Last year a friend of mine became a pro bodybuilder. I followed along during her journey which culminated in the NPC Nationals in Miami, FL. Carla lives in the East Bay and has been training for years. On the one year anniversary of her earning her pro status, I figured I’d jump post a sort of photo journal of her journey.
Carla Rossi 12-weeks out: Multitasking on the way to get a tan.
We started off 12-weeks out. Typically many physique athletes and bodybuilders will start to diet around 16-18 weeks out from their competition. This nomenclature is pretty common in the industry and you’ll often hear the “x weeks out” as a way to gauge how close to a competition someone is. As it gets closer and closer, the body will look more and more lean as the goal is to achieve a level of bodyfat that shows off the muscle that’s been developed. At a higher bodyfat level, you can see shapes and general mass, but not details. So the goal is to get lean enough to show the judges what your physique looks like sans fat. Other terms used go from ripped (very lean) to shredded (super lean) to sliced/diced/peeled (for looking like an anatomy chart – usually a good thing for competing in bodybuilding).
Tanning is important as darker skin shows off cuts and definition better on stage with the bright lights and posing oil.
Diet is key and getting in appropriate nutrition means lots of trips to the grocery store.
Meal prep includes measuring out portions and prepping multiple meals at a time. Typically meals are eaten every couple hours.
Supplementation includes various protein powders among other things.
Trophies from previous competitions line her shelves. Rossi hopes to add one more at the end of this prep.
Having a support team is key – here’s one of her biggest supporters ?
7-Weeks Out
Carla is all smiles as she gets her caffeine before her workout. Essentially a pre-workout supplement.
Stretching before training to prevent injuries.
Leg day on the incline press.
Hitting hamstrings on leg curls
At our next check in we were at seven weeks out. At this point, the body is noticeably more lean and cuts should be showing. This was a training day so we hit up Starbucks first to get some fuel and then hit the gym. It was evening time and not a lot of folks were in the 24-Hour Fitness. 
19-Days Out
Our final check in was at 19-days out which is just over two weeks. At this point, the dieting is the main focus. Most of the hard work in the gym has been done so it’s time to make sure the diet stays clean and a lot of cardio may be required to burn off any excess fat. I wanted to show what day-to-day was like more so dropped in on Rossi at her work. She was noticeably leaner and was still in good spirits. Often times as the show gets close, competitors are drained of energy because of the dieting and low body fat but Carla was still being positive.
Regular activities like going to work can be more challenging while dieting.
