The 2 Things Stopping You Getting PEELED

“Everybody wants to be a bodybuilder, but nobody wanna lift no damn heavy ass weight”

- Ronnie Coleman

Well, just like Ronnie said, everybody also wants to get PEELED lean for the stage but nobody seems to be willing to both put in the work and limit the stress. Even worse, most people don’t even know how to program to minimise the stress, let alone deal with it when it arrives and starts making you hold fluid like a water balloon either.

So… What 2 things are going to limit your ability to get Muntzer lean?  

1. Stress

2. Dietary adherence 

Those 2 factors alone are hands down, in my opinion the two biggest factors that get in the way of achieving true contest condition.

Now, unless you have the do or die attitude of a hardcore athlete, its safe to say that the large majority of people do not thrive off being able to out-suffer their competitors.

I may enjoy the suffering aspect of dieting and there are plenty of others out there who do also, but for the majority of people, the stress of dieting and training often causes them to eventually slip up and make mistakes.

The question we have to ask ourselves is how can we as a coach minimise the likelihood of this occurring.

And… As an athlete, the question you have to ask yourself is are you willing to suffer in order to succeed?

Are you willing to say no to that extra bite of food or that extra lick of a spoon when you feel like hunger is about to take over your body?

Or even…

Are you smart enough to know when it’s time to go harder in your training or to let your body rest and recover?

These are all questions both the coach and the client need to be able to ask themselves, as well as having enough background knowledge to have the ability to answer them.

So… Let’s focus on the physical aspect of stress for just a second and consider some of the strategies worth considering when you are trying to maximise your result by minimising your potential setbacks.

Below are 10 considerations for diet and training implementations that may both enhance the result of your prep but also minimise the risk of failure.

Dietary Considerations

1. Cyclical caloric intake

2. Cyclical macronutrient intake

3. Variations in food type

4. Periods of time restricted feeding

5. Allocated diet breaks

6. Nutrition specificity around menstrual cycle

Training Considerations

1. Training specificity around menstrual cycle

2. Variations in training volume/intensity/frequency

3. Variations in cardio type/intensity/frequency

4. Forced phases of rest

All of these variables can be tweaked one way or another in order to ensure diet and training stressors are controlled in a manner that may minimise the risk of over fatigue but also to minimise the likelihood of program adherence.

That last comment is a big factor that most coaches miss…

Compliance is key!

While it may be easy to blame the client for a lack of compliance, as a coach it is critically important to recognise just how much individual specificity can play in ensuring your client both gets the best result because the approach is optimal, but also so that the approach is achievable.

I once heard Lyle McDonald say something that has stuck with me ever since…

“Good advice not followed is shit advice” - Lyle McDonald

And damn that is good advice…

Sure, one approach may be physiologically the most ‘optimal’ but if it can not be adhered to and the coach lacks the ability to adapt, then what is the likelihood of client success?

Pretty slim…

So, where to from here?

If you want to get absolutely peeled in a contest prep, you need to ensure the above 2 aspects of prep are of high importance.

Give yourself plenty of time to get ready, prepare as best you can, minimise unnecessary stress and be compliant.

Diet Smart. Not Hard.

Coach Dean