Bodybuilding competitions for beginners – Contest prep guide and programs

In this article I’m going to discuss the ins and outs of contest prepping.

When it comes to contest prep diets and strategies for a bodybuilding show the most important factor for success is experience. No matter how much you know, putting it into practice is what is ultimately going to make you a great and successful bodybuilder or not.

From calculating how many weeks out you are from a show to PED’s, tanning, and peak weak strategies. Before you commit to a show however, make sure you learn about the bodybuilding league, how it works, the classes, and the competition world.

Although I go into depth on all the topics discussed, I’m going to start with the more popular topics. Feel free to jump around as you wish.

Bodybuilding cardio and competition prep hacks:

Cardio and competition prep are very similar topics in that they compliment each other. A good contest prep program will take your current situation and using S.M.A.R.T. goals will devise a proper program to help you reach whatever goal you have.

Where are you now? How much do you weigh? What is your body fat percentage? How much experience do you have weight lifting? Will you take a natural approach or not? How soon do you want to compete? These are all important.

In the Perfect Body Shape Formula, I take you through these questions in simple 4 step system. Check that out and see where you stand.

In terms of cardio for bodybuilding, here’s the biggest tip I can ever give you. Don’t do extreme amounts of cardio in order to rush goal. The old school mentality of putting in hours upon hours on a daily grind is very flawed in that it also includes extreme caloric deficits. Nowadays, we know how detrimental this is to not only your body but hormone levels and overall well-being. This is where proper programming comes to play.

Bodybuilding contest prep program:

Many coaches are going to give you a 12 week program where their only focus is to get you shredded. Not only will this destroy your metabolism, it’ll set you back many months and even years to where you could be if you did it right.

What’s the typical guru weight loss and contest prep formula?

  1. Go on a typical bodybuilding contest prep diet which essentially is a starvation diet. They don’t use any science to create a caloric intake plan. They simply say, men eat 1600 calories made up of 5 or more meals a day, eat 8oz of tilapia and 4oz of broccoli.
  2. Do the typical bodybuilding cardio where you go on a stairmaster for 1-2 hours.
  3. Drink 2 gallons of water a day even though you’re 12 weeks out.
  4. Most of the time, take a few under the counter supplements to “prevent muscle loss”.

I didn’t do the fourth but I did the first 3. It was the most miserable time of my life. The gurus will tell you that this is the only way and that you have to trust the plan. Luckily I only did it once and I was smart enough and educated enough to heal my body. Most people aren’t as fortunate.

Most people suffer enormous rebounds, are not functionally fit, and more then likely suffer from major injuries and stiffness. Those who were encouraged to take drugs to get on stage end up with hormonal issues and suffer side effects such as hair loss, E.D., unwanted genitalia growths, depression, and even death. Talk to any competitor who follows these programs about how the felt during their 12 week contest prep. Most will say it was a miserable and a nightmare but hey, trust the process.

Conclusion, of course you’re going to get shredded! But where are your microminerals? Where are your vitamins? Some of the vitamins are fat soluble how do you absorb those? You better take a whole lot of fiber because you will become constipated. By the way, look up how terrible tilapia is for you. Imagine doing this for 12 weeks!!!

My programs will not make you go through this. I do not encourage drugs. However, I do encourage HRT and TRT as prescribed by a physician if you feel you need it. I highly recommend you consult a HRT and TRT physician if you’re over 35 especially if you were encouraged to take drugs by a “guru”. This website is dedicated to sharing with you how I got to where I am today. I’m healthy, functional, and the most fit I ever been in my entire life. If you need help check out my personal training packages.

My methods apply to any fitness goals you have whether you’re a beginner or a professional athlete.

Your current vs ideal body fat will tell you how long you should give yourself to reach a specific goal. Once you reach a lean but healthy physique then begin your true competition contest prep. The truth of the matter is that if you do 60 minutes of weight training and 45 minutes of cardio 5-6x’s per week, you can reach any goal you wish. The time factor of when you’ll get on stage depends on what division you want to compete at and where you stand now with your lean mass.

Competition contest prep hack formula:

  1. Get your macros right.
  2. Eat towards your ideal BMR.
  3. Stay within a 500-800 caloric deficit per day.
  4. Don’t over do it with cardio.
  5. Get to around 12-14% body fat if male 18-20% body fat if female, before you go on an 8-12 week contest prep.

Need a coach, see training prices? See online packages:

bodybuilding-classic-physique
Bodybuilding – Classic Physique – 2016

The Perfect Body Shape Formula: check out the articles and videos:

What is: The Perfect Body Shape Formula – Build a great physique in 4 steps:

Video #1: How much should I weigh for my height?

Related steps:

Step 2: How to calculate body fat percentage | Skinfold caliper vs BMI (This will be used to calculate current body fat mass and current lean mass)

Prepped to Win

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Bodybuilding stage pics 2019

If you are, you’re probably going crazy about the day of the show. If you’re looking for the ultimate bodybuilding contest prep guide for amateurs, then you have come to the right place.

The weeks go by and the time to shine will be here in a flash. You may already be aware of some of the things that go on shows, but there’s quite a few things that you may not be aware of. In my book, “Prepped to Win” I answer just about any question you may have.

Whether you’ve competed in a bodybuilding show or not, you may have some if not all of the following contest prep questions:

  • How do I know how many weeks I need to get ready?
  •  How do I approach peak week
  • What are judges looking for?
  • What do you need to do on the day of show?
  • How do you choose a coach/guru?
  • What’s the best way to approach your training?
  • What does it take to win?
  • How can you get an edge?

You can Google all these answers but putting it all together is the hard part. You can look up a strength program and understand the principles but experience is what ultimately teaches you the most valuable lessons. When you hire a coach this is what you’re paying for. Experience is gained through mistakes. Costly mistakes. If you can afford to avoid them do so by working with someone who has been in the trenches.

Whether you’re on a women’s bikini contest prep, women’s figure contest prep, men’s physique prep, or open bodybuilding contest prep the approach to contest prepping should be the same. It’s about knowing what the criteria is for each division and working to meeting that criteria. Natural bodybuilding competitions are no different as the criteria for divisions is pretty much the same. As an experienced competitor I share with you all my secrets, experiences, and a few of my strategies.

All this is share it with you in my book, “Prepped to Win – How to Contest Prep”.

From how many weeks out you should be preparing, to choosing a coach, the place of drugs, to how you should approach peak week, and much much more.

Bodyfat (Skinfold measurement) vs body composition guide:

If you’re contest prepping and getting ready for a show, use the following categories to know where you stand. Check out the article about bodyfat measurements within the Perfect Body Shape Formula section above.

Using the body fat formula as described in the article, is a good guide to develop your program. Use it to calculate your nutrition and training regiments. You can also calculate how many weeks out more or less you are from getting on stage.

However, when you are about 2 – 4 weeks out, that becomes less useful because you are not concerned with planning for the ideal perfect body shape. You are now concerned with looking your best on stage. Being as lean as possible. You can’t work on shape and structure at this point. There are other things much more important to be concerned with.

Use the following guide to know where you stand and if you’re ready or not to step on stage based on what category you’re competing in.

In conclucion, forget about body fat percentage at this point. Measure the following nine points and take the average (Add up the measurements and divide by 9). Whatever result you get, find the range below and that’s where you stand.

The nine sites I recommend: Bicep, Tricep, Chest, Midaxillary, Love Handle, Adbominal, Supriliac, Thigh, Calf.

Use the following site to see more or less where the sites to pinch are. I avoid the subscapular because it’s extremely difficult to measure on your own, impossible for some like me, and I substitute with the Love Handle. You should know where the love handles are. =D

http://www.linear-software.com/online.html

Average skinfold measurement vs body composition description:

  • 1-5mm – If your average falls in this range, consider yourself ready to get on stage. In the fitness world we call that shredded. If you get this range and you have good structure and balance, you will do well at your competition. Look at the other article at the beginning of this article to further understand structure and balance. Striations are inevitable and you may even see some connecting fibers in areas such as the abdominals. This is the ideal range for women’s physique and bodybuilding. Nowadays, all men’s categories need to be around this range.
  • 5-8mm – If you fall in this range you are very lean. You will have a very well defined body and some may say you are shredded, but between you and me, we’ll reserve that for the aforementioned range. You will look great but it’s not optimal conditioning for a bodybuilding show. Speaking from experience, a competitor who doesn’t have better structure and balance then you, but is ultra lean, may place higher then you. Because it is such a fine line between the previous range and this one, you may think you are robbed, but be honest with yourself. Control what you can, and conditioning is one of them. Women’s bikini and wellness can do well in this range but may want to stay around 7-8mm average. Figure will do well but may want to be around 5-6mm.
  • 9-12mm – Lean but not shredded. This a great range to be at for athletic performance if you compete in competitions such as spartan runs, CrossFit, or mma. In my opinion, this is the ideal range in general for everyone. With the exception of women’s bikini, most competitors for all categories can be anywhere from 8-12 weeks out from stepping on stage at this range. This is the ideal range for women’s bikini competitors. Stay at the lower end of this range if you are competing in women’s bikini and or wellness.
  • 12-15mm – You are a normal looking person. You are healthy and by no means overweight. You will have a flat stomach and you might see some muscularity and definition on your body. It is not ideal for competition as you are carrying a little more weight which may tire you out. This should be the highest range you should get to as an athlete and for those in off-season. Many bodybuilding competitors after months of starvation extreme dieting, end up out of this range and into the 15-20mm range. Additionally, extreme dieting will also make it harder for you to even get back to this range. If you are getting ready for a competition, you can be anywhere from 16-20 weeks out depending on your program.
  • 16-20mm – From experience most of my clients in this range have been overweight or obese. I’ve been seen people with health BMI results but in this range for body fat. This is what we term skinny fat. You have to be very careful as you may see health problems starting to arise. You may also have a lot of visceral fat and a dirty liver. I’d considering doing a liver cleanse using dotFit’s lean pack, going on a weight loss fat loss program, and getting to the 12-15mm range first. If you do that without being stressed, then keep on going without going into extremes. Extreme dieting will put you right back here after a few weeks or months and may even put you in the above 20mm category. Be very careful, and I suggest getting yourself coaching. See my online training packages: Best Online Coach – Personal training program packages
  • Above 20mm – This is dangerous and you need to take action to reduce your body fat. Get yourself a training package and start working with me to get you back into the best shape of your life.

Peak week supplementation guide:

Bobybuilding Competition Beginners – National Physique Committee (NPC)

underwater-bodyfat-test-2015
Body fat percentage 3.2%

The NPC is the main platform for amateur and aspiring bodybuilding athletes to compete and potentially go pro.

If you compete in a national show and get a top placement, depending on which show, you may get a pro card. The IFBB is where you’ll be competing next. The IFBB stands for International Federation of Bodybuilding. 

In the NPC, there are more classes and divisions to compete in. When we refer to bodybuilding, you must understand that the term is used interchangeably between the art and the competition. 

Bodybuilding as an art is just you going out and working on your physique.

Bodybuilding as a sport, can be broken down into all the competitive categories.

Women have the option to compete in any of the following classes:

Bikini, Figure, Physique, Fitness, Bodybuilding is making a comeback, and recently added the Wellness division.

Muscularity and conditioning gets more intense as you go up the classes, with Bikini being the least muscular and conditioned. Don’t get me wrong, bikini women are still in spectacular shape they’re just not required to be muscular and ultra lean. Different requirements. 

As I discuss below, the journey of getting ready for a show I would say is very similar if not exact for women as it is for men. I’m sure there’s a few factors that may be different, but I’ve trained a couple of my female clients and I guided the same way I would guide myself. 

Women’s divisions, unlike men’s don’t have weight classes. Simply decide where you want to compete depending on how muscular you want to get and how extreme you’re willing to go with bodyfat levels. A very important thing to know, as bodyfat gets extreme for women, things such as period and other hormonal factors can get affected. 

If you are a woman wanting to compete, I highly suggest you read my book because the process is exactly as that of the men. In my opinion, like I tell both, my male and female competitors and even my normal client, never do anything in extreme. Extreme caloric deficits and extreme training regiments will only break you apart. In the long run, those methods will destroy you. 

Coaches will tell you, oh don’t worry, I do things different. We’ll carb cycle, and I’ll help you with your groceries and I’ll make period changes, etc… but in the end, it’s still extreme, it’s still unhealthy, and you’ll end up worse then when you started. Granted, you will be lean temporarily, for one or two shows, what about the rest of your life? Please, ready my book!

In the men’s divisions, following in the description of women, muscularity and conditioning get more intense.

Starting with Men’s Physique as the least muscular and conditioned, and moves up to Classic Physique, and then bodybuilding.

In the NPC, bodybuilding has different weight divisions depending on bodyweight. See the NPC requirements to see all the available bodybuilding weight class and divisions. 

Just like I mentioned above, don’t think the Men’s Physique categories aren’t in spectacular shape. Most of the professionals in Men’s Physique nowadays are as conditioned as the bodybuilders. The only thing that separates them is sheer muscle size. The classic Physique guys are right in the middle with more muscularity and development then men’s physique, but smaller then bodybuilders. 

In the pro level, only men’s classic physique has weight restrictions based on height. In open bodybuilding, there is no weight classes. You have the 212 and then the Open Class. The 212 means that no matter how tall you are, your weight limit is 212 lbs. This division is suitable for shorter competitors because they get to pack on a lot of muscle on a smaller frame. Most 212 athlete’s are under 5’7.

The most dominant competitors to date in the divisions are Jeremy Buendia for Men’s Physique, Breon Ainsley and Chris Bumstead for Classic Physique, Flex Lewis for the 212 division, and there’s a few Hall of Famers for Bodybuilding as it’s the oldest of all competitions. As of today, some of those all time hall of famers includes names such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ronnie Coleman, Jay Cutler, Phil Heath, Frank Zane, Sergio Oliva Sr., and Lee Haney. The bodybuilder with the most show wins ever is Dexter Jackson. 

Over the last few years,  both, men’s Physique and Classic Physique have grown massively becoming as big as Bodybuilding. In reality, they bring more fans to the Olympia weekend then bodybuilding. Let’s dive a little more in depth into the competitions so you can decide where you want to compete.

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Bodybuilding Physique – This is my off-season look in 2020, I weigh 170lbs, on Stage I’d have to get down to about 165lbs to barely make it into classic Physique

Men’s Physique vs Classic Physique vs Bodybuilding

The truth is that in today’s competition world, size, structure, and development are the things that matter. Extreme conditioning is now mandatory amongst all divisions. Most pro athletes are all conditioned to under 3% bodyfat when they’re on stage.

Men’s physique is for athlete’s who don’t want to have massive frames. They are more relatable to an everyday man and is the most drug free attainable division. Performance enhancement is a debate for another topic, but let’s just say the physiques of today are very hard to attain even in physique. In this division, athlete’s are required to wear board shorts taking having developed legs out of the equation. Many athlete’s in this division however have complete packages and could compete in Classic Physique if they wanted to.

In Classic Physique, athlete’s are bigger, more dense, and usually carry more muscle then those in Men’s Physique. At the pro level, most of these athlete’s are very close to their cut off weight in order to be as muscular as possible. Classic Physique Weight classes are based on an athlete’s height. Those competing in this class need to be very well balanced in terms of leg development and upper body development. They must have nice proportions from calves, to thighs, to glutes, small waist, big chest, big arms, and great conditioning. In this division, there are specific trunks that must be worn that resemble that of the Golden Era.

In men’s 212 and bodybuilding, it’s about packing on as much muscle into your frame as possible. In 212, even though there is a weight limit, 212 pounds of lean muscle into a 5’7 frame or shorter is as impressive as a 6’0 giant at 280-300 lbs. In the end, both, the 212 and the open class, are massive athlete’s. They wear bodybuilding trunks and the best of the best are complete from head to toe. Striated body parts and conditioning that is out of this world. 

How to get started in the NPC

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Bodybuilding stage pics 2019 – Never stop working. Never give up. You can only get better!

When I first competed, I didn’t give myself enough prep time to be competitive. I had some natural mass from years of lifting as an athlete and as a personal trainer, but that was it. I saw the Mr.Olympia for Physique from 2013, the first ever, and it inspired me to give it a try.

