“With confidence, you can reach truly amazing heights; without confidence, even the simplest accomplishments are beyond your grasp.” ~Anonymous
When it comes to competing, confidence is of utmost importance.
#1 – Be prepared. Do your homework.
Training.
Put your mind, body and soul into your training and constantly re-asses your program. You want to bring your “A” game to the competition. Make short and long term goals for yourself and track them out on a timeline. Plan out your workout and diet program, so you ensure you have enough time to accomplish your goals. Track your workouts and diet on a daily basis in order to determine if changes are necessary.
Be committed to the plan.
Make sure to get outside opinions and critiques on your physique.
An outside opinion can be an invaluable resource in your training. Make sure you have an accountability partner, whether it’s a trainer, workout partner, family member, or friend. There will be rough days, and you need support and encouragement to stay on track. Having confidence in your training and your program allows you to truly have confidence on game day.
Research.
Make sure you do your research into what the federation or judges will be looking for in your class. Each class has very different criteria, and it’s important to enter the class that best fits you. Ensuring you possess the qualities and characteristics they look for in a particular class is important in allowing you to show true confidence on the stage.
Practice.
Practice your presentation and posing until you dream about competing. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. You want to be at the top of your game on competition day, and having outside help when it comes to posing or training can help tremendously. Use mirrors to practice posing to ensure you present your physique in the most flattering way possible. Practicing will make your posing on stage second nature.
Essentials.
Find a suit or outfit that best complements your physique, skin tone, eye color etc. Suits can be expensive, but feeling comfortable and confident in your suit is important. Judges and others will sense if you are not comfortable in your suit. Female competitors should also have jewelry that complements their suit, a good pair of competition heels, bikini bite, makeup, hair styling tools and products to ensure a smooth competition weekend. Now is not the time to skimp; you’ve worked hard on your physique, so now it’s time to present yourself in the best way possible.
Details.
Plan the details as far as the week of competition goes. From tanning to hotel accommodations and travel, to makeup and hair, the last thing you want to do is be in perfect shape and get stressed out by the details and craziness of the competition weekend. There are always things that could go wrong even with the best planning, but a lot of last minute stress can be prevented by having these details sorted and planned out weeks in advance. Less stress the day prior and day of competition allows confidence to shine through.
#2 – If you’ve done your homework, rest in the fact that all the hard work is done.
Now is the time to celebrate all you’ve accomplished. Your hard work has brought you to this point. There’s nothing else you can do other than bring your confidence to the stage.
Confidence is a result of your hard work, months of training
and dieting, and dedication to the sport.
Do not compare yourself to the other competitors; instead, be confident in your unique package. Everyone brings something different to the table and you never know if you have exactly what the judges are looking for. So walk with confidence. Keep your head high, smile, relax, have fun, and most importantly, enjoy yourself, because the moment will be gone before you know it. This is the time of your life.