Learn to get in great shape in the pre-competitive bodybuilding period to minimize muscle loss and burn excess fat as much as possible. Very often athletes fail to get in good shape before the competition. The main task of bodybuilding is the harmonious development of the body, but gaining weight and burning fat is one thing. Often it is the excess fat mass that prevents athletes from performing well. Surely you know the name of Mike Mentzer, who, without exaggeration, can be called a master of gaining sports conditions.
He became the first athlete to win the Olympia after the introduction of hydrostatic weighing, a method for determining body composition. During his triumph (this happened in 1980), Mike's weight was 105 kilos, and the content of subcutaneous fat did not exceed three percent. Let's find out how Mentzer was able to achieve this art of achieving muscle definition in bodybuilding.
How to evaluate your current bodybuilding form?
Mike is convinced that the first thing an athlete must learn to evaluate his form. This will allow you to determine the required time to achieve the necessary competitive condition and draw up a plan to achieve this goal. Of course, the less fat your body contains when you start training, the less time it will take you to get in shape.
In those days, athletes most often used the calipometric method to determine their shape, but Mentzer always used the more accurate and expensive hydrostatic method. Its essence boils down to a combination of conventional weighing and weighing under water. Since muscle tissue is heavier than water, it seems to sink and can be weighed. The difference between weighing results is the ratio of fat and dry mass.
Many more methods are used today to determine body composition. For example, there is a very quick procedure that uses compressed air. It takes no more than five minutes to complete it. At the same time, the calipometric technique continues to be popular. Measuring the thickness of fat folds and subsequent calculations is not the most accurate way, but the cheapest.
But there is an even simpler and completely free way - a mirror. It is he who is recommended by Mentzer. To determine your body composition, you need to try to pinch the fat fold in different areas of the body. If its thickness is more than 2 cm, then it will take about two and a half months to acquire competitive conditions. The most accurate results can be obtained if this procedure is carried out in the lumbar region.
How Do Bodybuilders Burn Fat?
You need to get rid of fat, but at the same time maintain the gained muscle mass. To do this, you should lose no more than one kilogram of mass during the week, since otherwise muscles will also be burned. There are two methods you can use to effectively fight fat.
The first is to continue using high intensity activities until the start of the competition. In doing so, you must reduce the energy value of the diet. If you need to burn fat faster, then introduce cardio into the training program.
But there are some nuances here. Oxygen is needed to burn fat, and if you only use strength training for weight loss or high-intensity cardio, then oxygen does not have time to enter the fat tissues, and the body uses glycogen as an energy source.
According to Mike, the optimal solution in this situation would be to gradually reduce the intensity of the training about two weeks before the start of the tournament and introduce cardio loads into the training program about a month or a month and a half.
High-intensity strength training and short cardio sessions should be used first. For this, an exercise bike is perfect, on which you should work at a moderate speed over a distance of two kilometers. Do these aerobic activities once or twice throughout the week, supplementing or replacing them with running for the same distance.
We have already said that the intensity of cardio should increase, and strength training should decrease. Use a stationary bike twice during the week for half an hour and two runs for a distance of 3 kilometers. It is also important that the cardio session is conducted at a "conversational" pace. If you are unable to speak while jogging or using the stationary bike, the intensity is high.
You should also reduce the calorie content of the nutrition program, but do not do it abruptly. Start with 500 calories and then decrease 200 calories each week. It should be remembered that with a decrease in calorie content, the energy storage of the body also decreases. If you have correctly determined the form and made a rational schedule for bringing to competitive conditions, then you will succeed. Use a balanced nutritional program, intense training, and cardio sessions to burn fat.
Learn how to determine the increase in lean muscle mass in bodybuilding from this video:
