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Prepping for a figure contest will eat into your spare time and sometimes your mood (lol) but it doesn’t have to consume your whole life. I think there are just too many stories and articles out there about how competitors suffer so much that we start thinking we need to suffer to get the result we want. We all have lives outside competing, even pro’s do! If competing is ruining relationships, your career, or you are just depressed, you need to change the way you think, eat, and train!
I fell into this trap in the past; I would cut calories way back or do obscene amounts of cardio in the last few weeks before a show. I would be tired, weak, and miserable. This time around I had a 3 year old and 6 month old to think about. So, I changed my thinking. I decided to give myself a lot of time and take things slow. I also decided not to change things if they were already working. Like, why would I do 2 hours of cardio a day when 1 hour was giving good results? Also, why cut back calories if I could see I was obviously getting leaner. The other thing I changed was I shortened my time in the gym and stopped lifting really heavy. I used to dread squat day, thinking if I could not squat over 200lbs I would have no leg muscles. I would push myself so hard to make silly lifts just because I read somewhere that’s what someone else does. I learned to train in a way I really enjoy. Think of it, contest prep is about the prep, the whole journey, a new lifestyle, not about 5 minutes on stage.
The other half of the equation, and the hardest part, is food. I used to wait until certain times to eat and only eat what was planned out on a piece of paper. I use to fret over macronutrients and timing. My stomach would growl, I could not concentrate, and talk about mood swings! Having young kids I decide this wasn’t an option. Now I eat before I get hungry and am eating more a day than on any other diet in the past. I look at my food intake weekly instead of daily. If I am having a hard day (sick kids, bad mood, or whatever) I eat a little more that day. I don’t go pig out or anything but might eat an extra protein shake or have a steak instead of fish, or a little almond butter. We all have bad days. We also all have good days! If I know a special event is coming up I might just eat a little less on the days surrounding the occasion so I can still enjoy the meal everyone else is having. There is nothing worse than having to explain to others why you are eating stinky chicken out of a plastic container while they eat a tasty meal! I like food and parties, its part of our lives, so best to find a way to incorporate it all. Again this is supposed to be a healthy lifestyle not a show as a means to an end. It might take time to figure out what works for you but take the time and find it!
I would rather be 1 pound fatter on stage (it will not make a huge difference in the way you look or place anyway) than gain 30 pounds after the show, have no friends, and have to make up all the months I wasted obsessing over a show. So bottom line-train the way you love, diet in a way that works for you and works in your life or you are setting yourself up for failure in the long run.
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