Competing Tips

[born0withno0soul]

hey guys i wanted to ask you about some advice with competing. im filling out good and getting close to the time where i can say im ready to compete, physically. my problem is i have no one in my life who is a bodybuilder or who has ever competed. to make a long story simple i have no one to teach me about posing and pre-contest prep. i cant even begin to pretend that i know anything about posing so i have a problem here. any valuable resources on posing would be appreciated. i need to know the basics for now so i can practice. such as explanations to what poses represent what body parts and so on.

[MassManiac]

Here's a start bro. This should be helpful getting you off the ground. http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/mark9.htm
Practice in the mirror and have friends take pictures. Critique your pictures. Also, if you want, post em up and the members here will be more than happy to help ya out.

[born0withno0soul]

thanks mass maniac. im reading the article and it is a start. i would like people to really give some advice on this thread because i think there are a lot of people in my shoes. these people are getting close to physical standards of a show but have no training partner and coach to help them with posing.

[spartan300]

Here's a start bro. This should be helpful getting you off the ground. http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/mark9.htm
Practice in the mirror and have friends take pictures. Critique your pictures. Also, if you want, post em up and the members here will be more than happy to help ya out.

Mass man where do you train? Is that Animal gym still around?

[MassManiac]

Mass man where do you train? Is that Animal gym still around?

Ha well bro I just train at Marquette University's rec center... it's close and it has what I need. Hours aren't ideal but I'm able to work around em. Never heard of that gym before you just mentioned it. Looks like it is still up and runnin tho. Looks like one hell of a gym if you ask me. Here's a link to their site. http://ahgym.com/index.htm

[MassManiac]

thanks mass maniac. im reading the article and it is a start. i would like people to really give some advice on this thread because i think there are a lot of people in my shoes. these people are getting close to physical standards of a show but have no training partner and coach to help them with posing.

Ha yea I hear ya. It's definitely hard working on posing alone. Anyway, if you have any questions feel free to post em up here. Consider us your coaches. Like I said before, don't be afraid to have a friend take pictures so that you can post up em on the forvm, it'll only help ya out in the long run. Best of luck bro.

[born0withno0soul]

im cutting down a little so i will have more muscle definition and i will take pics and post them in another month or two. im not going to cut down to contest prep but i hold fat on my stomach and back so right now i have no abs and little back muscle visible. going to knock some of the flab off of my back and will begin practicing in a couple months. the first show i plan to enter is in april of 08. i have never cut down under 12% bodyfat so i will practice that and practice posing while more cut for a couple months then bulk until next year. sound stupid or not? figured i should get an early start so i can bulk again for a few months before my first show.

[BigAnt]

hey guys i wanted to ask you about some advice with competing. im filling out good and getting close to the time where i can say im ready to compete, physically. my problem is i have no one in my life who is a bodybuilder or who has ever competed. to make a long story simple i have no one to teach me about posing and pre-contest prep. i cant even begin to pretend that i know anything about posing so i have a problem here. any valuable resources on posing would be appreciated. i need to know the basics for now so i can practice. such as explanations to what poses represent what body parts and so on.


Not to sound like a smart ass, but after reading all of the posts, I think we are putting the cart in front of the horse...

Train smart-hard, diet down slowly, drop calories from carbs, do your cardio..stay injury free.

We can help you with the posing (use dvd's, magazines, go to watch shows) and we WILL ALL HELP YOU FROM THIS BOARD...get your body razor sharp first, I mean, super freaky hard, abs showing striations in quads & glutes,
x-mas lower back, you know freaky crazy hard !

Bsically you are judged in a semi-relaxed postion in 4 quarter turns and there are mandatory poses that you are judged with also (front double bicep,
front lat spread, side chest spike calf, side tri-calf, rear lat spread, rear double bicep, most muscualr and quads-ab pose)

Again not blowing the question off, it is a very good question, but focus on your training-diet, bringing up weak areas (if you have any)

Ask any question here about training-diet-cardio, than at 16 weeks out from your show, we will go over posing...sound good?

[born0withno0soul]

Alright ant. your advice is definitely welcome. if you have to be a smartass to get your point across then do so. i didnt think you sounded like one but i dont need baby talk either.

[born0withno0soul]

alright so you want me to ask questions about diet,training, and cardio first. Right now at the beginning of my cut, which i plan to take slow as you said ant, i wake up and do thirty minutes of cardio before breakfast. which for now my choice is jogging. i cover 3 miles in 30 minutes so its a decent pace and doesnt bother the knees much. thats my only cardio of the day. should i increase cardio time limit or go twice a day? training i have taken a liking to a six day training routine with a day of rest. it may seem a little strenous but if you look at how things are spaced out during the week its not so bad i dont think.
Monday-chest,
Tuesday-back,
Wednesday-quads and calves,
Thursday-shoulder and traps,
Friday- hams and calves,
Saturday-tris and bis,
Sunday-rest.
I like having two leg days because my wheels are lagging and i feel im progressing more. I will end this here so its not too much to read. comments are welcomed.

