Every day during the bodybuilding season, men and women all over
the world make the ultimate sacrifice.
Or should I say, "Ultimate
Sacrifices". Things that most of the population take for granted.
These sacrifices that are made can mean the difference between
success or failure, winning or losing...etc.
Sacrifices that the average person would never dream of making. What are some of the
types of sacrifices I am talking about? There are way too many
to even imagine! This article will touch the hearts and minds
of bodybuilders all-over!
It is not uncommon that a serious bodybuilder
will and must make sacrifices that no other human wants to understand or
cares to understand.
Many of these sacrifices are necessary to reach
goals that bodybuilders are constantly creating for themselves. Being
that it is the holiday season, many of you are making that ultimate
sacrifice at this very moment.
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The Friday Night Hang-Out
It's Friday and another long and productive work week has been
accomplished. As you leave work, you head to your gym to meet
with the guys/ladies to find out where everyone is heading for the
evening. As usual, the gym is filled with friends and colleagues
and as you begin your routine, conversation begins about all the
different hang-outs that are "hot" tonight.
By the time you
finish your work-out, a plan has been made to meet at a
local club that evening. You hit the showers, call home and
request a "kitchen-pass" (if needed that is), and head to
the hang-out spot! When you get there and enter the club,
you immediately site your friends and head towards them.
When
you arrive, you are handed a "cold-one". MMMMmmmm...Fosters!
My favorite! And that is just the beginning. You drink and,
if available, eat, bond, and drink! Without the slightest bit
of guilt, this is how you celebrate this and several weekend
occurrences over and over all year. I know I did. That is until
I decided to bodybuild.
As many bodybuilders realize, this lifestyle
is not conducive for achieving a winning physique. Even more
depressing is the fact that it must be "sacrificed" in order
to make the gains that are necessary to win! Many weekends,
I myself would leave the gym and head to the designated
hang-out spot to meet the "boys", have a couple, and bond.
This was, to me, a normal event.
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Even after I started
bodybuilding, it took many post-contest evaluations before I
made the realization that in order to win I had to sacrifice
the weekend hang-out. As a result, I would finally realize that
goal I had dreamed about.
Also, I have managed to rid myself
of drinking alcohol just to drink alcohol. Although I wasn't
an alcoholic at the time, who knows what it could have lead to?
Making that ultimate sacrifice made my ultimate goal achievable!
The Cook-out
Whether it's Memorial Day, July 4th, or Labor Day, it's easy to
find a friend or family member whose having a holiday cook-out.
This usual poses a dilemma for most bodybuilders. Usualy the
time of year that these particular holidays are observed, its
bodybuilding season.
Most definitely you will be invited to
a cook-out and being the person you are feel obligated to attend.
When you go, everything that you have only dreamed about eating
for weeks is just sitting there. Hamburgers, hot dogs, chips,
beer, desserts of all kinds, and the list goes on. How do you
handle such temptation?
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When confronted with such an opportunity
to satisfy the ever-present desire to indulge during pre-contest
dieting especially, I have made it a point to plan ahead. During
my pre-contest diets, I will incorporate a carb-load day every
3rd and 4th day (i.e. Monday and Thursday).
If a holiday is
coming, I will plan for that day to be my carb-load day! Being
that Memorial Day and Labor Day fall on Monday, I'm already
covered! If July 4th falls on a Friday, I will skip my Thursday
carb-load and save it for Friday.
Another strategy that may work
for some is to stick to eating things that are within your
diet. Barbeque chicken breasts could be a very sensible alternative.
By all means, try to enjoy the cook-out and make the ultimate
sacrifice and avoid over-indulging!
Office Carry-in
There it is sitting in the break-room calling your name. It
appeared almost out of thin air and who placed it there,
you don't even care. It happens several times a week and
even more frequently during the holiday season. It's the
office "carry-in".
Those considerate co-workers who bring
in goodies to share are the most thoughtful people around!
Unfortunately, it is a sacrifice that must be made when
sticking to a diet regimen.
Donuts, cookies, cake, candies, and
many, many other goodies are there for the taking and, at times,
it takes every bit of strength to resist.
I must say, it was
one of the greatest temptations I had to overcome when I
decided to bodybuild. It was just too accessible. I didn't
have to drive anywhere to get it. I didn't have to buy it.
I didn't have to cook it. It was there and so easy to enjoy.
Building my so-called goody immune system took longer than building
some areas of my physique.
I mean, even at some meetings those
#$@! goodies were there. What can you do to avoid them? You
don't. The fact that they exist and will exist in every facet
of your daily life is unavoidable. I learned that resistance
was futile. The only way to make such a sacrifice is to change
your overall eating habits.
I have mentioned in previous
articles that, by maintaining a strict pre-contest diet, enabled
me to lower my threshold of gratification. Because I decided to
make the commitment to eating healthier, allowed me to realize that
those goodies were not as irresistible as I once believed.
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After several months of strict dieting, I no longer desired them to
satisfy my cravings. Now, I can be in a room filled with all kinds
of goodies and not even feel a need to indulge. I'm truly in
control!
Chat about the sacrifices you've made and read others pre-competition experiences in our popular message boards!
I could go on and on talking about the many sacrifices I have
made each year during my bodybuilding season. However many
sacrifices must be made, the rewards for making them are many.
I like to refer to it as a change in lifestyle. Anyone serious
about being the best bodybuilder possible, will undoubtedly
make the "Ultimate Sacrifice".
Well, another wrap and before I go, Happy Holidays to you all
and see you next article!
Delbert
wnbfprofessional@aol.com
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