So you’ve finally made the decision to compete? You have spent HOURS googling fitness competitions, meal plans, training programs, and watched the odd one, two, or maybe even fifty YouTube bikini competitor vlogs haha (no judgement from me, this is how I first started). You are excited, well-informed and positively hopeful! Uplifting thoughts and mantras of self-encouragement begin to flood your mind, “I can do it, I’ve got this, I feel strong and empowered!” But… These thoughts begin to fade as quickly as they appeared and are replaced with thoughts of self-doubt. “What if I’m not good enough,” “what if I can’t fully commit to the training and diet routine,” “what if I fall over on stage?” What if, what if, what if..!!!! Arggggh! Well, like all people who decide to try something new or make a life change, you are going to experience a range of different emotions. Fear, uncertainty, anxiety and feeling overwhelmed. This is NORMAL! Just a quick heads up though, this won’t be the last time you experience self-doubt in your comp preparation. But that’s another story and may be the topic of a later blog post.
Okay, so now that you have calmed yourself down and realised that feeling this way is totally normal, take this moment to congratulate yourself on taking the first step towards a goal that will challenge every aspect of your beautiful self. It may be helpful to jot down a few reasons for why you are embarking on this journey to remind yourself of when times get tough in the coming months. Write down foreseeable factors that may get in the way of you achieving your goal, as well as ways to overcome these challenges. This will help you in the long run, with any goal you set out to achieve.
Before you get started there are going to be a few important decisions to make. Firstly, you will need to decide whether you will have a coach. If you decide to seek support from a personal trainer or coach, make sure they are qualified, supportive, knowledgeable and passionate about bodybuilding. Secondly, know what type of competitor you want to be (i.e natural or “enhanced”). Have a realistic time frame in mind of when you would like to compete and research the different bodybuilding federations to find one that suits you best. Remember that everyone is different! No two people’s training and diet will be exactly the same because we all have different body shapes. I spent over 10 months preparing for my first competition, not because I was unfit to begin with, but because I needed some time to build muscle after spending the year before running half-marathons. Yes, this was a long comp preparation, considering most comp preps last between 12 and 20 weeks.
The Journey of a Female Fitness Competitor 