sportsri's blog

First Bodybuilding / Physique Competition - SportsRI

Recently I competed in my first bodybuilding / physique competition in October 2021 at the NPC East Coast Cup and then at the NPC New Englands.

I had begun to consider the possibility of competing a couple of years ago when I began to be more conscientious with respect to diet and upped the intensity of my workouts. A few people at the gym asked if I was interested in competing and thought the new categories of classic physique and physique competition would be a good place to start. The plan initially was to start preparing in January 2020 and compete in the fall of 2020. Of course the COVID pandemic meant that all competition dates were delayed several times. As a result the final contest preparation started in June for the October 2021 contests.

Nutritionally, I first determined my Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) so that I would know my calorie requirements and be able to manage increasing or decreasing calories appropriately. I calculated my BMR using an equation. Next, to confirm the calories needed, I set up a meal plan to meet those daily caloric needs and followed it for a week. I weighed myself at the beginning and end of the week and since my weight was stable I figured the calculation was accurate. Therefore I could use the meal plan and simply add or subtract calories as I progressed through contest preparation. I generally ate 6 meals a day and although I needed to reduce calories I never went below 2, 000 calories per day. I kept to a diet high in protein throughout contest prep, greater than 1g of protein per pound bodyweight. Typically I would do meal prep on the weekend and one other day during the week. I ate chicken, egg whites, and a protein drink every day and fish and beef a couple of times a week. Carbs were oatmeal, rice, rice cakes, cereal or potato. The one meal that seemed to surprise and disgust many people was the combination of chicken and oatmeal but it works well when reheating in the microwave as the oatmeal keeps the chicken moist.

As far as training I generally did a 4 day split of Legs, Chest and Triceps, Back and Biceps, and Shoulders. Most strength training workouts were about 75 minutes. I generally did cardio for 30 minutes 6 days a week. No cardio on leg day. Cardio was generally MISS (Moderate Intensity Steady State) cardio. I was fortunate in that I retired in July so I was able to do the cardio in the morning and then several hours later I would do the strength training. I found that allowed my body to be fresh and maintain my strength through the contest preparation period.

I worked with a personal trainer and we initially met once every couple of weeks and he advised me on nutrition and training. In addition, he checked my body fat percentage using skin calipers. The skin caliper method measures subcutaneous fat and was used as one way to track progress during contest prep and make decisions on any changes such as cutting calories or changing the amount of cardio. During the last month of contest prep I met with the trainer every week.

An important goal was to be contest ready about two weeks before the competition so I did not have to make any drastic changes with respect to diet, cardio, or training during the contest ‘prep week’ one week before the contest. I did make a few minor changes with respect to water and salt intake but did not do any zero carb days or diuretics which some people utilize. Therefore I was able to cruise into the contest feeling healthy and still able to workout as needed.

The final prep before the competition was the spray on tan the evening before the contest. It was an interesting experience as you are in a room with several tents and each tent has one bodybuilder standing naked or nearly so and a person, usually a woman, who sprays on the tan which is quite cool and made me shiver a bit. By the end of the session I had an incredibly dark tan which seemed odd since I have never had a tan in my life. During the tanning session I had the opportunity to see a number of competitors and realized that I did belong there which gave me confidence going into the competition.

The competition was like a number of sports tournaments including wrestling tournaments in that there was a great deal of hurry up and wait which made it difficult to time pumping up and eating and drinking. Once you are out on stage for either the mandatory poses or the individual free posing the time flies. Backstage most everyone was friendly among the chaos.

After the first contest, the NPC East Coast Cup in New Haven, I basically kept my nutrition and workouts the same for the next two weeks leading into the NPC New Englands in Boston. At each competition I won the Masters 60+ Physique and Classic Physique categories and was second in the Open Bodybuilding Bantamweights and Masters 60+ Bodybuilding categories.

