​What is important is that you find something that works for you. If you make meal prepping a priority and plan ahead you will succeed. These are my tips and strategies based on my experience with meal prepping for about 10 months now. If you’d like help with a meal planning or more guidelines of how to make healthy eating part of your lifestyle, feel free to contact me!



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“Success is not easy, and is certainly not for the lazy.” 
- Samantha Saifer-Berngard




Edited by: Kimiko Hache

    ​The challenge has officially started. Five weeks left of preparation and I am definitely feeling more tired and less motivated, which is leading to sugar cravings, a decrease in the intensity of my workouts, and a late blog post. On top of my 5 lifting sessions a week, I have added 4 cardio and 2 yoga sessions so you can just imagine how I feel after doing this for 2 weeks now. Let’s just say it’s been hard to find the energy and motivation to work out at 6am and say no to free cookie tastings at the cafe upstairs.

    That’s my struggle right now, so what am I going to do about it? Quitting is not an option for me and I believe that this experience will help develop my mental toughness. I have been reflecting these last few days and really trying to become aware of how I can lift myself up. I’ve noticed what works and what doesn’t, but still have some serious planning to do in terms of my mental prep for my workouts. For those of you who have trouble getting to the gym or notice that you are easily distracted and are not able to fully focus during your trainings, hopefully these next few strategies will help you out as well.

Making sleep a priority
    There are only so many hours in a day, so prioritizing is key to making sure that I accomplish the important stuff! The competition is in about 5 weeks. I have worked so hard the past several months and it is without a doubt that my health and fitness is my focus right now. This week I realized that sleep and proper rest is essential if I want to make sure I can function in and out of work, as well as make sure that I can train consistently. This meant that I had to go back and revisit some goals to make room for more sleep.

Taking naps: I realized that aiming to do yoga 3 times a week was not realistic and that it would be better for me to replace one of those sessions by a 2-hour nap.

More efficient meal prep: I decreased my meal prep time by making big batches of food (such as fish soup), which allows me to get to bed earlier since I tend to cook before bed. Yes, this means that I will be eating the same lunches for a week, but trust me, I make sure the recipes are delicious so it doesn’t phase me!

Scheduling sleep into my agenda: I made sure to plan my day around my new bedtime which is now 9pm. I know if I aim for 9 it will probably turn out to be actually 9:30, but that’s okay.

Setting alarms: I put an alarm at 8:45pm during the week to remind me to get ready for 9pm bedtime. The sound of the alarm lets me know that I should either drop everything or hurry up - so far so good.

Meditation: I usually don’t have difficulty falling asleep, but there are days where I sit in bed and think about work, projects, interactions I’ve had that day, and so on. I believe that my meditation practice has really helped me turn off that voice, which in turn enables me to fall asleep much quicker. Once I notice that I am thinking too much, I start to focus on my breath, which gets me to knock out sooner than later.

Finding the motivation to workout when you just don’t feel like it
    I have been training at least five times a week for the past ten months now and not once have I felt this unmotivated to lift weight. I believe that it is because I now have a goal of participating in this competition, and the added perceived pressure and obligation to train has affected my way of thinking. I have been having more off days than usual, so it is important for me at this point to reflect on what makes my good days good. On the other hand, I have not skipped a single training yet so I want to make sure this stays the same. This issue is quite new to me and so here are the strategies I have come up with for the next few weeks...

Add in a new exercise here and there: I just changed my program so I don’t want to     change it again, but this does not mean that I can’t change sets of bicep dumbbell         curls to drop sets of bicep EZ bar curls. Remixing my plan for the day definitely makes it more interesting and exciting to do.

Look good feel good: Since the gym is my second home, I spend more time in shorts and Nike tank tops than in jeans and nice shirts. I noticed that when I wear new, fresh gear, I feel good because I look good (I am sure you can all relate). These are the days that I will post on my social media and to be honest, this helps me keep my intensity during my workout. Now this doesn’t mean I will go out and buy new shoes every week, but I can plan to reward myself with a new piece of clothing if I sleep a certain amount of hours in 2 months for example.

