There Are No Days Off When Preparing For A Contest

Bodybuilding is a lifestyle . . . a very demanding lifestyle! Even when you are not in the gym training hard, you must maintain a structured eating regimen throughout the entire day. If you want to develop your physique to its fullest potential, taking advantage of the tremendous benefits of state-of-the-art supplements is also important. Your supplementation schedule will need to be followed religiously throughout the day as well. You must also play tricks on your mind to keep your level of motivation high, get enough rest, pay close attention to how your body responds to your efforts, and much more.

When you’re a competitive bodybuilder, the challenge to become your very best is even more demanding. With an impending and immovable contest date approaching, you can’t afford any physical or mental letdowns. You must become even more structured and disciplined—especially when adding more tasks (such as extra cardiovascular training, posing practice, tanning, etc.) And, all of those tasks must be done when you are hungry due to the necessary calorie-deprived diet you are on. There are no days off when preparing for a contest. Even when you have a scheduled day off from training with weights, you still must stay structured. Training with weights in the gym is only one component of contest preparation. When you think about it, your day off from weight training only saves you about an hour a day.

Over the course of my career, the time frame of my contest preparation has gotten longer and longer. As little as five years ago, I remember fellow bodybuilders telling me I was crazy for dieting for all of 16 weeks! Times sure have changed in such a short period of time. The standards for drug-free bodybuilding have been elevated by leaps and bounds. Now, it is very common to see the very best drug-free bodybuilders in the country begin their contest preparation as earlier as six months in advance.

I can’t help but seclude myself most of the time when I get ready for a contest. Where can you really go and what can you really do when you are eating exactly on time every two hours for a six-month stretch? My success as a bodybuilder—especially at the international level—revolves around how efficiently I eat eight times a day. Sure, I can pack up my meals and supplements and take them along with me if I want. In fact, that’s exactly what I will always do when I have seminars or guest appearances. I’d rather just stay home most of the time and get the job done. There’s a price to pay for everything worth having in life. When you’ve set the “outrageous” goal of becoming a bodybuilding icon who’s contributions to the sport are remembered 20 years from now, I believe that’s the hefty price I am forced to pay.