Results

Along with the result of the Natural Olympia came a set of mixed emotions.  I missed my target this year, placing outside of the top three.  Of course there was the disappointment of not realising my vision.  But there was also the satisfaction of honestly knowing that I had upheld all of my standards and expectations throughout the preparation.  So what was missing that meant falling short of my goal?

My standards were not high enough.

Standards are born from knowledge, experience, beliefs, values and rules.  To take my performance to the next level I must raise my standards by expanding my knowledge, broadening my experience, challenging my beliefs, re-prioritising my values and restructuring my rules.

How will this change my strategy?

Now, one day after the contest, I must immediately begin redefining how to live my life in alignment with my dreams and visions.  I will consistently enforce newly established, non-negotiable actions and behaviours that, when strung together over the course of one workout, one day, one week, one month, one year, will become a more powerful force than I created in 2011.

In other words, I will create a new normal.  A more diligent, educated, intelligent, focused, strategic, knowledgeable, structured, determined and committed normal.  A normal which demands higher standards and more lofty expectations than I pursued in 2011.  A normal which incorporates the familiar constructs of pain, pleasure, disappointment, excitement, self-doubt, self-acknowledgement, loss and victory.  The normal way I will go about my day-to-day life, where there is no need to waste energy questioning the decisions I make, debating whether or not to train, or having an internal battle over what to eat, do, think or feel.

My new normal is a step closer to achieving the goal of top three in the world, for which I will continue striving relentlessly.  I created this vision when I began competitive body building in early 2006, and to most, the road may appear too long and arduous to bother continuing.  Six years of “failing” some would call it.  But I trust myself.  I believe in myself.  I know that I am fully capable of taking my body where my mind wants to go.  I know that I will raise my standards to the level that will get me there. By focusing on these standards, I don’t need to concern myself with anything else.  By consistently enforcing these standards, the rest will take care of itself.

2012

With that being said, I begin my quest for The Natural Olympia, 2012.  I have twelve months to bring a stronger mind to the gym and an improved physique to the stage.

And so it begins again……

It is now one day out from the Natural Olympia, the biggest, toughest contest on my calendar this year.

This is my third day in the United States and I have successfully navigated the challenges of travelling overseas.  My body clock has adjusted well, I have located appropriate food supplies, and my body has settled nicely after the long haul flight from Australia.  Over the past three days I have found myself mesmerized by the snow covered peaks surrounding Lake Tahoe here in Nevada.  I draw much inspiration, strength and courage from nature, especially that which is so breathtakingly majestic, yet trecherous and unforgiving.

Today I am feeling the effects of dehydration on my body – I am extremely tired, am not thinking with the usual clarity, and am quite parched.  But I am also experiencing the desirable feeling of the carbohydrates I began consuming early this morning assimilating and filling my muscles.  I haven’t eaten carbohydrate since leaving Australia, and it is now time to pump it in.  Timing is critical.  If I deviate even a few hours with with my nutrition at this point, I could ruin my physique, along with a year’s hard work.

The first day of competition commenced today.  I spent time scouting around the auditorium and back-stage to familiarize myself with the layout and procedures.  I want no surprises tomorrow.  I must walk on stage feeling right at home, like I have done dozens of times before.  I observed the judges, the lighting, the sound, the audience, the stage, and soaked in the entire atmosphere. Athletes from many countries are competing – U.S.A., Czech Republic, France, Indonesia, New Zealand, Australia, and many more.  One could be easily be overwhelmed but I am calm and focused and excitedly anticipating stepping on stage in 24 hours.

The competition is fierce. The standard is high.  The competitors are hungry.

I am ready.

Today I travel to the U.S.A. to complete the final, and most grueling, leg of my 2011 competition campaign.  The Natural Oympia.  A prestigious world championship event and the summit of natural body building.

Last week I described the physical and emotional effect from 43 weeks of intense and relentless contest preparation, and how it acted to temporarily disrupt my focus.  Once I acknowledged the impact of this on my standards, beliefs, behaviour and outcome (i.e. my physique) I challenged myself to honestly examine my commitment, motivation and values.

