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Secrets of Highly Successful Personal Training - Contest Preparation
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18-Jan-2012, Ingrid Barclay B Sci HMS. Member of the MP Advisory Board
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I have trained many clients over the past twenty odd
years to compete in bodybuilding contests. I felt compelled to provide MP readers with the incredible journey I've shared with one of my clients over past two years of competitive bodybuilding.
I guess I have stuck with a fairly common formula of getting people ready to compete. Slash the calories over a short period of time (usually 12 weeks) and quadruple the cardio. Bingo.....results. You have as an end result a contest-ready body, a body that is lean.
Sounds like a plan.
Only problem is the luggage that comes with that "lean body"- the stuff no one talks about - the messed-up metabolism, a super overtrained, drained, exhausted individual, more often than not with a truckload of health issues.
The shame is, this approach leads to the individual never competing again. If they do, the strategies become more extreme, more stressful and unhealthy just to achieve "the look".
I myself was taught all
about contest dieting by a former Mr Universe Graeme Lancefield who is a
real guru in our industry. I applied his knowledge to myself firstly
and then to others.
I’m going to share the story of Renata, one of my clients who has now been with me for nearly 5 years.
Renata is an ordinary lady who has had an extraordinary journey. When Renata first came to Body Conquest she was already a committed gym junkie, weighing 68kg’s and not understanding why she wasn’t as lean and defined as she wanted to be. I taught her some basics of meal construction and wholesome food sources and introduced her to resistance training.
Renata won the Miss Figure Australia in 2009.
With a judge’s eye, I could see that Renata had the potential to be a figure champion and thus encouraged her to compete. It took a bit of arm twisting and a lot of encouragement but in January 2009 Renata committed to the September NABBA/WFF Miss Victoria.
All year we worked hard towards that March to September. Renata commenced a “pre-contest diet” 12 weeks out.
Renata won her Novice Figure Class 1 easily.
So easily in fact that later on in the day she went on to take out the coveted Ms Figure Overall title and earn her place at the Australian Titles three weeks later. October 12th we headed to Sydney with the rest of the Body Conquest team. Renata again won her class, beating some fine scalps such as Anita Nicalau in an awesome first season effort to earn the title of Ms Australia.
Sounds good but then it all started to go pear-shape.
Renata became injured, with a nagging shoulder injury that wasn’t responding well to treatment, she began to put on body fat as soon as she came off the diet. Her nails had become brittle and possibly the worst thing of all was I received a phone call to hear that Renata's hair had begun to fall out…..in clumps.
She was chronically overtrained, mostly due to the excessive cardio and although many, many people had commented to me that Renata was “the most conditioned athlete at the Sydney nationals”, she was a mess physically that consequently became mentally. Depression had slunk in.
It was not long after that that I began to learn about Metabolic Precision and completed Level 1 and Level 2. I decided practically then and there I was on a mission to turn Renata’s experience around. Luckily for me Renata had no intention of going to another trainer. I said to her that I believed I now had better tools and strategies with respect to exercise prescription, nutrition and supplementation. So began the journey of nursing her back to health.
During the course of Renata’s “rehab” I went to Melbourne for a seminar by Dr Cribb, where he talked about the science of matching exercise to nutrition level - and not the other way around! Wow! What a revelation. I used the MP diagnostic tools to identify the severity of Renata's overtrained state.
Overtraining was an understatement……and in true overtraining form, by the time these symptoms had manifested it was all too late. Boy was I going to train this girl differently.
Renata did a lot of physio to get better external rotation in the shoulder and until it was 100% we worked around it. Immediately we began the first round of MP, the 12 Week Metabolic Re-Program. Renata being an absolute champion in terms of mental strength committed to the program to the letter right from Day 1. In fact she didn’t often take advantage of her designated "mistakes" - Sushi rolls in her book were considered "cheat" meals!
After the first 12 Week Metabolic Re-Program Renata weighed about 70 kilo’s and had around 30% body fat. She was not happy, but we knew all the metabolic abuse she'd put her body through....this would take time - maybe another 2 or 3 MP Programs to get her metabolism to where it needed to be.
In fact, after Renata's 2nd MP Program there wasn't much in the way of physical changes or results - even though she was eating 6 metabolically precise meals a day, drinking lots of water and supplementing correctly.
