Dialing a lagging muscles appearance pre-contest

[Sleazy E]

Im not in contest prep now, nor have I ever been but I do plan to and I have gotten quite lean in the past.
Ive noticed my hamstrings tend to hold on to fat moreso then the rest of my body. In general its difficult for
me to avoid that soft look in my hamstrings.

1.- What should someone do in this case during their contest prep to try and get said muscle more
conditioned?

2.- Is it possible to reduce the fat (enough to get it caught up with your better parts) by exercising it
more using a certain technique?

3.- If you arrive to the final week of prep and you are still not where you would like to be (meaning you
are holding on to more water in that muscle then you would like), is there any way to isolate the muscle
with a combination of the depletion process coupled with specific exercises?

 

[jshredz]

Are you holding water or fat? What's your off-season body fat looking like?
If it's water it might hormone related, maybe estrogen levels to high or need to adjust your manipulation of your electrolytes.
If it's fat maybe you need to stay leaner during your bulking season. Maybe you don't react well to carbs and your carbs might be to high. Are you working with a coach? Here might have to adjust both your off-season and pre contest diet.

 

[Sleazy E]

hey Jshredz

actually not Im not in contest prep.

This is just something Ive been wanting to figure out.

But yeah... my post was two parts....

1.- related to fat
2.- retaining water/looking soft in certain area the art week of prep

Regarding the fat I do put it on fairly easy and Im quite carb sensitive. Ill have to be stricter with my diet both off season and during prep.

As for the water part, It was more of a hypothetical question as I haven't done a first competition yet.

 

[jshredz]

in your case I think your off season diet will be key on the condition you will achieve during contest prep. You hit the nail on the head by keeping your carbs moderate. I would ingest most of the carbs early morning and preworkout.
You don't know how many guys I've heard say I was holding too much water, when the reality is they weren't conditioning enough.
Focus on conditioning. Think of the off-season as an extension of your contest prep.