About six months ago, I started training for a bodybuilding competition with the World Beauty Fitness and Fashion, Inc. (WBFF). This federation is known as the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show of the fitness world, meaning that it’s THE best of the best. The theme wear is extravagant, the heels are killer and the runway walks are out of this world. Many of the fitness models gracing the covers of some of the most popular fitness magazines got their start on that WBFF stage.
Within the WBFF, there are three categories for women: Diva Figure Model, Diva Fitness Model and Diva Bikini Model. I planned on competing in the Diva Bikini Model division because that was the category I found to be the most feminine since it only displayed slight muscle tone and definition. At the start of my training, I was in the bulking phase, meaning that my caloric intake was high and my cardio was minimal. I was able to pretty much eat whatever I wanted as long as I was able to fit it into my macronutrients (macros). As time went on, my coach began to cut my calories by about 100 each week and upped my cardio.
Initially, I wasn’t losing as much weight as I should’ve been losing. In fact, it wasn’t until I hit the six-week mark that I began losing a pound per week. What I later realized was that I wasn’t counting the oil I was using to sauté my food into my macros. Once I switched over to spray oil, the weight started dropping.
During the following six weeks of my first competition prep, I developed an unhealthy obsession with dropping weight and the scale. I would weigh myself every single morning I woke up and every night before I went off to bed when I was only supposed to weigh myself once a week. Five weeks before my competition, my coach informed me that I wasn’t yet physically ready to hit the stage and he gave me two choices: I could still compete at that show but I would have to up the cardio to over 75 minutes a session and be in a caloric deficit which would cause me to have little to no energy, or I could train for and compete at a later show. We both decided that the latter was the better option.
Last month, I discovered powerlifting on YouTube and immediately fell in love. With powerlifting, you train and diet for performance, meaning that you eat to gain the energy needed to bench press, deadlift and squat as much weight as you possibly can. I decided to make the switch because I realized that I had started to develop an unhealthy obsession. Powerlifting will help me become a better athlete and will do so in a much healthier way than any bodybuilding competition could. I don’t regret my decision to switch over!
Courtesy: Rogue Fitness