Four months later: the road to the 2009 NK bodybuilding.
by Co van Well
How does a bodybuilder achieve that extreme condition of a competition in which he combines maximum muscle mass with a minimum of body fat and subcutaneous moisture? In this article, the reader is offered insight into this question by means of Jonathan Later's competition preparation for the 2009 NK.
In the late summer of 2008, Jonathan opened his 3 in Dordrechte store of Vitamins & More and after the turn of the year the 4e business, the “Superstore”, in Rotterdam. Training and diet had become somewhat of a second nature because of these business concerns. Jonathan's eating behavior was not very coherent and was more determined by convenience and taste than bodybuilding criteria such as the number of proteins. The training sessions were often canceled due to the crowds or were quickly rushed. It was time to bring some structure back into training and food intake ...
In mid-November 2008, Jonathan's competition preparation for the NK bodybuilding 2009 started. At that time his weight was 93 kg and his fat percentage was (estimated) about 16-18%. His condition was a shadow of that with which he won the Overall of the Eemondscup in 2005 and 2006 in 3e was in the 90+ class of the NK bodybuilding.
The first thing we did was establish a training program and a daily diet. From now on, training was done 5 days a week: the time of postponement was over. Each muscle was tightened with predominantly compound exercises once a week. The accompanying high-calorie diet gave him all the fuel and building materials to build maximum strength and muscle mass. Cardio was left out in this first phase of the match preparation.
The diet Jonathan started in mid-November contained more calories than he had been eating up to that point. This increase was mainly due to a higher intake of proteins and complex carbohydrates. However, the consumption of sugars and saturated fats was actually limited. This meant that the “junking” was now reduced to 1 day a week. The other days the diet was as follows:
Diet phase 1 (November 17, 2008 - January 5, 2009):
Take-off weight: 93kg
DOWNLOAD PHASE 1 OF THIS DIET. PDF
As can be seen, the consumption of carbohydrates with 649 grams is considerable, this offers in addition to the advantage that the athlete has more than enough fuel, the advantage that the pancreas produces a constant stream of insulin throughout the day. This storage hormone ensures that glucose and amino acids are driven into the muscle cells and thus keeps anabolism high. The disadvantage is that insulin stands in the way of fat burning and can even increase fat reserves. However, by limiting “fast carbohydrates”, that is, carbohydrates that result in a rapid rise in blood sugar and a corresponding insulin spike, to breakfast and after exercise, and by eating mainly complex carbohydrates, the benefits of insulin can be reaped while the disadvantages remain limited.
At breakfast and after training it is important to get back into an anabolic state as soon as possible. After a night of sleep (and thus fasting), muscle breakdown lurks as well as after a hard workout if the catabolic cortisol is the dominant hormone. By consuming sugars and the resulting production of insulin, the balance is shifted again from catabolism to anabolism. The chance of fat storage at breakfast and after training is also minimal because the body gives priority to replenishing the glycogen in the muscles. For example, Jonathan eats grape juice and Vitargo at breakfast and after training, while complex carbohydrates such as rice and oatmeal are preferred at other times of the day.
Another thing that can stand out in the bodybuilding diet is the use of Weight Gain shakes and bread, 2 products that are out of the question for many athletes in competition preparation. The reason that this was chosen: the convenience. A diet can be very well thought out, if it is not practically feasible it is doomed to failure. Since Jonathan has a busy schedule, shakes and sandwiches are very easy to use. Moreover, today's Weight Gain shakes are no longer those “sugar bombs” of a few years ago, which are full
with glucose, fructose or the inferior maltodextrin. A good Weight Gainer has 50-60% carbohydrates that score low on the Glycemic Index (in other words, do not trigger a rapid rise in blood sugar). The carbohydrate sources of such a Weight Gainer consist of, for example, oats, barley or rice.
