time to work...

Today, we (Team M2 Fitness) are officially 27 days out from the Los Angeles Bodybuilding and Figure Championships. That pretty much means about 22 more days of insane training and feeling of death. Why only 22? Generally, the last 5 days or so are used to let the body recover from the stress put on it during these last 16-20 weeks, and use food to repair any damage done. This enables us to present the best package when we have to hit that stage.

During this entire journey, there have been numerous breakdowns, excuses, and all kinds of bumps for not only me, but the rest of the team. While waiting for my hard boiled eggs to cook (LOL), I decided to put some out there.

Genetics

We are never going to look the way we want to. There is a reason that people excel in what they do (i.e. professional athletes, CEO's, etc), and our bodies are no different. My coach had this example, in regards to the most recent topic in sports, Kobe Bryant. Will you ever be Kobe Bryant? Even if you were 6'7", do you have a chance to be Kobe? Why are some 6'7" people the most clumsy people on earth, yet Kobe has the athleticism and agility of someone much shorter than he is? You could probably practice basketball for 10 hours a day, or even twice as much as Kobe, but you will probably never be as good as Kobe, or Lebron for that matter. Likewise, our bodies are the same way. We have have different structures and some of us have it better than others. Do you think that Oprah, with all her crazy diets, could ever look like Beyonce? I seriously doubt it. haha

In bodybuilding, some are blessed with wider clavicles, small waists, and huge muscle bellies. They are built to succeed. But how many people are actually like that? Very few. The rest of us, we have to bust our butts to make it APPEAR like we have those traits. No one is perfect, and that statement cannot be any more true in this sport. The ideal bodybuilder weighs a lot more than he looks (i.e. 200 lbs looks like 250 lbs). Figure girls, the exact opposite. You want to weigh less than you actually appear. But figure girls don't have to make weight? Exactly! But, women have this infatuation with how much they weigh translates to how they look physically. Don't even let me try to explain it. And any female who denies it, is full of it. Trust me. Figure is about presenting a physique that shows the "model" aka small frame with a bit of athleticism and muscularity. Not so much that it is overpowering, but enough to show that, 'Hey, I train my ass of in the gym too!"

Excuses
We all have them. The best thing about this sport is you have no one to blame, except yourself. You are accountable for it all, 24 hours a day.

Attitude
Frustration. Grumpiness. Fatigue. Irritability. All of these things easily come into play. It is extremely hard to maintain a smile and positive attitude through all of this. Yes, I am extremely guilty of being an asshole, jerk, whatever you want to call it. I can't help it. I am up at 3:45 daily doing cardio, eating next to nothing, Mon-Thurs. By Tuesday night, it all catches up to me. I am exhausted, hungry, and not in the mood for a lot of things. What I have to remember is that I am not being forced to do this, but I chose to do this myself. I try not to take it out on other people, but sometimes people also need to watch their mouths around me. Not everyone wants to hear your criticism, dieting or not.

OK, eggs are cooked. Time to eat then train.

halftime...

I know I have sucked at updating this damn blog, but with all the sh*t going on in my life right now, blogging has had to take a backseat. Sucks because I have really been M.I.A, and most of my friends probably don't even know what I look like anymore. haha Anyway, I have about 20 minutes to write something that has been on my mind for the past few weeks. Pretty much inspired by something my coach (Emile Jarreau, http://m2fitnesspros.com) said a few weeks back.

In the midst of an exchange between the guys (me and him) and the girls (figure competitors on M2's program), he said something along the lines of "I don't care what you girls are doing. It's not about what you do, it's how you do it, and where you end up."

Now yesterday, I once again got into a pretty heated exchange with my friend about this whole dieting non-sense, and immediately, this quote popped into my head. I am not perfect, and had myself a nice, little breakdown last weekend. We all handle adversity differently. In the past, I would have flipped out. But after a particular incident in college, which made me realize how bad of a temper I had, I pretty much went polar opposite and am pretty introverted with my emotions nowadays. My solution, take a f*cking walk with my ipod and just clear my head.

Halftime. Growing up, especially in school, we are always required to show our work (think math class). In the grown up world, no one gives a flying f*ck how you get to where you are at, how you got there, or what you did to get there. Our superficial society just likes to see things for what they are, the way shit is on the outside, and what we can physically see. Think about it. Our parents and teachers no longer hold our hands the entire way. We are FORCED to do it on our own, fall on our faces, and learn. It is called GROWING UP. When you are climbing a mountain, is someone going to be there half way up and give you a high-five? No f*cking way. Or how about this example, is the person who is in the lead of a sprint during the Olympics ever given credit? NO! The only person who gets anything is the one who crosses the finishline first. He gets the gold. There is no such thing as a gold medal for the guy who finishes the first half of the race the fastest.

In the sport I have chosen, you have to pretty much commit yourself 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you can make it 16 weeks on a monotonous diet of the same foods over and over, the same routine day in and day out, I commend you. You are a better man than I will ever be. This sh*t is f*cking hard. No way around it. You are bound to lose your mind at some point. It is inevitable. I feel for the girls who put themselves through this torture. For once, girls are way more emotional to begin with. No matter what they say fellas, girls are only tough on the outside. They will ALL break down at some point of this diet. My coach's girlfriend, Ms. Bea Fox, likes to compare it to walking to the ledge, and getting ready to jump. You think I am messing around, but this is as real as it gets. If you are ever ready to make the commitment, get at me or my coaches and we will happily get you set up for it. Also, girls have it rougher than guys when it comes to dropping the fat. Plain and simple, mother nature never intended females to get that lean. They have the monthly cycles and are supposed to be the mother's of our future society. So females, I feel for you. This sh*t is crazy hard, but I commend your efforts.

OK, back to topic, totally just rambled there. Halftime. Your inner strength comes from how you handle these "ledge" moments. Remember that no one will always be there patting you on the back and encouraging you through your accompllishments. Quitting from the frustration just shows how weak you are mentally. Do you ever want to look weak? I sure as hell don't! When it gets tough, you have to pull your head out of your ass, and get your shit together. Look ahead to the future. Rememeber who decided to put themselves in that situation. Remember how hard you have worked. Remember what your ultimate goal is. Keep your head up, and never show how weak you are. You have no one to blame, but yourself. The cards do not awlays fall in your favor, but you have to play with what you are dealt with. Make it to that f*cking stage and prove to YOURSELF what you are made of. If you need some encouragement, gather it from within and don't expect anyone else to be there to give it to you. Most importantly, have some fun while doing all this, or at least pretend that you are having fun. haha Smiles and laughter are the best way to hide anger, frustration, and how deathly you feel.