The art and science of getting into shape fast

For the sake of example and convenience I will describe a 12 week schedule which will give a rough guide to the various stages of the weight loss process, although this of course may be adapted to suit individual requirements. I must stress that this diet involves advice taken from a number of bodybuilders, and is not my own personal program, and of course medical advice is recommended before pursuing any diet program. However, in this day and age of vitamin supplements, processed foods and herbal supplements, no diet may ever be deemed entirely “natural”, drug-free or avoid artificially manufactured elements. The schedule covers two phases: phase one, the trimming off of excess fat and achieving condition; and phase two, the final sculpting of a winning physique.

Losing body fat without form or fitness

In the first 11 weeks all fats must be eliminated from the diet, and carbohydrates (including complex, medium and simple polymers) at a maximum of 180g per day per 100lbs of body weight, and protein should be kept within the range of 90-125g (per 100lbs weight). Sodium and potassium (electrolytes) should also be kept to a minimum, although trace amounts are needed to maintain healthy muscle and nervous system function. It is also not a bad idea to drink 1-2 litres of mineral water per day (per 100lbs weight) to discourage water retention. Drinking copious amounts of water will also compensate for the relatively low electrolyte levels and will assist the production of glycogen, the means by which the liver and muscle stock pile glucose.

Table showing calorific values and sources of simple and complex carbohydrates

In addition to cutting the dietary intake of fats and carbohydrates, a successful diet must also aim to speed up the metabolism to aid the fat burning process. This is achieved by eating small meals at least every 2-3 hours (those people who do not already practice this eating habit will encounter an initial weight gain due to an already slow metabolism, but will loose this extra weight as their metabolism speeds up). Most people will find the initial fat loss quite dramatic, but will after a while find that their body becomes increasingly reluctant to release fatty acids from their fat stores. This is because the body’s natural defence system is clinging onto its remaining fat reserves within “starvation mode”, as our survival during prolonged periods of fasting seems to depend on the availability of fat reserves.

To deceive the body and to get around this “starvation mode”, many bodybuilders will have one “cheat day” every week, which normally takes place on a rest (non-training) day. This involves eating up to 360g of carbohydrates per 100lbs body weight and up to 40g of fats. This causes the body to go into a metabolic ‘hyperdrive’, ‘burning’ or “metabolising” the additional calories and replenishing glycogen stores within the muscles. Once the body is again satisfied that it does not require any dietary fat intake, the body will release fats from its adipose tissue stores more readily. In addition supplementing the diet with a few essential fatty acids (omega 3,6 & 9) throughout the 12 week conditioning period will discourage it from again entering into “starvation mode”.

Perhaps we should mention another common way of “tricking” the body into weight loss, popularly known as the Atkins diet. The Atkins diet achieves its undoubted results by fooling the body’s insulin response into believing that it is in constant starvation mode, as with little or no dietary carbohydrate intake, the breakdown of muscle glycogen (to produce glucose) and protein (to release amino acids), and the subsequent production of glucose from amino acid metabolism in the liver are the only ways in which the body can attempt to maintain the minimum blood sugar (glucose) levels which are essential for brain function. As blood glucose remains low after eating, insulin is not released in quantity from the pancreas, and the liver, adipose and muscle tissues are not encouraged to take up glucose (or fatty acids), and the body maintains its starvation mode despite continued eating. However such a diet of fats and proteins may leave the dieter feeling “groggy” and lethargic due to low blood sugar levels, and this diet is not recommended for athletes, bodybuilders or those with an active lifestyle.

Only after exhausting all training and supplement options (as will be explained in due course) and the fat loss has reached a plateau, carbohydrate intake should be gradually dropped, but only by some 35g per 100lbs bodyweight per week, or else the body will enter into “muscular catabolism”. After all you can’t run a high performance engine without fuel, and each gram of muscle tissue stores the same number of calories as a gram of carbohydrate, and the body will preferentially breakdown that energy source which is most abundant. Believe me when I say I’ve seen 20 stone bodybuilders with considerable muscle bulk end up competing at 13 stone with a withered physique, because they panicked close to competition and cut their carbohydrate intake too fast too soon! The week leading up to the contest is an all-together different dietary battle zone, but we will cover that in the pre-contest section.

Weight training

During the period from weeks 1 to 11 training should be as heavy and intense as possible, as hypertrophy (excess stress of muscle leading to growth) and hyperplasia (increase in muscle cell number due to the subsequent growth and the division of muscle cells) are promoted by intense muscle stress and loading to near or beyond capacity. High numbers of repetitions with small weights do not achieve this hypertrophic stress, and if anything tend to promote an increased supply of blood to the muscle (vascularization). As the aim of the pre-contest training is to retain as much muscle mass as possible, and muscle fibre growth and retention is by definition adaptive to the workload and demands placed upon them, then a reduction in workout intensity or workload will encourage muscle fibre atrophy (loss or breakdown). This having been said, there is however some element of truth that high repetition training improves form (shaping), and also increases the degree of muscular striation, but these high repetition components may be incorporated into heavy training programmes.