What was I doing this for?

Why does it matter so damn much?!

To commit a whole year of my life, to deprive myself of food, to spend hours in the gym training and doing cardio, to forego social interaction and deny myself of other things I could have bought with the money spent on travelling, supplements, and the myriad of costs associated with this sport, all for 15 minutes on stage?? What’s the point?

To become everything I am capable of being.

And I do this by going beyond any place I have ever been before.  It’s rarely comfortable.  It’s usually painful.  It’s always worth it.

From that examination I extracted an even more powerful, deep-seated desire to demand the absolute best from myself.  To dig deep, stay strong, keep attacking, and invest all of my resources into creating the outcome I need.  This is a situation that dictates, no, that demands that I find a way to get on that stage in the best physical shape of my life!

Reigniting my drive mentally and emotionally has translated into the physical energy that will propel me to higher standards.  To the next level.  To a better understanding of my mind and my body.  And I will be one step closer to understanding my true potential.

This is the big one

I thought I’d already lived my moment of truth but I was not even close.

An honest appraisal of how my mind and body are coping

When you’re one hundred percent focused on an outcome and you’ve invested every last resource you possess to achieve it, when you simply must get the job done no matter what, it’s easy to overlook how your mind and body are holding up under the pressure.

The reality for me right now is that I am physically, mentally and emotionally fatigued.

This week I recognised that my standards have slipped and my efforts have been uncharacteristically inconsistent – an indication that I am losing focus at a time when I most need to be at the top of my game!  If I am to finish my 2011 competition campaign with as much ferocity and energy that I vowed to invest nine months ago I must honestly acknowledge how my mind and body are holding up to this intensity and pressure I have imposed on myself.  And I must reignite my drive and commitment for the lead-up to the toughest contest on the calendar.

Scrutinising my commitment

When I examined my efforts this week, I arrived at the following realisations.

I am mentally, emotionally and physically exhausted.  I have been at this for 41 weeks, 287 days, perpetually, relentlessly, incessantly.  My body hurts.  My mind is screaming for a break from the intense self-imposed pressure.

But I cannot give up, that is not an option.  I must tenaciously override the urge to lessen my intensity.  The choice is clear cut and I must be brutally honest when asking the questions that challenge my current mindset.  Am I in or out? Am I 100% committed to finishing what I started?  If I am only 99% committed, that is not good enough.

Less than 100% commitment = no commitment.

Regaining focus and recommitting

Achieving my outcome, top three in the world, is now an hour-by-hour proposition.  Every thought, action, belief, rule and standard will have a systematic effect on how I look and feel on that world stage in seven days time.

At this time when I am the most vulnerable to giving in I must be my strongest.  When I am the most depleted of energy and nutrients, I must present the best physique that is humanly possible. This is undoubtedly a sport of extremes.  My mind is the sole source of drive and energy now, and what a powerful and unstoppable force this can be when we choose to use it!

I am in my own head now.  Nothing that anybody says (opinions, feedback positive or negative) will have any bearing on the certainty and confidence I have in the strategies I have chosen and committed to that will take me to my ultimate destination.

To achieve anything worthwhile is risky

Disclosing my goal to the world – to you – puts me in a vulnerable position.  I am revealing a very personal drive as well as taking the risk of failing to achieve my goal publicly.  But doing this adds another layer to my commitment.

I will do whatever I have to.

It is that important to me.

Result

Today was the first of two world championship competitions for 2011.  With 20 quality physiques on stage with me this was the biggest, toughest line-up I have yet to contest in all of my years of competition.  I earned fourth place today, one place outside of the top three I was striving for.  While I am far from disappointed with the result, it still leaves me with unfinished business.

