Articles IFBB Journals Stephanie Willes Walks Into The Pro Ranks: Keeping Balance: Walking the Competitor’s Tight Rope
Stephanie Willes Walks Into The Pro Ranks: Keeping Balance: Walking the Competitor’s Tight Rope
Wouldn’t
it be nice if once contest prep started, we could just put ourselves in a bubble and not get sick, not have the grocery store run out of chicken breasts, and everything in life could just be wonderful and grand? Well since that isn’t going to happen any time soon I think it’s important to talk about balance. How do we get it all done?
Being in a sport requires dedication and sacrifice. Most athletes that compete aren’t just competitors. Almost all that I know have jobs, family, pets, school, volunteer projects, and the list can go on and on. Bills have to be paid, errands have to be ran, kids have after school activities, and let’s not forget about finding the time to eat every two hours and get to the gym at least once a day if not more. Running around like a madman/madwoman isn’t going to make contest prep any easier so why not make a plan? Here are the things that I have found that keep me on task, with less stress and less worry so that I can be as healthy and happy as I need to be.
1) Get a Monthly Planner and make a weekly and daily to do lists.
2) Do your grocery shopping once a week to avoid spending more time driving back and forth and it will save you money too.
3) Prep your food in abundance so that you have less time in the kitchen. I have mine cooked and ready to go for three days.
4) Plan your workouts; know when you are going to the gym every day of the week. If you’re like me, not one day is the same and I don’t get to train at the same ti
me or even the same gym every day.
5) Get rest when your body needs it. Even when you are fighting yourself be sure you look at your health first.
6) Realize that you can’t plan for everything, expect that unexpected things can and will happen.
7) Avoid negativity from any direction. It takes way more energy to be negative than it does to be positive so find something good out of a bad situation and kick negative people out of your inner circle.
I started writing this post a couple of weeks ago and in the middle of it (right around number 5) is when I stopped. In the meantime my grandfather (Papa) passed away and I became very sick with a head/chest cold within a few days of each other. Nonetheless, my last week has been a trying one. I had to take a couple days off of the gym to recover from my cold and I’m still not at 100%. My heart aches and I have such sadness from the loss of my Papa. Each day goes by and I am doing everything I can. Right now it’s more of a mental struggle than anything else and I know I am strong enough to prepare myself for each day. Nothing can keep me down as long as I believe I can do this.
Life is full of surprises. Some good and some really awful ones so keep your loved ones close and don’t dwell on the small things. Live and love, then share your smile and happiness with a friend, a neighbor, or a fellow competitor that may need a pick me up. That goes a lot further than we realize.
So the key to balance the crazy thing called life; be prepared, plan ahead, smile, love those close to you and avoid the negative.
Wishing you all Heavy and Happy Lifting
Stephanie Willes ([email protected])
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