Hi everyone! I've seen photos and videos of figure competitors that look absolutely amazing. However, I presume that for most of these girls, it is not their first show.

With that said, I've also read posts here of girls who are dieting/training for their 1st show and I wonder what they look like at show-time (or after 16 weeks or so of dieting and training).

I really would love to compete one day (currently im on day 3 of the fat loss/retain lean muscle diet, which by the way is going great!), but I feel like there's no way my body is ever going to look like those girls I see on stage! So....to get to my questiona....1). Can anyone post photos of themselves at their 1st competition? Before and after photos would be super great as well. And 2). Does it really only take 16 weeks (approximately) of dieting/training for a girl to look like that?Thanks you!!

Most competitors already had or have built a muscle base involving some years of training and some of them that have great physiques may have done some other type of training such as gymnastics. Once there's a muscle base, stripping fat off will exaggerate the size of muscles and make a person look much thicker, more muscular than they would appear to have standing in front of you.

abs2500,
You should go watch an amateur show. Not all the women look like the photos/magazines you've seen. I think your best bet is to set some good goals for yourself and do everything you can to reach them. Every woman on stage has a different story. Some have overcome a great weight loss yet they don't look like the typical figure gal. For me, I usually start at 16 weeks out. But that is something I had to figure out on my own. I have a hard time putting on muscle so it also depends on your goals.

Abs-

My first show was this last September. I started really training hard at 16 weeks out. To start, I was approx 21%BF and 128 lbs (5'2"). I have always been active in the gym, but never serious enough to do a show. It wasnt until June 07 that I really set my mind to doing one and began researching as much as I could about training and dieting for a figure contest. I have some pictures posted on my website (link below).

It was a local amateur show- which was perfect for my first. I couldnt believe that my story even made it to FitnessRX for Women magazine (Feb 2008 issue)!! I have this posted on my site as well.

So if you push hard and have the willpower and discipline- then you can do it.