Everything Else In Bodybuilding

15: Peak Week Strategies For Both Natural And Enhanced Athletes: Debunking The Myths And Delivering The Science with Guest Dr. Guillermo Escalante and Co-Host Vassilios Metropoulos

Welcome back guys! This week I’m very excited to have a guest on the show to shed some light on "peak week" and talk about a recommended protocol from a scientific viewpoint. 

Today with my special co-host, and husband, Vassilios Metropoulos, we interview Dr. Guillermo Escalante who has a doctorate in science, is a professor of Kinesiology, an athletic trainer hired by bodybuilding promotors to oversee the health of the athletes on show day, and is a high level bodybuilder.

Together we deep dive into the history of peak week, we talk about the different variables used in peak week protocols, the misconceptions, and Dr. Escalante shares his recommended strategies for a peak week protocol outlined in the published paper he co-wrote with other scientists and PHDs. 

The direct link to the paper on peak week and the specifics on the protocol can be found here:

Escalante G, Stevenson SW, Barakat C, Aragon AA, Schoenfeld BJ. Peak week recommendations for bodybuilders: an evidence-based approach. BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil. 2021 Jun 13;13(1):68. doi: 10.1186/s13102-021-00296-y. PMID: 34120635; PMCID: PMC8201693.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34120635/

Key Takeaways:
*Introducing Guillermo Escalante (2:30) 
*Dr. Escalante talks about his experience pulling people off stage at a show (5:20)
*How Dr. Escalante got into bodybuilding (7:48)
*Where “peak week” started and the concept of drying out came from (12:45)
*What does it mean to actually “dry out” (14:43)
*What it means to be “flat” versus “spilled over” versus “holding water” on stage (17:00)
*How healthy is this sport? (21:25)
*How much of the “peak week” protocols out there is actually necessary and scientific…and where did they originate from? (25:10)
*Deep dive into Dr. Escalante’s evidenced based paper on recommended peak week protocols and how he and those who co-wrote the paper with came to their conclusions (36:04)
*How “peak week” differs depending on the division you are in (52:39)
*Does Dr. Escalante’s peak week recommendations apply to every bodybuilder regardless of age, whether you are on PEDs or not, etc. (58:36)
*Dr. Escalante responds to high versus low carb diets (1:05:14)
*How to address flying on an airplane as a variable in your peak week protocol (1:11:20)
*Dr. Escalante and his wife are getting ready to compete (1:16:33)
*The worst bro science move Dr. Escalante has ever done when preparing for a show (1:17:38) 
*Whether you are on PEDs or not…Do you need a diuretic? (1:22:16)
*Find Dr. Guillermo Escalante on social media at @doctorgfit on instagram and Guillermo Escalante on Facebook (1:24:11)

Additional Resources:
-Grab your free bikini, figure, or men’s physique posing tutorial at www.learntopose.com
-Discover The Proven Strategies to Winning a Bodybuilding Show That You Will Never Learn At Any Posing Class... Competitor Workshop... or Anywhere Else! (and… What to do about it) at www.posingwinsshows.com
-Grab your “My Own Motivation” tank top at shop.killitwithdrive.com 

 

14: Show Prep Fails - Part 2: When Peak Week Goes Wrong

What you do the final week before your competition can literally make or break how well your physique shows looks at your bodybuilding show.  The “fail” occurs when you make changes during this final week of show that have a irrepairable outcome...and in a bad way.

In part 2 of Show Prep Fails, I go into detail on some personal experiences I’ve had with some final week of show protocols.  I share the ugly truths on how things can go very, very wrong. I share some pointers on things to look out for so these instances don’t happen to you.  And I provide some suggestions on how to avoid your own peak week fails. 

Coming up there will be a part 3 to this sequence that I think you are going to love. 

In the meantime, let me know what resonates with you in our Facebook group called “The ‘Everything Else’ in Bodybuilding Podcast Insiders!”

Key Takeaways:
*What is “peak week” (3:15)
*My story about 8 months of prep down the drain (3:34)
*There is no one size fits all peak week protocol (9:18)
*My story about identical peak week protocols and drastically different outcomes (13:00)
*Some common sense thoughts about peak week (18:50)
*How and when to test your peak week protocol (20:09)
*What’s next! (21:04)

Additional Resources:
-Grab your free bikini, figure, or men’s physique posing tutorial at www.learntopose.com
-Discover The Proven Strategies to Winning a Bodybuilding Show That You Will Never Learn At Any Posing Class... Competitor Workshop... or Anywhere Else! (and… What to do about it) at www.posingwinsshows.com
-Grab your “My Own Motivation” tank top at shop.killitwithdrive.com 

 ——TRANSCRIPT——

The week before your bodybuilding competition is exciting. You will feel a flood of emotions.  You might feel a sense of accomplishment that all of your hard work has finally got you to the point of getting on stage. You made it.  You might also be a nervous Ned or a nervous Nelly and completely doubt yourself and whether you are ready. These are all fears and false beliefs of course.  I’ve had to talk sense into some posing clients in the past here or there who start pulling the only skin they have left on the sides of their waist and telling me to “look at this.”  Can you see my eyes rolling right now?  It’s the same look I give them.  I’m like, yes, you are contorting your body to MAKE skin squeezable.  Of course I’m being silly sarcastic to them like I always am, and I do stop joking and level with them.  I remind them of the road, where they started, where they are now… and that now is the time to put their game face on. It’s been a long road and now is not the time to take their eye off the ball.  

How do I know this?  Because I’ve been there done that many times myself and I have experienced a high like you will never believe when I got on stage and knew I nailed the look.  And then I’ve also got on stage and knew the opposite.  And walked off stage knowing I looked better a week before the show.  This is exactly what I’m going to talk about today.  I’m going to talk about some of my own experiences with peak week and share in detail how they can go very wrong.

If you don’t know what peak week is, it refers to the final week before a bodybuilding contest when many people make last minute tweaks to their nutrition and/or training to try get their body a little leaner or dryer.  The goal is to make their muscles display that much more prominent on show day.  Sounds exciting, right?  

One time I prepared 8 months for a show only for a peak week disaster to cause me to miss the mark with my physique on show day. 8 months. Of. Work. Think about that.  These shows are not like every weekend for most people. If you are constantly trying to improve your physique, it’s in your best interest that you NOT compete very often. So you have time to actually make the improvements.  If you are on PEDs you are a different breed.  That’s a topic for another day.  

In addition to the 8 months of work, there were financial costs that were wasted.  I had to fly for this show so there was flight, hotel, rental car, and of course the entry fees, tan, among other things that had to be factored in.  You’ll hear me say it many times, competing in bodybuilding is not an inexpensive sport.  I had no problem spending this money for something I loved, but to spend it and my physique look worse than it looked literally one week before is a tough one to swallow when I didn’t know how long it was going to be before I got back on stage. 

So what happened,

For the 8 months leading up to the show I was drinking two meal replacement shakes a day and found them easy on the stomach. Yhey gave me a lot of energy for my workouts too. Plus they had 36 grams of protein in them, plus essential vitamins, and enzymes to break down the shakes for better absorption so they were a powerhouse of nutrition. The shakes were the only changes I made to my nutrition.  I worked them into my macros and ate the same amount of meals a day, just swapped out two of them for the shakes.  Visibly my shoulders were growing like weeds, energy was great, and the biggest benefit I found was I had no problem staying lean throughout the year.  I didn’t have any cravings either. I had them in my nutrition all the way up to the final week of show.  Then peak week came around. I was advised to pull out my two shakes and swap them for solid food.  The theory was it would dry me out and I would come in looking leaner and my muscles more prominent at my show the following Saturday.  

You are probably guessing by now that this did not happen.

So let me tell you what DID happen.

At first, the thought of removing my shakes, I was like, ughhh, bummer everything has been going so well. Very quickly I switched my attitude to that of, “if this is what it is going to take to come in my best, then let’s do it.” 

I never back down from putting the work in to make me a champion.  Plus, I was making my pro debut on a new pro stage and I wanted to win.  This pro stage was different than other stages I had been on. From the posing, the judging, the stage walks, basically everything was different.  I think you all know by now I have three pro cards in three very different federations. Some people say they have two or three pro cards but often that is in the same federation. So for example, they might be a figure, bodybuilding, and physique pro, or a bikini and figure pro, but it’s all in the same federation or among similar federations.  But when you cross over to completely different federations with completely different judging, posing requirements, you are in completely new waters.  The overall experience will be completely new.

So here I was, getting ready for this new pro stage, excited for a new experience, and I’m one week out from the show.

I pull the shakes as recommended and swap the shake meals for solid proteins. 

At the end of day 1 my stomach felt full from all the solid food but I figured it would pass since I was also doing additional cardio.  I hoped the cardio would help me utilize the food better. 

By mid day, day 2, it became more difficult to get the food down. I wasn’t hungry and my stomach felt full all the way up to the spot underneath my breast bone.   I still got my food in though.  

By the evening of day 2 my stomach started to physically hurt.  

The morning of day 3 I was battling being able to eat at all.  

By lunchtime day 3, I could not eat any more solid food.  My stomach felt full to the brim, hurt quite a bit, and I felt like I was going to vomit if I ate anymore.  I struggled getting through my workouts too.  So I skipped a meal or two and ate a lighter meal at the end of the day with maybe about 3 ounces of protein and a tablespoon of some fat.

By day 4, which was the Thursday before the Saturday show, I added back in just a plain whey protein shake, not a meal replacement, to at least get some protein in. I did the same on Friday too. 

By Friday the pain had subsided, but I still wasn’t 100% well.  Plus, by now, the effect of the nutrition changes was visible…and not in a good way.  My body was stressed.  The cuts that were in my legs the weekend before were soft and I did not have the prominent muscular look that we hoped for.  The resulting changes to my physique were completely opposite of what was the goal of peak week.  So not only was it a miserable week being sick to my stomach, there was literally nothing I could do on show day to reverse the negative effects from the week.

But here’s the thing. There was no science that backed this peak week protocol.  And not only was the week of show memorable in not a good way, 8 months of hard work got thrown down the drain because I did not bring my best physique to the stage. What a waste. Kind of like when someone shows up unprepared with their hair, makeup, suit, or posing and stage presence skills and looks like a hot mess on stage when they could’ve avoided it.  Such a waste too.  At least with proper hair, makeup, and posing and stage presence preparation you can control looking prepared.  You can just redo your hair for example.  To me there is so much help in these areas  these days that there really is no excuse for being unprepared in any of these areas.

With peak week protocols, not so much.

Did you know that there is not one exact peak week protocol that works for everyone?  The person you are working with, no matter who they are, how many years they have been coaching, or how many degrees he or she has, is still testing their protocols on you to find out what works for you?  And don’t get me going on these contest prep coaches that literally have the only credential of winning a pro show next to their name now calling themselves expert coaches. Please.  Often there is zero science education behind him or her and most likely no real knowledge of human physiology at all.  I know top level coaches who resort to giving their bikini athletes specific PED protocols to minimize their room for error peaking you.

Look, if you are general wellness and lifestyle and not looking to do contest prep, by all means, work with the fancy named coaches.  When I owned my fitness facility I would give nutrition consults to the general public that came to my gym to work out.  Heck I even had an entire movement in my community called the Michele Approved movement where I designed healthy menu options at various restaurants and even took it as far as to have a grocery list at a super market with about 250 shelf tags throughout the store for shoppers to cross reference the grocery list.  Sales of the menu items and grocery list items skyrocketed for these businesses.  I never took a penny from them either. 

Instead I wanted people to know my fitness facility was unlike any other.  When I did 1 on 1 nutrition consults with gym members, I would look at what they were eating and I would make recommendations based on their goals, lifestyle, and always took into account their current nutrition regimes. I have found that a lot of nutrition is about psychology too so everything was customized to the person and what was doable to them.  All the little improvements did in fact help them improve.  I didn’t want to be that gym where everyone showed up looking the exact same month after month, year after year, especially when they worked with someone from my personal training staff.  You’ve probably seen this occur yourself in your own gym..  People spending thousands of dollars to work with a personal trainer only to look NO different.  Nope, didn’t want that for my gym members.

For this reason, anyone that incorporated my nutrition advice, transformed.  I knew from years of competing that nutrition was an integral part of making physique changes.  The exact nutrition changes are specific to the person and where they are in their journey.  But I currently draw the line at nutrition for contest prep.  Even with the nutrition certifications I have and continue to acquire, including the latest one I did called The Flex Diet Certification under Dr. Mike T. Nelson, one of the smartest people I know, I still won’t, as of today, do someone’s contest prep nutrition.  

I will be coming out with a program that is lifestyle related in the near future with my husband Vassilios that will address common pitfalls in nutrition and training, for nominal amount you guys, so nothing crazy.  I’ll share more about it when the time comes.  As for contest prep, as of right now I refer contest prep nutrition to the smartest people I know who understand its complexity from a science backed approach.  Instead, my focus is the Posing Wins Show program which is the gold standard in the industry with tools and strategies you won’t find anywhere else.  I can’t say enough about it obviously because it’s a passion of mine.  My point about nutrition for contest prep is that not everyone is qualified to be an expert in it. Tons of likes and followers, a trophy, or a pro win doesn’t make someone an expert. Especially when it comes to contest prep.

So I talked about how not one exact peak week protocol works for everyone but let me also ask you…

Did you also know that your body will not necessarily respond the same way to the protocol you did for the show you did prior?  

I can remember a show where I came in ON POINT.  The look was absolutely nailed and it was another pro debut.  I remember being on stage and being in, wait for it, LAST callout.  I was standing in the back of the stage under the lights with like 2 other people.  What you would consider the best in the group of women on the stage had already been called up to the front of the stage and compared amongst each other while the rest of us stood like potted plants at the back of the stage.  I remember that sinking feeling when it was down to like a couple of us and I hadn’t been called up yet.  I was like, well, no turning back now. When I was finally called up with those two other people, I did not let what I was feeling inside change my presentation.  It was time to perform, so step up.  This was pre-judging. I walked off the stage and was ok because I knew I brought my best package to the stage.  That was my win.  And no one could take that away from me. I didn’t wallow in my sorrow and kept my nutrition on point between pre judging and finals so I would continue to hold my conditioning and not lose the look that I worked so hard to achieve.  

So finals comes around. We are pros so the MC introduces us individually by our first and last names to the audience.   I come out, hit my signature power pose, flash a few more of my best poses, and get back in line. The MC then starts to do callouts again because the judges weren’t finished judging.  The first batch of people are called out.  Nope, not me in it.  As expected. Another few people are called up to stand with them.  Nope not me.  Still not surprised.  

Then all of a sudden, I hear my name.  I’m like, wow, that’s an improvement from being last. I try to contain my excitement, breathe, and walk up to the line with the rest of the women.  Here I am standing at the very end of the row.    There is a little bit of a pause in the judging.  I look over to the judging table and I see whispering going on.  We are all waiting for the next call.  To my surprise, I hear my name called, and I am asked to move all the way to the center of the stage next to last year’s Champion.  What a moment.  I walk over, get into my pose, and we go through another round of comparisons with me staying right there on stage.  It was such a drastic change of events that I’ll never forget.  You just never know you guys.  When you come in on point, you need to never fall off your game and present yourself your best. 

I absolutely nailed the look for this show.  It wasn’t easy and a couple days before the show my body dried out so much that my arms would suction at the elbow when I did a lat pull down.  My legs looked sick and the quad cuts were deep.  And nope, I never took a diuretic, in fact never have taken one.  This was literally accomplished ALL with nutrition.  It was literally the best I ever looked and the worst I ever felt.  It paid off and I walked off stage going from last callout to finishing with a 2nd place trophy behind the champion from the prior year who re-claimed her crown.  

So the following year, when it was time to get back up on that SAME stage, the idea was to NOT. Change. anything. 

So I followed the exact same protocol that I did the year before to a T. You know what happened?  Absolutely nothing.  No deep quad cuts, no crazy dryness.  That exact same protocol did NOT work.  I was still really lean, but I didn’t have that crispness and deep separation that I had the year before.

So again, my body did not respond the same way to the protocol I did for the prior show.  This wasn’t as obvious as a peak weak disaster as the one I told you about where the food was drastically changed. But this is still a fail.

I’ve speculated many times about the WHY on the cause of this fail.  I’m not a scientist, but I believe our bodies are constantly evolving.  So my body was literally not the same body it was at the year before.  Think about it, if you are constantly improving your physique, in theory, you should have an improved package in some way.  Maybe you have more muscle overall, like me, I had accomplished building more size in the year between shows.  

Or maybe if you took extra time off and you were successful in making a body composition change, meaning you added muscle to areas that are lacking and/or trim areas that are over dominant. So overall you ARE different.  

Or maybe it’s overall stress too.  I had torn a hamstring about 8 weeks prior to this show and trained through the pain.  

Let’s also add in the fact that when you are doing contest prep for a bodybuilding show, you are bringing your body fat levels down much further than just looking hot on the beach.  There will come a point when your body literally thinks it’s starving.  In addition, for women, this can mean a loss of your menstrual cycle because your body fat levels are too low for your body to focus on reproduction.  I remember for one show it took me 6 months to get my cycle back after a show.  6 months.  Crazy huh?  And I’ve never used any performance enhancing drugs, so this was purely a loss of menses from low body fat levels and the stress on the body that comes with the territory.  

Overall the scenario from the prior show to the current show I was doing wasn’t the same.

So the moral of this is to not think that there is a cookie cutter peak week protocol that is going to work for every show.  

Now if you have a coach that resorts to giving you PEDs like estrogen blockers, like nolvadex, to lean out your legs and glutes, then that’s a whole different scenario. 

