WOD Oct 14-20 (Bodybuilding Show This Saturday!!)

We will be having limited classes Monday, 9, 10, and 11 only. There might be open gym, please post if you are going in. I am out of town spending time with family and I hope you get to spend some time with yours as well.

Its the Final Countdown! This is the final week of preparation for my bodybuilding show.

Firstly, I have been asked by many people, "why do a bodybuilding show?" Well it wasn't actually my idea. I had done one in my 20s, followed the typical program. I was unhealthy, cranky, irritable, ballooned back up like 18 pounds the next day. I was so miserable that my wife said if I ever did another one she would leave me. I was that bad. Well around my 46th birthday in September my wife actually encouraged me to do one. She said I was sitting leaner right then than I was in my 20s and I was perfectly "normal" So she said, why not try and do one healthy and see if it can be done.

So that was the plan. Whenever I compete I am actually at my calmest. I don't care about what the other competitors do, I just care that I can be honest with myself and I have done the best I can. Competitions are an opportunity to show off all the work done behind the scenes. On competition day you are just showing the final results. Some days your best will win, some days your best just won't be good enough. But you only can control the work and effort you have put in.

I know I have done the best I can while remaining true to myself and as healthy as possible. Both physically, mentally, and professionally. I want to show people that you don't have to do drastic unhealthy dieting, never ending cardio, hours upon hours of time in the gym. I only did a few tweaks to my lifestyle, and just applied myself 100%. I did not count a single calorie or weight any food! I went completely by how I was feeling.

And or course, I documented and measured EVERYTHING. I love being my own lab rat. I have had medical tests, physicals, blood work before, during, and also have lots scheduled after. I take this as a learning experience where I can find out exactly what works for me, tweak it, and learn from it. Then I can apply that information while helping with clients.

With this being the final week I might seem a little distracted or off. My energy levels are starting to dip and I am excited for this to be over with. Physical energy is there, but brain fog is starting to sit in as I am on 0 carbs until the end of the week. The hardest and most uncomfortable part this week is dropping water. When you are extremely lean, every ounce of water under the skin "blurs" the muscle definition more. So this week is about getting rid of every last bit of water under the skin. Long story short, its about drinking a MASSIVE amount of water for the week then cutting it out the day before the show. This means I have to be consuming almost a litre of water an hour. With all that water drinking I pretty much have to constantly empty my bladder, which can be very annoying. Especially when dealing with a arduous commute in or home.

I will probably be absent on Thursday and Friday and I will have coaches covering for me as I have many little finishing touches and appointments to do. For example I need to have my entire body sprayed with a dark tanning agents to look best under the blinding stage lights, I also have several athlete meetings so they can go over the itinrary for Saturday as there are over 100 competitors and they run a very tight ship to keep things on time,.

I have had many people ask about tickets to the show as they have expressed interest in possible watching. I can tell you if you have never been to a bodybuidling show, its a weird world. A ton of people being scrutinized and judge by professionals in front of hundred of people. Its not about how much you have transformed your body, its strictly about how you look right now and how good you are at showing off your strengths and hiding your weaknesses.

Tickets are available here. The price varies from $35 to $75. I will explain a little about the difference in tickets for those not in the know. Prejudging (morning show) is the technical part. This is where the athletes go through the mandatory poses and get compared to one another. This really when the winners are determined. The evening show is more for the general audience. This is when the competitiors get to relax a little, and when they are on stage they just get to show off their body for 60s to music of their choice. This is really for the audience, the winners are determined in the morning show.

Show up and cheer, or wish me luck at home. Either way I am truly happy with what I have acheived. I will have the 3 most important people (my family) cheering for me in the auditorium and I truly hope to hear my daughter yell out to me when its my time to go.