Seven Days Before Competition

One week before competition is the time for a complete, total, and exhaustive workout. The athlete should practice all skills completely and repetitively, focusing on his or her weakest area. If a basketball player has trouble making foul shots during the game, then a good deal of time should be spent shooting from the foul line after all the other practice regimens have been followed. He or she should get a sense of what it's like to feel a bit tired, just like in a game. In other words, 7 days before the competition is not a time for being timid about the workout. Give your body a sufficiently good workout so you know you've really gone through the paces.

During this workout, all the protocols discussed earlier in this book should be followed. It's important to drink plenty of carbohydrate-containing fluids during the workout. It's also important to follow the workout with plenty of carbohydrates. Consuming at least 400 calories from carbohydrate (100 grams) immediately after the training regimen is desirable, followed by at least 800 calories (200 grams) during the next several hours. This is your first attempt at getting your muscles to replace the glycogen that has been lost during the workout.