I worked hard to get my body fat down but 2 months is not nearly enough time to prepare. Having low body fat is only part of the equation. Other parts of the equation include building muscle mass in an aesthetic manner, big shoulders, good legs, chiseled abs, just to name a few features. 

Getting lean requires time but it’s something that can be calculated. In my book, Prepped to Win, I discuss how to go about that. To know where you should compete, you need to estimate how much lean mass you have and how close to the classic physique limits you are. If you are on the smaller side, I’d go with Men’s Physique. Be honest with yourself though because some type of muscularity is evaluated even at the amateur level. 

If you have a nice amount of muscle, then you can consider competing in Classic Physique. If you are too big and think you’d have a hard time making weight, I’d just jump into Open Bodybuilding. 

Whatever division you choose to compete in, please give yourself time to get conditioned. Estimate the amount of time it’ll take you to get to a certain bodyfat level, and respect that time frame. You don’t need a coach to achieve this. You just need common sense, you need to educate yourself on nutrition, and put in the work in the gym.

If you do get a coach, have one so that they can promote you and guide you but be careful not to fall into the extreme trap. Many gurus out there put you on an extreme bodybuilding competition diet, with an unnecessary and and dangerous caloric deficit so that you can make it to a show that “they” want you to compete in, not one that “you” SHOULD compete in. Don’t just “trust the process”. Use common sense and trust the right process.

Extreme dieting and training will hurt you in the long run. It’ll put you in starvation mode, throw your hormone balances off, and destroy your health. The same goes for PED’s. Taking PED’s is a decision you make depending how far you want to get, but I’d get good at doing it naturally first. When you understand how to do things naturally, PED’s will only help you get to another level even though I don’t condone the use of any. I am currently natural and plan on staying that way for the rest of my life. 

Posing

Posing is one of the most important parts of a competition.

What good is it to have a big upper body if you don’t know how to flex them. If you can’t flare your lats, how can you create that all so important V-shape?

Don’t get too caught up with percentages for how big muscles should be compared to others. Just train all your muscles and look at your progress month to month. If you fee you need work in a certain area, then work on that area. This is when it’s useful to have a coach or someone with experience look at you and tell you where your flaws are at. Bodybuilding though is a journey. In my experience, I will never lose love for the sport, but I also focus on being able to be functional. I train not only to look good, but to perform.

Top NPC Tips for Beginners

Here are my top tips for beginners in what I consider, in my opinion and experience, the most important factors to starting your career in physique.

1. If you are overweight, get your body fat down first to about 8-10%!

If you are just starting out and you are overweight, engage in high intensity workouts that last for 60 minutes, followed by 30 to 45 minutes of easy cardio to burn a few more calories without hurting all your joints.

Additionally, if you are just starting out, lifting heavy weights to build muscle mass may not be a good idea especially if you are doing it on your own. Lifting medium to light weights in high intensity exercises will still help you gain a little size, but it’ll also help a little strength on your joints and ligaments which will help you later on when you build mass with heavy weights.

In my book, Prepped to Win, I give you a formula to calculate how long it’ll take you to reach a certain bodyfat level depending where you are now. If you use that formula, it’ll give you a safe and realistic idea of when you’ll be ready to get on stage or at the very least, get to your next Phase of your bodybuilding journey.

2. Work on aesthetics but don’t get caught up with numbers

Some people are genetically blessed with small waists and really wide shoulders. Some are not. In addition to bodybuilding being a journey to build your best physique, it’s also the art of illusion. That’s where posing comes in. Focus on building the widest shoulders you can with muscle size, and getting as lean as possible so that you get a tight waist. Develop your lats to create a great v-taper, and put some mass on your legs. All this creates the illusion of a small waist even if you have a wider waist.

Jeremy Buendia won the Mr. Olympia with a shoulder circumference of 52 inches and a 27 inch waist. The second place and most competitors are usually around 29 inches in waist. You’re not Jeremy Buendia. Do the best you can with what you were blessed with.

3. Work on your Posing!

Posing is a major part of the competition. It can be the difference between a 1st and 5th place finish or worse. When you’re on stage, you’re going up against many guys who are very close in body fat and fitness level. Something has to catch the judges attention. Your presentation is critical so posing is a must.

