We aren’t here to paint a false narrative of comp prep and give off the impressive that it isn’t tough, restrictive, and requires a high-level of discipline - because it does. However, there are varying degrees to which a competitor should be challenged to achieve their goals of stepping on stage, and overall the journey should be an enjoyable one, not downright gruelling and unhealthy.

Undertaking a comp prep as a bodybuilder is a huge endeavour, and it’s a mission that we don’t recommend setting out to accomplish prematurely.

There is plenty of misleading information circling around regarding carbohydrates and the role that they play in maintaining good health. Part of this simply stems from a misunderstanding of how carbohydrates are digested to begin with.

There’s more to nutrition than just total energy intake, hitting macro targets, and including certain food sources in your diet. Fascinatingly, you can take your nutrient status to another level by strategically eating certain food sources within the same meal to maximise micronutrient absorption!

Nutrition and dietary guidelines often encourage the consumption of a wide variety of plant-based foods, which can easily translate to recommendations of “EAT THE RAINBOW!” This is with good reason and it’s a message that we highly support, as fruits and vegetables of different colours will provide a unique array of micronutrients, phytonutrients, fibre types and antioxidants, all of which contribute to a prime health status.

It’s nice to think that we understand everything about human physiology and nutrition science - but we don’t. Unfortunately, there are no definitive “rules” that we can standardise to everyone when it comes to creating an energy deficit to achieve weight loss.

Experiencing a surge in motivation feels great, however it often comes with an expiration date. Rather than letting this unreliable driving force dictate your actions, being disciplined, ambitious, and habitual is more likely to result in long-term success.

As the sport of bodybuilding evolves, the standard of competition continues to rise year after year, as does the talent pool. Therefore, with more competitive athletes comes the demand for more strategic, methodical, and evidence-based protocols that can provide a competitive-edge to come out victorious.

Want to hear a hard truth? Chasing a specific body fat percentage will not guarantee results in the health or aesthetic department, and it shouldn’t be your primary fitness goal.

Nutrients are obtained from naturally occurring sources in the diet, the environment, fortified foods, and supplementation. With this, nutrients are considered essential if the human body is unable to synthesise them, or cannot synthesis them in an adequate quantity to support health demands. For example…

Sugar is nothing to inherently fear - in fact it’s a vital energy source (such as the glucose in your blood stream and central nervous system) and it also helps to create the backbone of plant structures.

The above infographic illustrates different forms of measuring progress in both a subjective and objective manner. As coaches, we utilise and encourage using a wide variety of these tools to ensure our clients are progressing toward their personal health and fitness goals.

Worldwide, there are many renditions of what constitutes a healthy dietary pattern. However, from what’s cited in the literature, there appears to be a few core nutritional components that are recommended globally.

If you’re seeking a supplement to hang your hat on, look no further than caffeine.

It is recommended that you consume dietary fat from a variety of sources to assist with adequate micronutrient intake, dietary diversity, and an appropriate ratio of poly:mono:saturated sources of fat. When looking beyond energy intake (1g fat = 9 calories), food choices that are rich in dietary fat will provide a unique profile of micronutrients, fibre types, and macronutrients.

Weight loss and fat loss are often used synonymously when describing body composition goals, however it’s important to recognise their differences.

Building muscle mass is a relatively slow and tedious process, and realistically only so much can be gained in a given period of time.

In the world of nutrition there are an endless number of dietary beliefs pertaining to what we should eat. However, hopefully we can all agree upon one thing - plants are pretty darn good for us!

Before embarking on a weight loss journey it’s normal to experience some slight hesitation, as there’s no doubt the prospect of undergoing a dieting phase can feel a bit daunting.

We're sure that many of you have heard the saying - "it's not the tool, it's how you use it." Well, the same holds true for using MyFitnessPal (MFP) or other calorie counting apps. Macro tracking is a skill, and just like any skill it requires practice and refinement to become efficient and accurate. Downloading the app is one thing, but becoming proficient is a whole different ballgame. We’re here to help set things straight with a few of our top tips for tracking as accurately as possible.