Month: June 2016

Effort & Trust

by Doug Graham, posted in General

With three weeks to go until I hit the stage at the NPC Nationals Bodybuilding Championships in Pittsburgh, PA there are so many competing variables that demand attention.  Each has it’s own set of things that seem to steal time and energy that deters my best work away from the challenge at hand.  Managing these items is a full-time job and it takes tons of concentration to stay on track at a highly motivated level. There a few distractions that need to be discussed and put before you for your analysis so that you can learn to be consummate professional in your quest for world class performance and accomplishment.

Effort:

Under no circumstances will I lower my level of effort in any area as I prepare.  This is more than a credo.  It is a commitment of my heart to put out whatever energy that is required to prepare to win.  If it means getting up earlier to be sure I get to the gym then I do it.  If it means staying longer in the gym to insert more training then I do it.  if it means turning down food that will add unwanted pounds to my frame, then I turn the food down.  Whatever is required —- I must do it.

CONFESSION: My hardest item to control and to adhere to is cardio.  I am assigned 2 hours per day of cardio and it seems like the more I do it the more interruptions I encounter.  I am averaging 1.5 hours of cardio today but I am getting it done in 30 minute increments.  So, each morning my anxiety is to get my 2 hours of cardio done and I perseverate on the cardio task at hand for that day.

Trust:

Each time I go down this path it’s as though I have never done this before.  Each trek has it’s own set of difficulties, it’s own direction, it’s own end point along with a multitude of distractions and tributaries.  These things keep me from becoming too complacent with the process.  I have to “trust” the process and keep my eyes on the road ahead and goal that is chosen.  It’s very hard to keep your eyes on the prize and believe with all your heart that the tools you have and plan to win are perfectly in place for you.  No matter what, my coach, Justin Dees has designed a plan and has invested in our relationship such that losing will be an anomaly.  The process Justin has implemented with me is so good and I’ve made such great gains that I now possess a proverbial “chip on my shoulder” as I approach this competition.  This is my time!

Distractions:

Focus:  This is a huge distraction.  Unless I decide that my goal is worth my effort and that I want it more than anything else in the world, I will not get there.  Having a healthy thought life is the bedrock of my success. I have to know my goal better than my own life.  I’ve got to place it’s accomplishment at the very center of my being.  Nothing else matters!

Food:  No matter where you go, food is at the center of nearly all social activities.  I love food and I would eat it all if I were allowed (or nobody was looking).  To make food a non-player in the distraction category, I must have a plan to eat “MY WAY” or the best way or I will not develop “the look” that is required to compete in bodybuilding.  Food is important but it also can be a stumbling block to success —- so plan!

Sleep: I am a chronic insomniac.  I sleep less than 3-5 hours per night and that is on a good night. The consequent of being an under sleeper is daytime fatigue, mental sluggishness, and also physical exhaustion that directly impacts the intensity and quality of my training.  This state of tiredness is way too hard to carry for very long.  My training will not improve unless I can master my sleep.  A little hint is that I take something to sleep that is natural (Melatonin, or Benadryl) and thus sleep ensues.  Sometimes, my nightly sleep goes to around 7 hours, which is my optimal number of hours of sleep.  As my sleep goes up, my training intensity and quality goes up proportionally.

I could go on with distractions but I won’t.  We only have to focus on our goal, put in the effort, and trust the process to get me there.  This is the path and these are the distractions that keep us from getting the goal.

This “IS OUR TIME” and we dare not squander the opportunities that are presented to us.

Until next time, Douglas E. Graham, Lt Col, USAF, (ret), MHSM

 

 

 

Descent to Game Day!

by Doug Graham, posted in Competition, General, Show Prep
“Most Muscular” on Stage 21 June 2014, Utah Valley University, Provo, Utah
Front Lat Spread

Six weeks out from the Nationals and I’m feeling better than ever.  As my Coach Justin Dees reduces my carbs to near zero levels and pushes me to train harder in the gym and to do 2 hours of cardio per day, the changes to my body are coming daily and fast.  The low carbs reduces my mental alertness to an “octave” above clinical depression.  The fatigue in the gym leaves me wanting for energy to tear through my workout.  Nothing is right and it’s all because I am nearing “Game Day” in Pittsburgh 20-24 July 2016.

In the past couple of weeks I’ve witnessed my body becoming much leaner, vascular, and more cut.  It’s interesting to watch my skin become much thinner — seemingly right before my eyes.  My coach says that we are “right on the money” with 6 weeks to go. I am learning to trust the process  and to stop thinking.  My whole effort is to follow instructions, work as hard as I can, eat as I am directed, and perform the requisite 2 hours per day of cardio assigned by Justin Dees.  Ouch!  My days are long and tiring and I miss zipping around performing my daily duties with ease.

I find it curious that as I get closer to the contest that I worry more and more about how I look.  How my posing is coming.  How much I am eating.  I sleep less each night due to the ravages of anxiety.  The mornings are very hard because often I did not sleep very well the night before and the sleep deficit follows me into the gym and it affects my training.  I have a philosophy that says I should, “go to another place” as I train.  So, I close my eyes while I work and often the workout goes by much more comfortably because I worked hard but I was absent in mind and spirit while the pain was experienced.  Lately, when I close my eyes I find myself nearly falling asleep during training rather than just being absent. This is a problem and I have had to overcome it.  Trust me!  I’m better.

We have registered for the show in July.  We have our room reserved.  We are waiting on the plane tickets to be sure of when I should arrive at the venue in advance of the show.  All is in place and plans have been laid.  Now, I only have to continue to train and hone my body for the stage.  This is the important time and it deserves all my attention.

I am looking forward to seeing all of my “muscle head friends” again this year.  What a great time last year to get to know such great competitors and now friends.  One of the guys I met was a retired Marine Corps veteran of 27 years.  I absolutely loved the conversations with him prior to our heading for the stage.  These relationships are really the bedrock of all the effort to compete.

This is a quick review of some of the things that are occurring and the thoughts that accompany them.  I hope that giving you a little glimpse into the stages and occurrences of these last 6 weeks prior to the show is entertaining and helpful.

Until next time.  This is “OUR TIME” and we dare not squander our best efforts to be great.

Douglas E. Graham, Lt Col, USAF, (ret), MHSM