bad. YOU JUST HAVE TO KNOW YOUR BODY.

Potassium loading really wasn't necessary. You didn't water deplete. You were keeping "water in". Had you depleted water, say, Thus, you cut back by 50%, then the same on Friday, yes, you would have needed to take and load on potassium.

Frank