This is the third in our on-going Final Countdown Series of articles.

In Part 1 we covered how to get the most out of pre-contest dieting…

In Part 2 talked about couple do’s and don’ts of the ever-so-important pre-contest training…

If you haven’t done so already, now would be a great time to catch up and read these 2 articles—just make sure to come back when you’re done because today we’re covering…

After many weeks and months of training, the big day is finally at hand. Hopefully, you made sure your submission was in by the date marked on the registration material and joined the NPC already (if not, do it now!).

Here’s a list of items to make sure you have before you leave for the competition:

Good luck!

How many times have you groaned when you saw a favorite athlete fall apart at the Olympics or other big competition?

It doesn’t matter how well trained you are physically—your mind can throw a wrench in the works in a heartbeat if it’s not equally prepared.

Any athlete who has sustained a long and successful career will tell you mental preparation is critical to performing your best. Yet, for many athletes, it one of the most neglected aspects of their training. Don’t make the same mistake!

Here are three keys to cultivating the mindset of success:

One of the most difficult aspects of bodybuilding is pushing yourself when you don’t want to. The training is endless and the attention to diet is nonstop. Top performers learn to motivate themselves.

Motivation comes from within. Others can inspire you, but the driving force comes from you alone. Without knowing what you want to achieve and why, it will be hard to maintain motivation!

Ways to keep yourself motivated include:

Visualization is picturing the outcome of an event before it takes place, which helps your mind lock onto the goal. Famous golfer Jack Nicholas called this “going to the movies.” He would visualize a putt rolling along the ground and into the cup over and over again. His mind then became conditioned to simply repeating what it had already seen on the course.

Visualization does not mean you will be able to lift a lot more weight than you ever have. But it can be a tiebreaker—the combination of your physical effort and mental imagery will be the one-two punch you need to achieve greater goals.

Find a competitor you admire and want to emulate. Strive to copy the best of their habits, routines, and attitudes. Modeling your efforts on those of a proven champion will speed your development.

This isn’t about stealing their personality and signature routines. Instead, you are applying your own personality and style to the framework of what they do. Eventually, your own framework will evolve as your career grows.

Overall, the more mental training you do to achieve success, the more likely you are to actually achieve that success—and more!

Now that you’ve done the hard work, it’s time to make sure it shows well on competition day.

Darker, shiny skin showcases your hard work the best under the bright lights—so here’s how to get it.

Tanning is critical because the darker your skin is, the easier it’ll be for the judges to see the lines of your physique. Remember–the very bright lights on stage are much different than daylight or lighting found in stores, homes and offices and will wash you out unless you are protected by a good tanning product.

Essentially, it would be difficult to be too dark. Therefore, when you think you’ve applied the right amount, apply one more coat.

Here are some of the most popular tanning products:

Probably the most popular tanning product on the market today, this is a liquid tanning agent you apply with a sponge. It will remain very solid even after applying oil and sweating under the hot lights. It does have a funny smell and is kind of messy. But it will give you a great base to work from.

This lotion comes out very evenly and gets very dark with just two to three coats. It washes off a lot easier than Pro Tan though, so it’ more prone to smearing or running.

This is another lotion that applies evenly and quickly. One common use is to apply it in the morning before the pre-judging. Many competitors will go for 2 coats. If you use Dream Tan, forego the use of oil because there is oil in it.

Quality posing oil will enhance and show off your muscles like crazy. The problem is when people use far too much and oil drips off them during competition. Therefore, use a light hand when you apply oil. A thin, even coat will do wonders.

Here are some options:

Finally, competition day is not a good time to try something new. So choose and try out your tanning and posing oil products ahead of time so you can walk onto the stage with confidence on the big day!

Even champions have their up-and-down moments along the way.

Here are three ways they cultivate their winning attitude and mindset—no matter what:

We’ve all seen people at the gym who are supposedly working out but are actually doing anything but—as they check their cell phone, talk to their friends and completely losing track of what they were doing.

You must learn to shut out distractions and focus on your goals. Bodybuilding is a long slog over many weeks before competition. If you can’t learn to focus, you will lose your way a few weeks into your campaign.

It’s important to set goals you can measure yourself against along the way. If you were to get in your car and drive without a destination, how would you know you had arrived? In the same way, you must set specific goals for your training and diet and monitor your progress.

This way you always know how you are doing. You can also adjust your approach as you go along to maximize your efforts just as you would drive a car differently based on traffic conditions.

Vince Del Monte asked fitness competitor Diane Chaloux what her biggest obstacle was to achieving her six-pack body. She said…

“The biggest obstacle was procrastination. For about three years I kept saying ‘I want to compete, I want to compete, I want to compete’ and then finally one day I said ‘What am I waiting for?’ and when I finally buckled down on my nutrition and worked really hard on my training and saw what I could achieve with my body, I haven’t turned back since.”

One of the problems with procrastination is that putting things off adds to our stress, which then makes us procrastinate more! Try to break this cycle by determining why you procrastinate on certain tasks, then make a plan to complete the task—such as writing down your competition goals—while being realistic about your limits. Then, get started! One good way is to sign up for a competition.

Bodybuilding is a sport that demands a significant commitment. By staying focused, setting goals and striving to get past obstacles, you will separate yourself from the pretenders. And when you emerge the champion on competition day, it will all be worthwhile.