Training For Your First Bodybuilding Competition at Any Age : Family Considerations

Family Considerations :

I saved this section for last because if your family is not behind you and supportive of your efforts, you may as well forget about competitive bodybuilding.

"Scott was so dedicated to his exercise, and I said, 'Gee, you've put so much time into this, maybe you ought to compete. His eyes lit up, like Mama had just said, 'OK' and now he could do what he really wanted.'" Vivian Hults

This exact quote, which appeared in a story about me recently in The Birmingham News, our local paper, was what my wife told the reporter who interviewed her about my competitive bodybuilding. Without her "interest" in my sport, "we" could have never managed it.

As I said near the beginning of this article, bodybuilding is a lifestyle, plain and simple. Preparing for a contest is time-consuming and all-inclusive in your daily life. You have to consider diet, which means shopping for and preparing special food required to reach your contest diet goals. Sometimes it's lean mass gain. Other times it's fat burning/cutting. You spend a lot of time in the kitchen in front of the stove and oven. Your family usually doesn't eat what you eat, so while your family enjoys pasta and meat sauce, you may be "enjoying" fish and vegetables. That's the way it is. You have to eat five or six times a day while your family usually has three-squares. Your food and supplements take up room in the kitchen and refrigerator. And, above all, bodybuilding food and supplements are expensive.

A competitive bodybuilder spends at least an hour-and-a-half, five or six days-a-week, in the gym. He or she will also spend 20 or 30 minutes each evening in front of a mirror, posing. This, maybe while drinking a shake. And, during the final two-weeks of carb depletion, sometimes a bodybuilder will become moody and irritable. It's part of the "game" and the bodybuilder's family needs to be "understanding." Sometimes, being a family member of a bodybuilder is not fun. And, your children might be embarrassed that their father or mother participates in this sport.

Bodybuilding is a vanity sport. It's one of the few sports where the human body is the star of the show. It's all about the body. Hair removal, tanning, grooming, posing suits, and muscles, muscles, muscles. That's all there is. Pretty simple, while very complex.

👉 Deciding to Compete
👉 Competition Diet
👉 Supplements
👉 Training
👉 Posing
👉 Tanning
👉 Grooming
👉 The Final Two Weeks Of Contest Prep
👉 Choosing A Contest And Submitting Your Application
👉 Family Considerations