Backstage Basics

The big, prominent muscles normally receive the lion’s share of the pumping exercises when pro bodybuilders are about to hit the stage. But when you’re a rookie, how do you prepare to go out there with a hard, dry and skintight look, and what do you need to do to retain your pump and not lose it while standing in the wings?

IT'S SHOW TIME

You have spent months training with big weights, tearing muscle fibres apart and feeding them to fast track growth as part of the never-ending cycle of body building. You have trained and dieted hard and examined each body part in long gym mirrors. You have built size, symmetry and proportion. You have practiced your posing and visualised going up on stage, flexing to a packed house, having each person in the palm of your hand and, after striking your poses, owning the audience and imagining your hands on the trophy.

Now the moment of truth has finally arrived for you. You are ripped to the bone, crisscrossed with striations and are ready to show the bodybuilding world what you're made of; to fulfill a life-long dream that has consumed your thoughts for a long time.

At this point there is no need to become nervous and antsy. You have to stay cool and focused. You have to tell yourself that you are in total control. But if you are not an experienced competitor, the backstage area at a bodybuilding show can be daunting as you find yourself right in the middle of a tension-charged atmosphere.

You may feel nervous but at the same time charged up at the prospect of showing people the result of all your hard work. In a few moments, the months of exhaustive lifting, the sweating and straining, the discipline and determination all will seem worthwhile.

DON'T GET SIDETRACKED