HOW TO WIN YOUR FIRST BODYBUILDING CONTEST

serbmarko · 11-18-2005, 12:41 PM

HOW TO WIN YOUR FIRST BODYBUILDING CONTEST
As bodybuilding coach, and trainer to the stars, I have trained athletes from every level of competition, from
rank beginners to top Olympia Champions and beyond. I’ve seen and witnessed it all. All the stupid mistakes,
all the tragic misses from competitors trying silly last minute drastic measures, to the best most successful and
fruitful results of a contest plan put into action. There is nothing like watching a body change and get ripped for
a show. If you want to avoid the pitfalls and mistakes of so many pros and amateurs that have gone before
you, I will do my best to lay out a plan of action in this article. This article will go over everything you need to
consider from training, diet, cardio, tanning, posing, music, water loss, fat loading and supplements. If you are
a bodybuilder planning on doing your first show but you are too intimidated by all the details then this is the
article for you.
If you’ve made the decision to compete, then good for you. In my opinion, no one should call themselves
bodybuilders till they have attempted to get on stage at least once. And I’m not talking about the sloppy
physiques that end up as fill ins or yawners at a show. I’m talking about the athletes who go all out and get in
ripped condition and put it on the line and know they were at least making a sincere attempt at being their best
on that day. That is the stuff of honorable intent. It always goes noticed. It’s what in my mind allows someone
to say in earnest, “I’m a bodybuilder”. But to say that with honor requires either knowledge or a willingness to
put a lot on the line, and a desire to cover a great many details leading up to an event. And any one of these
details gone awry can have embarrassing results. That’s why so many wannabe competitors remain on the
sidelines. But I’m going to tackle all of these factors here so you at least have some guidance heading into
your first show.
So where to start? Well, you should start by doing your homework. Attend a few shows and make notes of
what looks right and wrong to you on stage. These notes can help you tremendously in your contest prep.
Also, I suggest getting real and qualified help, even though that can often be difficult. Yes, I can write a
general article outlining what to consider and what traps to avoid, but a real expert will hone in on your body
and apply tried and true principles to your physique, which takes tremendous expertise. And here is one of the
first traps to avoid. Do not hire someone just because they have won some contest or because they have the
best physique at your gym. Too often wannabe bodybuilders confuse talent with knowledge. A good
bodybuilder isn’t necessarily a knowledgeable coach, so don’t fall into that trap which is one of the easiest
ones to fall into. Sure your coach should look the part, and have a love of the game, but check out his real
credentials first. Not word of mouth credentials, but scholastic, and real world results based credentials as
well. Having third party recognition (say by an international magazine) is also a good sign that someone truly
is an expert at helping you as a client. Enough said on that topic.

TRAINING
While I would hope by now, that people understand the importance of having a training program rather than
just a collection of workouts for a given body part there isn’t enough space in this article to cover just precontest
training. And training needs to address the individual as well in terms of their strong vs. their weak
body parts and lever system advantages and disadvantages. While Innervation Training System addresses
these aspects of individual program construction, this article is trying to cover all general aspects of contest
prep of which training is just one element.
Suffice it to say you should always train hard and vary your exercises each workout for each body part. While
everyone usually asks about “training heavy” this is really a meaningless question. Training heavy rarely has
anything to do with how much weight is on the bar but rather how much stress the muscle is under. This is
called ‘Target Training” and training intensely accomplishes the goal of training heavy. It is important how ever
to vary the rep schemes from exercise to exercise for each body part to cover all aspects of overload on the

muscle cell fibers. So a training breakdown for body parts may look something like this. (remember to vary the
exercises each workout and change them around)

1. chest , 5 exercises, at least two pressing, two fly motions, one cable or
machine movement
first exercise, 3 working sets 4-6 reps
second exercise, 3 working sets 6-8 reps
third exercise, 3 working sets 8-10 reps
fourth exercise, 3 working sets, 10-12 reps
fifth exercise, 3 working sets, 12-15 reps

