Supporting Fellow Competitors

I have noticed that things can get ugly in the world of competitions. I am not quite sure why I never felt this way before, but I am seeing a lot more of the sides of things that I don't particularly care for. 

I remember when I first started, I was given this advice for backstage: "Keep your headphones in, just sit, listen to some music and chill. They can get catty".

I didn't take that advice, because I was too nervous, too anxious, too wound up. I ended up talking to many different women, some I have developed lasting friendships with.

I never really noticed it too much before, although there was always a "group" that would hang out together,  and they would all stare at anyone they thought might be competition to them, but I never paid attention, they could be in their own "small" world as far as I was concerned. 

I have always sought the friendship of fellow competitors  even though we are competing against each other, it really doesn't matter, because everything depends on me. On how I look, how I have trained and dieted, how I present myself at the competition. Ultimately there will always be someone who places better than me. I have been in competitions where one gal placed ahead of me, and the next year I placed ahead of her. It's very fluid and all of our life's events will mold our look for that one day.

I think that we should all encourage each other, support each other and offer help where we can. Really, it's "us" against the rest of the world isn't it? And it's a lot easier when you have someone on your side to commiserate with. 

Recently I saw a fellow competitor say something very negative about another competitor on Facebook. I was shocked, how could she do that? 

I realized that I look at the competitions differently than she does. I look at it as competing against myself, to be better each time, to be better than I was before, to be better than ever. She looks at it to win, pure and simple, and at any cost.
 
I think their motivation for competing will tell all. I compete because I train. I train hard and I want a way to showcase all of my hard work and effort, someplace outside of the gym. Training is my passion.

Many people train only to compete, the training is not their love, but the result is. They don't enjoy training, would prefer to do other things, complain about it and the diet all the time and if they could compete without training, that's probably what they would do.

Of course, placing above someone else, and winning is fantastic, it makes all the hard work a bit easier to accept. But not placing does not mean I have failed. I was still the best I could be at that time. I still have the knowledge that I look absolutely stunning, ripped, healthy, fit and amazing and am very proud of it. I work hard everyday to maintain this, and no plastic trophy (or lack of) is really going to change anything about that.

If I had ever gone into a competition and hadn't prepped my very hardest, that may change the way I feel about it all, but I have never done that. My attitude has changed a bit about them all, I know that. I think I am more easy going, less stressed, less worried about it  all, but that doesn't mean I am not busting my butt day in and day out still. I am just doing it without all the whining and complaining! I am still doing everything I should be to create the physique that I want, and hopefully, that the judges want too.

But my own interests are most important, that's why I decided to go into Physique. The Figure look was becoming softer, more feminine, less muscular.  Although I do not want to look like a Bodybuilder, I also decided that I wanted more than the Figure competitor look, I wanted more muscle and to be leaner. 

I do it for myself. I also do it for the interaction and wonderful people I meet. I have developed many friendships with women I have met at competitions, or because of competitions. 

I love helping others reach their potential, or at least believe that they can. I want to surround myself with happy, successful, beautiful friends who are proud of their accomplishments. I don't want to be standing on an island, alone  holding my plastic trophy. 

It's all winding down, or winding up! I guess it all depends on how you look at it! I feel like I have gotten a second wind, I have a new found energy that had been lacking for several weeks. I am sure it's the strain of the diet, the two a day training, the constant wondering about how I am doing, how am I looking now? Am I getting too old for this? (NEVER!!) ha ha ha 

It's 11 days till my competition, I am looking forward to some good, quality food. Once a day at the gym, and mostly, training just for the fun of it! Roy, if you are reading, I want to push the sled! Or use the battle ropes. Chains, oh we did that, and they were hard, but I will have more calories soon, I will have more energy. Hmmmm, the heavy bag is gone, maybe we should just spar? 

I know going into it that I will meet many new faces, some I will connect with and continue the friendship, others I may only see again at another competition. 

I know going out of it that I will be stronger, have more confidence, feel accomplishment and quite a bit of happiness. The feeling of sticking through something so demanding and strenuous, something that has a definite ending date, a final chapter, is difficult to describe. 

And then, then the cooking and recipes shall begin!

Typical Competitor

I was talking with someone about women who compete- specifically the "type" of woman who does this. I am sure everyone has their own idea of the typical Figure Competitor and I am sure most of those ideas are

Dead

Wrong

So, what do you think? I can guess (from talking with many people), that there are a few stereotypes.

1) The self centered bimbo

2) The bored housewife

3) The uneducated gym rat

There are certainly some of those, but I assure you, they are not the norm. The women I know who train seriously and those I have met at competitions are very intelligent women who know exactly where they are going and what they want.

Most competitors I have met hold full time jobs, and usually very demanding positions. Many of them have children and many are married. 

This leads us to the ever present question "I don't know how you can do it all!", this is the question we hear most I think. We do what every other woman does and we make the time to devote to our diet and training, and compete, with each competition taking on a  small "life" of it's own.

We do it because we are all driven - driven to succeed, driven to excel, driven to improve, driven to learn.

Once you get to know several women who compete, you will start to learn that there is a "fire", a "spark" that we all have, something that many other people lack. That fire is what drives us to do what we do, every single day.

Typically a successful athlete or competitor is an "A" type personality, and often we are very regimented in our lives. Routine is our friend! I can tell you that routine and structure are vital, and without it, we would not be where we are now.

I am a very structured person. I have all of my Thanksgiving Day menus on my computer, with excel spreadsheets of my grocery shopping, complete with day of purchase, store and person responsible. This makes the big day much easier to manage. 

I have all of my workouts on spreadsheets too.

My gym clothes are in a large covered basket in the bathroom  in "packets" (shorts, bra top, peds) all ready  to "grab and go"..I get up at 4 am so I cannot very well disrupt the rest of the family that early, nor do I want to figure out what to wear!

Pre and post training drinks and supplements are mixed and portioned into trays every weekend, and  stored in baskets ready to grab what I need the evening before, placed on the counter and ready when I need them. 

Cooking is scheduled and done while other events take place, then food is weighed and frozen, to be consumed the following week.

It all takes time, lots and lots of time.

You will find that most competitors will have similar stories, a desire to accomplish the impossible, the thrill when a difficult task is mastered. 


They are a special breed- few and far between.