Since the competition I have been working to gain lean mass. I was 139 at the first competition and the bantamweight cut off is 143.5 so I have some room to gain mass and push towards the weight limit. My goal was to gain 20 pounds over the next few months and then I would begin cutting once I decided on what competition to do this year. Twenty pounds may seem a lot but one gains about 5 pounds within days after the competition. I have now reached that goal and managed to remain relatively lean. I will stay at this weight through January and make a decision about any competitions in 2022 at the end of January. The earliest I would compete would be late spring.

Once gyms closed due to COVID I developed this home workout based on what limited equipment I had available and what I planned to accomplish. It’s essentially a Leg, Push, Pull, Core routine but could easily be adapted to a one bod ypart a day routine. I performed the exercises as supersets or cycles to increase time under tension to help make up for the intensity missing due to the lack of free weights and machines. In addition, you can add intensity by holding the movement at its peak contraction for a moment. Overall each workout is about 60 minutes. Also, I usually walk 3 miles a day along the East Bay Bike Path. Obviously walking is low intensity but can be converted to a HIIT workout by doing intervals of walking, jogging, and sprinting.

Legs

Step ups 50 total reps BW or Backpack (25 lbs)
Lunges 50 total reps BW or Backpack (25 lbs)
Wall ball squats 50 reps
Calf Raises 25 rep
Roman/Stiff Leg Deadlifts 50 reps Band

Core 4 Sets of Abs and Lower Back

I perform the leg exercises as a superset. The first cycle with body weight (BW), and the second and third cycles I add a backpack with three biology textbooks (25 pounds) for the step ups, lunges, and calf raises. I do substitute Bulgarian splits squats, one leg squats, and hip thrusts on occasion.

Chest and Triceps

Push Ups 25 reps
Fly Low to High 25 reps Band
One Arm Parallel Fly 25 reps Band

Triceps Pushdowns 20 reps Band
Triceps Extensions 20 reps Gallon Jug

Core 4 Sets of Abs and Lower Back

I perform the three chest exercises as a superset. The fly exercise is done with resistance bands and the hands start low and as you bring the hands together the hands move in front of you to about shoulder height, the idea being to hit the upper pecs a bit more. The one arm parallel fly also uses resistance bands and starts with your arms at shoulder height and moves across the body. This one arm variation allows a greater stretch of the pecs.

I do the triceps pushdowns with resistance bands and the triceps extensions with one gallon water jugs ( 8 pounds ) as a superset.

Back and Biceps

Row 20 Reps Band Parallel
Row 20 Reps Low to High
Table Pullup 10 Reps
Pulldown 20 Reps Bands Neutral Grip
Pulldown 20 Reps Bands Straight Arm
Pullups AMAP Pronated Grips
Row 20 Reps Gallon Jug

Bicep Curls 20 reps Bands
Hammer Curl 20 reps Gallon Jug

There are quite a few sets because the back is so strong that working with resistance bands requires more reps to get a good workout. The back exercises are performed as a superset and then the bicep exercises. In the row exercise parallel means the band is relatively parallel from where you station it and throughout the pulling motion. The low to high means the band is anchored near the floor and you are standing a few feet away and pulling the band up to your torso. AMAP is as many as possible. Since I am doing the pull ups using the basement beams the grip somewhat limits the number of reps I can perform.

Shoulders, Traps, Core

Lateral Delt Raises 20 reps Bands / 20 reps Gallon Jugs
Front Delt Raises 20 reps Band / 20 reps Gallon Jugs
Rear Delt Raises 20 reps Band /20 reps Gallon Jugs
Shoulder Shrugs 20 reps Band /20 reps Gallon Jugs

Core 6 Sets of Ab and Lower Back Exercises such as crunches, planks, low back extensions, etc

Due to past shoulder injury and surgery, I do not do overhead presses. The shoulder exercises are done as a superset and I do three cycles.

Be safe and start out slowly when working out at home, especially when you are improvising or rearranging furniture or have not done a particular exercise previously. For example, I use a cooler for the step up and the ceiling beams in the basement for pullups.