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aspiring figure competitor - confused
- Thread starter jstar
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Sassy69
New member
Jstar -
I've done a couple bb shows is all. I've seen a couple of figure shows as well and the entrants are a wide array of people who do and don't know what they are doing. Everything from cute little beach bodies & "dancers" to ex bb's trying to drop some weight from their last heavy cycle. The girls who win are lean & tight, look like fitness competitors, generally have implants and are very photogenic. This is my general observation so far. Locally its still a little weird because I still think judges aren't really clear or consistent with the judging criteria, though they are getting better.
Your plan sounds good -- I would suggest just starting on it and see how it goes. Its hard to focus on a show goal that is a long way out, but by the same token, its hard to get results quick if you start too late. Since you also have to establish the habit of following a diet & trainign regimen, let yourself get used to that as well. And just keep going. CHeck & refocus your goals as you go. And as I said, find other people who are figure competitiors to help you and provide insight & support along the way!
I've done a couple bb shows is all. I've seen a couple of figure shows as well and the entrants are a wide array of people who do and don't know what they are doing. Everything from cute little beach bodies & "dancers" to ex bb's trying to drop some weight from their last heavy cycle. The girls who win are lean & tight, look like fitness competitors, generally have implants and are very photogenic. This is my general observation so far. Locally its still a little weird because I still think judges aren't really clear or consistent with the judging criteria, though they are getting better.
Your plan sounds good -- I would suggest just starting on it and see how it goes. Its hard to focus on a show goal that is a long way out, but by the same token, its hard to get results quick if you start too late. Since you also have to establish the habit of following a diet & trainign regimen, let yourself get used to that as well. And just keep going. CHeck & refocus your goals as you go. And as I said, find other people who are figure competitiors to help you and provide insight & support along the way!
Thanks Sassy and NB
J-star- If you are serious about competing i would hook up with a good solid trainer to get you headed in the right direction. I would try to find people locally that compete in Figure or know what you need to do to prepare yourself. You can find tons of info on here regarding suits, tanning, and diets etc. But you have to remember what works for me may not work for you. You have a different activity level and body..you have to find out what works BEST for YOUR body. This takes time and practice. You need to cut out the binging on junk food and empty calories on your weekends. Dont mess up the week with a bunch of junk. You are several months out so I would allow myself 1 cheat meal on the weekend. Not crap all weekend but 1 meal. This will help shock the metabolism and keep you from craving and cheating on your diet. Keep your water intake at 1-1.5 gallons a day. Are you taking any thermogenics? Get to training heavy and hard. I would keep my protein intake HIGH...lots of chicken, tuna, egg whites, fish, lean red meat, turkey breasts etc. The carb rotation works..I use that myself. You also want to find someone that can help you with posing. I am telling you PRESENTATION is like 80% of it...you can have a killer body but if you dont have good stage presence...it wont matter. Start practicing now so you are comfortable..it takes TIME to learn and get down. I would also check out some local shows and see what it is all about. The contest prep is mostly mental...it takes consistency and 100% effort on your part...you have plenty of time..take advantage ofit!
J-star- If you are serious about competing i would hook up with a good solid trainer to get you headed in the right direction. I would try to find people locally that compete in Figure or know what you need to do to prepare yourself. You can find tons of info on here regarding suits, tanning, and diets etc. But you have to remember what works for me may not work for you. You have a different activity level and body..you have to find out what works BEST for YOUR body. This takes time and practice. You need to cut out the binging on junk food and empty calories on your weekends. Dont mess up the week with a bunch of junk. You are several months out so I would allow myself 1 cheat meal on the weekend. Not crap all weekend but 1 meal. This will help shock the metabolism and keep you from craving and cheating on your diet. Keep your water intake at 1-1.5 gallons a day. Are you taking any thermogenics? Get to training heavy and hard. I would keep my protein intake HIGH...lots of chicken, tuna, egg whites, fish, lean red meat, turkey breasts etc. The carb rotation works..I use that myself. You also want to find someone that can help you with posing. I am telling you PRESENTATION is like 80% of it...you can have a killer body but if you dont have good stage presence...it wont matter. Start practicing now so you are comfortable..it takes TIME to learn and get down. I would also check out some local shows and see what it is all about. The contest prep is mostly mental...it takes consistency and 100% effort on your part...you have plenty of time..take advantage ofit!
Sassy69
New member
Yep -- that's the best advice u can take right now. The biggest challenge of competition is the diet - and the best way to do the diet is to get it to fit into your lifestyle. That just takes time because you first of all have to get it to fit your daily schedule (eating 5-6 x/day, prep time and then adjusting your social schedule to make room for the cheat meal).
Let's also not forget that you have the Xmas holiday right in the middle of your schedule - so you need to adjust for that as well.
