Some people try and copy one contest prep to the next expecting the same results. What I have learned over the course of my career is, no two contest preps are alike. For the Arnold’s I was a mess, I was in a dark place, felt alone, isolated and felt like no one could understand my pain not matter how much I tried to express it to them. It was so bad by the last three weeks I was on Pinterest every night scanning all the good food I wanted to eat and not even thinking about the show.
None of that is like me. I mean, normally I am tuned out and shutdown when I compete but I don’t feel isolated and never feel like I am at war with the world and myself. I usually feel like a soldier but in a more positive way where I am handling my shit. As for looking at food online or watching the food network, that shits not me either. I don’t like torturing myself and never have found that to be helpful in my preps, I avoid food like the plague normally.
That brings us to today. I’m 2.5 weeks out from the TO Supershow and I am feeling like my old self. This prep feels familiar when it comes to the mental aspect. I am not looking at food porn and torturing myself, I’m not alone and isolated from my wife sitting 5ft away from me, I’m not tired and dreading doing cardio. I’m worn out from training but something inside me just wants more. When I look at the stepmill and think ‘oh shit, this is gonna suck’, something inevitably takes over and just does the work. That’s all I’m doing now, just doing the work, I’m like a mindless beast that is just executing a plan and knowing its gonna be a hit.
Now the mental part is familiar to me but everything else is way off! I’m working with a new coach (I’ll let you all know about him after we kill it) and he has me doing things I’ve never done in 15years of bodybuilding. Not Hany, not Chad, not Fahkri had me doing these things. Its not that its voodoo but its simply science. Here is a short list of some of the new things I’m doing that many of you may already be doing but I never did and was never advised to:
The main one, adding salt to everything. Eating up to 5g of Sea Salt daily.
Another biggie, eating SMALL meals, my biggest meal is 8oz of Sole and a handful of rice lol. Man it sucks but with TONS of BCAA’s between meals I feel like I’m holding my size.
Lots of Fats! I’ve never eaten this much fat, well at least not on purpose lol. Especially during a contest prep, I know we’re on low carbs but shit, some of my other preps have been low carb and low fat, this is new to me. Lots of Omega 3, Primrose, Coconut Oil, Avocado, Nut Butter. Makes my joints feel great and keeps my moods pretty level.
Those are just a few of the things I’m doing now that are different from before. Whether they work for this show or not I know they will be in my arsenal from here on out. This show isn’t a gauge of what I can achieve, I have had a lot of set backs this prep with being sick once and then having pancreatitis (read the last blog if you didn’t know) I lost a week or two. Overall though I think I’ve bounced back well and am expecting to be my best. One thing I do know is next offseason I’m gonna explode with size with my new found knowledge! For now, I got 16 days and I’m focused on my first IFBB win. I’ve been dieting for 6months now, longer than I’ve ever dieted before but my body isn’t giving in on me. It hiccupped a bit but I took the precautions needed to finish this thing out strong! If you’re in the Toronto area, come out to the SUPERSHOW and show your Canadian Pride! I won’t let you down!