[spartan300]

Ha well bro I just train at Marquette University's rec center... it's close and it has what I need. Hours aren't ideal but I'm able to work around em. Never heard of that gym before you just mentioned it. Looks like it is still up and runnin tho. Looks like one hell of a gym if you ask me. Here's a link to their site. http://ahgym.com/index.htm

thank you my friend.

[born0withno0soul]

any ideas on my training schedule?

[MassManiac]

alright so you want me to ask questions about diet,training, and cardio first. Right now at the beginning of my cut, which i plan to take slow as you said ant, i wake up and do thirty minutes of cardio before breakfast. which for now my choice is jogging. i cover 3 miles in 30 minutes so its a decent pace and doesnt bother the knees much. thats my only cardio of the day. should i increase cardio time limit or go twice a day? training i have taken a liking to a six day training routine with a day of rest. it may seem a little strenous but if you look at how things are spaced out during the week its not so bad i dont think.
Monday-chest,
Tuesday-back,
Wednesday-quads and calves,
Thursday-shoulder and traps,
Friday- hams and calves,
Saturday-tris and bis,
Sunday-rest.
I like having two leg days because my wheels are lagging and i feel im progressing more. I will end this here so its not too much to read. comments are welcomed.

Schedule looks great bro. I also split up legs because I can't walk after I get through most of my quads stuff, yet alone continue on to another muscle group. I also like to make sure I hit both quads and hammies hard. As far as cardio, once a day, 5x a week is more than enough right now. Once you start getting closer to the comp we'll take a look at how you're progressin and add in another session if needed. Also, play around with cardio, you may find that walking on an incline, ridin a bike, or walkin stairs (basically lower intensity cardio) may work better for burnin fat, which it does for many people. Anyway let's see that diet. Diet is the most important aspect. Post up a sample diet and we'll take a look at it and see where you're at.


Just as a suggestion... might wanna start a journey (or bulk/cutting) log for all this.

[born0withno0soul]

as far as dieting goes i can tell you what i ate yesterday and it is pretty much the same everyday. atleast the same portions and all.

9:00am-30 min cardio
9:30am-breakfast: 4 egg whites, 2 whole eggs, 2 pc. Ezekiel Bread withsugar free jam, two cups of fat free milk and an apple.
11:00am- 2 scoops of optimum whey with two glasses of fat free milk and an apple.
11:30am-workout
12:45pm-nitro g
01:15pm-3 scoops of optimum whey in water
03:00pm-2 tbls peanut butter on two slices of ezekiel bread
05:00pm-2 lean porkchops( both added up to 16 grams of fat, and 40 grams of protein) with 2 cups of mixed vegetables
07:00pm- 2 pieces of tilapia fish with mixed vegetables
09:00pm-2-3 scoops of musclemilk in water (bedtime meal with source of fats and casein, very low carbs)

well guys you can pretty much sum up my daily diet with this.

[BigAnt]

as far as dieting goes i can tell you what i ate yesterday and it is pretty much the same everyday. atleast the same portions and all.

9:00am-30 min cardio
9:30am-breakfast: 4 egg whites, 2 whole eggs, 2 pc. Ezekiel Bread withsugar free jam, two cups of fat free milk and an apple.
11:00am- 2 scoops of optimum whey with two glasses of fat free milk and an apple.
11:30am-workout
12:45pm-nitro g
01:15pm-3 scoops of optimum whey in water
03:00pm-2 tbls peanut butter on two slices of ezekiel bread
05:00pm-2 lean porkchops( both added up to 16 grams of fat, and 40 grams of protein) with 2 cups of mixed vegetables
07:00pm- 2 pieces of tilapia fish with mixed vegetables
09:00pm-2-3 scoops of musclemilk in water (bedtime meal with source of fats and casein, very low carbs)

well guys you can pretty much sum up my daily diet with this.

Okay just because Cutler eats spouted organic bread with surgar..you know, try oats in the morning...

You need a little carbs after you train, ask the guy for a free sample of Torrent for after you train, ditch the p&j for cutting up...instead of porkchops try lean beef-steak..better amino acid structure and a hell of a lot more creatine in it...

And your 11:00am meal try complex carbs before training, trade the apple for a baked potato-yam.

What else is going on with you?(hobbies-sports)
Any increases in your strength, compound movements>?

See if this works better!