What are some things you wish you knew before committing to a coach?
Clarification on how your meaning " bodybuilding coach" . Are you just talking about someone whoes going to get you flab to fab or are you talking actual stage ready?
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Someone that helps you get stage ready.
Obviously, your coach should have competed on stage, or have trained many to do so, and can show you his success stories.
I didn’t use a coach, so it can be done on my own. I made a number of mistakes in the learning process, but every failure is a learning experience.
Are you in a position where you believe you have adequate muscle and just need the best route to achieving stage ready conditioning? Just know that the first attempt at achieving good definition is the most difficult one. The second will come easier with less loss of muscle.
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Absolutely not. I’m walking around at 255ish and probably over 18% bf according to the Navy’s method. I’d like to have to cut weight to make it. So I would need help with bulking. I’ve never tried bulking the right way before.
Check out the book “Be Your Own Bodybuilding Coach” by Dr. Scott Stevenson! Learn to fish rather than be handed the fish! Seriously, that book covers everything from how to plan your whole off-season, to prep, to peak week! Very very valuable info!
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I’ll look into it
What does this mean?
Being about 18% body fat makes losing fat a priority to look good on stage.
If you want to compete this year, at about 18% body fat, there is no time to bulk.
How tall are you?
Would you post a few pics?
I mean I would like to have to cut weight to stay in the weight class for my height. Right now I’m under the 260 limit for 6’5 so I’d like to bulk up before attempting to cut. I don’t feel like I have the muscle mass to be competitive at this point.
I’m not trying to compete this year. Maybe late 25 or mid 26.
Also I’m 6’5
Just posted some terrible pics in the Transformation thead.
Success with other clients.
Are they a teacher, or are they a drill instructor?
I would want to understand their training and dieting methods to a degree.
They should be able to accommodate your lifestyle and specific goals… a canned program is not the correct approach.
You need to understand your own goals very well, both short-term, mid-term, and lifelong goals.
Are they just going to put you on a shitload of gear, or are they going to keep you on a moderate - health conscious dosage?
How knowledgeable are they about gear?
How much are they going to cost?
What kind of commitment will they need from you?
What do check-ins look like?
Are you able to actually comply with what this individual says? They will be telling you how to eat, train, how active you need to be, and how much you need to sleep.
What do you aim to learn from this experience?
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Is there a bodybuilding competition that has a 260lb weight class? When I was competing, the heavyweight class was over 198.5lbs. I had seen that it was expanded to add an additional class of superheavyweight, over 220.5lbs.
You are definitely very tall to be attempting a bodybuilding competition. Your lack of symmetry, if you have any, will be very easy to see. I have always believed that adding more muscle is the best cure for symmetry problems. The problem is, 10 more pounds of muscle is, by comparison, barely noticeable on you than it would be on a person, say, 5’ 9".
Getting a coach is fine, but you could try to get your percent body fat down to where you can see muscle separation in a few places on your body. If you have sufficient muscle to compete well on stage, you should be able to see good muscle group separation around 15% body fat. That is, when you take your shirt off, no one needs ask if you lift weights.
Try to add muscle (smart bulk) when you are about 15% body fat. That way you have a better chance of seeing the muscle growth in the mirror. I would think that your coach would be much more confident in your success if he were working with someone who could get into contest shape in 8 to 12 weeks.
(I really don’t like using percent body fat numbers, because they are so difficult to determine their accuracy. I much prefer a “look.” As in, “He looks like a bodybuilder.”)
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Maybe not? I was just looking at Classic and they have max weights at different heights.
Just my 2cents but…once you find a coach try to stick with the for 3 years assuming they’re good. Don’t go switching from coach to coach thinking that one has the “secret formula.” Each prep will be different as your body/metabolism will to.
I don’t think that specific coaches necessarily offer a “better” or worse approach, assuming they are already experienced.
I do think that different coaches offer different opportunities to learn from.
What anyone learns from Paul Barnett vs Todd Lee vs Justin Harris would all be different, even though they share many of the same prep strategies.
I’m not sure I see a real benefit in sticking with one coach for 3 years tbh.
I am curious why 3 years is your timeframe, though.
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Assuming the person is a newbie to the world of competing with no prior experience with training I’d give it 3 years more or less.
Few years to build a solid foundation and get to know the body well. Being a newbie gains can be made on whatever program/diet assuming it’s not too bad.
Yes, I agree with you that what someone might learn from Barnett, lee, or Harris will be different. But…if you’re continuously making great progress and placing better and better each time on stage with Barnett, why would you decide to switch to Lee?
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