4. Keep Busy In Your Free Time

4. Keep Busy In Your Free Time

It's easy to let your mind wander to what your next meal will be—or all the desserts and pasta you can't have for the time being. When you're at work or the gym, you're preoccupied with things to do, so it's important to keep yourself busy in your off hours, too.

"For me, it's working on editing or doing anything out of the house, even if it's just to go get coffee," Albonetti says. "It's still going to be hard, but that's to be expected. Just keep your mind occupied where you can and focus on your workouts."

As with life in the off-season, there is still such a thing as having a schedule that's too packed. Rest is key to recovery, which you're already going to be struggling with.

"You have to find a balance because being too busy can raise stress and cortisol," DeCosta says. "This is where self-awareness comes in—know what 'too much' is on your own plate. Replace your sitting time, where thoughts about eating would come, and go for a walk. Have a creative outlet. Spend time with friends."

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What are your future plans or goals within fitness?

What are your future plans or goals within fitness?

One of my goals is to focus on healthy aging. I'm aiming for maintaining an active lifestyle even when I am older. Not just physical health, but also mental and emotional. I want to continue doing things like hiking, biking, playing sports, obstacle course racing, lifting weights, playing music, and travelling. As I get older, I want to spent time with my kids (when I have them) and their kids, and not have the activity be limited due to my health restrictions.

I also want to continue learning more about fitness and use that knowledge to push myself even further to achieve strength goals I've never achieved before or movements that I used to dream of doing. And I hope my story inspires someone out there to start their fitness journey. It will open so many doors and gives you a different perspective in life. If a skinny kid like me who could barely lift a barbell can do it, then anyone can do it if they really want to.

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What did your training and cardio regimen look like initially?

What did your training and cardio regimen look like initially?

In the very beginning, I began with Kris Gethin's 12-Week Video Trainer on Bodybuilding.com. I quickly realized it was an advanced program but still gave it my best shot with some tweaks here and there. That's when I received advice from a trainer at my gym: To get bigger, I should do full-body training for three days out of the week and consume close to 3,000 calories. At that point I didn't have enough strength to lift a barbell, so I substituted some movements with dumbbells:

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If you could say one thing to someone aspiring to take on a major transformation of their own, what would it be?

If you could say one thing to someone aspiring to take on a major transformation of their own, what would it be?

Don't give up. Sounds cliché, but it's true. No matter how intimidated I got when I walked into the gym or what excuses my mind was making and telling me to not go, I fought against it. I learned that the brain is wired to keep you safe, which means it does not like anything that is new or challenging at times. This was a whole new environment for me. The more I fought the feeling and powered through it, the more I started liking it. The more I liked it, the better results I saw.

Additionally, small changes in habit also contribute to long-term success. I do not believe in fad diets, miracle pills, or quick solutions. I believe that changing one's habits over time can lead to a much healthier life. I've seen people around me go on crazy diets and then go back to their regular eating habits after it's over, and they gain all the unwanted weight back. My advice is to pick a program or diet that works for your lifestyle. You might have to experiment a bit, but once you find it, making healthy choices will be second nature.

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You're Probably Not Going To Look The Way You Want

 You're Probably Not Going To Look The Way You Want

DeCosta has also noticed that individuals who diet down will often be convinced that they're losing muscle and size when that's not necessarily the case. There's just not a lot of water and carbs in their system. Until the system is replenished, you have to accept the flat and even soft look of your muscles—and don't let your warped mind get the best of you.

"There's this rule of thumb that my coach shared with me, and I find it to be true: The worse you look in the middle of your contest prep and toward the end, the better you're going to look onstage," DeCosta says. "You may not look the way you want until the week of the show or even show day if you do it right."

Albonetti has noticed the same thing, in both advanced competitors like himself and beginners alike, panicking over how they look. So they stray off plan and try to adjust things when they shouldn't. If you have a good coach, you have to continue to stay on track with their protocol.

"You're working super hard, doing a lot of cardio, and then you look in the mirror and you don't look as good as you looked last week. You're more deflated and flatter," he says. "But you have to trust the process. It's a mind game that you have to work past."

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What was the most challenging aspect of your journey?

What was the most challenging aspect of your journey?

There were a few challenges. First, I did not know anyone who was dedicated to the gym, so I could not ask many people for help since I was shy to begin with. As I kept going to the gym, I kept meeting people who gave me really solid advice.

Also, I lacked discipline in the beginning, and I did not take my time seriously. One day I decided that I should be stricter on myself and make the people around me proud of who I am. I let go of any toxic behavior and people and started focusing on my growth as an individual. I focused more on family, balance, and my overall health.

