Research
Mixed
Peak week training involves drastic reductions in volume and intensity, including carbohydrate loading and reduced exercise duration, to minimize inflammation and subcutaneous water retention.
In the final week before a competition, reduce your training volume and intensity. Focus on carbohydrate loading and light walking. This helps minimize inflammation and subcutaneous water, making your muscles look fuller and more defined.
LimitedSupportsLOW confidence
The number of exercises was gradually reduced over the peak week. On depletion days, walking was performed for 40–90 min, reducing to 15 min or no exercise on loading days. These reductions in volume and intensity may be necessary for minimizing the possibility of inflammation and edema as a consequence of muscle-damaging exercise...
Why this rating
Based on a single case study and general observations.
Source
Training Programs Designed for Muscle Hypertrophy in Bodybuilders: A Narrative Review
Ragami Chaves Alves et al. · Sports · 2020
DOI 10.3390/sports8110149
narrative_reviewCited 60×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Bodybuilders systematically manipulate resistance training variables across four distinct periods (off-season, pre-contest, peak week, post-contest) to maximize hypertrophy and minimize body fat, characterized by higher loads and volume in the off-season and lighter loads with shorter rest intervals in the pre-contest phase.Moderate
- During the pre-contest phase, bodybuilders often use low-load, high-repetition resistance training with short rest intervals to preserve muscle mass while in a caloric deficit, potentially leveraging metabolic stress.Moderate
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