As I prepare this edition of Dr Mac’s corner its
January 2019 and with the new year comes comp
prep season leading into the WBFF Gold Coast Show
on Saturday May 11 which is going to be another
massive event on the competitive calendar for the
year!!
Whether 2019 is going to be your first time on stage
or you’re a seasoned competitor, it’s always good to
consider subtle improvements or changes that you
can make to the lead up to a comp, particularly peak
week and the day of the show and as the saying
goes;
“You can’t win a comp in the days
leading up to the show, but you
sure can lose one in that time!!”
Before we even get to peak week, one of the biggest
decisions a competitor has to make when they draw
that line in the sand and commit to telling friends
and family they are competing at a particular
competition is what to do when it comes to finding a
coach to work with. Do you go with an online coach
or face to face coach?
My advice as a rule is if it’s your first comp then
ideally find a coach you can check in with on weekly
basis face to face.
If you have competed several times previously and
are confident that you know how your body
responds to changes with nutrition and training,
then an online coach can be very effective.
The main point I want to make is, either way, it’s
important to work with a coach that provides you
with a personalised plan, not a cookie cutter
training, diet and supplement regime. Photos,
skype, zoom and other video connections can be
effective but it’s hard to beat being face to face
under the same lighting with your coach and
knowing they have your individual needs covered.
When it comes to working with people to become
stage ready, I think to be a good comp prep coach
the person needs to have been on stage and
experienced the whole process themselves at least
once. I am not saying they have to be or have been
a champion competitor but being stage ready is
totally different to being ‘lean’ or losing weight and I
think the best coaches have empathy for the
process, and the experience to match the technical
knowledge to get the best results for people at every
level.
Also remember this, when you’re on stage, the
judges don’t know or care who your coach is, so
don’t feel pressured to use a high profile coach or
think you need to use a particular coach to place
well at a show, you are judged on the criteria
outlined by the WBFF for your category, not who
helped you get on stage!
My final comment on the coaching side of things is
to make sure your coach has a plan in place for you
for AFTER the show! We’ll cover what to do post
comp in another edition of Dr Mac’s corner but for
now, make sure you have a plan in place.
GENERAL TIPS FOR PEAK WEEK
There’s some crazy information that gets published
on Instagram and every other social media forum on
what to do and what not to during peak week. So
here’s my top tips:
Be ready early
Ideally be good to go 1-2wks out to take the stress
out of the last week or so leading in to comp day,
think of it as ‘Tweak Week’ as much as it is ‘Peak
Week’.
Being ready early takes a whole lot of stress out of
your preparation and remember, stress hormones
like cortisol can play havoc with insulin sensitivity
and have a negative influence on hunger, thyroid
function.
Cortisol decreases Thyroid stimulating hormone
(TSH), lowering thyroid hormone production.
Cortisol inhibits the conversion of thyroxine (T4) to
triiodothyronine (T3) and increases the conversion
of T4 to Reverse T3 (inactive form) which competes
with T3 for receptors which is worth considering
because T3 within the Mitochondria converts to T2,
and T2 is the most potent thermogenic for the
production of heat from fat influencing metabolism.
Cortisol can influence Neuorpeptide Y which plays a
role in appetite stimulation and has been associated
with cravings for sweet, salty and fatty foods so you
want to keep your cortisol levels under control!!
Don’t try anything for the first time this week