I begin to tighten up my diet countdown 12 weeks before a contest. I also start training on a familiar three-day on/one-day off training system favored by many champions. Similarly to my off-season program, I always maintain a high protein intake on my training days, while my carbohydrate consumption is moderate, 150-200 grams a day. I eat just enough carbs to keep my energy levels sufficient for my training. I won't eat any carbs after 6:00 p.m. because I believe that minimal carb intake in the evening will stimulate greater fat mobilization while I sleep. On the fourth day of my routine, which is rest day, I increase my carb intake up to 500-600 grams. This again is done to accommodate maximal muscle glycogen storage. These carbs will consist of complex (starchy) carbs in preference to simple sugars, which tend to stimulate fat production. I like to prefer foods such as potatoes, yams, oatmeal and very small amounts of bread. On my high-carb days, I space my meals every 2 ½-3 hours, eating 100-150 grams of carbs per meal. I consume only about 100 grams of protein on rest days - about half of my training-day protein intake. I have found by experience that large quantities of protein keep me from getting the lean look necessary for contest peaking, hence my low protein intake on rest days.

I must always go easy on my fiber; I hold water all over my body. Large quantities of pasta bring on an allergic reaction, which also makes me retain water. I am also careful to drink large amounts of water to flush out any toxins that may be released as a result of my dieting and intense training. I also drink lots of water for another reason: when I don't drink sufficient amounts of water, I seem to retain water. Water has a natural diuretic action for me.

As the contest draws closer, I increase my aerobic training on the stationary bike to as much as two hours a day. In combination with my low-fat intake, this added aerobic work is effective in rapidly reducing body fat. I continue to train as heavy as possible to retain my muscle size, and increase my amino acid supplement intake to 50 tablets a day to off set any catabolic effect of dieting on my muscle size.

Six weeks before the contest, I determine exactly how much more body fat I need to lose. To do this, It's necessary to differentiate fat level from water retention. I have come up with a novel way to do this. I'll drop my sodium intake and increase my potassium; I will do this for 2-3 days. The high potassium intake via food, not supplements, promotes a heavy sodium/water excretion, so after three days of this, if my skin still appears thick, I know I'll have to tighten up my diet to lose more fat.

I vary my daily calorie intake in order to trick my metabolism and prevent it from slowing down, a common side effect of low-calorie dieting. On one day, I may consume 1,500 calories, then boost it to 2,000 the next day, then 2,500 the third day. If, however, I feel excessively overtrained or fatigued, I will take 2-3 days off and load up on carbs to replenish my glycogen stores. Low glycogen is common with overtraining, especially when combined with dieting.

My precontest supplements consist of the aforementioned 50 amino acids a day, plus 10 grams of vitamin C, B-complex, but no fat-soluble vitamins such as E, K, D or A. I feel that I get enough of these in my diet. My typical precontest daily food looks like this.

Meal 1
8-10 egg whites (eliminating one week before show)
1 cup oatmeal
½ melon

Meal 2
½ Pond Halibut or Sole
Baked Potato
Steamed Vegetables

Meal 3
½ Pond Broiled Fish
Baked Potato

Meal 4
½ pound Broiled Fish or Chicken
Steamed Vegetables

Meal 5
½ pound Chicken
Steamed Vegetables

I won't eat anything after 7:00 p.m. for reasons I mentioned earlier. Eight days before a contest, I drastically cut my carb intake, a process known as depletion. I eat mostly Halibut, taking in about 1,100 daily calories divided into five small meals. I eat some protein every three hours, but I only eat carbs during my first meal. Always make sure you drink plenty of water until you get to the depletion stage. The depletion technique that I used for the Olympia contest, starting eight days befor the contest, is as follows:

Day 1- 80 grams carbs, consisting of Oats and Bananas
Day 2- 50 grams of carbs, maybe a cup of Oatmeal
Day 3- 30 grams of carbs, ½ cup Oatmeal
Day 4 - Zero carbs, just Fish and Amino Acids, lots of water
Day 5- Same as day 4

Three days before the contest I begin to load up on carbohydrates to replenish the muscle glycogen stores in order to present a full muscle appearance. I take in as follows:

Day 1 - 500 grams of carbs 100 grams protein
Day 2 - 300 grams of carbs 120 grams protein
Day 3 - 200 grams of carbs 150 grams protein

I also hold my water intake to a minimal. Depleting my water from 1 gallon, ½ gallon to just wetting my mouth the day before the show. As a rule of thumb, if I am On, and I look my best, I replace the water that my body excretes + 8 oz. How I do this is by monitoring my urine with a cup, and replacing the same amount with water. I have been using this strategy through my 12 year pro Career!

This is my contest diet, and may be quite different in comparison to many pros. You must take into consideration the type of drugs that these athletes are taking during their contest diet. When an athlete is cycling on GH combined with many different Anabolic's the metabolism will be extremely high, allowing your body to take in a substantial amount of extra carbs and protein.

I however don't use GH, IGF-1, So my contest diet must be strict. I only used small dosages of anabolics for my contest preparations such as Deca, Winstroll, and Anavar. I have always been very careful not to damage my receptor sites by burning then out with high dosages of anabolics. The Winstroll and Anavar give me the hardness I need to do the job, I could be greedy and go for the gold and max out on all the scientific fancy drugs, However, I have two gorgeous children, Cara & Seth to provide for and I must stick around to see my grandbabies. To all my fans and competitive bodybuilders, Please be smart with what you use. More is not better.

I do not condemn the use of anabolics to athletes as long as they use them smartly and have their doctor monitor their levels in order to play it safe. My advice to all is, If you're not going to make this sport your profession to provide for your families, why use it? we must look at the long run in life. The big picture that sometimes we dare look at, and that is growing old and healthy with our loved ones without life threatening side effects from the use of anabolics. One day you may have children and I pray to God that it's not short lived by some kind of liver damage, heart problem, or many other side effects that are caused by prolonged anabolics abuse! There is nothing more valuable in life than waking up in the morning with a wife and two children in your bed on a Sunday morning watching cartoons. Play it safe, and take heed to what I say.