47: 10 Tips For Your First Prep Part 2 - Get Bodybuilding Lean (And What To Expect)

Bodybuilding is about sculpting our bodies into muscular works of art. Instead of a tangible sculpting tool, to unveil our masterpiece for a contest, we prioritize losing body fat and preserving as much muscle as possible. Bodybuilding is far beyond general weight loss and the expectations surrounding preparing for a show should be set accordingly from the beginning for best results.  Tune in as I elaborate more on getting lean in part 2 of my new 10 part series, "10 Tips For Your First Prep."

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Additional Resources:
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-FREE ebook “5 Things Every Bodybuilding and Fitness Competitor Needs To Know Before Preparing For A Show” at www.eeinbb.com
-Grab your “My Own Motivation” tank top at shop.killitwithdrive.com
-Want to WIN your next competition? I can help! Learn more at: www.posingwinsshows.com

Key Takeaways:
*Bodybuilding often means being hungry (2:50)
*There are those who struggle to keep weight on (3:38)
*The "sorority of suffering" (5:00)
*The new weight loss pills (7:15)
*What is "bodybuilding lean" (8:13)
*The process of getting lean for a bodybuilding show. (9:18)

--Transcript--

What’s up guys! I’m back again with part 2 of my new series where I break down in detail 10 tips for your first prep. If you listened to part 1 you are well versed on the different categories there are in bodybuilding and now know how important it is to choose the right one since what you are being scored on will differ depending on the category. Today I’m going to talk about what it means to get lean for a show and how hunger is often confused with leanness.

Food, including excess food, or the opposite, hunger, are a major part of what makes bodybuilding unique.

For the average person, if you are preparing for a bodybuilding show, there will come a time when you are going to have to just be hungry.   But there is a difference between being hungry and actually starving. We are not starving when doing a bodybuilding show. Everything we are doing is our own doing and choice. There is a fridge with food in it, even if it’s not for you, it’s still there. You can still eat it. There is choice. Starving would mean you have no food and limited access to it. There is this sorority of suffering out there that loves to be overly dramatic about how hungry they are in their prep. Hunger when preparing for a show is your own will. And it’s part of being a bodybuilder for many, and it’s part of what it takes for many to get really lean.  And in my opinion most of the people complaining about how hungry they are, don’t look lean or very close to contest ready.  More on this in a minute.

First let me put in perspective that there is also a group of people who can’t keep weight on and in order to grow muscle they have to eat excess food beyond what their hunger tells them in order keep the weight on. We all know people like that, and it may be you too. They are always lean and struggling to put on size, and never do cardio.  So again, they are lean, but they aren’t complaining about being starving. In order for them to be lean and muscular, they have to eat more food and be mindful of calorie expenditure.

The extreme to this is with the IFBB open men’s bodybuilding division. Their struggle in bodybuilding is that they have to eat an extreme amount of food in order to keep the mass on. 4x Mr Olympia, Jay Cutler, used to wake up in the middle of the night to eat or he would drop too much weight.  Derek Lungsford just announced last week he is withdrawing from the 2023 Olympia after a year of preparing for this show because he has been throwing up food and can’t keep it down, despite trying to force it down even after vomiting. He is having stomach issues and is now prioritizing his health and not the contest. He believes that once he gets things figured out he will be back to focusing on bodybuilding again.

So there are two types of people, those who have to put extra effort into keeping weight on, and those who have to put extra effort into taking weight off.

Those who have to eat a lot to keep weight on, you don’t really hear complaining from them on the internet.

Those who are a part of the sorority of suffering are those who are being drama about having to be hungry while controlling their calorie intake to drop weight.  And they are also those who tend to not come close to being lean enough for a show, complain a lot about how hungry they are their entire prep, stuff a luggage size bag with junk food to eat the minute they get off stage, continue for the next week to eat like an asshole after their show, and then gain a ton of weight after the show, and blame their weight gain on “metabolic damage.” This behavior is all over the internet and gives bodybuilding a bad name.

Some people are legit hungry from bad coaches with protocols that include 800 calories, white fish, and gobs of cardio, which you guys have heard me talk about in one of my first podcast episodes on what I call the death of credibility.

But for the majority of people who have to control calories to get lean for a bodybuilding show and are not a part of the sorority of suffering, I think most new people get into bodybuilding with grandiose expectations on weight loss and underestimate how long it really takes, and how much consistency you need to have following the protocol, in order to get bodybuilding lean. 

Personally, when I want to drop weight, I know that for about the first 4-6 weeks I am not going to see any positive reinforcement from my efforts to lose weight. I have to keep my head down and stay consistent, and just not think about it. During this time I’m always hungry too. Plus I love food. Besides bodybuilding, I would say eating good food is one of my favorite hobbies in life.  There is nothing like a good meal.  I don’t like complete junk though. I like real good food. And I’ll pay good money for it too.  After all the years of bodybuilding I learned some foods aren’t worth the calories or some foods are just a chemical shitstorm that I don’t want to put in my body.  But real good food. I’ll travel for it. So when preparing for a show or even just trying to lose the 15 pounds I’ve been telling my husband I plan to do for a few years now, amazingly good meals go away.  And that makes me sad. Plus, I know that I just have to be hungry and pull out some of my tricks from my competition toolbox to help me suppress my appetite. So the process of getting lean is really not that fun for me until the freaky shreds appear.  Until then, it’s freaking boring.

So I understand how controlling hunger is what makes weight loss a challenge for anyone, not just a bodybuilder. And tackling this issue is big business.

You guys have all probably heard of the new weight loss drugs that are flying off the shelfs across the country. Drugs like ozempic for example. I will be launching a separate podcast here shortly all about these drugs and fat burners and pre workouts too. Vassilios and I recorded it live last week in our Facebook group Everything Else in Bodybuilding Podcast Insiders at our Thursday 1pm EDT show.  Come join the conversation if you haven’t yet.  This one caught a lot of attention in our group.

In summary, these new weight loss drugs control hunger. That’s pretty much it. If you have a medical condition like type 2 diabetes or severe obesity then these drugs would be considered a medical intervention.  For the rest of society, they are, in my opinion, not needed and do more harm than good. Especially if you are a bodybuilder, one of the side effects would be especially detrimental to you. I explain it all on the recent show we did and again you can check it out in our group or stay tuned here because I will be launching the audio here shortly.

So what is bodybuilding lean and how do you get there?  The goal of being bodybuilding lean is to be able to view the shape and detail of your muscles under the surface of the skin.   In order to do this, your #1 goal is to drop body fat while trying to preserve as much muscle mass as possible. The lower your body fat, the more detail we will see in your muscles. How much muscle you have and the detail we want to see will depend on your division, with the bodybuilding division requiring the most visible muscle, and the bikini and men’s physique divisions requiring the least amount of size and detail of all the categories..

Regardless, at a minimum, for women, no matter what your division, you need to make sure your abs are tight and your glutes and hamstrings are tight. Whatever body fat you need to be for this to happen will be uniquely you.  For men, same thing, you need to make sure at a minimum your abs are shredded for all your divisions. Again, whatever body fat you need to be to get there will be uniquely you.  If you are in divisions that require more muscle, these same suggestions apply and are an understatement because you will need to show additional detail, which likely means you need to be even leaner.

So it’s not a magical scale weight or a dress or a pant size. It’s a specific look. Your first prep is a quest to discover your muscle in all is glorious detail for the first time. It’s hard to say how long it’s going to take to get you there.  I highly suggest you stay open minded about the literal show you are doing.  If you want to pick a division and federation, cool, that will give you somewhat of a target to focus your training and nutrition on.   But wait on picking your first show until you are in beach shape. I often say there is a difference between looking hot on the beach and looking contest ready. If you are looking great on the beach, you are not lean enough for the stage.  But you are in great shape and with some extra focus you can be contest ready very soon.  If you aren’t inn beach shape and still have excess weight to lose, my suggestion is to not pick a show but to lose the excess weight first and then pick a show that is 10-20 weeks out.  Don’t pick the show first and torpedo into it. Get your body ready and take the time to do so.  The shows will always be there.

And the process of weight loss is not linear. So if a week goes by and you didn’t lose a pound, your bodybuilding life isn’t over, you just need to stay the course and give your body time to budge. You also need to start the process a lot sooner than you think. I feel like a lot of times people set themselves up for failure by picking a show and under-estimating the time it’s going to take to prepare for the show. 

What makes bodybuilding special is the ability to lose body fat and preserve muscle so that should be the priority, not the literal pounds. You want to give your body plenty of time to slowly lose the body fat so you can not just preserve as much muscle as possible, but also allow ample time for your body, your hormones,  your psyche, to adjust to the weight loss. 

Ever see someone continuously yo-you diet?  They lose all the weight fast, only to gain it all back and then some.  Weight loss, especially a lot of weight loss, if done slowly will likely become something you can sustain rather than purge after.  Many people who have done these extreme weight loss protocols to get on stage never come back from it.  Their relationship with food sucks.  Their relationship with exercise sucks.  And they disappear from bodybuilding.  And this was all completely not necessary.  What’s the rush to get to the stage for?  There are hundreds of shows all throughout the year. Why is it such a big deal to wait another 6 months to do a show? What is so important about that one particular plastic trophy that makes you willing to compromise your health over it? 

For myself, I estimate a pound of weight a week is good. But this is an average. I am not expecting to literally lose a pound a week. One week it might be a half, another zero, another 2lbs. It’s an average.   But right now, if I wanted to do a show, I’m carrying what I consider excess weight to a show anytime soon.  If a show was a goal for me, I would make it a year to a year and a half from now. I would first lose about 15-20lbs over a 20 week period of time, so about 5 months, and then live there for a while at maintenance calories before even setting my sights on a show.

So in summary, getting lean for a show is the same process as regular weight loss.  We just do it longer.  How long it will take for you will depend on where you are right now.  Are you beach ready? Then you are within target of a show 12-20 or so weeks depending on your category. Still have excess weight to lose? Take the time to lose that first, live there for a bit, and then go back to dieting to get bodybuilding lean. Your goal would be to stay at hot on the beach or now hot for the holidays for those of us in America for just your regular lifestyle. Then take the 12-20 weeks to get ready.

Having healthy expectations for the time it will take you to get lean for your show will set you up for success. If you dial in sooner than expected, that’s a beautiful thing.  Your coach will pull back on the throttle a bit.  It’s better to be early than behind in the process.

There is so much nonsense out there. So please spread the word about this show to even one person today that is competing or thinking about competing. Also, if you can take a moment to leave me a review in iTunes, or post the podcast in the groups you are a part of on your socials to neutralize the nonsense that would be cool. Thanks guys for listening. I’ll be back later in the week with another episode with my husband.  I also have a really great interview coming up for those interested in the NPC and IFBB federation. You won’t want to miss this one. Speaking of NPC, I have another NPC virtual posing clinic for all men and women categories from bodybuilding to bikini coming up October 28th. Get the scoop on the judging differences, what makes NPC unique, and how to be a stand out on stage. Competing in OCB? I have an official virtual posing clinic coming up November 4th too. Info on both these clinics and my weekly virtual posing classes can all be found at learntopose.com . I’ll be back later this week. Talk to you then!