Wednesday, August 31, 2011

WANTED: Training groove back.

This weekend was a very busy weekend with an event and the Vancouver Shoe Show but I did manage to sneak in a little downtime with friends and family. I am currently on my way to the Midwest Buy Mart in Saskatoon. I will be there until Saturday and then I’ll be home in Vancouver for a few days before I leave on Tuesday for the Edmonton Show.
Last night I was up until midnight prepping and packing. Something that I’ve become very good at over the last few months but sticking to my plan can be the problem.  Life happens and things get in the way of our success but that’s when your dedication and desire kick in and you have to ask yourself, how bad do I want this? If I ask myself this about my upcoming competition I would say yes, I want this. I’m a week into training and I know I haven’t given it 100% and I have to let that go and move forward and start giving it 100%
Yesterday was a rest day but with all the packing and unpacking we had to do after the show, I definitely got in another arm workout. Those boxes were HEAVY! I told my trainer that I would most likely get my weights in the evenings after the show ends and asked if she could set up my meal plan accordingly and she did. Today is my chest and back day and I plan on hitting the gym before dinner tonight depending on setup, but either way I will get it done. I have a rental car so there are no excuses.
I'd been feeling down lately about my food because I kept comparing my previous prep to this one so I called my old trainer and had a really long talk with him. I told him I was having trouble find my groove. about my prep and how I can’t find my groove. I think I need to stop comparing the preps and treat this as a completely new journey. This is true for a few reasons one being my starting point. My starting point now is way different than last time because I have a more solid foundation when it comes to knowledge and muscle. I know how hard I can push myself in the gym compared to when I started way back in January.
Competing in November is something I really want because I enjoy training and having a goal for myself. I just find myself straying from the plan. David said that since I know that I can train hard and eat well that there is no real challenge and that I need to set a new goal for myself to make it harder. That was a really great point and maybe I do need to make this more challenging for myself by setting a new goal for myself like lifting a certain weight by the end of my training. For example, I’d like to be able to squat 180 and dead lift 225 before my training starts to wind down. I’m going to spend some time thinking about this over the next few days.
Another thing that stood out to me was that when I finished the competition in May, I felt really lost because I had completed my goal and all the sudden I was unprepared and didn’t have a goal. My journey had ended and I felt empty and lost because up to that point I knew what I was going to eat for every meal and what I was going to train at the gym. It was all planned from the time I got up, until the time I went to bed and then all the sudden it was unplanned and I could do anything I wanted. I could sleep in, eat French fries, go out with my friends, the possibilities were endless but as I started to stop working out and eating what I wanted, my body started changing again and I felt like I didn’t look as good as I did when I competed. This I’ve learned and accepted isn’t realistic to maintain and I am happy that I took some downtime because it gave me the time to mentally get ready and excited about my next competition and right now I need to turn that excitement into drive and get it done.
I’ve got 11 weeks and need to get into that groove ASAP! For this trip, I have done everything in my power to set myself up for success and have no excuses for failure. I’ve spent time prepping food, researching gyms to train at, organized my meals accordingly and have my weights program. I have all the tools I need and now I need to execute the plan.
For my first competition, I was very disciplined when it came to what I eat and for the first 3 months I only eat what I was allowed until my old coach, now friend Nat, told me I could have a weekly cheat meal. My meal plan includes a cheat meal once a week with a dessert so why can’t I stick to my plan the rest of the week when I get a reward at the end! I know I like to control things and I need to get more in control of my food because we all know that how we look is 80% diet. If we eat sugary sweet doughnuts we are going to reflect that in the form of a squishy exterior.  
I know I feel better when I stick to my plan mentally and physically. Mentally when I stray from my plan, I fall off the wagon and the whole week turns into excuses about starting fresh tomorrow and in the end I feel disappointed and down at myself and find it hard to get back on track. I have lots of time right now, but cant take that for granted if I want to place top 3. Its groove time people! No more excuses.
Eat. Train. Sleep. Repeat.

Nic xox

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