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The first thing you need to do is specifically identify what type of competition and also what organization is sponsoring the event.
Are you:
- figure - not as focused on muscle & size, but rather lean, muscular but "ideal shaped" women. 2 round competition - 1 piece suit & 2 piece suit, shoes, only quarter turns instead of posing & routines like BB. Usually many competitiors as this is the "easiest" of the show types to train for & compete in. This category is new since around 2000 and is now common to many competitive organizations including NPC, IFBB and most other fitness / BB organizations.
- fitness - focuses on strength, energy, agility, presentation, not as muscular as bb but usuall more muscular than figure due to the gymnastic nature of the requirements. Competition involves a 1 piece suit, 2 piece suit with quarter turn posing in addition to a 2-3 minute fitness routine with mandatory moves to demonstrate strength, etc. Fitness girls will often compete in the figure category as well, and figure tends to be a next step for "retired" fitness competitors. This category is common to many competitive organizations including NPC, IFBB and most other fitness / BB organizations.
- bodybuilding - focuses on muscularity, leanness, symmetry and presentation. More recently there is a move away from size and "freakiness", less lean competitiors (less "man-like") after the excesses of the sport in the late 90s. Competition consists of symmetry rounds with quarter turns, mandatory poses (e.g. front double bi, lat spread, abs & thighs, side chest, side tri, etc.) and a 60 sec round of free-form posing with no music for the morning pre-judge, but switching to a 90-sec more choreographed posing routine to the competitor's choice of music. Suit requirements are a 2 piece plain suit in the pre-judge and either the same or a fancier 2-piece for the night show. This category is common to many competitive organizations including NPC, IFBB and most other fitness / BB organizations.
- fitness model - These competitions are often sponsored outside of the traditional muscle / fitness competitive organizations and are geared more towards modeling opportunities. Here's a specific definition for "FAME":
Model Universe Championships is for attractive women and men from around the world. Contestants must have stunning looks, an athletic body and know how to present themselves in a sexy and marketable manner for the judging panel and live & television audience. Contestants must be in good mental & physical health and at least 18 years of age. There are no prescribed height and/or weight limitations.
There are two divisions - Female Sports Model and Male Sports Model. All contestants will be required to perform a runway style presentation in the following three Competition Rounds. Choice of apparel and shoes is at the complete discretion of the contestant.
Sportswear - Active sports apparel appropriate for athletics; Theme selection welcome.
Swimsuit - Women in two piece style and heels; Men in one color suit (no patterns or logos) and bare feet.
Clubwear - Night and social lifestyle.
The judging criteria will be scored upon the following considerations:
Physical Appearance - Body shape, complexion, face, hair and smile 40%
Photogenics - Poise, posture and presentation 40%
Apparel - Coordination, fit and proportion 20%
- ?
Two areas of information:
1) How to diet & train -- the long-term prep
2) How to "do" a show -- preparation, presentation & execution AT the show
National Physique Committee is the largest BB / figure organization going right now. It is the amateur branch of the IFBB, of Olympia & Arnold Classic fame. Here's the NPC contest schedule so you can find out what shows are available in your area. Plan & schedule accordingly
**broken link removed**
A great list of resources iabout figure / fitness / physique competition is available here:
Bodybuilding.com - Fitness Competition Articles!
Some general comments from experience:
1) Assess where you are starting from - weight, bodyfat, degree of comfort with diet & training and how well these are established already.
1a) I highly recommend you review this succinct post about "10 Ways to F--- Up Your Diet" - persistent and consistent dieting is hard enough in general. You add the stress and physical, mental and emotional rollercoaster ride of of 3-4 months of competition dieting and you have the makings for the most miserable days of your life. To avoid that, this is an EXCELLENT reminder of the things that can derail all of your efforts in a heartbeat. If you are prepping for a show (or not!) I recommend you print this out & stick it on your refrigerator or bathroom mirror to constantly be aware of the simple and unexpected ways you can screw yourself as you put everything you are into a show:
EliteFitness.com Bodybuilding Forums - View Single Post - 10 Ways to F--- Up Your Diet!
1b) Menstrual irregularity - this is not limited to competition prep, but is definitely an expected part of it. The specific caues of it is not clearly known, but it is a common occurrence within female atheletes. It is associated with a change / increase in exercise, very low bodyfat and use of AAS. In my experience, my period has been interrupted when I hit about 11% bodyfat during competition prep. It returns within 1-2 months after my show date. (Note: I've been off birth control for every one of my contest experiences.) I'm including a couple articles about so you can at least be aware of this:
Female Athletes & Mentrual Irregularities:
Female Athletes and Menstrual Irregularities by Elzi Volk
Female Athelete Triad:
**broken link removed**
**broken link removed**
**broken link removed**
1c) Women, AAS & Competition:
You can't talk about women & physique competition or modeling w/o running into the steroid discussion. Its just the nature of the sport. The perceived demands of physique competition (and I'm not just talking bodybuilding) and even modeling, first in trying to develop the mass & shape required and also recovery and longevity as you age always end up with girls looking into steroids. It usually starts w/ their boyfriend or some guy at the gym telling them that all they need is a little winny to "lean them out" or whatever bullshit. And then it just goes from there. Women often fail to educate THEMSELVES and rely on the guy to tell them what to do, the guy to get whatever for them, and the guy to set up the cycle for them, and then the guy leaves them when it doesn't work like they thought it would. Always remember that with steroids you are dealing w/ manipulating the hormones that make up the fundamental essence of ourselves as human beings -- our moods, our degree of masculinity / femininity, how our metabolism runs, how we look, etc. It affects every aspect of our lives and in turn, the people around us. That's all up to YOU, as the person who chose to self-medicate & manipulate your natural hormone levels. Not the people around you. Always keep this in mind when you get into this.
