Do you ever wonder how some people seem to win body transformation contests?  You might even start to notice the same people come close to winning several of them year after year.  To the layman, a body transformation contest appears to be only about the person who lost the most weight or built the most muscle.  If this is what you think about body transformation contests, you are incorrect.  Let me explain…

After watching several transformation contests occur in several internet forums, I’ve found many similaries between the winners of these competitions.  There’s something about the methods they use that is constant in all the winners.  It’s not the person who had the most visual transformation.

Here’s a quick run down of the top three observations I’ve seen with people who continually win body transformation contests.

Body Transformation Tip #1:

Winners use the online journal (blog, forum, etc) provided by the sponsor every single day.  Regardless of the requirements to blog or post about their journey, the winners of these contests get connected with the community FAST.  The very first day, they blog, post or use the journal to document their situation.

• Use the provided journal method every single day of the contest
• Connect with the community quickly (be supportive, friendly, display a lot of positive thinking)
• Become visible from Day 1
• Write posts of 400 or more words
• Tell a story

Body Transformation Tip #2:

Post your photos Day 1 and include as many measurements as required.  If you aren’t an expert at taking photos, get a friend to take them for you.  Every contestant who’s won, looks like they had a real camera.  The ones who lost most of the time but I thought made great transformations on paper took photos with a cell phone in the mirror.  There’s no excuse.  If you use a cell phone camera, get somebody to take one of you in 3 stances.

• Face forward
• Side view
• Back to the camera

You’ll cover all the angles in the most professional manner possible.  You can use an online free photo editing tool to manipulate the pictures to crop them down, remove red eye and enhance them to look as good as possible.  I recommend Picnik.

The sponsor of the contest wants to use photos for their website to show their book, program or method worked.  The BETTER the pictures provided, the easier it is for the judges not to get hung up on low quality photos.  You don’t need a high end camera to do this, you simply need to invest 10 minutes Day 1 and at the end of the contest.

Body Transformation Tip #3:

Write in a positive, story telling manner.  The more variables to your story, the better.  If you are the guy or girl who goes to the gym and has for years.. without much effort and burning fat and building muscle isn’t a big deal.. good luck to you.  If you are the person who has a story to tell about 5 kids, a working mom to boot or a dad who came back from the brink of destruction against all odds.. you’re a shoe in.

People like a good story.  A body transformation contest is about a person, who’s TRANSFORMED themselves in more ways than a scale, a picture a a set of calipers.  Remember, if it were just computers judging people, the person with the best body composition change would win every single time.  You’d bulk up.. get fat.  Join the contest and diet down like a fool and beat everybody.  Except..

A computer can’t feel.

Judges can and if you’ve got a strong story to tell, the chances of you winning are high.

Every single person who has won, has a heart felt (true or not) story.  Find your angle and use that to your advantage.

Winning a body transformation contest is much more than simply providing the best results a photo.  It’s about becoming a leader, connecting quickly and constantly to the community and documenting every angle of your story.  Do this one, and you can join hundreds of contests and increase your chances of winning.

Marc David
“The NoBull Muscle Guy”
www.nobullbodybuilding.com

Secret Body Transformation Tip #4:

Be consistent.  As stupid as this sounds, upwards of 55% of people will drop out.  Remember the old saying, “80% of success is just showing up?” Pretty much rings true here as well.  Even if you have no story to tell, just post every single day even if it’s the lamest post, you’re visibility will increase above the rest as many people just can’t be consistent.  The winners of those contests are unbelievably consistent with their visibility.

Tags: body transformation

It’s 2010. Your old excuses for not getting in shape won’t work. As Dr. Evil (Austin Powers) said, ZIP IT! I don’t want to hear them anymore! Read em’, then haul your excuseless butt to the gym!

1. I have no time.

According to a story in a recent issue of Men’s Health magazine, Barack Obama works out for 45 minutes a day, 6 days a week. Obama doesn’t just play basketball either. Our new president stays fit to lead with cardio and weight lifting. He also says he wishes he could train 90 minutes a day. Have you ever seen what the daily schedule of a U.S. president looks like? If the busiest man in the world can train every day for 45 minutes a day, then what’s your excuse? ZIP IT! You ain’t got one!

