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The information I am sharing that works for me may work differently for everyone, much of the program I am going to talk about depends on your current body fat and how your body responds to low fat situations.
Cutting down to super low 5% body fat will be much easier if you are already at a fairly low body fat percentage, I would say at least under 10%. For people that are in the 15-20% body fat ranges I would advise you to get down to around 10% and stay there for a while to allow your body to get used to lower body fat levels as this will help getting down to sub 5% body fat levels tremendously as your body will fight you less along the way.
At 3-4 months out from a competition, start to increase your workout regularity and workout intensity. I generally start ramping things up at around 3 months out. Put in as much time and effort as you possibly can.
NOTE: Refrain from cardio, if you want to burn more calories then do another weight training workout or simply eat less food.
2-3 months out start cutting some calories from your diet but allow room for carbs to replenish your glycogens as you will need this glycogen energy for your workouts for strength, endurance, recovery and to avoid injuries. I personally generally start cutting 2 months out since I am usually between 7-8% body fat year round.
How much you calorie cut depends on how aggressive you need to be? I usually cut around 1000 calories from my diet which should allow for around 2 pounds of fat loss per week.
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How many calories I burn versus how many I eat:
- My base metabolic daily rate is around 2300 calories.
- My two per day workouts usually add another 1000-1200 calories per day.
- My daily calorie output is around 3300-3500 per day.
- So I need to eat 2300-2500 calories per day to be 1000 calories under my base rate.
My macros are usually something like:
- 200 grams of protein (800 calories)
- 50-75 grams of fat (400-600 calories)
- 200-300 grams of carbs (800-1200 calories)
I find my body adjusts to calorie intake more than others so I generally do not lose as much weight as some people will during the initial cut, perhaps because I am already at a fairly low body fat percentage and my body goes into a protection or conservation mode?
Example of not losing as much weight as my calorie deficit should have allowed for:
At the beginning of my last cut I was around 195 pounds, 6 weeks later I was only around 190 pounds, I should have been closer to 185 pounds but I also gained muscle which does offset this figure somewhat. I was not eating clean during my cut so some of it may be because of additional water weight gained?
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Around 2 weeks prior to computation date I usually start my high protein low carb diet consisting of mainly white fish with low carb and low sugar vegetables. Usually I eat mostly sole fish and vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, brussels sprouts, mushrooms, peppers, sprouts. I do add some spice and I like to add garlic and if calories allow I will throw in a bit of salsa to the fish. For breakfasts I go with an egg whites mixed with vegetables to make an omelet, again I may add in a little bit of salsa for flavor. I will also have the occasional chicken breast as a break for the fish.
Even when eating 4 fairly large meals of this high protein, low fat and carb food each day I only take in around 1500 calories of mostly protein and fiber with very low fat and almost no carbs. I will lose at least 5 pounds in around 7-10 days time using this diet plan. Some of it will be water but most is fat, the fat literally melts off of me while I do this diet plan which is very similar to a Bernstein diet plan that is geared at placing the body in a state of ketosis. (Using fat as fuel and not blood sugar or carbs).
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At 1 week out I start to water load (pretty much as much water as I can stand, I just drink and pee all day long) and clean up my diet a bit in terms of salts but I can have a little salt in my diet.
At around 3-5 days prior to competition I start adding in carbs in the form of rice and sweet potatoes. Around 300-500 grams per day adding a little more each day. This is to fill out the body again and restore your glycogens, the amount of time required is different for everyone, I need a bit longer than some people.
At 2-3 days before competition I cut out as much salt as I can from my diet. That means no more got sauce, soya sauce, some spices…
The day before competition I stop water loading and only drink small amounts of water with each meal, the evening before the competition I only have sips of water.
On the day of competition it’s go time, I have a fatty steak in the morning with some sweet potato, I will chow down on rice cakes, chocolate bars, wine gums and peanut butter before the completion, but not so much as to get bloated or full felling. Only sips of water up until the show.
The day before competition this year I was around 185 pounds (not dehydrated yet), I probably walked on stage at under 180 pounds dehydrated. I would guess this year I was sitting around 4.5% body fat which is about as low as you want to go for men’s physique.
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To give you an example on who quickly I was able to refeed my body after the show. The following weekend after literally eating completely out of control all week long, I was 198 pounds at 6.4% according to the InBody body Composition Analyzer I was tested on while attending TheFitExpo in Anaheim. I am now hovering close to 200 pounds and still retaining a 7% body fat percentage according to my Skulpt Aim so this is proof that while cutting a person can gain muscle if the cutting process is done right.
So in summary to achieve a 4-5% competition ready body you need to do the following:
- Start your cut already somewhat lean, (10% or under is best)
- 3-4 month out, ramp up your workout loading and intensity. Train to gain!
- 2-3 months out, start cutting calories from your diet, I suggest 1000 calories per and then adjust if needed as you near competition time.
- 2 weeks out, switch to a high protein low cab and low fat diet consisting of mainly white fish, egg white, some checked breast and none sugar vegetables.
- 1 week out start water loading, as much as you can intake.
- 3-5 days out add back in some carbs in the form of rice and sweet potatoes to restore glycogen levels.
- 2-3 days out cut out as much salt as possible.
- 1 day out cut back on water, on the evening before only sips of water.
- Day of competition only sips of water and chow down on high sugar and none bloating food, some fat is also good like peanut butter and a nice small piece of steak in the morning.
NOTES: Refrain from cardio, do more weight training if need be or eat a little less. Make sure to get enough carbs in your diet to replace glycogen loss during workouts.
That’s all it takes to get down to 4-5% body fat, pretty easy right!