COMPETITIONS
The process of stepping on stage your first time can be quite intimidating, especially if you are on your own. There are so many vital components necessary for delivering a stage-ready physique.
Allow our team of Bodybuilding Coaches to guide you through the nuts and bolts of competition prep.
It is our belief that those who are truly serious about competing and those already competing and wanting to advance their physique to higher levels of competition, should maintain an off-season body fat in a range of 8 to 12% for males and 12 to 16% for females if they wish to start a 12 to 16 week prep.
This is why in order to start competition prep you should first do a prep assessment.
Prep Assessment
We conduct an introductory session for those considering their first bodybuilding/ physique competition. In this session, the bodybuilding coach will conduct an assessment of the athlete’s body. This assessment is broken down into three areas of focus:
- Structure – Body type, biometrics, and mass-to-height ratio.
- Symmetry – Balance of Muscle Mass between both sides of the body.
- Condition – Body fat composition.
For those athletes ready to move into competition prep they will start with the nutritional indoctrination or the “indoc” phase.
Indoc Phase
In this stage of the prep you begin by eliminating those foods from your diet that is higher in caloric density and low in volume. This generally means cutting out junk food and alcohol. This may also mean the introduction of high-quality foods such as lean meats, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and other unprocessed foods. The initial meal plan is simple and easy to follow. You will not yet be assigned specific calorie goals, meal frequency, or a macronutrient profile to follow. Instead, this phase will be more about building fundamental nutrition habits to build from.
Boost Phase
In this stage of the prep you are assigned specific instructions in the following: daily caloric requirements, ideal macronutrient profile to follow, and a meal schedule to match your day. Overall this phase is to introduce a surplus of micronutrients while beginning to manage your macronutrients and overall calories for the week. During this phase, you will begin managing your food cravings and discover you have better overall appetite control. This is because satiety and fat loss will improve with lower carbohydrate diets; specifically those with higher protein to carbohydrate ratios. These changes will maximize fat oxidation and do more to preserve skeletal muscle tissue.
Shred Phase
This phase is carefully balanced with the requirements of your training plan offering nutritional protocols that vary based on the metabolic activity of your body and your individual nutrient timing requirements from day to day. Simply put we will be increasing your activity and decreasing your carbohydrates. This will happen by reducing some portion sizes of carbohydrates and cycling the number of carbohydrates from day to day. The optimal reduction of your carbohydrates and the balance of your activities must not become detrimental to your metabolic function. The ratio of your macronutrients is fine-tuned to your individual needs.
Peak Phase
In this final phase of your competition prep you will receive individualized dietary manipulations meant to bring about the finishing touches on your physique. The preparation going into this phase is critical or you will more than likely be tempted to attempt drastic dehydration and electrolyte manipulation in the final days and hours prior to competition. This approach is both dangerous and may do little to improve your physique. With proper coaching and your compliance with the plan, this stage of the competition prep will help you deliver your best presentation without risk to your health.
WARNING
Be aware there is an increased risk of developing eating and body image disorders in aesthetic sport and therefore if you have a history of depression or mental illness it is best that you speak to the appropriate mental health professional before beginning your prep. Discuss your plans with your doctor first before beginning any new exercise or diet.
If you would like more information about our Competition Prep or if you have questions about the other services we offer please feel free to Contact Us.
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