by Sasha Reddy
Andrew Arcona had been a longtime fan of bodybuilding, even introducing many of its training principles into his own gym routine. But training like a bodybuilder and actually stepping on stage are two very different things. He never aspired to compete. Then, he attended a holiday dinner with his co-workers.
“We were all at Redfire Grill for our Christmas party,” Andrew recalls. Fellow personal trainers Ashley Boyer and Bridget Baldwin, who have both competed in bodybuilding before, were chatting with another trainer, Amanda Holz, encouraging her to give it a shot. On the fence about the idea, Amanda turned to Andrew with a proposition: what if they signed up together?
“I had no plans to compete until that dinner conversation,” Andrew says. “Had that conversation not happened, I would not have competed.”
For him, bodybuilding had always been like watching pro football. He followed the athletes, understood the preparation they went through, but he’d never pictured actually doing what they do. Yet, as a personal trainer with aspirations to help others achieve their own physique goals, Andrew felt it only made sense to experience a competition himself. Plus, his professional expertise gave him a leg up.
“I’ve been doing hypertrophy training, and I’ve been following the sport of bodybuilding for the last four or five years,” he says. “I know a decent amount about how to prep, and I feel like my background in kinesiology and nutrition also gave me a good foundation.”
A week after the party, Andrew and Amanda had picked their competition: the 2026 OCB Garden State Classic in Bloomfield, NJ. The event was just 11 weeks away, leaving them barely enough time to prepare. They texted regularly, giving each other pointers on what to eat and how to approach physical training. Aside from those conversations, plus a single session with a posing coach, Andrew developed his competition prep routine 100% on his own.
Amanda eventually backed out of the bodybuilding show, deciding to focus instead on preparing for another competition. But by that point, Andrew had already registered and was six weeks into prep. He was determined to see it through, and though she wouldn’t be stepping on stage herself, Amanda continued to check in and support him throughout the weeks of conditioning leading up to competition day.
Bodybuilding prep is no joke, especially on such a tight timeline. Andrew had just 11 weeks to drop over 20lbs, or roughly 2lbs per week. Using the InBody 570 units, he was able to accurately monitor his metrics and closely track his fat loss while maintaining his muscle mass. “As I lost more weight,” he explains, “I needed to decrease the calories while keeping the protein the same in order to continue losing weight.”
He kicked off his prep eating about 2,200 calories per day, then gradually decreased to 2,000, then 1,700, and so on. By the last week of training, he was down to just 1,000 calories a day, eating almost exclusively fish, eggs, and spinach. “I’ve never been that hungry before in my life,” he says with a laugh.
By the time he hit the competition stage, Andrew’s body fat percentage was down to just 5%. But his journey is not what typical weight loss looks like. Competitive bodybuilding is not the same as general fitness – it involves bringing the body to an extreme level of leanness that can often only be sustained for days, or even hours. “If you’re looking to be as healthy as possible, getting down to five percent body fat is not the best way to do that,” he clarifies. “Generally, as a man, you don’t want to go below around 10 percent because it can start affecting your hormones and things like that.”
Bodybuilding competitions are scored by a panel of judges. The judging criteria varies by division, but scoring is generally based on presentation, symmetry, and overall “flow”. For men, there are three main divisions:
Bodybuilding competitors are expected to achieve the greatest degree of muscle definition and leanness. As Andrew puts it, it’s about getting “as big as possible.” There is typically no weight limit for this division.
Classic physique is the middle ground between bodybuilding and men’s physique. Athletes in this division strive to achieve the “Arnold look” with wide shoulders and a slim waist.
Men’s physique competitors are generally held to a lower standard for muscle definition than in bodybuilding divisions, and scoring focuses more on core and upper-body definition than on legs. Within this division, contestants are categorized based on height. Andrew participated in a men’s physique competition.
Each of these different divisions requires different onstage attire. Athletes are also expected to hold different poses for judges to assess for each division.
Even so, Andrew sees value in the experience. It was a personal challenge, a test of his willpower, and a piece of impressive “lore” he hopes to share with his future kids one day. It was also a great opportunity to better understand what future clients might go through in pursuit of their own competitive physique goals. “The goal was to see how lean I could get,” he says. “And I got leaner than I’ve ever been before in my life, for sure.”
There were other unexpected benefits, too. Thanks to all the extra walking and running Andrew added to his routine to shed fat, his cardiovascular endurance improved markedly. “I actually ended up running a half marathon in under two hours as just one of my cardio days,” he says. “That was really surprising to me.”
Just being present at the show was also incredibly encouraging. While waiting backstage, competitors took the opportunity to get to know one another, work on their pre-show pump, exchange compliments, and just hype each other up before appearing before the judges. “It’s super supportive,” Andrew says. “Just dudes being dudes back there.”
After the fact, it was great being able to enjoy all his favorite foods again. “For like the two weeks after the bodybuilding show, I was eating like a king,” he says. Following weeks of hunger and highly restrictive eating, hot dogs and hamburgers felt well-earned and long overdue.
For his first competition, Andrew didn’t stress too much about how he’d measure up against other competitors. “My goals were simple,” he says. “Give it my all and don’t place last.” He achieved both, placing fourth out of five competitors in his division. Especially given the short training window, he’s satisfied with his performance, grateful for the professional insight he’s gained, and ready to move on to the next challenge. Andrew is still deciding whether there will be other bodybuilding shows in his future. If he chooses to compete again next spring, he’ll prep for at least 16 weeks, leaving more time for conditioning without needing to cut so aggressively.
Experiencing the discipline, the hunger, the science, and the mental challenge of bodybuilding firsthand has given Andrew an added appreciation not just for bodybuilders but also for the process of everyday weight loss. “You don’t have to compete to want to improve your physique,” he concludes. For anyone interested in bodybuilding, or just gaining muscle more casually, Andrew wants to be a resource.
Congratulations Andrew! Losing the body fat before the competition was remarkable. You have to have top notch discipline to achieve your goals. Unbelievable!