The Mind Performance Health Podcast

The True Cost of Bodybuilding: Understanding the requirements needed on your comp prep journey

• Michael Pritchatt • Episode 23

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Step right into the demanding world of physique competition, where every muscle ripple and sequin comes with a price. Joined by seasoned competitors Dana and Bailey, we pull back the curtain to reveal the true costs of sculpting a stage-ready body, from the glitz of bikini bling to the grit of gym grind. Our guests don't hold back in detailing the investments needed for coaching, posing, and the often expenses of competition wear. If you've ever wondered why athletes say bodybuilding isn't just a sport but a lifestyle, this episode lays bare the commitment it takes to chase that podium finish.

 We also delve into the less-discussed but equally crucial aspects of bodybuilding: health and preparation. Hear firsthand the surprising health hurdles that can arise amidst the strict regimens and how a deep-rooted 'why' can be your lifeline through the tough times. On top of that, we dissect the puzzle of balancing rigorous daily routines with personal relationships. Dana and Bailey offer up their experiences and strategies in managing the clock and the heart, ensuring that life doesn't skip a beat while pursuing the ultimate physique. Tune in for a dose of reality on what it really takes to transform your body into a work of art that shines under the spotlight.

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Speaker 1:

Hey guys, welcome to my performance self. I'm joined here today with Dana and Bailey, resident team members here and coaches and fellow competitors and it's myself here as well, michael and what we're going to run through today. Don has made some notes. We're going to look at requirements for physique competition and competing. This is very important, I think, to get right from the start or manage expectations from the start, so you understand what the requirements are, what the expectations are, what the experience is like, so you can have the best Experience moving forward with your own physique or comp rep journey. So, guys, welcome, I'm very keen to dive into this one. Dunny, I'm really good. We've got some nice, neat notes that we're gonna run through. But let's have a look. Talk to me, dana, let's, let's lead into it.

Speaker 2:

Okay, so we've got a big list. So the requirements for competing. Let's start off with money wise, because this is not a cheap sport at all. It's probably one of the most expensive sports to do. What are some of the things, right, money wise, that we have to look out for?

Speaker 1:

Yes, it definitely. There is a cost involved. Sometimes it can be more surprising, sometimes not, and it does depend, you know, from guys to girls as well. I would say that ladies Definitely have a bit more of a dollar sign, hmm, associated with their comp rep, because you got to look at things like the bikini jewelry hey there's a lot more to it, whereas guys, yep, we get the shorts, trunks, the tan, right, but there's maybe a little bit less of a dollar sign associated as well.

Speaker 1:

But let's break it down now. Like other sports too, there is a cost involved, and this is an aesthetic sport we need. We actually are getting judged on the looks up on the stage, right. That is what's happening. So, when it comes to the money involved, obviously there's coaching. So we've got a coach that we usually have to pay for To help guide the process, and I do recommend having a coach. It just helps make better quality decisions because, as we'll cover out the end, we've got some brain fog stories.

Speaker 1:

When we're pushing a very low body fat, sometimes our brain doesn't think the best, and it's just great to have someone that has a solid skill set In the trenches that can help make but a better quality decisions and keep you on track when you're questioning yourself or questioning your decisions. So, definitely, a coach is going to be thrown into there, whether that's in person or online, and that coach may, may also do posing, or you need a posing coach as well, right, and that comes with cost to whether it's one-on-one online group, but that's, that's like non-negotiable they're. They're non-negotiable a lot of this is. But like you need someone to help you Guide throughout the process and I would recommend, obviously, your dialing, your posing, not just focusing on YouTube videos.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, you know. What are you posing? Yeah, posing is a big part of it, and a lot of people don't understand that. You could have a Fantastic package to show on stage, but if you don't know exactly how to show it, it's not gonna be good.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, exactly you, and it's. You're exactly right. We can have an awesome physique, but if we're not on point without posing our presence, our confidence up there as well, we're not gonna get the points that we need to actually be as competitive as possible. You can have someone with just as good physique. They've got better posing. They will usually overtake you In the judging right, yeah, and, and for some people, they may need more posing lessons versus others, and that will come possibly at a higher cost as well.

Speaker 1:

Yeah you know. So definitely the coaching side, posing Nutrition, training, workout, the guidance. That's all gonna come with a cost, realistically. And then you've got the Residual costs. Obviously you've got to pay to enter the show exactly right your walkouts each category.

Speaker 2:

Yeah it's a fee is a fee.

Speaker 1:

You know, if you're doing like your regional shows, state shows nationals, each time there's a cost for that as well. Yeah, but really it's a trade for the experience.

