Preparing for a bodybuilding competition takes time and effort. Most people that compete are training their entire life to get to the place they are now but there are some things they do to make sure they look their best on the day that counts. Getting ripped using shredded conditioning manipulations in the last 10 days before the competition is extremely important for them and here’s what you can do as part of your competition prep:
Control Your Calorie Intake
One of the most important things to start getting ripped is controlling how many calories you consume. In the last 10 days of the competition prep, you should consume 10 calories per 1 pound of your weight to make sure you are on the right track and maintain your shredded conditioning to look your best in the competition.
The idea here is to burn enough fat in your last 10 days without losing muscle mass. If you cut back more you may start losing muscle mass and have worse effects than you wanted.
Controlled Protein Intake
How much protein you consume is also important to get in the best shape for the competition. So, 10 days before the competition you should eat about 1.5g of protein per 1 pound of your weight up till there are only 4 days left to the competition. After that, you need to cut back on your protein intake to 0.5g per 1 pound of your weight for the last 3 days.
Don’t experiment in this phase with new protein foods. Just eat what you ate before and try to get the right amount of protein.
Controlled Carb Intake
The number of carbs you consume will also play a role in your shredded conditioning for competition prep. You need to consume 0.5g carbs per 1 pound of your weight from day 10 up till day 6 and then cut it even more to 0.25g per 1 pound of your weight for day 5. On the 4th day, you need to cut it down to 0 and only consume carbs through fresh vegetables. In the last 3 days of getting ripped for the competition, you need to increase your carb intake to about 2.5g per 1 pound of your weight. At this point try to stay away from food that has a lot of water in it because carbs can hold water.
Minimum Fat Intake
The fat should be cut down to about 0.25g per 1 pound of your weight. This might be quite hard to endure because consuming fat makes us happy because of the “happy” hormone it produces. You can even cut it out entirely but it’s very hard and you will probably feel very bad. Try to consume fat from whole food sources like avocados and nuts.
Manipulate Salt Intake
Properly manipulating your body with salt is also an important step to getting ripped for the competition. Starting from the 10th day, you need to increase your salt intake significantly and on the last 2 days, drop it entirely. This way you will manipulate your body and it will drop the entire excess water and make you look as defined as possible.
Controlled Water Intake
Controlling the amount of water you drink in the last 10 days will improve your appearance too. You need to increase your water intake at least 2 more liters than you normally drink for the first 8 days. On the 2nd day before the competition cut this amount in half and on the last day before your competition do not exceed over 1 liter of water.
Maintain Your Workout Routine
It’s much better if you don’t switch up your workout routines right before the competition even though many athletes make this mistake. It’s much better to maintain your workout routine from day 10 to day 5. The only thing that might help you if you need to burn some extra fat is to increase your cardio workout. The most important thing for this competition prep is not to do anything and have a nice rest on the final 3 days.
Get Enough Rest
Try to sleep at least 8 hours at night and sneak in a nap during the day if you can. Resting during your final days is very important so you don’t lose any muscle due to the stress of the harsh diet.
Get A Relaxing Massage
Massage can help you feel much better and relax you from all the stress you are putting yourself through during this final phase. A relaxing massage can loosen the tightness in your body accumulated by the workouts and even improve your mood.
Tan Your Body
Tanned bodies look much better and show more definition in the spotlight. It’s an easy step of the shredded conditioning that will improve your chances and make you look as good as possible.
