Dear first-timers: these are the hard truths.
Before the rise of bodybuilding on social media, first-time competitors didn’t have the luxury of accessing wide-spread information on the realities of the sport before they decided to pursue it.
In turn, this meant that unless someone was under the guidance of an experienced mentor, they would need to compete multiple times to learn the hard lessons that come with the territory of being a physique athlete.
This isn’t to say that having your own lived experienced as a competitor doesn’t provide tremendous value for personal growth, because IT. DOES.
However, being naive and blindly diving headfirst into a comp prep without a firm grasp on what bodybuilding entails can risk first-timers having an unpleasant introduction to the sport. This more often than not results in them feeling mentally and physically damaged, with minimal desire to compete again or endorse the bodybuilding lifestyle.
The good news is that with prior-education it doesn’t need to be this way, and your first experience on stage can be SWEET, not sour!
We highly recommend that first-timers take advantage of the forever-growing body of education on social media which sheds light on the unfiltered truths behind this sport. This means subscribing to various Instagram, Youtube, podcast channels and the like that have a good reputation of spreading high-quality information and insights into bodybuilding.
This way we can all continue to grow and mature alongside an industry that is forever growing and maturing itself!
Let us know in the comments below, what are some of your favourite bodybuilding resources?