How many of you are getting ready to compete in the next few weeks? How many of you are wondering if you are going to “make it”?
If you have read my previous blog posts about my fitness journey and more specifically about my competition journey, you know I had a really bad post-show experience… like a 50 pound post-show experience. So, I know how it feels to wonder… will it work the second time around?
The first show is always the easiest… your motivation and determination is in HIGH gear. Everything is new and you do EVERYTHING just right. If you have not damaged your metabolism in the past (fat burners, over-dieting, eating disorders, etc.), your body gladly sheds the excess body fat and many times you are “show ready” prior to the show.
Your clothes are fitting really loose. You have to fold your workout pants over just to get them to stay up. You can’t stop checking out the striations in your shoulders and all the new veins popping up in all sorts of places. You are unstoppable and feel like a rockstar.
The second time around is a little different. Either you had a great post-show experience or you are like most competitors who gained more than the recommended 5-10 pounds (mine is more like 10-12), didn’t eat as clean as you could have, missed a few training sessions, or may have missed weeks due to illness, injury, or just plain burn-out.
But… you pulled it together and got yourself back into the gym, started eating clean and portioned, and now you are coming up on your first spring show. Maybe your weight isn’t as low as it was the previous year. Maybe you are not as lean as you were at this time in your contest prep. Maybe you were diligent about recording your progress and you even have 5 week check-in pics to compare yourself to. Maybe you are not fitting into the clothes you were fitting into at this point last year.
Whichever measure you are using, there is a good chance that it is not reflecting the same readings as during your first competition. Here is the secret… THAT IS OK!
5 Weeks Out from the 2011 WBFF World Championships
This is me at 5 weeks out from the 2011 WBFF World Championships where I placed Top 10 in Bikini and Top 5 in Fitness Model. I have been competing for almost 5 years now and I come in differently every show.
This “5 weeks out” is WAY different from my first “5 weeks out”. As you continue to compete, your body will get better and better. Enjoy the process. If you are dieting down for a show, this is the time when all of your off-season work is revealed.
So back to these pics… there is a pretty big difference, huh? If you have been treating your metabolism right, your body WILL respond accordingly.
This was a difference of 6 pounds. I didn’t have to do anything extreme to reach my goal. My cardio was never more than 50 minutes 6 days per week and I was not doing anything crazy in the nutrition department.
I was working full-time and commuting 12 hours per week on top of it. I didn’t have 3 hours per day to spend in the gym… good thing though because I wouldn’t want to waste my time on a cardio machine when I could be enjoying LIFE.
So, the lesson here… follow your nutrition, train hard, nourish your metabolism, respect your body, and enjoy the process.