My suggestion is to hire a coach in addition to studying the top competitors on Youtube. Knowing the mandatory poses not enough! You must be fluid, you must have rhythm,  and confidence. You must not shake on stage and learn to control your body. You must develop endurance because sometimes you can be out there posing for quite a while, especially if you’re fighting for a top spot.

Posing by itself has many other variables such as angles and other tricks to make your muscle stick out more. It is an art! Make sure you hire a coach or join a team that has had a lot of experience and success.

4. Educate Yourself:

Do as much research about health and fitness as you can. Don’t just rely on a coach to tell you what to do. From experience, many just want to feed you drugs, tell you to go on a starvation diet, and then get fat (BULK) in the off season.

At the bottom of this article I share with you a few books that I’ve read that greatly influenced me and have made me who I am today. In my book specifically, I share with you all the knowledge I got from those books, all the knowledge I’ve gathered from certifications, and my experience as a trainer for a decade now. I’ve also been competing in bodybuilding for 6 years now.

NPC for Beginners Conclusion

My biggest advice is to get started. Give yourself at least 5 months in advanced to work on the three tips I gave you above. If you are starting a little big overweight, then you need to give yourself more time.

Get yourself to about 8% body fat within 3 to 4 months of a competition. If you are way below the ideal measurements, then give yourself whatever amount of time is necessary to build the muscle mass. Depending on your genetics, your understanding of how weightlifting works, and your dedication, that’s what will determine when you will be ready.

There are other factors that will come to play on gameday, such as dryness, fullness, hardness, tanning, YES TANNING, and stage jeeters. All those things can only be improved through experience. So just get started.

I had no idea so much went into competition and thus, had I known better, I may have placed 1st in my amateur dayview instead of 4th.

But with that being said, I’m glad that I just got started because I made connections which have gotten me to where I am today.

Invest in a coach or team!

Even if you have to pay a small fee, the investment is worth every penny. Do you want to go out there and make a fool out of yourself, or do you want to be competitive? Do you want to have a fast learning curve by using the experience of others or do you want to try and do it all by yourself and take years and years of trial and error.

This sport is a science!

Don’t go at it by yourself. I’m a personal trainer with years of experience under my belt. I’ve helped countless of people reach their ultimate fitness but when it comes to competition, the game changes. It is a whole other world!

If you want to follow me journey, make sure you follow me on instagram at @fitness_adaptations.

FAQ – Bodybuilding contest prep – Males and Females

What is a bodybuilding contest prep diet?

The difference between a bodybuilding contest prep diet and an ordinary diet is that it is designed specifically to get a bodybuilder as lean as human possible within a certain period of time. A proper contest prep diet will allow the bodybuilder to get into a caloric deficit in order to lose the required amount of fat by stage day. Additionally, a bodybuilder wants to preserve as much lean mass during the process.

When should I start contest prep?

This question varies from person to person. In bodybuilding “conditioning” is a major variable that judges look for when choosing a winner. Typically that means that the body fat percentage will be under 4% at the highest levels of competition. In order to figure out how many weeks out you are, first figure out what your current body fat is. Once you know that, you can then estimate an approximate timeline. Use the Perfect Body Shape Formula to guide you and give you this approximate time frame.

How do bodybuilders eat for competition?

The truth of the matter is that you should eat depending on the goal. During the weeks leading to a competition, when a bodybuilder is trying to get lean, they should be focused on limiting inflammation, reducing stress, and creating the required deficit to get lean. During the off-season, bodybuilders should eat for maintenance and maybe a small surplus to allow them to train and improve on body parts. Many bodybuilders go on a high protein low carb diet and practice carb cycling, but in my opinion, that is an outdated and not so healthy approach.

What should a pre contest diet be like 4 weeks out?

At 4 weeks out you should be very close to being stage ready. You should start decreasing your caloric deficit depending where you are in regards to your body fat. If you are very close to your ideal conditioning, pushing in a extreme fashion will only start working against you.

How long is bodybuilding prep?

This depends on where you currently stand. Go with how many pounds of body fat you need to lose. If you need to lose 16 pounds of body fat to reach your goal, then you should prep for 20 weeks. Give yourself an extra 4 weeks in order to make any adjustments and get to the goal without having to do anything unusual.