In including this little section I want to cite two things I consider "bottom line" if you choose to explore AAS. These are:
- Responsibility for YOURSELF: I'm not going to judge people on their decision to use or not use steroids but I will not hesitate to tell you to your face that your a fucking ignorant idiot if you don't take the responsibility of educating yourself to both make an informed decision and also be responsible enough to accept both the results and the side effects of AAS use. There are lots of resources to gain understanding and lots of places you can ask questions, but you also have to be aware that as a female, your body is MUCH more sensitive to a little bump in testosterone than a guy will be, and further not everyone reacts the same way so in essence, you are your very own personal lab experiment and you have to be willing to take on the risk and the results and use common sense in managing both because no one else can do it for you.
- Natural / Tested Competition -- I consider it cheating (and this IMO is a reflection of your integrity as a person) to enter a natural or tested show or compete in a natural federation and you aren't natural. What does "natural" mean? You can get technical and look at the guidelines for the federation you are competiting in for the specifics - as even at Olympic levels, things like ephedra are considered "banned" substances. This could technically mean if you had a sinus cold and took some Sinutab prior to competing, you'd test positive for banned items. But use your common sense - if you ran a cycle of anavar off season and had it clear before you entered a natural contest and tested negative, I would still consider that cheating. If you feel its necessary to use a steroid, then you have no business competing in a natural show. There are plenty of non-tested shows where you can compete fairly.
2) Select target competition date based on how much work you have to do get there.
Shadow recommends that your bodyfat % should be the number of weeks out from the show you are targeting.
3) Select a back-up date near the same target date for your show. Sometimes you can't always hit the target date - you need to do the show you are ready for. If you aren't ready and you start to panic and try to force your body to be ready, you will probably encounter problems and create stress for yourself that just doesn't help anyone. Many first-timers see a particular show date as a make-or-break, as in "I'm a complete failure in life and everything else if I don't make this show". When really, there are several shows going on between March & November every year and the shows aren't going anywhere. YOu are better off shceduling a target date with some back-ups for flexibility in your ability to prepare and also to accommodate any "life-schedule" changes that can occur during the 8-16 weeks that people usually allow for contest prep. If you are able to hit your show date, if you have one or two back-up dates, these are also shows you can hit while you are still in shape and build on your contest experience from the first show.
4) Prepare to train 24/7. Contest prep isn't just time in the gym. It is also diet, tweaking the diet, giving the tweaked diet time to show results or be changed again. Time to recover. OVer training = under recovery. If you don't always get enough sleep and non-stress time, it will impact your ability to hit your date. You will burn out if you don't pace yourself. You are also giving up a large part of your normal life, i.,e. social activities, relaxed dinners, drinking, occassionally friends dont' understand or support what you are doing and will not want to hang out w/ you any more. So prepare for the stress that can be created by your show prep and the impact it will have on both you and the people around you.
5) Post show - everyone LIVES for their first meal or dessert after their show. A critical thing to keep in mind is that during your several weeks of contest prep, you have cleaned out and optimized your diet such that your body is going to have a hard time metabolizing anything outside of your diet. Therefore if you go out and load salty french fries after your show, prepare to retain water like the Hoover Dam for at least a week. You can easily see a water weight gain of 10-20 lbs immediately and it is not comfortable. The best thing you can do when you come out of a show, is continue to stick to your diet and ease slowly back into eating other types of food so that you don't bloat up and have to deal with that in addition to coming down from the the show itself.
Just a side note, I found the day after a show to be a huge anti-climax after living and breathing nothing but show prep for several weeks. If you can arrange to have some down time if that's how you enjoy your time or get a bunch of friends together so you can continue the post-show party for another afternoon. But do be sure to watch your diet. This includes drinking. Booze is sugar & you haven't had any processed simple sugar in your diet for weeks. You will be a VERY cheap date. So keep your r-ala with you and drink water. Another note is that if you did water depletion for your show, be sure that you also ease slowly back into big water consumption.
Take some time off from training after your show. Let your body recover from all the stress of the extreme dieting & depletion. It will come back fairly quickly, but it needs that first week post-show to ease back into "normal" existence, let its processess adjust and the adrenaline just relax.
This is collectively known as Post Competition Syndrome -- it is a physiological reaction to the extremes of competition prep and it does exist. Most newbies hear about it but don't believe it until they experience it, and then they can't believe how dramatic the effect is. PLEASE READ THIS & UNDERSTAND WHAT IS INVOLVED!
Post-Competition]Post-Competition Perils: Hyperphagia, Adipose Overshoot, & Dysphoria - AFboard
A couple additional articles & discussion that give a reality check about the challenges and sometimes consequences of competition that you should be aware of:
[*]Scott Abel - Metabolic Damage: **broken link removed** and MUSCLE WITH ATTITUDE - Metabolic Damage Part I
[/list] .
