To give you an example, here are the upper weight class limits and the actual winners’ weights at the Northern Kentucky Bodybuilding Championship, a national qualifier with 237 competitors:

Class	Limit	Heaviest Competitor’s Weight per Class	Winner’s Weight per Class
BW	143	143	119.5
LW	154	154	150
WW	165	165	159
MW	176	176	170
LHW	198	198	191
HW	225	224	199
SHW	***	260	243

 

• The winner’s weights at this particular show are not an exception but very indicative of what usually happens – the best athlete wins, rarely is he the biggest in terms of bodyweight.

Now it’s time to really kick your diet into high gear.

• You should lose one to two pounds per week of fat during your final contest prep phase. A pound per week is usually the best approach but if you start too late or have allowed yourself to get too fat, then you may have to lose more.
• One final point - since you are trying to lose as much fat as possible, yet hold on to, or even gain as much lean muscle as possible, and you are restricting your caloric intake – you are going to need some proven, time tested supplements.

The “Contest Countdown” – Precontest Nutritional Program

• The Precontest nutritional program is not easy to follow, and is definitely not for the weak at heart.
• You have to take a disciplined approach to your Precontest nutritional program.
• You must consistently eat the right combination and types of nutrients to preserve as much muscle as possible while you strip off fat at a rapid rate.
• Your precontest nutritional regimen should consist almost exclusively of the foods listed below.

Protein

• Best sources of protein for your Precontest nutritional program are: turkey breast, chicken breast, lean beef (96% or leaner), egg whites, and fish. These foods contain a high percentage of protein with little fat.
• The best protein supplements are Ultimate Muscle Protein, and Muscle Provider. These protein powders are the best available because their amino acid profiles are perfect for Precontest dieting.
• The higher quality the protein powder you use, the more muscle you’ll retain and the more fat you’ll lose. Champion Beverly athletes use Muscle Provider and Ultimate Muscle Protein powders all the way up to the day of their show getting harder and more defined each day.

Complex Carbohydrates

• Best sources of complex carbohydrate for losing fat and maintaining lean muscle are oatmeal, brown rice, and sweet potatoes.
• Unless you know from experience that your body tolerates carbohydrates extremely well, your complex carbohydrate intake should be limited to your twice weekly “carb-up meals”. We’ll explain about that later.

Low Carb Vegetables and Fruit

• Low carb vegetables include salads, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, green beans, mushrooms, tomatoes (technically a fruit), onions, and asparagus. Acceptable low carb fruits are blueberries, cantaloupe, grapefruit, and strawberries.
• The low carb vegetables along with lean protein sources will be the staples of your diet from now until your contest.

Fats

• The right types of dietary fats can actually improve the results of your contest diet. But, you must really pay attention to getting the right amount and right kinds of dietary fats.
• Best sources Precontest are olive oil, coconut oil, flax oil, almond butter, and very small amounts of walnuts and almonds. As the contest approaches your consumption of saturated fats from cream and beef should decrease.
• It is vital that you take an essential fatty acid supplement like Beverly’s EFA Gold or a fish oil supplement.

Free Foods - Even though you are on a Precontest diet, you can still use moderate amounts of the following without jeopardizing your results: Sugar free gum, Crystal Light, sugar-free flavored waters and sodas, coffee, tea, Splenda, Equal, cinnamon, dry seasonings, mustard, vinegar, hot sauce, salt and pepper.

Free Meals - The only time that a “free meal” is acceptable is if you have a special occasion like a birthday, wedding, holiday meal, etc. and you are already in competition shape, yet have at least three weeks to go before your contest.

Water

• Make sure that you drink plenty of water. See “Free Foods” above for other beverage options. If you are dehydrated, you will not burn fat and you can’t build muscle. Water is necessary in every metabolic process.
• You should drink at least one gallon daily. Average water consumption of our top athletes is one and one-half gallon per day.

Functions of the Carb Load Meal - The Contest Countdown nutritional plan incorporates what has become known as the “Beverly Carb Up Meal”.

