The final prep for a bodybuilding show is one of the most challenging phases that a competitor can put themselves through. Staying ripped means working on a vastly reduced calorie intake, while maintaining muscle requires enough fuel for flexing. Fortunately, multiple Olympia finalist, and respected IFBB coach, John Jewett says that finding the perfect balance is possible, and he has shared the winning formula for those who are looking to present their perfect physiques on stage.
Why Pulling Every Lever at Once Destroys Your Prep
When it comes to making changes to the body’s composition, cutting food, increasing cardiovascular training, and reaching for stimulants such as thermogenic or pre-workout supplements are three popular methods for getting lean while maintaining muscle, but to try all these methods at the same time could cause a serious crash. “It’s about choosing the strategy that creates the least fatigue while preserving recovery,” explained Jewett in an informative video for his fit followers.
John Jewett’s 3 Rules for Choosing Your Next Fat-Loss Adjustment
“In bodybuilding, we’re tying to create a deficit with the least impact for our recovery, so we can keep training hard,” explained the competitor and coach, explaining the questions you need to be asking yourself.
Food: “If you are hungry and struggling here, don’t reduce food,” advised Jewett.
Cardio: “If you already have heavy legs, and you’re not hungry, then don’t reduce cardio,” he continued.
Stimulants: “If you’re already using some stimulants, and have low sleep, then don’t increase stimulants,” added the coach.
Jewett jokes, in all seriousness, that choosing which category to tweak will depend on where you are at with the above, and choosing the “least evil of them all. “In other words, if you are struggling to reduce calories any further, but cardio still feels comfortable, then cardio “is your winner,” explains the coach. But if your food is low and you are already ramping up the cardio, but still not seeing the required results, this could make a case for stimulants. Furthermore, if the diet is not a struggle point, then reducing calories is the way to go.
Breaking down food, cardio, and stimulants, in this way helps to understand your body’s current relationship with each category. And this understanding will show you which tweaks to make, rather than making uneducated choices or trying to manipulate all three possibilities.
The pitfalls of messing with all three options without listening to your body could lead to flat muscles on show day, or a physique that does not reveal the countless hours spent building your body in the gym. “Getting that last bit of fat off to get stage lean is not about pulling all the levers at once,” advises Jewett.
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