Notice distractions: I don’t know about you, but when I train with my phone next to me I tend to get distracted which leads to longer breaks between sets, a decrease in intensity, and a workout that sometimes lasts 2 and a half hours. When I leave my phone at the reception where I can’t see it, I tend to have more focused training sessions. Obviously there will be times when I check to see if I have messages (or grab it to take a video or post), but when this happens I try and punish myself by adding an extra set to whatever exercises I am doing.

Create a motivating playlist: If music changes your mood like it changes mine, have a playlist ready when you need some tunes to get you in the zone. I usually just put on any playlist on at the gym, but this week I have been noticing that certain songs get me in the right mind state (such as “Survivor” by Destiny’s Child). So I have started to make a list on Spotify and hopefully by then end of the week I will have a workout playlist to keep me motivated at the gym on Monday.

Know the ideal environment - I am sure you hate to train when there are too many people at the gym, because then you’re stuck waiting on machines which disrupts your whole plan! Now some people are good at adapting, and I have enough experience to be able to change things on the fly, but you want to know your ideal environment and plan your workouts around that. Yes, there will be times where you will have to wait on a machine, but focus on the controllables. Since the New Year there have been more people training in the morning when I usually like to train, so now I wait until they leave to work before I start my workout. In addition, I have the privilege to be control of the music since I train during my shift! Create the an environment that works for you.

Motivational images and cheesy quotes: Positive vibes help inspire positive self-talk. I find that looking at those cheesy motivational images and quotes on Instagram really gives me that kick in the butt that I need sometimes. I have started taking note of the words and pictures that work for me, so I can make Post-its to serve as visual cues. Know what motivates you and try and make sure to expose yourself to it as much as possible.





“Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle”
- Napoleon Hill


Edited by: Kimiko Hache

    A little less than 7 weeks out to my first bodybuilding competition and I am feeling great. In my last blog post I talked about strategies to stay confident and positive, and it looks like they definitely helped me out of the dangerous downward spiral that I was headed towards.    
    
    This week I want to talk about two things: how to stay on Cloud Nine, and how to follow through.

Cloud Nine   
    It is great to feel indestructible, motivated, excited, empowered, and confident, but how do you make sure to keep riding Cloud Nine? As I mentioned in Chapter 4, it is important to reflect and be aware of not only what brings you down, but what brings you up as well. Because I have been feeling so good about my preparation these last few days, I asked myself, “What am I doing to stay motivated? What is exciting me?” in order to pinpoint the strategies that work for me (yes for ME - they may be different for you).

    I wake up at 5am from Monday to Friday and train first thing in the morning. Yes, there are days that are harder to get up than others, so I make sure that I am excited to get up. So what excites me you ask? Food and a good cup of joe! Meal prep is part of my lifestyle (not just my preparation for this competition) and I make sure to make delicious omelets or quiches for my breakfasts during the week. I love food and experimenting with new recipes keeps me excited to wake up in the morning and devour my creations. I also love coffee and have been making a new recipe that my mom showed me on the weekend which involves cinnamon, turmeric, cocoa powder, a splash of milk, and some chocolate protein powder… I suppose it is more of a protein-coffee-spice shake? Anyway, it is delicious and I look forward to it every morning.

    I changed my training program this week, with the help of my coach Curt, and this definitely has been getting me motivated and excited to wake up in the morning. There is nothing worse than a boring or old training program that you are dreading to do. I make sure to set goals for each training session and crush my workouts by staying focused and relying on my cues and performance statements to keep me on my A-game.

    With that said, tips for staying on Cloud Nine are:

1. Reflect on why you are there in the first place
2. Recognize what motivates you and incorporate it in your daily routine
3. Recognize what excites you and incorporate it in your daily routine
4. Repeat your pre-set cues and identity statements in order to help you stay in a positive state of mind

Following through    
    Training five times a week (and now nine since I recently added cardio sessions) does damage to the body, whether you feel it right away or not. I have been very lucky that my back injury has not reappeared recently, and I want to thank my coach, osteo, and physio for this. I guess I can also thank myself for doing the exercises prescribed and making sure to warm up properly before I start lifting.
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    I was tired of pulling out my back all the time and I realized that most of us only seek help when we need it. Why not seek treatment when we don’t feel like we need it? I have come to the realization that regular massages, and osteo and physio treatments are so important to stay injury free! I also want to add yoga to this list since I am someone who could probably use a little bit more stretching in my program...

