The good and the bad of competitive bodybuilding.
It shapes far more than just muscles.
I have competed in seven bodybuilding or physique competitions in my life between 2003 and my last contest is 2016. I did 4 as a natural bodybuilder (before the men’s physique division was even a thing in 2012) and then 3 as a men’s physique competitor after that. I never won top spot for any of them but I held my own and managed top 4 in every contest I entered into. Never being a genetically gifted muscle monster by a long shot, I was never going to be a top tier natural-drug free bodybuilder or physique competitor no matter what I did, how I ate, trained or supplemented (beyond drugs of course) but none the less I did have mild success, enjoyed the journey and learned a ton about myself physically, mentally and even spiritually to be honest. Its been one of the hardest things I have ever put myself through (7 times). Then again, I look at marathon runners and think……running 26.2 miles just to finish and say you ran 26.2 miles? Why? They look at me and say why lift weights day in and out, train hard, diet hard, borderline starve, get tanned etc…just to walk across a stage for a few minutes with other dudes all in hopes of winning a trophy….to that I say…touche! To each their own. If you enjoy doing it and love the process no matter how hard it is, then all the power to you. If you grow as a person from the experience, have at it I say.
The bad parts of the sport not to use for general population weight loss goals.
There are parts of competing in the sport I dislike most as they often can lead to nasty by-products in some people such as eating disorders, body dysmorphia, post-competition depression, metabolic damage, hormone disruption etc. Here is a list of tactics, strategies, norms and myths I do not like about competing in physique sports (bodybuilding, physique, bikini, figure):
- rapid dehydration tactics
- acute salt loading and cutting tactics
- cheat meals or days as a way to “stoke the metabolism” back to speed
- water pills to shed water and get ripped quick
- saunas to sweat out water under the skin and look ripped
- overkill cardio at the expenses of weight training to get ripped fast
- spartan like starvation diets right out the gate for general weight loss goals
- thermogenic ‘fat burner’ pills to get lean and decrease appetite
The thing with each item above is that a SHRED of truth exist within each and somehow grew legs and ran off in its own as full blown gospel of what actually works for quick “tricks” to get ripped fast. If it works for bodybuilders it must work for the average Joe and Jane too right? NO! These tactics when applied in a personalized, test run, strategic manner can help an already super lean competitor (adult men under 9% and women under 16% in my experience) as even a subtle change in physiology can make for a big appearance change on stage. But even then, the wrong tactic taken the wrong way or too far to the wrong person can backfire bad and ruin an athletes entire 16+ weeks of preparations, dieting and training. The body does not like to be “tricked” one bit.
What does work and what can the general population use for weight loss goals?
Now here are the parts of of training and dieting I do like. They have served me well to maintain lifelong fitness, health and quality of life. They have also served pretty darn well across the board in nearly every client male and female I have ever trained face to face or coached online for getting on stage or just losing weight and keeping it off.
Eating a balanced diet that is macro(protein, fat, carb) controlled and calorie appropriate, fixed to the persons own unique needs and not a cookie cutter generic plan. Results simply come faster and more consistent when you track these variables.
Meal prep just 1–2 days a week for a couple hours and then be done with all cooking the rest of the week. HUGE time savings and cost savings for that matter. I have far less temptation to go off my diet or cheat when I know I have each days meals ready to go. Just heat and eat!
Eating a (portion appropriate)protein source as the base of every meal or snack to spread out daily protein over the day better, digest it better and sustain lean muscle better. This also helps me stay full longer as protein takes a bit longer to digest. Less hunger = better craving control.
Eating 4x a day is my sweet spot. 3 meals is too few and 5+ is too much hassle and work. When dieting down 4 meals is perfect for me schedule, lifestyle and dietary needs so I stick to it. Nothing magic about 4 meals. I have clients and peers who do IF (intermittent fasting) on 2 meals a day and get fantastic results. I also have others who do 6–7 meals/snacks a day every day and also get stellar results. They key in each case… it works for them so they use it. Easy infographic to reference.
Weights come first, cardio comes second. I lift weights 6x a week for an hour to 75 minutes. Off-season I do cardio 2x a week for 30 minutes on the bike. I also try and go walk for 30 minutes outside every day just for mental clarity. I only do cardio in the off-season (non competition times) for general cardio health and that is all. Any more and I drop weight and reduce my recovery. Both are bad things for a bodybuilding athlete who wants to grow lean muscle. When I do diet down for a contest I only add on 10 minutes of cardio per 2 sessions when I need it to keep getting leaner. I never go over 50 minutes in a session and never go over 5 sessions a week (5x50 minutes/wk is the very most I have had to do for any of my 7 contests at the very end of the prep to really get super lean.) If lifting weights built the muscle to begin, lifting weights during prep has shown it will also darn well make sure you keep it while dieting down also.
Getting proper sleep as often as possible. I have found that getting 7 hours of sleep a night as many nights a week as I possibly can (life happens now and then) has always been huge for getting lean and controlling hunger levels and having more energy in the gym and not being as sore for as long. My clients often will have issue with one of the above factors and 90% of the time its a sleep issue. When it goes unfixed, they almost always get sick, same goes for me as well. Get enough (good) sleep every night by going to bed and waking up at nearly the same time of day 7 days a week and watch what happens. I cant emphasis this point enough.
Supplementing wisely. I have found that no one, myself included can eat 100% perfect every day. I do darn well but often miss things I know I need. When dieting down deeper and deeper into a prep period its easier to develop small nutrient deficiencies. To avoid this and stay health (not just look fit) I found that using very specific dietary supplements from credible and verified brands can help fill gaps to supplement my diet. For me this is pretty consistent year round. Whey protein isolate, casein protein, fish oils, VD3 (winter months), multivitamin, and a probiotic. That’s all. Nothing more or less. Some of my clients who are lactose intolerant, vegetarian, vegan, paleo, celiac etc…will use other supplements to correct or avoid nutrients or small gaps they may have unique to them as well.
Closing Words
So these are the positive characteristics of bodybuilder/physique athlete type diets I do like and support for the general population to consider and use to their needs of weight loss. Note that even these athletes diets differ considerably in their off-season period vice dieting down for shows period. I for one eat as little as 2000 calories a day in the deepest part of a contest prep diet to get stage lean and yet now eat about 4500 calories a day to gain about 0.5lbs a week during my current off-season. I’ll try and cover those aspects of lean gaining for the general population in another article to come. Stay tuned!