Generally you can google "Figure contest preparation" and find all sorts of stuff like this. But I think it is important to pay attention to the types of challenges people encounter when doing an extreme prep for competition -- esp the first time around. I don't think these experiences are things to be scared of, but rather just be aware. This is not a sport for the weak of heart and you can really only see how your body responds. I don't like to hear "I'll do whatever it takes" to do a show, when it starts to take a toll on your body... there's always another show, and you'd rather be healthy to do the next show than burnt out and sick from pushing to hard for the current show. I.e. if you are feeling always exhausted (I don't mean just tired and beat from the training schedule, but just like completely and profoundly burnt), are in a shitty mood all the time, are sick, etc.)
Here's some more links I found on figure posing suits & some posing:
Used Suits -- useful if you are just getting into the sport & not ready to drop $$$$ yet:
Fitness and Figure Competition Suits- Pro Consign Designs Online -Lydia Haskell
**broken link removed**
New Suits -- there are lots of custom suit designers as well as off-the-shelf
Welcome to Sensational Designs! << WARNING about this one -- reports of bad business practices.
**broken link removed**
cm designs
Passion Fruit Designs
CJ's Elite custom suits
Merry Christine Bodywear
Fit Wear Designs
**broken link removed**
www.lidiaconti-bodywear.com
**broken link removed**
Home Page
Fitness and Figure Competition Suits- Pro Consign Designs Online -Lydia Haskell
Jagware - A Cut Above The Rest
**broken link removed**
Welcome To MaggieFit.com, home of NPC Chairman & IFBB Pro Fitness Competitor Maggie Blanchard!
CCFITWEAR.COM/CCSWIMWEAR INC.
tremblay's Design
Tamee Marie
Other stuff:
Here's some more sites I grabbed off some other sites - more suits and also some of these may apply more for "fitness model" shows or also for photo shoots:
Trashy.com - Lingerie - panties - hosiery - swimsuit models - sexy lingerie - Welcome to Trashy Lingerie !
Wicked Temptations sexy lingerie, discount lingerie, sexy bikini thongs & costumes
Crystal bikinis, Clear string bikinis, Contest bikinis and Figure Suits
Retro Clothing at Pinup Girl Clothing! - Retro Dresses, Rockabilly Clothing, Sexy Halloween Costumes, Vintage Reproduction Clothing and More! The Best Selection of Cute, Retro Clothing, Shoes, and Accessories on the Planet!
Sexy Swimwear & Bikinis by Colleen Kelly – Swim Wear Catalog
**broken link removed**
lingerie juicy couture hot clothes at hot-clothes.com
**broken link removed**
http://hotthreads.com/hotshop/
Siren's Secrets
**broken link removed**
posing for figure competition - Bodybuilding.com Forums
**broken link removed**
Figure Competition Prep Guide << THIS ONE LOOKS GOOD FOR POSING
Figure Competition Prep Guide << SAME SITE
**broken link removed**
**broken link removed** << GOOD PICS OF THE VARIETY OF WAYS PEOPLE WILL POSE -- not all correct...!
Bodybuilding.com - Alissa Carpio - NPC Fitness & Figure Posing Guide: Individual & Mandatory Poses.
**broken link removed** << VIDEOS ON POSING FROM REPETROPE -- these guys do most of the "official" videos of the NPC / BB world.
For bodybuilding, I finally found this excerpt I wrote on another thread:
oh boy. So you are doing a BB show in 10 weeks. Assuming the diet & training are tight, first get as much information about your particular show as possible. Generally the BB requirements are:
Pre-judge (morning) show:
- Use a plain color suit (no patterns, etc.)
- They do the symmetry round including general line up, standard poses and quarter turns. Find out what are considered "standard poses" for your show. You can usually contact who ever is running the show -- is it NPC? Then get the name of your state's NPC rep and see if they can get you the requirements for std poses. For ex, they may include a lat spread or a most muscular poses as mandatory, so you should know how to execute that to your best advantage. Even if you look great, if you don't look like you came to the stage prepared, the judges will hold that against you.
- Probably will include a 60 sec individual posing routine -- this is similar to your posing routine to music at the night show, with no music. Because you have no music, it looks stupid to just do your night routine without music. (This is what a lot of people do because they really weren't aware of this part of the competition. But what you really want to do with this is take 60 seconds to display your best poses. You can even just do your best mandatory poses and leave it at that.
Night show:- Here you can use either your same suit from the morning or a fancier one. You should also ask about wearing jewelry, including things like belly rings. The figure / fitness competition is much more about presentation so you will see people w/ a lot of fancy jewelry w/ the outfits, but BB they usually don't like all the distractions. I had to take out my belly ring for my shows. If you can't take it out, its ok though. And also if you have any tattoos, try to cover them w/ some coverup makeup or something.
