Three weeks from first competition...im not ready!!

[tiffanysharley]

Hi, throught the past few months of my training i have fallen in love with bodybuilding.com and the help all of you give to so many beginners like myself. In the last three months I have lost 12 lbs. Now I am 5'5 124lbs 25 inch waist 32 inch bust . Very curvy, but VERY soft! I had never worked out before so building l\the muscle i never really had along with losing the fat has been very difficult. I look the best ive ever looked but I dont look show ready! I still have pudginess and cellulite. I need help! I have an excellent personal trainer who guarantees me not to worry but i cant help it. the girls in the bikini division are gorgeous! i don't want to be the "fat girl" so i have three weeks. my diet is very restricted a gallon of water a day low sodium, sugar and carbs and high protein. please and extra tips for me would be greatly appreciated!

[Sarah97]

If you say you are "VERY" soft, I wouldn't do it. There's no one here that should tell you do it or not do it, but if you're admittedly soft chances are you won't do well at all. There's a saying around here, "The stage isn't going anywhere." Progress yourself to be where you want to be and once you're more confident, go for it. Or you could always do it this time as an experience, I personally would wait though because I don't want to do something unless I feel I'm giving it 110%.

Pictures might help other women on here assess your situation a bit better.

[treacych]

Ya I agree with Sarah... if you're not feeling confident in your body this close to your first competition, it will show on stage. In my opinion, you'd be much better off to keep training and dieting until you really are stage ready and can feel great up there! Getting up on stage for the first time should be exciting and fun, not completely nerve-wracking. You can have a great trainer, work very hard in the gym and eat the right food but you have to give your body enough time to lose the weight and gain the muscle you need, especially since you said you've never worked out before. I hope that's not too discouraging but your 1st competition should be a great experience!

[lynnbrigh]

I would NOT do a competition until you feel ready. I just competed this past weekend for the first time and actually had considered doing prior shows but pulled out as I just didn't feel like it was MY best. I am SO glad that I waited! I actually took first in my class at the show I did and know that if I would have done the first show I planned on I would not have placed. I felt so much more confident and had a GREAT experience and even had I not won I felt like I was showing up with the best I could. I know it is different for everyone but I just wanted to share my personal experience on it as I have been there as well!

[tiffanysharley]

Thanks yall I really appreciate the feedback. I have my good days and my bad days with the confidence level..today happens to be a bad day. Ive dropped so much money into this I really hate to back out now. Do any of you have any tips to help me maybe feel more at ease? Or perhaps an extra workout tip or diet tip? My peoples are telling t\me that the biggest change happens in the last two weeks. Perhaps I should wait until a few days before the show to make the decision on competing or not

[Miranda]

in general, you should be pretty much ready 1-2 weeks out. if you're still 'pudgy' at this stage, there's nothing much you can really do.

[mommymakeover]

Thanks yall I really appreciate the feedback. I have my good days and my bad days with the confidence level..today happens to be a bad day. Ive dropped so much money into this I really hate to back out now. Do any of you have any tips to help me maybe feel more at ease? Or perhaps an extra workout tip or diet tip? My peoples are telling t\me that the biggest change happens in the last two weeks. Perhaps I should wait until a few days before the show to make the decision on competing or not

Honestly. You really have 2 weeks. The week before the show is a winding down of everything and making small tweaks. Right now you should be 85-90% ready to hit the stage.

[sonti]

You said you didn't work out prior to prepping for this contest, I'm sorry there's really no diet or workout tip for this one, you just aren't prepared enough. That's OKAY, you aren't supposed to go from untrained to the stage in a few months. Give yourself a good long bulk (a basic beginner program), give yourself a few years, and then get back into the game.

[penny0527]

Honestly. You really have 2 weeks. The week before the show is a winding down of everything and making small tweaks. Right now you should be 85-90% ready to hit the stage.

You might want to post a link to the post you did about your show prep. that was very informative.

[Char]

You said you didn't work out prior to prepping for this contest, I'm sorry there's really no diet or workout tip for this one, you just aren't prepared enough. That's OKAY, you aren't supposed to go from untrained to the stage in a few months. Give yourself a good long bulk (a basic beginner program), give yourself a few years, and then get back into the game.