Lastly, because of religious reasons, I am vegetarian two days out of the week. No meat and no eggs. Sometimes with religious events, I have to be vegetarian for weeks. I took this as a challenge to prep vegetarian meals high in protein and without any eggs. Quinoa, tofu, and soybeans became my main sources of protein on those days, and this was a good way for my digestive system to take a break from meat and also simply diversify my options.

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Rule the Stage: How to Master the Art of Bodybuilding Contest Prep

Rule the Stage: How to Master the Art of Bodybuilding Contest Prep

Team bcbodybuildingandfitness.blogspot.com athletes Brian DeCosta and Abel Albonetti offer unique insights on what it takes to be dialed in come showtime.

The realities of prepping for a physique contest aren't pretty like the bodies you see onstage. Everyone wants all the shreds until they realize the work it takes to get there is not a piece of cake (like the one that has haunted you and your taste buds day and night).

Two members of Team bcbodybuildingandfitness.blogspot.com, Abel Albonetti and Brian DeCosta, both competed in shows recently, and in light of their success, they want to share a bit of truth with you: Years of training and experience doesn't necessarily make the prep easier. You may think otherwise based on the drive and positivity they exhibit on social media, but that's a whole other component of doing the prep.

"You can't be thinking it's going to be easy. A lot of people think that, and they're the people who never look the way they should have," says Albonetti, who recently took place third in his men's physique class at the NPC Adela Garcia Classic.

Let's be clear. This is not to deter anyone from competing if they are considering it, but it can be helpful to know what's on the horizon so you can prepare for the uncontrollable factors and accept what is inevitable as a bodybuilding competitor.

Here are Albonetti and DeCosta's biggest tips and things to be aware of during contest prep:

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6. Don't Be Afraid To Mix Up Your Workouts

6. Don't Be Afraid To Mix Up Your Workouts

The end goal of a contest prep is fat loss, right? It doesn't matter how you do it as long as you're doing what you need to build the body you need to win onstage. That's why DeCosta recommends switching up your workouts when your brain is feeling burnt out.

"Regardless of how you do it, the fact that you're working the muscles at all is the good thing. So, if you're not enjoying your training, switch it up. But keep the intensity high and hit all the muscle groups," he advises. "I think the fun you're allowed to have on the training side and not being as regimented there makes it easier to be more regimented on the nutritional side, which ultimately is the most important."

Albonetti points out that this doesn't mean you should try a whole new style of training from what you've done in the past. Mixing in the higher reps, as mentioned above, is still weight training, but don't toss out what has been working for you.

"You need to keep doing what you've been doing the past few months—you know, what has been helping you build size—and just let the cardio and the diet be what gets you leaner," he says.

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Dumbbell Pull-Over: 4 Sets Of 8-10 Reps (Superset With 30-Degree Incline Dumbbell Press)

Dumbbell Pull-Over: 4 Sets Of 8-10 Reps (Superset With 30-Degree Incline Dumbbell Press)

As you can see in the video, you want to hold the end of the dumbbell with one hand overlapping the other on pull-overs. The goal is to get a good stretch going through your pectoral muscles—and you'll definitely feel it in your triceps, too. Grimes points out how many bodybuilders he sees who are hunched over (likely from all the pressing movements), and dumbbell pull-overs can help counteract that.

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7. Peak Week Is Not The Time To Mess Around

7. Peak Week Is Not The Time To Mess Around

Peak week can be one of the trickiest parts about the contest prep process. Sadly, the wrong moves can make or break your look onstage. If you're new, it may take a few shows before you figure out exactly what works—and each show can be different, too.

"If I'm going to a show and I'm not as lean as I was a show before, I won't eat as many carbs going into it," Albonetti says. "If I go in not super shredded, my body absorbs anything I eat and spills over. But if I go in there with great conditioning, more food benefits me. Honestly, it's only been maybe 3-4 times that I've actually been that sick lean that I've been able to eat a burger the night before and then look better."

He explains that beginners should avoid carbing up, something you hear a lot of professionals recommend. When you're that new to it, it's likely you won't get as lean as you should.

Drinking water. 

"When I was younger, I was like, 'Oh, yeah, I'm gonna follow this guy's peak week protocol.' So I'd go eat 500 grams of carbs, deplete for four days like what they said to do, and then I'd go Thursday and Friday before the show and eat 500 grams of carbs on both days and all of a sudden go into the show looking worse than I did a week ago," Albonetti says.

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