A lot of people aren't. Maybe you would rather have someone tell you what you want to hear? When I help someone I want them to go up looking their best, I am honest and truthful because in this business too many people assume they are OK for the stage and everyone thinks they should have won.
Personally, I'm not going to put anyone on stage that I'm helping unless they are looking their very best. If you have more work to do then I'm going to tell you and so should your trainer or support crew. It took me years of practice and mistakes to get it right and even years to learn the politics of bodybuilding. Yes, there is politics in bodybuilding. Did she say anything about how my physique should look?
Not at all. And that's the reality check. You all need to understand before you step on stage. Furthermore, do not ever think you are going to turn pro at your first National show. That's if you make it that far. It has happened to some, but be realistic in your assessment. I always shot for top 5 or better, not to get "cut" from the lineup. All of those are realistic and positive goals that will generate enthusiasm and the drive needed to keep the competition fires burning.
It's a long haul to turn pro. So, you better have tuff skin to be a bodybuilder. What's Your Plan? What will it take for you to be successful for the stage? That's easy. Get yourself a plan and getting ready for that show will be so much easier. Regardless of your level, a game plan is an absolute must. Some people can be ready in less time than a year and others take longer. The following is a basic schedule to help you prepare for your next bodybuilding show:. The sooner you start working on your mandatory poses the better.
I was told by Muscle Sport announcer Kenny Kassle to start doing timed mandatory poses after your workout three times a week to start and then every day closer you get to your show.
I suggest doing each mandatory for seconds to start. It is critical to practice these poses over and over again to cement it into your memory. You want to go up on stage during pre-judging and look like you did this before, like a pro. No, better then a pro. This alone will have you prepared and ready to show your stuff on competition day and it will definitely harden you up too! Diet, weight training, and cardio are the most important pieces of your competition preparation.
Your workouts should be tailored for growth, size and shape development. Since dieting will help refine your physique, make sure you prioritize your weak points during workouts. Another thing is do not think super sets are a workout that will get you "cut. Tips: What are some helpful tips before entering a bodybuilding contest?
Again I point you towards a huge article by Layne Norton. This will cover any last minute queries you have on many different factors for dieting, training and posing. Firstly you must know if you're in the lightweight, middleweight's or heavyweight's divisions. These of course will clarify your decisions even more. If you have been bulking cleanly to gain that extra 15 pounds of muscle in the year, you may have been added to a higher class.
This of course means more mass and more freakiness that you have to bring to the stage. Make sure you can handle your body. By this stage of your development, and your decision to compete, you should know whether you're an ectomorph or an endo-mesomorph.
You must know if your insulin is not as stable as it should be, and know what to do about it. Plus how it affects you as a bodybuilder who has to manipulate all aspects of a body's composition. You must know if carbohydrates make you bloat, and to make sure you know how many grams will keep the muscles fueled, but not in excess, so as to store unwanted fat.
This can make or break that extra power and presence you have on the stage. Intensive posing can bring out more striations. Vascularity will improve - posing has no limits. Push on your muscles hard.
Try bringing the mind-muscle connection into play. Make sure you are dark enough. A good tanning lotion applied in the directional way, will produce a vibrant shine that will bring definition to the forefront of your pose. Hairy guys will have to bite their lips and take the time to strip away all the unnecessary hair from the legs, to the chest, back and even armpits. The show is to see your muscle, not your mainly hair growth. Hair grows back, so it is temporary of course.
Bonus: Have you ever entered a bodybuilding contest? No, I have not entered into any competitions yet. Now, if you are to train for a good five days a week, in which each session lasts 45 minutes, then you would have used up That may not sound like too much, but it all adds up. You sleep for an average time of 8 to 10 hours. That equals hours of sleep minimum, which is minutes.
Eating six times a day minimum, day in and day out, is a requirement for your lifestyle. To prepare the meals takes an average of 20 minutes each to truly have a good nutritional meal.
That equal 72 hours, or minutes to consume and finish them. What I am getting at is That's all worth it in the end when the trophy is in your hand. You will know that you put the time and knowledgeable effort into it. I am sure that if I was this committed, I could do a quick half month bulk up to add a precious few more muscular pounds, and then I would cut to maintain the muscle, but shred down. I have an ideal for my physique, so I would want to try mirroring that in real life before I competed.