Example Chest workout

Decline bench press: 3 x 6-8 reps (% max)
Incline press: 3 x 6-8 reps (% max)
Flat Flies: 3 x 12 reps (% max)
Cable crossover: 3 x 15 reps (% max)

Please remember to ingest 25 – 35g carbohydrates per 100lbs bodyweight some 40-60 mins pre-workout – as no muscle fuel translates to no training strength!

Cardiovascular Training

Aerobic exercise should be performed on 6 days each week, with none on the “cheat” or rest day. Cardiovascular (CV) training should be performed once or twice a day, as it is another key element to fat loss - but only within the right nutritional environment. Obviously CV training will increase calorific needs, which will in of itself promote weight loss, but the key principle is to ensure that energy is preferentially taken from the fat depot, and not from the glycogen or still worse, the muscle protein reserves…

CV training in this type of preparation is most efficient at a moderate level (fast walking, jogging, cycling etc), for no longer than 40 minutes per session. To make sure you are attacking fat supplies, it is best to train when muscle glycogen levels are at their lowest level possible, i.e. on an empty stomach immediately upon waking or immediately after a heavy weight training session. The reason that we limit the duration of CV training to 40 minutes is that, under these conditions, the body will upon prolonged exercise begin to break down muscle tissue to produce ketones for energy due to the depletion of glycogen reserves, and will only surrender a small percentage of its fat reserve, as empirically at this stage the muscle is by far the most abundant energy reserve in the body.

At this stage we may introduce the idea of metabolic enhancement. Many athletes choose to enhance fat loss by using thermogenic compounds, usually a so-called “ECA” stack (Ephedrine, Caffeine and Aspirin) taken some 40 minutes prior to CV training - try it you’ll certainly notice the difference! After the workout it is vital to replenish glycogen supplies as quickly as possible to keep the subsequent ketosis at bay (you can test for this by using “keto-strips” available from most chemists – if ketones are present by definition you have insufficient glycogen stores and you are losing muscle tissue). A popular way of replenishing your glycogen stores is to drink a carbohydrate drink with a mixture of glucose, dextrose and maltodextrin totalling approx 60-100g carbohydrates, followed by a protein drink containing a good 50g of quality whey protein.

This basic training format should get the desired results for the initial period from weeks 1 through 11. However each individual responds slightly differently to this regimen, and the rate of fat loss should be monitored by an experienced athlete to help to make adjustments to diet and training so as to meet your target date, whether it be a photo shoot or a bodybuilding contest. The program for week 12 is discussed in the Pre-Contest section, and is for adding the fine touches to a lean and conditioned physique.

Supplementation

Please remember this section is purely an example of how the author supplements his own pre-contest phase of training, and many people vary in opinion on how this should be done. The author neither encourages, nor advocates the use of drugs, and any each individual must accept personal responsibility for their own actions.

The human body has a very ‘intelligent’ central nervous system (CNS) which will work very hard to preserve fat supplies and to reduce excess muscle tissue, which drains available energy reserves even while the body is at rest. This is due to the evolution of our physiology as hunter-gatherers during times of scarcity, when food was in short supply for prolonged periods of time, and although the body will automatically attempt to find a new equilibrium to adapt to its changing physical and nutritional environment, fat reserves are evolutionarily precious to the body, and muscle bulk is considered a luxury by the body which can be ill afforded during times of fasting, e.g. during a prolonged diet. The body has many different metabolic processes available to obtain this balance, but luckily modern science has provided us with the chemistry to bypass many of them. Again in this section we will deal with only weeks 1-11, and we will cover week 12 in the Pre-contest section.

Recommended Supplementation:

• 20g Glutamine daily (In four 5g divided doses) – The amino acid L-Glutamine is essential to help to maintain immune system function, which is suppressed by intense exercise and dieting. This amino acid is believed to aid glycogen uptake into muscles.
• Multi Vitamins and iron - Again to help maintain immune system function, and to replace nutrients normally taken within the diet.
• Vitamin C – 3-5g daily, will act as an excellent natural diuretic and antioxidant.
• “Hydroxycut” or a similar thermogenic product – taken 40 minutes before the morning cardio session and also before a workout to help to enhance fat loss.
• Vitamin B3 (Niacin) – to enhance muscle vascularity.
• Zinc – affords prostate protection and is an essential metabolic cofactor.
• Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAA`s) - take 20g immediately before bed – available as a high quality protein supplement with no fats or carbohydrates. This will help muscle repair throughout the crucial growth and repair hours of sleep, which should be at least 8 hours a night.
• Senokot – a natural laxative, you’ll find out why by week 5!!

