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4 weeks out from the competition!

I’m into my final weeks of preparation for my upcoming bodybuilding competition so I’m beginning to spend a lot of time posing.  When you practice your posing, it’s like doing another training session; it’s physically exhausting.  After each training session I’m trying to spend about 20 minutes going through the mandatory/compulsory poses.  I’ve been doing this by myself which has been difficult.

What I’ve learned over time is many people say they’re a bodybuilder but when it comes down to the fine details of what makes a bodybuilder a bodybuilder, they’re clueless.  A prime example of this is posing.  I’ve found very few people who can pose properly.  Every person has their own spin on it and each one conflicts with what someone else says.  When you try to point something out about they’re posing they get defensive and say, “This is the way it’s supposed to be done.”

People tend to overlook the posing aspect of bodybuilding, which is very shocking to me because posing is the culmination of all the hard work in the gym and in the kitchen.   All the months of lifting heavy, eating an abundance of calories, then the dieting, repeated cardio sessions, tanning, shaving, etc…  Some folks go on stage and have a great looking physique and mess everything up because they don’t know how to pose.  What ends up happening is someone walks away with a bad taste in their mouth and talks about how the judges are messed up.  Granted, sometimes there is controversy in competition and politics can come into play, but at the amateur levels many people miss the boat on how important posing is.  The bottomline is, you have to be able to effectively display what you have and capitalize on your strengths.

My current dilemma: I’m at a disadvantage right now because I’m currently living in New Orleans , LA and my team (Team Body Tech) and Coach (Tim Gardner) is in Tampa, FL.  What we’ve come to rely on over the past few months are photos, emails, phone conversations and text messages.  In a perfect world, I’d be there where they are, training together, attending the team meetings, posing together, allowing my coach to have eyes on me all the time so fine tune adjustsments can be made.  Well, this isn’t the perfect world and I’m not able to do that right now so I have to be clear in my mind what I’m supposed to be doing because there are so many outside influences.

What I’ve been doing over time is listening to what people say, carefully observing their posing, making critiques in my head of what I shouldn’t be doing.  In a sense, I’m watching others to observe their flaws to make sure I’m aware of how bad it looks so I don’t make those same mistakes.  That seems kind of bad but it’s what helps me put everything into perspective.  When my coach tells me not to do something and I see others do it, it becomes very clear to me.  I’m a very observant person and when it comes to bodybuilding, I’m locked on like a laser beam because this is my passion and I want to be the best at it.

Since my show is nearing I’m in the process of putting my music together.   I’ve never done this before so I’m watching videos and listening to various soundtracks to determine what will best suit me.  This is my first show and I plan to keep it simple.  I’ll be going into this show with confidence and an extremely shredded physique so I want to use that to my advantage.  I don’t want to make everything more difficult than it has to be with trying to put a dancing routine together with my music – too much at this stage.  That will come with time, and I’m definitely looking forward to it.

To all the amateurs out there, don’t let the outside influences overwhelm you.  Get a clear picture of what you’re trying to do and stick with it.  If you don’t have a coach, do your research and homework.  Communicate with other people and watch them for weaknesses and flaws.  This will help give you a mental picture of what not to do because you’ll remember firsthand how bad it looks.

If you don’t have a hired cook, than you should feel like one with part time duties as a dish washer! My fiancee (Ann) gets a kick out of calling me “the kitchen bitch”. I’d love to defend myself, but unfortunately, she’s right (she’s a pro at being right). Call it a cliché but the saying is true – a body isn’t made in the gym; it’s made in the kitchen.

Diet is everything to bodybuilding, yet, funny enough, I hardly get asked about my diet. The more popular questions are: “What supplements do you take?” and “What type of workouts do you do?” Look, going to the gym and knocking out a good, intense workout is relatively easy. Taking the latest and best supplements money can buy…again, pretty easy. Spending countless hours everyday prepping and preparing meals, going grocery shopping a few times a week and eating every two hours…now, we’re getting to the hard work, dedication and focus that separates the weak, the skinny, the fat and the hardcore bodybuilders.

Food Is Fuel for the Body

Besides the grueling work and time involved in preparing your meals there’s also another small factor that pretty much sucks; there is little variety or room for actually enjoying the food you must eat/consume. I’m not kidding you, by the time I’m done eating and cleaning up – I might get an hour before it’s time to do it again. Food is fuel.

How about some plain brown rice and chicken…4 times a day? How about broccoli, everyday? Well, if you’re going to be a bodybuilder than you better get use to it. Okay, so maybe you can sometimes change the chicken to beef, or maybe fish, but it’s all still the same because there’s no butter and not much flavor. You’ll find that in bodybuilding “burned” is good seasoning!

Prior Planning and Preparation

Piss poor planning and prior preparation will lead to missed meals, incomplete nutritional balance and prolonged catabolism. Diet should be developed based on desired goals and results. Ultimately, people should eat every 3 hours, or so, to keep their metabolism up. By eating on a schedule like this, the body is able to maintain a positive nitrogen balance which is key to building muscle.

For those who bodybuild, there is no shortcut around diet. The bottomline is, diet is the staple of any regimen. It doesn’t matter what supplements you’re taking or how great your workout is. If diet isn’t a primary focus than the results yielded will be limited and you will more than likely end up overtraining.

Now that you realize how important diet is to becoming and being a bodybuilder; we’ll discuss food, nutrition, preparation tips, and perhaps even share recipes…hey, you too will become a good “kitchen bitch”.

