TeenBodybuilding.com - John Lemare

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I will be competing in my first bodybuilding competition and I decided to keep a diary of everything that happens from now until the day of the show.

By: John Lemare

May 4th - I will be competing in my first bodybuilding competition and I decided to keep a diary of everything that happens from now until the day of the show.

June 16th - I was told about the competition and that with a bit of work, I could do well in the junior first timers section. I was actually quite exited about this and when I got home I told my mom who was not very pleased. In the next two months my life turned into kayos.

June 17th-21st - My mom and sisters were acting really smug but she would not tell me why.

June 22nd - (My birthday). This was when I realized why they were acting so smug as part of my present she bought me a sparkly gold thong for me to wear on stage which at the time did not find very amusing.

July 12th - I started to think about my diet but I did not change much as tennis season was starting.

August 1st - There was a meeting to see if I would be capable of competing and I saw a picture of the last competition three years ago. Those guys were huge and with the audience and cameras that were there, I imagined myself wetting myself on stage. I was then told to show my calves off and this pleased me as I 'thought' my calves were pretty good. I was only told that I need a lot more work on my calves and my head went down. When I got home I went straight on Bodybuilding.com to see the mass building programs and tips for developing huge calves.

August 2nd - My mom constantly complained that I am now eating too much. For the first few days I did think I was going to be sick because of all the calories I was trying to consume. I started listening to my entire 'hardcore' rap CDs to try and pick out the best song I could.

August 4th - I went on to Bodybuilding.com for about the sixth time that day to pick out supplements, which would help me, put on as much mass as possible and reading other peoples article with experience in competitions.

August 9th - Went back to another meeting to talk about the competition. I was then told after going through all my songs that classical music would be best (I never knew classical music existed).

August 11th - I told a few friends I am entering a bodybuilding competition - They just laughed in my face and told me I'md be better off spending my time in the pub rather than at the gym. I then realized a lot of people had this opinion but this made me more determined than ever. I then made sure not to tell anyone else.

August 25th - Now my mom is making me crazy, and I'm sure she is trying her hardest to make things as hard as possible for me to stick with my diet and training programs. Today she even went in to the gym when I wasn't around and started telling the manager I have become obsessed with my diet in the hope of him then telling me to cut out certain supplements and eat normal. She doesn't understand the importance of some supplements to a bodybuilder's performance.

August 28th - Tried out hair removing cream on top of my thigh. I didn't want to do below my shorts line as I would be sure people would start giving me weird looks.

August 30th - Stupidly asked my mom what she thinks of my chest development (as if she knows what she is talking about) and she responded 'one nipple is lower than the other' when I then looked in the mirror I realized she was right. Straight away I started thinking of ways I can change my training programs to even my lower left pec out.

August 31st - Now I've experienced serious mood swings and have been getting ratty with people for practically no reason. I can't wait to see how I will react when I come up to the final stages of the competition.

September 6th - I had an in depth conversation with another experienced person in the gym and I have now found I've been over training with the programs I've been doing. This has caused my confidence to go right down and started thinking I won't be ready for the competition.

September 8th - I have been sticking to my diet well but I couldn't resist the chance to go out and have a few drinks with the boys. I thought I deserved it but I would make sure this did not happen on a regular basis.

December 16th - I've now been told by a previous competitor I may not have the bulk in my upper body to compete with the rest of the competitors in the under 19s first timers. I also have the disadvantage of steroids as the other competitors may be on steroids. I'm still training for the Sidmouth Classic in May, but another natural competition in July is sounding more promising. I'm also into a month on my new part time job in a hotel as a porter. This has not affected my training much except my diet. I only have one lunch break on a eight hour shift so I have to take in several protein shakes to make up for it. Other than this, I am seeing steady progress and have been looking over previous bodybuilding shows on video to get ideas for my routine and see how the poses are performed. As for the music for my routine I have decided it will be one of the two between Snap 'Rhythm is a dancer' or Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince 'Boom! Shake The Room.

December 25th - Today's Christmas so I have cheated a bit but not overdoing it. I have a new thought on the song, 'I am the one and only'. It was also a leg day in the gym but again as its Christmas I had the day of. This would not have happened if it were an upper body workout though.

January 26th - I am now 14 weeks out and I feel good apart from the huge gut. I have always had problems with my calves but now they are looking pretty good but I have hardly got any size in my traps so I have two weeks left before I will start cutting up.

