Shared wisdom

As with anything else in life, I gain strength from others sharing their experience and wisdom with me.  I have a number of friends who have competed or are competitors, and I have had many conversations about the nuances of competition prep.  I reach out to them when I am struggling, anxious, full of fear or stumped, and they always help me - usually through imparting experiences of their own, things they have learned, or things they have observed (that may not necessarily be their direct experience).

The other day a friend of mine - the person I have referred to as the only person I know of who reads this post regularly - sent me an email that really hit home with me.  He is not a bodybuilding competitor, but he is a powerlifting competitor.  Here is a little of what he shared about his first powerlifting meet:
"At the end of the day, I ended up doing much, much worse than even my limited expectations. But I did the most important thing, which was getting through without bombing out. I learned a lot of lessons that day (like "don't lift in APL meets" and "bring baby wipes in your gym bag"). But… I came home with a trophy because I was the only one in my weight class. I spent 8 hours around lifters who were a lot better than me, and had the opportunity to talk to them and learn a lot (a PL meet involves a ton of time just sitting around and waiting for your turn). I got to see different techniques in person, talk to judges, and just be a sponge...."

Check. Check and check.  I have been a spectator at shows, I have even helped expedite shows, but the only way to learn the process is through the process.  Great point - and point taken.

"...Did I do well? No. Was I "competitive"? No. Was I even "ready" for the meet? No.  But doing absolutely lousy in a competition was vital to doing well in the ones after that. Can someone do well in their first competition? Maybe, but it is rare....I know that for me, if I did a bodybuilding show or something similar, I would think of the first show not as "my first competition" but as a warmup for my first competition. A dry run. A simulation. I would go into it with the mindset of trying to learn as much as possible from it. The only way to "not be ready" for it, to me, is if my mind wasn't in the "learning" mode. But at the end of the day, no amount of preparation, practice, or coaching can do for you what that first competition will do. The only way to really get ready to compete is by competing..."

YES!  And that is what this is...a dry run, a dress rehearsal, a chance to rip off the band-aid and inspect that part underneath that I couldn't without just doing it.  Even better point.

"...Will you be ready for the upcoming show? That depends on what you mean by "ready". You have been working hard on the posing it looks like. Tanning starts soon if it hasn't already. You're sticking to your diet and exercise plan. The only thing that might not be "ready" is your body itself. There's a difference between "able to be on stage" and "winning" in these things. As long as you feel that you are "able to be on stage", that's all there is to it...the way I see it, as long as you are realistic… and keep in mind the fact that you are doing this without the chemical shenanigans that many other competitors are… I think that you will be fine."

Hmmm.  This is EXACTLY what I keep hearing from my friends who compete, from JP (he's not objective, though...lol) and from my coach.   Best point yet.

And so it goes, that I have heard this a million and one times so far, but it took this email, written in just the way it is written, with the illustration of his experience (and outcome) with his first powerlifting meet, for all of this to come together and really sink in.

And that is the nature of seeking strength from others - and allowing others to share their experience - it not only normalizes what I am going through, but it helps me keep my expectations in check.  Because - truth be told - I did talk about the last national show of the year when I first decided to do this show.  I was convinced I was going to be conditioned like a champ and ready to kill it and get my pro card in 2 shows.  LMAO!!  Ok...my expectations weren't that high, but I did research other bigger shows for the end of the year.  As soon as last week, I was researching another show for November 3rd - so I could tighten up more and come in for that show...

Insanity!  This past weekend I stopped and really thought about the fact that I have been doing competition prep for 16 weeks so far - and will have been doing it for 21 weeks total by September 8th.  I think I'll "retire" for a bit and shoot to do another show in the spring - and be happy for the experience of having done my first show, my dress rehearsal - and gained knowledge I never would have any other way.  Although I have no idea how it will turn out - only the next 4+ weeks will tell - I will have done it.  Which, at the end of the day, was truly my only goal when this all started.