An important question you need to ask yourself because the answer can really affect your drive, motivation, results and most importantly the relationship you have with yourself, training and food post comp. Below is some wise words from comp prep coach Diana Kidd with some very important points I can relate to myself and wanted to share.
As a Coach I strangely spend a lot of time talking people out of competing, at least in the short term.
Sometimes it’s to do with the time frame they are considering, sometimes it is due to their headspace.
If you come to me at 30% body fat with 20kgs to lose to even ‘fit in’ onstage (as opposed to 25kgs to be remotely competitive), 6 weeks out from comp, I am not a coach who will put your health at risk on a 500 cal diet and 4 hrs a day cardio….so you can get a 50c participation medal. If you want to compete, that’s fine, but give yourself the time to build muscle and diet properly there is always next season or next year.
Headspace, however, is a really important consideration for a physique athlete.
Reasons to compete you may want to rethink:
My boyfriend thinks I’ve put on too much weight
- I want to have a better relationship with food
- I need to lose weight
- Competing will motivate me to lose weight
- Bodybuilders lose weight to compete so if I become a bodybuilder I will lose weight
- My mum said it would be good for me
- I want to show off my transformation on stage
- It will stop me binge eating
- My partner will pay more attention to me
- I need better self esteem
I could go on, but all these reasons have two things in common – a lack of self worth, and competing in a bodybuilding comp is a SECONDARY thought. None of these reasons are about the desire to build an amazing body, nor do they speak of the desire to have the conditioning required to be competitive on stage, which is what body building comps are about. They are using the concept of standing on stage as a motivation tool to lose weight, change appearance, or change habits. There is no need to compete in a bodybuilding comp to feel great about yourself…in fact, if you are competing for the wrong reasons, you might find you feel worse. Before you compete you want to have your headspace well and truly sorted, because once you start dieting for stage every issue will be magnified 10 fold. I have seen people with mild disordered eating behaviours end up with full blown EDs. I’ve seen gorgeous girls end up thinking they will never be ‘good enough’ or ‘pretty enough’ or ‘muscly enough’ or ‘lean enough’. I’ve seen skeletal stage lean girls walking around a shopping centre thinking they are overweight and everyone is looking at their tricep fat…
I suggest that BEFORE you compete, you need to be comfortable with your body, your self and your nutrition. This means stop thinking of prep in terms of a 6, 12, or 20 week block.
If competing is your passion, work with your coach year round to get the best possible you to the stage. If it’s not really your passion, work with your coach on other goals that will help you achieve the results you’re after.
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