I agree. It takes more than a few months training before doing a show. If it was that easy more people would be competing. Hit the gym hard and get your diet straight for a couple of years before you step on stage. Enjoy the journey and watching your body transform and I promise you that you will feel so much more confident. Getting ready for a show takes time and it's not easy but when you step on that stage it's so worth it :-)

[kimm4]

My peoples are telling t\me that the biggest change happens in the last two weeks. Perhaps I should wait until a few days before the show to make the decision on competing or not

Your people are wrong. At the 2 week mark, you should look like you can step onstage at that point and do well. There shouldn't be any scrambling with diet, training, etc...If you're grasping trying to make all these tweaks and fancy changes, it's a clear indicator that you're off the mark and not ready for the stage.

[Spottydog]

I agree with everyone here. It is an anomaly when somebody can start training and in 16 or so weeks be stage ready from untrained. I trained/dieted for THREE years before my first competition, nd I knew I wanted to do it two YEARS out, so I started thinking about it then. Come show day, I was STILL not buff enough (albeit plenty cut) to keep from getting last in my class. Mind you, I looked better thn I have ever, but this is after TWO YEARS of SERIOUS training/dieting.

I suggest you wait at least a year. You need to develop a lean base as well (my biggest flaw was not being big enough), maybe SEVERAL if you plan on doing figure-- I sy one because that's the bare minimum, if you have good genetics and do EVERYTHING right from this point on.

Don't be discourged. Maybe when you're ready, you could arrange a photoshoot and then show everyone your pics of you all tight and toned and confident! Tht way you won't feel like you wasted money... you have a payoff... and a longer timeline now. Good luck!

[tiffanysharley]

I appreciate the helpful insight from all of you. After a week of consideration I have decided that I am going to continue on with my strict diet lots of water and lots of exercise. Ive dropped another 3 pounds and im feeling better about myself mentally. After speaking with my trainer who has been in the game for 15 years and has really left a major imprint in the fitness industry, I felt much better about myself. I came into this setting the goal to walk that stage with confidence and I believe Im gonna have it. This is not about winning a trophy but about winning my confidence and learning so much about my body and living a healthier lifestyle. Soon I will post the pictures of my before and after. I hope that I may always count on the bodybuilding.com team to help encourage me to better my body form and shape. Thank you again

[andrerox80]

I appreciate the helpful insight from all of you. After a week of consideration I have decided that I am going to continue on with my strict diet lots of water and lots of exercise. Ive dropped another 3 pounds and im feeling better about myself mentally. After speaking with my trainer who has been in the game for 15 years and has really left a major imprint in the fitness industry, I felt much better about myself. I came into this setting the goal to walk that stage with confidence and I believe Im gonna have it. This is not about winning a trophy but about winning my confidence and learning so much about my body and living a healthier lifestyle. Soon I will post the pictures of my before and after. I hope that I may always count on the bodybuilding.com team to help encourage me to better my body form and shape. Thank you again

i sort of disagree w/ your decision. i totally get it - having made progress, spending the $, wanting to do a show - but that is not enough to step on stage. use this experience as the start of your new life of a healthier lifestyle (comp preps aren't usually the healthiest, though, so i dunno abt that), better knowledge of your body, what and how long it takes before you're ready to compete, and w/ the ultimate goal of competing in hand. but don't do it now. you were right the first time:

I look the best ive ever looked but I dont look show ready!

[rockangel]

i sort of disagree w/ your decision. i totally get it - having made progress, spending the $, wanting to do a show - but that is not enough to step on stage. use this experience as the start of your new life of a healthier lifestyle (comp preps aren't usually the healthiest, though, so i dunno abt that), better knowledge of your body, what and how long it takes before you're ready to compete, and w/ the ultimate goal of competing in hand. but don't do it now. you were right the first time:

I agree with this. Having been exactly where you are now, I would say wait. Why?? Because, yes while you look the best you ever have, it will be nothing compared to what the girls look like on stage.
I agree its not always about winning the trpophy, however, if you are not at least on a similar page as the girls on stage, you will take a beating mentally, emotionally, physically, and find yourself inadequate at the show.
If you are not at the appropriate BF level, then stepping on stage will NOT grant you the confidence and validation you are seeking.