With the said diet, Jonathan's weight had increased to 107kg after about seven weeks. The 14kg gain was of course partly due to increased glycogen and water storage, but his muscle mass had also grown considerably. This is the wonderful effect of “muscle memory”, where a muscle like a balloon returns to its old volume as soon as it is stimulated to grow by training and the right nutrition.
During the first 7 hypercaloric weeks, the goal was to gain as much muscle mass as possible. The fastest way to this goal is to be consistently in a positive energy balance, in other words by eating (a little) more than you burn. Fat burning was therefore put on the back burner during this phase. As a result, Jonathan had gained a good amount of muscle mass by early January but was still carrying 16-18% fat. So far away from the shape with which you can show yourself on stage ...
With a good 3 months to go before the NK bodybuilding, it was now important to slowly reduce the fat reserves. In the 2e week of 2009 we started with the 2e phase of the competition diet. The kilocalories were reduced to about 3800 kcal. This was accomplished by cutting carbohydrates and fats. The amount of protein remained almost the same. The “junk day” disappeared. Ouch! The diet now looked like this:
Diet phase 2 (January 5-25, 2009):
Take-off weight: 107kg
DOWNLOAD PHASE 2 OF THIS DIET. PDF
As you can see, the Weight Gain shakes and sandwiches had now been replaced by rice, pineapple and turkey fillet. Basmati was taken as rice because this species shows the slightest increase in blood value of all white varieties. The pineapple was because of the taste and the presence of the protein-splitting enzyme bromelain. Finally, turkey breast is a very lean protein source. Jonathan used low-calorie sauces throughout the diet to add flavor to the food. Many of these sauces are high in sodium, but that's not an issue at this stage of the diet.
In addition to the whey isolate at breakfast, a mix of casein and whey and soy isolate was consumed twice a day. The fact that a mix with casein is preferable to the popular whey can raise questions. An important reason for this choice is that casein has less effect on blood sugar when consumed and therefore ensures more satiety and greater fat burning, points that are of course beneficial during a diet.
In phase 2, cardio was started modestly: on the days when weights were not trained, 30 minutes of interval training was on the program. The main aim was to keep the metabolism high.
In the three weeks that followed, Jonathan lost 3 pounds. After this, the number of kcal. again somewhat reduced to 3280 kcal. The diet now looked like this:
Diet phase 3 (January 26 - February 22, 2009):
Starting weight: 104 kg
DOWNLOAD PHASE 3 OF THIS DIET. PDF
The carbohydrates in phase 3 went from 553 grams to 415 grams, while the proteins were slightly increased.
Cardio was increased again in this phase: on rest days it consisted of 30 minutes of interval training and on training days of 15 minutes of cardio at a leisurely pace after the strength training.
After 4 weeks on this diet, Jonathan had lost weight to 100kg. Until now, the change of each new diet consisted of a simple reduction of calories and carbohydrates, in the next phase the food intake was varied over the week. This was aimed at not getting the body used to a certain calorie intake. A danger that can be partly averted by including a day with a lot of carbohydrates in the diet every now and then. In this way, the thyroid gland continues to function at full strength. In addition, such a “high day” offers the advantage that the athlete can “recharge” again and thus last longer mentally and physically.
Diet phase 4 (February 23 - March 8, 2009):
Starting weight: 100 kg
Normal day low day high day
DOWNLOAD PHASE 4 OF THIS DIET. PDF
Summary diet phase 4:
High day: 1 day a week / 3505 Kcal/ 325 grams of protein (37,5%) / 483 grams of carbohydrates (55,5%) / 24 grams of fat (7%)
Normal day: 2 days a week / 2925 Kcal/ 314 grams of protein (43%) / 371 grams of carbohydrates (51%) / 20 grams of fat (6%)
Low day: 2 days a week / 2065 Kcal/ 297 grams of protein (57%) / 190 grams of carbohydrates (36%) / 16 grams of fat (7%)
Low day without strength training: 2 days a week / 1795 Kcal/ 274 grams of protein (60%) / 144 grams of carbohydrates (32%) / 16 grams of fat (8%)
Average daily kcal intake of phase 4:
3505 + 5850 + 4130 + 3590 = 17075 kcal
17075 kcal: 7 = 2439,28 Kcal
Classification of diet with training schedule:
Mon 1 Chest + Back normal day
Tu 2 Legs + calves high day
Wed 3 Shoulders + belly low day
Do 4 Back low day
Free 5 Poor normal day
Was sitting - low day
So - low day
We had deliberately planned the “high day” on the day that Jonathan trained his legs, because that training is the toughest of the week and he could then use the extra carbohydrates to perform optimally and to recover (as far as possible). is during a diet).
A major problem we ran into during match preparation was the knee injury that plagued Jonathan. As a result, every workout was looking for exercises that could be done pain-free. Moreover, the weight that could be used was often only a fraction of what Jonathan was used to. This injury ultimately cost Jonathan a lot of points in the game, because while he had improved his upper body compared to his previous bodybuilding competitions, his chassis had deteriorated considerably.
According to the training schedule that Jonathan started in January, he now trained his back twice a week. The first time fell on Monday and he did chins and pulldowns after training the chest. On Thursday he did exercises that besides the upper back also strain the lower back, such as over rows and deadlifts from just below knee height. This approach worked very well and Jonathan was able to turn what used to be one of his weaker muscle groups into one of his strongest.
Stage 4 cardio consisted of 30 minutes of cycling on an empty stomach daily.
After losing 2 kilos to 2kg in 98 weeks, it was decided to put the belt on a little further:
Diet phase 5 (March 9 - March 22, 2009):
Weight at start part 5: 98 kg
High day low day protein day
DOWNLOAD PHASE 5 OF THIS DIET. PDF
Summary diet phase 5:
High day: 2 days a week / 2536 Kcal/ 299 grams of protein (47%) / 290 grams of carbohydrates (46%) / 20 grams of fat (7%)
Low day: 4 days a week / 1911 Kcal/ 283 grams of protein (59%) / 161 grams of carbohydrates (34%) / 15 grams of fat (7%)
Protein day: 1 day a week / 1714 Kcal/ 340 grams of protein (79%) / 57 grams of carbohydrates (13%) / 14 grams of fat (8%)
Average daily kcal intake of phase 5:
5072 + 7644 + 1714 = 14430 kcal
14430 kcal: 7 = 2061 Kcal
Classification of diet with training schedule:
Mon 1 Chest + Back high day
Tu 2 Legs + calves low day
Wed 3 Shoulders + belly low day
Do 4 Back high day
Free 5 Poor low day
Sat 2 Legs + Calves low day
So - protein day
At the initiative of Jonathan, an extra training day was added in this phase in preparation for the bodybuilding competition: on Saturday the 2 were now addede trained the legs once a week in the hope of compensating for the lower intensity of the workouts related to the knee injury, with a greater training frequency.
Under the motto “better finish too soon than too late” the cardio was further increased to 45 minutes daily on an empty stomach. While we were still in doubt in February whether Jonathan would be in competition shape in time for the NK bodybuilding, there was no doubt a month later. At no point during the competition preparation did we take a skin fold measurement and did we rely on our eyes. Well, our eyes told us in late March that we were well on track. Jonathan had thrown off a hefty “coat” but managed to maintain his muscle mass well. Underneath the fat, a tough physique emerged. In addition to his trademark coconut round bicep, the detail on his back caught the eye. With three weeks to go, a real Christmas tree was already visible on his lower back.
