Well I didn’t bring home the trophy in the Fit Body Contest I competed in over the weekend in Florida, but I did bring home some experience to grow on and some thoughts to chew on. Whether you are a competitor or not, there is always a certain amount of disappointment that comes along with not winning. Being an extremely competitive person, for me there is a certain amount of devastation that comes along with not winning. In fact, I have never been good at losing.
I played competitive tennis my entire life and losing a tennis match was the equivalent of my dog dying. I internalized my loss by telling myself that I am the worst tennis player in the world and I should quit. These messages were clearly irrational, self-destructive and wildly far from the truth, but I truly believed them at that painful time of loss.
Dealing with loss in a much healthier way has become imperative as a figure competitor. I have had to recognize that not winning a figure competition does not mean that I lack the body, the skill or the potential to reach my goals in the sport of figure competing. It means that on that given day all of the pieces of the puzzle fell together just right for somebody else. Her conditioning was just right, her muscles were full and her posing was dead on. I will admit that it still stings to lose no matter how many times I tell myself not to personalize the results – even if it’s just a fun bikini contest! I have found that after I allow myself an hour (sometimes several hours) of repressed distress and irrational consideration of never stepping foot on stage again, I then revert my thoughts towards how the experience has helped me grow as a competitor. Every competition brings new experiences and lessons to build upon, not to mention greater confidence and a sense of comfort in my 5-inch heels up there on stage.
It is a huge accomplishment for me to be able to brush off a loss with no residual self-doubt. I try to carry this perspective with me in other aspects of my life such as my personal relationships and my professional path. For example, when I start to feel frustration about not being where I think should be in my career, I remind myself that every experience I have had leading up to this moment has been necessary in guiding me towards my future endeavors.
So until I win my first competition and score my dream job, I have no doubt I will continue to be an extremely poor board game loser, cry in the shower when I don’t win a trophy and threaten to hang up my clear plastic heels once and for all.
I spent the last two weeks of 2010 sick with the flu. I don’t get sick so this turned my world upside down. I was off of my diet completely and was unable to step in to the gym the entire time! But January 1st brought improved health and I was able to jump full swing back into my diet and gym routine. I was mentally struggling with regaining the motivation to jump back into things after spending two weeks enjoying some home-cooked meals over the holidays, a rare treat! Not to mention a New Year’s Eve dinner at Buddakan with my boyfriend, dip sum doughnuts and chocolate lava cake included of course. I decided to set a short-term goal to help me spark my fitness fire and registered for a Fit Body Contest in Florida. I had two weeks to prepare which meant it was ON! The tupperware re-emerged after its two-week hibernation, and was quickly filled with chicken, turkey breast and tilapia. The gallon water jug was back in action and the trips to the restroom every 10 minutes were back on track!
It has felt great to be back on track these past two weeks – and I am not sure I could have mustered the energy and commitment to my workout routine as quickly as I did had I not set my mind to competing in this contest. Everyone is different as far as what they need to help them get motivated, but I firmly believe that setting short-term goals is an extremely effective way to get focused. Your short term goals may be different from mine of course. Walking around on stage in a string bikini and skimpy shorts and a sports bra while others judge your physique may not be your idea of fun! So think of other goals that would bring great personal satisfaction. Do you have an upcoming event to shape up for? What about setting your mind to losing 5-10 lbs by Valentine’s Day? Or adding 10-15 lbs of weight to your exercises in 4-6 weeks? All of these are great ways to stop wasting time watching the NFL playoffs (although my boyfriend would adamantly disagree with me on this) and will light a fire under those glutes!
This Saturday is my contest and will conclude my two-week fire-starter. I feel incredibly fit, healthy, motivated and fired up for 2011. So even if I trip and fall in my clear plastic heels on stage I will have, nonetheless, come out a winner in accomplishing my goal!
Three weeks from today I will be flying to Sacramento to compete in the NPC Sacramento Bodybuilding and Figure Championships. I started getting serious with my diet this show in the beginning of the summer and then started my contest prep diet and training in the beginning of August. Needless to say it’s been a long summer of tilapia, chicken and broccoli and I am quite certain that biting into a piece of sourdough bread when this show is over will surely bring tears to my eyes. (Why sourdough? I have no idea. I read that San Francisco is known for its sourdough so I went with it, but bread, in general, has been the craving of the week.)
My boyfriend competed a couple weeks ago in the Natural Northern USA Bodybuilding Championships placing 2nd in his class – he did great. But now I’m pissed because he has had the luxury of returning to a life of normalcy, while I’m stuck trudging through another 5 weeks of watching him eat his little rice cakes of almond butter and jelly at night. What I would really like to do with those nighttime snacks of his is too graphic for me to relate.
