the state of fbb

you know i was all set to blog yesterday morning about an alarming trend ive noticed within the sport of fbb. but an errant squirrel took a careless step, did the high-wire free fall and subsequently took out the power on my street. i put pen to paper and proceeded to record my thoughts the old fashioned way. interestingly enough, this morning while i still have the same bee in my bonnet, i no longer wish to express myself the same way. thus 3 and half pages of note pad scrawlings have been scrapped for whatever comes out of this.

there are a number of established fbb's and by that i mean, either with years of nationally level competition under their belt or even newly turned pro's with nary a trip to the pro-stage, who are disillusioned and losing interest in the sport.

basically, they have noticed as have i, that the sport is changing. not uncommon, sports do change and evolve. but it's more about what bb is morphing into that is of a concern. both sides of the sport seem to have lost the enthusiasm for the classic physique with the pleasing lines. bodybuilding was about human sculpture, it was about art. currently we have a lot of athletes, again male and female, who want to be pro's today!

how often do i hear on the boards, of some person who has yet to even do a show talking about having a pro-card in as little as 2 or 3 years. some of them haven't even been training for size for that long and they want to be pro's. so usually in order to play catch up, these athletes have to go a little wild on the drug side.

okay now this sounds like an anti-drug rant and it's not. i am well aware of the use in the sport and although it's not for me i harbour no ill will towards those that do. all i am trying to point out is that alot of bbers, who are already 'established' have years of natural lifting and competition behind them prior to turning on the 'gas'. and when they add it, as i understand it, it's not added sporatically. so you have to figure that a newbie with barely a year's training under his/her belt is going to have to dig pretty deep into the drug well to be competitive.

the end result are physiques that are either just freakish expanses of muscle or a physique without the classic, pleasing lines.

well it looks like there are more than a few fbb's who no longer like what the competition has to offer. and sadly for me, as a fan of classic bb, instead of staying in the game and giving the fans an option these women are giving up the sport. retiring from competition and climbing aboard the nearest stepmill to burn off the years of hard fought muscle.

the very bodies that we need to save fbb are the very ones looking to quit... and that my friends, is a very sad thing indeed.

getting a few things off my chest

it's probably well past time for an update. my apologies.

the week immediatly following my show was the natural canadians or the world qualifier as its officially known. and just this past weekend we had the OPA provincials (the untested tier). in the past few weeks i've really had the opportunity to observe the behaviour of other competitors. this observation has helped me to further learn the type of athlete i wish to be and be known as.

first of all allow me to state the obvious... we all want to win. any athlete who tells you they don't want to win is either a dayumm liar, or not much of an athlete. however, there is a difference between wanting to win and some of the sh!t i've been seeing lately. in any sport there are things that improve your chances for success on the playing field, in bodybuilding some of those things are; diet (you have to STAY on one and stay true to your diet), cardio (see diet), training (see diet) and sleep.

i almost seems like some athletes feel they are owed wins, wether they have done all of the work or not. you are also not owed a win if you are bigger than your opponent, especially if you are bigger because your bodyfat percentage is higher. our sport is judged on symmetry, size and conditioning. sometimes people seem to forget about that final requirement.

you should be judged on how you show up THAT day, and as an athlete you should go into the show knowing that. you can't expect the judges to score you higher because you've been in better shape in the past and they 'know' you can do it again. show them you can do it again by showing up in shape!!!

don't make a habit of slipping off your diet, training or cardio schedule and then put yourself into the situation where you have to try dangerous techniques to 'catch up'. there is no glory in dying on a high school gym floor because you were trying to win a $10 trophy.

and finally, for most the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is a pro-card. well the 'pro' in pro-card is an abbreviation of the word professional

pro·fes·sion·al (pro-fěsh'i-nul)
- Of, relating to, engaged in, or suitable for a profession: lawyers, doctors, and other professional people.
- Conforming to the standards of a profession: professional behavior.
- Engaging in a given activity as a source of livelihood or as a career: a professional writer.
- Performed by persons receiving pay: professional football.
Having or showing great skill; expert: a professional repair job.

suffice it to say i've seen a lot of athletes, those who already have pro-cards and those still in pursuit of one who have failed to exhibit professional behaviour.

you don't turn the bodybuilding stage into an episode of 'girls gone wild - spring break'. if you are beaten by another competitor, learn to suck it up and lose with grace... allow yourself to be disappointed, but take that disappointment and use it to fuel your next trip to the stage... next time come more prepared. i'm not saying this sport is not without politics and i'm not saying that it is alway fair... but what i am saying is we all need to take responsibility for the times when we step on stage and we were not prepared.

