Dave Draper’s Musclebuilding Q&A

I’m seven weeks out from an upcoming bodybuilding contest. Do you have any suggestions for how to retain size while cutting bodyfat?

We’re all so different and respond differently in the last critical stages of contest preparation.
Several errors are quite common among many contestants in the last weeks and days: We get nervous, stressed and doubtful and overly critical, all conditions causing mental and physical inhibition, and result in overtraining and under-nourishing. Cortisol and catabolism have a field day. Avoid these killers.

In the day, I continued to train hard and sensibly and intuitively till two weeks out, dropping bodyweight to my desired weight range by adjusting quantity of food intake (My preferred balance: 50,25,25 — protein, hi-value carbs and fats), removing most milk products.

At this point my training regimen became enthusiastic stimulation with the notion of nurturing my muscle and body with enjoyable and uplifting workouts.

Posing would become, not excessive, but more deliberate.

Visualizing positively — confident imagining — is a valuable practice.

Keep your eyes open for controllable flaws, be grateful for your wonderful development and health, appreciate your strengths.

Rest a lot, but don’t be inactive.

Here’s one for you: aerobics didn’t exist outside supersetting or the tough gym workouts during the golden era. No treadmill, no loop-t-do master, no bike. Don’t over aerobicize, kids.

Don’t starve yourself. Don’t overtrain. Relax and think positively.

Go… Godspeed… Dave