But having people around you for support is really motivating and makes it more fun to train when there are people around you who actually give a crap how you look or how your training session went or can pull you back on the wagon when you fall off
Let's also not forget that you have the Xmas holiday right in the middle of your schedule - so you need to adjust for that as well.
But having people around you for support is really motivating and makes it more fun to train when there are people around you who actually give a crap how you look or how your training session went or can pull you back on the wagon when you fall off
Hey guys thanks for all the replies! You don't know how much ya'll are helping me out.
New@ = congrats! that is a great achievement! keep up the good (a.k.a hard) work
I will take a look into going to see some figure shows. The majority seem to be in the spring around where I live. Even if I can go to a bb or fitness show soon I would still benefit from going because technically in the figure comp they are suppose to be looking for people who have bodies similar to fitness competitors - but since it's so new I guess each competition might be focusing in on different qualities. In the show I am planning to compete in the figure winner this year had a lean, hard bod, abs and shoulders. (no implants) I will find more shows to attend though. It would help keep me focused and inspired anyways.
Sassy, thanks for the link to Spatts cutting diet. I put together a plan of my own incorporating my own version of carb rotation. Higher carbs on training days and lower on non-training days I will post it later, but I hafta start getting ready for work.
I plan to follow the "7/70" program posted on www.bodybuildingworld.com
Basically its 2 on 1 off, 1 on 1 off
reps between 5-7 or 7-9 (some sets get to 3-5)
4 to 5 sets on most exercises
My "off" days will be my low carb days. I will also do cardio on those days too.
I will post all the details later today. Have a great day everybody
New@ = congrats! that is a great achievement! keep up the good (a.k.a hard) work
I will take a look into going to see some figure shows. The majority seem to be in the spring around where I live. Even if I can go to a bb or fitness show soon I would still benefit from going because technically in the figure comp they are suppose to be looking for people who have bodies similar to fitness competitors - but since it's so new I guess each competition might be focusing in on different qualities. In the show I am planning to compete in the figure winner this year had a lean, hard bod, abs and shoulders. (no implants) I will find more shows to attend though. It would help keep me focused and inspired anyways.
Sassy, thanks for the link to Spatts cutting diet. I put together a plan of my own incorporating my own version of carb rotation. Higher carbs on training days and lower on non-training days I will post it later, but I hafta start getting ready for work.
I plan to follow the "7/70" program posted on www.bodybuildingworld.com
Basically its 2 on 1 off, 1 on 1 off
reps between 5-7 or 7-9 (some sets get to 3-5)
4 to 5 sets on most exercises
My "off" days will be my low carb days. I will also do cardio on those days too.
I will post all the details later today. Have a great day everybody
VeggieLifterChick
New member
This is such an informative thread! I have been thinking about competing in figure for the first time too, JStar. I have the same stats as you except I am 5'4''/5'5'' and medium/big boned. I have learned a lot about what works for me by hanging around Elite and trying out new ideas. That sounds like an awesome goal and a realistic plan. Can't wait to hear the details!
I hope you won't be offended by me butting in here and asking if my goals are realistic. There is a contest 15 weeks from now that I would love to compete in. I would like to gain a little more muscle - 7 lbs worth, and shed down to 14% bf. That means I would need to lose 7 lbs of fat and gain 7 lbs of muscle. If I lost 1.5 lbs a week, which is what I generally lose on 1650 kcal and 40/40/20, I could shed it within 5 weeks. I know that I gain muscle pretty easily on 1850 kcal and 40/40/20, and I think 12 weeks including the 5 weeks of fat loss would be enough time to do it. I would of course also use carb rotation.
MS, Sassy, New@ (FitBitch), what do you all think?
And one other point I wanted to bring up - what do you think about having someone guide you/consult/mentor along the way? Is it necessary or do you think that Elite takes up that space? Any thoughts? Experiences?
I hope you won't be offended by me butting in here and asking if my goals are realistic. There is a contest 15 weeks from now that I would love to compete in. I would like to gain a little more muscle - 7 lbs worth, and shed down to 14% bf. That means I would need to lose 7 lbs of fat and gain 7 lbs of muscle. If I lost 1.5 lbs a week, which is what I generally lose on 1650 kcal and 40/40/20, I could shed it within 5 weeks. I know that I gain muscle pretty easily on 1850 kcal and 40/40/20, and I think 12 weeks including the 5 weeks of fat loss would be enough time to do it. I would of course also use carb rotation.
MS, Sassy, New@ (FitBitch), what do you all think?
And one other point I wanted to bring up - what do you think about having someone guide you/consult/mentor along the way? Is it necessary or do you think that Elite takes up that space? Any thoughts? Experiences?
