I have officially decided that I am a creature of habit. Yes, I love traveling and being spontaneous, but 90% of my day-to-day life (at least the Monday through Friday part) is spent with work, eating, sleeping, and working out. Throw some TV watching and some Junior League in there and that’s pretty much it. And I’m okay with that! I have a great job, great friends that also pretty much have the same routine, pretty awesome family, and it makes for a relatively drama free life. New Orleans and Florida were awesome, but I am so glad to be back in my routine! Let’s not forget—this is the first week in 3 weeks that I haven’t gone out of town! I don’t know how jetsetters do it.
That said, I was finally able to meet with the “boss” a.k.a. my coach Saturday, and debrief about the show. It felt so good to have some encouragement and reassurance both from him and my teammates that what I had been thinking and feeling and, more importantly, what my body was doing the last couple of weeks was totally normal. Coach and I were both were on the same page—I needed a few months to really develop some muscle and work on my legs more in order to bring the total package to my next show. If you take into consideration another 12-week prep, that would put us into the fall show lineup. In an ideal world, at least 3-4 months is needed to put on muscle and “bulk”. So, as of right now, we’ve picked either the NPC True Strength Games on September 26th or the NPC Texas Fall Classic on November 7th. One is just 23 weeks out (giving me only 11 to bulk!) and the other is 29 weeks out, which would give me 17 weeks to bulk. More than likely, we’ll go with the November show, but the September one is a possibility. Ideally, I’d like to try to do both, but we’ll see. If I did both, I would have 2 chances to get NQ’d which means (nationally qualified) for next year. The True Strength Games would also be a cool show to do, because a year ago it was the first bodybuilding competition I ever went to. It’d be pretty neat to return to the True Strength Games as a competitor just one year later!
In any case, now that it’s “off season” my focus is to EAT and GROW! This is the fun part!! I can focus on lifting heavy, and making sure that I’m eating all of my food. Cheat meals are back—HELLO! My diet has changed considerably. I’m now doing 5 meals a day instead of 6, and I have a higher percentage of my calories coming from carbs and fat in order to get the right macros to build muscle. The water weight bloat is slowly coming off. I’m now 8 pounds above stage weight, and could see 4 of my abs yesterday! Thank goodness I’m getting back to normal!! My coach advised me that in 2 weeks, I’d have a much better representation of what my “off season” body will look like, and I’ll likely be a lot happier with how I’m looking physically. He also said that it usually takes your body and metabolism 4-6 weeks (without a trip in there!) to get back to normal and recover after a contest prep. Have I mentioned how much you really should have a good coach if you’re going to compete? My workout split (or schedule) has changed too. I now have 2 off days (WHAT?!?!) and I am lifting 4 days a week, plus a fifth that can be circuit training or hot yoga, plus I’m slowly tapering off on the cardio as well. Hooray for spending the Summer building muscles! I see some pool time in my future!!
This is a whole new chapter of my journey. To be honest, I had to sort of do a mental check earlier this week. Sure, a lot of competitors just do one show… and that’s fine. But for me, this new diet and new routine are taking me to the next level. It’s exciting but it also makes me nervous. I’m human—the nasty, negative side of me was rearing it’s ugly head, and negative thoughts were creeping in. What if I screw up? What if I can’t build muscle fast enough? What will I look like? Will I get fat? What if I lose? What if I’m not strong enough? Then, I reassured myself and said “Self. You’ve already proven you are strong, you are capable, and you are building YOUR body. Not anyone else’s. Let’s do this!”
This is a process. Bodybuilding is more than a sport; it’s a lifestyle. Prep is more than just 12 weeks; it’s making the choice every meal and every workout, and committing to a goal and making healthy choices every day that get you closer to that goal. I’m so glad that I have shared my journey here and on Instagram because it motivates me and encourages me to see how far I’ve come! I’m so excited to see how much I grow inside and out these next 6 months. Remember, the outside changes are just an indicator of the changes happening mentally and emotionally as well.
Till next time,
-Mere