novice disivion or regular men's open

[operationgetbig]

i'm looking to do a show in april and i'm confused about the weight classes and divisions. right now im 5'9 205 at 10% bf and hoping to add on a little more muscle before i start prepping for the show. i wanna get up to 210-215 before i start to cut. im hoping to cut down to about 198 to compete at the top of the light-heavy weight division. i got about 7 months till the show.

since it's my first comp should i compete at the novice level or in the regular men's open?

[FireGuy]

OK, I know this is not going to sit well with you and you are going to think I am crazy but I guarantee you I am correct on this. If you are 205lbs and 10% now you will be competing as a middleweight (yes under 176 1/4) if your show is in April and you are in shape. If you are going to be competing as a light heavy you need to be shredded at 205-210 a week before the show.
I was 209 at single digit BF% 3 weeks ago (my show is this Saturday) I am in the mid to low 190's now and plan on weighing in at 187-189. Just telling you that for reference.

[operationgetbig]

ah that's depressing losing that much weight. i actually dont even know my current bf %. i just guessed it at 10%. here's the most recent pic of me. it's from last week.

[FireGuy]

Dont be depressed, my first show I stepped on stage at 161lbs and took 2nd out of a class of 17 guys. You have a really nice look and I think if you were to get your conditioning down you could do well.
Funny, there was a thread not so long ago with a guy asking the same thing. He was coming down from 205lbs I believe as well. He thought he would be onstage at 190lbs, I told him 170 (I really thought 165ish) but didnt want to upset him too much. He ended up going going Bantamweight under 154 once he got into contest shape.

BTW, my night weight right now is around 202lbs and like I said 188lbs will probably be my number in 3 days once I shed water.

[FireGuy]

BTW, Nothing wrong with going Novice on your first show. Novice classes can still be very tough. If you decide to go that route be sure and check the weight classes as the Novice Division often has different weight cutoffs than the Open Classes do.

[operationgetbig]

Dont be depressed, my first show I stepped on stage at 161lbs and took 2nd out of a class of 17 guys. You have a really nice look and I think if you were to get your conditioning down you could do well.
Funny, there was a thread not so long ago with a guy asking the same thing. He was coming down from 205lbs I believe as well. He thought he would be onstage at 190lbs, I told him 170 (I really thought 165ish) but didnt want to upset him too much. He ended up going going Bantamweight under 154 once he got into contest shape.

BTW, my night weight right now is around 202lbs and like I said 188lbs will probably be my number in 3 days once I shed water.

that's friggin crazy how much weight you have to lose. damn, now i wanna just wait a year till my next show...i'll bug out if i see the scale at under 170. in your opinion what bf% do u think im at right now? i kno u cant see my quads and could probably use a better pic.

[FireGuy]

Hard to tell from just the one pic but your guess of 10% is probably in the ballpark. Not sure what your training history is but waiting a year is probably not going to bump you up an entire weight class. I think you have enough muscle to get a show under your belt in April as planned. I think you should go forward with it.

[operationgetbig]

Hard to tell from just the one pic but your guess of 10% is probably in the ballpark. Not sure what your training history is but waiting a year is probably not going to bump you up an entire weight class. I think you have enough muscle to get a show under your belt in April as planned. I think you should go forward with it.

is it real easy to bounce back from after a show. do u feel like u've wasted alot time that could be used to put on more mass when ur prepping for a show. if im 10% bf at 205. doesnt that mean that i'd have about 20 lbs of bf on me. so if i lost all 20 lbs of bf i'd be 185lbs of pure lean muscle. but no one comes in to a show at 0% bf. so i'd figure i'd come in at 190ish. but youre probably right that there's just so much water to be lost.

[FireGuy]

I am not sure what you mean by bounce back? If you mean put on size, yes it tends to come back fairly quickly. Yes to the 2nd question as well. You cant gain a ton of muscle if you are constantly dieting for contests. I usually shoot for one every 12-18 months to give myself time to make improvements and try to line up 2-3 within a months time. Yes to the 3rd question as well, the amount of water you end up dropping the last 7-10 days alone will be quite a bit. Also, when you diet for a show you are in a calorie deficit for months at a time. Even the best planned contest prep is going to leave you overtrained and you will lose muscle too.

[FireGuy]

The best part is when everyone you know asks "are you still working out?" Cause unless you are a heavyweight you are going look just plain skinny in normal clothes.

[npc2010]

Fireguy....you are dead on!!! When i first read this thread I immediately thought the same thing. That there was no way to go from 10% bodyfat at 210 and then expect to compete at 198. Oh, you CAN do it, but you will not be in shape that for sure. My first serious show I was up to 198 and competed at 163. I learned that my 198 was a little inflated and I was just fat. Now I have gained up to 185 and I am starting my diet at 8.5% so my diet will be easy to lose the fat. I dont have to kill myself doing tons of cardio. I let the diet work, do cardio about 30 min in the morn on empty stomach about 5 days a week up until about 6 weeks out and then up it to 2 a days. Some guys have a natural swole look. Its what I call a good Tshirt body. They have big arms usually and appear big when just standing there. I on the other hand look like what you described when I am dieting. I look like I am loosing weight in my clothes. I wear dress clother and long sleeves at work and they just start looking like they are hanging on me. However, when I take them off, and you see me in the gym, my body looks VERY competitive!! Bottom line is....dont fear losing weight. Get iwith someone who can educate you on where you are realistically and where you will end up. If you goal is to just impress your friends and make a person that has no idea about a bodybuilding competition to complement you. Then no problem. But to win a show with the competition level today, you gotta look NASTY HARD!! The beach look......about 6 to 7% bodyfat and you will look great but you will get lost in the lineup even if you have great shape and tons of muscle. Conditioning and preparation are everything in this sport. Never sacrifice hardness for size. Thats where most guys go wrong in their first shows. Trying to weigh a certain weight and be as big as they can be. Those are good goals but not what the judges care about. You wont have a tag on your leg stateing your weight, how much you bench or any stats....its just your look! Ive seen guys look outstanding and come to find out they weighed 12 to 15 lbs less that what I would have guessed.