• Twice weekly you will eat a final meal before retiring that is a combination of carbohydrate sources ranging from “fast” to “slow” acting.
• This is an important part of your plan. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that if you skip it, it will accelerate your rate of fat loss.
• Here’s what the carb meal does:

• Refuels glycogen stores.
• Prevents decline in metabolism, (T3 synthesis remains optimal).
• Provides variety – mental ease.
• Facilitates muscular growth by inducing uptake of Amino Acids and insulin surge drives IGF-1 production. Optimizes “anabolic” effect of insulin, while minimizing the lipogenic (fat producing) effect.

Your first “carb-up” meal is going to be difficult because you will not be used to eating the recommended amounts. That’s okay; just eat a portion of each of the recommended foods. Then, gradually work up to the full recommended amounts each week.

Eight Weeks Out … Contest Countdown Nutritional Program

Here are two sample nutrition plans that have been the most effective for our clients from eight weeks out from their contest to four weeks out.

Many use this plan all the way through to the final week before their show. We always say that if it’s working there is no reason to change it or, “Don’t fix what’s not broken.”

Plan A is the more widely used, but you can try Plan B if you know your body tolerates carbohydrates extremely well or if you are already close to contest condition.

Supplements for the “Contest Countdown” Nutritional Plan

• Whether you follow Plan A or Plan B, from the eight-week-out point on, your supplement program becomes more and more important.
• It should be designed to help you retain every ounce of lean muscle while it maximizes your body’s ability to burn stored fat for energy.
• It is very important to prioritize your supplement program during your eight-week contest countdown. Here’s why - you’ll be tempted to try anything that someone tells you will help you come into the show harder, denser, and shredded. Let’s stick with what has been time-tested and proven in this regard and save any experimentation for the off-season.

Essential - Start with the supplements listed above as Essential. A brief summary listing the benefits of each supplement is available below. For more information, click on the supplement name.

• Ultimate Muscle Protein – UMP will be a staple to your nutrition program.  It contains a high quality blend of proteins essential to any muscle building or fat loss program.
• Super Pak - contains all the vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and micronutrient catalysts you need to support protein synthesis and muscle building. The ingredients in the Super Pak sustain vital metabolic processes – energy production and fatty acid metabolism. They also provide powerful antioxidant protection for recovery, repair, and resistance to illness.  You should take one Super Pak per day with breakfast.
• Density – Eight essential amino acids with the ability to create any amino acid your body is deficient in.  Density is the superior amino acid formulation for fat loss while still retaining hard earned muscle.  We recommend 2-3 tablets per meal (about 1 tablet per day per 15 lbs bodyweight. If you weigh 180, take 2 tablets per meal at each of six meals or 12 total per day.
• Quadracarn* - males over 35 should consider Quadracarn essential for its ability to aid in testosterone effectiveness.  Other benefits include increased fat loss, muscle building and tissue repair.

Next Steps – Once you have the “essentials”, the next supplement(s) you’d add to your program are those listed as “Next Steps”.

• Glutamine Select - will help you preserve your lean muscle tissue as your diet becomes more restrictive and your training becomes more intense. Glutamine Select plus BCAAs before your workout will supply energy and halt muscle breakdown. After training it will help you recover faster, without extra calories.
• Creatine Select plus Phosphates - will allow you to train harder with greater intensity and recover faster using the most studied, bioavailable (near 100%) and proven form of creatine in the world bolstered by β-alanine for increased exercise performance.
• Up-Lift - stimulant-free powdered drink mix that is intended to be consumed before and during training in order to sustain higher levels of mental and muscular output (performance) during resistance and cardiovascular forms of exercise.

Stack - If your budget allows, add the “Stack” and you’ll have a complete supplement strategy to achieve your goal.