2. It’s too expensive.

Getting in shape certainly is expensive… if you keep wasting hundreds of dollars, month after month on worthless “miracle” weight loss pills, internal cleansing gimmicks and “magic” potions that all claim to make you slim. Deceptive advertising and slick marketing for bogus diet aids is more rampant than ever. 2010 was the year of thewu-long tea scam, the acai berry scam, and, of course, the ubiquitous “cleansing” and “detox” gimmicks . Unless you put on your critical thinking cap and learn to investigate before you invest, then you’ll get scammed by 2010’s flavor of the year as well. Your quest for those elusive “6-pack” abs will not only continue to be expensive, you’ll go broke. Walking, jogging, calisthenics and body weight exercises are FREE. If you want to know what’s really expensive, tally up the cost of legitimate expenses like natural food, gym memberships, fitness education, dumbbells and so on, and compare that to your doctor’s bill when you’re sick.

3. No one will support me.

Experts on social influence say your income will be approximately equal to the average of your 5 closest friends. Not only do I think that’s pretty darn accurate, I also believe that your health is your greatest wealth, and your physical condition will be about equal to the average of your 5 closest friends. It’s a real challenge to stay positive, focused and active when you’re surrounded by critical people and negative influences. However, in 2010, lack of support is no longer a valid excuse. Online social networking is exploding (check out Twitter and Facebook ) and more IN PERSON friendships and associations are being made from an internet connection than ever before. Training buddies can be found online. Connect with them. Mentors and coaches are easily found online. Hire them. Support forums have been around for years. Use them. No support from your current friends? Stop whining, start reaching out and go make new ones. In 2010, support partners and new friends are just a click away.

4. I can’t lose weight because of my genetics.

The marvels of modern medical and biological research are astonishing. Our top scientists have mapped the human genome! In the past few years, numerous genes linked to obesity have been discovered. However, the obesity epidemic we’re facing today has only developed over the past 50 years and genetic mutations that lead to serious obesity are extremely rare. Genetic predisposition only means that you have a tendency. It’s when the genetics meet lifestyle and environment that the genes express themselves. If you have a family history of heart disease, is it smart to smoke, eat junk, be a stressed-out, type-A maniac and a couch potato? Well of course not, and it’s the same with obesity. If you have a tendency predisposing you towards obesity, you’d better be the person doing the MOST exercise, not the least. You’d better be the person paying the MOST attention to your nutrition. You’d better be the person with the healthiest lifestyle. But unfortunately, it’s usually the opposite. Most people throw up their arms in frustration saying, “what’s the use, I was dealt a bad hand.” Sorry. That won’t fly in 2010. The latest research says genetics are a factor, but a tendency is not a destiny!

5. I don’t know how.

The lamest excuse of them all in 2010 is “I don’t know how.” NO ONE KNOWS HOW TO DO ANYTHING UNTIL AFTER THEY HAVE ACTUALLY DONE IT! Ponder that for a while. You don’t need to know how at first. To get started, you only need to know WHAT… what is the goal? Setting well-formed goals is the master skill of success. Not wishy-washy resolutions that have no resolve behind them, but real goals. In writing. With emotional ooompf! As you continue to affirm, visualize and focus on your goal with clarity, belief, and expectation, your new goal or intention will be received by your subconscious. Once a goal is accepted into your subconscious mind, your brain, being a goal-seeking mechanism, will turn on your attention filters to seek out all the information you will ever need to reach your goal. It will also turn on an infallible navigation system to guide you to your goal like a torpedo to its target. As your brain guides your attention, your direction and your behavior, you will discover that today, in 2010, there is more good information, coaching and instruction available than ever before. And when you’ve activated that “success radar” in your brain by setting goals effectively, it’s not as hard to find honest, accurate and helpful HOW-TO advice as you might think. In fact, you found this webpage, so you’re doing pretty good right now, aren’t you?

No more excuses. In 2010, remember my Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle Creed: You can either make excuses or get results, but you can’t do both!

About the Author: Tom Venuto is a fat loss expert, lifetime natural (steroid-free) bodybuilder, independent nutrition researcher, freelance writer, and author of  Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle and founder of Burn The Fat Inner Circle.  Follow him on Twitter.

Tags: tom venuto, Weight Loss

I’ll admit that I’m NOT the most “politically correct” member at my local gym.