Speaker 2:

It is, it is, but then you also. You just have to take into account the little things as well, like, if you're a female, you're looking at makeup, hair jewelry, bikini um, bikini heals as well. Bikini is probably, I would say, one of the most expensive things on that list.

Speaker 1:

Oh, definitely.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

And you could go pretty expensive.

Speaker 2:

You can. You can Especially nowadays.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, you glam it all up right.

Speaker 3:

And then there's things that's obviously optional as well. You've got your tan. I mean, well, that's not optional, but then you obviously got stage photos. You've got all these things that you don't have to pay for You've got videos, stage photos, all these things that you could just make the experience even more and remember these moments too.

Speaker 1:

Oh, so they accumulate up, yeah, and then you've got the cost of the supplements, yes, and food as well Food as well, but it's an investment rather than a cost.

Speaker 1:

I think right, it's for the experience and we'll cover this as well with our notes too, and what you've prepared here, dana. But, everyone, what your reason to do it right? It's investing into your reason to accomplish it and you can take away that for the rest of your life. So, yes, there are costs associated with it. Like I touched on, some more for ladies than men. Yeah, it can really range or it can start at a baseline, but to get the most out of the experience that you're going to have to invest in into these areas, yeah, and during prep you don't want to be stressing about your bank account thinking, oh, will I be able to afford this?

Speaker 2:

Or you know, you want to make sure you have it already there.

Speaker 1:

Yes, yeah. So I recommend to enter with the mindset in the competition that, yes, you're going to need some resources there to invest both time and money to get the best out of it.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 3:

All right, stress management is a whole other conversation in prep. But of course, minimizing the stress and if financial would be one of them, yes, definitely managing your finances to reduce the stress from that's going to help your prep 100%.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, we want to manage as much stress as possible. And then, moving forward, dana, what do we have next?

Speaker 2:

Moving forward.

Speaker 1:

The next requirement.

Speaker 2:

Let's touch on your labs Right. So health wise hormones, digestive health.

Speaker 1:

Yep. So yes, and when we talk labs, that's like our lab work. We're looking at digestive health. Great one to start with.

Speaker 1:

Now, not all clients that see us that want to do a competition straight away actually do the competition straight away. Some do, some don't. What I mean by that is if we have a client that has some health or digestive issues, it may not be the best idea to start a competition, you know, and we've got to manage expectations that that way and come up with a game plan to solve whatever health issue there is. For example, if someone has dysbiosis or any gut issues and they want to compete, but they've got a lot of bloating, poor motility, poor digestive health and not simulating their food properly, you know, yeah, and you may, they may start the program, but their weight's fluctuating, they've got pain.

Speaker 1:

Maybe it's not the best idea to cause more stress and get rid of that stress. That's already there, you know. So, definitely, having a solid baseline of health is important, getting lab work done so you can look at your blood sugar, thyroid function, iron, things like that because we're going to go to low points of body fat, right, yes, we're going to push the body, both with men and ladies to a point that you know it's not the usual average healthy baseline. But we do that for an acute part of time and get out. But if we've got low iron, if we're not operating as healthy as we can, it's going to be a lot harder, you know, and your physique may not respond well as well.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, what are?

Speaker 3:

your thoughts with that.

Speaker 2:

Well, I guess you could touch on a bit on your experience, because I remember that you did compete with the parasite. Yeah and then compare it to, you know, your other competitions where you. You know where your health markers were good.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so you know I'll say that for myself as an example and it was good because it allowed me to look more in the functional health side of things. But my first ever competition I did. I went throughout the process but then started to have gut issues. I couldn't eat carbs and when I say carbs I'm not talking about sugar, like chocolate. I'm talking about I'd eat a bit of brown rice, white rice and bloat and have pain and I was like something's going on here and did some tests and then found out that I had a parasite with my digestion and then, a couple of weeks out from competing, I actually had to go on antibiotics and kill it and add a bit of, you know, water retention, inflammation. So it was a little bit of a messy prep.

Speaker 1:

Now I wouldn't recommend that. I still did All right, still got top three, you know. However, I wouldn't recommend that because I didn't bring my best physique to the stage, you know, and it was a lot harder to push through that time. Yeah, so I do say that from experience. Compared to my other competitions where, you know, I didn't have as much water retention due to inflammation, I was much tired, I had a lot more muscle mass and just better mentally to push through as well without having those issues. So look that I caught on to that later on in my prep. I wasn't aware of it at the start. But this is why it's good to you know, ask questions. Do you have digestive problems? You know, even when you proceed to be eating healthy, where's your health at? Health actually at as a baseline before causing more stress for the physique.

