This
section is designed to to give guidance to someone
who is interested in competitive sports
(bodybuilding and fitness) It can also be very
helpful to those who just want to have a structured
plan to follow when it come to staying in great
shape. Competing on a fitness or bodybuilding stage
can be a bit overwhelming and discouraging when you
find out the amount of time ,effort and dedication
it takes to get ready. Well it doesn't have to be
that way. Anything that is worth while getting is
never going to be easy or just handed to you. You
must earn it! That's where we come in. At Personal
Best Fitness you will get all the help,
guidance and support you will need to achieve you
fitness goals. So, whether you are a seasoned
veteran or just a novice, there will always be
something in the COMPETITION
TIPS section for you.
I am quite adamant about the usage of
fitness supplements in a general or competition diet plan.
Not only because they are cost effective compared to whole
food, but they are also quite easily implemented into your
daily hectic schedule. At one time only competitive
athletes were the only people interested in supplements,..now
its a million dollar industry that reaches everyone from
doctors to lawyers to pipe fitters, that are trying to eat
for the fitness lifestyle.
Now, that doesn't mean you need to
use supplements to get fit, but it will make it a bit
easier, and I feel if there is one thing that is important in
a meal plan it is USER FRIENDLY. We
don't want to create any
kind of resentment towards your plan or your training, If you
do that you are setting yourself up to fail.
Some of the
added benefits are:
NO EXTRA OR ADDED CALORIES
EASILY AND
QUICKLY DIGESTED
COST EFFECTIVE
VERY CONVENIENT
Once you
have decided that supplements are for you. What you need to
take is another issue all together. At Personal Best we will
recommend the best supplements for your specific goals and
needs.
Dieting for a competitive
purposes is a very important aspect of your overall training
and preparation. the goal is to lose as much body fat and
water as possible with retaining as much lean mass (muscle
tissue) as possible. Sometimes this is easier said then
done. In fitness you want a lean muscular condition so your
meal plan would a bit different than a body builder. In
order to achieve this there area few guidelines that must be
followed. You will need to cut your saturated fat intake,
leaving only fats from your protein sources
(chicken, turkey, red meat etc...) Your carb choices
should be potatoes, rice oats and vegetables. If added fats
are needed in your diet, that can be done by using flax seed
oil or olive oil
So
Let's Talk Protein - This is the building
block for all muscle growth and development. If you want to
increase your lean muscle tissue you NEED to eat protein. I
find that inadequate amounts of protein in a diet is the
most common mistake in all aspects of nutrition, whether
general or competitive alike. Once you ingest your protein
via drink or whole food your body breaks down the protein
into amino acids. These amino acids are essential to the
repair of broken down muscle tissue. I recommend getting a
minimum of 1 gram of protein per 1 lb of bodyweight. Some
bodybuilders use up to 2 grams per lb per day. A good rule
of thumb would be between 35 and 45 % of your total calories
come from protein.
Now
it's Time for Carbohydrates - Carbohydrates are
your muscles primary and desired source for energy. Carbs
are divided into 2 categories, Simple (or simple sugars) and
complex carbs (starches). For a longer a more sustained level
of energy and also for consistent fat loss Complex Carbs are
the best choice. The majority of your carb intake should
come from these sources. Complex carbs also pass through
your system at a much slower pace then simple sugars therefore will not give you the highs and lows associated
with the ingestion of sugar. Your total carb intake should
be around 45 to 50% of you daily intake. Just a reminder, If
you take in to many calories as carbs, you will increase the
chance of those extra carbs being converted to stored energy
(Fat).
Fats
- Fats, among other things, are your greatest
source of stored energy. Your body utilizes fat as it most
efficient source of muscular food. Fats also aid in the
transport of fat soluble vitamins and and improve muscle cell
structure. All of this is important for healthy skin, nails,
hair and immune system. Now I'm not saying that you can go out
and eat all the french fries and greasy foods you want, but
you can have the fat from fatty fish or olive and flax seed
oils.
