Competition hacks

[Tomgrass]

100% agree.
i am trying to "revert" the damage ive dont to my midsection by lowering food volume and increasing frequency since March.
i did more or less 18/6 IF for over 7 years and because i loved stuffing myself extremely full.
Ive got to the point where i ate 1kg of veggies + 400g of champignons + 600g of meat etc. etc. in one 15min sitting.
my midsection is extended and exactly this is the reason why.
I thought to myself wtf i am even doing.
I am also sure this is the reason for everyone out there that has the same issue. Not AAS, HGH+INsulin or stuff like that.
Stuffing oneself full of food, then going to bed barely able to breath and feeling like a pregnant woman in the 8th month

Irony : we do everything to look better but very often it looks worse.

 

[M@NU]

Irony : we do everything to look better but very often it looks worse.

totally true.

 

[qbkilla]

You and @danieltx nail this.

I index on calorie dense foods these days for that reason. I feel a bit mentally sharper with light hunger anyhow, so stuffing myself alleviates the brain fog and tbh I get more motivated since I don’t look like a whale with a lb of veggies+other shit in my stomach

I'm starting to think this too. I cut way back on the volume shit (mushrooms, pickles, broccoli) past few days and do feel better overall.

 

[bbxtreme]

it's true because in fact there is nothing permanent in bodybuilding and it's the fact that bodybuilders lose bouble gut after finishing their careers, but at the same time they lose almost all their muscle mass - but I haven't seen anyone who would get rid of this problem without losing muscles, that's why I write "permanent" because until you're done with bodybuilding, you won't change that in any significant way

What do you think about coaches like Jansen and others that are reverse dieting now and taking their guys down to stage weight and then upping calories to try and grow and fill out instead of pushing so high over contest weight in the off-season?

Ian V. is a great example at the Canada Pro. He came in looking smaller than last year IMO, but his waste was much more controlled. Charles Griffen was of the first he did this with to “fix” his midsection. Think he looked great after doing this.

I think there’s also a big difference between your midsection in off-season or a growth phase vs prep as well. Guys who stay in growth phase too long I think risk having the bubble gut and could benefit from throwing in mini cuts to reset things. I believe Hany advocates for this with his clients.

I’ve found doing this along with keeping cardio in to be very effective over the past year during my time bringing up weak body parts leading into my prep to throw in mini cuts to keep the midsection in check and reset my response to insulin. May be a personal thing, but wanted to get your take.

 

[luki7788]

What do you think about coaches like Jansen and others that are reverse dieting now and taking their guys down to stage weight and then upping calories to try and grow and fill out instead of pushing so high over contest weight in the off-season?

Ian V. is a great example at the Canada Pro. He came in looking smaller than last year IMO, but his waste was much more controlled. Charles Griffen was of the first he did this with to “fix” his midsection. Think he looked great after doing this.

I think there’s also a big difference between your midsection in off-season or a growth phase vs prep as well. Guys who stay in growth phase too long I think risk having the bubble gut and could benefit from throwing in mini cuts to reset things. I believe Hany advocates for this with his clients.

I’ve found doing this along with keeping cardio in to be very effective over the past year during my time bringing up weak body parts leading into my prep to throw in mini cuts to keep the midsection in check and reset my response to insulin. May be a personal thing, but wanted to get your take.

people forget one key thing - guys like Inan, Nick, Griffin aren't trying to build more muscle anymore - they're just trying to fix some weak points in physics - for that, pushing a lot of weight after the off-season is completely unnecessary

but as I always say - most people shouldn't follow PRO's because 90% is aimed at building more muscle mass

 

[Mufasa123]

I really had no idea people were using veggies/fiber/low cal foods to consistently maximally stuff themselves. Useful tool but as with all things in excess may lead to undesirable consequences. In this case the body will adapt to that lifestyle and that adaptation likely isn't desirable.

 

[bbxtreme]

people forget one key thing - guys like Inan, Nick, Griffin aren't trying to build more muscle anymore - they're just trying to fix some weak points in physics - for that, pushing a lot of weight after the off-season is completely unnecessary

but as I always say - most people shouldn't follow PRO's because 90% is aimed at building more muscle mass

Great point. It is nice to see guys coming down in weight and focusing more on tight midsections and conditioning now though. But you’re right pro’s vs the average competitor is completely different.

I compete in classic so this applies to me. If anything, I have to keep weight in check as my goal is to bring up lagging body parts and not shoot too high over contest weight.