Speaker 2:

Exactly. I think the biggest thing as well is just understanding that you cannot outrun health. You have to make sure that your health is in check. You can. I've known some people to do preps and to step on stage and do competitions while their labs weren't the best that they could have been, and at the end of the day it's kind of taking a step back and looking at was it like? Was it worth it? Right, could you have done better if you sorted out your health first and then went through with a comp?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, and everyone wants things quick you know quick to get onto the stage, and that too, but sometimes taking a smart approach will enhance your experience and then enhance your result. So it's important to be, you know, on point with your health.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 3:

And, at the end of the day, you want to put your body in the best possible position before going into prep. Yeah, definitely, looking at your labs and looking at your health markers is one of many things to make sure it's ready. Yeah, once the stress does come, stress is going to increase everything of that. You want to make sure that the body can withstand it all. I don't make sure it can cope with it all before. Labs is definitely one to make sure.

Speaker 1:

Yep, and we always recommend baseline of labs blood tests if digestive tests are needed at the start, before competing. Obviously, you see if there's any symptoms just with your questions and how our client would feel, our athlete would feel, and then labs at the end to see as well. You know it's good for guys to check on their testosterone levels, it's great for everyone to check on their thyroid levels, iron levels and just a whole blood panel, yeah, but it's important to see as both baselines because when you come out of competition you want to improve your health back to a. It'll get your labs back to a healthy average baseline.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

Okay, Next one, Donna. What have we got?

Speaker 2:

Next one we have. I think these two can tie in. So you're why, so your reason as to why you are wanting to step on the stage, and also mindset, is a big thing.

Speaker 3:

Yeah. So with why, I think why is massive. I think, like Mick says, we talk about, a lot of people want it for the experience. But I think sometimes, in my opinion, just an experience itself sometimes may not cut it, with sometimes not understanding of what a prep can really, what you have to go through really with stress, with what the body has to go through, with the sacrifices you have to make. And I feel it's very, very important to understand and know your why and why you are doing it. So then, when things do get hard and the sacrifices do come into print with being relationships, with being family, work, energy levels, all of that and to then rely back onto your wine, remember why you're doing it is very, very important. And to have a strong why too. And that's why TouchBake, sometimes just saying I want to do it for the experience may not be enough. Yeah.

Speaker 1:

Well, what is the experience? What do you want to get out of it? Yeah, great questions, and I agree with you, bailey. It's like, yep, we want to compete, but I always ask what do you want to do? Do you want to get like overall? Do you want to get a pro?

Speaker 3:

card? What do you want to achieve? What do you want out?

Speaker 1:

of it. What do you want the competition to give you? What are you looking for? Because then we're on the same page. We can have a roadmap with that and a check in that that it's happening, because you know, some people do it for their own self confidence, some people do it to be be competitive. Yeah, it's important to be on the same page right yeah everyone's different and with um, with mindset as well.

Speaker 2:

It's you'll have some people that will just look on social media and we'll see, you know, people on stage on the day where everyone's glammed up and everyone looks amazing. But then it's also understanding what you actually have to go through to get to that point, because it's not all. It's not a glamorous time, like you know, whatever one will see on social media. So having a strong base of what your why is will help you get through those that prep in that experience to then step on stage yeah, that's great.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so requirements, right, very important. Yep, we're going to have to put some resources, money, time into the, the effort of of competing requirements. Have a decent, healthy baseline, right, we're going to need to sacrifice some stuff, right yeah that's, that's definitely going to be for sure and so that you may have to sacrifice a bit of time, um bit of social life, a bit of social maybe right, like you don't have to correct. No, but look, I, when I compete, I still go out. I'm not going out to five in the morning.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, let's be real you know, I'll still go out with friends and when I first competed I think this is important when you, when I first competed, I was a lot more like I need to sacrifice everything right compared to when I last competed, where it was like you know, I can go out and eat a steak, you know, at a restaurant and it's not going to kill me because I know how much the steak is and I'm not getting the gravy.

Speaker 1:

I'm not getting which I don't eat anyways, but I'm not getting the all the all the weird stuff with it. Right, I just get my steak and vegetables, but I can be scobie, social, you know. Yeah, so, um, that's important because some people think they need to sacrifice everything and it can negatively impact them to a degree as well and disconnect with some people in their life. However, from my experience, I've been through kind of both. Um, if you're smart with what the decisions you make, while being social, and that as well, you can get if not better results, because you might be managing your own stress better yes, you know yeah, but you need to be smart with what you're doing yeah, yeah you know, um, and yeah, you need a requirement for competing, a strong why?

