MINDBUILDING: MY MENTAL PREP JOURNEY TO IDFA 107

-Chapter 5-
7 weeks outs

    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