Remember when I had to lose 12kg for that weightlifting competition? Well that was down to Fazal Rana, Nutritionist at the Revitalize Health and Fitness Clinic. Without his expertise I wouldn’t have been able to pull a pencil at that weight. Instead I was able to pull 260kg. I’ll leave you to him…
You might remember from Part 1 of Elliott’s dieting that we were trying to get him down to 82.5kg for a weightlifting competition from 93kg in just under 7 weeks! Make sure to go back and read that post, there’s a tonne of information there and this post will make also make a lot more sense.
Now to pick where we left off.
Elliott had 4 days of ‘water loading’ left and was already down to 85kg, not too far to go now.
The Final 4 Days:
The last few days when trying to meet a specific weight can make or break you. Let’s have a look at the hydration strategy used to in this time:
- Carbohydrate and salt intake was kept particularly low as outlined in the previous post
- Water intake was reduced even further down to 500ml
Like I mentioned before water loading is not for the feint hearted but is a very useful technique for athletes trying to meet a specific weight and is something that needs its own article.
THE FINAL WEIGH IN: …….81kg! Elliott made his target weight comfortably 24 hours before the competition. Now it was time to rehydrate.
Rehydration (Let The Fun Begin J):
With just 24 hours left until the competition and having already made the weight Elliott was now free to eat like a madman (well kind of). The goal of the next 24 hours was to rehydrate and refill his muscle with as much energy stores as possible.
Loosely speaking the following method was used (and yes it is as fun as it looks):
- Drink 1.5 litres of water/fluids per hour
- Add salt to water and/or drink a sports drink
- Start off by consuming simple carbohydrates and liquid protein immediately after the weigh in (think cakes, haribo, chocolate, ice cream etc.!)
- Steadily have more complex carbohydrates as the day goes on (rice, pasta, porridge etc.)
- Eat plenty of vegetables through the day, possibly juice them for easier digestion
You might have noticed that I haven’t talked about the amount that should be eaten that’s because the answer is….AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE! (Without feeling sick)
After using this protocol athletes should feel a lot better the next day and be both mentally and physically prepared for their competition.
The result for Elliott: A weight gain of over 6kg in 24 hours.
A fantastic result leaving him fully hydrated and prepared for the competition.
Competition Day:
7 weeks of hard work all boiled down to this day. The only thing that mattered was the amount of weight that Elliott could deadlift in the 3 attempts that are allowed.
In terms of diet on the morning it was pretty simple. Plenty of liquid calories in the form of protein powder, fruit and vegetables, powdered oats and of course plenty of water.
Results:
Attempt 1: 245kg completed fairly comfortably (as comfortable as it gets with such a weight!)
Attempt 2: 260kg completed. 10kg more than ever before at a MUCH LIGHTER bodyweight. Fantastic result and a NEW BRITISH RECORD.
Wrapping Up:
I’ve yet to mention the training and supplement regime used during this period because I think it deserves its own article. So the articles to look forward to are:
- The supplement and training regime used during the diet – including supplement timing, cardio and weight training
- A future article on water loading – how to do it and when to use the technique
- A look into why it becomes a lot harder to retain muscle mass whilst losing body fat as you become leaner
