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Pre-competition training

   The organization and technical part of the pre-competition training may seem less important, but for beginner, training in a fitness center without an active bodybuilder or a coach, the lack of information in this area may be a big barrier. For the development of bodybuilding, it is a loss if a potential competitor does not try to compete at least once. Competing should be a great motivation and in comparison with better competitors may help one to find his/her weaknesses and mistakes in the muscles and in the pre-competition training.

Registration

   At first, you must be registered in a club which is a member of the Slovak Association of Bodybuilding and power lifting (SAKST). This club can ask for a license card for the competitor. In case that there are no active clubs in your neighborhood, I recommend calling the SAKST Secretariat and you will be given information about registered clubs and active clubs (the General Secretary is the former Czechoslovak representative Ing. arch. Peter Uríček, phone 02/49249199). The SAKST represents country Slovakia in the biggest bodybuilding federation IFBB - International Federation of Bodybuilders (www.ifbb.com). Registration in a club is necessary for participating in competitions and for receiving information about competitions and announced weight categories. Amateur competitions use to have following categories

three categories in female bodybuilding

• up to 52 kg
• up to 57 kg
• over 57 kg

and six categories in male bodybuilding

• up to 65 kg
• up to 70 kg
• up to 75 kg
• up to 80 kg
• up to 90 kg
• over 90 kg

Preparation for the competition

   After successful registration, you have to focus on the presentation of muscles. Competitions include compulsory positions and free routine.

There are five compulsory positions in female amateur bodybuilding:

• front double biceps
• side chest
• back double biceps
• side triceps
• abdomen and thighs

Men have seven compulsory positions

• front double biceps
• front lat spread
• side chest
• back double biceps
• back lat spread
• triceps
• abdomen and thighs

   As far as the basic positions, their short description can be found on the web site of the IFBB (www.ifbb.com). Mastering these positions is possible only with regular practice, in front of a mirror and without a mirror. You have to find the optimum position where the muscles look the best. The final part includes routine where the competitor has to present not only the muscles but also their movement. The routine should not only include variations of the basic positions but especially the routine should show the muscles in other, unusual positions and lines. The music can be selected by each competitor only time limit for men and women is different (90 seconds is for women and 60 seconds for men).

    Preparation for a competition must include getting nice body color. If you are not afraid of sunbathing in a solarium, you can be prepared all-year-round and covered only to oil for competitions. In my opinion, sunbathing must be done carefully not only due to health reasons but also due to possible changes in thickness of skin, which can negatively influence the presentation of muscles. At present, the market offers sufficient number of transparent colors which can cover every skin reliably. Their main advantage is that can be applied either directly before the competition or the day before.

What to bring to the competition

   Besides the necessary swimsuit, tape with music and color, I recommend taking this:

• • expander for warm-up, since the warm-up room is not always well prepared for competitions
• • slippers to walk from the warm-up room to the dressing-room
• • food to eat and water to drink during the competition and after it
• • sometimes, warmer clothes are also needed if you wait longer for your category

   The competition itself starts by the presentation of the competitors. One must be dressed in competition swimsuit and bring a tape or a CD with the music. After weigh-in, the competitors select numbers and they can get ready for the unforgettable experience at competition.