As you get more and more into body building, you may want to consider showing off your hard work by entering into a body building competition. There are many local gyms that hold contests as well as national competitions that are held on an annual basis.

Before you actually enter a body building competition, you really need to know what they’re all about in the first place. Take the time to attend a competition before entering and pay close attention to the techniques the exhibitors use and ask questions about what the judges are looking for.

Do not enter a body building contest just because you’ve lost a bunch of weight. These contests are about great physiques with toned muscles – not about people who’ve lost body fat. Your muscles must be well-defined and toned ready for display. Remember early on in the book when we talked about the “Grecian Ideal”? That’s what body building contests are really about.

Be realistic about your chances the first time out. While it is possible to realize a “Cinderella” story finish, it’s not really probable when you consider that some of the other entrants are very experienced. Tell yourself that you’ll be happy with not being cut from the lineup or taking fifth place, for example, which is a realistic goal for many beginners.

Once you’ve decided on a competition, you need to start planning well ahead of time to become fully prepared for contest day. You need to concentrate on any problem areas you have and work them hard. Keep up with your regular routine, so the muscles that are already toned don’t lose their definition.

Think about what you will wearing during the contest and what songs you will want played while you are posing. You will also want to start thinking about your posing routine.

We’ll interject a quick note about suits here since it’s not really that complicated choosing what you’re going to wear. You have worked very hard on your body, and in a contest, you will want to show off as much of it as possible. Pick a suit in a color that is complementary and one that is as skimpy as you are comfortable with. Just don’t over-do it – it’s not about who shows the most skin but who shows the best muscles.

With music, you will want to choose songs that will activate and excite the crowd. Judges will respond better to you if you have a lot of clapping and cheering going on for you. Your posing style will be dictated by the music, either elegant or aggressive depending on your selection. Your style of music is important. Your mood, the mood of the audience and the judges will be set moment by moment, heavily balance by the competitor’s choices of music.

Clearly defined space in the music for major poses is usually extremely important. Some routines flow perfectly and gracefully through music without accentuating beats, but you can be confident that only a few competitors in a hundred can successfully achieve the beauty and grace of such a performance.

If you don’t have a childhood background in dance or ballet, or you don’t have a nearly perfect body with matching symmetry, try to select music with a pronounced beat where you can clearly put your strongest poses.

We can’t stress enough that you can have a great physique, but if you don’t know how to show it off, you won’t be doing any good in a contest. Posing is so very important in competition. It gives the judges an idea of what they are looking for in a contestant which is symmetry, muscularity, aesthetics, and proportions.

A good place to start learning about posing is to look through body building magazines to see how the models are presenting themselves. Try out a few of these poses while looking at yourself in a full-length mirror. What works for one person may not work for you, but it just might!

Think about the beat of your music and then choose poses that go along with that beat. Start out with your most powerful pose and hold it for 3 to 5 full seconds. Make sure that your routine flows smoothly and there is enough time in between poses for a little fun.

What muscles should you be accentuating? The easiest answer is all of them, but you will want to show off certain parts of your body specifically. You need to know your muscles, and we hope by now you do. Here are some areas you will want to focus on:

• Front Double Bicep: Arms are out to the sides with biceps flexed and the competitor is facing forward towards the judges and audience.
• Front Lat Spread: Hands are located somewhere near the competitor’s waistline and elbows are flared out showing the lats. The competitor is facing forward.
• Side Chest: The competitor is turned so judges can see his profile. He has one calf flexed by raising his heel from the ground. Hands are clasped or wrist is grabbed with the back arm coming across the front of the torso somewhere below the pec line. The forward arm is pulled down and back toward the competitor’s rear. The chest is raised and flexed. The rib cage is usually expanded.
• Side Tricep: The competitor is in the same basic position as the side chest except his arms are clasped behind him. The forward arm is flexed straight down showing off the triceps. The back arm is stretched across the lower back and it’s hand is clasped with the forward arm’s hand.
• Abdominal and Thigh: The competitor is now facing forward. His arms are tucked behind his head and one leg is placed farther forward than the other and flexed. The competitor is also flexing his abdominal
  muscles.
• Rear Double Bicep: The competitor is facing the rear of the stage away from the judges and audience. Arms are out to the sides and biceps are flexed. One leg is back and that calf is flexed. The back muscles are also flexed.
• Rear Lat Spread: The competitor is in the same basic position as the Back Double Biceps except the hands are attached at the waist and the elbows are pulled out and the lats are flared outward.
• Most Muscular – the classic “strong man” body building pose: Typically, judges will call for the competitor’s favorite most muscular pose. At this point, they have the option to hit which ever of the most muscular poses they feel make them look the best.