During Renata's 3rd MP 12 Week program, that's when things changed - her metabolism improved! This was due to the fact Renata had been training less, and following MP to the letter for at least 6 months months by now.
The result was amazing, she had energy to burn, was so much stronger and healthier than ever before. Her skin was glowing, her hair and nails were fantastic and best of all Renata was feeling awesome.
Renata in 2011 looking better than ever.
Late May of this year Renata decided that she was ready to compete again. We had about 20 weeks to prepare and began immediately (as opposed to dieting over a period of just 12 weeks).
Because Renata had nourished her body and developed the right metabolism, the type and amount of calories she could consume leading into her contest was much more substantial and much more nutritious!!
In 2009, in the weeks before the show her strength dropped by two thirds. This time training with Metabolic Precision her strength was still improving! In fact, Renata did personal bests in the gym right up until 3 days before the show. The amount of cardio was slashed to about a quarter of what she completed in 2009 and she was just as lean, if not leaner!
Instead of cutting all variety of foods and nutrition (as bodybuilders do in contest prep) we ate MP style - added lean red meats, white meats, lots of the fat fats, all the MP FEONS (Foods Essential to Optimum Nutrition), and ate for color. There was much more variety and nutrition density in terms of vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants.
In 2009 I took Renata off pre and post supplementation and protein shakes around 6 weeks out from the show. This time around Renata implemented Dr Cribb's science-based Nutrition Timing principles and metabolically precise eating that included high energy carbs right up until her last training session! Renata even consumed Vitargo - a fantastic carb supplement before and during every workout!! And she got leaner!
This is a hallmark of what Cribby teaches; create the right metabolism and the results follow.
They sure did.
Leading into the 2011 competition Renata was stronger, healthier, had endless amounts of energy and look just as great as her 2009 comp phase. There was no way you'd detect that she was the typical “lean and depleted” competitive bodybuilder.
The outcome?
Renata again won her Victorian State Title and came an amazing second in a very tough line-up at Australian Titles in Darwin.
I've directly compared Renata from where she was in 2009 before Metabolic Precision to her contest preparation for 2011 following Metabolic Precision. Take a look at the table, the difference was like night and day.
Contest shape in 2009. MP Contest shape 2011 (right) - a much healthier result.
| Contest Prep 2009 |
MP Contest Prep 2011
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Food choices: bare minimum
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All FEONS!! red meats, white meats, all vegetables & lots of colour!
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No protein shakes
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MP Liquid meals right up to comp day!
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No high energy carbs
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High energy carbs right up to comp day!
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No creatine
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Followed MP Creatine Cycling!
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6 Liters of water/day
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10 Liters of water/day
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Resistance training 6 days/week
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Resistance training 4 days/week! |
Strength: dropped by 66%
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Strength increases every week!
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Cardio: 3-4 hours a day
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Cardio: ICE training just 40 mins a day & one rest day a week!
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Health: chronically overtrained, depleted, exhausted, depression, hair loss, brittle nails
& massive post-comp weight gain
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Health: energy to burn, beautiful shiny hair & nails, happy & no post-comp unwanted weight gain.
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Weight: 48kgs on comp day.
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Weight: 55.4kgs on comp day.
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The comparisons and the photographs tell the story of the
remarkable difference in the approach that we took in 2011 how that
transpired physically. One of my favorite compliments at the show was Graeme, he came up to me and said “wow, Renata looks
great, she has put on so much muscle………and (with a loud laugh) she looks
soooo healthy!!!”. That was worth gold to me.
Metabolic Precision really turned things around for Renata. Even now, three weeks after her show, she's “MPing” and feeling fantastic.
No contest "side-effects" physically or mentally.
I think the above table really puts things into perspective and as a trainer it has been rewarding to have been able to improve someone’s health and competitive experience in the manner that I have.
I am grateful to Metabolic Precision and all of the outstanding advice that I have gleaned from Paul and mp-body.com.
Eds Note: Renata is a real inspiration, keep an eye out for a Feature on Renata in our Inspirational People.
 A published author, bodybuilder, international physique judge and certified MP Personal Trainer, Ingrid Barclay has been transforming
bodies and lives for over 20 years. Contact Ingrid at www.bodyconquest.com.au
Become an MP Nationally Accredited Transformation Specialist and Save $$$ Limited Places, act now.
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