• Lean Out - allows you to mobilize and convert your stored fat for energy thereby sparing muscle tissue. Lean Out will create a big difference in your rate of fat loss and it can make your diet much easier. In fact, without the ingredients found in Lean Out your body could simply not burn fat for energy.  Take two with each and every meal and shake.
• 7 Keto MuscLEAN - contains ingredients clinically proven to increase the rate at which you burn calories (fat calories, in particular) so that you can get lean faster.  7-Keto MuscLEAN improves your metabolism and helps you burn more calories. It is especially valuable if you are following a diet or if your metabolism is slowing down because of the inevitable effect of aging.
• EFA Gold - provides essential fatty acids that support metabolism, improve energy levels, and stimulate natural hormone production that aid in muscle growth and fat metabolism.

Additives - “Additives” are for the high achiever who wants and can afford it all.

• Ultra 40 - Liver extract tablets aid in growth, add extra protein to every meal, and increase your energy and endurance.
• Muscularity – Branch Chain Amino Acid capsule.   BCAA’s are essential to retaining hard earned muscle in a reduced calorie diet.  Muscularity also contains the same form of chromium as Lean Out and will help you lose more fat and retain more lean muscle

Special Case Supplement Recommendations

There is an additional supplement that we recommend during the eight to four week out contest prep in particular circumstances.

• Muscle Synergy - If you are slightly “under muscled”, in other words, if you truly think that you are just a little bit smaller than you’d like to be at this point in your contest prep and you really can’t increase your caloric intake because you want to get as ripped as possible–then Muscle Synergy is indicated.

This is not inexpensive, but it is the best natural supplement there is for building and preservation of lean muscle tissue while on a contest restricted diet. Another advantage it offers is extreme pumps without adding sugar laden, fat producing calories.

Take eight to twelve Muscle Synergy pre workout and eight to twelve more either first thing in the morning or before bed. If you have Muscle Synergy powder 1 scoop equals 8 tablets.

Optional Supplements for the Contest Countdown Plan

Please call us at 1-800-781-3475 and we can help you to effectively incorporate any of our other premium contest prep supplements into your plan.

 

Cardio - Here are some notes from our Pre Contest seminar concerning cardio:

1. Do you need cardio? It depends on the amount of FAT you need to lose. And the amount of TIME you have to lose it. Remember, the first thing to understand is that from a bodybuilding perspective, we’re using cardio to burn BODY FAT, plain and simple.
2. Quantify your cardio program. Don’t just get on a treadmill and walk. Set a GOAL! It can be DURATION, INTENSITY (mph, % incline, or level), or best of all CALORIES expended.
3. Cardio Methodology – Phase One (from sixteen weeks out to eight weeks out).

Start with 12-20 minutes of fairly intense cardio three days a week. Each week attempt to burn more calories in the same amount of time. If you love cardio or need additional cardio, add two or three days of a lower intensity cardio (<75% MHR) activity for thirty minutes each. If you are already lean forget cardio.

Eight weeks out: Assess your condition. Are you on track? Can you get where you need to be without increasing cardio? Good!

But what if you’re behind schedule? You may step up the cardio to four days per week and thirty minutes per session. Or, even better, set a goal for the total calories you will burn per week with cardio.

Add the interval training approach at two of your sessions.

One of the most important things you can do is to set a goal for the total calories you will burn per week with cardio.

Sample Cardio Schedule – Based on Calories Expended Per Week

Weeks 12-9     Goal Calories Expended – 1000         (From week 8 on, increase 10% per

Week   8          Goal Calories Expended – 1100            through week 4, then remain constant.)

Week   7          Goal Calories Expended – 1225

Week   6          Goal Calories Expended – 1350

Weeks 5          Goal Calories Expended – 1500

Six weeks out: At six weeks out add a third interval training day IF NEEDED, bringing your total cardio to five days at 30 minutes per day. Take it to the next level on your interval days.

 

Please call or email us if you have any questions regarding this program.

Our email is info@BeverlyInternational.net; the phone number is 1-800-781-3475.

