Training for competition
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So maybe you’re one of those lucky people who actually kept last years resolution. You exercise on a regular basis, and you’ve achieved a healthy weight. But now what? Well, a growing number of people are taking their fitness level to the competitive stage. Literally.
This is no workout for Jessica Zaccaria. She is in training. The goal is her first fitness competition in April. The entry level category is called Bikini.
Jessica Zaccaria: “So the way it works, Bikini they come in softer, more feminine and the higher you go up to fitness, physique, you get more muscular, bigger.”
The 20-year old works as a personal trainer. But Jessica knew she needed guidance. She turned to her boss at Str8 Training and Fitness, Tny Trice.
Jessica says: “He has so much experience training girls in shows. He’s trained a wide range of girls for different competitions, categories and with all age groups.”
Tony Trice: “I trained a lady who did her first show, Bikini show at 49-years old who is a professional principal and won her first Bikini show at 49-years old.”
Fitness competitions aren’t new, but they’ve gained momentum in the last five years.
Jessica says: “I’m seeing a lot more people that I know personally through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter that are all trying to do shows now because fitness and going to the gym is like a fad now.”
But Trice says entering a competition is also a way for clients to celebrate a major change, in either body development or weightloss: “They’re like wow I lost 60 lbs. I got into shape and I walked out on stage in front of hundreds of people in a bikini. Like five years ago, I never would have done that.”
But training for competition isn’t a decision to be made on a whim. Jessica says: “It’s very, very time consuming. You have to be extremely committed.”
Beyond the dedication is the stress it puts on the body. Trice says sleep and nutrition make up 80% of a training program. Diet restrictions are extreme and increase in the weeks leading up to competition. At the same time workouts intensify.
Jessica says: “These girls at show date are probably at their unhealthiest during their training. Their bodies are dehydrated. Their bodies are malnourished. It’s not something you could do long term.”
Nor are the results something to be maintained. It’s for performance sake and personal accomplishment.
Jessica says: “I’m still getting a lot of food so it’s really easy to maintain right now with the eating and workouts.”
So what kind of role do genetics play in fitness competition? Tony Trice says definitely good genes make the process easier. But he insists anyone can attain competitive level results if they have the desire and commitment.
