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Following up from my prep thread - I'm two weeks out and my coach sent me a clean peak week checklist. Sharing it because so many first-timers (me included) overthink this. Peak week priorities, in order:
Train as normal until 3-4 days out, then reduce volume, keep intensity light
Water - keep it high all week, only taper the final day if at all
Sodium - keep it steady, do not crash it
Carbs - deplete slightly early week, then a gradual carb-up over the final 2-3 days
Posing - practise daily, full routine, no exceptions
Sleep and calm - protect both, stress holds water
The big theme: nothing dramatic. Small dials, not big switches.
This is a sane checklist and the nothing dramatic line is the most important part. The people who blow up their condition are always the ones doing a 48-hour water cut and zero-sodium panic. Steady dials win.
The 'train as normal until 3-4 days out' point trips people up. They stop training a week out, lose all their fullness and tightness, and show up soft. Keep moving, just pull the volume down at the end.
Posing daily is the one nobody regrets and everybody underestimates. Two weeks out you should be running your full routine every day until it's automatic and you can hold mandatories without shaking. It also sharpens your conditioning.
That exhaustion is the point - posing is a workout. By show day holding your routine should feel like second nature so you can actually present, not just survive it.