So as you can see, contest prep is no easy feat. And what you do the final week before the show can literally throw out the window all that you did to prepare for the months leading up to the show.

In my opinion, from many lessons learned from 20 years of doing this, I do believe that no two show preps are the same, but there should be some common sense involved.  I do not believe anything drastic should be done the week of show at all.  I think that at the end of the day, if you aren’t lean enough and you are trying to do something quick to fix it, you are setting yourself up for disaster.  Your body is in a super sensitive condition and even small changes can have a drastic effect.  If you aren’t lean enough, you should push out the show.  There will always be another show.  Your stress levels have to be factored in and action should be taken to minimize them as well.  Your health and wellness should always be a priority. 

By the way, some contest prep coaches will not dial you into a show with protein shakes in your nutrition and will ask you to pull them out.  If you want to pull out protein shakes for whatever reason, in my opinion, I would not do it last minute.  I would slowly taper the shakes down over many weeks prior to your show to allow your body to adapt to changes in nutrition. 

I would also plan to be ready for a show weeks before the show, not torpedo like you’re sliding into home base head first to score the point.  I literally mean weeks before.  If you want to try any peak week protocols, let them be small changes, that you know will have a positive affect on you because you tested them….on YOU, not heard about them from a friend.  

So it’s with the testing that you find out which peak week protocol you should do for THIS upcoming show…and it is also the time you will find out whether the protocol you did for the prior show will even work this time. 

This testing should be done weeks prior to the show, so you have time to make adjustments should any tests not have a favorable outcome.  Again, be ready weeks before the show so you can test with a contest ready physique for more accurate results.  Even small changes like adjustments to your carbs or fats can make your muscles look flat or full.  I’ve come into shows with my physique on point and I’ve come into shows where I was flat as a pancake.  A lot of how to do this is backed by science so don’t waste your time with anyone that doesn’t have a science background or a solid understanding of the human body.  Peak week should be small changes, nothing drastic and you should prepare for this before the show, and not do any last minute tests right before you get on stage.  So no guessing the week of show.  

In fact, I’m going to be having a guest on the show in the near future who, along with four other people that are PHDs and scientists, who together published a paper recently that reviews the current pre-contest peaking protocols that are most commonly used by bodybuilders. This review provides evidence-based recommendations on safe and effective strategies for peak week protocols. 

We are also going to talk about the differences in peaking someone who only uses nutrition and training to prep for shows versus someone who uses PEDs to prepare for shows. These scenarios are completely different and I think a lot of people who start with coaches who automatically use PEDs with their clients don’t realize that this is not the only way to prep for shows. And that there is a science based approach to peak week that will optimize your chances of actually peaking when you are NOT on PEDs. Swapping out liquids to solids the week of show was a bro science protocol.  There is too much bro science in this industry and it’s time to elevate the science.  

I think you guys are going to love hearing exactly what people with actual scientific background have to say about peak week.  I will continue to bring you guys more truth talk from credible people and no bro science or fluff.  So stay tuned for the follow up to this episode. I’ve got a lot more coming.

In the mean time, if you are ready to do something completely awesome for yourself and leave no stone unturned in your show prep, then go to www.posingwinsshows.com and Discover The Proven Strategies to Winning a Bodybuilding Show That You Will Never Learn At Any Posing Class... Competitor Workshop... or Anywhere Else! (AND... WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT). Learn things you won’t learn anywhere else and go to posingwinsshows.com  Also, like I said before join the discussion in the Podcast Insiders group if you haven’t already.  I’ll see you on the next episode!

 

13: Show Prep Fails - Part 1: When Relationships Go Wrong

What is unique about bodybuilding that can cause stress in various relationships?  How do you prevent it?

Today I’m starting a new series on my show with the main topic being “show prep fails.” The first discussion I’m going to tackle is where relationships can go wrong.  I dive into three specific types of relationships in life and the potential issues that can surface when you compete.  I provide suggestions on how to maneuver potentially awkward situations and suggestions on how to minimize future issues too. 

My goal of this show is for you as a listener and potential bodybuilder to always feel empowered in your decisions and to not feel like you are being selfish if you make decisions that will ultimately fill up your cup.  I want people to know it’s ok to do what’s best for you in bodybuilding. 

And you will always have an unbiased resource here (me! hi! *waving*) shouting from the rooftops, cheering for you, wanting to see you manifest the greatness within you.

Let me know what resonates with you in our Facebook group called “The ‘Everything Else’ in Bodybuilding Podcast Insiders!”

Key Takeaways:

*My story from childhood on how change affected a key friendship (3:00)
*Why relationships in bodybuilding are special (5:49)
*Why the “team” concept has exploded (6:31)
*Bodybuilding is not a “team” sport (11:02)
*Control vs Influence (13:26)
*Navigating relationships with your significant others (15:00)
*Finding your voice (19:57)
*Do something awesome for yourself (21:19)

Additional Resources:
-Find out three secrets you won't learn at a competitor workshop or posing class at www.posingwinsshows.com
-Grab your “My Own Motivation” tank top at shop.killitwithdrive.com 

----TRANSCRIPT----

Welcome back guys! I have a new series I’m going to do that is all about show prep fails. In this series I am going to cover common themes and things that go wrong in show prep. Today in Part 1, I’m going to talk about all things regarding relationships and things that go wrong.  If this podcast hits a chord with you, feel free to share your thoughts in the group I have on Facebook called the “Everything Else “in Bodybuilding Podcast Insiders.

Throughout our lives we try to make friends and build meaningful relationships so that we have people to share our experiences with. At some point we come into our own and start new paths that take us in completely different directions.  This can mean the end of a chapter and the beginning of a new one. Often there are friends in our lives that don’t understand our new paths and don’t want you to change. They don’t understand that you are evolving and growing.   They might even say or do things that are hurtful to try to keep you in their life as they know you.  

I remember one time I was in grade school and I was starting to make new friends in school.  These girls were part of the “cool” crowd.  I had a friend that was not part of the cool crowd who lived on the same street at me. Growing up we hung out a lot and always created dance routines together to music on the radio. The 80s was all about dance scenes in movies and I embodied this to the max. I was always dancing and creating choreography either by myself, with my cousins, or with this friend.  When I started making new friends, my old friend got jealous. 

One day, I was at her house playing again and got hungry.  By the way, I don’t know about you guys, but there was always food at my house and my grandparents houses. My grandmother would feed me a stack of waffles and when I got through one of them, five more showed up. So I never understood when I would go to friends houses there would never be food. Like ever. It would come time for lunch and I’d end up with a piece of bread or something. I mean does no one eat?  So anyways, here I am making dance routines and I’m freaking hungry.  I ask for a snack and she goes and gets this coffee cake thingy her mom made. I mean really, coffee cake. I’m like, mmmm YES finally something good to eat. So she goes to hand me the piece of cake and then pulls it back and says, I am only going to give you this if you promise you will never change. That you won’t be friends with these new people and you will stay the same person.  

I was really young but I knew this wasn’t right.  I didn’t know it was blackmail at the time, but I knew it wasn’t fair.  I mean, really, I’m freaking hungry and am being served an ultimatum by a close friend while a piece of coffee cake is being waived in front of my face. I left her house that day and felt funny about the whole situation.  I felt deceived and I couldn’t shake the feeling.  

That was the last day I went over her house to play. 

Walking away from friends that don’t align with your path is never easy.  It becomes harder when you actually do evolve, and they don’t like the new you.  You might be more confident, you might have a physical transformation that they don’t like, or you might be overall spending less time with them and they feel left out. I think after that friendship I distanced myself from all friendships. I kept people at arms length so that I wouldn’t be cornered again. I didn’t see it coming and I never wanted to be backed into a corner like that again. It wasn’t until I was 20 and got into bodybuilding that I met my best girlfriend Shelley in the gym while she was getting ready for a bodybuilding show at 47 years old. She became my closest girlfriend and is still near and dear 20+ years later. 

Why? I don’t know.

There is something about the friendships you make in bodybuilding the are different. There is like this unspoken code amongst competitors. It’s like when you see two motorcycle riders pass by each other and they wave to each other and nod. It’s a thing. With bodybuilders I think it has to do with having gone through show prep and knowing what it really takes to do a show.  You will never really know unless you do one.  I think it also has to do with how alone you feel in the environments around you unless you are in a bodybuilding Mecca or something. Most people don’t have that luxury and prepare for shows in their local gyms where you might even be the only bodybuilder in the whole facility.  So when you meet people at the shows often times you make friends back stage and these friendships carry on long after the show. 

I think this is why teams have become so popular because they provide a support system that many do not have anywhere else, including at home with their families. Cathy Savage pioneered the concept of teams before anyone in the industry. I remember meeting Cathy in 2004 at one of her camps and then by 2007 there was literally hundreds of competitors flying in from all over the world to her annual Camp Savage event. It was in the middle of January in Boston so there was zero weather incentive to be there.  But people came anyways despite 20 degrees and windy temperatures. That’s how much people wanted CONNECTION.  

Since then the team concept has exploded and now you have teams everywhere, all around the world.  The irony of the “team” concept is I think they can become quite isolating for competitors, and can even bring on a feeling of peer pressure.  Sounds weird, I know, but hear me out.  Remember that idea of evolving I was talking about?  Think about what happens when a competitor who started on a team and now wants to try something new and the team or the coach doesn’t approve. They feel a pit in their belly because they don’t want to leave the support system of their team, but they also don’t want to be limited on what they can do with their competition career either.  

“Can Do.”  Those words. Geez, just verbalizing it irritates me.

I honestly don’t understand why grown adults allow themselves to be told what they can and can’t do with something that is a hobby.  That’s like being a golfer at a particular golf club and deciding that you want a change.  So you find a new golf course to spend your thousands of dollars at, but when you tell your friends at the old golf club about your switch, you are faced with little to no support and a lot of push back.  Sounds ridiculous, right? But, how is bodybuilding any different? Unless it’s your literal career, bodybuilding is a hobby where you will ABSOLUTELY spend thousands of dollars to participate.  From suits, entry fees, travel, tanning, contest prep coach, and posing coaches, it is absolutely going to rack up into the thousands.  

Just my clients alone, when I was doing 1 on 1 sessions, I went through their accounts recently and added up how much they have spent with me over time.  YUP, THOUSANDS. 

Part of why I made the Posing Wins Shows program. It is a curriculum that you have lifetime access to no matter when and where you compete.  It’s a one time cost.  Want to compete in NPC? OCB? WBFF? WNBF? Fitness Universe? NANBF? I could go on you know…plus what’s cool is includes a community that is like an ongoing posing lesson and accepts everyone, men and women, all divisions, all federations.  The unique support system that is growing in the group because of the diversity is incredible.  I just did one of our group classes the other night, yes there is weekly face time with me included, and there was a moment we talked about different federations. I told the group that the cool part about being a part of this program is you can compete anywhere, and you will have not just the support, but the education from the only person qualified to teach the posing for all federations and divisions.  

Someone in the group is doing her first show in the NPC federation and wants to switch to OCB or WNBF in the future. Guess what, she not only feels empowered to make those changes, but has the support from the group, and will receive the proper instruction to make those changes to her posing when the time comes.  

Another person is doing an OCB show coming up, but in the future is thrilled by the idea of the glam and over the top concept of the WBFF federation.  When the time comes for her to make that switch, she can make those changes effortlessly from someone who can help her.  

She won’t feel peer pressure to stay in a federation.  

She won’t feel like she needs to go seek out a whole new teacher to help her with the posing and stage presence requirements either. 

She has a one stop resource for life that encourages her and supports her no matter where she wants to compete.  

And another person in the group, one of our male competitors, got served some awful news last week.  The competition he was planning to do got canceled and he was left spinning wondering what to do.  You know what he did?  He knew he could ask me for guidance on what to do next.  He knew he was going to get an unbiased answer on where and when to compete.  He has pivoted and now has a brand new show to focus on.

I think the team concept has blinded people to the fact that bodybuilding is not a team sport.  It is an individual sport.  And that the team should be the support system lifting you up no matter what your goals are.  What I loved about Cathy Savage and her team concept back in the early 2000s was that she never told someone they couldn’t compete in one federation or another.  She was very honest about her opinions on the various federations and would freely tell people what she thought, but ultimately, she never disallowed a competitor to compete somewhere. She still prepped them no matter where they wanted to compete.  I think all teams should be supportive and not suppressive.

Having a support system is a must and teams do fill that void, but from a career standpoint, when a team is more suppressive than it is supportive, it can keep you from growing as well.  Just like that feeling I had when my friend wouldn’t give me a snack because she didn’t want me to change, if you feel a pit in your belly that you “can’t” do what you want to do or compete where you want to compete because your coach says no, then you got things twisted up real good. 

Let me repeat, bodybuilding is not a team sport. 

One person gets one trophy.  YOU did that.  YOU won that trophy. You don’t see any contest results that list off the team name, do you?  No it’s the individual person.  You don’t hear that Lebron James won the NBA championships do you? No, he wasn’t the only contribution to that championship.  You hear the Lakers won the championships because it was the efforts of ALL on the team who did the work.. Lebron might win a MVP award that showcases his excellence on the team, but again, it was the efforts of the team that won, so the banner that goes up in the gymnasium with the championship title on it says “Lakers” not Lebron.  

In bodybuilding, there is no such thing as the contribution of the entire team being the reason You won your trophy.  The team is your support system.  Your friends.  But make no mistake that it was YOU that measured every ounce of food that you put in your mouth, YOU that got up at ungodly hours just to get your training in, YOU that lifted every dumbbell or barbell, YOU that pushed your self in the gym every day, week after week, month after month, YOU that went rogue from your team and contacted me to immerse yourself in my signature program because YOU wanted to do something for YOURSELF to level up your stage presence and increase your chances of winning.  YOU did all that.  And all this happened regardless of who was on your team. 

It absolutely baffles me how many bodybuilders, and I mean all of you, from bodybuilding to figure to physique to bikini, how may of you allow your decisions to get better, improve, change, evolve to be controlled by others. Not influenced. Influenced is not the same as controlled. You can ask for someone’s opinion or guidance as influence but weigh your options in your head yourself and ultimately make your own decision.  I’m talking about control. When it’s like you are asking for permission from the people around you on decisions as if you have no say. At the end of the day, I think being on teams can be really fun and produce a camaraderie you might not find anywhere else. But where I draw the line is when the influence of the team environment keeps you from growing. 

One of my favorite quotes by Einstein goes something like, follow the crowd and you will get no further than the crowd. The person that walks alone is likely to find himself in places no one has ever seen before.  

Think about that for a second. I mean, really. Think about it. You are influenced by your environment, but you can change your environment at any point.  If you are around people who don’t support your growth and evolution, you can change that. You are in control of your decisions. And being a part of an individual sport requires you to do what’s best for you to reach your highest potential.  If you are just looking for friendships, this sport will provide you connections you will never find anywhere else while you are on your individual path to greatness.  It’s important to keep that distinction.  That teams will provide you support, but the team is not responsible for your success.  YOU are.

But let’s talk about relationships of a different kind.   Relationships with your significant others.  

Relationships with significant others aren’t so easy to navigate when your significant other knows you one way, and you start to evolve, and one day decide you want to try something like a bodybuilding show. Up until this point so much of your life has been built around this other person.  You might even feel like life is passing you by and you want not do something great for yourself.  And the affect on the relationship can go one of two ways. Either your significant other will be genuinely excited for you and want to see you do something for yourself. Orrrr, your significant other will dislike your attention going elsewhere and not support you at all.  

Just the other day, I had someone reach out to me to join my signature program, Posing Wins Shows.  I had never met her before so I didn’t know anything about her or her goals.  So we chatted for a bit and she told me how excited she was to do her first show and wanted to get on stage late summer. She wanted to look incredible and give it her best shot and was beyond excited to have the opportunity to work with me through my program.  She was like, I need this! and couldn’t wait to get started. 

Next thing you know, I get a message from her saying that her boyfriend told her absolutely not and called her crazy.  And then out of nowhere, she blocks me on social media. In my head I said forget working with me, girl, there is nooo freaking way you are ever going to do a show with that kind of attitude at home.  Am I right guys?

A lot happens during the time you prepare for a show. The show prep becomes life consuming.  Food. Training. Sleep. Posing Practice.  Add family commitments and children in there, you still have to find time for all of this stuff.  And somehow you do!  Without a support system from your significant other, it will add a whole other layer of stress to an already stressful endeavor. This person I was talking about is never going to do a show because the ONE person in her life that is supposed to lift her up and encourage her, thinks doing something for her that excites her is CRAZY.  How freaking controlling is that?!  It’s actually quite sad.  

No one should ever dim your glow. 

But there is one more thing that happens during show prep.  Especially for new people.  You CHANGE. And in more ways than just one.

You learn a lot about yourself.  You discover things about yourself you didn’t know before.  You grow more confident.  Your aesthetics change.  Your body morphs into a shape you have never seen before.  When you go places people compliment you.  And these changes will either bring out the best or the worst in your relationships.  I’ve seen significant others be the biggest cheerleaders.  Imagine families wearing shirts with your name on it at your competition to show their support. And then I’ve also seen these changes cause a strain in relationships because the other person becomes jealous and doesn’t like that the new you is getting this attention and that you are delegating some of your focus onto yourself.  Unless you are becoming an arrogant ass, their disapproval is usually because this new you means you are dedicating some time to filling up your cup instead of pouring yourself into everyone else’s cup, including theirs.  

This is not support.  

And this eye opener doesn’t often come until you are deep into your show prep.  So the girl who wasn’t allowed to make a decision for herself because her significant other called her crazy, isn’t even into show prep yet and already has little support for her desire to do something great for herself. This, my friends, is exactly what I mean about a relationship disaster during show prep.  

