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Taking Your Passion for Bodybuilding from the Gym to the Stage (Part 1)

This is part 1 of a two part series of “Taking Your Passion for Bodybuilding from the Gym to the Stage”

By Akash SharmaPublished 5 years ago 4 min read
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The thought of posing down in front of countless critical spectators and judges in trunks that leave little to the imagination may initially seem intimidating to most.

But exploring your motivation to get up onstage could be the best decision you'll ever make. Perhaps you would be driven to compete because you love the attention, you're a hungry competitor, you want a goal to work toward, or you think you're talented enough to carve out a name for yourself and make a lucrative career out of it.

In any case, showing off every inch of your stellar physique onstage can be the most genuine feeling of accomplishment you'll ever feel as a result of your undying enthusiasm and effort. It's an experience you're likely never to forget.

Jay Cutler

Just as with any sport, competing in bodybuilding certainly requires dedication, but it also requires precision unlike anything else.

Every detail affects how you'll do when you finally do battle with the other warriors, from your pre-contest diet and training to your final pump-up just prior to taking the stage. Bodybuilding awards much more than your physical presentation.

It is also a sport largely won by your mental game and experience. Preparing yourself with the proper knowledge is the best way to ensure your moment of glory is nothing short of that.

There are a number of areas to address before you take the stage, but mastering key components such as the following can largely determine your success.

Dieting to get Diced

You should hone your diet between 12 to 16 weeks out from your competition (20 if you can't see your abs). When the clock starts ticking, follow a strict diet packed with protein, complex carbohydrates, and good fats all the things your body needs to get you onstage in ripped condition.

Two weeks out from the show, you should generally be in the exact shape that you want to go onstage with. You should also familiarize yourself with the following basic critical factors to help yourself get into ultra-shredded condition:

Water Intake

Increase daily water intake to eight liters starting two weeks out from the show date. Don't drink distilled water at any time.

Two days out from the show, decrease your intake to six liters. The day before the show, all your water must be taken in before 6:00 p.m. After that, you should not drink water, except for 500 milliliters to keep your mouth wet, so conserve it well. Always drink normal bottled mineral water for water intake.

You should also keep in mind that the water you are drinking is pure. That's why I highly recommend buying a high quality water purifier. Because only good water purifiers can provide pure water without compromising with the essential minerals found in water.

Sodium

Many people make the mistake of decreasing or going to a zero sodium intake, but this will make you as flat as a pancake and as stingy as a 10-year-old boy living on scraps. Keep all sodium-rich foods such as canned tuna in your diet up until three days out from the contest, then cut those, but do not attempt to zero out sodium intake.

Carbohydrate Loading:

Carb depleting and loading is a verbody hit-and-miss process, so you will have to learn your own reactions. Generally, as you get close to the show, it's better to keep your carb intake the same as it is leading up to it, then slightly increase the amount the last three days before based on what you see in the mirror.

For example, add 50 grams more than normal on Wednesday morning (assuming the show is Saturday), see how you look that evening and Thursday morning. If you are nice and full, keep your intake the same for that day and the next. You may need to "top up" the morning of the show, but monitor yourself so you don't spill over. Try a dry run the week before the contest.

Fats

Fat intake will depend on the type of diet you are following. If you are maintaining a diet that's already higher in fat, you will want to reduce your fat intake slightly the final week before the competition and then add extra fats the night before and the morning of the show in the form of nuts, all-natural peanut butter, and steak.

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About the Creator

Akash Sharma

Akash Sharma is a blogger from India. He like to write on various topics like parenting, family, health, child care etc.

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