I’m in that “hang on for dear life” mode. Part of it is physical, feeling drained and exhausted from all the work and low carbs. The other part is mental, knowing that the show is right around the corner and anticipating the finish.   I’m feeling pretty good about how I look, but there’s still some work left to be done. I know I’ll be fighting for the top spot, but you never know who’s going to show up.  The last time I did this show I won my heavyweight class and then lost the overall to now IFBB Pro Eddie Bracamontes.  A lot of good bodybuilders go through that show and that’s why I chose it. I don’t want to shy away from good competition and just collect easy trophies.  I want a challenge and I want to beat other great bodybuilders.

Being OCD I can take something like contest prep and thrive…though it still comes with plenty of stress.  Even though I’m a coach myself and have prepped hundreds to the stage with great success, I choose to work with a prep coach and rely on their expertise.  This takes some of the self doubt and stress away that would most likely break me if I did it on my own. I’d either push myself too hard, or not enough.  Sometimes putting your trust in someone else is letting them worry about IF you’re doing enough.  Since I am so OCD I’d probably over diet and over cardio myself…maybe not, but I just don’t want to worry about it!

Be Coachable!

I’ve coached plenty of trainers and a common problem I find is that they like to insert their own ideas and theories into the plan I’ve given them. I’ll ask them to do HIIT cardio and they’ll walk, I ask them to eat rice and they have an apple, it goes on and on. I usually don’t hear about most of it until after the fact. This makes them uncoachable and the results are less than ideal. There is more than one way to reach the finish line, but you can’t combine ideas and go against a prescribed plan and expect it all to work out.  Work closely with your coach and provide good feedback to them so that you can come up with a winning package.  I don’t always agree with everything I’ve been given from my coaches throughout my career, but I do it anyways! I want to execute the plan to the T and see it through without throwing in any curve balls.  The whole “trust the process” statement is very real. Trust your coach!

I’m 10 days away from show number 1 and I should look better than I have the past few years. Will I be my best ever? I don’t know. I never know until the day of the show.  I think I’d feel a little more comfortable if I had a little more time, but I always feel that way.  My second show in 4 weeks should be my best of all time. I really feel like where I’m at now puts me in a great position to show really good improvements over last year at that show.  I don’t take any show lightly, so I’m gunning for the Cal as hard as I can. We’ll see how it all turns out very soon!