Preparation for the World Gym Classic by Gina Aliotti

I began my dieting 12 weeks out from the show. My diet consisted of 50% Carbohydrates 40% Protein and 10% Fat. Being a college student and having to watch my finances, my protein sources came mostly from chicken breasts, egg whites, and protein shakes. My carbohydrate sources came from mostly brown rice and oatmeal. I added vegetables to at least 3 meals. The vegetables that I ate were: spinach, broccoli, green beans, asparagus, onions, and zucchini. My fats came from flax seed oil. I was consistent with eating every 3 hours and ate a total of 6 meals.

My training stayed fairly consistent with my off-season training. I weight trained 5 times a week and did cardio 7 days a week for 35-45 minutes. I did my cardio session after my weight training and varied my workouts between the step mill, elliptical, and recumbent bike. As I got closer to my contest, I tried to include as many days of 2 sessions of cardio as possible.

The final week before my show my diet and training changed a bit. The Sunday before my show was my last abdominal and leg workout and the rest of the week consisted of circuit training. My last training day was Wednesday where I concluded with a cardio session and a Body Pump class. Two weeks prior to my show I slightly increased my sodium intake and increased my water intake to two gallons a day. The final week I eliminated sodium as much as possible and was drinking one gallon of water a day. I continued to eat the same up until Thursday where I slightly lowered my carbohydrate intake. Friday I increased my carbohydrate intake and included carbs in every meal. Again, my carbohydrate came from brown rice and oatmeal. Friday night, around 8:00 is when I cut my water out completely.

With the help of my boyfriend, Luc Andreotti, he helped gauge where my body was at during that last critical week. It is hard to be the only one trying to see how your body is responding and changing to your diet. Luc really helped read my body and determine what I needed to eat. It is important to have another set of eyes constantly watching how your body is adjusting to the decrease and increase of nutrients. I am now working with Tony Dodd with Tailor Made Physiques who is dialing me in for the USA’s. He is not only fine-tuning my nutritional program but furthering my knowledge of nutrition as a whole to impact my everyday diet and lifestyle.

Preparing for any type of show whether amateur, national, or professional level, it takes time, hard work, dedication, and most of all the desire to want to succeed. It takes time to fine-tune any diet and workout program because everybody's bodies respond differently to different foods. What works for one competitor might not work for another. The facts become evident and the next step is exploring and experimenting with what works best for one’s needs and bodies own requirements.

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