My days begin with a sense of commitment and duty. The sun at 4:45 AM hasn’t even begun to show itself and the temperature since October has been in the high teens or lower at this hour. The warm covers are kicked back and the feet hit the carpeting in our bedroom. A quick turn back to the bed where my wife rests quietly and the covers are placed again around her body so she remains comfortable as I begin my day. I turn to head downstairs for a breakfast of 10 eggs (2 whole eggs and 8 egg whites) and two slices of Ezekial bread. Supplements are next followed by the donning of my workout clothes. A quick smooch to my wife’s forehead as she sleeps and I’m out the door to the gym.
It’s a shoulder day and the training is slow and intense. Sweat pours easily over my face, chest, and arms and soon I’m peeling off my T-shirt down to my tank top. As the workout continues I pick up the pace and the intensity with each rep. The focus on technique becomes sharp. The competition between body and will continues to see which one quits first. Bodybuilders call this effort, “killin’ it.”
I end my session with 40 minutes of aerobics on an eliptical machine. My coach, Justin Dees expects nothing less from me than my best always and I fully intend to give it to him. The respect he has garnered as a coach and competitor has my absolute commitment to excellence and effort. I realize that there is no tomorrow if I don’t give it my all today.
Time is winding down to the date of my show in July 2015. Show Prep begins in a couple of weeks and the training must, of necessity, become more difficult. Laser attention to detail has to take over. Justin, has already lectured me about my following his directions and guidance without any variance. I am to call “NO” audibles in my diet, my supplements, my weight training, or my aerobics. Weekly meetings with Justin to monitor my physical progress is on the calendar and I do not miss these sessions.
I walked you through this process to get to the point of this blog. That being, that the grind and pain of preparing the body and mind for a contest can be overwhelming—if I let it overwhelm me. The temptation to take the easy way out and not give the required preparation my full effort and attention is sometimes great. I could cover up my laziness with great cover stories and excuses. Nobody says I have to do all this, especially at my age, but I do. The mantra “Keep Going” or “Don’t Stop” takes over when fatigue begins to take over. The fact that there is no looking back permeates all that I do. Justin, has driven into my head that if I want to win, I have to do the reps that others do not want to do because it hurts too much.
My biggest enemy is “INERTIA.” Allowing myself to take liberties with rest when I shouldn’t. “INERTIA” rocks me to sleep by convincing me that it’s ok to think about something else when I ought to be concentrating on the task at hand. “INERTIA” by definition, is “LAZINESS” in different clothes. “INERTIA” breeds complacency and retards forward momentum. “INERTIA” changes your vector to the winners circle. “INERTIA” needs to be guarded against and reversed by sheer will power if that’s what it takes. The demon that defeats the greatest of champions is often not on field of contest but on the field of preparation. Paul “Bear” Bryant, Hall of Fame football coach from the University of Alabama once said, “Victory? Everybody wants to win. Victory and winning belongs to those who “PREPARE” to win.”
Bottom Line: “INERTIA” kills sound preparation and ultimately steals victory.
THIS IS OUR TIME! —- SO WIN!
Until next time.
Douglas E. Graham
Six Pack and Senior 