There are a few people on the board that knew about me preparing for my first bodybuilding competition, but I pretty much kept it quiet. In fact I would bet that some of the members of this board saw me onstage but never knew it. I competed in the John Sherman Classic in Houston, TX about 2 weeks ago and I wanted to share some of my experiences with those who have never competed before (as well as others, of course) so that you have an idea of what to expect.
Background: I have been around bodybuilding for years. Most of my former workout partners were bodybuilders. I have always worked out with them through their dieting, traveled with them to help them prepare before they got onstage, etc... So I was familiar with the process, but it is totally different when you experience it for yourself.
Adjusting to the initial lifestyle: I have always eaten a clean diet. Healthy food has been a part of my life for years. I am not the kind that goes out and eats pizza, hamburgers, etc....I never followed a laid out eating plan, but if I ever wanted to lose weight, I would just increase my cardio and maybe drop my carbs some. It seemed to work ok for me in the past, so I always stuck with that until now. The most important thing I can tell you about preparing for your competition is to find someone to help you in your area, online, or within driving distance that you can check in with regularly that has competed before and is willing to help you. It is the single most important thing you can do. They can look at you and see things that you may not be able to see. It will also allow you to worry about other things, and trust me there are plenty of other things to worry about. Let them tell you what to eat, when to eat it, when to do cardio, when to workout, etc.... It makes it much easier on you, but make sure you do yourself and the person helping you one favor. If you are spending the money to have someone help you or if someone is helping you out of the goodness of their heart, don't you dare make any excuses. Follow the program exactly, no ifs ands or buts. Otherwise don't waste your time. I gave up most of my life during this time period so that I wouldn't be tempted to cheat or miss a meal or cardio, etc.... I will tell you that I didn't miss a workout, a single meal, or even a minute a cardio. Dr. Derek designed everything for me and I wasn't going to let him nor myself down. Avoid temptation, clean out your fridge and adjust your life however you need to in order to make it happen. If I decide to do something I give it everything I've got; I wanted to make sure I had no regrets. Everytime my diet was changed I got rid of everything that didn't need to be there. The less you are around temptation, the less likely you are to cheat.
Everyone wants to help: I have heard that everyone will offer you advice as you prepare for your show but I had no clue how true this was. I was given some of the craziest ideas I have ever heard of. Take the advice, right it down and tell the person who is helping you about it. Maybe it is something reasonable or maybe it is not. The best line I came up with for those who were trying to help me was, "I have someone coaching me for this show and I want to make sure I follow their advice and only their advice this time. They are taking the time to help me and I don't want to piss them off by trying things that they don't want me to do. But I will definitely think about using that advice next time and I am even going to run that idea by my coach and see what they think about it. I appreciate the help." You never know, it could be great advice, but only follow one person at a time. If you start following more than one person at a time it will throw off the plan that they have for you over the long run.
Can you believe this: For myself the transformation of my body was amazing (I am amused by the simple things in life I guess you could say). Take pictures as you go along so you can see your body changing. There were times that I thought was not making any improvements or even gaining bodyfat as I was dieting down, but once I looked at the pictures I could see the results. It will keep your motivation level high. (BTW, I will post my photos showing my progress soon). Just hang on and enjoy the ride. Stay motivated, stick with the program and you will amaze yourself.
All part of the program: The hardest thing for me to deal with was working on posing. I don't like to draw attention to myself normally. Year round I keep myself pretty well covered up and I am not the kind that likes to show off my body. Well one thing that is a must is working on posing. I hated this more than anything else I think. You have to start working on posing several weeks out and the hardest thing is that you still have bodyfat to drop but you are staring at a mirror and flexing with fat still on you. I hated that so bad. It's different from walking by a mirror and checking out your biceps. You are posing like a bodybuilder and trying to look like the guys in the magazine, but you know that you look nothing like the guys in the magazine yet. I am my most severe critic, so it was even harder because all I saw were the negatives. But just do it. Bite your lip, go find a private area away from everyone else and start practicing. Get someone to help you with a routine and posing. Not necessarily babysit you all of the time by training you, but assisting you in perfecting your poses. Video record the person helping you if you can.
The show: I honestly thought I would be scared to death. I was a little nervous, but once I stepped on stage, my adrenaline kicked in. I was cramping like crazy but I didn't even care. So even though I am usually very shy, I actually enjoyed being on stage. When you walk out on stage you don't care about your posing suit, or who is in the audience. You just go with the moment and forgot about everything. BTW, when I first thought about competing I called everyone I knew. I was inviting them to the show...friends, clients, family, etc..... Don't do it. As you get closer and closer to the show you won't care about the people in the audience. You will want your family and close friends there, and that is it. You don't want to have to worry about finding everyone and saying hello. I had some very good friends from AR there, the owner of AR, and my parents as well as a couple of close friends from Houston. I wish I had not invited my clients. I know them, but it is a different kind of relationship when it comes to distant people like that. I should not have mixed business and my personal life. Nothing was wrong with them being there, and nothing bad happened, but you have to remember that it is a very personal thing when you step on stage and you may not want everyone to see the competitive side of you.
After the show: I didn't know this was truly possible, but I put on about 30 pounds in about 4 days after my show. If I had done it differently I would have been more careful about adding so much sodium back into my diet so quickly. I don't know the best way to handle after the show eating yet, but I was a little uncomfortable walking around that bloated.
What kept me going: I want to end this post with many thanks to Dr Derek. I know I have told I appreciate everything before, but I couldn't end this without thanking you once again. You guided me the whole way and set me straight whenever I was in doubt. I had times that I didn't think I would get any results with what you were saying, but it worked everytime. You wouldn't let me slip and you wouldn't let me cut my fat loading short. LOL You helped me achieve the single greatest physical transformation I have ever experienced in my life. There is no way in hell I could have ever done any of this without you. You had a ton of things going on in your personal life, yet you always found the time to help me out. There is no way I can ever express how grateful I am for everything you did for me. I did something I never thought I would do in my lifetime, and I did it well and had fun doing it thanks to you. You have totally changed the way I look at my workouts and eating style for the rest of my life. Thank you.
Update: pics
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Just joking. Glad you enjoyed it.....