/rant

have a great day.

no, the the victor goes...

so there i am at work and my father calls. he wants to know if i am expecting a package. well i was... could they have shipped my overall trophy already?? then he said something about it came from speedracer. well that's not the OPA and it took me a second or two to realize what was going on.

my buddy speed racer sent me a congratulatory bouquet of 'flowers'. here is how they looked and of course since i am back eating clean... i had to put the 'roses' in the refrigerator for safe keeping. since i am allowed one meal per week that isn't clean i am guessing these 'roses' will last about 6 weeks.

i have said it before i will say it again... i have the BEST friends!!!

and to the victor goes...

the 3 cheese bison burger, sweet potato fries and heidi's mile high chocolate cake!!!

this will be a short and sweet blog entry. you might be interested to know that i weighed in at 134.4lbs. there were 6 of us in the heavyweight class and i won. and i won the overall. that alone is a lot for me to wrap my head around... but there is more. i am now qualified, i guess beyond a shadow of a doubt to compete at the national level.

that's where i am i right now. trying to absorb the fact that after 2 years of competition and only 2 shows i now have the right to compete at the natural nationals. i don't know... somehow it almost doesn't seem real?? it feels somehow like it should have taken longer???

anyway the letter of resignation is complete and sitting on the desk in front of me.

shots taken before prejudging at the hotel

the end of the road...

i am sitting here in my room waiting to eat before i head out on the road. that's right today is the day i drive up to the contest. i weighed myself at 135 this a.m. i still have a day of water drop and other activity before weigh-in's tonight. either way i will definately be a heavyweight... which was the plan.

on sec... the microwave beckons.

so what can i say that hasn't already been said? i am coming to the end of 26 weeks of dieting... dieting without cheats or treats. i think throughout that 26 week run i had two 'sick' days where i was unable to complete my training. but otherwise i have done the dayum thing. i look, in my humble opinion and the opinion of others who were along for the ride last year, much improved. my coach went as far as to say that i look this year like a completely different person.

which brings me to my next point. i AM a completely different person. well in the sense that i have grown alot this prep and i have learned alot about myself. first of all i am stronger than i knew. the diligence to the diet, all that fawkin cardio, and this last week without benefit of sweetener. okay the sweetener thing is huge. i have a sweet tooth... nah fawk it all of em are sweet. i am so very proud of the fact that in order to get what i want i was able to forego sweetener in my coffee, tea and oatmeal. i went without sugarless gum and i did not drink any crystal light or diet sodas. i realize now... within reason there is nothing i can't do. which is giving me the courage to do something else.

i am going into work on monday after the show and i am giving my 2 weeks notice. my current job in advertising enables me to enjoy some economic freedoms but it does nothing for my soul. due to the nature of the 'business' as they like to call it, (fyi you can even hear the fawker pronounce it with the quotes around the word), i am unable to really train clients. training clients at the gym provides me with much needed balance. regardless of how much i might b*tch about unfocused clients... there is a part of me that very much enjoys helping people or fixing things. that part of me is never satisfied with just making money. i guess my displeasure at my situation is part and parcel of why i find myself so depressed at work and so disgusted with my co-workers. i realize now more than ever that i do not fit in there.

so the plan is to go back into freelance computer graphics. i have contacted my agency of preference already and put out a few feelers to some friends. im really going to try to stay closer to home as well. a 9-5 existance will work well with training clients before and after work and more importantly will keep my own training on schedule!!!

the risk is... it generally takes 8 weeks before the cheques start rolling in from the freelance agency. the smart thing to do would be to stay at my current job and bankroll some cash and then make my move (fyi, show prep financially wipes ya out), but staying would surely have me kill somebody... i kid... maybe.

besides if this show prep has taught me nothing it has taught me that i am a survivor. i can and i WILL rise to any challenge.

ok time to hit the road. sometime saturday evening this journey will all be over.

i can honestly say i look forward to my next challenge.

thanks to those of you... who've been following along. i appreciate the support, perhaps more than i could ever express.

cheers