PICTURE PREPARATION: I Used Dream Tan (oil based paint-on tan) just prior to photo shoot. Four weeks out from photos I did one week of a Cyclical Ketogenic Diet (CKD) (5 days under 30 grams of carbohydrates per day followed by 36 hours of consuming about 6000 calories of mostly high glycemic carbohydrates). Three weeks out I decided not to continue to follow the Ketogenic plan in order to have somewhat "normal" pictures instead of more strict "contest prep" pictures. I still followed a higher protein, medium fat, mostly fibrous carbohydrate eating plan for the last three weeks while incorporating starchy and higher glycemic carbohydrate loads every two to four days in the evening. In the past, I have used a CKD and had no problem getting into the mid 5% BF range but scale weight always dropped into mid 180's before the carbohydrate load. A year ago I resolved to stay above 190 pounds no matter what training or eating strategy I am using, thus I try to keep more glycogen on board by more frequent loads and keeping more fibrous carbohydrates in my diet when I am leaning out. For the last year I have been fluctuating between 194 and 202 pounds.
For my cardio / aerobic work, I didn't change anything from my normal routine. I consistently stick with 2 3 workouts per week which last from 21 to 35 minutes (including warm-up and cool-down) utilizing variable intensity interval training, usually on an elliptical machine for the high intensity periods and either the elliptical, a speed bag, a heavy bag, or general abdominal work for the low intensity periods. I vary the times that I am in the high intensity and low intensity zones from 15 to 180 seconds, sticking with a randomly plotted schedule. For high intensity, I max out the intensity bar on the machine, for low intensity I stick with a very comfortable pace.
Strength Training for the four weeks prior to the photos consisted of three workouts each week. I trained half body on morning after carbohydrate load, other half of body on day two after carbohydrate load. These workouts were focused on brief, high intensity, low volume. For the third workout, I would complete a high volume, low intensity depletion workout just prior to carbohydrate loading. I usually will include this training strategy in my workout schedule about once every 5 months in order to practice carbohydrate deplete / loading and to refine and improve on my previous "bests". I will usually time when to do them in my own training when I have clients that are preparing for a contest or pictures, which helps to lend support and a team spirit to what can be a very difficult time for people new to cutting strategies.