2. back, 5 exercises, one workout three row motions, two pull down motions, next workout, three
pull down motions, two row motions
first exercise, 3 working sets, 6-8 reps
second exercise, 3 working sets, 8-10 reps
third exercise, 3 working sets, 10-12 reps
fourth and fifth exercise, 3 working sets, 12-15 reps

3. shoulders, 5 exercises, at least one done in each plane of motion for delts
and at least one pressing motion
first exercise, 3 working sets, 8-10 reps
second and third exercise, 3 working sets, 10-12 reps
fourth and fifth exercise, 3 working sets, 12-15 reps

4. biceps, 3- 4 exercises, only one basic movement, the others cable or
machine movements
first exercise, 3 working sets 6-8 reps
second exercise, 3 working sets 8-10 reps
third exercise, 3 working sets, 10-12 reps

5. triceps, 3-4 exercises, only one basic movement, the others cable or
machine variations
first exercise, 3 working sets, 8-10 reps
second exercise, 3 working sets, 10-12 reps
third exercise, 3 working sets, 12-15 reps

6. legs, 5-6 exercises, at least one squat movement, at least one pressing
movement, at least one hamstring movement, at least one leg
extension movement
first exercise, 3 working sets, 8-10 reps
second exercises, 3 working sets, 10-12 reps
third and fourth exercise, 3 working sets, 12-15 reps
fifth exercise, 3 working sets, 15 + reps

This provides you with a basic plan of action. Remember to cycle, rotate or even change your exercises every
workout. Your first exercise each day should be done explosively with lots of power but as you progress
through each workout from one exercise to the next, concern your self more with excellent form and target
training the muscle, getting peak contractions where possible. If you train using the above format you will only
need to train each body part once per week with the exception of calves and abs which can be done twice per
week. As the show gets closer, cut down on workout intensity. Keep the training and reps schedule the same,

but cut poundage and intensity back. This is a way to keep the muscles from looking tired. The stimulation
keeps them full, and the lack of intensity allows them to fill out better while insuring against injury because
tired, over trained bodies are the most likely candidates for injury and I’ve seen many bodybuilders fail to make
it to the stage due to last minute avoidable injuries.
You may even want to skip leg workouts all together the last week or two. The cardio and posing will prevent
them from shrinking and all those weeks of necessary cardio means a longer time to fill out for such a large
muscle group as the legs.

DIET
As important as training is to contest prep and off season success, pre-contest conditioning is certainly even
more about proper diet strategy and execution. More physiques have been ruined by trying drastic dietary
strategies that fly in the face of experience and science, and herein lay your first warning to avoid the trap of
trying anything that seems drastic, and that includes a lot of pre-contest strategies you have all come to expect
as standard procedure. These standard procedures have ruined more physiques than they have helped. But
before I get to that we need a starting point. Where and how does someone start a pre-contest diet? While
there are exact ways to configure calories needs, see my Pre-Contest Diet article in Musclemag Issue , a
general rule of thumb is to start well in advanced of where you think you may need to start. If you can still see
your abs, then 12-16 weeks may be enough time for you to diet but if not, you want to start anywhere from 16
weeks to 20 weeks out from the show. Getting ripped is hard work and you want to avoid the crash diet
approach by starting well in advance in order to lose fat slowly and to keep as much muscle as is possible for
you. In order to avoid losing muscle your diet should not go much below 500-750 calories below your BMR.
This way, you are insuring that you are averaging about 1 to 2 lbs fat loss per week although this will vary for
each person. To figure your BMR in a very general way take your bodyweight X”s 12 if you are in relatively OK
shape, or your body weight X”s 10 if you are on the fatter side of off-season. From that number subtract either
500 or 750 calories again depending on how much weight you have to lose. For instance if I have a client in
half decent shape for off season weight and let’s say he weighs 200 lbs. I take that number and X”s by 12,
which is 2400. From that number I subtract 500, which is 1900, which is how many calories we will start his
diet at. If we start far enough away from the show, and weight loss is steady we should not have to go much
below that number throughout the whole diet, and we may even have to increase calories at some point. Of
course the individual variances are tremendous and it is for this exact reason someone should acquire
professional coaching. From this point we create a diet strategy set around 5 meals per day evenly balanced
between protein and carbs, and select the right type of each. Taking in 10% or less fat in calories per day we
take the 1900, and X’s the number by 45% which yields 855 calories, which divide by 5 equals 171 calories of
protein and carbs per meal. You never want to take in more than 500-600 calories per meal so if you are
bigger and require more calories eat more meals instead of much larger ones. Next we are concerned mainly
with the quality of food intake.
For protein we want mainly fish, egg whites and chicken or turkey breast, but the best source of all protein is
whey protein, which has the highest biological value of all the proteins and because of all the available flavors,
whey also tends to be the least bland and boring of all the proteins over the long term. For carbs we want
mainly potatoes, yams, large or small rice cakes, some non cruciferous vegetables and maybe one meal of
oatmeal, oat bran, cream of rice, cream of wheat, or shredded wheat cereal. Since the portions are already
neatly laid out for you, just do the math and match the calories. As far as blunders go, apply the old motto, “if it
ain’t broke, don’t fix it” Don’t apply ridiculous tactics like cutting carbs or carb depleting, cutting sodium, or
loading sodium, or loading potassium or any of this “guru voodoo” bull that exists in the bodybuilding precontest
folklore. Follow the simple math provided above and give your self plenty of time. The only real habits
to apply are consistency and discipline and these two along with the above strategy should take you right to
the last minute of contest preparation.