For some reason I have been so much more emotionally unstable this time around. I believe it is because I have given 110% for the first time – cutting out my beloved butter spray, condiments, diet sodas and the other little treats I used to allow myself – like a hershey kiss here or a twizzler there. I have removed all of it for what has been 10 weeks at this point. The interesting thing is that it forces me to dig deep when emotionally my body and mind are screaming for an outside comfort to take away an uncomfortable feeling I may be having. I can guarantee a slice of peanut butter cheesecake would take away a sad feeling or a potato chip would surely take away my anxiety about something. When these “comforts”that most of us seek out to numb uncomfortable feelings are stripped from us, where do we turn?
Well I hate to get wacky on the non-religious folks, but all that’s left is a higher power. The idea or concept that something out there is bigger than me, more powerful than me and can make me feel as if I’m going to be okay. Just knowing that something out there has “got my back” is enough to make me realize I don’t need a dunkin donuts chocolate munchkin to bring me inner peace. Because that kind of inner peace is fleeting. I need to rid myself of those feelings of discomfort and craving by relying on the fact that I am going to be okay and everything I feel, do, live, have and am is just as it should be. A piece of sourdough bread is not going to change that.
I took a little hiatus from posting on my website – not because it was a conscious decision, rather I simply did not feel like writing and I was saying to myself “what’s the point”. Then it got me thinking – isn’t that what most people say when they go off their diet or stop going to the gym? “What’s the point? I’m not seeing the results I want,” or “I’m putting in all this effort, I’m tired, and I will never look like ________ (insert name of person you think has a great body – mine would be Cheryl Brown, IFBB Pro).” We throw in the towel before we have even given ourselves a chance to come out on the other side. Writing inspires me. It motives me. It challenges me. Diet and exercise does the same thing and facing those challenges – both mentally and physically – is what creates that invaluable sense of accomplishment and confidence which ends up seeping into our daily affairs.
It’s interesting how we get wrapped up in the consequences, the results, winning or losing, and fail to appreciate the journey. It sounds like such a cliché but let’s be honest folks, the journey is where the experiences are gained. So I’m glad I ended my writing hiatus. I feel inspired. If you’re prepping for a contest, embrace the journey and the incredible discipline you have – stop focusing on what is going to happen on that stage, or if you are working towards a weight loss goal, appreciate your daily accomplishments rather than focusing on how much further you have to go. Anyone can hit snooze and skip the gym. Don’t be anyone.
I love contest prep season. And I hate it. But I hate it in that way that you hate it when your significant other leaves the dirty frying pan on the stove all day. The thing I hate about it is what I love about it. I love having a painstakingly structured diet to follow, just like I love having a significant other that is here to leave a dirty frying pan on the stove all day. The physical and mental focus that contest prep entails from anywhere between 12-16 weeks, is what separates the winners from the losers. That is not to suggest that there are “losers” in these competitions – in my opinion, anyone who has the tenacity to get up on stage in front of hundreds of people in a speedo or bikini is a winner. I wish I could be content with just showing up. Unfortunately, I’m so competitive I can turn a board game into your worst nightmare. Therefore, an unwavering focus during contest prep is crucial in bringing my best package to the stage.
I love the structure of the diet when prepping for a show – my days are on autopilot. The day is structured around my workouts, often times 2 sessions a day, and making sure I eat my meals every 2-3 hours. Contest prep means never leaving the house without packing meals or a shake for the road, eating pre-cooked meals out of Tupperware at restaurants when forced to show up for an event and constantly battling the mental demons that are screaming for sugar and salt.
I hate the days when the exhaustion kicks in, my mental focus wavers and I allow myself to start down a road of negative self-inflection. Naturally when I am feeling tired, hungry and angry I am not the easiest person to be around. It is times like this that I am learning it is important to take time to rest and maybe even take a day off from the gym because these could be signs of overtraining. My last contest prep was especially taxing for me and I was not as focused as I know I can be. I was extremely tired and had constant cravings. I had not given myself the off-season I think I needed between shows, my focus was divided between work and lots of changes in my personal life and I was not 100% mentally focused on my prep.
Later this summer will start another contest prep and I can’t wait! For now I will continue to enjoy my ice cream on the weekend. And preferably I will enjoy it in the face of my boyfriend, whose contest prep starts in a week, as retaliation for all of the cookies and burritos he thoroughly enjoyed over the winter while I cried over my tilapia.
Ann Gruber is an NASM certified personal trainer and nutrition consultant, offering one-on-one personal training and nutrition advice. You can reach her at anngruber@comcast.net or read her blog and learn about her services at www.anngruber.com.
