Bringing The Right
Look for Contest day and The Upcoming NPC NJ STATE bodybuilding Show
NJ STATE
As a New Jersey bodybuilder and contest prep coach there is
something that’s always exciting about the NPC NJ State Show promoted by
Diamond Gym. A Couple of reasons 1) I have 3 clients ( 2 middleweights ( Rob
Favata, Norm Belton) and one heavy weight (Nemehiah “Nemo” Nelson) who have all
worked incredibly hard and all 3 are with certainty bringing their personal
bests), 2) NJ bodybuilders are very passionate about their sport and for a
state level show this show has a lot of history and a strong nostalgic feel to
many of us, 3) The last few years the promoter Dwayne Mcdaniel/Diamond Gym has
done a phenomenal job making sure all the competitors have a great experience
competing( the venue is top notch, the guest posers are killer and the
expediters run things extremely smooth amongst many other contributing factors
to a great show). 4) and for us Diamond Gym goers its especially exciting as
the show is usually packed with competitors from Diamond. Its especially fun to
see all your fellow athletes in the trenches battling it out onstage.
Bringing the Right
Look
All bodybuilding fans have there own
unique preference for what is the ideal look for a particular physique. Some
are conditioning fanatics, some like the super round and full look. Obviously
there are a lot of different degrees in between but as a coach and/or as an
athlete I feel it is important in having direction about which look on that
spectrum your aiming to achieve because unfortunately most of us aren’t like
Phil Heath where we can come into a show with both spectacularly perfect roundness
and dryness. For Most when peaking for a show I use the analogy of a see-saw on
one end of the see-saw is dryness( also including hardness, graininess,
separation etc) and the other end is fullness (also including roundness, pop
factor etc). The negatives of sometimes
pushing to far into the direction of fullness are possible spillage, blurry
definition, small film of water, and if you go to far with it the muscle can
appear to have less pop. Going to far in the direction of dryness can most
certainly make the physique lack pop if done incorrectly, it can make the
muscles look flat, smaller, and even possibly less conditioned. Certain clients ive come to know their bodies
so well that I know how far I can push them and not be at risk. The round mesomorphs I feel comfortable
pushing them very hard in terms of bodyfat and if atleast semi full before
beginning the peaking process I am also not fearful of getting aggressive with
drying them out. However if you take a
guy without a lot of muscle push him into the ground to get his glutes in
sacrificing muscle fullness and pop almost everywhere else in his body a two
day carb-load is very often not enough to bring the physique back to life. Being ready a few weeks early definitely helps
this dilemma as some mild over dieting can certainly be remedied by backing off
cardio and raising carbohydrate intake for anywhere from a few days to a few
weeks. There is no generic right answer to what is the right look as some
competitors simply look better slightly towards the dry part of the see-saw and
some look better towards the full side of the see-saw. What is key here is having
aim to what look you think will look best, having plenty of time to play with
it and adjust so your not stuck with a look that is not optimal and having no
time to fix it, and always keeping in mind that individual physiques may only
be capable of so much each year. Sometimes a physique needs to be given rest
and in many cases the physique needs to be pushed. Taking into account what
show the athlete is competing in is another crucial element. For example did
last years overall winner win because he was on the fuller side of the see-saw
or the dryer side? Does that look work for your athletes physique etc. At the end of the day you have to play with
things and experiment in a diligent, methodical, common sense like approach.
This is the art of bodybuilding that got me hooked and keeps me coming back for
more.
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