Getting Contest Ready

[eljggq...@yahoo.com]

Ah yes, contest season is just around the corner. While browsing
fitness and bodybuilding forums, I find it common for new competitors
to be completely lost in an abundance of information.
Information overload can destroy your best intentions. Many
individuals that are new to the fitness sport gather a ton of quality
information. While this is good, the downfall is that they use every
method they have outlined, leaving no back up sources for when a
plateau strikes.
Let's discuss some guidelines.
Consistent Off-Season Diet - You can't realistically look 100% on
contest day if you haven't maintained a clean and consistent off-
season diet. You can't go from eating pizza and burgers all winter and
attempt to clean it up come January and expect to enter a show in May.
While you may make some physical changes, you won't be in the shape
you could have been if you ate well in the off-season. Off-season is
the time to build muscle quality and density. It's extremely difficult
to attempt to build density and lose body fat at the last minute.
Last Minute Preparation - This can fall under the lines of the above
to some degree, but what I'm putting emphasis on here are those who
decide on a contest at the last minute, thinking they can start from
scratch and prepare in twelve weeks. Contest preparation and competing
on stage takes time, effort, and vision. While I have seen many take
the last minute approach, it's quite obvious they were not prepared
and just competed for the sake of saying, "I did it".
Cutting Carbohydrates - Granted, limiting and even restricting
carbohydrates will lean you up, get you hard, defined and detail your
physique, but many, too many people go about this in the wrong manner.
You can't realistically cut carbohydrates until you have them in your
diet first. The best approach for reducing carbohydrates and lose body
fat is to cycle the carbohydrates down slowly. This way you are always
presenting something new to the body and it keeps the body responding
by shedding fat. By the time you are in your final week of dieting,
you will be on very low carbohydrates and showing a great amount of
detail. However, you can't get to this point overnight. Dieting down
properly takes time and it should follow a formula.
Supplementing - Supplementing your diet is crucial if you are planning
to compete. When you prepare for a contest, you are putting your body
under a great deal of stress mentally, physically, and nutritionally.
You must compensate with supplements that provide nutrients, such as a
quality vitamin/mineral. Adding sports nutrition supplements to aid in
muscle growth and recovery, as well as fat burning will be a plus.
Such products would include an array of metabolism kickers, glutamine,
creatine, and HMB.
Cardio - Cardio is a tactic many people employ, thinking it will get
them ripped. While cardio is wonderful for the cardio-pulmonary
system, too much can destroy muscle gains and put you into over-
training mode. Many novices start off with a terrible amount of
cardio, up to an hour or two a day the first month. When the body
adapts to this amount of exertion, what does it have to fall back on?
Three hours a day? A better approach would be to start your cardio 16
to 20 weeks before the show, starting with three days of 15 to 20
minutes and build on that every week in a slow manner. This way you
have a backup method.
Last Minute Fatal Tricks - This is the deadly downfall to 90% of the
newbie's and even some veteran competitors. Last minute fatal tricks
can destroy you on contest day. Don't get this confused with last
minute tactics employed to further prepare you for contest day. A
fatal trick will be something along the lines of loading creatine the
week before a show or eating a dozen donuts the night before. Yes,
I've seen these "tricks" used before and it will destroy a ready
physique in a matter of hours.
General Steps To Take for Getting Contest Ready
Eat well year around. When a contest is about 24 weeks away, begin to
clean up your diet by eliminating any obvious junk food you may sneak
in during the day. Limit your bread and dairy intake as well.
After a few weeks of general cleaning up, start tracking your calories
to find your caloric baseline. Take your stats and design a diet based
on your lean body mass and activity level. Make sure you feed your
body a complete meal every three hours.
Add cardio to the equation. Start off on the low and progress slowly
each week. Don't overload the body with too much cardio too soon.
Tweak your diet only when it shows no positive results. A tweak would
be considered something minor, such as lowering the carbohydrates, or
adjusting the calories, or changing the cardio. Do not do all at the
same time. Use only one tactic at a time.
If you simply cannot make proper adjustments, hire a trainer. It's far
better to have a watchful eye over you than for you to destroy your
own plan at the last minute when panic strikes. While your trainer's
plan my not appear effective on paper, you must have faith in them.
Preparing for a contest is a far different avenue than general dieting
and it can have many unfamiliar faces.
In Summary to Getting Contest Ready
Getting into contest shape is not an overnight process. You have to
prepare wisely. No amount of tricks can help if you didn't do your
homework off-season or in contest-prep mode. Look for changes in your
physique each week or two by comparing pictures. Stay true and honest
to yourself and your program and you will be your best on contest day.