12 Weeks Out - I've started dieting now and planning to loose 1.5lb-2lbs each week. Training has been going well but have changed it slightly to work twice a week on my lagging body parts so I I'm working traps twice a week instead of the once. In still training four times a week and including cardio 4 times a week. My diet now consists of a lot of rice, tuna and sweet corn. I've also been consuming a ton of protein throughout the day to try and maintain as much muscle mass as possible and been lowering the carbs slowly. I still haven't come to a conclusion about the music. I will choose the type of music I listen to, which is normally rap. I will not be posing to it so I've been listening to a lot of instrumental and classical tunes. As I work part time at a hotel as a porter occasionally when working late I have not been able to get the sleep when I would like and it takes a bit out of me but I don't think it has affected my training or gains.

8 Weeks Out - I've started to notice mood swings and a loss of strength but I've started on the creatine in the hope my strength may go up again. I was loosing 2 lb each week like I had planned but this last week I just put on 1 lb that I hoped went off and didn't do anything. Now I've finally picked my music for my routine, Enya's Ominoco Flow. When I heard it, it did sound very suitable and I now just need to do a routine to go with it.

6 Weeks Out - I've now been trying out different methods to remove the hair. I first used hair remover that did not do much I think because I have gone quite thick hair on my legs. I then tried shaving. That started of well but by the end I looked like I had been walking through brambly bushes in shorts. I also did not realize how prickly it would feel and people at work the next day commented on the way I was walking and standing. The only way it was bearable is if I had my legs spread, which does not look good when dealing with customers in a hotel so I just had to bare it. My biggest worry was not the pain but the worry I might get scars. I have noticed mood swings big time now and getting up I the morning for cardio is getting harder. Nothing has really changed in my training but the fat is coming on slowly and if everything goes to plan I will hopefully peak on the day. I actually can't believe I have gone without cheating for this long, as I have been tempted several times.

4 Weeks Out - I'm feeling good and hoping to peak on the day. I'm finding my diet hard but some how managing to stick with it and have not cheated. After the mistake with the shaver I've decided to stick with the clippers and use hair remover to get rid of the last few hairs. I've started on the sun bed now and hopefully the tan will start coming. I have not told anybody I've gone on the sun beds because I'm waiting to see if people make any comments. I will know then if my tan is coming, as looking at myself in the mirror everyday you cannot see the changes in your body like other people can. I've now got my music ready and stated putting together a routine. I'm posing to Enya's Ominoco Flow, which does actually sound quite good for posing. The food I'm enjoying is actually all right to eat at this stage is my breakfast. It consists of 6 egg whites and 1 yoke, I add sweetener to it and some oats, a banana and then stir it together and leave it for six minutes. I then stir it again and leave for another six minutes. I then add a few more oats and some flaxseed oil stir it all together and leave for another six minutes and at the end it is pretty nice or maybe I'm just not used to food that does not taste like cardboard.

3 Weeks Out - I've been on a totally different workout programs for the last 3 weeks. It's where you do three seconds up and one down. For example when doing a pull-up I take three seconds to pull myself up and then 1 second lowering my self I thought this would work quite well but I put on 1 lb the next week that was a bit worrying. I looked over everything I did in the week to see what I could have done wrong and I think its I was having too much flaxseed oil so I have cut that down dramatically. I am feeling half nerves about getting on stage and half excitement when I here the crowd cheering. I got my routine sorted and just have to practice it now so that there will be no slip-ups on stage. I've now increased cardio to 50 minutes first thing in the morning and started taking EAS Phen-Free, L-Carnitine, Citrilene formula and Dymatize Fast 'n Thin.

2 Weeks Out - I've noticed considerable energy loss now and I understand why competitive bodybuilders get ratty at this stage. I have been feeling very lethargic but still fitting in all my workouts and cardio sessions. I've also started to do a couple of sessions only lasting 25 minutes before bed hoping to burn of a few carbs in my system and it seems to be working so I will stick with that. I've now dropped the flaxseed oil completely and I will need to think about other changes now that I'm in the last 2 weeks before the show. I've noticed further striations and veins popping out and am really exited about the show but I am getting less and less support from my family who really hate the idea of me competing but nothing will stop me now. I have gone back to my original programs and now feeling it a lot more after a leg workout.

1 Week Out - Tomorrow I'm entering my first competition. This is not a misprint. The competition I was originally been training for may not go on because there has not been many entries for it. I was going to the NABBA West Qualifier with the person who is organizing the Sidmouth Classic so he can help promote the Sidmouth Classic there and I could watch the competition to see how everything is run and maybe talk to some of the competitors. About 8.00 P.M. the night before I got a call asking if I want to enter it as the Sidmouth classic may not go ahead. That night I put my oil on and was very exited and nervous about getting on stage. I found out when I got there I was the only natural one there so I knew I could not win seeing the sizes of some of the other juniors.

