Competition In 5 months

[Ross86]

Most people that are 10-12% will start dieting 4-5 months out, I think. If that gives you an idea... The reason is that if you cut that much weight in two months, you will get rid of a LOT of muscle mass.

If I were you and was going to compete in 8 months, then I would cut my body fat down to 10-12%. Then maintain that while adding mass until 4-5 months out, and then cut. So you don't have to worry about whether or not you'll be able to be in competition shape when the competition rolls around.

[iron_worker]

I did a "cut" to get ready for Cancun spring break trip...and let me tell you, I definately did it too fast. I was losing 2lbs a week and sometimes more... definately know now that I lost a significant portion of muscle that i worked so hard to gain. Oh I went from ~18% to ~7-8% in a little over 2 months. That was much too fast. You'd need 5 months for sure and slow steady loss is what you want.

IronWorker

[gxp_vince]

Originally Posted by TALO

It is different for everyone, but I would say 5 months with a strick diet.
You should look into hiring someone that diet competitors. If you haven't done this yet. They are worth there weight in gold if you don't know what your doing. Plus , they will see you almost every day and change things up by looking at your progress.

My wife is a personal trainer at World Gym here in Yuma, AZ and she runs a program called TLC (bootcamp kinda thing) but she mostly trains women and not for competition she has been helping me a bit but I need people that compete and knows exactly what it takes. I dont know if Yuma, AZ has a nutrientist, we are a small little city.

[ChinPieceDave667]

Originally Posted by gxp_vince

My wife is a personal trainer at World Gym here in Yuma, AZ and she runs a program called TLC (bootcamp kinda thing) but she mostly trains women and not for competition she has been helping me a bit but I need people that compete and knows exactly what it takes. I dont know if Yuma, AZ has a nutrientist, we are a small little city.

Get on Google and start looking for people that do it online or close to you. I've seen tones of online nutritionist, there has to be a couple that to competitive bodybuilding diet plans. I also think some supplement companies offer this too. I've seen on another forum that one kid used Beverly International to help with one of his competitions.. Don't quote me on that but I'm pretty sure.

[IronKitten]

There are tons of online trainers out there with excellent credentials and experience. They can do your full program for you (training AND diet) or you can choose for them to do just training or just diet. IMO, since you're inexperienced with the competitive thing, if you were to hire a trainer, it would be best to have them do all of your prep setup for you.

Finding someone in your area to actually be with you in the gym from time to time may be a bit tougher. But it really depends on your overall training experience as to whether you'd need someone there with you occasionally or not.

However, keep in mind, it's not a cheap thing to hire a trainer. Some charge monthly, some charge one price for the full package (which usually consists of only the last 3 months). Plus, there are other expenses with the show itself (org membership cards, entry fees, travel and lodging if needed, tanning...).



IMO, wait until the show that's later in the year. 5 months til the first one, and you're sitting at 21%? There's no time for you to try to bulk in that time frame (which would put you at an even higher BF) and then get back down to single digits in time.