Supplies, supplies, supplies

With the Philadelphia Championships show date approaching fast, I have been getting all my "show essentials" for the competition together to avoid any last minute struggles. By "essentials" I mean all the basics that are either required, such as posing trunks or things that will enhance my appearance on stage, such as tanning lotion and posing oil. I am glad that I started acquiring the stuff early, since I ran into some "small" issues with my initially purchased pair of posing trunks.

I ordered a pair of standard posing trunks online from a bodybuilding supply store based on my waist size. A very nice pair of black latex trunks in a so-called flex cut. When they arrived I obviously had to try them out immediately. While I liked the color, material and cut, it became obvious that these suits were made for the average bodybuilder and not for a 6'8" tall person. I purposely chose a style to show a little bit more skin but this off-the-shelf suit gave the expression "going balls out" a complete new meaning. To avoid any mishaps on stage I decided to look for another one that would actually fit and cover all the "essentials".

Realizing that my unusual height and body composition would require a unique suit to ensure that everything would stay in place during the show, I searched online for a custom-made solution. I found a company that is specialized on custom-made suits for bodybuilding, fitness and figure competitions. Vandella Costumes (www.vandellacostumes.com) out of Swansea, SC provided me with exactly what I needed. I sent them my exact measurements and within a week received two nice, and most importantly of all, well fitting posing trunks. To be safe in case one of the trunks gets discolored or misplaced, or to possibly alternate suits between prejudging and the night show, I got two pairs. One in black and one in royal blue. Both are again flex cut and made out of spandex, but this time, they fit like wax.

Even though I have been going to a tanning salon for the past 3 weeks and got a nice base tan during my stay in Jamaica, I will need to be as dark as possible come June 23rd, to appear well defined in the bright light on stage at the show. Since "conventional" tanning will only darken my Middle European skin up to a certain degree, I will will need to apply several coats of spray tan on the night before of the show and the morning of the competition to achieve this dark, dark color. After doing some research on the web and talking to other bodybuilders, I decided to go with Pro Tan Instant Color. Pro Tan is a liquid tanning agent that is either sprayed on or applied with a sponge applicator. From what I was told, it will require several coats to achieve the desired dark and even color but Pro Tan is supposed to remain the most stable when used with oil or while sweating on stage. I read that the application is very messy but I guess I will have more to report on that once I have actually done it.

To further enhance my muscularity at the competition I also bought Pro Tan Muscle Juice, a special posing oil. The oil is sprayed onto the body right before the show and supposed to offer more shine than other products on the market. Again, June 23rd will tell.     

Another product in my "show essentials shopping basket" was Pro Tan Hot Stuff. This spray is a menthol-based oil that apparently will warm up the skin and enhance vascularity. And as Stewie Griffin put it in one of my favorite episodes of "Family Guy", "If there is one thing women love, it's a vascular man".

The last "necessity" in my package was Pro Tan Bikini Bite. This product acts like a glue and is supposed to keep the posing suit in place to avoid any "accidents" on stage. It helps to keep the sides high and prevents the back part of the suit to creep up. After the experience with my first posing suit, this product is definitely a necessity. 

My "care package"

On Friday I mailed out my entry form for the Philadelphia Championships on June 23rd 2012 so now there is no more backing off and the only direction is straight ahead. I continued to further prepare for the big day and made some good progress last week. According to my trainer Jack I am right on target for being seven weeks out but need to focus more on learning to properly flex my quads, to show off their full potential. To add more definition and "carve" my legs, I changed up my workout slightly and substantially increased the total number of reps on leg day.
Just comparing the pictures taken over the last couple of weeks, I can see that my body is heading in the right direction, as it is getting leaner and more ripped. Besides my physique, my posing is also improving week by week. I am getting to know my body better and better and understand how to control it to hold the different poses over longer periods of time without starting to shake.

"Progress - gradual improvement or growth or development"