The bottom line here is you absolutely need to be in control of your life, and your decisions, or you won’t make it through prep.  And if you actually do putter your way through and somehow make it on stage, the strain on the relationship won’t go away until you return back to the “old” normal or the other person has a come to Jesus moment seeing you on stage, starts to acknowledge all your hard work and your joy from it, and then evolves WITH you.  

You need to have a conversation with your significant other before you begin the process.  I highly suggest you include this person in some capacity as well.  He or she might not want to do a show, but perhaps he or she can be a part of a physical transformation as well.  If they are already in decent shape, maybe they can plan to do a photoshoot right around the time of your show with you.  Ultimately I suggest you try to include them in some capacity if you can.  

Or maybe, if they have their own hobbies that they enjoy and simply want to see you do something for yourself, and they don’t need to be intimately involved in your show prep process.  That’s fantastic too, but let’s say golf is their hobby.  Going to play golf on the weekends as their expensive hobby isn’t the same as your expensive hobby of doing a bodybuilding show.  Your hobby isn’t a weekend thing. It’s an every day thing.  And I think it’s a good idea for them to be in the know on this beforehand.  

I also think they need to know more than just the specifics on the show prep itself.  You should really share how much this hobby means to you.  Many might not understand and think competing is all about total vanity at first. And that’s ok.  Not everyone is really going to “get” bodybuilding.  At the end of the day, you don’t have to “get’ why they love golf and how they can even watch it on tv for more than 2 minutes without falling asleep, right? So he or she doesn’t have to “get’ why you love bodybuilding.  

What you both do “get” is that each of you loves your hobbies and you both love seeing the other person happy.  You also “get” that you are both allocating money and time towards your hobbies and neither hobby is more important than the other.  Relationships are a two way street.  And communication is an absolute must.  In fact, have your significant other listen to this episode so they can gain a better understanding of what this sport entails.  Help them understand more.

Ok guys, I hope the biggest takeaway from this episode is to find your voice and communicate your dreams and desires.  Whether it’s with your close friends who don’t get why you want to do a show, your family, your coach, your team, and your significant other, it’s important to provide info about what it is you want to do and ask for their support.  How about saying, “I really want not do this thing, it means a lot to me, and I would love your support.”  Instead of just putting up with naysayers, come out and ask for their support.  If they truly care about you and seeing you happy, they will want to support you.  You so got this!

And by the way if you are ready to do something completely awesome for yourself then go to www.posingwinsshows.com and find out the three secrets that are holding you back from looking your best and winning a show….annnnd what you can do about it.  It’s never too early to get started.  If you want to be great at something your efforts have to be great.  Also, like I said before join the discussion in the Podcast Insiders group if you haven’t already.  I’ll see you on the next episode for part 2 of this series of show prep fails!

See you soon!

12: What Are The Differences In Show Prep At 20, 30, and 40+?

Does age matter when competing?  

The topic of age is on the forefront lately with some federations changing their rules on age minimums and what age quantifies as “masters” divisions. I started competing at 20 years old all the way through my 30s and now into my 40s.

On this episode I’m going to talk about the differences I’ve noticed with competing at 20, 30, and 40+ years of age. I’m going to walk through seven different topics like training intensity, aesthetics, metabolism, recovery, emotional, belief, and reasons for competing. 

Let me know what resonates with you in our Facebook group called “The ‘Everything Else’ in Bodybuilding Podcast Insiders!”

Key Takeaways:

*Training Intensity and Recovery (4:23)
*Pain Tolerance (5:51)
*Metabolism, NEAT, and Sleep (8:41)
*Aesthetics (11:10)
*Emotional (13:09)
*Reasons for competing and level of belief (15:42)
*If you are ready to do something awesome for yourself then go to www.posingwinsshows.com (19:17)

Additional Resources:
-Find out things you won't learn at a competitor workshop or posing class at www.posingwinsshows.com
-Grab some “My Own Motivation” swag at shop.killitwithdrive.com 

----TRANSCRIPT----

Welcome back guys! Wow the last episode sparked a lot of conversation which I really love.  hope you do join us in the everything else in bodybuilding podcast insiders group on Facebook to chat about the episodes, contest prep, and the industry as a whole. There are men and women from all federations and divisions there. 

One question that has come up a few times in the feedback on the shows I’ve been doing and the conversations we are having in the Facebook group for listeners of this podcast is the subject of AGE in bodybuilding. In fact the topic of age is coming up more and more. 20+ year olds in the NPC/IFBB are breaking records as youngest pro card winners of divisions with the amount of muscularity not typically seen in the youth.  

Just this year, the NPC announced they are restricting the age of contestants to a minimum of 18 years of age.  On the flip side federations are continuing to add more opportunities for competitors over 35. You can get a pro card at 35 and 40 and not have to stand next to a 20 year old to do it.  Jake Wood, the owner of the Olympia contest in the IFBB federation just announced that he plans to bring back the Master’s Olympia by 2023. It has yet to be determined if the Master’s Olympia age requirement will start at 40 or 45.  

The debate over the starting age of the Master’s divisions is found across all federations.  The WBFF starts at 35 and as of 2022 the OCB just dropped the age from 40 to 35, while currently the WNBF master’s age category starts at 40.      

Why does age matter when competing?  Does it?  Well I can tell you from experience that preparing for shows at 20 is much different than preparing at 40. Some of it has to do with experience alone. You figure out your body and what works for you and what doesn’t. No matter how many studies there are out there, there are always people in the studies that are outliers. 

I remember listening to an analysis of study that tested different levels of carbs and weight loss. Calories were kept the same. Some people with less carbs lost weight and some poor soul gained weight.  Over time as you continue to do shows you will build an intimate relationship with your body and learn how it responds to different nutrition and training strategies so you don’t have to waste time and effort on things that don’t work for you.  This is an advantage of age. 

But I want to talk about some other differences competing at 20 versus 30 versus 40 for you to consider. I came up with about 7 of them.  And again these are all my thoughts and opinions.

Let’s talk about training intensity and recovery.  I’m going to lump these two concepts together. I hired my first trainer at 20 years old when preparing for that fitness modeling contest. This experience was both good and bad. The good part is I learned proper form quickly and didn’t have to waste time ping ponging around the gym trying to figure out what to do all day. My energy levels where really good and I could handle whatever was thrown at me.  More was more with this trainer, and I didn’t know any better, so the weights I was pushing was super heavy. About six months in I had to visit a chiropractor and have a rib adjusted after it slipped out of place.  I bounced back pretty quickly and didn’t think much of it. 

By the time I hit my 30s I had enough time and experience under my belt to realize that consistency was key but was still training 6 days a week with a lot of volume. The amount of output was very taxing and I found my recovery from this was not the same as it was in my 20s. In my 20s I could hang, but in my 30s it was getting to be too much. Aches and pains were starting to pile up. There is only so long you can push the gas peddle full throttle before the car has had enough. Am I right?

Now at 40 I train a lot smarter and wish I knew then what I know now. Now I have de-load weeks where I drop the volume and then over the next few weeks I slowly bring it back up.   So my intensity is cycled and not full throttle 7 days a week anymore. 

Which leads me to pain tolerance. At 40+ I respect my recovery and listen to my body, but I’m not lolly gagging around the gym.  I don’t just grab heavy weights to do them or have a training partner that forces a ton of reps out of me. Instead, I methodically build up my strength with both weights and reps. I can be on a leg press and gauge the level of suck pretty good. I have been at 15 reps and know that I have been able to withstand a greater level of pain, good pain that is, so I know I can handle more, so I push out another 5 reps. 

These are quality reps by the way, I don’t just toss the weight up for ego.  I breathe through the pain and keep going. Knowing your pain tolerance is also something that comes with time.  I can tell you that if you haven’t been training long, whatever age that is, you probably don’t know your threshold and most likely can handle a lot more than you think. 

Perfect example is my husband. He was doing prescribed workouts on his own and would ask me questions here or there. He wasn’t making as much progress as he liked so he asked for my help. So for a couple weeks I was with him as he did his prescribed workouts. And here is the difference. He let me dictate the amount of weight he used. After those couple of weeks he realized he was capable of a lot more and learned how to progress up in weight safely and effectively.  

Another example was back when I owned my gym one of my favorite posing clients asked if I would help her with her HIIT cardio for fun one day. After the session she turned to me and said, “I have never felt like this when doing HIIT cardio before. I clearly have not been doing HIIT.” In both examples, they learned that they were capable of more than what they thought.  If you are wondering if you are capable of doing more, hire someone with a lot of experience to train with you for a week or two to help you determine your thresholds.  Don’t start a new program with them.  Literally do the program you have been doing and have then take a look at the weight you are using, watch you do the exercises, and give you feedback.  You’ll likely be very surprised!

Pain tolerance also comes with time. The earlier you start training the more time you have to learn this. My husband is learning this in his 30s and this posing client I was talking about was in her 40s. Both were relatively new to structured training.  So pain tolerance is a time thing, not an age thing. Just because you are 40+ doesn’t mean you need to baby yourself because you don’t think you will recover or don’t want an injury.  I’m not saying you need to train like an idiot, what I’m saying is you are probably capable of more than you think.  

Let’s talk about the controversial topic of metabolism.  When I trained for shows in my 20s the weight fell off of me pretty easily. Today in my 40s there is a big difference. Want to know what it is?  NEAT.  Non exercise activity thermogenesis.  Think about it for a second. What activities outside of the gym are you doing?  If you are in your 20s, are you working two jobs, chasing children all day, and barely have enough time to eat a snack?  If you are in your 30s are you working a desk job for 8 hours and the only movement you have in your day is getting up to use the restroom or the walk to the car?  And in your 40s are you achy and not motivated to move around a lot?  

I think a lot of people say their metabolism is crap but don’t realize that they might just move a heck of a lot less than they used to.  I know I do.  I started paying attention to my step count to see how much movement I was doing during the day.  On days that I am on the computer all day, if I didn’t go to the gym, I was maybe 3,000 steps. Yikes. I remember when I was in college I probably moved 3,000 steps before 10am just going to classes.  Track your steps for a few days and see how much you are moving and then let’s talk about your metabolism.  If you are less than 5,000 steps a day don’t even try to tell me you have metabolic damage. Please. I can’t. 

And how about sleep?  There is a recent sleep study where 15 subjects of average body fat (approximately 21%) were locked up in a Chamber for 2 days. During one day they were allowed to sleep normally.  Sleep was measured by an EEG.  On the other stay, they were only allowed to sleep 1 hour at a time, yet for the same duration as they did on day 1.  They were woken up 8 times in one night by an alarm.  What the study found was the night of fragmented sleep resulted in direct impair of fat oxidation thus decreasing their fat loss results. Literally two times as much of a reduction.  Two times. 

So the idea of metabolism isn’t as straightforward as saying I’m just old and my metabolism has slowed down.  You might have either slowed down, literally, with less NEAT or perhaps you are slowing it down yourself with poor sleep habits.  

Another big difference in 20 versus 30 versus 40 is your actual aesthetics. I think there are divisions where youth is on your side and I think there are divisions where age is on your side. In the divisions like bikini where they are looking for a foundation of muscle but not the density of the other divisions, you can start competing at 20 and do great.  In fact that youthful look will be an advantage.  Same with men’s physique. That fresh look will be an advantage.  

When you start getting into the divisions like classic physique, bodybuilding, and figure, muscle density and maturity are the advantage.  People in their 20s have thicker and fuller skin; as we age our skin gets thinner.  Thinner skin can be an advantage to the more muscular divisions by making the muscle tissue more visible.  

One thing to note is regardless of age, you have to put in the time to build muscle.  If you are 40 or 50 and you started training a few years ago, you might have a foundation of muscle but not the density to be competitive yet.  I often see competitors think they just need to get leaner to see their muscle. This is a major misconception because if the muscle isn’t developed, I don’t care how lean you get, you won’t see it. 

Many competitors get the feedback from the judges that they need to build muscle. So they take a couple months to build muscle and then pick a new show and start dialing in for it. Such a big mistake. Muscle takes time. If building muscle is the goal, the last thing you need to do is spend most of the year in a caloric deficit dialing in for a show. My best body composition changes happened with a year of work. No one wants to hear that though.  If your show pictures look the same then you need to take time off and train.  This goes for 20, 30, and 40+.

From an emotional standpoint I think another differences in 20 versus 30 versus 40+ is level of fucks given.  I don’t know about any of you listening but I can honestly say that where I am emotionally today at 40+ the level of care that I have for what people think of me is zero.  I’ve weathered a lot of storms and not much phases me today. Why? Because no matter how bad it got, I got through it and learned what I am capable of.  So today if get the comments that I look like a tranny with all my muscle, I just laugh. I think many trans people are gorgeous not for just their outer beauty, but the inner strength it took them to flip the bird to society and be who they are before the world told them who to be.  

One of the things that I loved the most when I worked with men and women posing clients was not the outward transformation, but the inward confidence that each and every one of them experienced. Which is why I built the Posing wins Shows curriculum so that I could work with hundreds and hopefully thousands of people instead of being limited by the hours in the day working people one on one.  Those of you who are in your 30s, 40s, and even 50s and 60s that have weathered storms and want to do something for YOU, something that makes you feel special, something that lasts far beyond show day, YOU are the reason I built Posing Wins Shows.  

Posing Wins Shows isn’t just about making you look like a star, it’s about making you FEEL like one too.

Think about it…when is the last time you ever really did something for yourself? Do you remember what it was like to pull all nighters, fly by the seat of your pants, be daring, and …. Fun?  Life has a way of flying right by us. We take care of kids and eventually parents, we work 40+ hour weeks doing a job that is just that, a job, something we do but not who we are. 

So many years go by and we forget that part of us that was fun, youthful, effortless, daring, and next thing you know, you are looking in the mirror wondering who you even are anymore. Where did that part of you that made you, you, go?  When you tap into that part of you again, you will feel invigorated, and never let it go again.  And the added bonus?  You don’t have all that care you might have had before about what others think of you.  So you are fearless AND do YOU, not what others think you should do.  Guys and girls; I’m waiting for you at www.posingwinsshows.com

Two other topics I think are relevant when talking about the differences in competing in your 20s, 30s, and 40s are your reasons for competing and your belief. 

I think the reasons for competing are actually quite similar regardless of age. The difference is the level of appreciation we have for the competition journey. When I was competing in my 20s I wanted to see what I was capable of.  I believed I could so I did.  In my 30s and 40s I had the same mindset of wanting to see what I was capable of and still believed I could.  The difference is that seeing that I COULD still do it in my 40s created an added layer of appreciation. Knowing I still got it.  Losing friends to cancer, heart attacks, addiction, and even losing family members from illness or old age built a new relationship with time and the reality that it goes fast.  Mortality is real and can happen at any time.  

I wasn’t thinking of these things at 20. Doing something that makes me feel alive was just a part of life in my 20s. In my 30s the amount of responsibilities I had overshadowed my zest for life. Now in my 40s I have a lot more life to reflect on and it makes me appreciate what I am capable of still doing that much more.  It also makes me not want to ever compromise who I am as a person. I will never not incorporate doing things for me that make me me.  

It took a while to realize that doing things for me is not selfish. At 20 living life was not selfish, it was being a kid.  Responsibilities change us.  Too many years I poured out my efforts to the world and never took the time to fill up my cup.   Too many years I undervalued my time and capabilities and this didn’t allow me to reach my highest potential.  Today I know my worth and am unapologetic about no longer undercharging for my skills and capabilities as an educator.  There are plenty of discount stores out there. But there is only one Tiffany.  

There are generic posing coaches out there in every federation.  But there is only one me. And what people get from working with me they will never find anywhere else. I’m ok with saying that.  I no longer work with people that aren’t a part of my Posing Wins Shows program.  Why? Because I actually want people to become not good, but great.  

Too many people rely on posing sessions for their posing practice and work with generic teachers that are only good for teaching the mechanics of posing.  I teach people how to be great.  And I educate on things no one else knows how to or has the experience to be able to.   Competing in shows in your 30s, 40s, and 50+ you have no choice but to connect with your body and your mind.  You might even tap into a level of competitiveness you never knew you had.   You realize what you are capable of, and if you have weathered a lot of life lessons, you might even develop a level of appreciation for you and what you are capable of that you took for granted.  

You doing something for you breeds life within you.  

Competing at 20 you are fearless.  Competing later in life allows you to find that fearlessness within you AGAIN.      

Guys thanks again for listening! I hope your big takeaway is that bodybuilding is about an evolution of more than just your physique changes.  Also that nothing is really black or white and there is always room for growth both literally and figuratively at every age.  Your attitude and outlook on yourself will change over time if you continue to push yourself past your comfort zone.  If you are ready to do something awesome for yourself then go to www.posingwinsshows.com Also, join the discussion in the Podcast Insiders group if you haven’t already.  I’ll see you on the next episode!

11: Who Should NOT Compete? How To Decide ...

Competing in bodybuilding competitions no matter what federation or division is no easy feat.  There is a lot to consider before you take the plunge and pick a show.  This goes for both new people and veterans. 

My goal of this episode is to share with you seven things that I believe are absolute MUSTs for you to think about beforehand…long before the prep goggles go on.  And to tell some of you that need to hear it that you might want to reconsider the timing of your show until you are REALLY ready, for the right reasons. 

I hope this helps some of you hear the things you NEED to hear right now.

Let’s jump in!

