Muscle Contest Iron Games – NPC BodyBuilding Competition VLOG
Hello Friends!! I have officially competed in my second body building competition! I am so excited to bring you guys along with me through the process of the day from Athletes check in to spray tan, to hair and make up and the show itself!! I love educating people about body building and what comes along with it! Especially body building competitions because not many people know what its about and what goes on!!
Day before the Show Prep
So to start off the day before the show is a very strategic and BIG planning day! I make sure I have my suits (practice suit and stage posing suit), my jewelry, heels and my show day bag packed!! I will be doing a “what is in my show day bag” video so keep an eye out for that!! In addition to that I pack my bag for the weekend with just clothes and toiletries. Most importantly my meal!! For my meals I don’t portion them out I just make a large amount and bring it with so I can portion it out as needed! I made chicken breast, and brought the minute cooked rice bowls, oatmeal, peanut butter and of course the bodybuilding classic rice cakes LOL MOST important, I could not forget my scale!!
HIGH CARB DAAAY!!
I was sooo excited the day before my show my coach also gave me a HIGH CARB DAY!! My carbs have been at a very moderate sustainable level throughout my whole prep. Never once being deprived of carbs fully which sadly is very common in the bodybuilding industry. Prep does not have to be hard and miserable, there is a way to go through the process to where it is enjoyable. You can still see great result and have success at your shows with our depleting your body of carbohydrates, and limiting your short and long term health risks! The low energy that everyone talks about during prep is not a myth however, will be more prominent when depriving our bodies of the carbs that are converted into energy! I am a huge advocate for competitive bodybuilding but being done in an enjoyable sustainable way!
Athletes Check In!
On Friday, before the show every competitor must go to Athletes Check in. This is a mandatory meeting where they go over the process of the show, what to expect and do height measurements to determine what class you will be competing in. They go over back stage etiquette and do a run down of the show and how the process of ushering and grouping works backstage! This is sooo beneficial and important for women and men who have not competed before because being back stage can be super hectic and nerve wrecking!!
Classes & Divisions
I want to fill you in on the different classes and divisions that are at the NPC bodybuilding competitions! For men we have 3 divisions; Men’s physique, Men’s classic physique and Men’s BodyBuilding. For women we have 4 divisions; women’s physique, women’s figure, Wellness and Bikini. Each division focuses on a different attributes of the competitors. However, the judges will be looking overall for symmetry, lean muscle definition and shape of the competitor as they pose. From there each division for both men and women is broken into classes. They are based on height and go from A to F, A being the shortest and F being the tallest. This is measured without our heels on! They also offer separate classes and divisions for competitors based on age. This is called masters, they have age 35+, age 40+ and age 50+! This is great because it allows everyone an even chance to go up on stage against competitors of the same height and build!
Categories!
From those Divisions and Classes we also have Categories! There are 3 standard categories True Novice, Novice and Open. Let me break those down for you! True Novice means that you have never ever competed in a bodybuilding competition before. Novice means that you have competed in a bodybuilding competition before but did not qualify at that show, meaning you did not get 1st or 2nd place. Lastly Open, is just what it sounds like anyone and everyone can compete in this category, whether they have or have not competed and whether they have qualified or not.
Winning the SHOW!
“Sammy, HOW DOES SOMEONE WIN THE WHOLE SHOW?! Okay, let me explain!!
Okay, to win the whole show, you must compete in the Open category. When competing in this class you must place 1st in your class (A through F). Once there is a first place winner in all of the classes (A through F) then all of those winners go against one another in what is called the Overall Comparisons! It is at that point the judges make their decision on who is the overall winner of that Division! This is done for all of the 3 Men’s Divisions and all 4 of the Women’s divisions! The winner is given a trophy and women are given tiaras as well!
GOING IFBB PRO?!
If you’ve been following me you know that I am going for my IFBB Pro Card! If you’re new here then SURPRISE, I am going for my IFBB Pro Card. IFBB is a federation in the bodybuilding industry separate then NPC. The “Pro Card” is basically an elite status in the Bodybuilding competition industry and allows you to then start a full career of being a professional bodybuilding competitor. At this level, cash prizes are given out to competitors that win the shows.
How do you become an IFBB Pro?!
There are a few steps to becoming an IFBB Pro. First being you have to compete at the Amateur level first, this being regional contests and shows! As I mentioned above, qualifying in a regional show means you placed 1st or 2nd in your open category class (A through F) no matter what division you are in. This goes for both men and women as well. When qualifying in that show you get your “ticket” to nationals, and no it’s not an actual ticket LOLOL You then go on to compete at a Nationals show where they hand out anywhere from 2 to 20 Pro cards depending on the show. The systems for “winning the Pro Card” are vary show to show depending on what their guidelines are. Generally speaking it is being 1st in your class and getting the overall as well! From there you get your Pro Card and then move on to compete at IFBB Pro Shows moving forward. In the IFBB Pro circut they have a scoring system based on averages given from scores of 7 judges that are ranking each competitor. From there based on their score they can be invited to larger contests such as Olympia and the Arnold where they can win titles of Mr. or Mrs. Olympia, or Ms. Bikini International, Mrs. Wellness International; just to name a few!
Muscle Contest Iron Games – My 2nd Bodybuilding Competition!
Now that you’re FULLLLY educated in the Competition World and everything about it! Backk to my competition and what happened! So because I qualified at my show in March I was only open to compete in the Open Category for Class E based on my height (5’6″). I placed 5th out of about 8 girls! This was to be expected, this show I came in a lot “softer” meaning I was not super lean and didn’t have a much muscle definition! This was intentional because I am going to be competing in a National Show in about 4-5 week (December 2022) and I want to come in super lean and conditioned for that show. To be in prep and conditioned for 2-3 week and then an additional 4-5 week can have some effects mentally and physically on my body! So to be as healthy as possibly we intentionally came in less condition!!
WHERE TO NOW!?
IT IS TIME FOR NATIONALS BABBBBY!! LETS GET THAT PRO CARD!!!! So my intention this whole time has been to compete at Olympia Amateurs on December 13th 2022. However, they only give out about 3 pro cards. I did find out that there is another National show in Orlando on December 2nd 2022, and they will be giving out 100 pro cards overall! So my chances are EXTREMELY higher at that show than Olympia. So as of now I will be in prep for the next 4 weeks preparing for the Nationals Show in Orlando, and keeping Olympia as a back up!!
I am sooo beyond happy to have brought you guys along with me on this journey and process of my 2nd bodybuilding competition! I love educating and bringing light to the industry because not many people know about it or understand it!! I will continue to document my journey to becoming an IFBB Pro and cannot wait to bring you along!!!