HELP for competition, please, this is a little long!

[as25]

Hey, I have a question. I am 5'3", 125 lbs, about 16% body fat. I am planning on doing a figure competition next March. I was going to spend the next few months putting on about 6 more lbs of muscle, filling out my lats and shoulders. However, I recently have gotten conflicting advice from various people- some say, yes, keep putting on a little more mass, and others say that the extra weight will make me too heavy for figure, even after I diet down. I am really bummed because I am really seeing some gains and was looking forward to seeing how much more lean muscle mass I could gain in the next few months. Maybe I shoudl just do middleweight bodybuilding, but I was looking forward to doing a figure show.
Another thing is- looking at the pics of pro figure, they DO come in quite a bit bigger, but amateur are a little smaller. So as an amateur would it be a BAD thing to be closer to the size of the pro figure competitors?
I am a little confused, sorry about the long post, but does anyone have a suggestion?

[ValentineLJD]

To be perfectly honest... I don't know much about the sport of body building or the fitness competitions so this is just an amateurs advice, but I really believe that if you were looking forward to building your lats and changing your body then do it. If you're happy with how it looks what does it matter if it drops your ranking in a competition?

[twinnett]

Why would you do bodybuilding instead??? They have to come in even leaner than figure competitors...I think if you're @16% right now, putting on lean mass will do nothing but help you...you have plenty of time to diet down!

[Beefcake Girl]

TO be honest, the pros are the same size as the top amatuers...just maybe more complete and mature, muscle wise. I am blessed to train in a gym with quite a few pros and the top amatuers go head to head with them as far as actual size. The top pros are actually tiny and tight!

Putting on muscle is a good thing, but they do not want you hard and overly muscled as in BB....that can be curbed when you diet down but it is not a fun process. I would suggest working on weak points and just trying to bring a complete package to the stage. Balanced, symmetrical shapes can beat out heavily muscled ones....I am proof of that. I have never been the biggest girl, but I have a complete physique with nothing really lagging. This has helped me a lot. I still have work to do and I still need to work on muscle maturity and such but at least I have an even, solid foundation on which to build :)

[mlpelzel]

Wow! you're 5'3 and 125? I'm 5'4 and 160lbs with only about 4-5% more body fat. does a few % make that much of a difference?

I'm also thinking of competing but I don't know how to go about it. What do you do? fill out paperwork and send in entry fees and that's it? do you have to be a member in an organization or something? heck, i'm not sure what category to go in!

I'm in the process of cutting down to see what I would look like. I think i'm natually muscular and "bigger boned" (as my trainer would call it) but i don't want to look like a man. think corey everson--what category would she do good in now?

[SumthinOrNuthin]

I think you should build the body that you want.

Does it really matter if you end up with a Figure body or a BB body? When you've created the body of your dreams, just assess which stage it fits best on then go ahead and enjoy competing :)

[as25]

Thanks for all the great replies. I think I will just continue to shape my physique and work on symmetry, weak points, etc. Then when it is competition time, I will see where I fit the best. You all are the best! For those who have done competition, what was your weight before and after you started cutting?

Beefcake girl, that is awesome that you get to work out with several pros, and you are an IFBB pro! My ultimate goal! So do you think that it would NOT be a good idea to put on more muscle, and just rely on cutting to allow my muscles to really show, or would it be okay to put on a little more so that when I cut you can really see some rounded shoulders, etc. I guess I am asking, how big is too big in terms of figure?

[fitcajungirl]

The thing is you really don't know what you will look like for a show UNTIL you diet down for the first time. If I were you I would continue with your plan and then compete and see what you look like. Then I would use that opportunity to bring up or take down any parts that you need to for the next show.

Good luck!

Lisa
www.fitlisa.com

[Beefcake Girl]

Thanks for all the great replies. I think I will just continue to shape my physique and work on symmetry, weak points, etc. Then when it is competition time, I will see where I fit the best. You all are the best! For those who have done competition, what was your weight before and after you started cutting?

Beefcake girl, that is awesome that you get to work out with several pros, and you are an IFBB pro! My ultimate goal! So do you think that it would NOT be a good idea to put on more muscle, and just rely on cutting to allow my muscles to really show, or would it be okay to put on a little more so that when I cut you can really see some rounded shoulders, etc. I guess I am asking, how big is too big in terms of figure?


I would train hard and heavy and try to build out your physique...honestly it is hard to put on a lot of muscle as a female anyway so I would not worry too much about becoming too big! Everyone is right though...you work on completing and filling out your shape and once you diet down, you see what you have to work with and make future plans from there. It all depends on what you look like now...so you have good hams and glutes, so you have rounded shoulers and a thick back? Do you have a complete body with the tie-ins and such? These are things we all work on :)

One other note, train to build the physique YOU want! Judging is very fickle in this sport....so it's best to focus on building a shape you are proud of for yourself. And turning pro is a wonderful thing, but it is difficult and not a guarantee unfotunately. Make sure you are training for YOU first...if you love what you are doing, you will love your contest prep and in turn competing, no matter what the outcome is. That is most important in my opinion!

Good luck!

[Most Muscular]

As a promoter and a NPC judge I am disappointed with the calibur of many figure women I see on stage in that they are tending to lack one important thing... a figure.

Building bigger shoulders and lats as you have proposed will greatly help with this issue as it will give you a nice "V" taper to your figure. If you look at pictures of some of the top women in figure competitions you'll notice one thing right of way... they all have great shoulders and lats. That is no accident. They got to the top by creating a body package that accented these specific bodyparts... along with getting lean (but not too lean).

A great booty also helps....

nuff said...

[as25]

Thanks everyone for your replies, they have been VERY helpful! I'm just going to keep working hard in the gym working on size and symmetry and see where I get! ( :

[SumthinOrNuthin]

You asked about before & after weight.

When I started a 12 week prep I was, if memory serves me correct, 130. When I weighed in the day of the contest I was 114. I'd acually been gradually leaning out for a good while prior to being 130. Going into prep made me focus a lot harder on my nutrition!!

I was probably the classic case of entering the wrong category and understand exactly where you are right now. I was determined to compete BB and chose an EFBB (IFBB) show rather than a natural one .... d'uh! I didnt really know much about figure back then and there were no figure classes at the show. Anyways, I'd promised myself I would do it so I did, even though the other girls were a lot more muscular than me. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed it and how damned pleased with myself I felt - this is a very selfish sport after all ;)

If I did it over agin, I'd wait til the last possible minute to decide, and have someone check me over and give their opinion.

Build your body then go with the flow, you'll love it :D

[calendar]

I am not a professional judge, I just know what I like to see on the stage and what I would like to see for my own body:

broad shoulders
wide lat spread
tiny tiny waist
tight hips
nice booty
legs shapely but not overly flared in the lateral direction

I don't think many of them have naturally exquisite bodies, only a few look like they do to me: Jelena, Zivile, Mary Lado, Jessica P, Christine. I think that a tiny waist is really essential for maintaining a feminine look and I don't see it very often even at the pro level. I don't like thick or even a hint of massive, it reminds me of men.

I think you just have to do what looks best on you, what you are happiest with, working with your assets and downplaying your weaknesses by pose and then take it from there.