Steps to Prepare for a Bodybuilding Competition

It takes more than just dedication to effectively prepare for a bodybuilding competition. You need to be ready to devote a lot of time and effort into fine-tuning your body. Discipline and dedication are both required if you are going to reduce your overall body fat and define your muscles at the level required for competition.

Here is a 7-step list provided by Bulking-Cutting.com of the things you will need to do to be fully prepared:

Step 1: Step #1 - Get a Coach

Don't just hire some buffed out guy from the gym. A competition-level prep coach needs to have experience with bodybuilding competitions who has a lot of knowledge and training. You should also choose someone who has performed in competitions that has an understanding of the nutrition and mental focus that is required in order to succeed. You should also visit your doctor to ensure that you are healthy enough to train at this level.

Step 2: Step #2 - Cardio

In order to reduce the overall percentage of body fat, you will need to do cardio. Jogging, treadmill or anything that gets your heart rate up while exercising for a length of time will help you in this area. Your coach will suggest the exact method that will work best for you, however you should start your cardio training a minimum of 12 weeks prior to the competition. Start out with some basic cardio training and work yourself up to a 45-minute workout. Increase frequency as you get closer to the competition, training 6 days a week in the final weeks.

Step 3: Step #3 - Continue Workout Schedule Without Overtraining

One of the biggest mistake bodybuilders make is to over-train certain parts of the body and under-train others. Make sure you do exercises that will tone and build all of your body parts. The experts say that your muscles can take up to a week to recover, so a good plan of action is to train each muscle group 1-2 times each week in rotation to ensure even workouts are achieved. Never perform this type of intense competition-level training without proper supervision and consultation.

Step 4: Focus on Nutrition

A very important part of this preparatory process is nutrition. You will need to consume additional calories each day than you normally would during training. Add an extra 500-600 calories above your typical level each day. Staying within this range will help you to limit fat gain, yet still give your body enough energy to ensure muscle growth. The additional calories will help your body to grow and recover more quickly from the intensified workouts.

In addition to caloric increase you will need to make sure your daily diet contains enough protein to help develop muscles. Amino acids are found in protein and are considered to be the "building blocks" of muscle - which is your goal during this process. During training you should consume a minimum of 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight in order to achieve your overall muscle-building goals.

Step 5: Monitor Body Fat Levels

You will need to test your body fat percentage throughout your training. Your coach will help you in this area, but you can track your own progress with calipers, a tool that is used to measure the percentage of body fat. Leading experts say that you should shoot for a goal of 4% to 6% of body fat, but the bare minimum you should work to achieve is 8%. Obviously, less is more in this situation. There are things you can do to boost fat percentage reduction including decreasing calories and increasing specific workouts. Again, consult your coach in this area to ensure proper reduction.

Step 6: Practice Your Flex

In addition to reducing body fat and building muscle, you will also need to practice your poses for the competition. The best way to do this is to wear your actual posing suit. There are a number of poses that you will need to do on the competition stage in order to effectively show your muscle definition to the judges. Your coach should have a lot of experience in this area and can give you lots of great advice as to which poses will help you the most.

Step 7: Do Amazing on the Day of Your Bodybuilding Competition

The best tip of all is applied on the day of your competition. Use tanning lotion the day of your show to help bronze your skin. This will give you an edge over paler competitors, as your darkened skin color will help to reveal your muscle definition.

As long as you let common sense be your guide and you follow this 7-step plan, you will be well on your way to competing in your first bodybuilding competition. Be ready to dedicate yourself to the training process and with a lot of hard work, you'll achieve your goals!