1 WEEK TO PEAK Overhaul your physique in just a week with this professional-grade diet and training plan By Chris Aceto ›› Is it possible to radically transform your physique in just over a week? Can you really overhaul your appearance in eight days, going from soft to downright ripped? Yep, provided you’re already in decent shape. In fact, competitive bodybuilders do it every time they compete. You can, too, with this “how-to” guide to manipulating four factors: carbohydrates, exercise, sodium and water. When tweaked precisely, the result is a temporary super-hard look on par with that of a dialled-in bodybuilder. No water retention, no bloating, just crisp definition. Competitive bodybuilders are notorious for radically changing their physiques in as few as 7–9 days. During the final stretch before a competition, many follow a system called “carbohydrate depleting and loading”. This involves radically restricting carbs, then reverting back to a very high carb intake. The process empties the muscles of carbohydrate reserves only to load them back up. (Other players in the transformation include altering training styles and manipulating sodium and water intake.) You’ll need to eat clean throughout the week: no fast food or processed foods and limited dietary fat (see “Day in the Life” for sample meal plans). Increase your protein intake as well, to 11⁄2 – 2 grams per pound of bodyweight a day. Here, we give you a Friday-to-Friday plan for a complete physique overhaul and rapid transformation. We just hope you recognise yourself in the mirror when you’re done. 1) Start phase Friday–Tuesday >> Salt Your Food Salt makes you retain water, right? True, but manipulating its intake can lead to water loss. Here’s how: two days before depleting carbohydrates, add table salt or spices made with salt to each of your meals — enough to make the food taste salty — because salt causes temporary water retention. Then, when you eliminate salt completely but keep drinking water, the result is extreme water excretion. >> Up Your Water As you increase salt, you’ll want to increase your water intake (distilled water, if possible); 5–7 glasses more than your normal daily intake will suffice. The added water preps the body. Then, when you restrict water the final two days, the change in intake creates the illusion of a water deficit. Low water levels, especially under the skin, make you look more ripped. 2) Depleting phase Sunday–Tuesday >> Cut Your Carbs This step brings the entire system together. Reduce your carbohydrates to 40–70 grams a day for three consecutive days to burn the stored glycogen out of your muscles. Simultaneously, train with higher reps (12–15 per set) and increase the number of sets you perform by 50%. For example, if you do 12 sets for chest, up that to 18 sets. This combination fully depletes the muscles of glycogen. 3) Loading phase Wednesday–Friday >> Load Up on Carbs In the reverse of Step 2, increase your carb intake to 21⁄2 - 31⁄2 grams per pound of bodyweight daily. The 200-pound male would need at least 500–700 grams a day. Since training depletes carbs, you’ll skip it altogether, allowing all incoming carbohydrates to be stockpiled as muscle glycogen. When glycogen stores are excessively low and a high-carb intake is re-introduced, muscles store more glycogen than ever before. >> Drop the Salt When you stop salting your food, water will be readily lost, promoting better definition. Eliminate all refined foods. >> Drop Your Water When your muscles begin filling back up with glycogen, water is required. When you cut back to half your normal intake, a lot of the water it takes to make glycogen is dragged from beneath the skin and stored in the muscles, creating less water retention and clear definition. >> Scratch the Training Training while carb-loading will siphon off the carbs stored in the muscles, which you don’t want. Don’t train on these days. Sit back and watch in awe as your body tightens. Day in the Life DEPLETING - A sample day of eating from Sunday through Tuesday for the 200-pounder Meal 1 8 egg whites, 2 yolks Salt and pepper 70 g mushrooms 3 glasses water Meal 2 280 g chicken breast Mixed green salad with no-carb dressing 3 glasses water Meal 3 225 g lean steak with Cajun spices 225 g green beans 3 glasses water Meal 4 Whey protein drink made with 2 glasses water Meal 5 225 g low-fat cottage cheese 2 glasses water Meal 6 280 g chicken breast with salt or lemon-pepper seasoning that contains salt 150 g broccoli 2 glasses water LOADING - A sample day of eating from Wednesday through Friday no. 2 for the 200-pounder Meal 1 175 g lean steak 2 340 g potatoes, grated and grilled with non-stick cooking spray 1 glass water Meal 2 280 g chicken breast 340 g yam 1 glass water Meal 3 225 g lean steak 2 yams 110 g green beans No water Meal 4 280 g chicken breast 2 340 g potatoes 1 glass water Meal 5 225 g turkey breast 2 yams No water Meal 6 280 g chicken breast 2 340 g potatoes 150 g broccoli 1 glass water Meal 7 1 yam PEAK SUPPS Glutamine & Potassium: The Right Supplements for your peaking week Depleting carbs sets up a reaction in which the body begins to make all kinds of enzymes to create new muscle glycogen. When you load — and the glycogen-forming machinery is stoked — you can store more muscle glycogen than ever. Two nutrients that can help are glutamine and potassium. >> Taking 5 grams of glutamine three times a day during a loading phase (days 6, 7 and 8) can result in better glycogen storage. >> Potassium helps make glycogen and draws water inside the muscle cells. The more water within cells, the less likely it is to be stored beneath the skin. Try 1,000 mg of supplemental potassium daily (200 mg with each of any five meals) during the entire eight days. M&F REFERENCES ›› Bowtell, J.L., et al. Effects of oral glutamine on whole body carbohydrate storage during recovery from exhaustive exercise. Journal of Applied Physiology 86(6):1,770–1,777, 1999. This article is for information purposes only. Weider Publishing Ltd does not accept liability for the effect of reported supplements or products, legal or illegal. It is the responsibility of the individual to abide by the dosage allowances specific to their country of residence. Always consult a doctor before commencing supplementation or changing dosage

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