No, I don’t spit in the water fountain or hang out in the doorway of the ladies’ yoga class drooling.  I don’t sweat all over the bench and leave behind a puddle of toxic waste for the next member to swim in.  I bathe regularly, use deodorant, brush my teeth before heading to the gym and don’t reek of stale beer while I’m on the treadmill.

But when it comes to waiting in line for a piece of equipment…I’m a barracuda!

In fact, I HATE to wait for people to get off of “MY” equipment.

So when you’re on a “schedule” you don’t want to have to be held up by the other knuckleheads who probably don’t have ANY plan, right?

Well, you wanna know how do I claim ownership of my workout zone without urinating around the equipment to “mark” my territory?

Here are 5 ways (with a few “not-so-politically-correct” strategies) that I manage my time and space on the gym floor…

Ok, this first one is a simple one…

Workout When The Gym ISN’T So Busy!

I  know, I know….DUUUUUUHH, right?

Hey, you know I had to throw that in there, right?

Obvious yes, but if you’re especially challenged at your gym, then perhaps you should re-examine your schedule and see if you’re able to go at lunch when things are a little quieter.

Throw On Your Headphones And Crank Up The Music!

This works great for managing your time in the gym since you won’t get lured into those long “between set” discourses on the meaning of life with “that guy” who seems to flap his gums with everyone in earshot of him.

But the other advantage of wearing your headphones is that people are less likely to interrupt you and ask if they can “work in” with you.

(If someone DOES ask…let them!  I’m teaching you how to do the best you can to “own” the equipment, but don’t be a COMPLETE jerk!).

Which brings us to…

If someone is using a piece of equipment you also want to use…

Ask If You Can “Work In”!

Most guys aren’t “Alpha’s” in the gym so when you simply ask “Do you mind if I work in with you?”, saying “No” makes THEM the jerk.

And let’s face it, not many people care to be thought of as the “jerk of the gym”.

You’ll get compliance 99.9% of the time and they’ll likely even cut their own sets short and move on to another exercise.

“Mark” Your Territory!

Although my Golden Retriever, Wrigley, has the right idea when I walk him around the block…I’m NOT talking about whipping it out and urinating around the gym equipment you want to use.

But there IS a way you can claim some real estate…

This is especially helpful if you’re using supersets in your training like I emphasize in my “Advanced Mass Building” program where you need to flip back and forth between 2 pieces of equipment.

Simply grab two of the gym’s floor towels (the ones you use to wipe down the equipment) and throw one over each machine or station you want to use just prior to your sets.

So for example, if I’m supersetting chest and back, I may go and throw a towel over the straight bar on the flat bench and then go and wrap another towel around the pulldown bar at a different location.

And I’m talking, I make it OBVIOUS!

I literally put the towel where someone would know that that equipment is being used…not just toss it on the ground next to the equipment.

Then at the end of each set on each piece of equipment, I put the towel back where it can be seen that I’m still using it.

Same thing goes for your other floor “equipment”.  If you’re carrying a water bottle and a training notebook, keep one at one station and the other at another one to send a clear signal that the equipment is taken.

Loiter

Know why you see “no loitering” signs around businesses such as convenient stores?

Because it annoys people.

When you’re in a time crunch and someone looks as if they’ve set up temporary residence at a piece of equipment, “hang out” close by them – where it’s obvious that you are waiting for THEIR equipment – and occasionally look at your watch.

Now the secret to this is NOT to glare at them as if you expect them to just pick up and go.

No…what you want to do is kind of look around the gym as if it’s no big deal, but when they look at you, just flash a friendly smile at them.

They’ll usually respond with “Oh, are you waiting for this equipment?”

This is where you can come back with “Yeah, are you almost done?”  (Again…keep the friendly tone!).

The typical reaction I see?

They will shortcut their rest period and quickly knock out one more set and leave or let you work in with them during their rest periods.

Well, like I said, I never claimed to be the “nice guy” at the gym, but hey…it’s an (iron) jungle out there and you’re either a lamb or a lion.

If you’ve ever watched “Wild Kingdom”, you know that the lions are the ones who are licking their chops as they gnaw on their leg of lamb.

Have a great workout!

About the Author: Jeff Anderson is author of Advanced Mass Building and Optimum Anabolics.  Follow him on Twitter.

No tag for this post.