- Posing routine with music -- for the night show you usually get 90 seconds (as opposed to the 60 sec routine w /no music in the morning) and with music to do your thing. Here's where you again want to show off your best poses and keep the dancing & other distractions to a minimum. My trainer recommends for first timers to simply do your mandatories again but to music. E.g. do 2-3 poses in the center of the stage, move to one side of the stage & show 2-3 moves to that side of the audience, and then back over to the other side of the stage for the other sid of the audience. Or you can compose your own routine. MAke sure whatever you do, hold your poses for a good 3 sec each so the judges can get a good look. DO NOT under an circumstances bend over and show them your butt! My trainer actually says keep the back poses to a minimum again because you are turning your back to the audience and really you want to keep eye contact w/ the audience & the judges. Make sure you are always looking at & smiling at the judges. Don't let your gaze go out & stay out into the audience. The night show is your chance to give a performance & really entertain the crowd. Those competitors who show personality & look like they are having fun on stage are usually the most fun to watch and stand out. Those w/ excellent physiques but who dont' look comfortable on stage don't do as well as they could.
Show prep:
- Protan or Jan Tana. Apparently now you can find people who can airbrush you w/ protan instead of doing the squirt & brush yourself. At larger shows there are people who can do your tanning right there. Jan Tana usually offers the service at the national shows. You should ask around about that. The NPC or your show rep may have suggestions as well. Get at least 2-3 layers of protan -- at least -- I usually do more like 4-6 -- i.e. spray it on, sleep in it, shower, next day repeat until you have a smooth and dark even tan. Also I've heard lots of venues won't allow Dream tan -- this is stuff that lots of people like to use because you just put it on - not several layers and waiting for it to dry, etc. HOWEVER, because you just put it on, it tends to easily smudge and will get all over everything. So most places just don't allow it to be used.
- At the show itself, definitely bring a spare small bottle of protan for touch ups. And usually right before you get called out, while you are in the pump-up area, there are expeditors who have clothes covered in PAM (yes the cooking spray) who will rub you down & give you the "shiny" look.
- And also make sure that your face is dark enough. Often you put all the layers of protan on your body, but its hard to get it on your face and leave it there to dry. But you end up looking really blanched out on stage. This is antoher thing you might be able to find a salon that does airbrush tans & just get your face done. MAC has a good foundation that matches Protan very well (NW 45... or NC 45? I forget) Jan Tana also sells face makeup that matches very well. This tends to be much easier than using protan on your face. I've had it crack on me when it gets dried or if you sweat under the lights it can run. Or, as I experienced, if you go to brush your teeth, a little dribble of toothpaste will make it run or even smear it off.
- Makeup - if you know someone who does makeup for photoshoots or whatever, this might be the way to go so you dont' have to mess w/ doing good stage makeup. Otherwise you can go to the MAC counter & have someone do you a good make over for stage & show you how to apply it yourself. Again you want big & strong so you dont' look washed out on stage.
Posing suits -- There are lots of places to get an off-the-rack suit or have a seamstress/designer make one custom or even buy a used one -- see the above list or add one to this thread if you find someone / some place you had good luck with.
Routine & music -- find out what medium you need to provide your music on -- tape or CD and make sure that you have at least one spare AT the show in case something happens to it. If you can download your music from the internet & rip it to CD that is sufficient. You just need 90 sec of music that is queued up at the beginning of your CD or tape. (They won't set you up on a particular track of a commercial CD -- you need to give them a single cut on a single CD or tape that is cut to 90 sec.) A DJ could mix this for you or you can just make the tape / cd yourself. It doesnt' need to be several cuts mixed like you often see with the fitness competitors. Just something that is upbeat, not too masculine (i.e. dont' do a heavy metal cut), allows you to not have to bounce around or move fast and can hold 3 sec poses. The music should be background and not distract from your posing. And again,. you don't need to dance around or anythign fancy. Just make sure you can move comfortably on stage. Don't make your routine too complex that it messes you up. And generally, I dont like getting down on the floor for any posing because you might wipe out and it just doesn't look smooth. (My opinion). And ALWAYS SMILE!!!
- Posing -- Practice your mandatory poses ALOT. Be able to hold them for 30 sec at a time. It is great conditioning exercise and helps to bring out the detail in your muscles. I'd recommend at 4-6 weeks start spending at least 15 min after training doing your posing. Do it in a mirror so you can get oriented, but also becau video tape yourself. You get a better view of yourself and you can also see in your mind how it is presented to the audience instead of you look in the mirror. I found if I see it in the mirror, it screws up my directions once I get on stage.
For posing, check bodybuilding.com for some info.
Also there are videos called "Perfect Posing" that are good.
Russ Testo is one of the classic "posing guys" - he will actually prepare a routine for you if you provide him the music you want, and then he sends you a video via email of the routine he puts together for you.
Here's a link to post w/ a bunch of posing videos / seminar snippets:
**broken link removed**
And you can also order videos of past large NPC & IFBB shows from Repetrope.com: Bodybuilding DVDs. I think they also have some posing videos as well.
- Depending on how many competitors, they usually allow everyone to do their routines, but they will do the mandatories again and all that from the morning show. At the national shows, at least for NPC, they only allow the top 5 competitors in each class to do the routine at the night show.
Aside from the actual show prep, are you comfortable with the diet & training tweaks during the last week of show prep? I.e. carb depletion, carb-up, water depletion, etc? This is really where you need to have your prep dialed in and I don't know what resources you have for that. This is where having a coach or trainer to work with is really helpful.