CARDIO
When it comes to cardio, the solution is simple. The more weight you have to lose, the more cardio you need
to do. Keep the session from 25-45 minutes and no longer. Longer sessions will surely cost you hard earned
muscle mass. Two sessions per day are the maximum. The key is to start cardio when you start dieting, and if
you have a lot to lose start two sessions right away. You can always cut back on time or cut out a session
once your body gets where it needs to be. But to add longer sessions, or another session after you are already
well on your way dieting, will be difficult because there will be way less gas in the tank for extra activity. Start
with the extra from the beginning when your body can use the extra stored fat. Think of it like an insurance
policy to getting ripped.
Keep the pace for your cardio at an easy to maintain pace. The old rule of thumb is that you should be able to
maintain a conversation but still build up a pronounced sweat. You are a bodybuilder not a marathon runner.
Save the high intensity stuff for your weight training workouts and keep cardio to a comfortable level to help
burn fat. Toward that end be careful what type of cardio you choose. Bike or treadmill is the best choices.
Stair climbers or Elliptical machines burn way too many calories and may also over time take the side sweeps
right off of your legs. Again, stick to the bike or treadmill at a good but comfortable pace. What time of day
you do your cardio centers around your lifestyle and other factors like your biorhythms. Forget this first thing in
the morning on empty stomach stuff. Sure that is the absolute best case scenario. But if you don’t have a
good bike or treadmill at home, and you need to drive to the gym, or you do your cardio after training, never
attempt to train on an empty stomach. Having one diet meal after a night of sleep and then going to do cardio
will do more good than trying to survive all that time with lowered blood sugar from fasting through the night.
Lesson. Don’t sweat the minute details. Just maintain consistency with your diet, your training, and your
cardio program. They all go together.

