Figure Competition Questions?

[myidealfitness]

Thinking about entering my first Figure Competition at 47? Which is right around the corner! So, obviously not until next year.
Current stats: 26% BF (yuk) haven't been this high in a while
scale wt. 115
So, I guess I'm a skinny fat! All wt. in the upper body.
Wt. train 3-4x per week; cardio 3x intense and the remaining days easy (pulled hamstring 4 wks ago).
I need to clean up my diet!
Any advice/direction is extremely helpful. I need to transform my body for myself!
Can I do it at 47?

[dvsness]

You can do it at 47. I have a client in her 40s competing for the first time on October 30th. Many shows also have a Masters class that is at least 35+. If you've ever seen Masters Nationals there are 35+, 45+ and 55+ classes:

http://pics.musculardevelopment.com/...ontestcode=128

[kpmodel]

Thinking about entering my first Figure Competition at 47? Which is right around the corner! So, obviously not until next year.
Current stats: 26% BF (yuk) haven't been this high in a while
scale wt. 115
So, I guess I'm a skinny fat! All wt. in the upper body.
Wt. train 3-4x per week; cardio 3x intense and the remaining days easy (pulled hamstring 4 wks ago).
I need to clean up my diet!
Any advice/direction is extremely helpful. I need to transform my body for myself!
Can I do it at 47?

I did my first comp. just over one year ago at the age of 45. I have 4 under my belt now. Three of them at different venues. Make sure you are eating small meals numerous times/day to help burn body fat. Also, protein intake needs to be adequate for muscle growth. Lack of protein may be why you pulled that muscle. Good luck!!

[jschott65]

Thinking about entering my first Figure Competition at 47? Which is right around the corner! So, obviously not until next year.
Current stats: 26% BF (yuk) haven't been this high in a while
scale wt. 115
So, I guess I'm a skinny fat! All wt. in the upper body.
Wt. train 3-4x per week; cardio 3x intense and the remaining days easy (pulled hamstring 4 wks ago).
I need to clean up my diet!
Any advice/direction is extremely helpful. I need to transform my body for myself!
Can I do it at 47?

It's never too late. There are shows all over the country for 35+, 45+ and even 50+ depending how far you'll travel. I competed first at 39 and took an overall title. There are a lot of people out there who'll give you advice, just be sure you're speaking to someone with a lot of comp. experience. The best I think are the girls who have competed and train others as well. Try not to listen to amatuers who did a show or two. Don't share a diet from someone else as these are unique to each individual. You'll need to get down to roughly 8-10% body fat and add some lean tissue also. The other thing is you don't want to diet too long or it takes it's toll on your body.
Masters Nationals is a good one for you to shoot for (you don't need to pre-qualify) or Natural Ohio or Natural Northern have classes for 45 and up. Good luck to you!

[myidealfitness]

Thanks for the encouraging words! Maybe I'll look up what shows are in my area. Any ideas on how to do so? I live in Florida, East Coast, (Vero Beach area just North of West Palm Beach).
Then, where to begin after I choose a show? Diet, exercise? Any advice here? Thanks!

[jschott65]

Thanks for the encouraging words! Maybe I'll look up what shows are in my area. Any ideas on how to do so? I live in Florida, East Coast, (Vero Beach area just North of West Palm Beach).
Then, where to begin after I choose a show? Diet, exercise? Any advice here? Thanks!

Florida has a lot of shows. If you go to npcnewsonline.com you can see schedules. That's of course if you choose to compete in the NPC. It's the biggest organization with the most shows. As far as a trainer be very choosey. There are a lot of trainers who "say" they train figure girls, but don't really know what it entails. My advice is to contact your local NPC Chairman who can then refer you to a local trainer, usually it'll be a competitor who's also a personal trainer, possibly a pro. It can get very expensive with training, shopping for food/supplements, tanning, hair/nails, posing instruction, and don't forget the suit. Oh, then there's registration fees for the NPC and also for the show or shows you enter. Another option for you with the training is to fine someone to write you up custom program design and a meal plan. Lots of trainers do this for their online clients. You have to be very pretty well versed in how to workout so that you understand what's written. Hope this helps you! You can email me if you have more questions.
Julie

[myidealfitness]

Thank you for the information. It's alot to think about. I will look up the website and see what's coming up. If I don't enter a competition due to cost, I would love to look as if I could be in a competition.

As some of us know, we are entering that "stage" in our lives where things are begininng to change. I don't like it!

Thank you so much for the advice!

I will post another thread re: diet and nutrition on this same site any info. is greatly appreciated.

[dvsness]

By the way, the client I mentioned earlier in this thread competing for the first time... placed 4th in a competitive class this weekend and is now Nationally qualified (can compete in Team U, etc, in addition to Masters Nationals). Go get yours!