DE-hydrating for the show

J-man

Hi guys, I know there's alot of methods to dehydrating the excess body water and I know it can be a dangerous process as I have heard all the stories of bodybuilders ending up in the hospital bed the following morning. I would like to know how everyone dehydrates and the best safest ways to do it. When do you usually start dehydrating before the show? Are there any decent supplements out there worth taking. I saw on that t.v show "babyfacebodybuilding" the oldest lad drank a bottle of dry white wine the night before is this worth doing. Thanks for your help guys J-man.

TinyTom

is your show tested/natural?

Bodyworks

using alcohol as a diuretic is a bit of an urban myth. alcohol will dehydrate you to a slight degree, but it actually rehydrates you more due the fact you've just drank x amount of liquid. it's good the night before to help calm nerves and induce sleep. that's all. increasing fluid intake in the final week, then cutting it abruptly works well, although, you don't really have to cut it as you'll notice that you dry out by drinking more fluid anyway. your body stores less water when it knows it doesn't need to. increasing your intake of vitamin c close to show day is popular, and other supplements like dandelion, kelp, cider vinegar all make for more frequent visits to the toilet. i've known people use laxatives, this is a bit more dangerous though as you cannot control the amount of fluid leaving the body. even more effective and dangerous are the drugs. there are about 100 different diuretic drugs i believe, but only about half a dozen of them are found in the bodybuilders store cupboard. and finally, the most dangerous of all is combining several of these methods at once.
just drink a lot of water, keep your diet clean and you'll probably be dry enough. it's the bodyfat level that's more important i feel. if there's still visable bodyfat, don't bother doing anything to shed water. fat obscures muscle a hell of a lot more than a film of water ever could.

J-man

Do extreme do any diretic like supplements worth trying in the final week. Thanks J-man

LeeB

no they dont mate. this area is a minefield.. lots of different theories and approaches.. in my opinion everyones body is different and everyone needs different ways to get water out of their body...

my advice is decide on a strategy, then at 2 weeks out go through it... even so much as having a cheat meal as if youve just got off stage... and then drink tons of water to help rehydrate yourself fully... yes i know some people may now say that the rebound water could be hard to shift.. maybe.. but that is what works for me.

and be aware... you cant pick and choose things from different approaches.. doing this will fcuk it all up!

have a VERY GOOD understanding of the role water/carbs/glycogen etc.. play in the final days of show prep too... this will help make sense of the minefield.

scottishgaz

totaly agree with Bodyworks on this one , and your body will only hold water if you are still holding FAT.
pesonaly i just start at 4ltr water 7days out and add 1ltr every day and i drink right up to bed time the night before show ,dont stop drinking on show day ill have about 1ltr throughout morning and about 1ltr just before i go on stage .also use vit.c 7days out 3grms and add 1grm per day just like with water. and thats it . diuretic drugs can mess things up big time.