Speaker 1:

why are you doing it? So when those tough times come, which they come you can push through yeah yeah, and they definitely will come in perhaps.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, they're definitely 100% question things.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, it's going to be times where you look in the mirror and you're like am.

Speaker 3:

I ready?

Speaker 1:

am I not ready, it's gonna. Yeah, why am I doing this?

Speaker 2:

but that's why it's also important to have a coach, because you will get to the point where it's almost as if you don't see yourself or how you actually look. So you need someone from an outside perspective to be like yep, we're leaning up or not, we've got to dial it in, you know yeah yeah, totally agree yeah right now have the plan, a game plan with it, and and what else done?

Speaker 1:

what else requirements requirements?

Speaker 2:

so time, a session time a little bit, yep, because you will, like I, look at prep is more so as a lifestyle. So everything is a routine. You wake up a certain time, right, you eat meal one, a certain time you have your supplements, you do your training, um, and you go to bed at a certain time, right?

Speaker 1:

so yeah, so let's touch on that, bailey. What are your?

Speaker 3:

thoughts for time? Um, yeah, I mean for for myself, it's it's about finding value in the time that you're doing it at all. So the things that black dana just said having that routine of waking up, having meal one, having all your supplements, finding value in those, in those, in those things are really going to help you to um, put those time away consistently. Yeah, because at the end of the day it's it's going to be a consistent thing. That's what's going to really drive you to the, to be better or to be different than everyone else.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, is doing it day in, day out, um, and to help, to help you, to help you do that day in, day out, I think it's finding value in these things why, why you're taking your supplements, why you're taking your meals every single day, which then comes back to your why your why is so important? Um, but time management is definitely going to be one of the biggest assets and the skills that you're going to need in prep um, with your meal timing, with your supplements, with sleep, um, with routine, um, all those things. So time management and time is going to be very, very important, um, yeah cool?

Speaker 1:

yeah, no, definitely look. I agree with everything you said. You need value with what you're taking, what you're doing and and each little bit of time that you're spending, whether it's with the food, supplements, sleep, steps, workouts, cardio. So it's. You need to put away time to achieve this call, and the expectation is it really depends where you're at, and what I mean by that is. I use someone that is in shape and we don't have to do as much cardio or something because we're not trying to compete in four weeks time. Would I mean to get ready quick, or are you? Do you stay in shape? You know you don't need a sacrifices much time on the cardio machine so there's gonna be different levels.

Speaker 1:

I think as well to what's needed, but you're going to need regardless. You're gonna need to put away time for your strength training workouts, right? I'm you going to need to put away time depending for cardio some clients maybe, some clients not. You're gonna need to put it away time for your sleep and prioritizing that you can train as hard as we want.

Speaker 1:

If I sleep is not on point, we're not gonna recover, progress, grow and have more stress right, you're gonna have to put away time for your step targets, which is very important, right, especially as we started to get lower body fat. We don't want to move as much, so we need to hit our step targets. You're gonna need to put away time for you're not getting lazy with supple all those little details, not getting lazy with supplements, not getting lazy with your prep of food. Yeah, so there is gonna be a a focus on your time, and it really is like it is an athletic mindset. You need to be focused as an athlete. That's what athletes do. They spend their time on the details that compound up to get the result. You know, yeah, and this is no different.

Speaker 1:

And whether it's focusing on resting, whether it's focusing on training, eating touched on sleep, you need to prioritize your time to get the experience out now. Some competitors, that's. You know. Posing, posing takes time, not getting lazy with that daily right, there's a lot of details. Yeah, sometimes people don't know those expectations.

Speaker 3:

They just see the Instagram photos and go I just train, and that's what happens and especially with posing too, especially if you're if you want him to start to compete. I don't think, even for myself, you don't realize how much time you actually need to put away for posing specifically. Yeah, it's an art, like it's something that you want to put a lot of time into.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I totally agree, more time you put in, the more you're gonna get out. Yeah and so, but that's what I'm saying, like all these details, they all cost time to do yeah, you know but if you've got this goal, you gotta be focused and you gotta put away that time. Alright, what's the next?

Speaker 2:

one, next one. We're looking at relationships, relationships and proximity sweet, massive, massive, massive.

