Vinny Galanti's Contest Prep Article

[michael arvilla]

http://www.universalnutrition.com/features/20weeks.cfm

Good stuff Vinny!!!!



20 Weeks to Triumph
by Vinny Galanti
 
The last article I explained how I broke down my training over the course of the week.

Now I'm going to give a little insight as to how I'm going to start my prep for my pro debut at the Night of Champions this coming September.

I like to be full swing into a "diet" at 12 weeks out from any given show, but I need a time frame before that, that I like to call a "transition phase." I will be the first to admit that I hate contest dieting, but I found that if I break into it easy over a few weeks, I tend not to notice being on a diet when 12 weeks roll around.

I start my transition phase at 20 weeks out. I am very lucky that I can eat the kinds of food that I do in the offseason, some people would just get very fat.

For me, since I have always been a hard gainer, and getting ripped has not been a problem, it wouldn't be uncommon to see me eating a double cheese burger from the local dinner for lunch, and a huge bowl of pasta for diner at our favorite Italian restaurant.

It is hard for me to just jump right into a precontest regimen.

Here is how I break it down:

Weeks 20-18

I never count calories or weigh my food, but make sure I start the day off right with a bowl of oatmeal and egg whites with spinach and mushrooms from a diner. After that, normal offseason daily eating.I make sure I drink water throughout the day.
 
Weeks 17-15

Now I replace whatever my last meal is at the time, with 2 cups of brown rice and 8 ounces of grilled chicken. This way, I'm now eating 2 clean meals a day. I make sure I drink 2 quarts of water every day.
 
Weeks 14 & 13

Here is when I make sure I now become consistent with my lunch feeding. I start to eat another clean meal, often like 8 ounces of flank steak and a baked potato. I make sure I drink 1 gallon of water daily. Up until this point I am still eating what ever I want on Sundays.
 
12 Weeks Out

This is where the fun starts. All meals are clean. I still do not weigh or measure my food. Most of the time I'm eating out, so measuring would be a no go.
 

 The bottom line to any successful contest diet is one critical factor--consistency.

No matter what you do, if you train on a low carb/high fat diet, or if you eat a lot of carbs…Whatever works for you, just do it, and don't fall off.

We all eat the same foods, it just makes a big difference when you don't cheat, and you are suffering.

When I am at about 6 weeks out I start to rotate my carbs, 2 days high, 2 days low, 3 days at zero. And last year, I used a very high fat/protein diet the last 3 weeks that seemed to work excellent.

If you are training for your first show and don't know where to start, try this:

Eat a protein food source and a carb food source 6 times a day for 8 weeks. Before you are at 12 weeks out, see where you are at, and then start to play with your carbs for 2 weeks by rotating them like I did. If you are a seasoned competitor, you already know the deal. You don't need my advice.
 

[tom joad]

hey Mikey, i read on one of your post-contest threads that you said that your plan now was to keep things tight and try to add like 15 lbs of quality muscle.  Screw that bro.  Last time around wasn't your off season weight like in the high 200s and you came into your contest in the high 100s?  So this time around, you should bulk up to the high 300s and then drop another 100 lbs and come in ripped and ready in the high 200s.  It's only logical, bro.

[gracie bjj]

vinny has a great build and it didnt happen by accident,its always great to get tips from guys like vinny who been there and did that,hes paid his dues and he is a walking bodybuilding encyclopedia packed with knowledge

[njflex]

That's a great pic in that article.

[Freakzilla_2]

3 days w/ no carbs?  Ouch.

I've experimented with high protein/high fat w/ very little carbs, and it seemed to melt the bodyfat off me.

Ofcourse I was doing an hour of cardio a day.  So that had something to do with it.

Freak

[gracie bjj]

im going low carbs 5 days and upping them high for 1 day then moderate the next,then back to 5 days very low.before i train in the morning ill have my scoop of trac extreme n.o. on an empty stomach with one thailand 5 mg dbol crushed up in it,then ill train my am bodypart and ill come home and have a half cup oatmeal with one scoop of the probolic protien banana cream by mhp all in a blender,then around 4 hours later ill repeat the same probolic oatmeal drink again,then after that i have no more carbs the rest of the day except for some broccoli if needed,then ill hit another bodypart and come home and have a chicken breast or tuna with another 5mg dbol and drink crystal light the rest of the night,ive been nailing my broad everynight now for the extra cardio cause i hate sitting on my exercise bike,that about wraps up a normal diet/training day for me,weekends is when i eat up the carbs and ill even throw in the white castles on saturday if i get the urge,ive found out over the years that i can have a cheat day once aweek up until about amonth out from a show and still come in diced,after all that cheat day makes me feel good and keeps me sticking on a diet better