If you've ever wondered what happens on the day of a bodybuilding
contest for a competing bodybuilder, then listen up. It is really one
of the longest days you'll go through, that is, if you dieted right and
conditioned yourself correctly. The contest that I was in this past
September (2001) was my first contest in which I competed, and at that
time, I had only been to one other contest. Phano had guided me through
what was going to happen, so I kind of had an idea of what to expect.
However, talking about it is one thing, the whole experience is
another! I can't say that I woke up and began my morning like all the others
because I never fell asleep. I decided to get moving at around six in
the morning or so. Before that I had just been watching television on
the couch and drooling over what was on The Food Network (you find
yourself watching food shows during precontest dieting, if you're like me,
you'll spend about 4 to 5 hours a day doing so). I fixed and ate
breakfast and took some vitamins. I had already packed all the stuff that I
needed the night before, and packed it in the car so that I wouldn't
waste any energy or stress out about what I needed to bring. After
getting dressed in clothes that hid my body well, I went up to the civic
center where prejudging was held. The doors opened and all the
competitors went in for a briefing on how prejudging was going to run. One of
the judges got up on stage, took roll and proceeded to tell us the rules,
proper poses, and order in which the classes were going to be called
out.
We all turned in our tapes with the music for our routines and headed back to the dressing room.
My training partner was running a little late which wasn't a big deal,
but he needed to be there in order to help me get ready. The fitness
chicks went first and then the novice class. Phano finally showed up,
and that's when I started putting on the Dream Tan. We were rushed, so
by the time I got done applying this stuff, it was time to get on stage.
I jogged in order to get in line with my class when someone told me
that I had forgotten my number that goes on my posing trunks. Now, I was
sprinting back to the dressing room and back to get in line. Of course
by the time we were supposed to go on stage, I was already out of
breath and my mouth was now dry as a bone, which made for some very
attractive facial expressions for the cameras. So, the lesson to learn here
is; get started with preparations on time and don't forget your damn
number in the dressing room.
The biggest fear of prejudging to me was the duration of time that
the judges were going to have us up on stage. We went through the
quarter turns, and then through some basic poses, nothing really difficult.
The judges shuffled us around a bit and then ran us through some more
poses. We were done pretty quickly, but I couldn't go far because I was
also competing in the open class. Ten minutes later, it was time to
get back on stage. Thankfully, most of the competitors from my novice
class was also in the open class, so we were only up on stage long enough
for the crowd to take some pictures. The rest of the competitors got
up on stage, and within an hour and a half, prejudging was over.
Fortunately for me, I lived close to the civic center, so I just
went home right after prejudging, made a meal, and laid in my bed. I had
the intention of sleeping for a couple of hours. Yeah right. You are
so excited thinking about the night show, and your routine, and all the
cheering at prejudging that sleeping is now out of the question. So
what do you do for eight hours. Well, I tried to take it as easy as
possible. I watched TV, and when I got sick of that, I just listened to
some cds. Fixing meals and eating meals throughout the day helped pass
time, but by that point, half an hour seems like an eternity. You can't
really keep your attention on anything, and nothing really sounds very
appealing, and everything is annoying. You're tired as hell, but you
can't sleep. By the way, if you think you're short tempered now, just
wait because you have no idea.
I was so ready to do the evening show that I came back to the civic
center an hour early hoping that it would be open. It wasn't, so I had
to sit outside until the doors opened. Finally, it was time to go in
and get ready again. I sat backstage and talked with some of the
competitors. I'm not all about playing mind games at that point, or trying
to pick someone's brain. A word of advice, if you find yourself asking
others about tips for precontest preparation/training, I think that
shows that you are not too confident in your strategy of preparedness.
This is the time when your nerves are really going because you can hear
everyone coming in to watch, your mouth at this point is totally dry,
you're nervous as hell, and you're very pumped up about performing and
hearing what place you earned.
So now it's showtime. All the fitness girls are dressed up ready
to perform, looking good as ever. The bodybuilding competitors are all
exercising trying to get a pump before going out. At my contest, they
got every competitor to stand behind a curtain, said a prayer, and
lifted the curtain and everyone started posing for the crowd. That was a
lot of fun because you are actually fighting your way to the front,
pushing everyone else aside. Then, we're all called back and go out in
groups, and then come back to get ready to do some routines.
Time for your routine, your big moment, you and the crowd.
"Whatever you do, don't trip and fall off the stage," is what I kept telling
myself. If you practice everything will go smoothly. After your class
done, you'll get called back out with the class and the winners will be
announced. That's the best part because right after, you're gone.
Time to eat like a champ. I went to Stake-n-Shake and ate about 5,000
calories and drank two gallons of water. I definitely made up for the
loss of sleep, waking up only to eat and for an occasional shower!
dknowles@alltel.net
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