If you want to come up with some poses of your own, by all means do so! You know your body best of all and if there are certain muscles you really want to show off – such as your glutes – definitely do it!

When you come up with a posing routine, you should practice so that you know it like the back of your hand. If you hear your music on the radio, you should be doing your routine in your head. Every chance you get, watch yourself going through the routine and maximizing your muscle tone so that you make an impressive performance.

Have someone take pictures or video of you and be highly critical of it. You can also have someone else look at it for you and tell you where you can improve and where you are strongest. While you are posing, breathe normally and focus on flexing of the muscles. You want to appear cut and ripped as much as possible.

Quite a bit of time before the competition, you will want to start tanning. Tanned muscles look a lot better and more defined than non-tanned muscles. If you don’t want to risk going to a tanning bed, look at a spray-on tan the day before your competition, but be advised that these types of tanning can have an orange appearance and could detract from the image you are trying to project.

During the competition, there will be a variety of rounds during which you will compete for points. Each contest is different, but most will have the following rounds:

• Standing Relaxed Symmetry Round: During this time, the judges are looking for overall body symmetry in the competitors. They are looking for relationships between the muscle groups. Are they all developed evenly? Within each specific group, does it flow nicely? Does the competitor have a symmetrical bone structure? The more evenly developed the competitor is, the higher he or she will be placed.

There is no direct flexing in this round. Competitors are viewed in what is called the Standing Relaxed position. Typically, this consists of the competitor’s heels together, toes pointed out at a forty-five degree angle, and lats semi-flared.

Every competitor has their own way of standing relaxed, but in reality it is semi-flexed. Every muscle should be tight on stage. The competitors are viewed from the front, both sides, and the rear.

• Comparison or Muscularity Round: This is where the real flexing begins! Competitors are called upon to hit the Mandatory poses in this round. The judges are comparing the level of muscular development and definition each competitor has acquired in relation to the other competitors.
• Free Posing Round: The Free Posing Round is where each competitor gets to express their muscularity how they see fit. Usually, this round is accompanied by music.

If there are no restrictions on oiling, you will want to apply a thin coat of baby oil to your body. This can enhance your muscle tone and make you appear more cut. Some avid body builders also advocate using Preparation H or some other type of hemorrhoid cream. These creams pull water out from under the skin. When a body builder has excess water in the skin, he or she will look smooth and undefined.

Many bodybuilders who have used creatine supplements during their workout routine will lay off about four to six weeks before the competition. Then, three to five days before, they load up again just like when they first started which will make them look fuller.

On the day before and the day of the competition, do a carb load. Don’t overdo it or you will look smooth, but try having 200 grams the day before and 300 the day of. Know your body and know what makes it look good and what doesn’t.

You should also mentally prepare for competing. Have your mind set on your goal as to why you wanted to enter a competition in the first place. Visualize yourself up on the stage hitting your poses and imagine the audience cheering you on. Mentally preparation can be just as important as physically preparing when in comes to a successful body building competition showing.

Technorati Tags: body building shows, bodybuilder photoshoots, bodybuilding competitions, competetive bodybuilding

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How to choose an organization

After you’ve decided that competing is your goal, the next step is deciding on organization(s) to join. Many organizations require a one year membership, complete with a membership card that gets you into all associated competitions in their network throughout the entire year.

These organizations are not pro, nor do they have cash prizes for winners. These are essentially a great way to practice to become pro, and a way to get in. These competitions truly test your will power because the only prize is a trophy and a boost to your ego. The rewards however are well worth the work. Once you’re ready, you can “turn pro” and enter the pro contests. You will need to enter and win a pro-qualifier or come in third in a super qualifier contest to get into a pro competition. The lower organizations are boot camp for becoming pro essentially.

Substances vs. No Substances Organizations

Part of your decision when choosing your organization is what type of organization you are qualified or want to join. A major factor in this is the two types of organizations available: Tested and Non-Tested.

In the first type, tested,  they are very strict about contestants and screen to make sure you aren’t taking certain kinds of substances, both legal and illegal. If your test comes back positive for pro-hormones (legal) or steroids (illegal), they will not allow you entry. The second type is non-tested and these allow anything. The non-tested groups don’t test their entries. The IFBB will let in all substance users of any kind because they don’t test before the competition.

There are several categories of tested organizations due to the nature of what specifically they test for and allow. Some are rigid about not allowing ANY substance, legal or otherwise, while the others allow legal substances like pro-hormones. An example of the first type, limited substances allowed, is the MuscleMania organization. They allow pro-hormones and other products like this, however are strict about not allowing illegal substances like steroids. The INBF on the other hand doesn’t allow either type, legal (pro-hormones) or illegal (steroids).