 

[FartJohnson]

That’s also the same phrase used on Anna boards, “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels”.

Yup, that’s where I got it from. It works, have you seen those girls?

That’s a tasteless joke but the point is, self suggestion works. Whatever you tell yourself, you will end up believing. If you want something less extreme, tell yourself “this is enough” over and over after eating your prescribed meals.

 

[danieltx]

That’s also the same phrase used on Anna boards, “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels”.

Yup, that’s where I got it from. It works, have you seen those girls?

That’s a tasteless joke but the point is, self suggestion works. Whatever you tell yourself, you will end up believing. If you want something less extreme, tell yourself “this is enough” over and over after eating your prescribed meals.

The quote originally came from supermodel Kate Moss in the 1990s. My girlfriend was a big fan of her and we both use that phrase as motivation all the time.

 

[Ace0]

Yup, that’s where I got it from. It works, have you seen those girls?

That’s a tasteless joke but the point is, self suggestion works. Whatever you tell yourself, you will end up believing. If you want something less extreme, tell yourself “this is enough” over and over after eating your prescribed meals.

I prefer to lean into the suffering.

The quote originally came from supermodel Kate Moss in the 1990s. My girlfriend was a big fan of her and we both use that phrase as motivation all the time.

It was around before her, she just popularized it iirc. I used to like the mindset but now I haven’t had a successful bulk in nearly a decade because of fat aversion.
I think I’m going to force myself to do a proper bulk and then a proper cut to competition leanness to get a proper bearing on things.

 

[Tomgrass]

I prefer to lean into the suffering.

It was around before her, she just popularized it iirc. I used to like the mindset but now I haven’t had a successful bulk in nearly a decade because of fat aversion.
I think I’m going to force myself to do a proper bulk and then a proper cut to competition leanness to get a proper bearing on things.

Just do carb cycling and you will be much bigger then now and much leaner then traditional bulk.

 

[jeroendebleser]

Lots of great ''hacks'' in this thread as is to be expected on this forum

 

[dany23x]

Roley was in the oxygen team and they do magic there

I wouldn't exaggerate with falling into such an obsession - in the offseason, push calories up and you will still get pregnant - but when you are preparing for the competition, don't stuff yourself with vegetables or mushrooms as some advise in amounts of several kg a day lol

Roley improved his abs when he dropped his protein intake; according to him it got better when he stopped eating 2kg of chicken a day

 

[Wolf79]

I think it's worth refreshing the thread. Patrick Tuor guides a good friend of mine. claims that bubble guts occur from eating foods that are poorly digested + using large amounts of insulin. He claims that the volume of food alone cannot permanently enlarge the waistline. We have examples juan morel - he ate huge amounts and had a good waist, brandao the same. we can see yt channel Urs Kaleciński who eats oatmeal with 1.5 liters of water for one meal and adds konjac pasta to other meals. Wessley Vissers eats rice flour 3 times a day to which he adds psyllium husk + 1 to 2 liters of water + eats a lot of vegetables, but he does not overdo them - up to 400g per meal. Anyway, these examples show that the volume of food has an effect on the waistline, but only temporarily. Either way, the amount of water in the meal will not make our waistline wider.

 

[BigNJ]

i stopped doing this. was giving me reflux... felt like i had sand in my throat

Chew on Nicotine gum.

 

[aHarness]

I think it's worth refreshing the thread. Patrick Tuor guides a good friend of mine. claims that bubble guts occur from eating foods that are poorly digested + using large amounts of insulin. He claims that the volume of food alone cannot permanently enlarge the waistline. We have examples juan morel - he ate huge amounts and had a good waist, brandao the same. we can see yt channel Urs Kaleciński who eats oatmeal with 1.5 liters of water for one meal and adds konjac pasta to other meals. Wessley Vissers eats rice flour 3 times a day to which he adds psyllium husk + 1 to 2 liters of water + eats a lot of vegetables, but he does not overdo them - up to 400g per meal. Anyway, these examples show that the volume of food has an effect on the waistline, but only temporarily. Either way, the amount of water in the meal will not make our waistline wider.

I would generally agree. Otherwise skinny competitive eaters would just have a huge stomach lol.

 

[aHarness]

I would generally agree. Otherwise skinny competitive eaters would just have a huge stomach lol.

Retouching on this, I think it’s more so being consistently stuffed leading to weakening of core muscles from letting it hang out. So regular vacuums and ab work I would imagine are the key.