Why Compete?

[MrsRH]

What made you decide to compete?

 

[PdH]

Back when I competed it was a time when the gyms were full of serious trainers. Bodybuilders and powerlifters, there were no cell phones or people sitting on a machine watching a movie, lol. Lots of big weights being moved and fellas screaming was the norm. I became part of a bodybuilder sub-culture and competeing was a rite of passage I guess. Those were good times that I miss.

 

[PGM]

I competed on a dare. Big Daddy Drew dared me in Late 2011 to do the Atlantics In Moncton NB I think it was in March as I only had 16 weeks to train. I had to transition from powerlifting to bodybuilding meaning I had a good back, legs, triceps and shoulder, however my biceps and pecs were small ( I benched primarily with my back, triceps, and shoulders with lesser help from my pecs ). Drew was suppose to compete with me but dropped out 6 weeks after we started, however he became my coach and training partner, we had great training sessions. I loved the training but hated the posing. I had competed in Taekwondo for 6 years and did Forms or kata in Karate speak with a primary focus on fighting. The Forms I figured would make Posing a fast study. So I started posing 4 weeks out from the contest. The best thing about competing was not the Competition but the learning I went through over the 16 weeks. Learning about food, dieting, clean meals, carb cycling, keto, vitamins, meal replacement, cardio, varying cardio, hiit training, gear, what to take when and how much and changing these variables to improve, the ups and downs as you got closer, the basic poses, how to flow from one to the next, how to hold a pose without shaking, how to mentally make sure you were tensing all the muscles, how to make muscles appear larger by pressing them up against another body part ( I was going to say smiling … but the hell with that … it was hard work so they got the hard work face). Those r the things I noticed the most not the trophy I got at the end. I competed in 4 bodybuilding competitions and did pretty well, I was not overly huge buy I came in totally shredded. I actually lost all my trophies in a move we made to another house, no big deal I had the experience and that is what matters. Is it worth it to compete, hell ya, it's a challenge and a learning experience and it makes you stronger mentally through the diet, the hard work, and just showing up every day. Well that was long winded, but that is just in my nature. I also competed in about 10 powerlifting events as well, that was because you got to see the big boys lift and they actually helped you out with your lifts and your technique. But that was a whole different experience. Below is a picture of BDD and myself after the Atlantic's. Added a competition pose