Grow Into The Show

By Chris Minnes

With many NPC shows being postponed, there are many athletes out there in near contest shape but unfortunately have no place to compete. This is the perfect time to leverage this great shape into more muscle and increase your metabolic rate.

I coach IFBB Figure Pro Bojana Vasiljevic. Bojana has competed in the Olympia four times and seven Arnold Classics with a recent 2^nd place in Ohio. Many people are amazed how she gets bigger and more shredded as she prepares for shows. Here is the trick.

First, Bojana never gets fat. She actually looses weight in her off season. For Bojana, it is not a “gains” or “bulk” season, it is a rest season. She continues to train but allows herself more flexibility in her diet and training. Usually it is just a 20-minute fasted cardio session prior to breakfast and 45 minute session in with weights 4-5 times a week. Her food remains healthy and on a schedule. Her calories are balanced with her bodies needs. No surplus, no deficit.  She does have a big, fun cheat meal once or twice a week. She becomes rested, balanced, and cleansed.

Then the prep starts. She is in great shape but not huge or cut to the bone. She is also the LIGHTESTS that she will be during her entire prep. Not much changes at first except her schedule becomes strict, the food is weighed, and the workouts become more intense.

Each week, her look is assessed. Fats are slowly phased out and calories are slightly cut back into a deficit.

At 6 weeks out she is in contest shape. This brings us to where many of you are now today since your show has been postponed.

This is when she really starts to grow. Lean protein calories are added. At first it will be a couple ounces of chicken or an extra half cup of egg whites. In a week she becomes fuller. The new lean, protein-based calories are firing up her metabolism.

At this point she adds 1 pound to her body weight in a week and her body fat drops.

Each week as she approaches the show, her physique is assessed and as she gets harder and harder, slightly more protein is added to her diet. By the time she hits her peak week she has added 6-10 pounds from the first day of her prep. She is bigger and more ripped than ever!

Recommendations for your prep:

• Start 18 – 20 weeks out.
• Get in contest shape at 6 weeks out.
• At 6 weeks from the show, add approximately about 25 grams of protein to your diet.
• Continually assess your physique. As long as you are getting leaner, add another 25 grams of protein to your daily diet each week.

Note: the amount of protein you will ad each week will vary depending on your size and metabolism.