Professional athletes are familiar with the magic words "bulk," "dry," and "low carb diet." Drying is a whole ritual, the most difficult period in the life of a professional bodybuilder. It requires a specific diet and exercise regimen.
What is drying?
Drying the body is a special period in the training activity of an athlete. Every bodybuilder, starting to work on his body, first builds muscle mass, becomes larger and more massive. However, during the period of growth, his body looks simply big - both muscles and fat mass are built up. But in bodybuilding competitions, not only the size of the muscles is evaluated, but also their elaboration and relief. To do this, you need the muscles not to hide the fat layer and excess moisture. Getting rid of fat is called drying. However, do not treat drying as a low calorie diet for weight loss. It is intended for athletes only and is observed for a limited period of 6-8 weeks. Shortly before the competition, athletes go to the most severe drying regime, but after the event they start the weight gain regime again or simply rest.
Drying food
Nutrition plays the main role during this period. Its main goals are to minimize fat storage and maintain muscle mass. Therefore, on drying, athletes consume a lot of protein and reduce the amount of carbohydrates. However, it is also impossible to completely remove carbohydrates, so as not to disrupt the correct metabolism. The main products during drying are chicken breast, fish, eggs, low-fat cottage cheese, cereals. For better digestion, grains, vegetables and fiber are used. During this period, athletes cannot do without special supplements - protein and amino acids, because it is almost impossible to get all the required amount of protein from food. Also, when drying, you should not use saturated fats contained in refined butter, margarine, fatty dairy products. However, unsaturated fats play an important role in the health of the body. They are found in red fish, nuts, olive oil.
Drying workouts
If, working on an increase in mass, athletes use low-repetition sets with large weights, then when working on relief, preference is given to medium and low weights, and the number of repetitions, on the contrary, increases. The workout turns into a kind of strength cardio load. The pulse should be high enough - 60-70% of the maximum. In addition, much attention is paid to traditional cardio training - running, exercise on a stationary bike or stepper. Drying athletes devote an hour of cardio every day.
