Bodybuilding Contest Condition

‘Condition’ Memory! - Is there such a thing?

Summer 2006 was my best contest preparation ever. I was training for the Europa Super show in Texas, USA (which I had done one time before) and this time around I found the entire process easier then ever. Training was better, I found dieting easier in general, and things progressed quicker then ever before. This has led me to question, why…

Breaking it down, what was making this year so easy compared to years gone past? Of course the longer we train, the more knowledgeable we become and this is one aspect I’ll cover in a second, but is that all? I am wondering; did I find me prep easier because my ‘body’ had been down this road before?

Competitive bodybuilding is an ever-changing animal and granted, difficult to master. As athletes, we are always chasing an extra pound of lean weight, an extra 5 pounds on the bar or coming in even leaner by your goal date then the time before.

Some people are more knowledgeable then others, but still there is always more to learn. No matter how much you learn; there is always something new. And when it comes to conditioning, you can most definitely learn from pasted efforts in an attempt to push you forward to a new height of success.

If you have been in great shape before, could your body find it easier to get into shape again?

We have all heard of the term ‘muscle memory’ before right? Muscle memory is the catch phrase (2 fold) used to define the process in which your neuromuscular system memorizes motor skills (ie - lifting weights). With training, on the surface we might think it is our muscles remembering what to do, but it isn’t? In fact, it is not your muscles remembering how to do ‘X’ exercise, but rather your brain remembering how to fire the respective motors units to work as one, which in turn lets you effectively move the bar from point A to B.

We bodybuilders though, we have an additional spin on Muscle Memory. Say over a few years you slowly built yourself up to a lean and muscular 175 pounds. Then for some reason you took an extended lay off. Maybe it was due to injury/illness, or maybe you just needed a break. So you take 12 months off from the gym, decline in physical activity results is muscle catabolism and you drop back to 140 pounds (a loss of 35 pounds). The theory is when you start to train again; you will build back up to 175 pounds faster than you did the first time around.

The notion is that your body not only remembers what to do in regards to exercise, but also remembers what it was ‘like’ to be 175 pounds. The pathways are already set, the work has already been done (creating the framework) and all you are doing is filling in the mass you once had.

Can the same notion be held true for getting into great condition? If you have been into condition once before, is it easier to get into condition the next time?

Once again, knowledge is POWER!

When it comes to work, school, your personal life etc, we would all agree that knowledge is power. Without the general knowledge and skills to see out a goal from concept to completion, you will get no where and training for fat loss is exactly the same. You just don’t wake up one morning, decide that you are going to get shredded and then ‘BAM’ - it just starts falling off you. You need to devise your plan and then apply!

Creating a plan and then putting it into action is absolutely vital to your outcome. The better your plan and the better your application, the better the chance of ‘success’ you have. Getting shredded just doesn’t happen, so you need that plan.

Well for one, you will not spend so much time wasting this time around. The first time you decided to get into shape, there would have been a certain ‘teething’ period which you started off with. You would have needed to find your baselines, the foods that your body utilizes most effectively and the specifics which work best for you.

This might take a couple week, but once you know what works for you then you can get straight back too it the second time around. Instantly you are way ahead of the game.


What about on a physiological level?

To get lean it basically boils down to calories in versus calories out (also taking into account your macronutrient ratios), governed by your metabolism in partnership with your physical intensity in the gym. Your Metabolism is defined as the process by which substrates (protein, carbs, fat and alcohol) are broken down, and where energy is stored and released.

So how do we utilise fat as energy, therefore reducing stored body-fat levels?

Before we can burn it, we need to understand it. Fat is found in the foods that we eat. We have our ‘good’ fats and ‘bad’ fats. Good fats such as Omega 3’s make important contributions to overall health and vitality such as maintaining good kidney function and fluid balance, transporting oxygen from the red blood cells to the tissues and so on.

Bad fats such as the saturated variety do nothing for health. They can lead to an increased incidence of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease, probably things that none of us really want to experience.

After ingested (which will break the fat down into fatty acids), the fat is either transported to the cells for conversion or simply stored within the fat cell. The good fats will be utilized, the bad fats just end up as ‘excess’.

Most of your ATP production (your primary fuel source) will come from free fatty acids. They are transported by the blood stream to the muscles where they are broken down for energy (called beta oxidation of fatty acids) and takes place within the mitochondria – often called the power plant!

So this leads to the question of when training for fat loss, do we train hard or do we train long? We ALWAYS train HARD!
If we get into shape once, on a physiological level will it be easier the second time around and beyond?

Does your body ‘remember’ its fat burning efficiency, just like muscle memory when it comes to packing on lost mass? Does the body instantly switch to fat burning mode, utilizing stored energy with much more efficiency then usual? Does your body simply become more efficient, being able to do more work on less energy? Or is it just based on knowledge, meaning that we simply know how our bodies work and are better able to implement those strategies that we know work?

I honestly believe that both of these factors work together in creating the most effective fat loss program possible. As you progress through your bodybuilding career of bulking up and cutting down, you will find that every time you work towards getting into shape, it will be just a little bit easier the next time around.

Good luck!!


Marika Johansson
 

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