This article is not titled \u201cMindset of a Champion\u201d or \u201cHow to be a Champion,\u201d or anything of the sort.\u00a0 <\/span>That\u2019s not what this is about.\u00a0 <\/span>This is strictly talking of my own experiences competing in a regional level NPC competition.\u00a0 <\/span>I am not a professional bodybuilder, and I only classify myself as a bodybuilder because I happened to step on stage.\u00a0 <\/span>You would not stop me in the street because I look like a freak of a bodybuilder (I wish).\u00a0 <\/span>However, I do believe that my experience can translate to others whom have competed or wish to compete in the future.\u00a0 <\/span>This article will not tell you how to be a champion bodybuilder, or even how to be a successful bodybuilder.\u00a0 <\/span>But, the hope is to at least help someone; whether that is a new competitor or someone just trying to find a relatable piece to the trials and tribulations of contest prep.\u00a0 <\/span>I am sure everyone\u2019s experience is not entirely identifiable to the next, but I can guarantee everyone can at least relate to some.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, you are (insert number) weeks out and you have made the conscious decision to enter a bodybuilding competition.\u00a0 <\/span>Congratulations!\u00a0 <\/span>Truly one of the most difficult aspects in all this is making that initial decision.\u00a0 <\/span>If you have never competed it can be anxiety filled, deciding to enter a show.\u00a0 <\/span>You will also never be more excited about prep than the day you decide to begin prep.\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI can do this!\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI have heard competing is hard, but I am sure it\u2019s not as hard as people say it is.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

First off, competing is hard.\u00a0 <\/span>Everyone says it\u2019s hard.\u00a0 <\/span>But until you go through it yourself it\u2019s hard to quite understand how truly difficult it is.\u00a0 <\/span>Yes, it\u2019s undoubtedly hard physically, but it\u2019s beyond difficult mentally.\u00a0 <\/span>Competing will test your mental fortitude bounds above most anything else in life.\u00a0 <\/span>I am not romanticizing this; obviously there are many things in life more difficult to go through: death of loved ones, financial hardship, etc.\u00a0 <\/span>But, this is probably the most challenging thing you can cognitively choose to do.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the most difficult things to understand as you delve deeper into contest prep is the idea that you are choosing to do this.\u00a0 <\/span>You may question why you would want to even go through this quest to get on stage.\u00a0 <\/span>Why not just stop when things get a little deranged?\u00a0 <\/span>You are missing out on life: social events, family dinners, sleep.\u00a0 <\/span>When you are doing your cardio before your job first thing in the morning, these are the things that go through your head.\u00a0 <\/span>When you are scrolling through social media and see the seventieth food post in a row, you question the worth of this prep.\u00a0 <\/span>It\u2019s a very odd dynamic to have the power and autonomy to choose when to quit.\u00a0 <\/span>Nobody is making you do this and torture yourself, but you continue anyways.\u00a0 <\/span>Why?<\/span><\/p>\n

Cravings.\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cBut I am strong willed and food doesn\u2019t bother me.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>Okay, just wait until you are sitting around the dinner table on Mother\u2019s Day eating out of Tupperware while Grandma is sitting next to you eating a barbeque pulled pork sandwich.\u00a0 <\/span>You begin to fantasize about food, especially at the end.\u00a0 <\/span>This is not an exaggeration either, I would wake up after having dreamed about eating.\u00a0 <\/span>You will start to construct in your mind the perfect post contest food concoctions.\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI am going to eat an entire Little Caesar\u2019s pizza with Oreos and a dozen donuts.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>That\u2019s probably not a heathy mindset.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You may begin to develop anxiety about leaving the house.\u00a0 <\/span>You know you ate two hours ago and you are not sure if there will be anything for you to eat for a few hours.\u00a0 <\/span>Taking prepped food with you everywhere is not fun.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I became a pretty terrible employee the last few weeks leading into the competition.\u00a0 <\/span>You begin to think single mindedly, and it\u2019s hard to break out of it.\u00a0 <\/span>I am lucky to have a flexible job and I spent the majority of my day sitting in my car.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

