How long to prepare for a bodybuilding contest

Posted by: Fred

Your bodybuilding contest prep time is determined by your current body fat percentage. You can't jump on a 12 week prep if you are 30 pounds overweight. You are going to need more time to get lean enough.

Here's a general rundown of prep time:

If your body fat is 25-31% give yourself at least 17-20 weeks
If your body fat is 19-24% give yourself at least 13-16 weeks
If your body fat is 12-18% give yourself at least 9-12 weeks
If your body fat is x up to 12% give yourself at least 5-8 weeks

From there you need to determine an action plan for your diet and workouts (training AND cardio).

The biggest mistakes people tend to make are:

1. Not giving themselves enough time to prep time

2. Jumping on low calories and low carbs for 12 weeks and expect to get ripped in time.

You NEED to know your numbers to prep accordingly. If you determine that you are 21% body fat, then you know you need at least 12-16 weeks prep time.

But, if you have never dieted down or competed in a show, you may not know your body well enough. If so, you might allow yourself two extra weeks to clean things up and get your body accumulated to dieting. So, just to be on the safe side, if you are 21% body fat, give yourself 18 weeks just to be on the safe side.

Now realize, the 18 week mark is not 18 weeks of low calories and prep. With this extra time you can slowly wean out the junk food, the snacks and other treats you sneak in.

After two weeks of basic clean up you can merge onto moderate calories and carbs. Each week you make tweaks to your diet as your weight drops. Over the course of the next 16 weeks you'll slowly lower calories and carbs. By the time you are at your final 6 weeks, your diet should be pretty tight and strict with somewhat lower calories and carbs to really pull down the body fat.

If you go about your contest prep in a prepared mindset by starting very early, you'll prevent having to implement harsh tactics to get your weight down.

Keep in mind that prep is not about jumping on any 12 week diet and going crazy on the cardio. If you give yourself the right amount of time, and then some, you can tackle your prep in a more sensible approach and get better results.

Note: For more infomation on bodybuilding contest preparation, pre-contest diet and bodybuilding posing routines go to https://www.trulyhuge.com/pose.htm

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