Tell me about Bodybuilding shows.....

[VENOM X]

Hey guys, im hoping to compete in my first shows next June... I haven't had the opportunity to catch any local shows around here. So i will be going into it somewhat blind... but i will gather as much info as i can before i go into it. If anybody can give me some advice on where to find info or can post you experiences it would be great...

any info would be good, here's what ive been wondering...

what are the different parts of the show

what are the weight divisions

i plan on coming in at 5'8 and 175-180 lbs dried out, maybe less.. i would like to be at the top of my weight class whatever it may be.

I am training naturally, and hope to compete naturally, is that even possible? I think i can do it though

If anyone has pics from the weight division i would like to compete in that would be a great help in determining my progress and where i need to be.

thanks

Will

 

[needsize]

Find what ever federation you want to compete in, and look them up on the net, all the info your askig for will be there.
As for doing it natural, unfortunately its a hard cold fact that if you are competing against guys on juice, you will get your ass handed to you, you just cant compete.
Your stage weight might surprise you though, I am 5'9" and was 235lbs at 12% bodyfat when I started my contest diet. With all the water gone and 16 weeks of dieting, I stepped on stage at 180lbs at 4.5% bf

 

[psychedout]

Needsize, do you fell 16 weeks was necesary for the precontest dieting?? Don't a lot of guys do it for 10 or 12?

 

[VENOM X]

Thanks for the info needsize;

your right i know my stage weight will be lower than i think i'll probably be in the 160-165 range lol i've never had a problem with bf though, i plan on being at 190 at new years at around 5-6 % bodyfat, i would like for my bf to be higher from bulking but it just seams like its not possible...

What different federations are there so i can look them up, im in the southern US in the LA,MS,AL,TN area if that helps.

 

[needsize]

I do feel the 16 weeks was necessary, especially for my first show. next time I probably wont go as long, but I learned a lot of things, and will stay leaner this year. but it did work out as i was the leanest out of the whole show

 

[Sassy69]

are u natural or "supplemented" - obvioulsy you need to verify that you qualify for the different federations & competitions that are scheduled -

NPC is the largest amateur BB federation. Some shows are "tested" (no steroids allowed and they will test for them, often taking a random selection of competitors & conduct some sort of testing, usually lie detector or something like that). Some shows won't mention testing, so its pretty much wide open. You do need to have a current NPC card, but you can usually purchase that at the competition or via the internet. (It's about $50? and good for the full year.)

I believe NGA and NABBA are all natural and will test the winners for steroid use.

Generally you will find levels 1 - 5 competitions. The lower level shows are mostly very local. Level 5 shows are qualifiers for national level competition. You can also expect to run into stiffer competition at the higher level shows. Also as the level of show gets higher, the coverage will increase. For example a level 3 show may be a local (city-wide) show, while a level 5 show may be a regional show, such as the Southern States show which covers most of the Southeast.

Good luck w/ your competition.

Another good thing to do is pick a show that has another similar level / quality show within a week or two of it so you can do both whiel you are top shape. Or if you run into schedule problems with the first & have the 2nd as a fallback. Or if your diet isnt' coming in correctly & perhaps another couple weeks of dieting will get you down to the better bodyfat -- more time to "dial in".

 

[VENOM X]

all i take is, protein, creatine, l-arginine, flax and fish oil, i went the juice rout before now i am training natural to be an inpiration to the high school kids that look up to me and that i help train (im 23 by the way). im not bashing juicers by any means, i just want to max out my natural potential and see where it takes me. I feel that i can be competitive in the lower level shows. But i know as the stakes increase so do the competitors I just wouldn't feel complete if i never gave it a shot. at all

 

[needsize]

thats very smart that you are choosing to max out your natural potential before hitting juice. I did the same approach, 10 years of natural training first. But when it comes to competing you will be at a disadvantage, just so you know. The juiced guys will be able to maintain pretty much all of their mass while dieting down, where as that will be much harder for you. Starting the diet pretty far out and giving yourself lots of time will help that

 

[VENOM X]

I agree i will be at a disadvantage... but to my ad, like i said before i have never had a problem with bf, so dieting down won't be a problem at all, and what mass i have will already be with a low bf, so when i cut down muscle loss will be minimal too imo if i time it right . But you have more experience with this than i do, so im sure i will lose some mass in the process, wherein the juicers will have the advantage

 

[onerepmaximum]

I've competed in NPC. My friend competes in INBF and he wins money. We just get trophies. The shows that I competed in were not tested, I'm pretty sure that when they do test, it is a lie detector. The longer you give yourself to cut down, the less drastic you have to be. You may be able to maintain more muscle if you have the luxury of going a little slower. You'll lose some though. I'm 5'6" and I went from from 187 to 155. I started at about 9% or 10% BF. There's a big difference in getting lean and getting in contest shape. You may suprise yourself what you end up at. You just have to kind of go by the mirror and not worry as much about numbers.

 

[VENOM X]

what do you guys use to dry out for competitions... and do they test for those too?

 

[JJFigure]

NABBA is not tested, for the most part. Occasionally you find a show the sponser has decided to test at, but that's pretty rare. The international level competitions (World and Universe) are absolutely not tested.

NABBA tends to favor leanness over size; most of the judges are active competitors, and are inclined to judge down competitors who have mass but are a little soft. Of course, if you're lean and big, you're golden.

 

[eurorides]

stupid question....why do some/most amature contests not allow juice. but the pros have different rules.?

 

[IJ26]

ive never done a show but I can tell u if u plan to do it naturally u will probably need 16 weeks to diet down. I know u said u are 5-6% bf, honestly a lot of people think they are that lean but they arent. Being in contest shape is very tough to get to especially with no drugs. I dieted down to 5-6% bf for spring break naturally and lost a decent amount of size although my strength never decreased much. Ive also dieted down to the same with gear and the difference is night and day. Also alot of shows say they're natural but youll be competing against guys on gear

 

[JJ from GoodTimes]

sorry, I'm a lil new to all this...what is Juice? Is it just steriods are is it other enhancers as well.

When someone says they are a natural Bodybuilder, What do they mean? Just no steriods? Is stuff like Creatine still consider natural since the body produces it...it just doesn't produce enough for a lot of hardcore guys

 

[jeremys]

sorry, I'm a lil new to all this...what is Juice? Is it just steriods are is it other enhancers as well.

When someone says they are a natural Bodybuilder, What do they mean? Just no steriods? Is stuff like Creatine still consider natural since the body produces it...it just doesn't produce enough for a lot of hardcore guys

juice = steroids

natural = no steroids or prohormones. creatine and protein, etc is acceptable but no precursors to hormones

 

[JJ from GoodTimes]

thanks