aspiring figure competitor - confused

[jstar]

Hello,
I am going to compete in my first figure competition next year. I have 9 mos to prepare. I am 130 lbs, 22% bodyfat at 5'8". I would like to compete at 130 lbs, 9 %.
Is this a reasonable goal? If not, does anyone know what a realistic goal would be?
Basically this means I have to gain 17lbs of muscle and lose 17lbs of fat to meet my goal. I have 1 hour a day to train and access to a gym full of equipment. Basically, I want a plan to focus on for the next 9 mos. How should I divide my time between gaining muscle and losing fat? What should my diet look like in terms of cals, carbs, protein, fat? How much cardio?

I know you are going to ask: what am I eating now. what is my training like now. what is my cardio like now. To be honest I have no specific plan. I hear/read all kinds of advice on this stuff (as everyone does) and suffer from paralysis of analysis, a.k.a information overload!! I don't want to do any extreme cutting or bulking plan. I have nine months and want to achieve the best body I can in that time without sacraficing my sanity (if that is possible..lol). For the most part I have been working out for 7 years doing cardio/weights but since I am either undereating (dieting) or overeating (junk food) I haven't seen any major changes. I generally follow a split routine 3-5 times a week, usually 2 bodyparts per day. I vary the weights, reps, sets and jump from one program to the next. Cardio I do after weights usually for 30 minutes a few times a week. Sometimes I do a longer session og 45-60 minutes a few times a week as well if I am trying to lose fat. I am sorry this is so vague, but I am very confused as to what to do, as I said. I know too little food + too much cardio = muscle wasting and I also know that too many calories and/or too much junk food (ie simple carbs, etc) = too much fat. I eat anywhere from 1500 to 1800 cal Mon thru Fri. I find its easier during the week because my day is planned around work. My meals are scheduled around work and I go to the gym in the evenings. On the weekends I am less structured and tend to binge on junk. Sometimes a lot of calories. (5000+) Not something I'm proud of, but hey I am being honest. It is not a planned cheat but this is what happens. I really am serious though about competing and know that I have 9 months to train right and eat right and reach this goal. Can anyone help me.
thx

 

[MS]

Unless you'r planning some pretty decent AAS cycles, I think you should change your goals. You can still compete in 9 months, but you prolly won't be 130lb @ 9% for your first show. Make that your goal for a couple of years down the track. The benefits of competing is that you should find it much easier to gain LBM with less fat if you're starting at 9%bf. You current goal would require you to average a 1/2lb per week of muscle gain with a 1/2lb fat loss for the next 36 weeks. To even think about accomplishing this, you would need to gain something like a pound of muscle (without any fat gain) per week for 20 weeks, then lose a 1 pound per week of fat (with almost no muscle loss) for another 16 weeks. Pretty unlikely for a female without steroids.

No matter how you decide to go about your goal, one thing is perfectly clear. You'll need to eat more and smarter. The calories you're eating at the moment are more suitable to dieting than muscle gains. Also, can you tell us more about your EXACT diet (number of meals, size, carbs, protein, fat, types of foods, workout nutrition etc...)

 

[jstar]

thanks MS. that was my train of thought too. I do not and will not take steroids at all so I will have to change my goals. what is possible in 9 mos though? Maybe setting a goal of trying to gain 10 lbs of muscle and then losing the fat? this is the problem. how much of this time do I devote to each activity to get to where I want to be?

No matter how you decide to go about your goal, one thing is
perfectly clear. You'll need to eat more and smarter.

Okay, duly noted. How much more should I start off with? I know it's highly individual but I need a base starting point.

The calories you're eating at the moment are more suitable to dieting than muscle gains.

I guess I was thinking I should diet now to say 12%, then concentrate on muscle gains, then cut again before the contest. I am having a hard time figuring out the right order of events...

Also, can you tell us more about your EXACT diet
(number of meals, size, carbs, protein, fat, types of foods, workout
nutrition etc...)

I wish I could MS, would make my life a lot easier. I really don't follow anything consistently but if I am dieting I always break my diet by having some carbs which leads to junk, and a binge. this happens once or twice a week. I know its related to dieting and also to boredom at times but I am getting help with these issues. It seems to be happening less often as I am becoming more aware of my reasons for doing it and knowing that doing it gets me further and further away from my dreams of competing. I just want to know how much I should eat and how to plan my diet over the course of the next nine months to gain muscle and lose fat. If you can help me set up a basic guideline i.e., # cals, macros I can post a sample diet for you to critique. Also, how much cardio and weight training should I do?

 

[Sassy69]

Since you have 9 months to prep, this will give you some time to really focus on your diet and see what works & what doesn't. Also because figure gives you more leeway than bb does to get to "comp condition" (i.e. you dont' have to be a really low bf), dont' get too hung up on goal weights and bf. Shoot for somethign around 12% and see how you look. Often the bigger problem is tryign to get the right proportions -- for ex. you realize your shoulders are just naturally smaller or your waist is wider and then you dont' get the nice V-shape that other girls can pull off. Set your goals on a shorter time period so you can achieve them and also see how you are progressing -- its hard to see 9 months down the road if you are having a hard time keeping a tight diet now. And you dont' want to get caught trying to get a certain result in a short period of time. Since you have the time to experiement, try getting your bf down to like 14% and see how carb cycling or whatever works for you.