In this show I placed 4th and qualified for the novice Great Britain finals which I am debating whether to do. A few people came up to me and said I looked totally shredded and I was a lot more cut than the other competitors but do not have the mass to compete with the top three. Anyway I've had the experience about getting on stage. Hearing the audience cheer for you. When I did a most muscular and my abs showed up clearly I did get a few claps from the audience which really made me feel good. Now I'm on home soil I know there will be a lot more people cheering for me and I'm really up for the Sidmouth classic. I was a bit behind schedule which caused me to go on a crash diet, which worked well and this included 6 whole eggs four times daily. I did this for four days and this helped me tremendously in getting rid of the last couple of lbs of fat. This diet did make it difficult when I went to the toilet though but at least I'm now on target. I've still got to loose around 2 lbs to get in my best possible shape for the Sidmouth classic so there's no time to miss a cardio session no matter how much I hate it.

Thursday 2nd - I've just started carbing up and now I'm really ready for Saturday and feeling confidant. My abs look sharper than last week when people commented about how shredded I was, this time round I think they will look even better on stage. The last few days I've had no energy and felt like crap. My last workout was yesterday so now all I've got to worry about is my diet and posing. A local salon is also sponsoring me so I get two free tanning sessions that I will go today and tomorrow. I've been on the sun beds so I've already got a good base but these extra two sessions will really help my presentation on stage.

Friday 3rd - Tomorrow's the big day. One half of me is feeling really exited and on the other half I am shiting myself. This was suppose to be my first show but as I did one a couple of days ago I know the procedures but am more nervous now as I I'm on my home ground so there will be a lot more people I know there. I've spent all morning practicing my posing and am confident I will be in time with the music this time round. That night I went to the Manor pavilion where they were holding the show with my music and they allowed me to practice my routine a couple of times to get used to the stage and I felt all the practicing paid of as I nailed it every time.

THE BIG DAY- Today is the day I've been training for. When I got there most of the people who had arrived were helping with the security. I felt a little more at ease but was still pretty nervous. About 40 minutes before I went on I was quite nervous and was just talking with the security guards from my gym and I then saw a first timer walk in who looked double my size and my legs just went to jelly.

The first timers were on first so I go back stage and 15-20 before going on stage I started to pump up. After oiling up I was still pretty nervous then preceded to go back stage. There were two other competitors in my class so I thought I will at least get third.

Pre judging went well and I felt I posed well and got my routing spot on. I then hanged around a bit and watched the other competitors. The guys in the open class were huge and when the overall winner walked past me I couldn't believe the size of his forearms. I went home for around two hours, as the competition was only a 40 minutes walk from my house. I just rested for a couple of hours then went back. After pumping up and oiling up for the night show I was waiting backstage and my nerves started to get the best of me again. The nerves soon went when the presenter said 'from Sidmouth John LeMare and I could tell then I had a lot of people behind me by how the crowd reacted. I went through the compulsories and went back stage to get ready for our individual routines.

When they called me on for my individual routine again the audience went crazy and I'm sure the other two realized I had quite a few people behind me. Again my individual routine went well and I got quite a cheer for by most muscular at the end. After the third competitors routine we were called on for the compulsory poses. I could see the crowd liked the abs and thighs when I did this pose, which was a confidence boost before the pose down. The pose down was the best bit and I kept hearing people shouting 'abs John'. The largest guy on stage who did not look like he prepared for the show was constantly trying to overpower me by getting in my way doing a double bicep. I just did a most muscular with my hands behind by back showing my abs and thigh pose and got the audience cheering again. At the end of the minutes pose down I was shattered and the adrenaline was buzzing.

They then pronounced the order. In third place was the guy trying to over power me constantly in the pose down with his extra mass and also love handles and beer belly. They then announced me second. The winner was very cut and had a fair bit of solid muscle but several people after and the guy who came third said I should have beat him. I went backstage tried to get as much oil of my hands as I could, got changed and went into the audience to watch the rest of the show again with people coming up to me and congratulating me. Dorian Yates had arrived and I got a picture of him and his book which he signed. When I got home I shoved a load of chocolate biscuits down me and went straight to bed as I was shattered. The next day up to lunchtime I shoved my face with chocolate bars and donuts but did not over do it, as there is a natural show in July. If you have the guts to stand on stage in a pair of Speedos I would really recommend it just for the buzz you get when you hit a pose that gets total strangers watching cheering. I'm now already thinking about next year's show which I will not miss for the world and hopefully I will go one placing higher!

My next show is in July which is a natural show so I think I have a got shot in that one. From watching the video I know I need to get a much darker tan and I think this is what let me down in this show so I will go with Dream Tan for my next show.

John Le Mare