Trust me, I know this, been there first hand. I have faced what I feel is every competitors nightmare. Coming in last in a show and slippping on stage (in the oil). And last place never feels good, especially when you know that it was the placing you deserved because you just didnt stack up to the others on stage.

[kimm4]

I don't care how many years of experience your trainer has. If they're sending clients to the stage unprepared...shame on them! I have to laugh at the constant, "I'm not hitting the stage to win or bring home a trophy, blah, blah, blah"...

Last I knew, it was called a competition for a reason. Serious competitors hit the stage prepared and we go there to win period.

[rockangel]

I don't care how many years of experience your trainer has. If they're sending clients to the stage unprepared...shame on them! I have to laugh at the constant, "I'm not hitting the stage to win or bring home a trophy, blah, blah, blah"...

Last I knew, it was called a competition for a reason. Serious competitors hit the stage prepared and we go there to win period.

I understand what you are saying, but for me, i am more worried about progressing every year and getting better than I am about trophies. So i go (or will go!) with the mindeset of wanting to win and being prepared but if i dont win thats ok as long as I am making progress towards my goals.


I would rather be last in a class and know its because i was prepared and it was a tough class, than to be last in a class i could have easily taken if i was prepeared, know what im saying?

I actually have lots of trophies from years past in other things and all they do is sit in storage. But a body that I am happy with, that is my real goal whether or not a judge agrees.

[mommymakeover]

Not to mention pictures with you in it at the show and video with you in it might end up plastered all over the internet and people's ******** pages, etc.

Don't be this fool.

http://pics.musculardevelopment.com/...TYPLKHPVST.JPG

[Kkel7]

Not to mention pictures with you in it at the show and video with you in it might end up plastered all over the internet and people's ******** pages, etc.

Don't be this fool.

Oh dear, that is awkward.

[rockangel]

Oh dear, that is awkward.

That poor girl in the blue!!

[lilramm]

No way!!! Is that photoshopped!?!?!?

[Char]

Not to mention pictures with you in it at the show and video with you in it might end up plastered all over the internet and people's ******** pages, etc.

Don't be this fool.

http://pics.musculardevelopment.com/...TYPLKHPVST.JPG

Wow... I have had nightmares about that.. stepping up on stage and realize that I forgot to diet and tan.. lol.. I have seen a couple of shows where both a few males and females should have look a little more into what they were doing.

People can be brutal if you don't show up on that stage ready. No matter what people say, everyone is there to win and they will bring their A-game. And it doesn't matter how experienced your coach is, he/she is not experienced working with your body and your metabolism and I would hope that they would want you to look your best on stage as you represent their "work". Just IMO...

[megdaig]

People can be brutal if you don't show up on that stage ready. No matter what people say, everyone is there to win and they will bring their A-game. And it doesn't matter how experienced your coach is, he/she is not experienced working with your body and your metabolism and I would hope that they would want you to look your best on stage as you represent their "work". Just IMO...

This is exactly what I can't wrap my head around...coaches convincing girls that they are ready for the stage when they clearly aren't. Is it to make a quick buck? I mean, how dilute must their portfolio get when they're sending so many unprepared girls up on stage?

The closer I get to my competition, the harder I'm working and dieting because after working with my trainer and posing coach and experiencing their commitment and intensity driven into preparing me for competition I have realized that I'm not just representing myself, these other people are highly invested in me and want me looking amazing and confident on that stage as it represents their knowledge and ability to get the job done.

[tiffanysharley]

damn yall are rippin me apart here haha thats expected. To Kim, I understand that its a competition and for my second one thats how I will see it but for this one, my first, i cant help but to see it as more of an experience. I know im not going to win, I also know I wont be last. It is the Bikini division for Universeweekend in Miami. From what I have seen yes the winners have the best bodies BUT there are different body types . I see where all of you are coming from. Im a very prideful person, perhaps thats the part i cant seem to get past. I want to walk that stage with all the confidence i have and enjoy the weekend and continue to work hard and push myself for another one. All of you ladies seem so knowledgable but you had to of started sometime or another..is there anyone who understands me?

