Anyone ever
tell you, "Competing in a Fitness Competition is not healthy."
Then you think about the source of this... usually someone who does unhealthy stuff
or someone who tried it once and didn't win.
Or worse if it is someone that currently competes and believes it's NOT healthy.
It may have that person who has never entered a physique show and makes an excuse?
Maybe they are in the fitness industry like a gym owner but they never had
visible abdominal muscles or ever been really lean so they put it down and say it's unhealthy.
Maybe it is because they know that one guy in the gym that uses every steroid in the world.
They spoke once or witnessed that super freak who is crazy lean or crazy jacked up and looks
like he or she is going to explode. Maybe that one guy is not healthy... I'll give you that.
Yet, many people use words like "Everyone, Everybody, Nobody" but it's really only ONE person.
They make it sound like it's a whole lot of people - EVERYONE!!! ALL OF THEM!
Most times I won't even get into it with these people because what is the point?
I'm not going to argue when somebody really wants to believe or say something that
isn't true.
Do people get extreme in their dieting - YES they can and many do.
Me - I always want to defend what we do and say it is the healthiest thing you can you.
Thing is, many people do "extreme" stuff and I kinda have to hold off on defending EVERYONE.
The worst thing ever created was Peak Week. I've done it so that's why I comment. I've
looked my best then the last week carb depleted and loaded and messed with sodium and
looked like a bloated mess and screwed myself all up. Most of it was counter-productive for me.
I once competed in California and backstage there was one of the top guys in the show.
I remember asking him - "Tito, do you carb deplete and make changes the last few days?"
He told me no and that he only watches his sodium intake. He wasn't messing with rice cakes
and jelly or doing anything like that. He won that show.
My best was when I focused on the numbers - I calculated calorie expenditure and intake. I
stayed at 3500 calorie deficit a week (500 per day) and kept dropping only fat.
I ate my meals no less than 2 hours apart and no more than 4 hours and drank a gallon of water.
Each week I either increased cardio or I cut some calories. I was eating more food like vegetables instead of starchy carbs.
I asked a girl in prep for figure two weeks ago if she had tracked her body fat and she said
that she only uses the mirror.
The mirror is good but when I did shows there were two times I looked my best in the mirror.
It was either super early in the morning in the bathroom or super late at night. During the day I was
never by best and many times the mirror wasn't my friend because I looked flat and no so good.
Yeah if I ate a sweet potato and a tablespoon of honey and did some push ups I'd look good.
I couldn't go by that...
What I learned was STAY THE COURSE!
When I stayed the course I ate my six meals and stayed on my calorie intake and drank my
water. I felt the best and I was eating the healthiest I ever ate. I was eating so clean and
especially when I was 8-6 percent body fat.
Competing COULD be healthy.
That is the line I'm going for... COULD be healthy.
As long as you don't get crazy and do anything extreme it likely the healthiest most people
will ever be.
The best thing about doing a show is having a completion date = GOAL.
The end goal is how you look but I'd like you to feel good too.
My end goal is the increase the number of people who get on stage and do shows.
If we ourselves tell people how extreme and unhealthy dieting is then why would
anyone want to do this?
The only way to grow is to talk positively about our events and our diets.
That's if we want to get to the next level with incredible venues, big lights, the best music and
full audiences - or we could keep these events in high school auditoriums. It's up to us.
Below is a Body Fat Chart - not that you have to believe the Average to Unhealthy because if
people eat unhealthy they can still be eating clean and NOT be healthy and be in VERY LOW
percentage.
I say Use Common Sense.