I am proud to announce that I am a Starbucks Gold Card holder! The day I received my Gold Card in the mail was a very exciting day. My loved ones (my boyfriend) scoffed at my Gold Card out of mere jealousy and tried to claim his alleged “VIP” status at the Vitamin Shoppe was better, but I’m the one getting free coffees and refills at Starbucks! I frequently hear people telling me they proudly abstain from coffee and caffeine for health purposes; however, research has shown that caffeine provides so many benefits, especially for those who are looking to maximize their time in the gym.
Several studies have shown the benefits of working out while caffeinated. Such benefits include increased strength and endurance, better fat burning and improved recovery. If that is not enough to convince you, then maybe this will. Research has shown that individuals who drink 3-4 cups of coffee a day have 25% less chance of acquiring type-2 diabetes. Furthermore, studies that have looked at coffee’s effect on prostate health found that male participants who drank the most coffee had a 60% lower incidence of prostate cancer. One of coffee’s many polyphenols is likely responsible for this. Coffee contains many polyphenols which are potent plant chemicals and are, most likely, the root of many of the health benefits attributed to coffee.
If you are convinced now, then try supplementing with 200-400 mg of caffeine capsules about one hour before you work out. Eight ounces of coffee generally contains between 60-135 mg of caffeine. Other healthy sources of caffeine include espresso, black tea and green tea. I, personally, consume green tea extract before my cardio sessions. The downside of caffeine, unfortunately, is that it can be addictive. I have been drinking coffee ritually in the mornings for years, and when I have been forced to miss my morning coffee, the pounding headache I have by the afternoon is enough to make me sick. This may not sound appealing at all, but moderation is the key to life, my friends, and I have never been known to moderate. With that being said, some key points to remember when embarking on a program of caffeine supplementation: 1) it is most effective when ingested prior to your workout, 2) stick with healthy caffeine sources such as coffee and green tea, and 3) don’t buy the Dunkin Donuts Box O’ Joe, unless you have 10 friends you want to share it with, or else you are asking for a headache.
Ann Gruber is an NASM certified personal trainer and nutrition consultant, offering one-on-one personal training and nutrition advice. You can reach her at anngruber@comcast.net or read her blog and learn about her services at www.anngruber.com.
Once a week I am going to post an exercise and let’s call it the “burn factor”, for purposes of avoiding the overused title of “exercise of the week”. And in return, I want you to tell me your “burn factor” for the week. Let’s go over the rules. The exercise has to be one you killed that week. After your set the burn should be hotter than the frying pan your bison sizzles on. Maybe it made you cry, maybe it made you lose your lunch – either way, it hurt.
Currently, I’m really focusing on creating delts that look like bowling balls sitting on my shoulders – okay, more realistically, maybe those small bowling balls that kids use. This week I crushed a variation of the Arnold press. And to make sure I had absolutely no steam left after each set, I supersetted them with seated side raises. For those who aren’t familiar with the Arnold press it was created by Arnold Schwarzenegger and is a variation of the standard overhead dumbbell press. The exercise starts with holding the dumbbells at chest-level with palms facing inward. Normally, the range of motion would end with arms extended overhead, palms facing outward. However, I do a partial overhead press until my elbows form nearly a right angle just above shoulder height. Then I pull my elbows together and curl the weights back in front of me, with palms facing inwards again, dumbbells still slightly above my head. Then I lower the weight back down to the starting position, palms still facing inward. Just like the standard Arnold press this exercise crushes the front and side delts. This variation, however, forces an intense burn at the top when curling the weights back in front of me, before lowering them to the starting position. And just to increase the “burn factor”, I added a set of side raises to completely exhaust my delts.
Now tell me you’re burn factor exercise for the week so I can try it!
Ann Gruber is an NASM certified personal trainer and nutrition consultant, offering one-on-one personal training and nutrition advice. You can reach her at anngruber@comcast.net or read her blog and learn about her services at www.anngruber.com.
fell together just right for somebody else. Her conditioning was just right, her muscles were full and her posing was dead on. I will admit that it still stings to lose no matter how many times I tell myself not to personalize the results – even if it’s just a fun bikini contest! I have found that after I allow myself an hour (sometimes several hours) of repressed distress and irrational consideration of never stepping foot on stage again, I then revert my thoughts towards how the experience has helped me grow as a competitor. Every competition brings new experiences and lessons to build upon, not to mention greater confidence and a sense of comfort in my 5-inch heels up there on stage.
It is a huge accomplishment for me to be able to brush off a loss with no residual self-doubt. I try to carry this perspective with me in other aspects of my life such as my personal relationships and my professional path. For example, when I start to feel frustration about not being where I think should be in my career, I remind myself that every experience I have had leading up to this moment has been necessary in guiding me towards my future endeavors.
