Be Careful of What You Eat Prior to Contest Time

Your diet is so very important when training for a bodybuilding contest. Your diet can make or break your appearance and all that hard work in the gym can be covered by an unwanted layer of fat of film of water under your skin. Do not carb up on some odd food choice that you haven't been eating during your pre-contest diet. Foods such as pies, ice cream, cake, donuts and pizza are some of the worst choices you can make considering that you do not know how your body will now react to them. These foods can bloat your stomach and cause you to retain water hiding your cuts. Carb up by dieting smartly and increase the amount of clean carbs you ingest slowly throughout the last week prior to the contest. If you start the increasing of carbs by mid-week prior to the contest you should be close to your target look by contest time. remember to also stay away from foods high in fiber since fiber can bloat your stomach as well.

Proper Tanning Technique for Bodybuilding Competition Success

Don't ever underestimate the importance of a proper stage "tan" for a bodybuilding competition. Stage lights are extremely bright and if your tan is not up to par by being to light you will look washed out and flat. All that hard work you've put in for your physique will be undetectable under the unforgiving bright stage lights.

This exact problem occurred at my first competition. I put on one coat of sudden tan and called it a day. I did have a nice healthy looking bronzed instant tan which I thought would be adequate for the contest. I couldn't have been more wrong. When I arrived at the competition I couldn't believe how dark some of competitors were. They were nearly black with a base tan and 6 - 8 coats of bodybuilding instant tan. I though they were grossly overdoing it but when they walked out on stage I realized that I was the one who was wrong and severely lacking in the tan category. I finished out of the money in my division even though I had the most developed and cut physique on stage. But if nobody including the judges could see my ripped physique what good did it do me? By being "undertanned" it also gave the judges the impression that I was a novice and was ill prepared, and the results showed that. This was confirmed when I saw the video from the competition. I was so washed out that you could hardly see any muscular definition.

I learned a valuable lesson that day in stage presence. A bodybuilding competition is more than gym work and diet. You must know how to present yourself properly on stage with proper attention given to posing and tanning. If you don't know how to show your physique in the best light you will lose. Posing is another topic altogether and will be addressed in a separate post. This issue at hand today is to address proper tanning. After talking to some of my competitors I finally understood the methodology of proper tanning preparation. A solid sun based tan plus 6 - 8 coats of a bottle tan will do the trick. Regarding the base tan, I never even considered a tanning bed for this as the potential skin cancer risks far outweigh the short term benefits. For the instant tan preparation, research the available products and ask your fellow bodybuilders for their input as well. Prepare by starting the instant tan process 2 - 3 days before the competition. In total you should put on 6 - 8 coats. Remember to shower off the excess after each coat has been allowed to dry. Apply the last coat the day of the competition and do not shower after that cost has been applied. Make sure that each coat is applied evenly across your body. Make a point of not applying too much tanning solution to your body's crevices such as knees and elbows as they can appear too dark. If your tanning preparation is done properly that hard earned definition will shine through the harsh lights and will be evident for all to enjoy in the auditorium.

2009 Mr. Olympia Results and Summary - Jay Cutler Regains Title

Jay Cutler at age 36 looked huge, ripped, and conditioned, in his successful quest to regain the Mr. Olympia bodybuilding title. Dexter Jackson was a bit off and finished third in a major upset loss to Branch Warren who placed second. Jay was the first Mr. Olympia ever to regain his title after being defeated on the Olympia stage. Jay, a Las Vegas resident, was the clear crowd favorite who won 40% of the first place vote in an audience poll. The enthusiastic crowd who cheered Jay who garnered $200,000 for the victory, was pleased with the decision. Joe Weider, the master blaster, was also on stage to congratulate the winner.

The 2nd year of the now popular 202 Mr. Olympia also proved to be a great contest with Kevin English edging a tremendously shaped and conditioned David Henry, last year's victor, for the overall title. Crowd favorites Mark Dugdale and Richard "Flex" Lewis were in great shape and also finished in the money. I would have liked to see a bit more prize money for the 202 as this contest has really soared in popularity and the athletes were all in outstanding condition. Maybe even the have the winner and runner-up automatically placed in the Olympia top ten and compete for that title as well? I thought that English and Henry would have easily cracked the top ten. Bob Cicherillo as always did a tremendous job behind the mike as MC for the event. All in all this was a great event with the muscle quality as high as it's ever been.

Day Number One Of Bodybuilding Comeback

My name is Harvey Reich and I'm currently 49 years old. I've been bodybuilding (on and off since age 30) for 35 years. The last time I devoted myself to the sport was 2005 when I last entered and won a contest, Natural Masters Illinois. I was 45 years old then. At that age I performed squats with 275 x 15 for multiple sets and I was also able to do pullups for 15 reps per set. I'm quite proud of those lifts. I still did supersets, giant sets, etc. and I was able to get into the best shape of my life culminating with the aforementioned title.  Subsequently, I started Unique Fitness Concepts (a fitness equipment supply company) and my energies have been fully devoted to the company. As a result my hard fought gains slowly faded with sporadic training over the past few years. I want to make a comeback and again win a masters title at age 50. This will be a daily journal of my quest to accomplish that goal.

DAY 1:  Worked chest today. I am coming off a shoulder injury which I occured while bench pressing back in May. I've rested since then (4 months) and today is the day! I started my chest workout with bench presses 135 x 12 (2), 155 x 12 (2) and 145 x 12. Shoulder felt pressure during the set but no pain. Hopefully it has healed. I was up to 225 x 8, but I must ease back into the routine so I don't re-injure my shoulder. Next I did three sets of dumbbell incline presses 60's x 10 (2) and 55's x 10.  I usually do barbell presses but the bench was well occupied and I didn't want to wait around or do another exercise instead. I finished chest off with dumbbell flyes 45's x 8 (3). My pecs were VERY fatigued early on but I pushed through ok. I finished with three sets of leg raises for abs, 60 reps total. At this stage I don't have great intensity but I think that will return in time with consistency of my workouts.

Assess Your Physique

Monitor your body's progress and overall development by looking at yourself in a full length mirror. This is the best way to assess your overall progress as well as your body's strengths and weaknesses. A mirror will be brutally honest with you and if you heed its advice you can determine which body parts need extra work and be on your way to better more eye pleasing proportioned physique.

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Proper Dieting Technique

When dieting for a contest or just to rid yourself of extra pounds always lose the weight gradually. Any extreme diet will often end up burning muscle along with the fat and the results (the way you look) will not be what you had hoped for. The proper method is to gradually reduce calories over time with one increased carb day per week (to keep your metabolism up). At the gym perform cardio in the fat burning zone.

For more fitness information please check out our website Unique Fitness Concepts which features 1,000's of fitness equipment products as well as articles, events calendar, exercise tips, and message board.