Additional sites to check out:
DIETING
Figure Competition Prep Guide
TRAINING
Figure Competition Prep Guide
COMPETITION
Judging/Presentation/Posing
Figure Competition Prep Guide
Are you:
- figure - not as focused on muscle & size, but rather lean, muscular but "ideal shaped" women. 2 round competition - 1 piece suit & 2 piece suit, shoes, only quarter turns instead of posing & routines like BB. Usually many competitiors as this is the "easiest" of the show types to train for & compete in. This category is new since around 2000 and is now common to many competitive organizations including NPC, IFBB and most other fitness / BB organizations.
- fitness - focuses on strength, energy, agility, presentation, not as muscular as bb but usuall more muscular than figure due to the gymnastic nature of the requirements. Competition involves a 1 piece suit, 2 piece suit with quarter turn posing in addition to a 2-3 minute fitness routine with mandatory moves to demonstrate strength, etc. Fitness girls will often compete in the figure category as well, and figure tends to be a next step for "retired" fitness competitors. This category is common to many competitive organizations including NPC, IFBB and most other fitness / BB organizations.
- bodybuilding - focuses on muscularity, leanness, symmetry and presentation. More recently there is a move away from size and "freakiness", less lean competitiors (less "man-like") after the excesses of the sport in the late 90s. Competition consists of symmetry rounds with quarter turns, mandatory poses (e.g. front double bi, lat spread, abs & thighs, side chest, side tri, etc.) and a 60 sec round of free-form posing with no music for the morning pre-judge, but switching to a 90-sec more choreographed posing routine to the competitor's choice of music. Suit requirements are a 2 piece plain suit in the pre-judge and either the same or a fancier 2-piece for the night show. This category is common to many competitive organizations including NPC, IFBB and most other fitness / BB organizations.
- fitness model - These competitions are often sponsored outside of the traditional muscle / fitness competitive organizations and are geared more towards modeling opportunities. Here's a specific definition for "FAME":
Model Universe Championships is for attractive women and men from around the world. Contestants must have stunning looks, an athletic body and know how to present themselves in a sexy and marketable manner for the judging panel and live & television audience. Contestants must be in good mental & physical health and at least 18 years of age. There are no prescribed height and/or weight limitations.
There are two divisions - Female Sports Model and Male Sports Model. All contestants will be required to perform a runway style presentation in the following three Competition Rounds. Choice of apparel and shoes is at the complete discretion of the contestant.
Sportswear - Active sports apparel appropriate for athletics; Theme selection welcome.
Swimsuit - Women in two piece style and heels; Men in one color suit (no patterns or logos) and bare feet.
Clubwear - Night and social lifestyle.
The judging criteria will be scored upon the following considerations:
Physical Appearance - Body shape, complexion, face, hair and smile 40%
Photogenics - Poise, posture and presentation 40%
Apparel - Coordination, fit and proportion 20%
- ?
Two areas of information:
1) How to diet & train -- the long-term prep
2) How to "do" a show -- preparation, presentation & execution AT the show
National Physique Committee is the largest BB / figure organization going right now. It is the amateur branch of the IFBB, of Olympia & Arnold Classic fame. Here's the NPC contest schedule so you can find out what shows are available in your area. Plan & schedule accordingly
**broken link removed**
A great list of resources iabout figure / fitness / physique competition is available here:
Bodybuilding.com - Fitness Competition Articles!
Some general comments from experience:
1) Assess where you are starting from - weight, bodyfat, degree of comfort with diet & training and how well these are established already.
1a) I highly recommend you review this succinct post about "10 Ways to F--- Up Your Diet" - persistent and consistent dieting is hard enough in general. You add the stress and physical, mental and emotional rollercoaster ride of of 3-4 months of competition dieting and you have the makings for the most miserable days of your life. To avoid that, this is an EXCELLENT reminder of the things that can derail all of your efforts in a heartbeat. If you are prepping for a show (or not!) I recommend you print this out & stick it on your refrigerator or bathroom mirror to constantly be aware of the simple and unexpected ways you can screw yourself as you put everything you are into a show:
EliteFitness.com Bodybuilding Forums - View Single Post - 10 Ways to F--- Up Your Diet!
1b) Menstrual irregularity - this is not limited to competition prep, but is definitely an expected part of it. The specific caues of it is not clearly known, but it is a common occurrence within female atheletes. It is associated with a change / increase in exercise, very low bodyfat and use of AAS. In my experience, my period has been interrupted when I hit about 11% bodyfat during competition prep. It returns within 1-2 months after my show date. (Note: I've been off birth control for every one of my contest experiences.) I'm including a couple articles about so you can at least be aware of this:
Female Athletes & Mentrual Irregularities:
Female Athletes and Menstrual Irregularities by Elzi Volk
Female Athelete Triad:
**broken link removed**
**broken link removed**
**broken link removed**
1c) Women, AAS & Competition:
You can't talk about women & physique competition or modeling w/o running into the steroid discussion. Its just the nature of the sport. The perceived demands of physique competition (and I'm not just talking bodybuilding) and even modeling, first in trying to develop the mass & shape required and also recovery and longevity as you age always end up with girls looking into steroids. It usually starts w/ their boyfriend or some guy at the gym telling them that all they need is a little winny to "lean them out" or whatever bullshit. And then it just goes from there. Women often fail to educate THEMSELVES and rely on the guy to tell them what to do, the guy to get whatever for them, and the guy to set up the cycle for them, and then the guy leaves them when it doesn't work like they thought it would. Always remember that with steroids you are dealing w/ manipulating the hormones that make up the fundamental essence of ourselves as human beings -- our moods, our degree of masculinity / femininity, how our metabolism runs, how we look, etc. It affects every aspect of our lives and in turn, the people around us. That's all up to YOU, as the person who chose to self-medicate & manipulate your natural hormone levels. Not the people around you. Always keep this in mind when you get into this.