TANNING AND POSING OIL
Put a pound of butter in the sun, and it melts. Butter is fat. The adage in bodybuilding is that tanning works on
the same principle, and I think there is something to be said for that. The sooner out you can afford to start
tanning the better. Use good beds, it’s worth the money. Short intense sessions will help the fat burning
process. But you need to stop tanning about a week out from a show. Tanning causes the skin to increase in
temperature, and the body responds to this by sending water from the intracellular spaces (where you want it
to be) to the interstitial spaces (where you don’t want it to be) in order to help cool the skin. Even the best
beds and most tanned bodies will respond this way so about a week from your show stop tanning, because
you want the body to keep water in the muscle and never just below the skin.
There are a lot of good and useable tanning products on the market. I find most of them to unpredictable to
count on time and again. Some popular brands go on well for one show and then the next show streak and
mess through no fault of the athlete. I think products may do that if they sit on a shelf too long. The best
product I know is from a company called Pro Circuit in Montreal Canada. It goes on and comes off extremely
easy, making endless applications a thing of the past. The old stand by Pro Tan has been re-formulated and
also produces a good healthy look but requires diligence in its application. You must take your time applying a
coloring product. This is something you do not want to rush through. Avoid the face and instead use
something like Mac stage makeup for the face with a touch of whatever tanning product you are using. There
is nothing worse then seeing a competitor whose face looks like he has been rolling in mud for the last two
hours. This is a distraction away from the physique and the look of health and vitality you should be trying to
project.
Now as far as posing oil goes, a little goes a long way. Put on your posing oil and then pat dry lightly with a
towel. You want to shoot for just a sheen and not a varnish or shimmer look, which again will totally detract
from the physique. The best posing oil is by far almond oil. It has the exact consistency suitable for good

stage lighting and photographs. Baby oil is terrible because it tends to reflect light which makes it OK for some
types of photo shoots, like outside with natural light, but terrible for on stage. Also avoid using Pam cooking
spray. While it is fast and efficient and gives the right sheen it is totally unpredictable. The chemicals in Pam
often combine with the chemicals in certain coloring agents and the athlete starts turning green right before
everyone’s eyes. People that are experienced at attending shows have seen this happen. Not a pleasant
sight. No matter what tanning product you use, put your coats on hours apart. That will help avoid streaking
and graining. Always blow dry the skin as well in order to deepen the color and keep it from running. And no
matter how tired you are after pre-judging, some color is sure to need a touch up, so apply another coat before
the night show, but again do it well in advance, and make sure it is dry.
These are just a few tricks of the trade at the higher levels of competition.

POSING
One of the most neglected aspects of pre-contest prep is posing. There is nothing sadder than seeing a well
prepared physique all hunched over huffing and puffing and unable to control their muscles during call outs
because they did not put in the necessary posing practice. I wish more competitors understood that this sport
is won and lost on stage and not in the gym. How well and graceful you pose and present your physique can
make the difference between winning and losing. I suggest that at about 8 weeks out from a show, minimally,
an athlete should devote at least twenty minutes per day to posing. Practice doing the mandatory poses and
holding them for seven judges to have a good long look. This kind of practice will give you a new respect for
just how hard of work posing is, and why it should not go neglected. Once posing conditioning is established,
use a mirror to experiment with your poses to try to show the body most favorably in every pose. Always
attempt to exaggerate the strong points while taking attention away from your weak points. This is an acquired
skill possessed and practiced usually by the best of the best. The lesson here is just, do not neglect posing
practice and that doesn’t mean hitting a few poses. It means doing posing sessions every day, as part of your
pre-contest prep. Always try to be the most prepared athlete at the show.

MUSIC
Like posing, too many people leave music selection and choreography to the last minute and it usually shows.
You should have your music selected well in advance and a general idea of what you want to do as well. The
goal during the routine is to show the strengths of your physique while hiding your weaknesses. There are two
ways to go here. If you have great rhythm and are good on your feet then select music and try to time your
poses to strong beats. If you do not move too well, then select music as kind of background music and make
the routine fun but not necessarily choreographed to the beat. Consider your music selection carefully. Posing
to music that has special meaning for you but that no one else can relate to is a bad idea. You are trying to get
the audience and judges on your side, not isolate yourself from everyone. The last place you want to seem
isolated is on stage posing for top honors. Heavy rap music is also a bad idea as is really heavy rock or metal.
Avoid by all means old and tired clichéd music. Music that is good to train to does not automatically mean it is
good to pose to. If I have to hear one more athlete pose to any AC/DC song I think I will hang myself, and
have them place last just for total lack of originality. Choose music that reflects your personality but will still
generate audience and judges interest. In other words give this some serious thought and work on it. Believe
me if you do, it will separate you from everyone else in all the ways that matter most.