Mental focus and preparation pre-competition

I maintained a constructive focus going into the event today.  For the entire day I concentrated on what kept me connected to the job I had to do:  when to eat, what to eat, what time to start pumping up, whether the contest was running on time according to schedule. Nothing around me mattered – my surroundings, other competitors, a foreign place and time zone, an intimidating world stage.  Back stage is always busy, crowded and full of activity – competitors and back stage helpers in a flurry of tanning, pumping up, consuming rice cakes, honey, peanut butter, lollies, alcohol, potions and powders according to each individual’s pre-competition nutrition strategy.  But it was imperative I tune that out.  I expected a lot from myself once I stepped on that stage.

On stage experience

I enjoy being on stage.  It doesn’t frighten or intimidate me.  It is familiar to me.  I am comfortable under lights in front of hundreds of people and before a panel of keen-eyed judges.  I relish that moment when all of my efforts culminate in the right to take my place in such a formidable line-up.  And the judges were taking no decisions lightly today.  After the compulsory and muscularity poses, I had four call-outs (which means the judges choose the competitors they wish to look more closely at in smaller groups for further comparisons and to refine placings).  This is generally a good sign and I was fighting with every ounce of strength I had.  It was scorching under the stage lights and my entire body was aching and in pain.  But none of that mattered because first and foremost in my mind was the amount I had invested to get here.  Nothing could stop me now!

The moment of truth:  Have I set my standards high enough to achieve a world ranking?

The Natural Olympia in three weeks presents yet another opportunity to improve my physique.  The result will validate whether my standards have indeed been high enough to earn a world ranking.

Today I placed third in the Australian Figure Open (tall) Class.  The competition was particularly intense with every single competitor vying to qualify for the world championships in two weeks.  I had my work cut out for me, the standard of competition was extremely high and I could not lose focus or concentration for a second.  I was happy with my nutrition throughout the day, timing my intake optimally so as to present the fullest, hardest, driest physique possible.  It has been another mentally, emotionally and physically intense day, beginning at 6:00am and it is now 10:30pm.  Time to scrub off the tan, rehydrate and get an early night.

I now have two weeks until the world championships.  There is no time to lose.  I have another opportunity to improve, to lift heavy weight for one week before reducing calories and experiencing the associated diminished physical strength.  But the strength of my mind set will not falter.  It’s time to bring everything I have to the table and put my determination, commitment and utmost effort to the ultimate test!

With two contests behind me and two more ahead, I am prepared to invest every single resource, skill and personal quality I possess into earning a top three position in the world.

My preparation so far spans 38 weeks.  My stage presence today will total 15 minutes.  Needless to say there is an immense investment of resources, effort, sacrifice, commitment and hard work funneled into such a brief opportunity to display my body to the judges.  But I am not being evaluated on my extensive efforts.  I am being evaluated on what that effort has brought to life.  There are no points for effort, only what my physique represents at that point in time.  I must vividly remember each and every one of those psychologically, emotionally and mentally charged 38 weeks today when my body feels exhausted from posing and my mind wanders to anything outside of that auditorium.  I know that this will reignite my energy and I will fight until the very last minute.

It is 6:30am as I type this.  A long day stretches before me.  I am due on stage in 11 hours.  My preparation today begins with a short walk outside which I use to clear my head and focus my thoughts solely on the job at hand.  I will take some photographs this morning for a final physique evaluation, do some posing and squeezing of my muscles, check that I have all of my supplies, and drive to my hair and makeup appointment.

I am excited yet relaxed, mentally charged but calm.  I have clarity on what I must do today and I am 100% focused on upholding the highest standards I know that I am capable of.

There is less than 24 hours until I step on stage at the Australian Championships.  My preparation strategies during the final week have gone to plan and are working well – daily tan application, carbohydrate depletion, drinking large volumes of water, training, posing practice, daily physique evaluations, and a focused and committed mind set.  Today my task was to complete last minute details such as contest registration, final coats of tan, food preparation for competition day, packing my show day suitcase, and ensuring I am fully organised for tomorrow morning.  After that it was important that I relax for most of the evening so my body looks as sharp as possible tomorrow at 5:30pm.

Tomorrow, the final placings will determine whether competitors earn a position in the Australian team and represent their country at the upcoming world championships.  I know that the standard of competition will be very high.  It’s time to find out whether my own standards and efforts have been as high as I expected them to be.