    For months I have been telling myself to book appointments, but it was hard for me since the bills add up quickly, and because I don’t feel like I actually need treatment (one excuse after the other). This week I have been feeling so good that I told myself that I want to make sure I continue to feel this way for the next 7 weeks. So yesterday I booked my first cupping treatment, as well as a deep tissue massage for next week, and today I bought a membership to a yoga studio. What made me do this all of a sudden? To be honest, I was tired of seeing the same things on my to-do list. I made myself accountable by reserving 3 yoga sessions, and booking the treatments.. now I have to go! I put it in my agenda and now I am excited to give my body some TLC.

    It is easy to say you will do something, but harder to follow through. This is where the mental side of things comes to play. Here are some tips on how to make sure you follow through:
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1. Stop making excuses
2. Ask yourself why you have not followed through yet
3. Ask yourself why you want to do this
3. If you were successful in the past, what made it possible then?
4. Make yourself accountable
5. Schedule it in your agenda
6. Take the plunge, and just do it!



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“You have to have confidence in your ability,
and then be tough enough to follow through.”
-Rosalynn Carter

    I realized that I was a little ambitious last week with my goal-setting. The transition from relaxing on the beach to getting back to work and lifting has been rough. Thankfully using my pre-determined refocus cues has helped me get through some challenging moments.
    
    For the next 9 weeks I will just be presenting you the lowlights (what needs to be improved) and highlights (what went well) of my mental skills training program, as well as how I plan on adapting the components of my mental workout to future weeks in order to be prepared for April 8th.
    
    ​Though I was able to get my first hour of posing practice in the books (you can see a short video on my personal Instagram account), I was unable to put in the time for daily research and finding competitors I admire. I also realized how hard it is to change my routine and put in the effort to consciously think about following my mental workout everyday. Having implementing this type of training to my preparation has definitely helped me understand what my clients go through when they do the same.

    The following are my lowlights - hopefully you can relate to having similar challenges and perhaps get ideas of how to move forward.

Lowlight 1: On some days I forgot to implement my mental workout.
Moving forward: I will schedule in time to do it in my agenda, and put visual reminders on my training program so that I remember to use cues when lifting.

Lowlight 2: I didn’t accomplish my goal of daily research/watching videos of competitions, which led to failure in finding 2 professional figure competitors that I admire (as mentioned in “Chapter 2”, this will help me with substitution imagery).
Moving forward: Since the ambitious goal of researching for 20-minutes a day did not work out, I will set a more realistic goal of researching at least 3 times this week. I found that when I did research, it was for at least half an hour, so I will just have to make sure to get more time in this upcoming week.

    It is so easy for us to dwell on past mistakes, get caught up in a spiral of negative self-talk, worry, and get stuck on the dark side. All this is normal, and can be healthy as long as you learn from your mistakes, move forward, and end on a positive note.

    Here my highlights from my mental skills training last week, and how I plan on staying consistent with those behaviors:

Highlight 1: When I remembered to implement my breathing technique into my lifting sessions, it helped me when I needed to refocus. I was able to play with the 2-to-1 ratio and realize that the magic numbers for me are 3 and 6 seconds.
Maintaining consistency: Because I am more of a visual person, I will write the numbers 3 and 6 on my training program so that I will see it when I lift - hopefully this will remind me to use the strategy on a daily basis!

