How To Peak for your show and WOW the Judges!!
Let me first say CONGRATULATIONS on your decision to get into the best shape of your life! The competition preparation process is a marathon and is 24/7 for months on end. Here are seven items to consider when preparing to compete!!
- NUTRITION (Eat clean and fuel your body for your specific purpose)….Hire a reputable coach who has successfully coached other competitors in this arena. Remember that those pre-competition diets you may be able to access online are not individualized and therefore may not be feasible for you. Also keep in mind that if you contact a prep coach 20 weeks out from a show, you will likely be a smaller version of the body you currently have. If you need to work on symmetry or add muscle you will need an “off” season plan.
- SLEEP (7-9 hours every night) you need MORE sleep during competition prep as many of you will be over-trained and undernourished for a period of time to fine tune your stage day physique.
- TRAINING – Training for bodybuilding regardless of what division you have selected is very different because you are not training for strength, speed, or functionality but for aesthetics. If you have lagging body parts, they will need to be trained more often or differently. Symmetry is the key. Pull up the standards of your division set by the organization you will compete in. What are the judges looking for in that division and how does your physique line up with those standards? Watch videos and study photos of those who have achieved great success in your division and assess how your body compares. Remember, every physique is different. Work on achieving YOUR best physique in line with the standards set for the division you chose.
- FLEXIBILITY (one of the most overlooked aspects of your regimen which can lead to injury, asymmetry, inability to pose gracefully, and major muscular imbalances). PLEASE incorporate flexibility training and/or yoga into your competition preparation.
- REST (We make the most gains during rest and recovery so if you do not rest as in getting sufficient sleep, taking rest days, balancing workout intensities, you will limit your progress tremendously!!)
- STAGE PRESENCE (Practice often and practice as if you were actually competing!!)
- If you are new to the sport, start learning to pose 12-20 weeks out or even earlier to make sure you have sufficient time to master your presentation skills.
- Take part in seminars and posing clinics in your area and/or hire a posing coach.
- Practice in your competition suit when you receive it to make sure it works for you. Give yourself time to make alterations.
- Focus on your breath..breathing can make the difference between appearing confident and looking like your having a seizure on stage!
- Ladies who compete in heels, WEAR your heels often…clean the house in them, make dinner in them, etc. (hubbies and boyfriends…thank me later)
- Bodybuilders, Classic Physique, and Women’s Physique competitors start learning your mandatories at least 4 months out and fine tune several times a week. The evening routine may not always be judged but don’t overlook it and make your routine up show week or on stage! Beside adding stress to your week, this is the part that YOUR friends and family come to see…ENTERTAIN…put some thought into it…and should there be a tie for first, ensure that the other guy gets dusted! I offer routine choreography for bodybuilders, classic physique, women’s physique and fitness categories.
- GET ORGANIZED– Register early, confirm reservations, have your plan with regard to tanning, hair, make up, suits, shoes, lashes, etc.
Remember ladies and gentlemen…you can be at your VERY best show day and NOT WOW the judges without proper practice of your stage presence, posing, and routines. You need to do BOTH…come in at your very best AND bring your “A” game on stage!!
IT’S HOW YOU SHOW UP AT THE SHOWDOWN THAT COUNTS!!!!
PEAKING
Peaking for show day means that you show up at your very best. For everyone that means different things depending upon division, genetics, how well you prepped leading into your peak week, and more but you want to be the closest you have EVER been to the descriptions of what the judges are looking for in each division.
You should be show ready at least one week before your show. You want very little subcutaneous water on show day. The week of the show is spent dialing in on the detail you have worked so hard to get. The trick is to remove the water from the skin and redistribute into the muscle cells for full muscle bellies otherwise you can appear flat or worse “fat” or “soft” retaining water in all the wrong places. The final 12-36 hours before your show, your body can make dramatic changes!! It is all how you play with the biological process between water and glycogen. This is different for everyone which is why having someone who knows bodybuilding nutrition and has become familiar with your specific response to macronutrient manipulation guide you but I am going to give you some basics.
Pre-show Tactics:
Carb Loading
Each gram of glycogen (stored sugar) holds about 3-4 g of water. When you deplete your body of carbs, and train anaerobically, your muscles become “starved” and flat. When you reintroduce carbs to increase the glycogen level, your muscles will draw water from underneath the skin making muscles more pronounced and full. This process can take anywhere from 8-72 hours. This carb-loading tactic is done often in the bodybuilding division where being ripped, striated, and dry with full muscles is the goal. Many women’s physique, figure and fitness women can also use this tactic because the majority of women fight to get the necessary muscle for the standard but there are certainly exceptions. Those who are very naturally muscular and are trying to fit into the new figure, fitness mold or even compete in bikini, must be very careful about water depletion, carb loading, etc. It is good to do a mock show about 4 weeks out to test out your body’s chemistry and how nutrients affect your overall look. The more shows you compete in, the better you and your coach will be able to fine tune your plan to peak perfectly.
Water depletion
There is a tremendous amount of science behind getting water out from beneath your skin and into your muscles to bring your leanest physique to stage. Whether you deplete or not and how much you deplete will depend upon your division, your body, your nutritionist or coach, and trial and error. Those of you doing Trifitness challenge have to sprint, climb obstacles, compete in bench press, box jumps, and possibly do a fitness routine so PLEASE do not water deplete. You will need to be well hydrated for those events. Once a schedule of events is posted, your nutrition and water intake will be governed for those days by your coach. If you are in bodybuilding or physique, you will very likely follow a tight water loading and depletion schedule but once again your coach/nutritionist will guide you. There are all kind of different tactics and methodologies out there but you must do what works for you which many times is trial and error. Risk of error can decrease with the guidance of a professional.
Training
Your training should taper down the week before the show because you want to be well rested, hormonally balanced (cortisol levels, adrenal glands, etc), and not over-trained. There will be no more FAT loss, muscle building, reshaping the body…the final week is all about fine tuning through circuit training and continuing a cardio regimen, sauna if necessary, sleep, tanning, posing practice, and honing in on the details of your nutrition.
Other considerations:
Confirm all appointments (hair, nails, make up, flights, hotel, show registration and details, tanning)
Have a back up suit!
If in a hotel, ask for a fridge and microwave when you reserve the room…know what you have to work with and be prepared.
To order my very thorough competition checklist, go to FitFxglobal.com/bodybuildingroadmap