In including this little section I want to cite two things I consider "bottom line" if you choose to explore AAS. These are:
- Responsibility for YOURSELF: I'm not going to judge people on their decision to use or not use steroids but I will not hesitate to tell you to your face that your a fucking ignorant idiot if you don't take the responsibility of educating yourself to both make an informed decision and also be responsible enough to accept both the results and the side effects of AAS use. There are lots of resources to gain understanding and lots of places you can ask questions, but you also have to be aware that as a female, your body is MUCH more sensitive to a little bump in testosterone than a guy will be, and further not everyone reacts the same way so in essence, you are your very own personal lab experiment and you have to be willing to take on the risk and the results and use common sense in managing both because no one else can do it for you.
- Natural / Tested Competition -- I consider it cheating (and this IMO is a reflection of your integrity as a person) to enter a natural or tested show or compete in a natural federation and you aren't natural. What does "natural" mean? You can get technical and look at the guidelines for the federation you are competiting in for the specifics - as even at Olympic levels, things like ephedra are considered "banned" substances. This could technically mean if you had a sinus cold and took some Sinutab prior to competing, you'd test positive for banned items. But use your common sense - if you ran a cycle of anavar off season and had it clear before you entered a natural contest and tested negative, I would still consider that cheating. If you feel its necessary to use a steroid, then you have no business competing in a natural show. There are plenty of non-tested shows where you can compete fairly.
2) Select target competition date based on how much work you have to do get there.
Shadow recommends that your bodyfat % should be the number of weeks out from the show you are targeting.
3) Select a back-up date near the same target date for your show. Sometimes you can't always hit the target date - you need to do the show you are ready for. If you aren't ready and you start to panic and try to force your body to be ready, you will probably encounter problems and create stress for yourself that just doesn't help anyone. Many first-timers see a particular show date as a make-or-break, as in "I'm a complete failure in life and everything else if I don't make this show". When really, there are several shows going on between March & November every year and the shows aren't going anywhere. YOu are better off shceduling a target date with some back-ups for flexibility in your ability to prepare and also to accommodate any "life-schedule" changes that can occur during the 8-16 weeks that people usually allow for contest prep. If you are able to hit your show date, if you have one or two back-up dates, these are also shows you can hit while you are still in shape and build on your contest experience from the first show.
4) Prepare to train 24/7. Contest prep isn't just time in the gym. It is also diet, tweaking the diet, giving the tweaked diet time to show results or be changed again. Time to recover. OVer training = under recovery. If you don't always get enough sleep and non-stress time, it will impact your ability to hit your date. You will burn out if you don't pace yourself. You are also giving up a large part of your normal life, i.,e. social activities, relaxed dinners, drinking, occassionally friends dont' understand or support what you are doing and will not want to hang out w/ you any more. So prepare for the stress that can be created by your show prep and the impact it will have on both you and the people around you.
5) Post show - everyone LIVES for their first meal or dessert after their show. A critical thing to keep in mind is that during your several weeks of contest prep, you have cleaned out and optimized your diet such that your body is going to have a hard time metabolizing anything outside of your diet. Therefore if you go out and load salty french fries after your show, prepare to retain water like the Hoover Dam for at least a week. You can easily see a water weight gain of 10-20 lbs immediately and it is not comfortable. The best thing you can do when you come out of a show, is continue to stick to your diet and ease slowly back into eating other types of food so that you don't bloat up and have to deal with that in addition to coming down from the the show itself.
Just a side note, I found the day after a show to be a huge anti-climax after living and breathing nothing but show prep for several weeks. If you can arrange to have some down time if that's how you enjoy your time or get a bunch of friends together so you can continue the post-show party for another afternoon. But do be sure to watch your diet. This includes drinking. Booze is sugar & you haven't had any processed simple sugar in your diet for weeks. You will be a VERY cheap date. So keep your r-ala with you and drink water. Another note is that if you did water depletion for your show, be sure that you also ease slowly back into big water consumption.
Take some time off from training after your show. Let your body recover from all the stress of the extreme dieting & depletion. It will come back fairly quickly, but it needs that first week post-show to ease back into "normal" existence, let its processess adjust and the adrenaline just relax.
This is collectively known as Post Competition Syndrome -- it is a physiological reaction to the extremes of competition prep and it does exist. Most newbies hear about it but don't believe it until they experience it, and then they can't believe how dramatic the effect is. PLEASE READ THIS & UNDERSTAND WHAT IS INVOLVED!
Post-Competition]Post-Competition Perils: Hyperphagia, Adipose Overshoot, & Dysphoria - AFboard
A couple additional articles & discussion that give a reality check about the challenges and sometimes consequences of competition that you should be aware of:
[*]Scott Abel - Metabolic Damage: **broken link removed** and MUSCLE WITH ATTITUDE - Metabolic Damage Part I
[/list] .