Speaker 1:

Alright, so look proximity, who you surround yourself with. You gotta coach that motivate you, pushes you, makes quality decisions, posing coach as well. There's like two avenues that you can surround yourself with to be positive other people that are competing or other athletes that are competing are getting amongst the culture. But yeah, relationships also extend to family friends, right, you want I do recommend and everyone's a bit different, right how they work. If you get negative feedback with what you're doing and you take it as a negative and have stress that may impact your result, yeah, you know, if you get that, if people are pushing against you and you only use it as fuel, that may enhance your result it really depends on you as an individual, but I do recommend, regardless you get in a environment, a proximity, and you make relationships whether they're professional, with family, that uplift you one way or another to limit stress.

Speaker 1:

But also, once again, to you're going to spend some time in prep. Those around you're going to spend time with you want to make sure it's a successful journey.

Speaker 2:

You know and you need those along next to you to help you make that successful yeah, like you want to be surrounded by people who support your journey to getting on stage. Yeah, also, in saying that, I will say I've had a couple competitors in terms of proximity. Sometimes we don't realize we're doing it, but when we go on social media and we're scrolling through Instagram and we see other people you know on stage, their stage photos, what they look like on the day good point you find it very easy to to compare yourself to those people, especially when you're in the middle of prep and then comparing yourself to you know someone who's on stage.

Speaker 2:

Some are someone's stage photos right, they've got the lighting, they've got the tan, they've peaked for that competition, but you're still in the middle of prep. So in saying that it's not, you know, it's not fair to then compare yourself to someone who's on stage ready whilst you're being in the middle of your prep. But if you find yourself comparing yourself to you know other girls or other males on social media, I actually recommend for all my competitors to either unfollow so you don't look at it if it's affecting you in a negative way, or also looking at in a different kind of point of view where it's like does that then motivate you? Does that then push you to be like okay, yep, cool, you know, I've seen all these girls. They look fantastic. You know that's my goal, and does that fire you up or does that bring you down?

Speaker 1:

I totally agree. I think that's a fantastic and and that touches on the mindset and requirements for competing very easy to compare and I think a lot of compared it is, but you're getting compared to other athletes on stage. Like said Bailey, comparison is the thief of joy. You can use it as fuel or it can also bring you down if you and social media it's great as it's powerful, but it also can can cause a lot of issues, right? So I totally agree with you, dana. If you find you're comparing on social media and other avenues, I recommend to either mute those sources. You focus on yourself, because it is gonna. That comes with this game. So I'm realistic to say there's gonna be no comparisons here, right, but you don't want that to impact your focus, your success, the best you can control it and it is look, it's a requirement for competing. You are going to get compared on stage yeah, you know that's.

Speaker 1:

That's what's going to happen. You're going to be compared to the person next to you. However, the journey to get there, it can be negative in a perception way if you constantly looking at others and bringing yourself down. Exactly you know. So great point. I think it's important to understand that may come with competing mindset. Wise, we got to be strong, confident, focused on yourself, remember why you're doing it and look at the end of the day, no one cares. What I mean by that is is, you know, down the track, people don't care for themselves.

Speaker 1:

Yeah they won't as much as you're thinking of yourself, people just think of themselves as well. They're doing the same thing you know, so focus on your experience while you're doing it. That'd be my biggest recommendation to get the most out of competing. Yeah, you're your own.

Speaker 3:

You're your own comparison in competition that's it, yeah but I think it's, it's massive, or what you touched on, though, you're really really identifying. If so, everyone's different for me, for me personally, like at the start, I looked at it and I would get in my head and it would put me down and I used to talk to you about it. Actually, yeah, um, so it's. It's. It's very important of identifying. If you look at people on social media, is it a motivating thing? Is it motivating you looking at them or is it? Is it getting you upset and is it getting in your head with it? So it's good to identify how, how it can help you. 100 how can help you.

Speaker 1:

That was a great one look, guys, great conversation will end it there because Chris is like hey, time to wrap it up. So very important one is a baseline for competitors to understand and anyone who's going to go through some transformation. This can carry over as well for any transformation. Right, some key points there. But, um, if you are a competitor, it's important to understand the requirements, especially if you've never competed before. Okay, um, so, guys, appreciate you having a great chat, sharing your experience. It was great to share my experience as well, but, very important to start as a baseline, yeah, okay, so thank you for listening to our audience.

Speaker 1:

If you're ever interested in our coaching service, you can check out or even other resources that may help with competing body transformations. We have competitors that see us, whether they're in person or online. We also have clients come to us for body transformations to help fine tune their physique and we allow what we do here is help pay attention to the details, to take it up another level. So, if you're interested, you can check out our website, wwwmyperformancehealthcomau. Thank you for listening to today's podcast. You can check out the other episodes and, guys, we'll see you in the next one.