Highlight 2: With the help of two colleagues, I was able to practice walking and posing in those dreaded 5-inch heels. I expected to only practice for 30 minutes, but we went on for about an hour, and to my surprise, I was able to walk comfortably the whole time. Using substitution imagery helped me get into the right mindset when I was practicing the walks and poses. I definitely feel more confident than I did a few days ago!
Maintaining consistency: To make sure I am not stressed and worried about practicing posing, I entered practice times into my calendar. Because my agenda is pretty much my bible, this works for me (you may have to play around with other strategies) and allows me to build on my confidence once again.

Highlight 3: When I remembered to implement my performance and identity statements, it helped me get in the right head space before doing those gruelling last sets that make you wonder why you torture yourself at the gym. I realized that I used only a few cues that I had planned to. It is normal for the MST program to be constantly changing, so it is good that I am aware of what cues work for me at this point in my preparation.
Maintaining consistency: I need to remember to implement the mental workout everyday and use the strategies when the opportunity comes. This upcoming week I will write down the cues that I found useful directly on my training program (beside the numbers 3 and 6) to help me remind myself to use them.

    Though I did not accomplish all my goals last week, it is important for me to realize my successes in order to continue to build on my confidence. One of the first things I tell my clients to do is to start a Highlight Journal. By writing down what went well at the end of your day, it forces you to end your day on a positive note, as well as think about what needs to be improved.  The importance of reflection and self-awareness is key to any behavior change and listing lowlights and highlights can definitely help you with any of your goals, whether short-term or long-term. This week I challenge you to start a Highlight Journal - have fun!

     ​I survived Punta Cana. Before leaving I was concerned that I would drink too much while away, eat my face off, and train less. To my own surprise, I found that it was only normal for me to get up early and run on the beach before my day started. I worked out every single morning and decided to spend more time running than lifting at the gym to give my body a much needed rest. I did not deprive myself of any food - one night I ate 5 slices of cake. I ate 3 meals a day instead of my usual 5 since I was burning less calories just lying on the beach all day… it also helped that the heat took away my never-ending appetite that I usually have. My motivation to stay fit and lean for this upcoming competition kept me disciplined. I simply just did not feel like sipping on “cervesas” and cocktails all day long, but I did let myself indulge in Dominican rum during a day trip to Saona Island, and may or may not remember the end of that adventure… To be honest I was expecting some loss of my gains upon my return home, along with some difficulty in the transition to following my macros again, but it feels good to be back in my routine. It was nice not to meal prep for a week (okay maybe I meal prepped a few times for our day trips and the plane ride home), but I am glad to be eating my regular meals again. I went to Punta Cana without any expectations in terms of training and eating clean, and I am happy that I was able to stay mentally strong and disciplined while away. On top of all that, I even managed to get a yoga session in, as well as work on my focus through some meditation in the sun. A week of rest and relaxation definitely did the mind and body good as I feel refreshed and energized at work and have definitely gotten stronger with my lifts. I am ready to crush these next 10 weeks of mental and physical preparation for my first bodybuilding competition.

     It’s crunch time as the word, “no” will be a big part of my vocabulary. This will be a true test of my mental toughness as I will not be drinking or eating out for the next 66 days. Nutrition is everything so it is important that I stay on point with my macros. Don’t get me wrong, I will not be starving myself or depriving myself of chocolate and carbs. My goal is to do this in a healthy way which means to eat as clean as possible, but not completely cut out the foods I love, otherwise I will go crazy! I’ve done well so far - since May last year I have been counting macros from Monday to Thursday and eating what I want on weekends, so I know that I have the discipline to continue this hard work daily for a few weeks.

     As I mentioned in my first blog, I will be sharing my brain training program with you in order to educate and increase awareness of the importance of mental skills training (MST). Today I started to put together my mental workout which includes:

1. The 2-to-1 Breathing technique
2. Cognitive restructuring
3. Performance statements
4. Highlight reels (visualization)
5. Identity statements

    This is a pre-performance mental routine that will last 5-10 minutes, which I will use to stay in the zone on game day. It is important that I perfect this routine so that it is useful when I need it the most. Like any mental skills training program, trial and error is a big part of figuring out what works for you, so I will be incorporating the routine to my lifting 5 times a week, and posing practice. By using the routine on a daily basis, I will be able to quickly figure out what mantras, cues, statements and images are best for me to stay confident, in control, and focused when I get distracted or find myself having negative thoughts.