As MS mentioned, accomplishing your goals requires a good plan to follow. However, in your case, I think the opposite is also very true as well in that following a good plan is a lot easier with some sort of goal in mind. Since you mentioned that you usually start out well, but never 'finish through', having this competition as a goal will inspire you to 'follow through'.
Also, throw away the damn scale!!!
Do not shoot for a desired bodyweight. Instead, like the others mentioned, just get as far as you can with your results and be happy with that. Go by how you look instead of how much you weigh.
I do like the advise on attending a few shows to get an idea of what you are faced with....
That is about all i can add because i have never been to any show either. Just my 2 cents.
BMJ
Also, throw away the damn scale!!!
Do not shoot for a desired bodyweight. Instead, like the others mentioned, just get as far as you can with your results and be happy with that. Go by how you look instead of how much you weigh.
I do like the advise on attending a few shows to get an idea of what you are faced with....
That is about all i can add because i have never been to any show either. Just my 2 cents.
BMJ
Sassy69
New member
I agree w/ BMJ -- I guess when you are setting up your plans, having some numbers to calculate with helps, though dont' live and die by the numbers. At the end of the day, its how you look. I competed at what the calipers said was 8.6% bf for a bb show - but guess what? My ass still had a wiggle in it and my legs barely showed any cuts.
For this reason I feel that it is good to have someone work with you who can provide some critical judgement as to how you look. If you do it yourself, you may have a biased view. If you get one of your friends to look at you , they may be jealous because you are skinnier than they are or they might not really be focused on the question you are asking and just say "you look great!".
Also as New said, presentation is 80% of it - especially for figure because you arent' really doing any posing routine or anything. And they do tend to bias towards the more "photogenic" girls. That's just the reality of it. So if you dont' know how to pose correctly, I suggest you get off the stage because you just showed the judges that you didn't prepare. And just for support. Some days, even the most resolute competitor can just want to toss it all. At least from my experience, BB is one of the loneliest sports there is. Not only do you train alone and have to stick to your diet alone, you have people who are constantly on your case about why do you waste time doign that? don't get big? that isn't healthy, etc. So if you have someone who is on the same page with you, sometimes it can make the difference between tossing it all and pushign thru.
My $0.02 anyway. But the biggest thing is to have someone who can give you good objective opinions about how you look as you approach show time and also someone who can show you the correct way to prep. Otherwise you look like the other fools who just don't have a clue. Figure has been around long enough now that there is no excuse for being on stage clueless.
For this reason I feel that it is good to have someone work with you who can provide some critical judgement as to how you look. If you do it yourself, you may have a biased view. If you get one of your friends to look at you , they may be jealous because you are skinnier than they are or they might not really be focused on the question you are asking and just say "you look great!".
Also as New said, presentation is 80% of it - especially for figure because you arent' really doing any posing routine or anything. And they do tend to bias towards the more "photogenic" girls. That's just the reality of it. So if you dont' know how to pose correctly, I suggest you get off the stage because you just showed the judges that you didn't prepare. And just for support. Some days, even the most resolute competitor can just want to toss it all. At least from my experience, BB is one of the loneliest sports there is. Not only do you train alone and have to stick to your diet alone, you have people who are constantly on your case about why do you waste time doign that? don't get big? that isn't healthy, etc. So if you have someone who is on the same page with you, sometimes it can make the difference between tossing it all and pushign thru.
My $0.02 anyway. But the biggest thing is to have someone who can give you good objective opinions about how you look as you approach show time and also someone who can show you the correct way to prep. Otherwise you look like the other fools who just don't have a clue. Figure has been around long enough now that there is no excuse for being on stage clueless.
Everything Saay69 said is 100% in my books. Get yourself an unbiased, experienced trainer to help you prepare for your first competition if you seriously want to look your best on the day. And a 'virtual' trainer is not good enough. You need someone who can see you in different lighting, pinch your skin, monitor how you respond to carbs and fluid changes, and help you chose a posing suit that most suits you. It helps if they also know how to apply fake tan properly, makeup, good posing etc.... don't neglect the presentation side of things.
I mentioned it because I too often see novices spending excess amounts of time doing machine based exercises and isolation type stuff to bring up biceps, triceps, shoulder etc.... when you and I both know that it's the heavy compound movements that build the mass quickest. I mostly recommend squats (although I can no longer do them myself), deads, and bench with some dips, chins and clean/presses thrown in to build the basic structure. Everything else is just finishing detail and someone who needs to build a lot of muscle in a short time should not spend too much time on the 'lesser' exercises IMHO. Also, focusing on functional strength improvements in these lifts without gaining fat, rather than obsessing about fatloss would seem more productive for her current goals. I also wanted to be clear that an aspiring figure/fitness competitor really should not train any differently to a physique competitor. The main difference between physique and figure preparation in my opinion is the amount of gear you take (or don't take) and how hard you diet. There should be no training difference.
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