What do bodybuilders eat on competition day?

On stage day, most bodybuilders eat a lot of carbs and protein in order to fill out and get as dry as possible. Simple carbs are best in order to get the body to break down and absorb glycogen into the muscles as soon as possible.

How do you lean out for a competition fast?

The only way to lean out fast is to increase your caloric deficit. The problem with leaning out fast is that you will not be able to sustain the effort and you’ll suffer an enormous rebound. You will have done the work for nothing. However, if you need to lean out fast because you’re close to competition day and you’re behind on your goal, you can increase your cardio output. You can lower your calories but that’s the last resort I’d recommend.

How do bodybuilders cut water weight?

The process for cutting water is called water loading. Usually 10 days before the competition you start drinking anywhere from 1.5 to 3 gallons of water daily depending on your body weight. About 3 days from the competition, you reduce your water intake strategically to allow water to be expelled. The use of diuretics is very popular but if used incorrectly can have an adverse affect. Make sure you are under the care of physician if you go with the use of diuretics.

How do I start bodybuilding?

First figure out where you are currently in terms of body shape. Use the charts in the ideal body weight formula. Then figure out what category you want to compete in. Depending where you are now, you’ll have to lean out and build enough muscle for that category. Do your research about the competition leagues and how the process works. Do some reading about the ins and outs of competition day. It is a whole event in itself. Check out Prepped to Win to get an idea and for some general guidelines.

How a woman can build lean muscle?

The science of building muscle is the same for everyone. You must lift heavy enough to do muscle tissue damage and then let it recover. Repeat this process increasing the load as you get stronger. Muscle building is known as hypertrophy training. This type of training has specific loads, reps, and rest periods. The biggest results in hypertrophy come from the training of Type 2 fibers. Type 1 fibers are smaller and though they should also be worked on, will not yield the amount of lean mass you may be after.

How long do bodybuilders workout a day?

This depends on what the goal is. Hypertrophy training can take a couple hours a day. During contest prep this training time may be higher because cardio is added in order to reach a certain caloric deficit. However, during contest season, the workout may change as well and because more reps and less rest is the more common routine, less time is spent training with weights. On average, expect bodybuilders to train 2-3 hours a day.

What is peak week?

The last 7 days before stepping on stage is considered peak week. This is the time where bodybuiders strategize to create the best possible physique possible to get on stage. The idea is to manipulate both the diet and water intake so that on stage day, the bodybuilder will create a look that is full and dry. Fullness refers to glycogen in the muscle and dryness gives a more ripped and shredded appearance to the bodybuilder. A bad peak week can mean the difference between winning a show and ending up in 2nd or 3rd callouts.

Check out these other topics and books that I highly recommend:

Useful training posts to maximize your results:

The ultimate and most complete Health and Fitness Resources:

Fitness for Life 5 day articles:

Learn to control your calories, hunger, and making nutrition a lifestyle by learning about my 96 hour fast weight loss results, low carb diets such as ketogenic, what is keto for beginners, get low carb ideas and mix that up with an optimal amount of carbs using the Fat Cycling Method, Fat Cycling Diet? Keto ish Weight loss system.

Once your nutrition is programmed, then learn to workout. How should you be working out to get your ideal body type? How heavy? How many reps? How much rest? If you want to workout from home check out Gymming at Home – Essential Equipment to get my recommendations for tools, equipment, and workout schedule for my YouTube workouts. Make sure you check out my treadmill reviews if you are interested in starting off your journey by walking or jogging the weight off. I give you tips and guidelines to get the best results.

Make sure you compliment your nutrition plan with a full supplementation guide:

One of the most important tools to help you on your journey are tools that will help you track your daily goals, best fitness tracker with heart rate monitor, whether it’s the Fitbit Charge 4, Whoop Strap 3.0 review, or calorie intake app.

After your workout, make sure you clean up. Want to make it easy? Check out the Microfiber Duster Mop Slippers Review.

Do you want to become a personal trainer? Check out my how to become a personal trainer article where I give you advice, tips, and resources to get you started.

Check out our top articles to maximize your fitness success: