AS A REGULAR GYM-
GOER, I never entertained the idea of
training for a fitness comp. While I’d never
refuse the chiselled obliques of the bikini
set, the fake tan smell, hours of training and
teeny-weeny bikinis native to competing
were too much.
But after witnessing bodies so impossibly
hard you could slice low-carb bread on them
at recent industry events (occupational
hazard), I was curious enough to investigate.
Countless hashtag searches and mind-
bogglingly complex studies later, I discovered
a burgeoning industry of quasi-bodybuilding
in which women inspired to challenge
themselves without the sacrifices or health
risks implicit in body sculpting are flexing
their girl guns on stages across the country.
“I think you can still train someone to
be a champion without leaving them with
health issues or being too extreme,” says
master trainer Daniel Tramontana (visionpt/
studios/brighton.com.au), who has coached
more than 20 clients to podium finishes.
In place of the tyranny often ascribed
to an industry variously blamed for body
image disturbances, eating disorders and
substitution of oppression for empowerment,
Tramontana leverages principles of
empowerment.“I really think the sport can empower
and motivate – if it’s done right,” he says.
While a fitness or bikini competition
might be completely unrealistic (or
undesirable) for 90 per cent of the
population, I was intrigued about quite
what compelled fitness competitors to
pursue what ostensibly are superficial goals
with such parochial fervour. To truly get
the gist of the fitness competitor’s psyche- call it method acting – I hired a trainer
and let him guide my eating, training,
supplementation, sleep and mind for two
whole months.
This is my journey.
MINDSET MAPPING
Personal recommendations (it pays to work
for a health and fitness magazine) led to a
short-list of five well-known Melbourne-
based trainers who had previously prepped
clients to compete. After a couple of phone
interviews (including one lady who asked
me to keep a diary of the number of timesI pooped per day – um, what?), I landed
on Tramontana. Big and broad, but with
an infectious smile and a professional
demeanour, he ran our first goal-setting
session like a business lunch-meets-
therapy session.
An intake assessment had the rigour of
a police force entry exam. While nutrition
and diet history are duly interrogated,
Tramontana also mines my psyche for what
makes me tick (known in psych circles as
motivational interviewing) – presumably to
tailor his training tactics to my personality
type. A realist, he asks about which foods
I enjoy and dislike, what I crave (that’d be
pizza) and how often I drink (a-hem). While
many fitness people pay lip service to the
term ‘lifestyle’, Tramontana says training and
living are inseparable and grills me on my
support circles (specific names), how many
hours I sleep and how happy I am. There’s
a short personality questionnaire before my
height, weight and body fat are measured.
There is also a before photo, which I refused
to include in this feature.
The culmination of baring my modus
operandi is a solid, goal-focused training and
nutrition plan to my specified timeline. While
body recomposition often demands equal
parts building lean muscle and losing fat,
fortunately eight years of weight training had
endowed me with a relatively high proportion
of lean muscle mass, so my first goal was fat
loss. Over the eight weeks, I was going to
revamp my diet and transform my training,
and – hopefully – lose nine kg of body fat.USE IT:MINDSET AND GOALS
- FIND YOUR ‘WHY’: one of Tramontana’s
first questions to his clients is why they
want what they want. “There is usually
a deeper reason behind you wanting to
achieve your goal,” says Tramontana. “Most
people see the end product – in a magazine
or in their friend that is in shape or wherever
- and they think, ‘If I can just achieve that,
then the problem will goaway and Iwill be
happy.’ When really that isn’t the case and
they will be left feeling dissatisfied.” The
lesson? Be honest with yourself about your
underlying motivations before you begin
the journey toward achieving your goals.
- USE VISUAL CUES:design a vision
board with influential quotes, inspirational
bodies or objects that symbolise what you
are trying to achieve. Tramontana asks his
clients to collect pictures of competitors
that resemble their own body shape or
the past winners of the contest they are
considering. - WORK IN INCREMENTS:having a big
goal like ‘I want to compete’ or ‘I want
to lose 20 kilos’ is all well and good, but
how to get there? “If you are setting goals
too far in advance, they aren’t going to
provide strong enough motivation,” says
Tramontana. Break down your goals into
manageable, realistic chunks and celebrate
each minor achievement. Tramontana
usually works to eight-week timelines.- TELL EVERYONE:bikini competitors
discuss their goals with anyone that will
listen. Telling friends and family about
your health and fitness goals will help
avoid confusion at the dinner table when
you pass on the wine and will help keep
you accountable. - HOW TO MEASURE: achieving your
goal means knowing when you get there.
For the pros, this is usually based on body
composition testing and indicators such
as body fat percentage or kilograms of
lean muscle. For you, it might be based on
running a particular distance in a certain
amount of time or being able to touch
your toes. Whatever it is, make sure you
are tracking your progress regularly for
motivation and to see if adjustments need
to be made. “You can’t manage what you
can’t measure,” says Tramontana.