Generally you can google "Figure contest preparation" and find all sorts of stuff like this. But I think it is important to pay attention to the types of challenges people encounter when doing an extreme prep for competition -- esp the first time around. I don't think these experiences are things to be scared of, but rather just be aware. This is not a sport for the weak of heart and you can really only see how your body responds. I don't like to hear "I'll do whatever it takes" to do a show, when it starts to take a toll on your body... there's always another show, and you'd rather be healthy to do the next show than burnt out and sick from pushing to hard for the current show. I.e. if you are feeling always exhausted (I don't mean just tired and beat from the training schedule, but just like completely and profoundly burnt), are in a shitty mood all the time, are sick, etc.)
Here's some more links I found on figure posing suits & some posing:
Used Suits -- useful if you are just getting into the sport & not ready to drop $$$$ yet:
Fitness and Figure Competition Suits- Pro Consign Designs Online -Lydia Haskell
**broken link removed**
New Suits -- there are lots of custom suit designers as well as off-the-shelf
Welcome to Sensational Designs! << WARNING about this one -- reports of bad business practices.
**broken link removed**
cm designs
Passion Fruit Designs
CJ's Elite custom suits
Merry Christine Bodywear
Fit Wear Designs
**broken link removed**
www.lidiaconti-bodywear.com
**broken link removed**
Home Page
Fitness and Figure Competition Suits- Pro Consign Designs Online -Lydia Haskell
Jagware - A Cut Above The Rest
**broken link removed**
Welcome To MaggieFit.com, home of NPC Chairman & IFBB Pro Fitness Competitor Maggie Blanchard!
CCFITWEAR.COM/CCSWIMWEAR INC.
tremblay's Design
Tamee Marie
Other stuff:
Here's some more sites I grabbed off some other sites - more suits and also some of these may apply more for "fitness model" shows or also for photo shoots:
Trashy.com - Lingerie - panties - hosiery - swimsuit models - sexy lingerie - Welcome to Trashy Lingerie !
Wicked Temptations sexy lingerie, discount lingerie, sexy bikini thongs & costumes
Crystal bikinis, Clear string bikinis, Contest bikinis and Figure Suits
Retro Clothing at Pinup Girl Clothing! - Retro Dresses, Rockabilly Clothing, Sexy Halloween Costumes, Vintage Reproduction Clothing and More! The Best Selection of Cute, Retro Clothing, Shoes, and Accessories on the Planet!
Sexy Swimwear & Bikinis by Colleen Kelly – Swim Wear Catalog
**broken link removed**
lingerie juicy couture hot clothes at hot-clothes.com
**broken link removed**
http://hotthreads.com/hotshop/
Siren's Secrets
**broken link removed**
posing for figure competition - Bodybuilding.com Forums
**broken link removed**
Figure Competition Prep Guide << THIS ONE LOOKS GOOD FOR POSING
Figure Competition Prep Guide << SAME SITE
**broken link removed**
**broken link removed** << GOOD PICS OF THE VARIETY OF WAYS PEOPLE WILL POSE -- not all correct...!
Bodybuilding.com - Alissa Carpio - NPC Fitness & Figure Posing Guide: Individual & Mandatory Poses.
**broken link removed** << VIDEOS ON POSING FROM REPETROPE -- these guys do most of the "official" videos of the NPC / BB world.
For bodybuilding, I finally found this excerpt I wrote on another thread:
oh boy. So you are doing a BB show in 10 weeks. Assuming the diet & training are tight, first get as much information about your particular show as possible. Generally the BB requirements are:
Pre-judge (morning) show:
- Use a plain color suit (no patterns, etc.)
- They do the symmetry round including general line up, standard poses and quarter turns. Find out what are considered "standard poses" for your show. You can usually contact who ever is running the show -- is it NPC? Then get the name of your state's NPC rep and see if they can get you the requirements for std poses. For ex, they may include a lat spread or a most muscular poses as mandatory, so you should know how to execute that to your best advantage. Even if you look great, if you don't look like you came to the stage prepared, the judges will hold that against you.
- Probably will include a 60 sec individual posing routine -- this is similar to your posing routine to music at the night show, with no music. Because you have no music, it looks stupid to just do your night routine without music. (This is what a lot of people do because they really weren't aware of this part of the competition. But what you really want to do with this is take 60 seconds to display your best poses. You can even just do your best mandatory poses and leave it at that.
Night show:- Here you can use either your same suit from the morning or a fancier one. You should also ask about wearing jewelry, including things like belly rings. The figure / fitness competition is much more about presentation so you will see people w/ a lot of fancy jewelry w/ the outfits, but BB they usually don't like all the distractions. I had to take out my belly ring for my shows. If you can't take it out, its ok though. And also if you have any tattoos, try to cover them w/ some coverup makeup or something.