Total
Calories for the Day - Total calories for the day
are basically your totals of carbs, protein and fats. And
everybody has specific numbers that work best for them. This
why fad or starvation diets don't work or if they do...not for
long! Its pretty simple how to calculate your total caloric
requirement for the day. let me point out that this only a
guide and everybody has a specific caloric need. Ratios may
change, some people are carb sensitive (me for instance) and
some need more than the recommended intake. But you have to
start somewhere so sake of argument this will work. If you
weigh 145lbs and you want to lose or maintain your weight,
multiply your weight(145lbs) by 12 for a total of
1,740 calories. Then multiply 1,740 by .30 or .35 or .40 to
determine your intake of protein for the day. Then take total
calories and multiply by .45 or .50 to get total carbs. Do
the same for your fats and there you have it. Remember that
there are 4 calories in each gram of protein and carbs and 9
calories in each gram of fat.
Presentation and costumes
play a huge role in how you are judged and scored during a
competition. You must take many factors into consideration
when picking a posing suit or fitness competition costume.
Just because you may like it and its nice, doesn't mean its
flattering or what you should be wearing, The cut ,color and
even the fabric may be all wrong. And these are the thing
that you are being judges on, they are also in your control
to fix. Remember...genetics you can't fix, bad costumes or
colors you can.
A few thing that should be
taken in consideration when picking out a costume or
swimsuit are listed here.
Do you have long
or short midsection?
Do you have a
big or small waist?
Do you have long
or short legs?
Do you have a
large or small chest?
These are just a sample of
what you should look for when picking the costume or
swimsuit for your contest. As far as men and woman
bodybuilders go, some of the same principles should be taken
into consideration. For men ,I like to see black as a color
for prejudging, woman should wear a darker color as well for
prejudging. For the posing routine at the night performance
- that's a different story. In most federations you are
judged usually on the performance and not on your the color
and presentation like you are during the earlier
prejudging.
A bodybuilding routine is
one of my personal favorite parts of the show. I really
enjoying "hamming it up" on stage, and you should,
too . Its a lot of hard work to get up there and you should
really enjoy it. I do wish that people put more time in
there choice of music and posing routine instead of just
winging it. This is a bit like the posing suits, just
because it fits, doesn't mean it looks good. You need to
spend some time and choose some music that is reflective of
your physique and your personality.
Weight training is a
very important aspect of your fitness program for
obvious reasons. The most obvious one is it
causes muscles to grow and change shape.
Every man and especially woman want tight firm
muscles and a resistance weight training program
will do that for you. Weight training also
helps to burn calories when working to lose body
fat. Lean body mass affects metabolic
rate (this is how fast the body uses it's energy
or calorie stores) As a result of
weight training, we find that we need more
calories to get our muscles to grow. More
working muscle burns more body fat.
With regards to
fitness competitors, we you are required to have
toned, shapely muscles, this can only be obtained
by weight training.
A
SPECIAL NOTE TO WOMEN: DON'T
BE AFRAID OF THE WEIGHTS!
You are not
genetically designed to get BIG muscles, you do
not have enough testosterone in your system.
There are some women that may develop faster than
others but if you think that you are going to look
like a muscle-bound freak from weight training you
are misled. unless you are going to replace
ESTROGEN for TESTOSTERONE it will never happen.
CARDIO
,CARDIO CARDIO!!!!
Yes, you do have to
do cardio! This has to be my least favorite
part of getting into contest shape. However,
unless you are a genetic freak with an out of
control metabolism, you will need to do cardio at
least 3 to 5 days per week, at a minimum of 30 to
40 minutes per session. As much as you would
like to think that diet and training alone will do
the trick. You will come to the reality that
cardio works like nothing else.
WEIGHT
TRAINING!!!
I have been weight
training for many years and have tried just about
all the exercise programs that have come down the
road. I feel that they all have there place
in a certain individuals program.
I personally stick
to the basics. Nothing extraordinary, just
basic exercises and training as hard and as heavy
(with perfect form) as possible.
This is a normal
training split for me.
Monday
Chest and Biceps
Tuesday
Back and Calves
Weds
Off
Thursday
Shoulders and Triceps
Friday
Quads and Hamstrings
All the major body
parts I will use anywhere between 10 to 12 sets.
Using between 8 to 12 reps per set.
It is very important
to take each set to muscular failure, that is the
point where making the muscle contract is no
longer possible to do on your own.
The minor body parts
I will train anywhere from 6 to 8 sets each, with
same number of reps per set.
This is just a guide
that I follow and have made very good gains with.
ALWAYS
CONSULT WITH YOUR DOCTOR BEFORE STARTING ANY
WORKOUT OR DIET PROGRAM OF ANY KIND.
COMPETITION
TIPS