More than likely your family will not understand why you are doing this.\u00a0 <\/span>My family could not have been less supportive of the idea of competing.\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYou look sick, why are you getting so skinny?\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cSo best case scenario all you get is a plastic trophy?\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>And there is some truth to this, once again, why are you putting yourself through all this?\u00a0 <\/span>Even if your family begins to at least support you, they still do not quite understand the process.\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cEat this apple, apples are healthy.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

My wife and I decided to prep for our first show together.\u00a0 <\/span>She had never competed and I had never competed.\u00a0 <\/span>We decided together to prep for 16 weeks and keep it as quiet as possible.\u00a0 <\/span>The strain contest prep puts on a relationship is real; the irritability, tiredness, lethargy, moodiness; none of these bode well for a solid healthy relationship.\u00a0 <\/span>On top of this, also try to be a halfway decent parent and human.\u00a0 <\/span>The house will never be as clean as you want, and alone time is rare.\u00a0 <\/span>More than likely your sex drive will be in the tank.\u00a0 <\/span>That\u2019s a very hard thing to accept.\u00a0 <\/span>We do not have a babysitter, so after work we rotate going to the gym; myself first, then her.\u00a0 <\/span>You begin to become roommates more than spouses.\u00a0 <\/span>You go to bed every night questioning in your mind your choice to do this.<\/span><\/p>\n

Competing was the most rewarding thing I have ever decided to do.\u00a0 <\/span>I talked a lot about the negative, but in my mind the positives far outweigh the negatives. \u00a0 <\/span>The decision to continue on when you are questioning everything is such a cool experience.\u00a0 <\/span>Showing your family why you decided to get on stage and transform your physique.\u00a0 <\/span>Showing the willpower and grit required to adhere to a strict caloric deficit.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With each passing training session your body starts to transform.\u00a0 <\/span>Taking progress pictures becomes less of a chore, and more enjoyable.\u00a0 <\/span>Seeing new definition, vascularity, hardness, detail; those things never get old.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Stepping on stage is one of the most nerve-wracking experiences of my life.\u00a0 <\/span>All of that hard work for the past 16 weeks is for this one moment.\u00a0 <\/span>But, that\u2019s not necessarily the case.\u00a0 <\/span>In hindsight the process was a lot more rewarding than the end result.\u00a0 <\/span>The day in and day out; taking it one day at a time.\u00a0 <\/span>Conquering the day.\u00a0 <\/span>Leaving no stone unturned.<\/span><\/p>\n

I do not want this to come across that my prep was any harder or any easier than the next person.\u00a0 <\/span>My hope is that it will at least resonate with a future competitor or someone who has competed looking for a little reassurance.\u00a0 <\/span>When you are deep in the trenches it\u2019s nice to justify why you are being less than a reputable human being.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you get the chance to compete, do it.\u00a0 <\/span>There are few things in life that will give more intrinsic reward than stepping on stage and pushing your body to its physical limits.\u00a0 <\/span>I would not trade that experience for anything.<\/span><\/p>\n

-Daniel Henigsmith\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This article is not titled \u201cMindset of a Champion\u201d or \u201cHow to be a Champion,\u201d or anything of the sort.\u00a0 That\u2019s not what this is about.\u00a0 This is strictly talking of my own experiences competing in a regional level NPC competition.\u00a0 I am not a professional bodybuilder, and I only classify myself as a bodybuilder […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":4371,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2339,3877,5,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/redcon1online.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4369"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/redcon1online.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/redcon1online.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redcon1online.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redcon1online.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4369"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/redcon1online.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4369\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4370,"href":"https:\/\/redcon1online.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4369\/revisions\/4370"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redcon1online.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/redcon1online.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redcon1online.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redcon1online.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}