Before attempting to join any organization, you need to be aware of their rules and regulations, as well as what you’ve taken or are currently consuming. If you’ve taken pro-hormones or similar substances, for example, you won’t be able to sign up with an organization that doesn’t allow them- even if you stop taking them. Many of these products stay in your system for a long time and can come up in a test even after several months of not using them. If the product, however, was legal in the organization at the time you consumed it, and then later banned, you may be able to still enter. Some organizations will also let you in if 5-7 years have passed since you took them, but this is a decision made by each organization individually. Luckily, if you have taken any of these substances in the last 5-7 years, you can still enter the non-test organization until the time passes.

Many people who don’t touch illegal substances still enter non-tested contests specifically because it gives them a competitive edge. People in non-tested shows tend to be bigger and harder to beat when you go the other route, and this gives competitors an ego boost when they win these shows! The problem with this however is that it can look bad when you go to turn pro. Some organizations frown upon people entering the non-tested shows and tend to “judge” them unfairly, so be careful if you’re thinking of going this route. This of course depends on the organization. There is a distinct difference in the look and size of the two (tested and non-tested) competition entries, some would say like night and day.

Once you’re in, now you need to pick a contest to enter

Now that you’ve picked your organization, you have a variety of contests you can enter. Due to the training schedules, and work involved in training and preparing for the contest, you will not be able to enter every single contest given. Your schedule will determine what you can enter and when. Much of your training, including cardio, weight-training, and meal preparation is very time consuming so be realistic in which contests you enter.

Don’t forget that when you’re just getting started there are a lot of things you need to learn such as how to eat, what to eat, and how to prepare for a contest (including diet, workout type, etc…). Learning is one thing, comprehension is another. Give yourself plenty of time to full wrap your head around everything. There will be plenty of competitions available so don’t be in a hurry, you want to learn this right the first time!

You will want to also pay attention to contests that are running. You can attend contests, watching for what you need to know, learn, and do. Take the time to ask questions, truly learn your craft. If you want that trophy your going to have to be the best at it! There is no one correct diet, cardio plan, or tanning product, so learn what is the most popular concepts then try them all, find your niche and exploit what supercharges YOU. You need to learn ahead of time what will be mandatory in the particular contest that you’re training for. Nothing is worse than discovering at the contest that you missed something! Be aware of everything down to the clothing. Make sure you have posing trunks, rolled up shorts can be entered but don’t expect to win anything! Realize that this is ALL appearance, clothing, muscles, poses, Tans, and everything must be perfect if you’re going to win!

Now comes the discipline

Preparation is vital and following through is imperative. Now that you’ve decided to compete, you need to eat sleep and breathe training. You will need to tailor your entire life to your training schedule- nothing is more important. Maintaining your discipline will take incredible strength and perseverance. By molding your life around your training you make this part easier and minimize things that may push you off your schedule!

Some important things to consider are motivating and de-motivating concepts. Watching television, movies, even plays or games all go into your psyche. What you watch should be motivating and something that feeds ambitious mindsets. Movies like Rocky, work out videos, reading as much as you can around training concepts, diet, and winning all help you pump up and motivate you to give that last rep all you’ve got. Your environment must not be toxic. Get your family and friends on board and eliminate anyone in your circle of friends who’s negative, lazy, or whom makes excuses or tries to push you away from your schedule. You need people in your life that will push you towards your goal, not away from it.

Setting all of this up helps you, by eliminating things that often stimulate people to quit, or form excuses that make them give up or at the very least not give it their all. The most incredible motivator should be yourself, however, as it all comes down to you. Keep your mind in good shape by feeding it with good data, always learn all you can, keep your spirit tough, avoid excuses, and keep all toxic substances away from your body.

If you lose a competition, or you have a hard time maintaining your schedule, i.e. you miss a workout, don’t beat yourself up over it, just get right back on the wagon and give it twice the effort to make up for it. Feeling sorry for yourself is self defeating! Turn everyday into a competition, but make it fun like a game. Surround yourself with highly motivated, like minded individuals so you never have to push a rock up hill trying to get others to agree with your mindset.

Competitive bodybuilding is hard, but highly rewarding and uplifting (no pun intended), but it is not for everyone. It takes ironically, a lot of strength both inside and outside, and you can do it. Once you win or even enter your first competition, you will feel the power- empowerment. Knowledge is power but applied knowledge is the true form. Make every day, every second, every competition count!

Technorati Tags: bodybuilding competition, competetive bodybuilding

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