Don’t overcomplicate your peak!
There’s no doubt that as competitors we all look forward to peak week! After months of hard work dedicated to dieting, training, blistering our feet while posing and the like, it’s exciting to reach the home stretch before show day! However, bear in mind that this is a week where you should generally be doing LESS, not MORE, in the context of your entire contest prep.
The goal is to reach peak week with the mindset of “the hard work is done”. This means that if a competition prep has been successfully executed, you should already feel confident, relaxed, and ready to step on stage at the start of the week, as you would have achieved the required conditioning, muscularity, and presentation to do so. Therefore, peak week shouldn’t be viewed as a “magical” string of 5-7 days where you drastically change your training and nutrition protocols with the hope to change your physique by 50%... because in reality a well-executed peak will only enhance an athlete’s look by ~1-5%.
Remember, when you reach peak week the majority of the hard work is done! Therefore, congratulate yourself and enjoy your time on show day! This should be a week of celebration, which usually involves LESS intense output through training and cardio, slightly MORE food in the form of carbohydrates, and VERY MINIMAL variance in your usual hydration and electrolyte balance.
Take note of the above peak week recommendations for natural athletes, and let us know if they align with your protocols and why/why not!