[catskills]

When you got into bodybuilding, what was your reason for deciding to compete? In other words why did you choose to work towards going into a competition as opposed to just building the body you want, and leaving it at that?

[Sarah97]

damn yall are rippin me apart here haha thats expected. To Kim, I understand that its a competition and for my second one thats how I will see it but for this one, my first, i cant help but to see it as more of an experience. I know im not going to win, I also know I wont be last. It is the Bikini division for Universeweekend in Miami. From what I have seen yes the winners have the best bodies BUT there are different body types . I see where all of you are coming from. Im a very prideful person, perhaps thats the part i cant seem to get past. I want to walk that stage with all the confidence i have and enjoy the weekend and continue to work hard and push myself for another one. All of you ladies seem so knowledgable but you had to of started sometime or another..is there anyone who understands me?

I sneaked at your pictures. I think you have a lot of good points, but you don't look bikini competition ready in my opinion. The two biggest points that can be made are your midsection and your rear. That being said, you've made it clear you don't expect to win, but what makes you think you won't come in last? We all start somewhere, but I think a majority (if not all the rest) of us start when we are 100% confident we did all we can to prepare ourselves. You've made it clear in your post you don't feel like you're ready. If pride is an issue, why would you step on the stage without completely preparing yourself as best you can in every aspect? It's kind of contradictory. I guess we just don't understand why you would make a post blatantly stating you're not ready, but then kind of defend your decision to go ahead anyway unprepared? I don't know lol..but I really wish you the best of luck and I hope you get the experience you're looking for!

[treacych]

No way!!! Is that photoshopped!?!?!?

That HAS to be photoshopped, they're on the Arnold stage...

[rockangel]

damn yall are rippin me apart here haha thats expected. To Kim, I understand that its a competition and for my second one thats how I will see it but for this one, my first, i cant help but to see it as more of an experience. I know im not going to win, I also know I wont be last. It is the Bikini division for Universeweekend in Miami. From what I have seen yes the winners have the best bodies BUT there are different body types . I see where all of you are coming from. Im a very prideful person, perhaps thats the part i cant seem to get past. I want to walk that stage with all the confidence i have and enjoy the weekend and continue to work hard and push myself for another one. All of you ladies seem so knowledgable but you had to of started sometime or another..is there anyone who understands me?

You do realize that is like the BIGGEST show for that organization???? You will be last chick, not to be mean, but there are upwards of 30 - 40 girls in bikini classes alone with a total of 150 - 200 bikini competitors and 400- 500 competitors in the whole competition.

People train for years for that show, its the second biggest title in the organization (second only to the national title in vegas), and only the BEST show there. That competition is FIERCE!!!

You need to do more research on that show and organization, talk to people who have done the show before.

Why not put the show off and start smaller? there are TONS of shows in Florida and many would be a better starting place than the Universe.

Sorry but you have no clue how bad you are about to lose to a bunch of ladies who WILL look awesome on that stage.

Im not being mean, and yes i understand why you want to show, I have been there, but i have never tried a show of that caliber because I am not ready yet.

[risingcougar]

That HAS to be photoshopped, they're on the Arnold stage...

It is Photoshopped. Look at the girls feet. You can see where the other girl was taken out, still has the outline of her feet/legs. Lazy PS job if you ask me. BTW, I agree with the majority of the opinions, OP.

If you're not ready but say your goal is progression then just keep progressing: change your contest date to one down the road.

[tiffanysharley]

I never saw myself doing this and to be honest i didnt take it seriously in the beginning which is why my progress has been that much slower. But the more I learned and the more i saw the inches coming off the more i felt motivated. I chose to do a competition so that I had a date and something to really push me bc i had never been a motivated person before.

When you got into bodybuilding, what was your reason for deciding to compete? In other words why did you choose to work towards going into a competition as opposed to just building the body you want, and leaving it at that?