The Exception: There are some people out there who are true genetic freaks. You’ll see them eat whatever they want and remain shredded while displaying a world class physique. Not everyone is that blessed. Those of you who are not have to ensure you work extra hard because these genetic freaks will be the competition when you finally get up on stage.

If people really want to gain positive, realistic results they’ll stop spending crazy amounts of money on the newest supplements that make unrealistic promises and get back to the basics; proper diet and nutrition combined with a strict workout program and a solid supplement profile.

In the making...defying all odds!

In bodybuilding everyone has a beginning. The difference between most people is how that beginning begins. For many, they go about it somewhat blindly and learn through trial and error, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. However, others recognize the importance of having a bodybuilding coach from the get-go.

There are a number of reasons why having a bodybuilding coach is extremely beneficial:

Diet – is the key ingredient to a successful bodybuilder. Without a proper diet all the training in the world, and even the greatest supplements on the market, won’t give you a first class physique.A coach can design a meal plan specifically for your body type, body weight and goal. This is done quickly and without much thought because, as the coach, he or she has that knowledge readily available to share with you. The key is to get the right amount of quality ingredients to fuel the body and help it recover. After all, you are what you eat.

Training – can be easily overdone equating to overtraining. Overtraining can lead to injury, joint pain, illness, fatigue and even a loss of muscle mass. For beginners overtraining is a commonly made mistake because he or she always thinks more is better; I was that beginner. Everyone has strong and weak points in their physique so a coach will develop a program that will bring up those weak points giving you a symmetrical physique. Again, depending on a person’s goal, a coach will formulate a training routine to build mass or decrease body fat. Expect the workout to change frequently. This will keep the body from adapting to a specific workout; therefore, allowing for more muscle growth and less plateaus.

Supplementation – is just that – supplementation. Althought supplements are a staple in any bodybuilding regimen, they cannot replace food. Picking the right supplements can be tricky because there are so many new products on the market each claiming to be better than the next. The advertisment of products can mislead someone to purchase products that don’t coincide with his or her goals. A coach can prescribe the right supplements to take, how much and when to take them. In many cases you’ll find yourself taking a lot of the basic stuff that’s been proven to work time and time again. This is where diet comes back into play. When your diet is on par you don’t need all kinds of fancy stuff – you simply need the basics to supplement with your normal meals or pre and post workout.

Motivation – helps with keeping your intensity levels up. People tend to lose motivation when they don’t see the results they are looking for. They’re not seeing the results they want because their diet is off, the training may not be designed right or they’re taking the wrong supplements. Having a coach can get you on the right track and help you dial all of that in; therefore, giving you the results you want. Then, when you go into the gym to train you begin to see the transformation taking place which pushes you harder and harder each day.

In the beginning, or even at the advance levels, there are many benefits to having a professional coach you through the learning process or introduce you to new concepts in lifting, nutrition or supplementation. It’s a learning experience and allows you to grow from there. After the initial coaching cycle you may find that you’ve learned so much you don’t need to hire a coach again. Or, it’s quite possible it’s inspired you enough to begin to read and do your own research on reaching the goal you have set in mind.

Trying to dial it in for the 2009 All Forces Classic!

I’m inside of 8 weeks for the All Forces Classic in Tampa, FL. Training and diet is beginning to intensify. For novice competitors this is where things start to get challenging because the final 8 weeks, or so, are all about dialing it in and making sure you peak at the right time for the show. I’m relying on my coach to make sure I’m on the mark since this will be my first show.

As a member of Team Body Tech, I’m under the tutelage of Tim Gardner (aka…the Architect.) I began working with Tim in March 2009 and this learning experience has been priceless. Most of the knowledge I’ve gained in the sport has all been self taught and I’ve learned a lot through experience. I thought I knew a lot but when I started working with Tim I realized how much I didn’t know, specifically training and diet.

Right now I’m on a strict diet and supplement plan coupled with an intense training program. Since I’m in New Oreans, LA and Tim is in Tampa, FL, he relies on me sending him photos every Monday morning, first thing. He assesses the photos and makes adjustments to my diet and training where needed so things are constantly changing, which is good. The constant change helps keep the workouts exciting, not boring, but also doesn’t let my body’s muscles get use to a constant routine.

I didn’t have a coach when I was training to compete in 2001 (which didn’t happen) and having a coach now, I see a number of mistakes I made in my diet, supplementation (timing) and training. Some examples of mistakes I made were 1) not taking enough amino acids throughout the day and in my diet, 2) not getting enough variety of lean, solid proteins throughout the day, and 3) overtraining, to name a few. The way I feel right now, even though somewhat carb depleted, I can tell a huge difference because my strength isn’t falling nor is the muscle mass I’m holding. Instead, my bodyfat is decreasing and my striations and seperations are beginning to show more and more.

I’m a tall guy so I have to carry a lot of muscle mass to be competitive. Since I don’t carry the huge amount of mass to overshadow the other competitors right now we’re relying on my symmetry and conditioning to bring home a win. I forgot to mention Tim is also an NPC and IFBB judge so he knows what to look for in a bodybuilder, which is an added benefit for me.

For those of you who are unsure about what you’re doing, it may behoove you to invest in getting a coach, at least initially. It will be a great learning experience and will help you build on what you already know. Tim tells me, “I’m driving this train, you just do what I tell you to and we’ll win the show.” That in itself is a great confidence booster.