Key Takeaways:
*Assessing your mindset and overall stability (3:59)
*Your relationship with food and exercise (10:42)
*The importance of the contest prep protocol used to prepare for a show and three examples of them (12:55)
*Which protocol I am currently using as I prepare for a show (18:30)
*Considering the affect of contest prep on family and friends (22:08)
*Your expectations from doing a show (24:02)
*Factoring in the costs of competing (27:10)

Additional Resources:
-Fill in all the missing pieces of your show prep that you won't learn at a competitor workshop or posing class at www.posingwinsshows.com
-Grab some “My Own Motivation” swag at shop.killitwithdrive.com 

----TRANSCRIPT----

I remember one of my show preps there was so much buzz around the gym leading up to the show. It was so motivating to feel that support and encouragement every day. The day before I left for the pro World Championships I was surprised with a Good Luck video that included video clips from a bunch of members of the gym giving me personal good luck messages. I had never been so moved in my entire life!  Like who does that?  I didn’t win that show but it didn’t matter. They treated me like a celebrity anyways. 

The road leading up to that competition was a lot of fun. Backing my way out of the show was a lot less fun, naturally. The competition was over, the buzz was over, and it was time to take the feedback I got from the judges and go back to the drawing board.  The aftermath is the part that, if you are planning to compete more than just once as a bucket list item, is equally as important as the actual competition itself. I don’t care what level you are competing on, there is always room for improvement. Post show is really where the magic happens. When the improvements happen, if you let it.  If you are too caught up in yourself and what you looked like on show day and obsessing about keeping that physique, then you are prolonging the improvements.  Eventually you will crash.  Hardcore dieting, whatever diet that is, is not sustainable.  If you are smart, you take constrictive feedback and start thinking like a competitor, someone who wants to win, get better, improve, and focus on the things that will move the needle in that direction.  Post show your mindset needs to go from being attached to your show physique and shift it to thinking more competitively. 

By the way, the show day itself goes by with a blink of an eye. You prepare for this day for months and everything about it is on your mind constantly. Often when the day itself comes, it’s a LONG day, it’s often cold back stage so you are freezing, and it’s a lot of waiting around. At some point you might even say to yourself that you can’t wait for it to be over. And before you know it, it’s over and all that focus you just had leading up to the show needs to be recalibrated into a post show mindset. So moral of this is there has to be more to wanting to compete than just being all about the day itself.  Or the trophy. Like the video my gym members made for me…that was more a memorable moment than the show itself!

An assessment of your mindset and overall stability in life is the first thing you can do to determine whether you should compete or not. And this goes for both new people AND veterans, because these things can change from unforeseen circumstances.  Things you don’t see coming test your faith and your strength.  If your mindset isn’t prepared to compete, you shouldn’t compete.  Competing should only happen when your financial, emotional, and overall life stability are all in a good place.

Let me give you an example of when it’s not.  I hate talking about this time in my life because it brings me back to a dark place I don’t like to remember. But it’s part of what has built me to who I am today so I’ll share it.  I’m a veteran but I am not perfect. I’ve earned pro status in three different federations, and you know what?  Life happens.  Plus one of you listening might be feeling down in the dumps today and need to hear that everything will be ok.

So, about 5-6 years ago I didn’t think I was going to compete again. I was going through a very difficult time in my personal life and survival became my #1 goal. I thought about competing here or there, but I knew that I did not have the mental capacity to balance show prep with my every day life. In fact, during this time, I hit an all time low. I was like 50 or 60 pounds over weight and eating and drinking every day were my only comforts.  One day I ended up in the hospital with pain in the middle of my back that was so severe I couldn’t sit, stand, lie down, nothing to get comfort. My fever was 104 degrees too. The ER doc found fluid in my lungs and immediately put me on broad spectrum antibiotics. I’ll never forget the fun-sized giant needle that was used to extract the fluid from my back.  I remember during the hospital stay while they were trying to manage my fever, I would wake up hallucinating and screaming from crazy nightmares.  A team of people rushed to my bedside to stack tons of ice packs on me to try and cool my fever down.  I was in the hospital for a week and to this day they never figured out what caused the fever or the fluid in the lungs. I was tested for everything. Nope wasn’t pneumonia. Even Lyme disease was checked and came up fine. 

This low was an eye opener for me. I knew that I wasn’t taking care of myself and needed a change. I would look at my contest pictures and cry about how far I fell from my goals. It was very humbling and humiliating to have to start over. I felt like I was starting over in every area of my life. I thought about competing again and said no. I didn’t want to use a show as a goal to get myself back to healthy.  I knew that competing isn’t about health; it’s about competing.  I wasn’t ready to compete because I wasn’t mentally or physically healthy yet.  And I knew I had greater priorities at the moment.  

So instead I told myself I am stronger than this and took my health back one day at a time. At first I just did things at the gym that I enjoyed. Just being there was better than the day before so I was winning. I purposely did no cardio during this time to not teach my body to need it.  ANY change I made would be better.  I lifted maybe 3 days a week at first. At first I could only handle 20 minutes and maybe 2-3 sets of exercise because my cardiovascular health was in the toilet.  Over time my cardiovascular system improved, my strength came back, and eventually so did my motivation to want to compete again…but I still knew this was far out.  And I refused to make it a goal and instead just took it day by day.

During this time of taking back my health, I purposely kept dove dark chocolates in the kitchen cabinet and had them as dessert every night. Again, this wasn’t about deprivation. I wasn’t trying to make a quick fix. I knew from years of competing it’s the slow crawls that reap the longest benefits. That change takes time and consistency.  And that 4 dove chocolates a day weren’t going to kill my progress.  Lack of consistency would.

In fact, keeping the doves in my nutrition and STILL losing all the weight I knew would have a positive effect on my mental well being. You see, if you don’t feel deprived, you won’t stress about being deprived. I can eat a couple bites of a dessert and count it in my calories for the day and not freak out that I had a couple bites of something.  Stressing about food and then going on a month long bender eating the foods you think are bad and hating yourself afterwards- now that is far less healthy, if you ask me.  If it’s trackable, and I stay within my goal macros for the day, it’s on plan.  

It took me a couple years to balance all these things out. Yes, I said years. But it did happen.  And as you know if you’ve been following me here how, I’m currently 18 weeks out from my next competition. The progress has been slow but I feel zero angst. This isn’t my first rodeo with show prep and life. This detached from perfection mindset allows me to focus on other things that need my attention, like my curriculums that I’ve built to help all competitors fill in the gaps that keep them from feeling confident with their posing.  Check it out at posingwinsshows.com if you haven’t.  It took years for me to get back to a healthy weight and mindset and that’s ok. Taking care of me was worth it and so is it for you.  Shows will always be there.  Your health comes first. 

Which leads me to your relationship with food and exercise as another determining factor on whether you should compete. 

One thing I can say happens the most from my experience over the past 20 years in the industry is people’s relationship with their body changes forever when they do a show. This goes for you men too!  You will love being ripped.  I know I do! If you are a competitor, think about it for a moment, how many times do you show your contest pictures and say, this is what I “really” look like. I’ve heard that saying quite often. The funny thing is, you looked like that for like 1 or 2 weeks and then dialed back out of the show to a healthier bodyfat level. So no, that is not the “real you.” This reality is something that takes a long time for some people to come to terms with.  Some never do. Some never recover from finally achieving the body of their dreams and not being able to keep it year round. This is not everyone. Some people are naturally lean and stay that way year round. I’m talking about the ones that aren’t.  I know there are a lot of you.

This sport also attracts many with eating disorders, which can be both a good and a bad thing.  It can be really good for someone who has had a fear of eating and for the first time finds positive reinforcement from eating when their body starts to morph into a more fit and healthy shape.  I’ve seen some top level pros share some seriously disturbing before pics of them suffering from anorexia and/or bulimia before they found fitness.  WBFF fitness model champion Hattie Boydle from Australia comes to mind. And so does IFBB Bikini Olympia champion Elisa Pecini from Brazil.  Both are at the top of the sport and stay fit and healthy year round, despite competing. 

So why do some people fall apart after a show and others who have every reason to fall apart and develop body image issues avoid a post show disaster?

I can’t speak for the exact protocols of people so let me put that disclaimer out there. I can only speculate and offer insight from my own experiences as both a competitor and as a posing coach with clients that come from all different contest prep coaches. 

I think one MAJOR determining factor on whether someone will fall apart after a show and develop body image issues is quite simple. It comes down to the protocol they follow when preparing for their first set of shows.  HOW they prepped for that show.  This protocol either comes from their own research or from a contest prep coach they hire.  One of my first shows of this podcast was about the death of credibility. I talked allll about contest prep coaches and how anyone that can type the word coach can say they are a coach on social media. Because of this, there are a lot of people who struggle with not just mental health but physical health after a show that should never have had to.  Never. No reason for it. They could’ve dialed into a show and probably looked better too.

So having said that, I’ve summarized three types of contest prep protocols used to prepare people for a show.  

Protocol #1. Cuts a ton of carbs right away no matter how far out the show is. You lose a quick 5lbs and are hooked but progress hits a plateau so it must be because of carbs.  At some point carbs are barely there or nonexistent. Eating fruit means getting second place. Tons of cardio is a must too.  Might even get up to 2, 3 hours a day.  Bonus points for your hair falling out.

Protocol #2. Includes PEDs, regardless of whether this is your first show, or how long you have been training.  The supplement list is nonchalantly included with your nutrition and training protocol.  You think this is normal because the coach touts having turned more people into pros than everyone else so you go with it.  Don’t know any different.  Body changes happen quick which is exciting. Some other weird things happen to your body and face too but you don’t think much of it because you are “trusting the process.” 

Protocol #3. Long and slow decent into a show with a coach who might actually have a PHD in nutrition or exercise.  Coach might not look the part or have hundreds of thousands of followers either.  Lots of science involved. Might even include diet breaks. Changes in macros can be as small as 20grams of carbs and ample time given to let the changes to the body take affect.  No dramatic weight loss for an ego boost.  Facts are greater than your feelings.

Think about this for a moment, which of the 3 protocols do you think are less likely to encourage a post show shit storm? 

Let’s talk about #1. Teaches you to think carbs are going to ruin your physique so you try to keep them to a minimum post show too.  You build an unhealthy relationship to carbs too. Also, 2 hours of cardio is hard to maintain but your body has adapted to this level of output. But you don’t have a goal grand enough to keep you motivated to do all that cardio. Plus, you are trained to think that cardio is key to show prep. There is so much that can go wrong post show with this protocol that can impact your relationship to food and nutrition for years.  You might just say fuck it and eat whatever you want post show.  You might never do a show again.  Or you might do shows as a way to chase the physique you had on stage. 

Protocol #2. I have no experience with PEDs but from what I’ve seen and heard from those who have shared their experiences is that this type of protocol teaches you to “need” drugs to get into contest shape. You never learn the power of manipulating nutrition and training alone in contest prep. Never! You never really get the chance to learn your body. If you want to add PEDs in later, that’s up to you. But in the beginning, learn your body. You’d be surprised what just diet and exercise alone can do with consistency.  I remember one time I was Director of US and International Sales for a supplement company and was sent to the Body Power show in England to meet with customers and potential customers. I remember chatting with this girl at the VIP dinner after the show and not realizing that she was a competitor. She honestly, and I don’t mean this with disrespect, she genuinely looked like she didn’t train. I almost fell out of my seat when she told me she was an IFBB Pro figure competitor and was planning to do a show in a few months. I was like, a few months? I would think it would take a year to get back into shape alone. It was sad, she was self conscious, because she knew she didn’t look like she competed and was honest about it with me. I asked her how she was planning to get into shape and she listed off clenbuterol, winstrol, and some compound I can’t remember. It was some sort of an anabolic. She literally came out and said that using these compounds is the secret to her contest prep and she will be ready no problem.  I don’t remember seeing her on stage that season so I don’t know what happened to her.  So again, the moral of this is that starting off with PEDs doesn’t teach you how to contest prep. It doesn’t teach you how to dial in your physique for anything, forget a contest. 

And lastly, protocol #3. Probably the hardest protocol and not for reasons you think. Staying on plan isn’t the issue. It’s PATIENCE and violent consistency that’s an issue. And it’s only getting worse with society wanting everything immediate mentality. How may times have you left your phone aside and someone sent you a text while you were away. They didn’t get an immediate response so they either text again to ask if you got it. 

I’m currently in the protocol #3 camp right now as I prepare for a show this spring/summer. I’m 18 weeks out from my goal and so far nothing dramatic is happening except maybe my waist is getting a little tighter. Cardio is still a couple days a week of 20 minute desaturation work. Lifting days are 4-5. A couple weeks ago calories were reduced and I’m just this week starting to see a downward trend on the scale. I don’t care about the number per se. The scale is one measure of improvement and I’m just looking at it to see trends.  I’ve been doing this for 20 years so I know that it’s a patience game and I don’t freak out about not seeing big changes on the scale. There are a couple reason for this. I learned from the very start how dramatic a small change in macros can have on body composition. The physique changes don’t happen the day after you make the adjustment though. That can be frustrating for some and they give up before the magic happens. Hence the existence of  protocols 1 and 2.

For me, after a macro adjustment, small changes can occur in as soon as one week, and sometimes as I get down to lower body fat levels, a drop might not happen for a couple weeks. Body fat loss isn’t linear. If you are trying to lose 1-2lbs a week, it’s an average. You might go weeks where you see no change and then a big drop. Many get frustrated and want to see immediate results but don’t realize that large swings in weight are likely to be more than just body fat. That they are most likely losing some of that hard earned muscle they spent the rest of the year building. Slow and steady preps also keep stress levels in check. Once you get to the low body fat levels there is no way around the stress it has on the body. But that is short lived and remedied pretty quick when you dial out of the show to a body fat level your body is happier at.  

The key to having a great experience with contest prep really does come down to the protocol you use to get to the show. If you start off working with someone who starves you and puts you on a cardio machine for 2 hours prior to your first show on a pop up stage in a budget hotel, you are less likely to have a healthy relationship with food after the show.  If you work with someone who has some actual credibility regarding nutrition and you dial into a show over a longer and slower period that includes minimal cardio, and the highest calories possible, you are more likely to dial out of a show without a massive rebound. 

You can really learn a lot about your body when you prepare for a show. I likened it to being like my own science experiment when I first started. I was fascinated by the changes that occurred to the body and am grateful that I had a contest prep coach for my first bodybuilding show who did not starve me. The diet itself was really bland, which created its own set of issues, and I didn’t learn until many years later that food doesn’t have to suck to be on plan.  But overall, keeping a slow and steady pace and having an overall positive relationship with food is key to deciding whether or not to do a show. 

As you can see there is a lot more to consider if you are thinking about doing a show either for the first time or coming back into prep after a long layoff. Ask yourself, which protocol am I following? 1, 2, or 3? If you’re in the protocol 1 or 2 camp, I highly encourage you to reconsider competing.  Not forever, just reconsider competing until you find someone that can help you in a way that will not wreak havoc on your mental and physical well being.  There are plenty of them out there if you can look further than the amount of likes they have on social media and dive into their real credentials instead.

Another thing to consider when determining if you are ready to do a show is that preparing for shows, regardless of what you THINK is going to happen, is all consuming. You will need to find time to make workouts happen even if your schedule changes.  There will come a point, whether you are doing protocol 1, 2, or 3, where you will need to be able to control what you eat more closely so you are less likely to be able to eat out at restaurants.  Your friends and family will miss hanging out with you. They will at first be excited for you that you want to do this thing in 3-6 months, but they don’t understand that just because they are bored with your contest prep doesn’t mean you are going to go off plan. 

They don’t understand that contest prep has a layering affect. That you aren’t trying to lose some body fat to look good in a bathing suit. You are bringing your body fat level down to contest shape, which is far beyond just a hot bod on the beach.  What you do this week will determine what you look like in the weeks ahead. There is no way to know if something is working if you don’t keep it consistent and remove as many variables as possible. Consistency is key even when it’s boring. 

I’ve had many posing clients on the verge of divorces because of unsupportive spouses. This unsupportive home life can be challenging. The only way I’ve seen it work is when the spouse is involved in the journey in some way. I’m lucky today with my current contest prep that my husband also aspires to compete and cooks most of my food for me. I’m still in disbelief every time he says he made me some food.  Like, who are you?  My first husband was the opposite. He resented my competition lifestyle and it drove a wedge between us.  Sharing the experience of contest prep with your significant other in some manner is very important.  Oh and remember, this is a hobby. There is no excuse for you to be a jerk to your spouse during contest prep because you are hungry.  You are willingly doing this prep and they love you and should be rewarded for putting up with you.   

Another thing I want to touch on to help you determine whether you should do a show is your expectations.

I’ll never forget the time I was casually talking to someone about contests and this person expressed interest in a show but said he didn’t want to compete unless he was going to win. I was stuck for a moment.  Like, dude, no matter how incredible you look and how hard you prepped, you can’t control who shows up on stage. 

Don’t get me wrong, I always compete to win. You don’t put the effort in day in and day out for anything less than to bring the best package to the stage.  And as you get closer and closer to the show it’s completely normal to not be sure if you will be ready and have doubts. This is normal. And is also why it’s good, no matter how many years you have been doing shows, to have an outside opinion that you trust who will monitor your progress.

Going into a show and expecting to win is unrealistic. Despite specific judging criteria, the judging itself, if you think about it, is really just opinions.  Some federations in my opinion do a better job in their vetting process of their judges so you will see a lot more consistency in the results.  For example, the NPC/IFBB has judges on a local level that have to pass a test in order to judge a show locally.  Of those judges, there are ones that are better than others.  The ones that are better are the ones that you will see judging the national shows. From there you have to really be a stand out to judge pro shows. 