If I did now, I would not place well, as my size is just not there yet. First of all we must realize that everybody is different and determining when to compete is a unique choice of every bodybuilder. You must be prepared not only physically but mentally as well. Generally a pro competitor which is bodybuilding and competing for numerous years can make decisions way easier than novice. He can almost sense when he's ready to compete and win. Of course most newbies will find it difficult to judge themselves so it's always worth to ask advice of more experienced bodybuilders and trainers to decrease risk of failure and get some beneficial ideas.
Our little Joey would certainly make a big mistake if he would compete in his condition. Lack of knowledge could lead to this. Here are a few steps that you need to focus when determining to compete or not:.
The more you think about the future the better it gets. Planning is essential if you are preparing for few competitions a year. You don't want to screw yourself up from poor planning of bulking, cutting cycles, nutrition, training and other things essential if you want to be successful in competition. Try to set short, realistic and achievable goals for yourself.
For example: To lose or gain a certain amount of weight in a month. Also the time when a competition takes place is important. You don't want to mix your preparing time with university exams and fail one or the other or both. Only when you carefully plan everything, can you be sure you are focused on your contest. As long as you are focused then nothing can disrupt you. It's another essential thing if you are going to compete soon and want to be successful.
It's way easier to prepare for a competition if you know who your opponents are going to be. So it's always worth it to attend as many shows as possible to know your opponents better and see possible mistakes on stage, and bypass them later. You don't want to enter a competition and see that it's in a way higher level than you thought it would be. Another strategy is to train with a competitive bodybuilder who has more experience than you.
You will have a chance to share his knowledge about training, dieting, posing and contest preparation. Reaching Your Peak:. Try to predict if you can reach your best shape at competition time. A good bodybuilder always tries to compete only when he achieves his peak. Timing here is very important and planning again comes into play.
You are likely to finish in the top when you are at your best. You don't want to achieve your best shape a few days after the contest. Only when you achieve a great shape can you be sure that you are ready to compete.
You must not compete if you have some major lagging body parts or many week points. First of all you must be sure that you have a balanced and symmetrical physique and no lagging body parts. Body fat is also very important. You need to get as cut as possible to look your best on competition day. Don't delay the cutting cycle, because you can be disappointed when you see the results. It's better to give plenty of time to everything. Especially for cutting. You don't want to see your big gut on the contest day and you don't want to lose muscle when shredding a lot of body fat in short amount of time.
How to determine when you are ready to compete in your first bodybuilding contest? Hmm, this is a hard question. Again it's very individual. I recommend competing once when you have a strong base and well balanced physique. Mass at this stage is not so important. You need to focus on balance, condition and symmetry. Some people might achieve this in a few years of hard and consistent training and dieting, while others might need less or more. How quickly you develop is a matter of genetics and how young you start training.
Some bodybuilders tend to jump into competition very quickly and fail while others prefer to bide one's time and finish with a high placing.
Both choices have their pluses and minuses. If you start to compete very early you can be discouraged when you finish dead last and you could even stop training if you are a mentally weak person. But another point is that you will gain valuable experience and this will definitely help you in future.
So I recommend competing early enough and getting some competition experience. When it comes to competing you have to start somewhere. So don't be surprised if, the first time you step onstage, you go completely blank.
You can have very good and balanced physique, but lose against weaker opponents just because you lack experience presenting yourself.
Posing, posing, posing and posing again! Posing is vital if you want to compete! After years of hard training and hours spent in the gym, you can win or lose a contest with the same body.
It's all how you present your body. Posing can be a tool for drawing attention to your strengths and away from your weaknesses. You just must learn doing all compulsory poses correctly if you want to compete.
Only when you know all essential poses can you be sure that you are ready to compete. I would recommend you start practicing poses as soon as possible. Study photos of other bodybuilders, attend contests regularly and learn. Hit some poses in the gym when you are training, flex muscles between sets, study yourself in the mirror.
It all helps. Also remember the need for endurance. If you are not used to posing you will fail to stand flexed for a long period of time as a competition takes place. Everybody must also be aware of nutrition if they want to compete. You can't succeed in competition without a proper contest diet. You must be absolutely strict during cutting if you want to reach your best potential cheating at all can cause you to fail. First of all newbies need to start measuring food intake and counting calories to reach maximum potential of a diet.