    In addition, I will have to watch posing videos and learn how to walk gracefully in 5-inch heels. By setting short-term goals, blocking off times during the week to research, pose, and practice my mental workout, I can assure that I stay on top of my prep.
    
    Today I determined that my 2-to-1 breathing technique will consist of a 4 second inhale, and an 8 second exhale. Will this work? Who knows. I will try it out this week and see if I have to adjust. I came up with a mantra to use to replace negative thoughts and 3 powerful cue words as part as my performance statement. The hardest part of my MST program is visualization since I have never really used this in training before. It will be hard for me to imagine past successes since I have never competed on stage and therefore have no experience to draw from. For this reason it’s very important that I do proper research by watching videos and choosing professional competitors that I would like to mirror. The concept of “substitution imagery” was brought to my attention a few weeks ago from Christine Carter, a professor and performance psychology coach who gave an excellent lecture on mental skills training for musicians. With this exercise I will literally be picturing my head on someone else’s body - weird, I know.  After I start practicing posing I will then be able to get a better idea of what I want my performance to look like, making it easier to create my Highlight Reel. Finally, I chose 2 identity statements that are positive and empowering that will help me feel confident.

     An important part of any MST program is reflection and self-awareness, which I will be doing in a journal, as well as in this blog series. Reflection allows us to analyze our strengths and weaknesses, enabling us to better determine what has to be improved and what has to be done to maintain consistency. This is one of the first skills I teach my clients as without it, it’s hard to turn weaknesses into strengths. I will be reflecting on a “lowlight” and “highlight” of my mental skills training of the past week in each of my posts so I know how to adapt for the upcoming week - so stay tuned to see how the the concept of trial and error is used when creating an MST program.
     
     ​Now that I have the “rough draft” of my mental workout, it’s time to put it into practice this week during my lifting sessions and posing practice. I believe that mental training is just as important as physical training, so I will be doing my brain exercises 5 times a week, just as often as I train. In addition, I will continue to meditate daily as this practice has allowed me to improve my focus.

     My goal this week in addition to implementing my mental workout to my training, is to research (watch videos) for at least 20 minutes a day, find 2 professional figure competitors that I admire, and to practice walking in 5 inch heels - wish me luck...

    

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“Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.”
-John Wooden

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

There are two types of people - those who set goals, and those who don’t. As a mental performance consultant, personal trainer, and educator, I know first hand that goal setting is part of the road to success, but you have to know how to set them properly.

Now dreaming of one day standing on a podium with a gold medal seems all fine and dandy, but how do you plan on getting there exactly? Having short and long-term goals that are supported by action plans will let you focus on the process instead of the outcome, and make sure you are striving towards the tasks you need to do in order to be the champion you aspire to be.

The concept of SMART goals is something that I love, and I am sure most of you have heard about it already. Most coaches and teachers will advocate it as it stresses these 5 major points:

            Specific
            Measurable
            Action-oriented
            Realistic
            Time-bound

SMART goals put you in the mindset to think about what exactly you want to achieve, how you will track your progress, your action plan, how realistic it is, and when exactly you want to achieve the goal. I have been advocating this concept to my clients for the past few years, but what I heard during a lecture from Richard Koestner, a professor at McGill University at this year’s NASPSPA conference has changed that. I have now realized why SMART goals don’t always work for everybody. There are 3 key ingredients that are missing in order to succeed.

I am going to take SMART goals to the next level and remix the name to SMARTISS goals. That’s right, it makes no absolute sense but let me explain.

Make it Interesting
Now that you know what “SMART” stands for, let me elaborate on the extended version. You have to absolutely make sure your goal is interesting and meaningful to you. If you are only studying to be a doctor because mom and dad said so, well the next few years of your student life (and well I guess your entire life) will be unbearable if you are not enjoying what you are doing. I want you to take a second and look back at how many times someone set a goal for you -  you probably didn’t even know it was happening! It is normal that the ones we love expect us to do things, and well sometimes you just have to make sure you are doing things for the right reason. If you have an interesting and meaningful goal, you are more likely to persist through times of adversity. It’s not always easy to get what you want, so make sure to strive for something that will also keep you motivated. Once you reach the top, that sense of fulfillment will be more than words can express.