After two kilos in XNUMX weeks again, we decided the average reduce weekly calorie consumption by about 160 calories:
Diet phase 6 (March 23 - April 5, 2009):
Weight at start part 6: 96 kg
High day low day protein day
DOWNLOAD PHASE 6 OF THIS DIET. PDF
Summary diet phase 6:
High day: 2 days a week / 2297 Kcal/ 302 grams of protein (52%) / 216 grams of carbohydrates (38%) / 25 grams of fat (10%)
Low day: 4 days a week / 1737 Kcal/ 309 grams of protein (71%) / 78 grams of carbohydrates (18%) / 21 grams of fat (11%)
Protein day: 1 day a week / 1723 Kcal/ 340 grams of protein (79%) / 39 grams of carbohydrates (9%) / 23 grams of fat (12%)
Average daily kcal intake of phase 6:
4594 + 6948 + 1723 = 13265 calories
13265 kcal: 7 = 1895 Kcal
Classification of diet with training schedule:
Ma 1 Chest + Back high day
Di 2 Legs + calves low day
Woe 3 Shoulders + belly low day
Do 4 Back high day
Free 5 poor low day
Was sitting 2 Legs + calves low day
So - protein day
At this stage, cardio consisted of 45 minutes on an empty stomach daily.
We were now only two weeks away from the competition. This basically means that there is only one week of “normal” preparation left as the last week is all about “depleting” and loading the carbohydrate. With the finish line in sight, we decided to take both diet and cardio up a notch. The average calorie count was reduced by 112 and an evening half hour session was added to the 45 minutes of morning cardio.
Diet phase 7 (April 6 - April 12, 2009):
Weight at start part 7: 93 kg
High day low day protein day
DOWNLOAD PHASE 7 OF THIS DIET. PDF
Summary diet phase 7:
High day: 2 days a week / 1911 Kcal/ 289 grams of protein (60%) / 146 grams of carbohydrates (31%) / 19 grams of fat (9%)
Low day: 3 days a week / 1737 Kcal/ 309 grams of protein (71%) / 78 grams of carbohydrates (18%) / 21 grams of fat (11%)
Protein day: 2 days a week / 1723 Kcal/ 340 grams of protein (79%) / 39 grams of carbohydrates (9%) / 23 grams of fat (12%)
Average daily kcal intake of phase 7:
3822 + 5211 + 3446 = 12479 calories
12470 kcal: 7 = 1783 Kcal
Classification of diet with training schedule:
Ma 1 Chest + Biceps high day
Di 2 Legs + calves low day
Woe 3 Shoulders + Triceps low day
Do 4 Back + belly high day
Free - protein day
Was sitting - protein day
Zo 5 Lower back + Hamstrings + calves low day
Now the crucial last week of game preparation had finally arrived. In this week it is determined who knows how to raise a “good physical” to a “phenomenal physical” and takes home the main prize. A matter of peaking at exactly the right time ...
In this last week, Jonathan ate virtually no carbohydrates from Monday to Thursday morning. The workouts were now performed at a high pace and consisted of many repetitions and many sets to burn as much muscle glycogen as possible.
After the last workout on Thursday morning, the carbohydrate loading was started with a shake of Vitargo and an hour later a carbohydrate-rich meal with limited protein and fat. Such a meal was consumed every two hours for a daily total of about 630 grams of carbohydrates and 3300 kilocalories. On Friday and Saturday, the diet was almost identical. The main carbohydrate sources were Pandan and Basmati rice, oatmeal, pineapple and rice cakes.
The water consumption consisted of 6 liters until Wednesday, 3 liters on Thursday and 2 liters on Friday and Saturday. Sunday, match day, was sipped as needed. Until Thursday, salt intake was deliberately kept high by adding salt to the food. On Friday and Saturday, the salt was finally reduced to the sodium that is naturally present in the diet.
Until the last moment it was exciting in which weight class Jonathan would compete for the bodybuilding show. On the day of the competition, the scale showed that it weighed just under 90kg. This put Jonathan in perhaps the strongest class of the NK bodybuilding. Jonathan turned 4e. A result with which he was understandably dissatisfied, but which can be seen as a great achievement given the level of competition and the nuisance of his knee injury.