- Posing routine with music -- for the night show you usually get 90 seconds (as opposed to the 60 sec routine w /no music in the morning) and with music to do your thing. Here's where you again want to show off your best poses and keep the dancing & other distractions to a minimum. My trainer recommends for first timers to simply do your mandatories again but to music. E.g. do 2-3 poses in the center of the stage, move to one side of the stage & show 2-3 moves to that side of the audience, and then back over to the other side of the stage for the other sid of the audience. Or you can compose your own routine. MAke sure whatever you do, hold your poses for a good 3 sec each so the judges can get a good look. DO NOT under an circumstances bend over and show them your butt! My trainer actually says keep the back poses to a minimum again because you are turning your back to the audience and really you want to keep eye contact w/ the audience & the judges. Make sure you are always looking at & smiling at the judges. Don't let your gaze go out & stay out into the audience. The night show is your chance to give a performance & really entertain the crowd. Those competitors who show personality & look like they are having fun on stage are usually the most fun to watch and stand out. Those w/ excellent physiques but who dont' look comfortable on stage don't do as well as they could.
Show prep:
- Protan or Jan Tana. Apparently now you can find people who can airbrush you w/ protan instead of doing the squirt & brush yourself. At larger shows there are people who can do your tanning right there. Jan Tana usually offers the service at the national shows. You should ask around about that. The NPC or your show rep may have suggestions as well. Get at least 2-3 layers of protan -- at least -- I usually do more like 4-6 -- i.e. spray it on, sleep in it, shower, next day repeat until you have a smooth and dark even tan. Also I've heard lots of venues won't allow Dream tan -- this is stuff that lots of people like to use because you just put it on - not several layers and waiting for it to dry, etc. HOWEVER, because you just put it on, it tends to easily smudge and will get all over everything. So most places just don't allow it to be used.
- At the show itself, definitely bring a spare small bottle of protan for touch ups. And usually right before you get called out, while you are in the pump-up area, there are expeditors who have clothes covered in PAM (yes the cooking spray) who will rub you down & give you the "shiny" look.
- And also make sure that your face is dark enough. Often you put all the layers of protan on your body, but its hard to get it on your face and leave it there to dry. But you end up looking really blanched out on stage. This is antoher thing you might be able to find a salon that does airbrush tans & just get your face done. MAC has a good foundation that matches Protan very well (NW 45... or NC 45? I forget) Jan Tana also sells face makeup that matches very well. This tends to be much easier than using protan on your face. I've had it crack on me when it gets dried or if you sweat under the lights it can run. Or, as I experienced, if you go to brush your teeth, a little dribble of toothpaste will make it run or even smear it off.
- Makeup - if you know someone who does makeup for photoshoots or whatever, this might be the way to go so you dont' have to mess w/ doing good stage makeup. Otherwise you can go to the MAC counter & have someone do you a good make over for stage & show you how to apply it yourself. Again you want big & strong so you dont' look washed out on stage.
Posing suits -- There are lots of places to get an off-the-rack suit or have a seamstress/designer make one custom or even buy a used one -- see the above list or add one to this thread if you find someone / some place you had good luck with.
Routine & music -- find out what medium you need to provide your music on -- tape or CD and make sure that you have at least one spare AT the show in case something happens to it. If you can download your music from the internet & rip it to CD that is sufficient. You just need 90 sec of music that is queued up at the beginning of your CD or tape. (They won't set you up on a particular track of a commercial CD -- you need to give them a single cut on a single CD or tape that is cut to 90 sec.) A DJ could mix this for you or you can just make the tape / cd yourself. It doesnt' need to be several cuts mixed like you often see with the fitness competitors. Just something that is upbeat, not too masculine (i.e. dont' do a heavy metal cut), allows you to not have to bounce around or move fast and can hold 3 sec poses. The music should be background and not distract from your posing. And again,. you don't need to dance around or anythign fancy. Just make sure you can move comfortably on stage. Don't make your routine too complex that it messes you up. And generally, I dont like getting down on the floor for any posing because you might wipe out and it just doesn't look smooth. (My opinion). And ALWAYS SMILE!!!
- Posing -- Practice your mandatory poses ALOT. Be able to hold them for 30 sec at a time. It is great conditioning exercise and helps to bring out the detail in your muscles. I'd recommend at 4-6 weeks start spending at least 15 min after training doing your posing. Do it in a mirror so you can get oriented, but also becau video tape yourself. You get a better view of yourself and you can also see in your mind how it is presented to the audience instead of you look in the mirror. I found if I see it in the mirror, it screws up my directions once I get on stage.
For posing, check bodybuilding.com for some info.
Also there are videos called "Perfect Posing" that are good.
Russ Testo is one of the classic "posing guys" - he will actually prepare a routine for you if you provide him the music you want, and then he sends you a video via email of the routine he puts together for you.
Here's a link to post w/ a bunch of posing videos / seminar snippets:
**broken link removed**
And you can also order videos of past large NPC & IFBB shows from Repetrope.com: Bodybuilding DVDs. I think they also have some posing videos as well.
- Depending on how many competitors, they usually allow everyone to do their routines, but they will do the mandatories again and all that from the morning show. At the national shows, at least for NPC, they only allow the top 5 competitors in each class to do the routine at the night show.
Aside from the actual show prep, are you comfortable with the diet & training tweaks during the last week of show prep? I.e. carb depletion, carb-up, water depletion, etc? This is really where you need to have your prep dialed in and I don't know what resources you have for that. This is where having a coach or trainer to work with is really helpful.
Additional sites to check out:
DIETING
Figure Competition Prep Guide
TRAINING
Figure Competition Prep Guide
COMPETITION
Judging/Presentation/Posing
Figure Competition Prep Guide
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