Often you will hear people complain that the show was “political” and there was favoritism on the judging panel, when really, there is a lot more to consider.  What it comes down to is where you compete. And I mean both the division and the federation.  Are you competing locally where some judges might be new to judging?  Are you competing nationally where the judging is much more refined and the criteria more dialed in?  The judging panel on a local level might not have the level of consistency you see at the larger shows.  Also something to consider is that the same federation often has different judging panels based on region.  You might fare better with one panel over another.  Especially in a category.  There are too many variables with judging, the level you are competing on (local versus national, and the nuances between the federations and what their judging criteria are).  You can’t put all your energy and faith into one show.  There is too much unknown about the day with things, like who shows up, to put all of your eggs in one basket.  Plus if you have an amazing physique and show up a hot mess express on stage, aren’t able to open your lats, can’t hold your poses, bobble all over the place, you are costing yourself a higher placement. Especially as you get to the pro ranks and everyone looks amazing.  Which is part of the reason I designed the Posing Wins Shows curriculum, and a new one I’m about to launch called The Lat Whisperer’s Essentials which teaches you everything you need to know to flare your lats and look effortless in the poses where you need lat engagement.  Oh man, that’s a big one. I’ve had to score people down as a judge because they couldn’t flare their lats so they could not display symmetry.  And this was a pro! Highly unacceptable.  True story.  

And the last thing I want to touch on if you are deciding whether you are ready to compete is…..COST.  OMG you guys this is not an inexpensive sport. Just the suits alone I’ve heard people spend over $1500, not because they needed to, but because they wanted to display their physique their best.  Granted you don’t need to spend thousands on a custom suit, but you do get what you pay for.  If you are broke, this is not the sport for you. You should not be allocating your rent money to your entry fees. And skimping on things like hair and makeup at the show.  Unless you are a hairdresser or makeup artist, buy the hair and makeup packages. Don’t try and do your own tan unless you have had a ton of practice at it and know what you are doing.  These small things can make or break placements especially as you get to the higher level.  Maybe not so much at the local level, but then again, if everyone around you looks like a mess and you are put together, you will essentially stand out and look that much better.  This is a sport about looks. Everything about your look matters.  Your posture, your confidence, your hair, skin color.  Having a great physique will only get you so far.  Don’t skimp on the things that have to do with your presentation.  And I mean all of it.  How many times have you heard me say Posing Wins Shows?  My goodness you guys so much money is wasted on the things you don’t need and not enough allocated towards the things that are really going to matter.  Start a savings account where you put money aside every month and wait until you have enough to cover all the costs before you even consider doing a show.  

Mindset, focus, goals, relationships with nutrition and exercise, relationships with family and friends, your finances.  All of these things needs to be considered before preparing for a show.  And this goes for not just new people, but veterans too.  

Oh man I touched on a lot of stuff today. My goal is for you to think about doing shows for the enjoyment of the sport, and not go into competing and think it’s going to solve any problems in your life.  If anything, competing can add stress to an already stressful life, so I hope you take the things I shared to heart and really THINK about WHY you want to do a show.  

Guys I hope you found this episode helpful and you share it with others that might need to hear some or one of the things I covered in this episode. As always, please rate and review so iTunes knows this is a cool podcast.  If you are on other platforms I think you can only share the podcast so be sure to spread the word! 

Stay tuned guys, lots more to come.

10: Why You Don’t Need A Posing Coach

Welcome back you guys! Imma gonna ruffle some feathers today…are you ready?

Posing workshops and posing coaches are popping up like the kernels in jiffy popcorn on the stove from 1950. Yup, I said it, and you might be thinking it.

You probably don’t know which posing coach you “NEED.”  You probably have no clue if you will ever pose “right” either.   All you know is that if you even think of posing on your own you are going to fall apart and totally bomb on show day. 

All of this couldn’t be further from the truth and is just a bunch of intimidation brought on by people who know how much competing MEANS to you.

So I’m going to lay into the industry hard today and share a whole of of truth talk and an honest perspective about what it is you actually need….and it’s probably NOT going to be something you want to hear. 

I’m going to share my own first hand experiences as a competitor when I bombed my first figure show….WHY this happened…. And what I did about it from not only a competitor’s standpoint, but how it drove me to do what I do today for competitors in all divisions and federations.  I will also share something I spent years putting together and am just now making available to the public for the first time ever at www.posingwinsshows.com

Key Takeaways:
*What it was like before there were “posing coaches” (2:30)
*Why I declined a request to work with me (6:08)
*What you will learn at a workshop (8:12)
*The goals in the sport of bodybuilding (8:53)
*The drastic differences I noticed over the years in my clients' speed of progress (11:20)
*My first experience at a workshop 15 years ago (12:58)
*How and why I bombed my first figure competition (15:47)
*My posing practice curriculum for men and women in every division and federation is at posingwinsshows.com (19:17)

Additional Resources:
Fool proof your posing practice by grabbing my curriculum
Grab some “My Own Motivation” swag at shop.killitwithdrive.com 

----TRANSCRIPT----

Welcome back you guys… I’m about to ruffle some feathers today and I’m totally ready.  I promised you guys I would keep it real and say the things that need to be said in the bodybuilding industry.  So here we go!  

Posing workshops and posing coaches are popping up like the kernels in jiffy popcorn on the stove from 1950. Every time I log into instagram I see another person offering their posing services and another workshop with tons of pros there to show off their amazing physiques. Just the other day I saw a 20 minute video talking about tips for bikini posing that over explained how to make the only two poses that are required in that division and federation. Let me say that again, two. Two poses you guys. Not 10 or even 100. We are talking TWO poses.  

10 years ago when I started hosting weekly posing workshops at the gym I owned, this was long before there was even such thing as a posing coach. The private sessions I did were not to teach the fundamentals of posing. The private sessions were to make people great at posing. Create choreography for them to work on. By. themself. Teach those who had two left feet how to go from walking like a linebacker to walking like a super model. That’s what the posing lessons were for. To level people up. Not to teach fundamentals. Fundamentals should be done on your own.  To become great at something, it takes practice. And a lot of it. Anyone that can stand in two poses can claim to be a posing coach these days.  To me, these people should be called, posing practice partners, not posing coaches.  A coach levels you up, teaches you a new skill, but does not replace the work that you need to do on your own.    

Think about it this way. You have a coach that provides you a nutrition and training protocol. With online coaching today you might never actually meet your coach in person either. You are given a program that you are expected to execute. You design your day, your week, around your training schedule, grocery shopping, and maybe even food prepping if you are really on point. I am going to bet, and this might be a long shot, that your workout program includes more than just two excercises. Am I right? And I am even furrrrrther gonna bet that each of your workouts are done. By. yourself. You practice the same workout every week and push yourself to get better at the exercises until you get a new program. Your coach isn’t with you by your side while you do your cardio, or while you do your workouts, right?.  Why not? Because your coach isn’t a practice partner. Your coach is there to monitor your progress, not hold your hand while you do the work.  

I can’t help but think about basketball for a second. When I was in middle school my dad sent me to basketball camp where I learned how to shoot a basketball properly.  After camp, I took the skills I learned home with me and I practiced the hand position on the ball, the form of my arm when bringing it up to aim at the hoop, and the follow through of my hand as I shot the ball into the net. I practiced these skills over and over and over again.  I became really good at shooting a basketball and ended up competing in free throw competitions.  One day the coach of my basketball team asked me to teach the new people on the team how to shoot a basketball.  So I showed them the same techniques I learned.  They took the skills I taught them and practiced over and over and over again.  One of the girls I taught how to shoot a ball became so good that she made the varsity team her freshman year and was recruited by colleges.  She didn’t become a college level basketball player from meeting with me once a week to learn the same skills on how to shoot a basketball.  She took the things I taught her and ….. practiced them.  I’ve shot a basketball so many times in my life that even today my husband has yet to beat me at the game of horse.  He creams me at air hockey so I guess we are even.  

With team sports you have the luxury of meeting with the team 6 days a week to practice.  With an individual sport, you have the luxury of not having your success depend on others; however, your success does depend on whether you were diligent with all components of your prep.  If you half assed any component of your competition prep, it will reflect in your placement on show day…or be the one thing holding you back from either going pro… or from being a pro that’s competitive. 

Recently I had someone reach out to me looking for posing instruction. I assumed she was new to the sport but when I asked her what her goals were, you know what she said? She said that she had actually done very well at her competition and wanted a posing coach because she wanted to feel more confident the next time she got on stage. She knew the poses she needed to make on stage, but wanted to feel better about them.  So I asked her….how much time are you practicing your posing? She says, well, I haven’t really practiced. I said to her, you don’t need me. You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars to work with me so I can stand next to you or sit on a camera and practice with you.  There are plenty of posing practice partners on social media looking for extra cash.

With training there are hundred of exercises to do, and somehow you aren’t mind blown on how to do them on your own once you are shown the fundamentals.   Right? So let me ask you this, why is standing in place and holding 2 or even 4 poses any different? The poses don’t change unless you change federations. And if that happens, a stop at a local workshop for the federation will show you what the new poses and stage walk requirements are. You know what I think it is?  I think people have no idea where to start with a self practice on their posing skills.  Exercise has become such a commodity with workout programs available anywhere that it’s second nature to do them on your own.  But posing practice? Right now social media will have you think that these two or four poses are so complicated that you will fall apart the minute you try to do them on your own.  That the only way to become good at them is to hire a posing coach.  

As a posing coach, here’s a truth bomb…you are wasting your money.  Go to a workshop or come to me once in a while to learn a new skill or how to pose for a new division or a new federation since my expertise is being able to switch between all divisions and federations.  Come to me to level up not to be a practice partner.

Today, you have the workshops available like every week all around the country. If you are new to the sport, you should go to one so you can learn the fundamentals in one day, because, like I said, sometimes it’s only two or maybe even four poses total in the whole performance.  You don’t need to go to a posing coach once or twice a week leading up to a show to practice your basic poses.  If you are doing this, you are using the lessons as a crutch to get practice time in and unfortunately not getting enough practice to be great.  With all the time, effort, and let’s face it, the mortgage payment it costs to actually do a show, why would anyone want to leave a stone unturned?  And I really mean it, you are literally leaving a stone unturned.

Let me explain…bodybuilding is a sport based on aesthetics. You might be thinking, well, duh michele, it’s all about the physique, but stay with me for a second. Yes, you create the best physique you can with training and nutrition.  But then there is your ability to DISPLAY your hard work in the mandatory shapes required for your division.  Most people AT LEAST think about the nutrition and training part every day.  You probably even prepare your entire week around your workouts.  You meal prep. You grocery shop. You wake up at ungodly hours to get your workouts in because you want to look your best on stage. But the thought of posing practice? It’s just as much of a nuisance as doing a few stretches after your workout because you think stretching is boring.  Which is why you get better at your training every week, get stronger, more agile, more confident. And why you also get more tight and less mobile so when it comes time to execute poses, you are wound so tight that you can’t contort your body into flattering shapes.  And on show day you might even score lower than you should.

Bodybuilding, no matter the division or federation, is a sport about shapes, angles, and of course size, symmetry and conditioning (relative to the divisions).  There is no one on stage with a caliper measuring to make sure you hit a certain bodyfat. No one is up there asking you how much cardio you did and throwing you off stage because your heart rate wasn’t in the fat burning zone. Or testing how much you squat or bench. This is not a powerlifting sport. Or a test of who worked harder. This sport is based on 100% nonverbal communication on stage. And to be a champion, a winner, a pro, you need pro level mindset.  This means you don’t skip doing the things that you don’t feel like doing.  If you want to leave no stone unturned preparing for a show, it’s not going to be just from focusing on your nutrition and training.  You need a champion mindset that drives you to practice every component of bodybuilding, boring or not.  The first time you hit a bodybuilding pose, no matter what the division, it’s going to feel awkward. They ARE awkward shapes. However, the more you do them, the more you will relax in them and look more natural.  This happens automatically. With practice. A lot of of practice.  Ever hear the saying, “hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.”  

Back when I still accepted clients that wanted to learn the fundamentals, I noticed that there was a drastic difference in the progress of people who used our sessions as their only posing practice. Week after week they would come and we would spent 80% of the session practicing the same things as the week before. Over time, they did become better but progress was at snail pace.  Of course they became better because with anything, the more you do it, the better you get.  It should have taken a fraction of the time to learn two poses. I could have taught how to walk like a super model. Be a show stopper on stage. Things that make someone a stand out. But we never got there.  If you practice one a week, guaranteed, you will never be great. It’s doing the unsexy stuff in between sessions that makes you great.  Those who followed my protocols, used our sessions to learn advanced skills so they could be show stoppers.  1 on 1s are great, but they aren’t the secret sauce. They do not replace the required practice time needed to become great.  Repetition is the mother of all skill. 

Now I know what you might be thinking, thanks for the pep talk, but I don’t know where to begin to create a formal practice on my own. I prefer the accountability of someone there letting me know I’m doing things right. This show means a lot to me.  I’ve never felt great about myself and I really want to do well and I don’t know where to even start.  Let me tell you a quick story.

The first time I went to a workshop dedicated to fitness and bodybuilding competitions was about 15 years ago. I remember looking around the room at the girls that had obviously competed before and was in awe with their confidence. Their physiques were what I wanted mine to look like, their hair was put together, and they wore sports tops and short shorts so effortlessly.  And then there was me. Baggy clothes to hide my physique embarrassed because I wasn’t in contest shape. Sweating profusely from nerves. And sitting off to the side because I didn’t feel like I fit in.  Growing up I made mud pies, collected salamanders, and when I started playing sports, I was the only girl on the baseball team.  Sitting in this room reminded me somewhat of being in the locker room in high school wearing baggy shorts and a t-shirt and lacing up my high top sneakers for basketball practice while the girls who were getting ready for cheerleading practice put on their makeup and fixed their hair.  I can still see the cloud of hair spray and can still smell their perfume. 

Fast forward to this workshop and I was completely intimidated by the room I was in. I felt so awkward and out of place. When it came time to put on our shoes and practice walking around the room I started to shake a little inside. I hid it well by just staying quiet but I dreaded any moment where I had to do something by myself in front of the group.  Why was I so nervous and intimidated? Because I was doing something completely outside of my comfort zone. I had competed successfully in bodybuilding competitions but I wanted to switch to this new category called Figure that just came out. Again, this was like 15 years ago.  Figure was supposed to be an alternative to the fitness division, meaning, the physiques were supposed to look like the fitness competitors but not require the routine. At the time, Fitness was still a huge category in all federations. There were tons of really quality athletes! When figure came out, it was supposed to provide an alternative for fitness competitors because the routines in fitness were demanding and injuries were frequent. Up until this point, fitness didn’t interest me because of the routine component, so I had only competed in bodybuilding. 

The issue with bodybuilding for me was the contest prep was so demanding that I couldn’t compete often and struggled to find balance in the off season. I thought figure would be the perfect fit with a more athletic but not super shredded look. Boy has that changed over the years! Anyways, competing in figure meant I needed to learn only four poses.  And being a bodybuilder previously, the four poses for figure were actually the same four quarter turns I already knew from bodybuilding.  The only difference is I had to do them in heels.  The extra pose I needed to know was a presentation pose, or a model pose, as I call it.  And that’s about it.  I left the workshop knowing exactly what poses I needed to do on stage and proceeded forward getting ready for a show. 

But you know what I did with what I learned from the workshop leading up to the show? Absolutely nothing. I practiced ZERO times on my own leading up to my first show. I think I went to a couple group posing practice sessions but that’s it. I borrowed a suit from a fellow competitor and showed up to the competition thinking the only thing I really needed was to get my physique in the absolute best shape and slap a tan on. I had done bodybuilding routines in front of a crowd and won best poser awards so I felt that I was good and would rise to the occasion on show day.  I felt the workshop and a couple practice sessions gave me enough info and I would be fine. 

Then the show day comes and I completely bomb on stage during my individual routine. I remember being on the side of the stage and not being able to stop my leg from shaking. I was so outside of my comfort zone with my sparkly suit and blinged 6 inch stiletto heels.  The girls around me all looked amazing and confident and there I was feeling like the high school basketball player who grabbed the wrong shoes for practice.  I was used to feeling stage freight growing up, but I was not used to failing. No matter what I did, I always gave my all, and was a high achiever. I remember my sophomore year in high school I literally audited algebra 2 class because the year before I bombed the class. I was always a straight A student so this was just unacceptable for me. So I asked the teacher if I could take the same class for no credit so I could learn the material properly.  And, yup, I did every assignment, took every quiz, every exam, and although my A wasn’t scored on my transcript, it was my A.  

So when I completely bombed my performance at my first figure show I didn’t wilt like a flower. I realized that I was perfectly capable of performing on stage and looking confident. Perfectly capable of hitting these four poses. I had done it before with bodybuilding.  And the only reason I bombed was because I failed to practice. I didn’t need a coach to walk me through my same four poses. Going to a practice session here or there was never going to be enough.  I needed to practice posing so many times, in my heels, that I didn’t need a mirror to make an adjustment.  Just like I did with my bodybuilding routine…I needed to know how to pose, move, walk, in my sleep.  I didn’t need a coach to walk me around a room so I could get used to walking in high heels. I needed to practice walking in heels every day. With bodybuilding there is not only the four mandatory quarter turn poses, you also have muscularity poses that are scored. For divisions like figure there are only four poses. And for the bikini divisions, a lot of times for bikini there are only TWO poses you guys. TWO.  Once you know these two poses, you don’t need a coach to walk you through turning from front to back 100x in a session, you need to save your money and find the time to practice these poses on your own every day.  