WATER
Manipulating your body water before a show can be tricky but it doesn’t need to be. Another trap to avoid is to
make sure you are ripped and ready at least a week out from your show. I’ve seen scores and scores of
wannabe competitors who have virtually no cuts showing a week or two from a show and think they are “just
holding water” No, you are still fat! If you are not cut and striated a week out from your show, you won’t be at
your show, and this is not because you are holding water but because you are still fat. So do your homework.
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To get rid of the little interstitial water you may have at the last minute and to make room for fat loading you will
need to dehydrate. But first for the last 12 to 24 hours before you cut your water you need to take in as much
water as you can. This will send a message to your body to turn off ADH (anti-diuretic hormone) which will
insure you continue to lose water even after you stop taking in fluids. Often athletes make the mistake of
tapering off their fluid intake. This is a huge mistake because that is what turns on ADH or vasopressin as it is
otherwise known. That means as less and less water comes in your body responds by trying to hold and store
its own water. The result is water retention. A good rule of thumb is that if you are on target you shouldn’t
need to dehydrate for more than about 24 hours. If you do need to go more drastic, which I don’t suggest, then
cut water for about 24 hours and then sip and drink distilled water only. Distilled water is the best choice in this
circumstance.
If you are plenty dehydrated and on the money then after prejudging a diet coke or two will help fill out the
muscles. Just make sure you have them between meals and not with your meals, and only have them if you
are getting flat. Note, getting flat, not “feeling” flat. Everyone should “feel’ flat the day of the show. That is
normal and a good thing. It means you are dry with nothing between the skin and the muscles and nothing in
the muscles. That’s all good.

FAT LOADING
In order to try to fill out the muscles somewhat while dehydrating you need a plan of action, but nothing drastic.
Carb loading will not work and has never worked well. You should not be gaining any weight between weigh in
and pre-judging. The only thing that can cause you to gain weight is water retention. Any carb loading will
definitely result in bloating and water retention. The way to fill out the muscles and be able to take in simple
sugars is by combining very high heavy fat foods with simple sugars, in a well timed manner. Fat loading
meals should be spaced well apart to avoid as much digestive stress as possible. My clients are always seen
the days before a show eating prime rib, French fries, Caesar salad, steak, peanut butter and jelly,
cheesecake, quiche, souvlaki etc. They also combine normal diet meals with handfuls of nuts and snicker
bars, or other candy bars. Fat loading works wonders by making the body look bigger and fuller without
gaining any weight while dehydrating. But it is not fool proof. Eating too many fat laden meals too close
together can also create digestive stress. It is not just a free for all eating to fill out. Timing is everything, and
often the motto, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” also applies here. In other words if you are ripped and ready and
unsure of last minute peaking procedures, then skip them. Go in on your strengths rather than rolling the dice
and taking chances like so many bodybuilders do last minute. That makes no sense to me. To take weeks
and months to prepare for a show and then risk it all by trying drastic silly measures you have no experience
with, just is not worth it. Fat loading works and works well, but it is not fool proof.

SUPPLEMENTS
One thing that has definitely changed for the better from my competitive days is the huge advancement in the
area of supplementation. In my day supplements delivered a lot of lip service and promises but no real world
results. That has definitely changed. Whether pre-contest or off season the use of good supplements can
make the difference between winning and losing and trying to compete against others without a working
knowledge of supplement use, would be akin to trying to compete without training at all.
In the pre-contest arena, the best supplements by far would be Cell-Tech, Nitro-Tech, and Hydroxycut, all
products made by Muscletech Research and Development.

CELL TECH
Having full looking muscles and still being shredded is a tough proposition at any level, let alone for your first
show. Creatine definitely gives the muscles a fuller look but often creatine can also cause water retention. But
we aren’t talking about regular creatine here. Cell Tech, is a third generation creatine product, and Muscle
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Tech has advanced this product tremendously. It has been shown in the research to be 19 times more
effective than regular creatine for gains in muscle mass. Just one maintenance dose after training is enough to
keep the muscles very full and tight looking without adding any water retention. In one of the research studies
done on Cell-Tech, the results clearly showed that subjects lost fat while using Cell-Tech. Cell-Tech provides
that necessary one/two punch of muscle volumization and growth, while getting lean and ripped at the same
time. And it doesn’t take much.
As most readers already probably know, during my comeback after back surgery I utilized Cell-Tech to put on
an incredible 45 pounds of muscle while trimming away my body fat to an 8% level which allowed me to guest
pose in tip top shape. Now going on two years later the gains just keep coming, and all without added body fat.

