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Bodybuilding Contest common sense
Q | I'm a young bodybuilder who plans to compete in my first show, but I don't
have a professional adviser. What should I look for in a bodybuilding guru?
A | The most important thing for you or any bodybuilder to have is common sense.
That's far more important than a "guru." Although I work as an adviser for many
of the top pros in the sport, my advice to you is to approach this competition
and your bodybuilding endeavors with as much common sense as possible. If you
have common sense, then you are capable of preparing for your first contest
without the advice or tricks of someone who has less interest in your
performance and health than you do.
Your first competition should be a learning experience, where you focus as much
as possible on gaining knowledge about your body's responses to your contest
prep. This is more important than winning. After all, if you win but don't learn
anything about what worked well for you, then you won't be able to duplicate
your success as you move on to more advanced competitions.
The first part of common sense is to keep your preparation as simple as
possible. Follow a basic diet (FLEX and I have provided many of these over the
years), where you cut calories slightly and keep carbs low to moderate. Observe
a basic bodybuilding diet with discipline, and you will slowly but surely reduce
your bodyfat levels.
Write down everything you take in and do to your body--even how much sleep you
get--in a contest-prep diary. Things that don't seem significant at first may
prove to be critical when you look back at your notes. Studying and comparing
your contest-prep diaries can give you tremendous insight into what you should
do in the future.
Never panic and try to come up with a quick fix if you're having a problem with
your prep. Quick fixes almost never work, and they almost always backfire,
making you look--or feel--even worse than if you'd just accepted the situation.
If you are holding Water or you aren't as lean as you'd like to be on contest
day, don't worry about it. Go ahead and do the show. You'll learn far more from
that than you ever will from last-minute quick fixes, and the new knowledge can
be applied to your next contest.
Books and Courses
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Great Websites
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Excellent Stores
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Recipe Cook Books
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