Congratulations of Completing BTC III: Team Challenge

CONGRATULATIONS

for completing the BTC III:  Team Challenge.  Thank you guys for help making it the biggest challenge we have had so far.  I hope you guys got alot out of participating in the challenge.  I look forward to seeing your after photos and results!

Deadline to Submit After Photos and Results:

The deadline is 11:59:59pm Sunday, July 11th.  Please get these in as soon as you can.

Your Photos Will Be Posted Online:

In order to be eligible for the prizes, you will need to have your photos posted online.  This will help prevent any judging discrepancies and make the challenge fair. 

Beach Bash and Awards Ceremony:

In order to celebrate the completion of the challenge, we will be having a Beach Bash on Saturday, July 17th in Huntington Beach.  We will also be presenting the winners and prizes.  A mini- decathalon is also planned.  Join us for some sun, fun, food and friendly competition and to show off your new beach body.

Tips to Getting Great After Photos

Since it's that time for us to be taking our after photos.  I thought I'd give you guys some tips on how to get some after photos that will really show off that chiseled, new body of yours.

1.  PrePump

Try to get a nice pump going in your muscles.  Do a few sets of exercises that will focus on each of your muscle groups.  The trick here is not to overdo it.  Your goal is to aim for muscles full of blood, NOT fatigued muscles.  Exercises like pushups, pullups, curls, military presses, lunges, calf raises should do the trick.  You don't need to be in the gym with a full set of weights.  Use whatever you have around you for resistance - even a towel will do the trick.

2.Tan

If you got a few days before taking your photos, go outside in the sun for a nice tan.  The definition in your muscles "pop" out more the darker your skin is.  That's why bodybuilders use skin tanners before they compete.  Don't overdo it though and give yourself a sunburn.  You don't want to look red.  If you have no time for a tan, then use a bronzer, it won't look as natural but will still be effective.

3.  Dehydrate

Okay, you don't want to dehydrate yourself to the point of hospitalization, but you want to get your body to have a lower amount of water.  This will give your skin a tightness and will keep your muscles from looking "soft."  The trick to this is to plan a few days before your photo shoot.  You want to minimize your salt intake and your water intake.  There's not really any set "guidelines" for this.  Just do it in small and healthy increments and monitor your body.

4. Use Oil

This may be a matter of aesthetics, but if you like the look apply a small amount of oil on your body during the photoshoot.  This will give your body a nice shine.  Add some glycerin and water into a spray bottle and use that to mist up.  Again, don't overdo it.  You don't want to look like an oil slick.

5. Proper Lighting

It helps if you have good lighting to enhance the definition of your muscles.  To achieve this effect, you want to have "hard" lighting.  Which you will usually get from one small, but very bright light source.  The best placement for this light source will be directly overhead.  Think bodybuilders on stage.  If you can get a spotlight above you, or stand underneath a bright enough celing light, you will be able to pull this off.  This type of lighting will give you the nice hard shadows that you need to show of the "cuts" in your muscles.