 

[MS]

Personally I think you will make the quickest progress by training more as a powerlifter and eating clean as per spatts carb cycling method. I wouldn't really worry about the scales at all, just focus on getting as strong as you possibly can while eating a good diet. Substitute cardio for interval training and see how you look and feel in a couple of months. Now where is that link to spatts diet when you need it........

I also agree that you shouldn't focus on something like 9%bf. If you can get to ~12%bf from 22%bf in 9 months, that will be a great success story, but don't wait to try and lose 10%bf in the last couple of months. The above powerlifting/eating plan should help you shed some fat AND gain some muscle.

 

[Sassy69]

Here's a thread that has Spatts' cutting plan link, training split, etc. Check down about 7-8 posts and you can get a good starting point.

http://boards.elitefitness.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=159134&highlight=cutting+training

I would also suggest going to see as many figure shows as you can so you have a realistic idea of what exactly a figure show is and how they judge it. For example, they "say" to not get hard or big, but you really need to see what sort of bodies the judges are looking for in practice. But also understand that it seems the judges are not often consistent in what exactly they are looking for -- the sad reality is that there is a lot of politics that goes on behind the scenes at some of these shows so even the most dedicated, best looking competitor may not win due to either not knowing the "right" judges or not being well-known enough or sucking the right dicks or whatever. Its not totally rampant, but it seems to be one facet of judging. But anyway, my point is to go check some of the shows out and maybe talk to some of the competitors to see what they have to say. You might also meet a good trainer in the process.

 

[jstar]

Hey Sassy, thanks for the advice. Do you compete in figure or have you seen any shows? I have never even been to any type of show. Another thing to put on my list of to dos before this comp.

I feel good that I do have enough time to get my act together and do this. Focusing is the hardest part for me. I am one to start something but never follow through, ugh. Doing this comp is a big deal to me...

Alright, having said that I have taken your advice and I am going to focus on getting lean for now (14% as a goal). That was a good point you had about proportions...I will keep the V-taper in mind, I know that is one thing the judges really look for. I also like that you said I should set smaller, short term goals on the way to my BIG goal. This is a rough idea of what I am thinking I need to do over the next 40 weeks:

1) Get my bodyfat tested.
22% was just a guesstimate. I stopped having them done because the one at my gym was giving me all kinds of different numbers. I know a place (my old gym) where I can get it tested and I think their results are far more accurate. I am will do this before 8/1.
2) The results of #1 will determine the length of my diet. (with the goal being about 14% for now). I am going to start my diet on 8/1 and try for 1-1.5 lbs loss per week. I should reach my goal sometime in November.
3) From Nov through Feb my goal will be to gain as much muscle as I can with minimal gains in bodyfat.
4) March 1st I will assess where I am at. At that point I will be 10 weeks out so I may decided to begin the pre-comp diet at that point.

During this whole time I plan to get my bf checked every 2 to 3 weeks to make sure I am staying on track.

I am working on a diet..will post that later for you guys.

thx

 

[MS]

The first step in achieveing any goal is to have a plan, so you're off to a good start. Just be careful about overfocusing on fatloss at this stage. It's better to decrease your PERCENT bodyfat by increasing your relative lean mass. With an emphasis on strength training without drastic calorie restrictions, it's possible to add significant amounts of muscle without gaining fat. Lets' say you're 20% fat at 130lbs right now. If you gain 10lbs of muscle without any additional fat gain, you're now down to 18%bf even though you've GAINED weight. If you eat and train well, you may also find your metabolism increases, allowing you to actually shed some fat while adding mass. What I'm saying is that you don't need to focus on fatloss.....at this stage it will be counterproductive to your longer term goal which should be to gain muscle. As a novice competitor with a decent starting %bf, you will never be in a better position to gain muscle while losing fat. Once you get leaner, it gets harder to do this, and it also gets harder the more experienced you are. Train ultra hard and keep the diet clean clean clean and replace that fat with muscle.

 

[fitbitch]

This is [email protected] cant use my screen name. I compete in figure..going on my second year this year. I just did a show this weekend...I got 1st place in my class and the overall at the nationals in pittsburgh. I came in around %9bf...I was lean..but not extremely hard looking...there were some soft bodies there...they like you in shape..good muscle shape..but not that of a bodybuilder...Dont worry so much on the numbers...i never step on the scale...about once a month if that..go by your bodyfat and how you look in the mirror...the numbers are only numbers...the judges dont care...its a look...take your body and put it in the best possible condition and go from there..you will get better with every show you do...it takes time and practice...be patient and set realistic goals for yourself. if you have any other questions i would be glad to help ya

 

[NubianBeauty]

Congrats new@!!