Guys I hope some light bulbs went off for a bunch of you today. A lot of you are allowing intimidation by others to get the best of you and your capabilities on your own.  You can look amazing in your poses and move with ease with the right amount of practice.  You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars to hire someone claiming to be a posing coach only to really be getting overpriced practiced sessions.  If you want to fool proof your practice for the first time ever I’m making my posing practice curriculum for men and women in every division and federation available to the public at posingwinsshows.com . My methodologies, tools, and secrets will literally take all the guess work out of everything you should be doing every day.  I even added accountability as a bonus so people can get feedback on their posing no matter the division or federation.  You will never not know if you aren doing things right or wasting money on private sessions to find out.  

If you are doing bodybuilding show, you are a special individual.  Very few people can do what we do.  Day in and day out we prepare.  We are consistent.  Driven.  Focused. And super competitive.  Before now there has been a ton of holes in people’s contest prep.  I’ve been there myself with my first figure competition and that experience has driven me to not only never let that happen again to me, but to never let that happen to you either.  So again for the first time ever my protocols are available to the public.  Grab your headphones and tune in on your next cardio sesh or commute by going to www.posingwinsshows.com.  For those who I shared the link with privately the past couple of months, thank you for all your feedback.  I redid things so you might want to check out posingwinsshows.com  again.  

Thanks again every one for listening. I will continue to share with you a whole lot of realness in this sport.  Please rate and comment in iTunes and share to spread the word so others can hear some real talk.  And stay tuned because I have some incredible interviews coming up with people not afraid to say things that are uncomfortable in this sport.  My kinda people.  Later guys…

09: Drug Tested Vs Non Drug Tested Federations

I was asked the other day why I, or anyone, would want to compete at a show where it’s not an equal playing field.  Meaning, why would anyone who is a drug free athlete choose to compete in a federation where the athletes are not drug tested and are known to be enhanced. 

In this episode I am going to share my experiences, reflections, and overall opinions of some of the popular drug tested AND non drug tested federations. I’m going to explain what makes them different from my own first hand experiences.  Both good and bad. 

I cover the NPC/IFBB, the WBFF, the OCB, and the WNBF federations. 

I'm also going to reveal where I plan to compete this year and why. 

So grab those head phones and join me on your next cardio sesh or commute as I do another deep dive on all things federations. 

Additional Resources:

-Visit Shop.killitwithdrive.com and grab your “My Own Motivation” tank tops and sweat shirts

-Download your Free eBook, “5 Tips Every Bodybuilder and Fitness Competitor Needs To Know Before Preparing For A Show” at www.eeinbb.com 

Key Takeaways:

Why I talk about every division and every federation (2:57)

The blurred line of some of the divisions (3:58)

Is it fair to compete as a drug free athlete in a non Drug tested show? (6:55)

What it’s like to compete in NPC/IFBB (9:57)

What it’s like to compete in WBFF (11:08)

What it’s like to compete in OCB (14:53)

What it’s like to compete in WNBF (16:28)

Why I’m competing as a drug free athlete in non drug tested federation (18:21)

My why behind the "My Own Motivation" anthem I have for my contest prep and where to get yours at shop.killitwithdrive.com (21:35)

----TRANSCRIPT----

What’s going on everyone. Welcome back to another episode of Everything else in bodybuilding. 

I’m very excited about this episode because today I am going to give my experiences, reflections, and overall opinions of some of the popular drug tested AND non drug tested federations. I’m going to explain what makes them different from my own first hand experiences.  Both good and bad. No one wants to hear anything bad about their federation so this might not go over well with some people, but I come from a place of educating. I’m that person that tells you that you had mother-of-the-bride hair on stage and that it needs to GO before your next show because it’s most likely why you stood on the side of the stage like a potted plant.

The show is called everything else in bodybuilding. Bodybuilding, not competing in NPC, competing in OCB, competing in WBFF. Nor is it called everything else about competing in bikini fitness. Or Competing in physique or classic physique. It’s called everything else in BODYBUILDING. This means I am talking about every division and every federation. 

Most podcasts are about one topic. Or one division in the sport. And some are targeted to a specific federation.

Just because you compete in one federation over another doesn’t mean you worked any less hard to get to your show. Nor does it mean that if you didn’t take drugs to have an advanced level physique like someone the same age as you in a non drug tested federation means you worked any less hard for the show. A lot of experiences and strategy is relevant no matter where you compete.  I know this because I have experience competing very successfully in 6 federations.  

So here I am, about 22 weeks out from my next show. Yup, I’ve picked a show which means I’ve narrowed down all of my options and have a goal.  It doesn’t matter which federation, because regardless, the particular division I am going to compete in requires me to get lean. Which is pretty much what we all do, right? Get lean?   

Of course the level of ACCEPTABLE leanness depends on the federation you are competing in. 

What I’ve noticed is that this line is getting blurred in the more muscular divisions of the non drug tested federations. The athletes in all of the divisions are getting bigger and bigger. Especially on the pro stage where these athletes don’t stop training when they go pro, right? They keep training and building. Which means they are getting bigger.

In fact, the stakes are so much higher even on the amateur level of non drug tested federations that, for example, I was just at NPC Nationals and the overall winner in the women’s physique division of that show also won her pro card in Figure. She was the clear cut winner in the Physique division which calls for more rounded delts, more overall size, and more conditioning.  I remember when she walked out for her individual introduction before the group comparison round I turned to my husband and said, “lights out.” She was an absolute stand out. In the physique division. But to take that same person and for her win the Figure division shows that the gap between these divisions has closed significantly. You can argue that the scores are based on what’s on stage, but let me tell you, the amount of quality physiques on that stage was incredible. Choosing someone with excellent symmetry, stage presence, and an appropriate level of muscle for the figure category would not have been difficult. And yes, on the amateur stage she outsized everyone, and on the pro stage she might not.  My point is, she won both divisions.  You wouldn’t see a bikini competitor win Figure, would you? Nope, nowhere near as much muscle. The difference between Figure and Physique, yup you had someone win both. 

As for the men, the level of size in the bodybuilding division was out of this world.  The overall winner of the men’s bodybuilding was the super heavy weight class winner with quads that had muscle growing muscle. And then there are other guys we are seeing who are putting on so much muscle in a short period, like only TWO years or so, that they look barely recognizable from their original physique. 

You do not see this level of size and conditioning in the natural federations. Especially for the women.  

Size and conditioning are definitely clear differences between drug tested and non drug tested federations. But there is more than one non drug tested federation and more than on drug tested federation.  There are different nuances between them that I am going to talk about today. I’m also going to talk about why today I’m getting ready for a show in a particular federation where, in some people’s opinions, the odds are stacked against me that I will do well.

The other day I was having a conversation with a friend who asked me about my show prep plans. I explained that I plan to compete in 6 months in the NPC/IFBB federation.  She goes on to ask me … well, why? Why would I want to compete somewhere where it’s not an equal playing field? What she meant by this for those who aren’t picking this up, is that I am a drug free athlete and I am going to compete in a non drug tested federation, which means, I will be on stage with competitors who will have a competitive advantage over me with their physique with the substances they take to get them leaner, harder, and more muscular for the show. 

I was stuck for a minute because I had never had someone put it to me like that. Like why bother when it’s not fair play?  To me it was never about being unfair because I know going into the show that there are people using PEDs. To me it’s unfair if I’m going into a show that is a drug tested show and you have an a-hole liar who wants to win a plastic trophy so much that they show up with an enhanced physique and lie through their teeth at the polygraph test that they are not using PEDs. What baffles me is that sometimes these people are caught too when there is a urine test that comes back with PEDs in their system. Like, what the hell people. To me that’s unfair. Unfair is going into something with certain expectations and finding out it’s all a line of Bull. Like that very first fitness modeling competition I told you about in the first episode. 

So let me explain something… Just because someone does PEDs to enhance their physique doesn’t mean they are going to beat me or beat you. Just because you are on PEDs doesn’t mean you are unbeatable. The question becomes whether I am competing in a DIVISION where my un-enhanced physique COULD be competitive no matter if I am next to someone on PEDs or not.  And where I am today with 20 years of lifting weights under my belt plus years of athleticism behind me, I do think it’s worth the try to see if I am competitive. So THAT’s the real question you should ask before considering non drug tested shows if you are someone un-enhanced is whether your physique is competitive in the division you are going after.

But there is a lot more to consider when it comes to choosing a drug tested versus a non drug tested federation that actually has nothing to do with the PED use. 

I think a lot of people focus on the drugs and not what else the federation has to offer. So let me give you a run down on what it’s like to compete in a few of the drug tested and non drug tested federations.

Let’s start with non drug tested and talk about NPC/IFBB. We already spoke about the level of muscle and conditioning being superior to other federations. But let’s talk about the EXPERIENCE of competing in this federation. First off, the shows are generally well run. There is adequate help so despite the volume of competitors, the show doesn’t take forever and a half. The judging is pretty quick too. Another noteworthy thing about this federation is their media presence. They dominate social media with their coverage of the athletes and the shows. Plus there are a lot of spectators at these shows taking pictures and videos and posting about it so there is often a lot of traction and excitement on the social media posts on show day. So if you win a big show, you will receive a huge amount of exposure from even just one post.  The biggest show of the year which is like the super bowl of bodybuilding is the Olympia contest where the best of the best pros compete for the ultimate title. The appeal of this contest is so big that you will often see celebrities in the audience at the show.   No other federation has this broad of a reach as the NPC/IFBB. 

Onto another non drug tested federation. The WBFF. Some people have incorrectly said this federation is drug tested and I can tell you from experience competing in this federation that it is NOT drug tested. So don’t go into this show thinking everyone is drug free.  People might think it’s drug tested because the overall look of the competitors differs greatly than other federations, with the exception of the figure division, but this might be because the athletes in the figure division get very little media coverage so people don’t really know much about it.  Go ahead and try to look the figure category up. In the early days of this federation you would see a lot more coverage. Back when Emily Stirling was winning. 

Today the bikini and the fitness model categories dominate this federation. The goal of this federation is not to be like other bodybuilding shows. They actually removed the world bodybuilding completely from their name and replaced it with the word beauty.  In this federation you will not see the winner of the bikini division win the fitness model division, And you will not see a fitness model win the figure title. Same with the men….you won’t see a guy win the male model category and win the male muscle model category.  They have clear lines between the categories to protect the integrity of the look. The key with this federation is they are looking for a model look, no matter which category. Same as with all federations, the level of muscle differs between these categories, but they also have one more main difference. They care about your appearance, your beauty, that is, for both men and women. It is in fact a beauty contest as much as it is a fitness contest.  Your facial aesthetics matter. 

Another big difference with them is their media coverage. WBFF wants to own all coverage of their shows and with the exception of going live on some of the social media accounts, coverage of even their biggest show of the year is sometimes hard to find. Just this past World Championships, which is their super bowl of competitions, it took me days and some instagram stalking to find out who won the show. The biggest show! They do not allow spectators to film or take photos. ALL coverage is with their media group. They do promote their athletes on their social media pages but do not provide the level of coverage of the shows on social media that other federations do.  You will never see any audience shots of the show while it’s going on or ever. The only way to see the show, the line ups of competitors next to each other,  is to buy the pay per view, and of course your stage shots if you are a competitor.  

Everything about the show is grand. The lights, the stage, the pre-show, everything. They spend a lot on production and you will never compete at a college or a high school auditorium in this federation. In addition, you are not allowed to use any outside hair, tan, or makeup person. You are required to purchase packages from their approvef vendors. Their goal with this is to ensure the quality of the tan, makeup, hair, etc of all the athletes.  

Oh and one more thing…don’t show up to a competitor meeting in your flip flops and pajamas with your first coat of spray tan on. This is a modeling federation. You need to show up in your best clothes with hair and makeup on point. Both men and women. This is definitely a federation where you need to be put together both on and off the stage. The WBFF is a unique entity, really.

Moving on to two drug tested federations let me start with the OCB. 

The OCB drug tests with an initial polygraph test for all the competitors prior to show day. In addition they urine test the winners and will often do surprise urine tests of their athletes in the off season. So you could be sitting in the audience as a spectator at a show and get tapped on the shoulder to do a quick urine test to make sure that you are drug free. OCB doesn’t just believe everyone is drug free. They take it a step further. Just this past year they banned all of their pro competitors from competing in any bodybuilding show that does NOT drug test. Like, bam, you’re out. So even if you are lifetime drug free like me, if you want to try a federation that doesn’t drug test, you literally can’t if you want to compete as a pro in the OCB.  

And probably the most notable about this federation is the choreography seen in some of the stage walks. I’ve been to shows where instead of a bikini competitor doing a stage walk for her introduction to the audience, she starts doing bodybuilding flexing and a mini strip tease with props. This federation is much more adventurous with their stage walks for sure.  One more thing about OCB is their social media presence. They do a great job promoting their shows and their athletes. They often do free live stream as well. The amount of people competing in this federation isn’t as large as, say NPC, but they do a good job with their competition coverage. 

Last federation I’ll talk about is the WNBF federation, which is also a drug tested federation.  The WNBF provides the least amount of social media coverage, and no live streams, but the federation has been around so long and head up by power house and 4x Bodybuilding World Champion Nancy Andrews on the east coast and two bodybuilding pros on the west coast, that the word of mouth of this federation keeps it going. What stands out about a WNBF show is the quality of athletes that show up in all the divisions. The mens bodybuilding division is alive and well in this federation and the quality of drug free pro mens bodybuilders is top notch. In fact, did you know that Kai Greene, an IFBB Pro and Olympian, started in the WNBF? He won the world championships before moving onto the NPC/IFBB. 

Unfortunately you won’t get the social media coverage that you will get in the other federations and depending on which promoter is heading up a show, these shows can run forever and a half. I remember judging the world Championships, which is the super bowl of the WNBF, in Los Angeles and we were still judging at 3am. We didn’t leave the venue until after 3:30am when all restaurants were closed.  

As for drug testing itself, the WNBF also requires a polygraph test before a show. The will also drug test the winners as well. As of right now they don’t have a rule that if you compete somewhere that is not drug tested that you cannot compete here.  Also noteworthy is that some of the high level pro competitors in this federation are so quality that they can easily compete as a drug free athlete in non drug tested federations and hold their own. 

Which brings me back to the question that I was asked the other day about WHY I would compete as a drug free athlete in a federation that is not drug tested when it’s not a fair playing field. The truth is, regardless of drugs, you just need time to build muscle. I’ve had conversations with people who want to know what they can do to improve for their next show and I tell them they need to take at least a year off. The look on their face when I tell them that 3 months of “building” isn’t an off season is priceless.  Muscle doesn’t grow that fast. Especially if you have been in a caloric deficit for a while you need to bring your body back out of the show and to a healthy level to build. Doing show after show will kill your progress.

Some people just don’t want to wait. I was talking with a bikini competitor aspiring to get her IFBB bikini pro card. She told me that she was not drug free and was taking an anabolic to help her grow. She also shared with me that she took a drug that affected her estrogen so she could get leaner. I asked her why and she said because she wanted to take her physique to that next level to win her pro card. I asked her if she had a before and after of her physique and she goes on to show me what she looked like before the anabolic and after. I said to her that the results weren’t that dramatic and she could easily pass for an athlete that is drug free. In fact, you guys, I carry a lot more muscle than her so I’m telling you that her results were doable naturally.  As for getting lean with a drug to affect her estrogen, she could’ve been able to accomplish the level of conditioning required for the bikini division no problem without the drug. I wasn’t a jerk or anything, I was genuinely curious. And she was cool about it. So what this goes to show you is that not everyone using anabolics or PEDs achieves a look that cannot be achieved without PEDs.

When you start getting up into the super muscular divisions with striated glutes, maybe not, but definitely not the categories that require less muscle.  Or for men the open category where there is muscle growing muscle everywhere. The figure division and the classic physique divisions are borderline, meaning, you really need to have built a solid amount of muscle before thinking about getting an IFBB pro card if you want to do it without PEDs. Again, where are you with your physique? Do you have the level of muscle to be competitive in a non drug tested federation? If so, don’t let the idea of others using PEDs squash your competition goals. Put the time in and give it a try! If you love competing and stand behind drug free federations for life, awesome. There are some really great choices. 

My goal of this show was to share with you the various choices there are out there and some of the differences among them. I think having competed in all four of these federations along with two more that I didn’t mention gave me a perspective on the sport I would never have had. And I love sharing all of it with you.

In fact, I’ll be continuing to share so much more about the sport while at the same time I will be sharing my experience dialing in for another show this year!  Despite having pro cards in three different federations, I once again have to start over on the local amateur stage to earn my way up the ranks to get a new pro card.  I am a drug free athlete competing in a non drug tested federation again and since my last show the level of muscularity and conditioning in this federation has become greater than ever.  But…It’s me versus me.  My goal is to hold my own on stage and look like I belong there….and not get blown off the stage.  For my previous shows I had tank tops made with different anthems on them. This time around I have done the same thing, and for this show season, I have a new anthem called My Own Motivation. I just ordered shirts and sweatshirts for myself and my husband to wear during this journey to the competition stage. You can grab some too if you go to shop.killitwithdrive.com and check more about what I’ve got for you.  They make great gifts too.

Guys, thanks so much for being a listener. I’ve got some really cool interviews coming up that I think you guys are going to go crazy over.  Don’t forget to rate, subscribe, and share to tell these podcast platforms this show needs to reach more people. 

Thanks again and I’ll see you on the next one.

08: Lessons From Post Show

Hi everyone and welcome back! In this episode, I wanted to deep dive on all things “post show” or “post competition.”  The phrase, “post show blues” IS a real thing for a lot of people.  Find out what causes it, what it feels like, and what to do about it.  I share some first hand experiences with real post show struggles and offer strategies on how to prevent or pull yourself out of it. 