Learning how to eat clean is also very important step towards competition diet. If you didn't have any dieting discipline before, I'm pretty sure it won't appear before contest. Once you have mastered nutrition, you can be sure that you are one step forward to competing. There are no limits or norms regarding your mass and body fat in bodybuilding.
However every bodybuilder has a goal to be as muscular and lean as possible. Some people achieve it easier, some not.
You should aim for as much lean mass gain during bulking and as much body fat loss when cutting as you can possibly achieve.
Of course it's easier to say than to do it. Actually certain norms of size depend of your competition level, other opponents, category you want to fit in and many other reasons. But you shouldn't focus on a scale or measurements too much.
The mirror is your best judge. Remember - in bodybuilding you are judged by how you look and how you present yourself, not how much you weigh or how much you can lift. You should focus on balance, symmetry, proportions, condition and thickness instead of sheer mass. Don't go overboard with increasing the total number of sets and reps. Light weights will decrease muscle size and strength. Include a few cardio sessions a week to your training regimen.
It will increase your metabolism and hasten your fast loss. But do it carefully; if you are not losing enough fat - it's better to decrease calorie intake instead increasing cardio. You don't want to lose muscle.
Increase protein consumption. It will help to preserve muscle when dieting. You should consume at least 1. Decrease carb intake. But don't do any extremes like "carb deplete", etc. Use supplements to preserve more lean mass when dieting. BCAA's in this case are extremely helpful. You can also take an effective fat burner for speeding your fat loss.
Stay well hydrated all the time. Consume plenty of liquids to avoid dehydration. You should consume at least gallons of water a day. Limit your fluid intake slightly only starting the night before a contest. Overall Preparation:. Posing Trunks - It's important to buy the right ones well before the competition. Trunks should fit you perfectly. Color is also important. You don't want to detract judges from your overall appearance.
Tanning - A good tan and oil is essential part of your success in a contest. It helps to keep your definition from disappearing under the bright stage lights.
You must choose the one that fits you best. Hair - Hair shaving prior to a contest is essential part of contest preparation today. It gives the skin a much smoother and cleaner appearance and makes the muscles more visible.
It's also worth it to shave well before a competition and then giving yourself periodic touch-ups. If you cut yourself - there would be plenty of time for your skin to heal.
Hairstyle is also important. You should keep your hair style to the minimum. Shorter hair tends to make body look more massive. Generally you are preparing for bodybuilding, not a rocket science competition.
So keep it simple! Don't be nervous; just keep doing what you have to do. Good Luck! I've never entered a bodybuilding contest. I'm the sort of person, who likes to prepare. I hate to be in a rush. Life is long so I think I will compete soon. At this moment I'm doing my bulking cycle and trying to put as much lean mass on as I can.
After some time cutting will come, so we will see what's left of me at that time. Would I be able to prepare for a contest with only 3 months time? If you have not attended a show, go! When attending your first show, look for the little things that are taking place. Instead of just watching the night show, make sure you attend the prejudging. Here you can see how the judges compare the athletes and how awesome and tough it is to pose time and time again! Talk to people around you.
If you have a chance to talk to a competitor, chat with them and ask them questions. Most of the competitors are drained and tired, but every once in a while you can meet someone who doesn't mind talking to people and sharing knowledge. When competing I like to chat with others just to ease the tension and make time go by. Check out Frank Roberson's video clip on posing on Bodybuilding. You can tell he has years of experience and hundreds of hours practicing his posing.
It will give you an idea of how important every detail can be when standing onstage. The Lifestyle. Chances are if you are reading this you already have a base knowledge of food and supplements.
You know that protein is important and eating clean is imperative to being contest ready the day of the show. Even knowing this, do you have the lifestyle that can handle eating 6 times per day while training , tanning , posing , and getting hours of sleep a night? When I personal train a first time competitor the first thing I do is ask them about their lifestyle.
Even with excellent genetics, all bodybuilders have to fulfill their calorie protein , carbs , fat requirements in order to grow. If their lifestyle does not support this then it might not be the best idea to compete until their day to day routines are steady, consistent, and calm example, if a newborn is on the way, or if they are expecting to move or relocate to a different job sometimes it is better to wait to start an offseason or precontest diet.
I am approximately 40 weeks out of competing in the Mr.
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