This past Saturday was the 7 week point before my competition. 7 weeks seems like a blink of an eye, yet I keep reminding myself it is still just under 2 months away.
At this point, I am working on my posing routine. I have had the music chosen and edited done to the 2 minutes that I need and I cut it the way I like it. I have been listening to it repeatedly in chunks. Sometimes I listen just to get the beat and feel of the piece down and into a rhythm, other times I will listen with certain poses in mind or spots I ant to hit certain poses. It’s coming along.
I am also practicing the mandatory poses. There is a certain poise and control that comes with practicing these poses. I always keep the phrase in mind – You don’t want the first time you are asked to do something to be the first time you do it. I don’t want to hit these poses for the first time as I am standing on stage during pre-judging. Plus on contest day you never know how long you will be out there or how many times you will be asked to hit these poses and so stamina can be a huge issue during that time. I want to be prepared.
As for training – it is as focused and intense as ever. The workouts are all out and they have taken on a whole new level of focus. Cardio is automatic at this point. It is not a matter of want, I have a schedule set and without fail I stick to that schedule day in and day out and week to week. There is nothing more satisfying than to look back at the end of the week and realize I met every workout, cardio session, and meal just as I had planned it out at the beginning of the week.
I do still have my moments where I question everything – am I progressing enough? Will I keep progressing? How do I know that this isn’t as good as i get? Typically, Pete will listen to me rant and then with a few insightful words get me to relax and gain a better perspective over this process. The past few days I have spent just going through my nutrition plan and re-calculating my carbs, proteins, fats, and calories just to be sure they are where I want them to be – even though I already laid this out weeks ago. But it gives me great peace of mind to see things on paper again and now I am right where I should be, where I planned to be, and I just have to be patient and stay the course.
So that is the plan. I will piece together my posing routine, keep up with the cardio, nutrition, training, and mentally sharpen and narrow my focus to be mentally and physically prepared for the next 7 weeks and the work that must be done.
Keep it up bro!