NITRO-TECH
Getting contest ready also means availing oneself of the best quality protein available. Whey protein as I have
already stated has a higher quality rating than beef or chicken, but once again Nitro-Tech by Muscletech goes
the extra mile. Backed by tons of research, Nitro-Tech should be the top protein choice for athletes at any
level of competition. Nitro-Tech has that patented unique delivery system that forces more protein into their
muscles, than food alone or normal whey protein. The research supporting the use of Nitro-Tech is
overwhelming. One study shows it top be 24 times better than regular protein for adding lean muscle mass.
This same study shows Nitro-Tech subjects lost 90% more fat than subjects who took regular whey. The
choice is clear when trying to get contest shredded. Believe me getting ripped is difficult enough so if you have
access to a product that can aid in that regard and/or speed up the process, you make use of it. Not only an
aid to fat loss, Nitro Tech studies also show how its use promotes muscle gain. Another study for instance,
revealed the average Nitro-Tech user gained 1.5 pounds of lean body mass per week and lost 1.2% body fat,
all in only six weeks. Over the long haul of a pre-contest prep period, the benefits of Nitro-Tech should be
obvious. Remember this was the average in the study. One amazing subject even gained 14.5 lbs. of body
mass, added 60 lbs. to his bench press, 90 lbs. to his squat, and lost 2.4 lbs of fat while decreasing overall
body fat by almost 2% in only 6 weeks. Quite impressive statistics for the supplemental use of protein to be
sure. But that’s why Muscle Tech is so far ahead of the pact, when it comes to real world use and
performance.
All the stats aside, I love using Nitro-Tech for the simple reason the taste is so good having different flavors
tastes like a treat and doesn’t even feel like dieting. Combine that with the results you can get from using it,
and Nitro-Tech is the surest choice for a pre-contest protein source.

HYDROXYCUT
As I’ve already stated getting ripped is difficult work and having a good fat burner goes a long way to achieving
this end. The top fat burner in the world right now by a landslide is Hydroxycut by Muscletech. Hydroxycut use
is no secret and is used by most if not all of the top IFBB pros and NPC champions. Competitors in over 78
countries rely on Hydroxycut to help get them in their top ripped and ready contest condition. All of my clients
from top pros, to beginners, to fitness models, and other athletes rely on Hydroxycut during the crucial dieting
season. If you are thinking of your first contest, you really can’t afford to not use the top fat burner in the game
to help you get ripped. Again, Muscletech just doesn’t lie on their laurels. The test and retest their products
and Hydroxycut is no exception. In one clinical study, subjects lost an average of 8.36 lbs. in only 8 weeks.
That’s more than a pound per week. Remember that was an average. One subject in this study lost 20 lbs. in
4 weeks and an amazing 33 lbs. in only 8 short weeks. Obviously a sound diet strategy, along with Hydroxycut
is the key ingredients to getting contest ripped.

CONCLUSION
The 9 factors that I have addressed above are the most crucial in making or breaking a successful first run at
competing. Each heading has many factors to consider and to do it right is to do it well. I have been training
clients for their first shows for over twenty years now, and the above tricks of the trade I wrote to help you
avoid many of the pitfalls, mistakes, or lazy avoidances missed by people planning to compete in their first
show but not doing their homework to cover all of the bases. This is a tough sport in terms of preparation, and
there is no playing catch up at the end. You need to be well organized, and ready even in advance of starting
your diet and pre-contest approach. Addressing each and every one of the factors I have addressed above will
not only help put you in the winner’s circle the day of your show, but more importantly will make you look and
feel like a winner as well.
Good Luck!

this article was written by Canadian pro trainer Scott Abel..