Need help finding something new to focus on post show or something new to keep you on track before your next show prep? Join me at www.posingwinsshows.com 

Additional Resources:

-Visit Shop.killitwithdrive.com and grab your “My Own Motivation” tank tops and sweat shirts

-Download your Free eBook, “5 Tips Every Bodybuilder and Fitness Competitor Needs To Know Before Preparing For A Show” at www.eeinbb.com 

Key Takeaways:

* My back ground on work ethic and a discussion on how issues post show are not from a lack of work ethic (2:30)
* Cause and affect of slow versus fast approaches to physique changes (7:00)
* The emotional effects of the post show (8:25)
* What are post show blues (11:14)
* The experience that changed my relationship to post show (17:33)
* My suggestions on how you can change your relationship to post show (20:08)
* A solution post show for you that I’m excited about. You should check it out at www.posingwinsshows.com (21:44)

-----TRANSCRIPT-----

What’s up everyone. Welcome back to another episode of everything else in bodybuilding podcast

There is nothing like the feeling, the rush, of preparing for a show.  In hind sight it’s one of the best/worst decisions you’ll ever make. 

Seeing your body change week after week is motivating and thrilling. The first four to six weeks, not so much. It’s more of a waiting game during this time while the engines are revving.  You look at the scale to see a little movement weekly but no real physical changes just yet.  But you know if you hang in there eventually you will hit a stride and you will start to see change visually. With bodybuilding you’ve got to put in the work 24/7. Especially when it comes time to dial in for a show. 

Work ETHIC has never been an issue for me. Many might not know this about me but I was a 3 sport athlete growing up and captain of track and field both junior and senior year and also captain of the volleyball team in high school. I had a couple school records for javelin and discus throws too. 

My family was very athletic and sports was just a part of life. So was being competitive. In the 1940s my grandfather was recruited for baseball tryouts in New York by what was then called the New York Giants. My grandfather was 6’4” and an incredible pitcher. He was from a small town in the middle of the hills of northwest CT. I have no idea how he got on their radar but he did.  

And then there is my Dad.  He was a high school basketball coach who brought history to a no-name school in the northwest corner of CT with undefeated seasons and state titles. My father was a tough coach.  I remember the jerseys he had the boys wear during practice. On the back of the jersey was the words, “no excuses.” Funny story for you, I remember one of the kids wasn’t able to make practice so he had his Mom call my Dad to let him know.  My dad would not accept that he wasn’t able to make the practice until he called my dad to cancel himself. I think my dad was going to make the team do line touches too if he didn’t.  If you don’ know what line touches are, just know they are a lot of sprints. My dad had zero patience for weakness and no patience for disrespect. If you couldn’t make practice, you didn’t have Mommy call for you.  Grow a pair and make the call yourself.  And if you weren’t on time for practice, everyone ran sprints. The first week of basketball tryouts, it wasn’t unheard of for there to be a puker. My Dad weeded out the weak and developed champions.  

So as you can see from an early age I learned about work ethic, and, well, winning.  

My dad was always physically active too. I can still remember him doing his sit ups every night with 10lb plates. He never knew this until I told him recently, but watching him do weighted situps was my first inspiration for weight lifting. I was probably like 12 years old when I went down into our basement and found a dusty 20lb dumbbell and a 10 pound plate. I grabbed one of each, dusted them off, and snuck them up into my bedroom. I started doing things like shoulder presses, tricep extension, and weighted sit ups quite frequently. This was my first exposure to the concept of strength building.  

It translated into my teenage years with sports like volleyball for example. I always strived for greatness and doing the work to make that happen was never an issue.  My position on the volleyball team was the setter so I was the one that pushed the ball up in the air for a teammate to hit, or, spike, it over the net.  It’s one thing to set for someone next to you, but can you set, with accuracy, for someone ACROSS the court? This requires a lot more strength, and skill.  So I came up with something innovative to build my strength to be a better setter.  We had a basketball court at our house with men’s basketballs, which are heavier and bigger than women’s basketballs. Any basketball is heavier than a volleyball so I went and grabbed a men’s basketball, and every day in my room I would lie down, and practice setting with the basketball over and over to build my hand and finger strength. It worked! And, again, doing the work to build a better athlete was never a problem..

By the way… any of you listening who are past posing and choreography clients of mine might not be surprised to hear about the drills I made as a teenager because of the odd drills I’ve made all you guys and girls do to get better at posing. You’ve come to realize that my way of building a proper Posing foundation requires you to do things that have absolutely nothing to do with Posing but, really, have everything to do with Posing to make you better.  My way of coaching is more about problem solving.

It may be unconventional, but I believe if you follow the crowd… you will get no further than the crowd.

So, back to what I was saying, like I did with my men and women posing clients, as a teenager I intuitively made up precise drills to solve specific problems so I could get better at whatever sport I was doing. I did the work. And I did it consistently. 

Then I became a bodybuilder.  

Dialing in for a Bodybuilding show is a patience and consistency game. You can do it faster but with anything there is cause and affect. Your body will always want to get back to homeostasis. The slower you go, the longer you give your body to adjust to the changes and create a new normal…so there is less of a fight. The quicker you go, the quicker your body will want to get back to what it thinks is balance, which makes what you do immediately post show critical.  And the harder you go,  the more repercussions you will have as your body struggles to find balance both during the show prep process and especially right after.

Add in PEDs, as you learned from my interview with IFBB Pro Jamie Pinder, there are all kinds of cause-and-effect that happens while on a cycle and immediately post show or post cycle from taking them. Unfortunately with PEDs, sometimes you can push yourself so far that you can no longer get your body back to homeostasis from a health and hormonal standpoint.  This is when things like infertility happen.  Heart and kidney problems. Or even a chemical sex change for women.  

Doing the physical work to prepare for a show, no matter how bonkers it was, was not a problem for me. I trained for my first bodybuilding show getting up at 4am to train before work, work the full day as an accountant, and either personal train clients at night or go to class while earning my masters degree.  The consistency of this protocol didn’t bother me either since, as mentioned, hard work ethic was a part of life for me from a young age.

But here’s the thing. I think you know now from the stories I’ve shared that I understand work ethic….but, when I first started competing, I NEVER anticipated the emotional effects of the post show experience after a bodybuilding show.  Training was the easy part. My first shows were 20 years ago, so information wasn’t as readily available as it is now. No one talked about what happened post show ANYWHERE. I just assumed my post show struggles were me being a wimp. 

After dialing in for my first show I was so proud of what I had created. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I could build a physique with eight pack abs. I never thought I would win bodybuilding titles. Or best poser awards. The drive to be the best for that goal drove me day in and day out. But when the show came, the day went by with a flash, and I showed back up to work on Monday in corporate America where nobody has a clue what I did this past weekend in my two piece suit with a top the size of 2 Doritos. By the way the competition tops have come a LONG way. The Dorito top was before the fancy suits of today with glitter and glam.

Anyways, as I was saying, After the show, everyone in the office thinks I can eat “normal” now since they believe the food I was eating was “unhealthy.” But let’s not talk about what THEY eat, right? Now THAT that would be shaming people. 

Same with friends and family. Post show they think I’m done with this thing and they all want to get together to eat and drink and be merry. 

Meanwhile there is me who just spent months focusing on this one thing that drove me get the work done no matter what I had going on.  Here I am trying to process the show and what it means now that it’s over, while life goes on around me and no one cares that I just did a show, just that it’s over, and I can hopefully be back to “normal.” 

So now the show is over. The immediate goal is over. And at that time there was no catch phrases like reverse dieting, flexible dieting ideas, or even any real healthy approaches to nutrition at all.  It was the traditional bodybuilding diet that was full of bland foods and strict protocols.  You were either “on” or you were “off” plan. There was no in between.

I didn’t develop the best relationship with food out the gate because of this…. For my first set of shows I didn’t understand that chicken didn’t have to be bland to eat it, I didn’t “have” to eat white fish to get lean, or be afraid that off plan meals would kill my physique. 

That took years to learn all that annnnd doing a show “for fun” one day to see that it WAS in fact possible to do all of that. 

Bro science protocols still exist today, but for many people, the real issue post competition, is something even deeper.  

It’s something you might hear called POST SHOW BLUES.  

Post show blues is when you fall into a depression after a show.  You just spent months working towards this one thing and now the thing is over. You saw your body change in ways you never thought possible. You finally like the way you look.  In fact, you LOVE the way you look.  The fat in that one place that drives you nuts is finally gone.  Guys, you have the 6 pack abs you always wanted. 

But now the show is over and there is nothing to look forward to, work towards, or motivate you.  And you also have to accept that the physique you worked so hard for, and love, is about to soften under a layer of body fat.  Seeing your body put on body fat and go in the reverse direction can kill your motivation if you let it. I’ve seen people gain 30lbs post show after falling into a depression.

I had my share of post show blues during the first decade of competing, but it wasn’t due to a lack of work ethic. Or PEDs. I’ve never taken them which is why I had that awesome interview in episode 7 to educate the masses on them from someone who I consider is an expert on them.  By the way, go listen to that episode if you haven’t. Jamie REALLY delivered. We talk about Ev-er-y-thing.

So again I had my share of post show blues during my first decade of competing so I know what it is like. I remember one time I was up 10lbs in a week after a show. This particular show was a struggle to get to in the first place. I had spent an entire year prepping and building muscle because I wanted to win a Pro title. About 8 weeks before the show I tore my hamstring while sprinting on a track. Luckily it wasn’t completely torn off the bone so I didn’t need surgery, but I still had 8 weeks to get to my show and I wasn’t going to pull out for a muscle tear. The orthopedic provided me some exercises to do so I opted to skip physical therapy and keep going. It hurt to sit on hard surfaces. I could feel a tugging sensation when I walked too. It took me about 11 minutes of warmup to get enough adrenaline pumping through my veins to overshadow the pain in my hamstring to do my track workouts. I remember the agony turning the corner on the track while still trying to sprint my way to the show. I remember talking with myself and saying that I would take care of myself after the show. I promised myself I would, and just needed a little longer to get to show.  My body was TIRED. I had worked the past year through agonizing shin splints, an inflamed disc in my lower back, and now a torn hamstring. I told myself I only had 8 weeks and I would get there.

I had a line of tank tops made with the phrase “Kill It With Drive” on them for those who were supporting me on my journey to the stage. I sold them to people all over the world and many of them wore the shirts on my show day to show their support. This show meant a lot to me. I had come in runner up in the world the year before so I felt that with a year of improvements I might have a chance at the title. I did put on some size in all the right places and I would say to this date, despite injuries, I built my best physique for any show.   

And then the show came. The promotor requires us to use their official tanner and says that they want to keep a more mainstream look for the photos and marketing of the show so they didn’t want any dark tans on stage. We were given 2 coats of tan. But here’s the problem….My skin is very very fair, so two coats of tanner on me will make me look like I spent the summer at the beach, whereas on someone else with a naturally darker base, it makes them look like they have a competition tan on. Sure enough, my tan was too light and you couldn’t see much of my hard work on stage. I was drowned out by the lights. After pre-judging the feedback from the head judge was that my tan was too light and I didn’t look lean enough. I’m like, really. No kidding. But it was too late. They already scored us. Needless to say I didn’t win the show.  Or even place top 5. An entire year of prep got thrown down the drain.  I was physically and emotionally drained. My leg hurt. And I didn’t like the vibe of the federation anymore so I was at a loss on what to do next. I ate and drank a lot off plan immediately after that show with friends as a distraction. I definitely started to fall into a post show depression.

Until I found a new goal to inspire me.

With a goal, I’m laser focused and leave no stone unturned in the process. If an expert suggests to me a protocol that is going to make me the best, I will follow it. If I’m told to follow a program in the off season that will give me a competitive edge at my next show, I follow the program.  I don’t complain. I figure out the cost.  And I do the work. 

I also experienced many nutrition and training protocols that contributed to a difficult post show experience. They were extreme but I did them anyways because my goal was greater than my immediate suffering and I wasn’t thinking about post show.  If I needed to eat this thing to be the best, I would say pass it over. I can remember eating bites of bland cod fish and using water to make it go down like a shot just to get it down. I’d toss a piece in my mouth, take a swig of water, and get it down quick before my taste buds fired that horrible flavor. Anything to avoid the taste of what would happen if the smell of dirt and worms had a flavor.  And then there was another show prep that had me eating only white fish and spinach or broccoli 6x day. No fruit. I don’t think I had any fat either. I remember, and this is gross, but it’s real so I’ll say it anyways, I remember not being able to control my bowels from leaking throughout the day. I was literally leaking poop during the day for the final weeks of prep and there was no way to stop it. I had to throw out a lot of underwear.  Seriously gross.  

So as you can imagine, post show was a challenge after these competitions too …..until I had a new goal to inspire me.

Then this one show prep happened. I was prescribed to do double sessions of HIIT cardio plus 1 hour workouts two days in a row while fasting the entire day for BOTH days while torpedoing into a show. This didn’t break me either and I followed it to a “t.” Yes, this did happen and yes I did this with a coach who wanted to test a protocol because I was behind schedule for a show. 

I remember hunger pains waking me up in the middle of the night during this protocol. I never felt hunger hurt like that before, but I was changing federations so I needed to earn another pro card. In case you didn’t realize, if you earn a pro card in one federation, unless the federation specifically states they will accept the pro status of another federation, you are expected to start from the bottom up and earn your pro status in the new federation.  For me, I had already been a pro multiple times and had to start over every time.  I was yet again starting over to earn pro status so I did the work to leave no stone unturned.  I did get the pro card, but you would think I would fall apart after the show and go on a complete bender. Right? Double sessions of cardio plus full workouts two days in a row with zero food both days?

But you know what….I didn’t.  This was a pivot point for me.  Why?  I had a new major goal before the Monday after the show came around. 

It sounds so simple, but really, it all starts with the goal.  

Why a post show plan with a big goal is so critical. 

Think about it… You just spent months preparing for a show. Getting your body fat levels down to a level that for most of us is uncomfortable. Your body’s stress level is through the roof. What you do those first few weeks dialing out of a show will set the stage for your entire off season. I learned that lesson the hard way.  I also LEARNED from it too - to not eat like an asshole after a show.  

But the greatest lesson post show was having a new goal right away. For me this meant having a specific body part to focus on that I wanted to bring up.  I made a mindset shift and created a mini obsession in my mind with this body part, to grow it.  No matter what, I did the work.  As things progressed, I switched to a new physique goal. Each goal was always super specific and the specifics of it drove me to do the work.  There was no need to look for comfort foods and distractions to fill a void.

For you, your goal might be a new show that you picked out already and have specific improvements you want to make and focus on while preparing for it.  

Some other goal ideas are

You could have a photoshoot booked for a month post show.  

You might want to grow your fitness business and be motivated by the idea that more food post show means more energy to get the build out of the business done.

You might also want to look fit and healthy for your new business too and let that keep your post show protocol in check.  

You might want to lead by example for your kids and show them what a healthy relationship with food looks like, and not fall apart in front of them. 

It could be anything, but the goal has to be great. 

If you are competing or planning to compete, like me, you will do the work.  For me, I’ve done some extreme things in order to accomplish my goals.  Probably because I have a strong foundation of hard work ethic and athletics from my youth.  But, Emotionally, emotionally post show isn’t about a lack of work ethic.  It’s about a lack of having something grand to work towards.  

Many struggle post show because there is nothing to work for that is greater than the emotional withdrawals they are feeling at the end of the ride.  If it’s a mediocre goal, your focus will go on the glass half empty and you’ll think about all the drawbacks of post show. It can be a small goal, like my example of picking a body part to obsess over, or it can be something posing related that you want to “fix” now that you have the time to do it….but if you believe it to be grand, you will work for it.

If it’s a grander goal, you’ll show up to work and you’ll never fail.  

Hey guys I talked a lot about post show and my personal encounters with post show struggles when I didn’t have a goal or something to motivate me, BUT I do have something for YOU that you can use to help you with a post show goal…or if you have your post show somewhat in check, but are looking for something new to improve, I have something new you can follow that will help you gain a competitive edge.  It’s so sick and so fun too. As you know I judge and head judge for bodybuilding competitions so I also factored in things missing with posing and stage presence from a judge’s perspective, in addition to an athlete and coach’s perspective. Things that will really fill in the gaps for all things show day. Go to posingwinsshows.com and check out more on what I’ve got for you. I’m super excited to share this with you and I really think it’s something every athlete, male and female, in all divisions will benefit from.  It makes a great gift too. 

Awesome guys. See you on the next episode. If you can rate and subscribe about this podcast that would be awesome. You want to keep telling iTunes that this is worth something. 

07: The Dark Side Of Bodybuilding - Part 2 With Guest Jamie Pinder

This episode continues the 2-part series I am doing called the Dark Side of Bodybuilding. In part 1, I talked about pervert photographers, coaches, and judges. In part 2 I have a special guest here: 3X Olympian, contest prep coach and lifestyle coach, and expert in responsible PED use, Jamie Pinder, to help shed some light on a taboo topic that brings forth a whole lot of judgment, curiosity, and misinformation. 

Today Jamie is going to answer all the burning questions about PEDs in ALL divisions in bodybuilding; the basics, the risks, the advantages, and the repercussions.  

Jamie caught my attention because she is loud, open, honest, and straightforward. I thought she would actually answer questions that people have and not be evasive or sugar coat the details. 

And, wow, did she deliver!  No holding back on this one! 

Share this podcast with your iron family because Jamie says things that everyone is either wondering about…or thinking and too afraid to say it out loud.

DISCLAIMER: This podcast is meant for informational purposes only and is not meant to be a substitute for medical advice or used to diagnose, treat, prevent, or cure any disease.  Always consult your doctor before starting or stopping any supplements or medication.

