# hello



## squatty (Jun 23, 2006)

hi. I'm Squatty.

I'm in my mid forties and after several years training have finally plucked up the courage to enter my first competition,probably in the spring of 2007.

Be great to hear if anyone else has started competition at my age and how it went


----------



## chalk (Jan 21, 2006)

Welcome aboard mate  . Good luck woith your' competition. Anyway, this is a great place to get any help and advice you need.


----------



## newboy606 (May 25, 2005)

good luck mate


----------



## bodyworks (Oct 17, 2007)

hi squatty.

i know plenty of guys your age who have decided to give competing a go. bodybuilding is one of a very few sports where the athlete's involved are getting older. the england football team may choose to field half a dozen pre-schoolers and a faetus, but bodybuilders tend to be heading in the other direction. it's never too late to step on stage and when you do, you'll wish you'd done it sooner.

a very good friend of mine started bodybuilding at 47 years old, competed two years later at the britain and is now 59, still competing and winning shows.

welcome to musclechat.


----------



## nick500 (Dec 12, 2005)

bodyworks said:


> the england football team may choose to field half a dozen pre-schoolers and a faetus


----------



## squatty (Jun 23, 2006)

Thanks for the support.Good to hear


----------



## splinter1466867924 (Aug 5, 2005)

Welcome dude


----------



## LeeB (Oct 5, 2011)

hi squatty - nice to know your going for it!

age isnt a factor mate - my training partner is 58 years old and still competes - and does well.. hard work and dedication is whats important.. and you have that at any age mate!!

good luck and have you decided which show youll do yet?


----------



## squatty (Jun 23, 2006)

Haven't decided yet.Probably one around February/March time. The Hackney show looks the best bet at the moment. Any suggestions?


----------



## LeeB (Oct 5, 2011)

personally mate, i did my first show 8 months ago and when i started dieting i was of the mindset that i just wanted to get to show condition and see what i looked like. in reality there are that many things that can happen along the way i honestly feel approaching your first show with that mentality isnt the best option.

i remember something i read on another board has always stuck with me - and am sure it was avril "ripped glutes" cunliffe-keith that said it.. why spend months dieting with all that sacrifice just to do one show??? pick a show where theres a few other shows for the 2-4 weeks after and do a few different shows.. competitive bodybuilding is a very steep learning curve and not many get it right first time... especially when you think about all the different approaches to dieting and water manipulation, sodium depleting/loading, carb depleting/loading etc. etc. etc. - give all the hard graft of dieting a chance to pay off and do 2-3 shows, youll enjoy it much more and learn twice as much in a really short space of time!!

also as its your first time a show at the beginning of teh year is a good bet.. as if for some reason you dont hit it bang on (or close enough).. you have a few months until the later season shows come up so you always have the option of trying again in a few months time!

i totally fcuked up the last few days of diet for my first show and hadnt planned on any more... it was only about 3 weeks (and 10 pizzas) afterwards that i decided to do a couple more shows and learn how to get it right.. and it paid off!

the best thing tho is youll find you meat some great people and learn alot more about the sport.

the best tip i can gove you tho is whatever you read in the magazines about how long the pros diet down for (8,10,12 weeks...) give yourself longer mate... even if your in condition earlier than you want to be - if you havent dieted down before you dont know your body well enough to diet in such a short space of time.. so give yourself plenty and come down gradually and learn how your body responds.. rather than guessing and making drastic changes as you are hurrying your diet!

and get good solid advice from a competitive bodybuilder you know... do you train with lads that compete? if so pick one person whos advice you trust and listen to them and nobody else!

and enjoy it... being up on that stage is one of the most satisfying amazing feelings in the world!!! its such a buzz!


----------



## Guest (Jun 6, 2006)

hi Squatty 8)


----------



## squatty (Jun 23, 2006)

Thanks mate

This is one heck of a forum. I'm gobsmacked at the time and thought people give to their replies. For a newcomer like me, it's great support.

Do you suggest then that I put off my first competition till next summer,when there are more options

I get what you mean about the lottery of getting it right first time. If I did my first show early 2007, I'd be in the middle of the diet at Christmas and its the one time of the year I indulge myself with a Terry's Chococlate Orange (diets pretty clean the rest of the year)

There is only bloke at the gym who competes and he suggested I experiment with a 16 week run up to the first show. What do you think?

Also,that extra time will give me more time to pack some more mass on before I need to cut up


----------



## EXTREME (Aug 5, 2005)

Hi Squatty, I dieted for 18 weeks for my first comp, I lost 5 stones so I could get in decent condition and even though I was third the fact I had lost all that fat for the first time in my life I felt like a winner and I can honestly say my life changed that day.

Are you naturally lean or do you carry some fat? How muscular are you? These factors also play an important role in your contest prep too.

Another thing is to try and get a good mentor, someone who really knows their stuff and can explain why they want you to do things, if they can explain why to you that means there is a real reason.

Some of the would be guru's are full if sh1t and cannot explain why they advise you to do things, another point is not always to ask the man with the best genetics for advice but ask the man who has done the most with his genetics because he will have had to suffer in the gym, spend time in the kitchen and have his nose in a book to learn whats going on.

www.extremenutrition.co.uk


----------

