More and more women are venturing onto the competitive stage, be it figure, fitness or bodybuilding. There is a desire to show your hard work and dedication. The sport of physics racing is growing by leaps and bounds, but it’s not limited to a pristine few. Competing is for all those who have the will, desire and a positive attitude.
So now the golden question is, do you have what it takes to compete? If you don’t know, let’s go over some key points.
· Have you been training for more than a year?
· Is your body fat 25% or less?
· Can you eat strictly?
· Can you resist temptation?
· Can you be true to yourself?
· Can you set and achieve goals?
Are you willing to put in the necessary time for training and diet?
· Can you handle the stress of contest preparation?
· Can you prepare yourself or do you need a coach?
These are just some of the basic questions to get started. There’s a whole other field to contest preparation that involves body assessment, training, cardio, diet, mental preparation, and much, much more.
wait in the contest
You might want to attend a local bodybuilding show in your area to see what real competitors are really like. She may be surprised to find that they may not be huge, with bulging, shredded muscles. Most are average in excellent condition and the added skin tint and bright stage lights create an enhanced illusion.
Too many people have the preconception that bodybuilders, or any other competitor, need to be completely flawless. Let me tell you, everyone up there has weak body parts and strong body parts. The competitor’s job is to hide their weaknesses and enhance their strengths.
Take note of each category that competes, and how they walk on stage, how they pose, and their relationship with the judges and audience. Take your own personal score sheet and see how each one rates against the judges.
In addition to attending a local contest, you’ll be less likely to compare yourself to professional-level athletes and create unrealistic expectations of yourself.
body type
First, take a look at your body type. Are you an ectomorph, mesomorph or endomorph? Determining your body type serves as a guide for creating a diet, training, and cardio plan. Notice I said guideline and not the determining factor of diet and training.
If you’re an ectomorph, you’re hard to win, just like me. You will greatly benefit from more calories from clean food by training approximately 3-4 days a week, using heavy loads in the 4-8 rep range. The idea is to build muscle on that small frame. Keep a close eye on cardio to make sure you haven’t overdo it.
If you’re a mesomorph, I envy you. You are genetically gifted and muscle gains come easy. Keep eating healthy and train about 4 days a week with varying sets and reps as well as exercises. Constant shock works well on this body type. Cardio doesn’t have to be too strenuous, maybe up the intensity around eight weeks.
An endomorph gains weight easily and has a hard time losing fat. Diet is the most important thing. This body type needs more training sessions and cardio to rev up the metabolism and keep it there. The training should be about 5 times a week and the cardio 5 to 6 times a week.
Take statistics and look in the mirror
Taking stats (weight and body fat percentage) is another guide on the road to the competitive stage. While having good, accurate numbers is effective in getting you in contest shape, don’t get too hung up on them. I have seen women literally stress over their numbers to the point where the stress they create ceases.
Many people, knowing better, look at the scale so intently, and when they gain weight, they don’t realize it’s muscle weight gain. This is a good thing. I don’t care what you weigh on stage, that doesn’t matter. Your goal should be to reduce body fat, not just climb the weight.
Physics shows are the sport of illusion. That being said, you should also focus on the mirror, how your clothes fit, and the feedback you get from a trained eye.
I have competed in 106 and placed 3rd before, 122 and placed 2nd, and 115 and 117 and placed 1st and won overall. It’s not about how much you weigh, it’s about how you look and how low you drop your body fat, without looking stretched out.
There’s a lot to cover when it comes to getting your body to the competitive level, but you can do it. You just have to have the will to do it. How bad do you want it?
So before you think you can’t, think again.