Peak Week: Part 3
Welcome to part three. In the previous part, we adjusted the training stimulus to deplete the muscles—wringing out the sponge. Now it's time for the fun part: soaking that sponge again. This is where the carb-load comes in, a process that can make or break your look.
The Mechanism: Glycogen Supercompensation
After your muscle glycogen stores have been depleted through training and diet, your body responds with increased insulin sensitivity and an upregulation of the enzymes responsible for glycogen storage (like glycogen synthase).
When you introduce carbohydrates in this state, your muscles will not only replenish glycogen to their original levels but up to 150% beyond that. This phenomenon is called supercompensation. Because every gram of glycogen pulls about 3 grams of water into the muscle cell, this is the mechanism behind that extremely full, round, and 3D look you want on stage. (1)
How many carbs? This is the most individual variable. A general guideline for athletes is often 8-12 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of lean body mass per day, spread over 2-3 loading days. However, this is not a fixed number. Someone with a faster metabolism or more muscle mass will need more than someone who is more sensitive to carbohydrates. This is why a trial run of the loading phase during prep is essential.
What kind of carbs? At the beginning of the loading phase (e.g., Wednesday/Thursday), the focus is on complex, starchy sources like rice, potatoes, and oatmeal. As the show gets closer, and especially on the day itself, many athletes switch to simpler sugars (like rice cakes, jam, bananas) as they digest faster and are less likely to cause bloating.
Timing and Strategies
Correctly timing your carbohydrate load is one of the most critical variables of your peak week. The wrong approach can result in a flat, watery physique, while the right strategy will maximize muscle fullness and accentuate your hardness. The question of "when" has no single answer; it depends on your conditioning, metabolism, and the chosen strategy.
Here are the three fundamental approaches:
1. The Back-Load (The Traditional Method)
This is the classic and most commonly used approach.
What it is: The athlete undergoes a depletion phase (very low carbohydrates) at the beginning of the week (e.g., Monday through Wednesday) following the final depletion workout. The carbohydrate load only begins in the final 2-3 days before the competition.
Timing:
Depletion: Sunday/Monday through Wednesday.
Load: Thursday through Saturday (Show Day).
Rationale & Pros:
Creates maximum supercompensation by first fully depleting the muscles and then overloading them.
Risks & Cons:
Less time to make adjustments. If you are too full or too flat on Friday, you have very little room to maneuver.
The depletion phase can be mentally and physically grueling during the final week.
The risk of "spillover" (subcutaneous water retention) is concentrated in the final days.
2. The Front-Load
This method reverses the traditional approach.
What it is: The athlete begins the week with a heavy carbohydrate load immediately after the final workout. Following this initial load, carbohydrates are systematically decreased (tapered) throughout the rest of the week leading into show day.
Timing:
Load: Sunday/Monday through Tuesday.
Taper: Wednesday through Saturday (Show Day).
Rationale & Pros:
Gives you the entire week to refine the look. If you are too full or watery on Tuesday, you have several days to shed water and let the muscles "settle."
Less risk of a last-minute panic load. You know early in the week if your muscles are full.
Risks & Cons:
Risk of peaking too early. Without a careful taper, you could end up looking flat on show day.
It requires a good understanding of how your body responds to tapering carbohydrates after a load.
3. The Middle-Load (The Moderate Approach)
This is a hybrid strategy that aims to mitigate risks.
What it is: No extreme depletion or massive initial load. Carbohydrates are slightly lowered at the beginning of the week, followed by a moderate and controlled load in the middle of the week. The final day(s) are used for fine-tuning.
Timing:
Slight Depletion: Monday-Tuesday.
Moderate Load: Wednesday-Thursday.
Fine-Tuning: Friday-Saturday (Show Day).
Rationale & Pros:
The safest method for athletes who are unsure how their body responds to extremes.
Minimizes the risk of both looking completely flat and extreme spillover. The goal is to get "in the ballpark" and use the final days to perfect the look.
Risks & Cons:
Because it avoids extremes, it might result in a look that isn't 100% maximally full for some athletes. It is a compromise between fullness and conditioning.
Context is Key: The "Making Weight" Scenario
The chosen strategy is not always a matter of preference; external factors can dictate the approach. A prime example is an athlete competing in a weight-capped class (e.g., classic physique, powerlifting). If this athlete is close to the weight limit, they must weigh in while still carb-depleted to ensure they make weight. This circumstance forces them into a mandatory back-load. The carb-load then begins immediately after a successful weigh-in, often leaving only 12-24 hours to fill out before stepping on stage. This is a high-risk scenario that requires a precise and tested protocol.
The choice of strategy depends on experience, conditioning, and coach preference. There is no single "best" method, only the best method for the individual and their circumstances.
The Big Danger: "Spillover"
What happens when the muscle sponges are full, but you keep adding carbs? They "spill over." The body can no longer efficiently store the excess glucose as glycogen. The result is that glucose and water accumulate in the subcutaneous space—the layer between your muscles and your skin. The outcome: you look watery, soft, and less defined. This is every athlete's worst nightmare.
Conclusion: Precision is Key
A carb-load is not an excuse for a free-for-all binge. It is a calculated process that requires precision and self-awareness. Less is often more. It's better to arrive on stage slightly flatter but razor-sharp than full but watery. The interaction with the next variables, water and sodium, is crucial here. More on that in Part 4.
References:
Bergström, J., Hermansen, L., Hultman, E., & Saltin, B. (1967). Diet, muscle glycogen and physical performance. Acta Physiologica Scandinavica, 71(2), 140–150.
