SLOWING DOWN

SLOWING DOWN

 

    Here I am just under 7 weeks to go until the Nationals and the grind has begun.  During the prep work for any show, things always start off the same.  The first week is simply adjusting to getting your meals in and forming routines to better time management.  Usually at this time, the food amounts are more than enough and at times, actually have some difficulty getting all the food in. 

    By week two and three, I’ve adjusted to the new regimen and things start to get better.  I notice more energy and mood is relatively high.  I feel like a machine working perfectly.  This phase can actually last quite a while.  Around six weeks.  I have the most productive workouts and my body feels in optimal cardiovascular shape. 

    Then all of sudden I wake up one morning and feel like I’ve lost a step.  Problem is I usually can’t get it back from there on.  I figure I didn’t get enough sleep or just tired from a long week of work.  Usually a day of rest on Sunday’s usually refills my batteries and I’m ready to go come Monday morning again.  But, there comes a time when it happens.  A drop in productivity.  Now simply getting up from my chair after eating a meal is a bit challenging.  All activities now require extra energy.  Shopping at Costco and Plublix is now challenging due to the fact that I carry the groceries up a flight of stairs.

    So this is where I’m at since the beginning of last week.  When it starts, you try to rectify the problem with a little more coffee along with some stimulant like Lipo-6 or Meltdown.  Under normal conditions, the combo works wonders.  At this moment in time they just give me enough to get the body moving. 

    I hope this doesn’t come across as whining because that was not my intention.  I simply want people to understand what goes on during preparation for a show.  We all know going in that this is what it takes to get through the process and come out looking like a champ.  If we’ve done it more than once, we know the process now.  There’s no need to bitch and complain about it.  Just move through it and keep heading in the right direction.  I always tell other competitors that if the prep work makes you that angry and painful to go through, then don’t do it any more.  We all need to enjoy the process, just at a slower pace. 

    Now, I don’t normally hit this slide in productivity this early out, but I believe it’s simply the duration and carb levels that have caused me to enter in this phase earlier than expected.  I started dieting at 20 weeks out and I still have 6 1/2 weeks to go.  In years past, I’ve dieted 10-14 weeks.  My carbs are 105 grams a day and have been this low for almost four weeks.  That’s crazy low.  All this is necessary due to the fact that I started the diet at 236 lbs. and need to get down to 198 lbs. to make the light-heavyweight class.  At this moment I’m down to 211 lbs. as of this morning.  Everything is on track but need to keep the progress going.

    All for now.  By the way, another side effect of low carbs and endless weeks of dieting is loss of brain function.  So if this appeared to wander around a bit, please understand that the brain is not firing on all cylinders.  And the remaining blogs will probably only get worse as the weeks progress.  Good luck.