IFBB Pro & Internationally renowned competitor/actor Brad Rowe reveals his best techniques for entering the stage contest ready.

1) Best advice for peak week?

• As with EVERYTHING in life KISS (KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID)!
• Use the same foods you used and that digested well all prep!
• Don’t do drastic depletion and drastic carb up; small changes in gradients of carbs/water/sodium will have best results.
• Do not cut water or taper water days out!
• Do not cut sodium completely!
• Try not to stress and stay off your feet as much as possible!
• Train the way you built it. Don’t randomly do super high reps the last week if you trained in the 8-12 range all year. Just reduce volume a bit and stop just shy of failure those last few days.

2) What stage out should you start your prep?

• This is a varying response depending on body types. Some people get in shape very easy, others take a very long time. So have an understanding of how easy or hard you get in shape and plan accordingly. I know I can personally get in shape in 6wks BUT it may not produce the best look. 10-12 weeks allows less drastic cuts for me and a harder look. Some may take 20 weeks!
• Don’t let things get out of hand in the off season by packing on loads of fat but also dont be doing hours of cardio and starving in the off season because there is no place to pull from or add to in order to get in shape. Need a happy place of getting caloric intake up to build metabolism and keeping body fat levels within reason.

3) What key strategies do you use to give you/clients an edge on the competition?

• First and foremost, don’t even think about the competition! Who cares what someone looks like during prep or off season? The only thing that matters is how you look on show day. Once you begin just competing against yourself, your journey becomes much more enjoyable and successful!
• Train like everyone is watching you always! When you feel tired when doing cardio, training, posing whatever….just act like there is a video camera on you at all times and push as hard as you can.
• It’s not a size game! Stop worrying about weight!
• You gotta get flat so your not FAT on stage. Again, so many guys and girls are so worried about how full they look or not having skin bursting pumps during prep. You have to feel a little flat and mushy a lot during prep to cut away the fat and etch in detail.
• Understand sometimes less is more! You can’t train 7 days a week full intensity and do a ton of cardio and expect the body to recover and make progress. Have set days off and stick to them.
• “Embrace The Suck!” Learn to enjoy the hunger and pain and realize your doing what most people in the world can’t handle.

Conclusion

Drawing on over a decade of experience and a reputation for being a high-volume competitor, Brad’s advice can help even those strapped for time looking to compete on short notice invaluable.

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