Pre-Contest Regimen (Week 12)

This is the week where the most dramatic changes occur both physically and mentally. By this stage body fat levels should be around 5-7 %, and the objectives of this intense week are to deplete subcutaneous water supplies and to increase glycogen levels. To achieve this we must first deplete muscle glycogen as far as possible, and lose as much subcutaneous water as possible. Then we will re-load muscle glycogen in combination with the use of diuretics to further promote water loss. We are also using the body’s innate nervous system against itself at this point, as it will again realise what has happened, and will overcompensate by absorbing up to 20% more glycogen than was present prior to depletion in anticipation of such a loss occurring again.

Diet (assuming contest is on Saturday)

Sun = 100g Carbs, 200g Protein, 3 litres of mineral water (Evian)
Mon = 20g Carbs, 180g Protein, 4 litres Evian
Tue = 0g Carbs, 160g Protein, 5 litres Evian
Wed = 700g Carbs (60% simple, 40% complex), 200g Protein, 6 litres Evian
Thu = 600g Carbs (50% simple, 50% complex), 180g Protein, 7 litres Evian
Fri = 500g Carbs (80% simple, 20% complex), 150g Protein, 3 litres Evian

(Stop all fluid intake 24hrs before competition, figures are given for a 300lb adult, so please adjust for your own bodyweight)

Those of you feeling brave enough may wish to use fast acting insulin during the carbohydrate loading phase to help to promote carbohydrate uptake into the muscle, but please remember that you are still depleted, and that your insulin tolerance may not be what it usually is! I only recommend this to people who are very experienced with insulin use due to the obvious dangers associated with this drug, and also the possibility of overdoing the simple carbohydrates (sugars), which the insulin will cause to be taken up and turned into fats.

Week 12 Training:

Cardio: none (Thank God!)

Weights:

Train the whole body, 3 sets, 18-20 reps, and 2 different exercises per body part through Sunday, Monday and Tuesday to exhaust muscle glycogen stores. The best way to determine whether you have depleted yourself adequately is to observe that the muscles will feel soft and you will inevitably feel a little drained at this point!

On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday there is no weight training, just 30-40 minutes of free posing each day to help to drive out any extra subcutaneous water out, this also help to aid the appearance of striations within the muscles. Any weight training during this carbohydrate loading stage will just burn up the glycogen, leaving the muscle still appearing flat and depleted.

Supplementation:

The use of all thermogenic compounds promoting fat metabolism should be ceased from Sunday, except for clenbuterol and histamine. Clenbuterol has ability to block the actions of cortisol, which the body will be releasing during the glycogen depletion stage to promote the use of muscle protein as an energy source. The use of these should be stopped on Thursday. Any growth hormone use should be stopped on Sunday, as this does tend to encourage water retention. Aldactone, is a mild diuretic but is active for only 6 hrs. During this time it will be trying to release as much water from your system as possible. Vitamin C also has a diuretic action and as an extra diuretic, and as a further suggestion please try a couple of large glasses of dry white wine before bed from Wednesday onwards to Showtime. T3 and T4 are thyroid hormones which increase the metabolism and promote fat metabolism by causing a lowering of blood sugar levels. Somatropin is a growth hormone which promote the anabolic state without promoting fat deposition, and enhances muscular size and definition. Clenbuterol is a beta antagonist, which when taken in combination with Zaditen makes muscle fibres twitch at a fast rate aiding the fat burning process, and also counteracts the actions of the stress hormone cortisol which causes catabolism (tissue breakdown).

	Aldactone 100mg/Tab (Diuretic)	T3/T4	Clenbuterol HCl	Vitamin C (1000mg)	Histamine (Zaditen)	Somatropin
SUN	-	2 tabs	8mcg	3	4 tabs	4 iu
MON	-	2 tabs	8mcg	4	4 tabs	4 iu
TUE	-	2 tabs	8mcg	4	4 tabs	4 iu
WED	2x ¼ Tab	2 tabs	8mcg	5	4 tabs	4 iu
THU	3x ¼ Tab	2 tabs	8mcg	5	4 tabs	4 iu
FRI	2x ½ Tab	2 tabs	8mcg	6	4 tabs	4 iu
SAT	1x Tab	2 tabs	8mcg	6	4 tabs

As we are stopping water intake 24hrs before the contest, we allow the diuretics time to deplete subcutaneous water retention. Because we have been drinking excessive water, the CNS should be convinced that it really does not need to hold any extra stores, and you will continue to lose water. During the final 24hrs you may need to sip on a strong simple carbohydrate (sugar) drink such to top up on muscle glycogen if you feel the diuretics are depleting your glycogen supplies.

For breakfast on Saturday it is usual to eat a lean fillet steak and 2 egg yolks (fats to help conserve glycogen levels), and to eat snacks of turkey breast and sugary sweets as a readily available source of blood glucose. One hour before competing, most athletes will take some Vitamin B3 (Niacin) and alcohol to bring out their vascularity, whilst some even snack on salty crisps but that is entirely down to experience and personal preference. The best form of competition energy is often found in a humble Mars bar… Bon appetit!