It has been 7 weeks of meal planning and training, and I have not given up!
I am still going full steam ahead with my plans to step on stage in a sparkly bikini, a spray tan, and lots of bling bling and drag queen hair and makeup.
I am hoping to compete in July, but if that doesn't happenI have a back up show planned in August.
People say that you learn a lot from competing.
Here are 7 things I have learned during these past 7 weeks.
1) Most of us (Especially women) are not eating nearly enough
When Coach first gave me my plan, I thought "This is a lot of food". I wasn't supposed to skip meals either. Now I know better than this but I thought, "All of this eating, I may gain weight." Not a chance. Most of us are still stuck on that "Eat less and move more" stuff. Well what are we eating? I know for me, I wasn't even eating 2000 calories some days and I'm pretty active. I was getting angry that my weight wasn't changing and now I realize now that I simply wasn't eating enough.
I'm against low calorie diets because the body adapts to that and that's where we get stuck, but I was doing the very same thing!
2) You just have to keep on keeping on even when it seems ridiculous
A couple of days early in the process, I thought "What on earth am I doing?" Do I really think that I am going to get up on a stage with no clothes on and strut around in 4.5 inch heels. I am in over my head. This was a dumb idea and I shouldn't do it. Who am I to think I can do this?
I just decided to keep on going anyway and really I am shocked with the changes so far. It doesn't seem so far fetched anymore. Besides that, someone at the gym asked me if I was getting ready for a competition so that made me think that I may look like I belong.
3) Adjusting the goal doesn't equal failure
I spoke with my coach and she said that we would know shortly if I was going to be ready for July. If I am not, then I have a backup show for August. I would prefer to get it over with before my birthday because I'm ready for Popeyes, cheesecake, macaroni and cheese, peach cobbler, calamari, and a frauppaucino.
Anyway she said, "If you need more time, then you can change shows. I've changed shows so many times"
I thought about that. I tend to be very all or nothing and if it doesn't go how I think it should, then I think I have failed and I figure that I should give up.
No, it just means that I will need to adjust my goal and move forward from there.
4) You've got to commit all the way and show up to do the work
There's no half stepping when you're faced with the prospect of getting up on stage butt booty naked under some bright lights in front of strangers.
There's no dibble and dabbling with contest preparation. Either you're focused on bringing it or you're not. If you want to look a certain way, then you've got to get it done. My coach can give me all the meal plans and training regimens, but if I don't show up and bring it then it's not going to happen.
It's made me feel better as a fitness professional. I can create programs and plans for clients all day long, but if they aren't willing to show up and do the work then forget it.
5) You can't pay too much attention to feedback: Positive or Negative
One of the things that worries me is that I will see myself in this phenomenal condition and then feel bad when I go back to normal or I will feel some type of pressure to stay that way. I have already started to talk to myself about this.
First of all, I cannot stay in that type of condition and I don't want to. I do want to travel and enjoy myself this year and not just focus on competing.
With that said, I've already started getting feedback about the physical changes and I have told myself not to give too much credit to these comments whether they are positive or negative. This is just one of my goals and not my whole identity. Many competitors let this endeavor become their whole identity and they crash and burn.
6) You have to do something that scares the crap out of you
If I think too hard about doing this, then I get terrified. It's a good feeling though because if it scares me then it's a challenge and that's how we build confidence. Stretching out of our comfort zones is what leads to growth. Besides that, I want to be able to tell my grandkids: Look what Granny did when she was younger! I don't want to wonder "What if?"
If something doesn't scare you, then maybe it isn't challenging enough
7)We're capable of so much more than we think
I saw the training days and thought "Lord a mercy can I really do all of this?" I just shut up and moved forward. Even when I am lifting I push myself on the weights. When she said sprints on the treadmill I thought "Yikes" But I do them...huffing and puffing while I do them.
Even training with such a high volume of work is challenging to me. I have gone away from a traditional bodybuilding split and doing quite a bit of weight work and really I thought "I wonder how it will be with the recovery." We can do more...we just have to get out of our rut.
Bonus: Hot people make the workout go much more efficiently
I have to say that when I first saw my fave gym member, I decided to be so focused on my workout so that I would not embarrass myself again by bursting into song. It worked. That day I seemed to go lower in my squats and I was very focused on what I was doing.
Two weeks later when I realized that I had indeed matured and wasn't in danger of ambushing anybody, I realized that having nice scenery during the workout made my blood flow so much better and I had more enthusiasm especially with the music pumping!
That's what I have learned so far....we're still in the thick of this thing!
Happy Training!!
No comments:
Post a Comment