Key Takeaways:

• Introducing Jamie Pinder (04:20)
• Why Jamie is so open about talking about peds (05:40)
• What exactly are performance-enhancing drugs and how has their accessibility changed (08:29)
• Competing naturally versus enhanced in different federations (10:10)
• Is there more encouragement to use PED use today with coaches? (16:10)
• What percentage of coaches are bullies and why are women following along with it? (19:18)
• Why does Jamie screen people before coaching them and her recent experience hiring a coach for her upcoming photoshoot (23:00)
• What are common PEDs that show up on a plan and what do they do (26:00)
• How does taking PEDs affect your psychology (30:26)
• Do women hear and see their side affects? (32:00)
• Are there any health benefits of PEDs (34:23)
• Men and their protocols vs women (35:13)
• How do PEDs affect relationships (37:35)
• SARMs and peptides (43:00)
• Anabolics and their affect on soft tissue and genetic potential (49:20)
• Anavar and why it seems to be the go-to anabolic (53:18)
• Specific side effects of PEDs (women and men) (54:22)
• Jamie’s advice for new people in the sport and about women maintaining femininity (59:25)
• The evolution of the ifbb women’s physique category (1:05:00) 
• How athletes who lie about PED use do a disservice to people’s perceptions of reality (1:11:00)
• Can you train more often when you are on PEDs and what happens after you go off PEDs (1:13:10)
• Who does Jamie think SHOULD Use PEDs (1:16:00)
• PEDs and Fertility (1:16:58)
• Things to do before considering PED use (1:19:00)
• How Jamie deals with people that say negative things about her in public (1:21:56) 
• How does Jamie’s parents feel about her competing and her side effects (1:22:42)
• Jamie advises women to be their own advocates (1:24:35)
• Jamie’s story about intuition (1:26:42)
• Diuretics and whether you need them (1:28:23)
• Post cycle therapy (PCT) (1:31:50)
• Why women struggle to come off PEDs for post cycle therapy (1:34:49)
• Post show and the affects of coming off compounds vs natural athletes (1:36:50)
• Jamie’s video series on PCTs and free downloads (1:40:25) 
• PCT and awareness on it (1:43:00)
• How did Jamie get into bodybuilding in the first place (1:43:31)
• Competing where you want to compete (it’s a hobby) (1:49:16)
• What does eating like an *sshole look like for Jamie Pinder (1:51:31)
• How often Jamie has an off plan meal (1:55:30)
• Jamie’s favorite body part to train (1:56:50)
• Where to find Jamie Pinder (1:57:30)

Additional Resources:

-Check out Jamie Pinder on instagram @jamiepinder14 or on Youtube at Jamie Pinder

-Visit Shop.killitwithdrive.com and grab some swag

-Download your Free eBook, “5 Tips Every Bodybuilder and Fitness Competitor Needs To Know Before Preparing For A Show” at www.eeinbb.com 

So if you want to learn more about all components of bodybuilding, both on and off the stage, be sure to subscribe and tune in for new episodes!

 

06: The Dark Side Of Bodybuilding - Part 1

Welcome back to The “Everything Else” In Bodybuilding Show! We’ve been doing really well with this new podcast, so thank you for listening! In this episode, I start a two-part series on what I call the “dark side” of bodybuilding. 

Competing in bodybuilding is more than just about the competition itself or the diet and exercise program you are on to get you ready for the show.  There are a lot of other things I want to shed some light on because maybe, just maybe, someone listening might reconsider a decision they are about to make.  Or maybe someone who has no one to talk to about some things they experienced, might find camaraderie in listening to stuff normally swept under the rug being brought to the surface.

Today on Part 1 of the series, I’m going to talk about photographers, coaches, and judges that take advantage of people and some common scenarios of the such.  There isn’t enough attention around these issues and often times victims keep them to themselves.  I’ll be honest some of the stories I share about myself made my heart palpitate! 

So power up those headphones and join me for Part 1.  I encourage you to share this to get the word out. The only way to stop the nonsense is to hit it head on. So let’s go!  

Key takeaways:

• The time I was chased while walking home from school (2:45)
• Things to consider when booking a photoshoot (5:23)
• Beware of this type of photographer (7:36)
• How a layer of trust can alter your decisions and what to look out for (9:55)
• Three scenarios in the bodybuilding industry to look out for (15:00)
• A small hint at what’s coming in Part 2 of the Dark Side of bodybuilding series (18:00)

Additional resources

Visit Shop.killitwithdrive.com and grab some swag

Download your Free eBook, “5 Tips Every Bodybuilder and Fitness Competitor Needs To Know Before Preparing For A Show” at www.eeinbb.com 

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—TRANSCRIPT—

 

Welcommmmme back!  This episode starts a two-part series I’m going to do called the dark side of bodybuilding. I mentioned in one of the last episodes that the way this podcast is going to go is I’m starting with like a 30,000 foot view of the industry and working my way to more focused and specific topics. This particular topic is so big I’m breaking it out into a two-part series. 

If you hear anything bad about bodybuilding, chances are you only hear about how horrible the diet and nutrition component of competition prep is and that’s about it for all the bad stuff. But there are a lot of things that especially new competitors should be aware of and, veterans, these are things that you should keep in the back of your head as you continue to pursue your goals… or maybe you experienced some of the things I’m going to talk about yourself, have some regrets with no one to talk to about, or possibly even want to raise awareness in the industry like me and will find camaraderie with me in these episodes.  Please do share them because that is the only way the word is going to get out.

So I’ll never forget the time I was chased while walking home from the bus stop. My childhood home was at the top of a hill and the bus stop where all the kids would walk to was at the very bottom of it. Let me tell youuuuuuu..It was a long walk up and down that hill. It was a steep climb that seemed endless.  And let me tell you when you added books in my book bag it was brutal. I always walked to and from the bus stop with my brothers and sister depending on the day. This particular day I was walking home and was almost to the top of the hill when this car pulls up slowly. My brother was ahead of me and already on his way up the path to the house, so I was by myself.. The car pulls up to me and two guys get out of it and start coming towards me. I can still remember the car was like a blueish green and one of the guys had very distinct red swirly curly hair. Like I said they got out of the car and were coming at me.  My instincts were triggered immediately so I started running and ducked into the woods to the path that led up to our house where I caught up with my brother. The guys retreated but that feeling of terror is something I’ll never forget. The approach of the car. The guys getting out of it. Them charging towards me. Complete terror. I was really little too. My point of this story is to say that first off there are a lot of bad people out there. Second, we are born with instincts.  I was very young but my instincts told me to RUN. It doesn’t matter how old we are, we have them and they are never wrong. If something doesn’t feel right to you, listen to it. 

Which leads me into the bodybuilding industry. No matter what division or federation you compete in, you transform your body. You build confidence in doing so.  You are proud of your accomplishments and often times you will want to showcase what you created by booking a photo shoot. In fact, if you are looking to be published in magazines, you are going to WANT professional photos that do not include you on stage with your posing suit and competition tan.  They aren’t looking for that.  You are better off having photos taken in sportswear and or a regular bikini with a white backdrop because with photoshop these photos can be used anywhere, including magazine covers.  Photos on location with various backgrounds are taste specific and are likely to only be part of your personal portfolio or part of your instagram collage.  This is fine, but know your goal before spending the money on photos.

Speaking of photos, as you become more and more a part of bodybuilding and share your photos on social media, you are likely to be approached by photographers offering their services to you.  There are some amazing photographers out there who are credible and have extensive portfolios.  Then there are those who say they are photographers but are really perverts with a camera. Use your instincts.

I remember back when I was in college and having my first set of comp cards made. If you don’t know what comp cards are, they are literally a card that has professional photos of you including a head shot and few full length shots with you in different looks to show your versatility as a model. Your stats including your height, weight, age, hair color, and eye color are also on this card. This card is used by modeling agencies for hiring purposes. If a client of the agency is looking for something specific, and you fit the criteria, your card will be shown for consideration.  Also, if you are trying to pursue modeling as an independent model, you can submit a card like this to a magazine or another publisher for them to consider using you as a model.  The comp cards I was having made at the time were for that start-up modeling agency I told you about in episode 1.  The agency booked the photographer and it was my responsibility to come up with a few different looks for the photoshoot.  The agency booked a few of us at once and we all took turns with our shoots on a Saturday. During the day the photographer was extra flirty with everyone. He gave me the creeps.  My instincts were already telling something wasn’t right so I was on guard. Towards the end of the day, the photographer invites everyone to come hang out in his hotel room to talk about some modeling jobs since he had apparently come in from out of town to do this shoot. Think about that for a second. I’m probably 19 years old and so are the other girls.  We are there because we are pursuing modeling. A photographer, who you think has influence, is telling you he has some modeling jobs. What would you do?  For me,  it made my skin crawl and I left. But not everyone did. 

In bodybuilding there are more than just photographers that are perverts. There are judges, coaches, and other people of influence that have been known to use their influence to take advantage of people.

Before I move onto judges and coaches, let me circle back to the photographers for a second.  This past year alone I have been approached by two separate people asking me my thoughts on a photographer that either approached them at a show or on social media.  Two separate people. Same photographer.  One woman was asking for herself because this photographer claimed to be a fitness photographer that could help her get published and told her that she had a great look.  The second person was actually a concerned friend of someone that had already booked with this guy to shoot sexy photos and had planned to go alone to meet him for the photoshoot.  Both people reached out because something seemed sketchy.  They also chose to reach out to me because he was apparently on my friends list on social media so they thought I might know him. I have a lot of people on my friends list that I don’t know personally from when I first created an account and added people then because I didn’t really know what the platform was like at the time.  I thought about removing this person from my friends list but I’ve decided not to since this then because this is now twice that two separate people reached out asking for help after seeing the connection on social media.  I figure maybe more people might reach out to me for help if I keep him on it.  I do care about you guys.

When the first person asked me about this photographer I looked him up and everything about his screamed creeper. I also reached out to a couple people I respect in the industry to see if they knew anything about him and they, too, had the same response….total creeper. So if you are listening and are approached by a photographer for a sexy photoshoot and your instincts are telling you something doesn’t feel right, LISTEN TO THEM.  Research his or her portfolio of photos to see what their style is and make sure it is in alignment with your goals. For example, if the photographer has only photos of women in lingerie and compromised positions, you might want to judge for yourself if that look is something you are going for. Don’t be afraid to ask for recommendations from past clients too.  And once you book the appointment, never go alone to a photoshoot, especially if you are meeting for the first time.  It doesn’t matter how old you are, your instincts are NEVER wrong. 

But what happens when there IS a layer of trust added to the equation? Like with coaches or judges. Well, this is one of the undertones of the bodybuilding industry that no on his talking about and one of the many reasons I am doing this show.  My aim is to spread truths and help you become your best YOU.  One of the biggest goals from this show no matter what the topic is, is for you to think for yourself FIRST and I want you to SLAY your self confidence both on and off the stage. 

As you know I started bodybuilding 20 years ago and love this sport. There is so much reward and empowerment you get from competing that you can honestly say is unlike any other experience in life. I love that there are so many more divisions and federations to choose from now because there is something for anyone in this sport. When I started there were just the bodybuilding and fitness divisions. With bodybuilding even with PEDs you need many years of training and consistency to reach the level of muscle required to be competitive. You can’t run one or two cycles, not focus on training or getting enough calories, and think you are going to win the show. Bodybuilding takes WORK. TIME. CONSISTENCY.  With the addition of divisions that require less muscle, this has opened up the sport to a ton more options for people. You can now get into the best shape of your life and try a bikini show, model competition, or something called diva fitness model competition that not only requires a 2 piece bikini round but an over the top theme wear round as well.  There are so many fun divisions in addition to the more muscular divisions nowadays.

And with the addition of many more divisions and competitions, this opens up the door for more predators to take advantage of someone’s dreams and goals.  More reason for you to think for yourself, become your best you, and use your instincts. 

My first competition wasn’t a bodybuilding show. It was a fitness model competition where the winner earned a modeling contract. This was before I knew anything about bodybuilding except what I saw on ESPN growing up. My first trainer helped me transform my body for this competition and in doing so it built my confidence in a way that I never felt before. I was 20 and had abs for the first time in my life. I was amazed at what diet and exercise could do. I remember my trainer asked me to stop by his house one day because he was proud of me and wanted to give me a gift.  I trusted my trainer and was so grateful that he showed me what I was capable of with my physique so I didn’t think anything of it. I remember stopping by the house thinking it was going to be for a quick minute. I walk in and he has me sit down on the couch so we can chat a little about the competition. I’m thinking he wants to give me a pep talk since the show didn’t go very well. You can hear alllll about it on episode 1. 

Well, he reaches into his pocket, annnnnnnnd tosses $1,000 on the coffee table and says it’s a gift. I froze.  I’m like, why are you giving me a $1,000? Immediately my instincts told me something wasn’t right.  I felt a mix of fear and anger.  I’m like what the heck are you trying to buy something?  My instincts told me he only wanted to give me $1,000 because he expected something in return. I got up and left immediately.  I remember the adrenaline rushing through me as I got in the car to get out of there. I was mad but I was also……sad.  I thought he was not just a trainer but a friend.  I couldn’t believe it. 

I called a friend of mine who also used the same trainer to ask her about it and she said he did the same thing to her but she also had a relationship with him.  I was so disgusted. I also wish she had told me ahead of time so I would’ve known, but apparently he, he stopped seeing her in hopes of having a relationship with me. Um no. I was so disappointed….and needless to say I fired him.  

I also found over the years competing in bodybuilding that stuff like this happens all. The. time. In fact, there is a recent movement in the industry where women are starting to come forward to shed some light on pervert coaches.  Back to my opening statement of this episode….USE YOUR INSTINCTS.

I understand how much competing means to you.  How thrilling it is to see your body transform and create a shape you never knew you could have.  Dialing in for a show is one of the most amazing rushes you will ever experience. I’m personally excited to get back on stage next year and to see all of my hard work come to life. Because I know how much competing means to you, as you know by now, I have created tools to help you with everything that has to do with performing, since I believe, that is most competitors biggest hole holding them back from winning. You work too hard to get to competition to blow it on the performance aspect. I am also here as a mentor after being in the industry for 20 years to help you know things to look out for as well.  I never want you to let anyone dim your glow. 

Having said that, here are some things to look out for…

First.. are invites to hotel rooms to “assess your physique.”  Ladies, no coach needs to see you completely naked to assess your physique. Your physique on stage is not nude. If he asks you to strip down to your birthday suit, he is a pervert.  And never, never, go to meet someone for the first time alone. I don’t care how many pro cards their clients have earned and how much they plaster how much they love their clients over social media.  There are well known wolves in sheep’s clothing.  If something doesn’t seem right, you are probably right.  And always have your OWN back.   If he or she intimidates you, he or she is not on your side. And I can’t stress enough that bodybuilding is a hobby so work with people that have your best interests at heart, not someone who is pro card collector or gets off on their position of authority.  And if something like this happens to you, don’t keep it to yourself. Reach out to other competitors and TELL them what happened. Warn people.  Don’t let others fall into the same trap.

Second, there are stories in the industry of judges that want to critique your physique and tell you to stop by their hotel room for pointers. Come on ladies…no one wants to give you pointers in their hotel room out of the kindness of their heart.  If it seems odd, you are right.  And yes this stuff does happen.  Competing means a lot. It takes a lot of time and commitment.  24 hour commitment. When the stakes get higher, prep goggles are known to attach themselves so you aren’t thinking with a full deck anymore. You are too emotional.  You want to win.  So again, trust your instincts and always bring a friend even if the situation seems harmless.  If it’s harmless, it most certainly won’t be less harmless with a friend by your side.  Have your own back.

One more thing I want to mention that is not as severe as hotel room invites, are things I’ve heard coaches say and seen them do that I think are condescending. Like, names.  It’s one thing to build someone up and call you Diesel Donna and other things to encourage you….but a trainer patting you on the low back like you are their kid ……or a trainer calling their athletes things like, I’ll make this up, like little buttons or something is just freaking stupid.   “All my girls are little buttons” ugh. gross.  Never let someone dim your glow.  

Bodybuilding is an individual sport and you can become incredibly confident and look and feel incredible in this sport.  Or you can also team up with a douchebag trainer who wants to elevate his ego and keep you in a place of inferiority.  And newsflash, if you listened to episode 2 called “the death of credibility” - if you haven’t you really should - I talk about how 9 times out of 10 these trainers don’t even have the credibility to be doing contest prep anyways.  Like, where are people’s credibility to be doing any of this?  

So the goal of this first episode in my series, the dark side of bodybuilding, is to shed some light on things that you might think won’t happen to you.  Bodybuilding is one of the most rewarding sports.  With anything, there are good people and there are bad people that you will encounter while you work towards your goals.  For 20 years I’ve witnessed and heard of many of the bad things that many people didn’t see coming.  There are many people that regret decisions they made all for a plastic trophy.  

And my goal is to shed more light on stuff like this so you listen to your instincts no matter what level you are on, what division or federation you compete in, and become your best you without someone taking advantage of your dreams.  I’m going to expand on this idea of the dark side of bodybuilding and bring on a guest in a couple weeks to shed more light on some other dark secrets in the industry.  This guest interview will be coming up very soon.

In the mean time, hopefully you enjoyed this episode today. I am going to ask though… if you want, you can check out some of our swag that has everything to do with having your OWN back by going to shop.killitwithdrive.com . I have men and women shirts that say things like, “my own motivation” and “it starts with one” there if you want to check it out.  Time to have your own back and focus on being your best you.  Ok guys I ‘ll see you guys later. Go over to shop.killitwithdrive.com . I love having you guys listening to the show and I’ll see you on the next episode.