So you want to compete? Everything you need to know before stepping foot on a fitness stage - competing in a physique contest

Muscle & Fitness/Hers, August-Sept, 2002 by Kathleen Engel

If you've decided you're ready to compete in physique contests, remember one thing:

The key to avoiding disaster is practice, practice, practice. it's a tired old saw, but true. Preparing for a fitness or figure competition demands pulling together a lot of elements, each carrying equal weight: diet, strength training, cardio, routine (this applies to fitness contests, not figure) and presentation. Each of these areas contains many components, not one of which is expendable.

In the early days of fitness, competitors performed bodybuilder-style training and ate a bodybuilder's diet to get shredded and vascular. Since then, the sport has evolved. Female physique competitors have developed their own set of aesthetic criteria, and an industry has grown up around helping A women succeed in the contest network. The National Physique Committee (NPC), the sanctioning body for amateur fitness competition, cites approximate numbers of 4,000 fitness competitors and 1,500 figure competitors as of year-end 2001, with those numbers expected to rise steadily over the next couple of years.

Today, books offer guidance, gyms provide full precontest assistance, fitness pros share their expertise, and knowledgeable trainers and nutrition consultants can help. Fitness weekends and workshops provide a team atmosphere, offering support and camaraderie when you need it most. Why struggle alone, guessing if what you're doing is the right approach?

Physique mystique

"All the hard work and preparation goes on in the gym," reports trainer Mike Davies. Based in Columbus, Ohio, he assists competitors at all levels of the sport, including Jen Hendershott, Adela Garcia-Fried-mansky, April Carpenter, Allison Bookless, Julie Palmer and Tanji Johnson. Through his business, The Fitness Factory, Davies provides women with a diet and training protocol designed to sculpt the fitness physique. Competitors from across the country fly in for his fitness weekends, paying $300 for the pleasure of getting put through he wringer.

"It's usually an eye-opener when they come here. It's a totally different way of training," he explains. "The judging criterion is a lean, athletic physique, and how better to obtain that than to train competitors like athletes? I do a lot of sprinting, a lot of plyometrics, and I introduce a lot of different exercises and techniques."

Kim Hartt, pro competitor and author of The Competitive Edge! a guide to fitness-contest preparation, suggests adding bodyweight conditioning such as dips and pull-ups to your "must-do" training list. Cardio work has also evolved to be more sport-specific, she notes. Sprint work, either on the track or treadmill, not only builds your anaerobic threshold but is superb for shaping the glutes and legs.

diet right

Just as no one posing suit fits every competitor, so it goes with your nutrition program. Calorie needs and macronutrient rarios will differ from woman to woman. While you can read about diets the pros follow; an expert with extensive experience in juggling calories and ratios can bring you in with the desired leanness and hardness.

A number of diet manipulations may be required to bring your bodyfat down properly, depending on your body composition at the beginning. This is where too many women commonly get frantic, sabotaging their physiques, their looks of health and vitality, and energy levels.

Many contest-oriented nutrition experts consult over the phone or by e-mail. Mailing or e-mailing photos helps, as does complete honesty regarding your diet. Costs for this service vary per expert. Off-season diets addressing your particular needs can also be a boon, giving the consultant a better opportunity to get to know your physique and zero in on your needs.

routine matters

Unlike figure and bodybuilding competitions, fitness contests require you to perform a routine. "If a girl can't dance, I don't let her dance," states routine whiz Jen Hendershott, who has guided the efforts of numerous top pros over the past five years in her partnership with Davies. "I handle the routine, the strength moves, the stretching, the posing and the costume design," lists Jen, who stunned the crowd at last year's Fitness Olympia with her electrifying performance.

"You want to do your music before you ever put a routine together" she adds. "I try to find out from the person what type of music she likes, or what moves her. If she has a deejay, I give her pointers on what to tell him or her as far as how many beats per minute the music should be, and to make sure there's a variety," She discusses song and theme ideas with clients, encouraging them to strive for originality.

Musical flow is important, she stresses; she makes suggestions if the selection is choppy. With music in hand and an idea of what the competitor can and cannot do, Jen deftly custom-fits a routine for her client. Costs range from $250 to $500 (depending on ability) for amateurs and from $600 to $1,000 for pros.

Can't spare a whole weekend? Fellow fitness pro Laura Mak offers day-long workshops in Atlanta that tackle everything from transitions to jumps, leaps and turns, plus every other aspect of contest preparation. Also in the consultation biz is Kelly Ryan, now based in Las Vegas; she offers routine help in addition to a diet and training regimen designed by her husband, pro bodybuilder Craig Titus.