A Winning Attitude

“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference”
~ Winston Churchill

Let’s be honest: contest prep can be really tough! In addition to the grueling workouts and strict diets, the emotional rollercoaster can be exhausting. Preparing to compete requires a dedicated lifestyle that doesn’t end after “practice” every day, like most sports. It’s a 7-days a week, 24-hours a day commitment.

Those who have competed understand that during prep, there are some good days and there are some not so good days. In fact, sometimes there are even good hours and not so good hours within the same day! Does this scenario sound familiar?

You have just finished your workout and hit a few poses in the gym. You’ve got a good pump, you’re vascular, and you can see striations in your quads. You go home feeling positive, “I’ve never seen those striations before! I’m right on track for my show!” When you get home, however, you hit a few poses in your bathroom mirror and wonder who that person in the mirror is! You think to yourself, “What happened to those striations? Do you even lift, bro? I should just pull out of the show; I’ll never be ready in time.”

That instantaneous negative attitude can affect your prep more than you think! Your mind can hear the words you say to yourself. Your subconscious picks up on that negativity and may hinder you from training as hard as you can in the gym, or it may make you feel more tired and fatigued than usual. Basically, it makes prep worse than it already is.

One of your most important assets during prep is a positive attitude. You have the power to change a situation from negative into positive just by changing your mindset. When you look in the mirror and don’t see those striations you saw at the gym, take these things into consideration:

• Lighting is everything! Those striations are still there, but the lighting may be washing them out.
• Having a pump makes a difference. When the muscle is pumped full of blood, it appears round and “pops” more than when it’s flat.

Remember how you look in the bathroom mirror and use it for fuel to train even harder tomorrow. This is key. It’s a change to your mental attitude that can turn a negative thought into a positive action. You are a work in progress. Each week and each positive action during prep brings you a step closer to your competition goals.

There will inherently be difficult times during prep – life happens! It’s how we handle a situation that determines the emotional outcomes. Instead of feeling unhappy about progress pictures, make note of areas that have improved, and then use that positivity to train even harder the following week. Instead of comparing yourself to other competitors and feeling like you’ll never be ready, focus on making sure that you’re giving 100% to your diet and training to bring the best YOU possible.

Remember that prep is a CHOICE that YOU made, and only YOU are responsible for your attitude about it. No one is holding a weapon to your head in order to make sure you eat your chicken and asparagus instead of that cupcake your co-worker is shoveling into his mouth. Instead of getting upset that you “can’t” eat the cupcake, think about how the chicken will fuel your body for a great workout later in the day and will bring you one step closer to being stage ready.

Prep can be difficult, but by keeping a positive mental attitude, you can shape the journey into a rewarding and fulfilling experience.

“A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events, and outcomes. It is a catalyst and it sparks extraordinary results.”
~ Wade Boggs