Back in the gym and back to work!

Following any competition, I have an intense urgency to get back into the gym.  On Monday I woke at 6am (after going to bed at 12:45am) knowing that three of the four weeks leading to the next contest will consist of heavy strength training, the type of training I relish!  During the final week of preparation for the State competition I was consuming just enough energy to allow for light-weight training so I was excitedly contemplating my first day back with more carbohydrates and greater strength.  I would get straight to work.  I wouldn’t waste one minute!

Training and nutrition strategy

Training hard and heavy felt great.  I was back where I belonged!  On Monday I trained back, Tuesday was chest, Wednesday quads, Thursday shoulders, Friday arms and Saturday hamstrings, glutes and calves. My ferocity and courage returned to hit the weights hard, especially the leg sessions.  My body was recharged with energy-giving and muscle-building carbohydrates and it felt like I had never deviated from my rigorous training regime. I was careful to strategically ease my body into post-competition nutrition and allow my metabolism to adapt to more food.  I gradually reintroduced starchy carbohydrates and fibrous vegetables this week.  Too much, too soon risks disturbing my metabolism – a risk I am not prepared to take for short term gratification.  I keep my long term goals first and foremost in mind.  Some people choose to eat such foods as pizza, chocolate, protein bars, pasta, chips and fatty foods after a contest, but I prefer to keep my post-competition nutrition ‘clean’, particularly when I have another contest in four weeks.  I won’t take any chances with achieving peak conditioning.

Regaining focus

After acknowledging the effort that I invested leading to my win on the weekend, I will now put that competition behind me and concentrate solely on the next challenge – the National Titles on the 9^th of October.  Every day this week I renewed my commitment and motivation during training sessions, pushing each repetition with an intensity and drive demanding full concentration and creating even higher standards and expectations for future efforts.  I am determined to look fuller, harder, drier and leaner in four weeks time.

Evaluation of effort to make minor changes for improvement

Using photographs and video footage of the contest, I reviewed my physique and overall stage presentation.  This highlighted areas that I will tweak in preparation for the next contest to further improve.  These include choice of tan and method of application to better suit my skin and the stage lighting, fine tuning of posing to better display my physique, and making some minor adjustments to contest-day nutrition timing to achieve a fuller, harder physique.

At this point it is also extremely important to evaluate my physique impartially and objectively.  My own judgement is subjective, and can easily become clouded or distorted through emotion and mental and physical fatigue after ten months of dieting and preparation.  This week I sought a valued opinion and critical evaluation from a trusted source.  Using such feedback I will devise practical strategies for improvement.

The week ahead

I am happy with my nutrition, training intensity and cardio sessions this week.  Next week I will continue with carbohydrates, plenty of high quality protein and essential fats, and concentrate on keeping my water intake high.  While it is important I consider the whole competition season still ahead of me (Australian titles 9^th October, Universe Contest 23^rd October, Olympia Contest 11^th – 13^th November) and how to best present my physique at every contest, I must focus most intently on the three weeks immediately ahead.

Today I accomplished what I envisioned when I began pursuing my goals 33 weeks ago.  I claimed first place in the Victorian tall figure class.  The competition was tough and the impressive quality of competitors demanded that I give everything to earn my victory.  I was prepared for a high standard of competition and was not going out without a fight.

Tonight I will eat steak, rice, vegetables and drink plenty of water to rehydrate.   And I will take my first shower in almost three days (the process of tanning requires 2-3 days to allow the skin dye to set into the skin)!  My focus is now on the Australian Championships in 28 days, so I cannot let my guard down with nutrition or training for one second if I am to continue achieving success as I have defined it. An early (ish) night tonight, and I will resume full strength training and high calories tomorrow.  I will review my training and nutrition log and analyse the strategies I used to get to this point.  I will capitalise on those that were effective and discard any that weren’t.  I will have to raise my standards even higher for my next competition.  I have four weeks to make improvements to my physique and I intend to use every single minute!