 

Addendum: Contest Countdown Nutritional Plan for the Female Bodybuilder

Here is a sample nutrition plan that has been the most effective for our female bodybuilding clients (and figure competitors who still have that last bit of fat to lose).

Supplements for the “Female Contest Countdown” Nutritional Plan

A brief summary listing the benefits of each supplement is available below. For more information, click on the supplement name.

Essential - Start with the supplements listed above as Essential.

• Ultimate Muscle Protein – UMP will be a staple to your nutrition program.  It contains a high quality blend of proteins essential to any muscle building or fat loss program.
• Super Pak - contains all the vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and micronutrient catalysts you need to support protein synthesis and muscle building. The ingredients in the Super Pak sustain vital metabolic processes – energy production and fatty acid metabolism. They also provide powerful antioxidant protection for recovery, repair, and resistance to illness.
• You should take one Super Pak per day with breakfast.
• Density – Eight essential amino acids with the ability to create any amino acid your body is deficient in.  Density is the superior amino acid formulation for fat loss while still retaining hard earned muscle.  We recommend 2-3 tablets per meal (about 1 tablet per day per 15 lbs bodyweight. If you weigh 180, take 2 tablets per meal at each of six meals or 12 total per day.
• Quadracarn - Benefits include increased fat loss, muscle building, tissue repair and increased androgen receptors for muscle building and retention.

Next Steps – Once you have the “essentials”, the next supplement(s) you’d add to your program are those listed as “Next Steps”.

• Creatine Select plus Phosphates - will allow you to train harder with greater intensity and recover faster using the most studied, bioavailable (near 100%) and proven form of creatine in the world bolstered by β-alanine for increased exercise performance.
• Loading Phase: mix one scoop in 4-6 oz of water and consume 4 times daily (with meals) for the first 5 days.
  Maintenance Phase: On training days take 1-2 servings twenty minutes before training. On non training days take one serving with your first meal.
• Ultra 40 - Liver extract tablets aid in growth, add extra protein to every meal, and increase your energy and endurance.

Stack - If your budget allows, add the “Stack” and you’ll have a complete supplement strategy to achieve your goal.

• Lean Out - allows you to mobilize and convert your stored fat for energy thereby sparing muscle tissue. Lean Out will create a big difference in your rate of fat loss and it can make your diet much easier. In fact, without the ingredients found in Lean Out your body could simply not burn fat for energy.  Take two with each and every meal and shake.
• 7 Keto MuscLEAN - contains ingredients clinically proven to increase the rate at which you burn calories (fat calories, in particular) so that you can get lean faster.  7-Keto MuscLEAN improves your metabolism and helps you burn more calories. It is especially valuable if you are following a diet or if your metabolism is slowing down because of the inevitable effect of aging.

Additives - “Additives” are for the high achiever who wants and can afford it all.

• GH Factor - Research has shown that the components of GH Factor - Arginine Pyroglutamate and Lysine Monohydrochloride when taken on an empty stomach can increase biologically active growth hormone levels to help Improve circulation Increase mental acuity Reduce harmful effects of aging and fat loss.

Directions for using GH Factor:  Upon arising and before retiring: take six GH Factor capsules immediately upon arising and six more before bed (or if you eat right before bed, take six GH Factor thirty minutes prior to your last meal.

• Glutamine Select plus BCAAs - will help you preserve your lean muscle tissue as your diet becomes more restrictive and your training becomes more intense.

During Training: You’ll be taking two to four scoops Glutamine Select sipped during training.  As your diet becomes more restrictive and your training becomes more intense, you need to do everything you can to halt muscle breakdown.

Branch chain amino acids and l-glutamine are the answer.  The glutamine will help you recover faster and the BCAAs will not only halt muscle breakdown, but will also give your muscles a much harder appearance as you increase the amino acid content of your muscles resulting in more dense muscle fiber and less water.

Please call or email us if you have any questions regarding this program.

Our email is info@BeverlyInternational.net; the phone number is 1-800-781-3475.