Protein for competition prep

• protein
• competition prep
• toptips
• health
• bodybuilding
• macronutrients

About the author
Stefan Paszki has been a practising personal trainer competitive bodybuilder and fitness and health enthusiast for over 10 years.
One thing that separates Stefan from most is a genuine passion for nutrition and personal progression.
His clients enjoy exceptional results and fear his disapproving gaze if they dare cheat on a diet. 

Protein 
In this series of events, we will be covering the following topics 

1. Protein for muscle gain 
2. Protein for competition prep
3. Supplements as a whole

 

Protein for competition prep
1st and foremost we need to address a few elephants in a room 

Health 
Competition prep is not healthy at all this is a guide on the impact that this will have on nutrition requirements.
Prep is basically starving to death, not dying and trying to keep all the muscle you can.
Again it's not healthy in any way so do bear that in mind, make informed choices and take responsibility for your own health.

The mental element
Get a coach 
Get a coach 
Get a coach 
Why? Because you will be having a really difficult time battling hunger and scrutinising yourself beyond all sane levels.

The objectivity of a coach (well as much a human can be) will keep you on the strait and narrow rather than making emotional driven choices.

Also, the individualism of each person is a significant contributor to the overall look especially when "Carbing up"

Natural vs Performance Enhanced 

This again is your personal choice. I would not and will not recommend an enhanced method as far as health is concerned and this has a whole host of additional health risks.

There is a significant difference in how these will affect protein for competitions, and I will be addressing them in the details below.

 

Protein requirements at the start of prep
So you have built your muscle and now you need to not just lose fat but lose all the fat EVERY LAST BIT, and keep your hard-earned muscle.
YOU WILL LOSE SOME MUSCLE, remember that.  This guide will focus on the protein requirements and touch upon the picture as a whole such as the mechanics of carbing up, dehydration, water retention loss and so on.
To lose fat you need to be in a calorific deficit, protein requirement will remain the same as you need to keep that muscle.
At the start of prep, you can afford to do this calorie reduction on the low side.

Here is an example of a simple macro guide 

Before prep

Macronutrient	Grams	Calories
Protein	160	640
Carbs	250	1000
Fat	90	810
Total		2450

 

Start of prep

 

Macronutrient	Grams	Calories
Protein	160	640
Carbs	150	600
Fat	80	720
Total		1920

 

 

Reasonably sustainable and this should lead to a decent reduction in fat now if that starts to reduce then you will need to taper down. Do not taper down too quickly or you will be losing more muscle than you need to.

Crunch time
Close to the prep date you will really need to step up the fat loss and attempt to keep muscle loss to a minimum normally this is about 2 weeks before the show, this will depend massively on how successful your prior stage went. 

The calorie reduction will be massive you will need to reduce the protein requirement due to the overall drop in calories. Again, a coach will be invaluable at this stage.

Top tips

1. Ditch the protein shakes. They are calorie-dense and will take up a huge amount of your calories without filling you up.
2. Up veg.  Low calorie and fill you up 
3. Keep the fats.  This is more for natural athletes as the fats will assist in balancing and regulating your hormones, lowering them too much will cause much more trouble than it's worth.

Macro guide for crunch time
 

 

Macronutrient	Grams	Calories
Protein	130	520
Carbs	50	200
Fat	50	450
total		1170

Unsustainable for someone of high muscle mass and a horrible diet live through, you will lose muscle and be as moody as heck – book 2 weeks of work!
As for people who choose to go down the enhanced route knowing the risks to their health, the calories are the main element so you can be a bit more flexible the muscle preservation element of the illegal substances that I do not recommend are well known. 

Day of the show
You have stripped the fat and preserved as much muscle as possible the protein requirement and timing of the protein are done.
Good luck!

Instagram:stefan_paszki

 

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