Create your Support network
In general, a goal is usually challenging. It is normal to be in periods where you lose motivation and confidence, so it is important that you have someone who supports you in your journey. This could be a friend, coach, parent, mentor, teacher - anyone who is able to be there for you when you reach a setback. The problem here is that we all have a different definition of support. It was shown that most people prefer listening support. I don’t know about you, but when I am not motivated I want someone to listen to me complain when I am being a Debbie Downer. The last thing I want is Peter trying to change the subject when all I want him to do is listen to me complain! Usually we just need to get things off our chest and voice our thoughts in order to realize how ridiculous they are, followed by some encouraging words.

In addition to listening, having support from someone you trust and can communicate easily with is important. It is unfortunate, but there are athletes out there that do not receive the individual support needed for their performance success - whether it be from a coach, parent, friend or even a teammate. Communication is key, and if for example an athlete and coach are not on the same page about goals, it will be hard for the athlete to develop and grow both on and off the field.

Support also means giving feedback, checking-in, and following up. Yes, a lot of us tend to prefer Iistening support (especially when things go wrong), but when it comes to strengthening weaknesses and improving certain skills, a different approach is needed. It is hard to work on certain skills if you are unsure of how to go about it. Having that someone on the outside (such as a coach or teammate) can make sure that they shine the light on a situation a little differently, as well as help spark new ideas. When you lose motivation because you are not improving, or run off course, it is a lot more easier when you have support to check-in and see what’s going on to help you get back on track.

Secede from past failed goals
Are you one of those people who sets the same New Year’s resolution time and time again but is unable to achieve it? That’s okay - you are not alone. If you are one of these people, you probably set the same goals throughout the year over and over again with zero success. The good news is that you can change that! It is important to let go and secede of goals that you never achieve and start setting goals that you will be able to succeed in.

One of the most popular New Year’s resolutions that I hear at the gym is,

                                           “I am going to get active and train at the gym all year!”

People who have never stepped in a gym before tend to buy a year membership and think that they are magically going to get the motivation to train three to five times a week - for 12 months! As a personal trainer it is great to see such seemingly motivated people, but it is not that easy. It involves adding this new behavior to your weekly schedule, finding the motivation, and changing your habits and routine. Now, there are few that are able to do this - hats off to them, but setting a goal without giving much thought to an action plan will usually lead to failure.
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It is important to reflect on why you were never successful in the past, and realize what you can do to make a more realistic goal in the future. Perhaps you never trained for more than 3 months at a time because your program was boring, or you weren’t seeing results. Maybe this year you need a personal trainer, a gym buddy, or maybe lifting weights is not for you and you’d rather begin by attending group classes.

What I am trying to get at here is that you need to realize why you did not achieve success in the past, and make the right changes to make sure it works in the future when you decide to try again for the 10th time. Maybe this means taking baby steps (start training at home first), or perhaps it means to throw the whole idea out the window. Perhaps training for marathons may be more exciting and motivating than lifting weights at the gym all year round!

Now that you know how to be a “Smart-iss”, I challenge you to write your own SMARTISS goals. It could be for your career, the sport you play, school, or even a more personal one like being more friendly to those you dislike! Remember that you should always revisit your goals. What you write down is not set in stone. If your action plan doesn’t seem to be realistic or something in life makes it hard for you to take that next step towards the top, don’t be afraid to re-evaluate and change things around - just make sure it’s SMART....ISS!







Short Bio:
Camille Charbonneau is the founder and lead Mental Performance Consultant at Peak Perform. As a health and fitness enthusiast, she teaches her clients how to develop mental toughness through what she likes to call “brain training”, and believes that mindfulness is a key factor in improving overall performance.