Winning: what does it mean...

[Suzanne]

We all want to win, to place first but is that really what is means to win? To have a subjective judge tell you whether you prep was a success or failure?

If coming in first is the only way you will view your prep as a success then more times than not you will be disappointed. You can't determine what the judges will like that day and you can't determine who will be standing on stage next you. I had a friend on stage with 54 other girls in her class at jr nats one year if coming in first is the only thing that doesn’t suck then 54 of them failed.

I see people post in others journals when they aren’t first “You will do better next time” why dismiss the success they made by saying winning is the only thing that matters?

If you come in with a better look then your previous show.
If you made improvements you wanted. More muscle. Tighter conditioning. Better symmetry.

If you gave it your all. If you NEVER cheated on your diet. NEVER missed a cardio. NEVER missed a workout. IF you gave it all you had each and ever time.

Then you have won and the trophy, if you get one, is icing.
With this mindset you can be a success regardless of the subjectiveness of this sport and enjoy it so much more.

I see so many people stressing in their journals and not enjoying the process and the journey. I see people not enjoying life and avoiding friends and family just because food is around. What does it mean to win a trophy if your life has been miserable for 12, 16 or more weeks?

Believe me I am competitive. I thrive of beating the person next to me in the gym. I WANT to win but I can’t control judges or what type of physique is next to me on stage. I have came in first and won an overall and was miserable the entire prep worried if I would be good enough. Was it worth it? No.

My prep for Nationals was the hardest one ever I made no changes in weight, pictures or measurements for the first 6 weeks. But I stuck with it, I never cheated, I pushed to complete workouts when I was tired. I placed 10th of 12 ;yet I am more proud of that accomplishment of pushing thru and not giving up.

Now my current prep; the most I have ever had to drop about 30lbs. I have never dropped more than 12 in a prep. I have really just let go and enjoyed it. I have complete faith in Jeremy and I know I will be my best ever. Will it be good enough for first maybe, maybe not but I have won because I did make the improvements I wanted, I put on the muscle I need to balance my physique. Taking this mindset the cardio does not bother me. I have had zero problems with diet including going out with friends and family and enjoying time with them while they eat my favorite foods. I haven’t missed a second of cardio or a workout. Do I have hard days – sure as hell do! I have had cardio sessions where I was lightheaded and dizzy, I have had workouts that I felt extremely weak but I pushed through. I know that the reps that are the hardest where you feel you can’t move it are the ones that count. We have discovered things about how my body works and I totally look at the scale as a mere indicator of what is happening but I don’t base my mood on what it is doing.

I can look back on this prep with no regrets.

I am thoroughly enjoying this prep and am a winner regardless of my placing!

[tammyp]

great post suz! i will need to reread this when i get a bad attitude in my prep!

[sassy69]

I still do the whole prep thing for myself with the contest as a particular goal in time - otherwise I have a hard time getting the diet & training to work together for dramatic results. I work much better on timeframes w/ structure, so w/o structure I tend to wander w/ my diet, though training is balls to the wall and every day, regardless.

"Winning" as you note, is a relative thing - very subjective at the end of the day, though it gives you a more general way of saying "bring the best you've got" and competing with the person next to you, by the time you've gotten to the stage, the only thing left to compete on is your presentation & enthusiasm on stage. But for ex, at my last show, there were 3 of us and I outweighed the other 2 by probably 40 lb and 4" in height, as well as obviously, years prepping. So I assumed I'd win, but my goal was to get my national qualification so I could move to the next level and know I was competing w/ people of comparable background. This is basically just the nature of FBB. Though you also can't assume you're going to show up and win at local shows. Its probably what will happen, but there's always the chance someone else shows up w/ the same goal of getting the national qualification at an easy local show.

I've always described competitions as a milestone along the journey of "Fitness" towards an ever-forward moving destination. I don't work in the fitness industry so a win isn't going to do much for my professional career. It is an ego boost and a chance to bring home a $4 trophy. Biggest result is the qualification to move on to a national show to continue to test myself. But ultimately its a challenge in time for me to move forward and a chance to get together w/ others who are also "filled w/ the passion". "Winning" is a validation of all your work, both strategically (seaonal and year over year prep) and tactically (improvement in presentation, comfort on stage) and contributes further to your ability to continue moving forward. Or losing can also spur you to up the work for the next time around. It is sort of an esoteric thing in reality, with the exception of adding to your resume or in your ability to move up to the pro-qualifiers and possibly ultimately to the pros.

I guess that's my view. I'd do my "prep" regardless of shows. Shows just give a more tangible end point as well as on-going frame of reference for "improvement".

[JVALDEZ]

Great post,something for all my clients to learn from, thank you!!

[MsGuns]

We all want to win, to place first but is that really what is means to win? To have a subjective judge tell you whether you prep was a success or failure?

If coming in first is the only way you will view your prep as a success then more times than not you will be disappointed. You can't determine what the judges will like that day and you can't determine who will be standing on stage next you. I had a friend on stage with 54 other girls in her class at jr nats one year if coming in first is the only thing that doesn’t suck then 54 of them failed.

I see people post in others journals when they aren’t first “You will do better next time” why dismiss the success they made by saying winning is the only thing that matters?

If you come in with a better look then your previous show.
If you made improvements you wanted. More muscle. Tighter conditioning. Better symmetry.

If you gave it your all. If you NEVER cheated on your diet. NEVER missed a cardio. NEVER missed a workout. IF you gave it all you had each and ever time.

Then you have won and the trophy, if you get one, is icing.
With this mindset you can be a success regardless of the subjectiveness of this sport and enjoy it so much more.

I see so many people stressing in their journals and not enjoying the process and the journey. I see people not enjoying life and avoiding friends and family just because food is around. What does it mean to win a trophy if your life has been miserable for 12, 16 or more weeks?

Believe me I am competitive. I thrive of beating the person next to me in the gym. I WANT to win but I can’t control judges or what type of physique is next to me on stage. I have came in first and won an overall and was miserable the entire prep worried if I would be good enough. Was it worth it? No.

My prep for Nationals was the hardest one ever I made no changes in weight, pictures or measurements for the first 6 weeks. But I stuck with it, I never cheated, I pushed to complete workouts when I was tired. I placed 10th of 12 ;yet I am more proud of that accomplishment of pushing thru and not giving up.

Now my current prep; the most I have ever had to drop about 30lbs. I have never dropped more than 12 in a prep. I have really just let go and enjoyed it. I have complete faith in Jeremy and I know I will be my best ever. Will it be good enough for first maybe, maybe not but I have won because I did make the improvements I wanted, I put on the muscle I need to balance my physique. Taking this mindset the cardio does not bother me. I have had zero problems with diet including going out with friends and family and enjoying time with them while they eat my favorite foods. I haven’t missed a second of cardio or a workout. Do I have hard days – sure as hell do! I have had cardio sessions where I was lightheaded and dizzy, I have had workouts that I felt extremely weak but I pushed through. I know that the reps that are the hardest where you feel you can’t move it are the ones that count. We have discovered things about how my body works and I totally look at the scale as a mere indicator of what is happening but I don’t base my mood on what it is doing.

I can look back on this prep with no regrets.

I am thoroughly enjoying this prep and am a winner regardless of my placing!

I skimmed but will read it while I monitor our state test tomorrow.
But that statement says it all...you (we) are a WINNER(s) by makin the sacrifices and gettin on the stage.

[Wendy]

Thank you for posting this!

[dvsness]

:beerbang: