Sitting 6 weeks out from show time! Just wanted to take a moment to update you guys and keep you posted on my progress. Thank you for following and supporting my journey! It's that point in contest prep where the changes become more and more evident from week to week. It's incredible how much things begin to change in such small increments of time. My body fat percentage was 11% on July 3rd and today, measured at 9.9%. With 6 weeks left to go, I am thrilled with where I'm sitting at this point and am excited to see how I will come in on show date. My coach has me ahead of schedule. Just to give perspective, I competed in my first show (May 2014) at 9% body fat. I'm already better conditioned at 6 weeks out than I was on show day at the first show. I'm beyond excited! Many thanks goes to my amazing coach, Brian Melancon, with C620Nutrition.com for his incredible guidance and astounding knowledge in this sport. Not only am I pleased with my progress, but most importantly, I feel great...yes, contest prep is hard and is the most difficult challenge I've ever undertaken, but overall I feel incredible considering I've been prepping already for 14 weeks with 6 left to go at an essential body fat level. My workout stamina is still strong and energy levels are good. My mood is good...a big bonus to everyone who has to be around me regularly. Yes, I'm hungry, but truly, I always have a healthy appetite anyway whether my diet is 3,000 calories or 1,600 calories. My macros are still in a "happy place." I'm actually eating double the calories at my current 6 weeks out than I was for my first show at 6 weeks out. As I previously mentioned in my last blog update, this is because Brian took a solid year to reverse diet my calories up to a level that raised my metabolic capacity which allowed us to diet down from a much higher caloric base. I know I already blogged about this topic in previous posts BUT I cannot overstate just how important improvement seasons are in this sport. I'm only a baby in the sport, with very little under my "weight belt" at only two contests, but I plan to grow and be in this sport for the long haul and that takes TIME. The time "off" since show #1 was WELL worth it! I put "off" in quotations because in reality, it was NOT time "off" at all, but rather where all the work was being done. In my opinion the quality of the off season is absolutely critical to the success of show prep. It takes as much effort and discipline to slowly diet UP at a pace that allows positive metabolic adaptation with lean mass gain and minimal body fat gain as it goes to diet DOWN for a show. I highly recommend taking adequate improvement seasons between contest seasons. I know there is a prevailing thought in this sport that you need to pay your dues by stepping on stage all the time, but I believe paying your dues is being able to step away from something you absolutely love for a time in order to get better. We must take time to improve and grow. This sport is a marathon of a sport where slow and steady wins the race. If your coach recommends time off or needed improvement, listen...I'm so glad I did in spite of my wishes to compete sooner. I know I'm not working this hard to look the same from show to show. Each prep is a learning experience and each "off season" is an opportunity for growth and improvement. Enjoy the journey and love the process. This sport teaches us patience. Patience grasshopper!
I'm looking forward to seeing the changes over the next 6 weeks...stay tuned...it's going to be INSANE!
Contest Prep by: TeamC620 www.c620nutrition.com
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