The Right and Wrong Reasons To Do A Show: by Jaime Filer

The right and wrong reasons to do a show

In my last blog post, I wrote about the reality of the post-competition black whole
vortex that completely swallows your sanity and turns you into a self conscious hollow heap of empty Ben and Jerry pints and Mrs. Field's cookie boxes. That is NOT an exaggeration. The post comp phase is the one where, if you don't take your life by the reigns mentally and physically, you'll be reduced to competitor rubble. If you don't have a plan in place for after your show BEFORE YOU EVEN DO YOUR SHOW, you've already set yourself up for trouble.

It sounds weird; shouldn't you be taking one day at a time? Yes! Absolutely. Focus on the present. But the reality is that competitors are so one-track minded. We're anal, Type-A perfectionists. If things don't go our way, if we can't eat on schedule, if we don't know when we're training, we freak. At least, the ones who know what they're doing freak. So too when it comes to the diet after the show, if you don't have some sort of "Metabolism-Repairing-Reverse-Diet" meal plan in place, then once you go off
your diet the Saturday night of the show, you'll go off your diet for a whiiiiiiile.

Take me for example: Though I had my reverse diet plan in place, following it was a horse of a different color. I thought, "I've dieted for 25 weeks. If I take a week to eat whatever I want THEN go on the reverse diet plan, how much damage can I really do?" HAHAHAHAHAHHAA!!!!!!! No!!! Little did I know, that 8 weeks later, with my belly swollen from ice cream, and my mouth caked in Pop-Tart frosting, my plan to "Reverse
diet" wasn't YET happening.

Enter the title of this blog: The Right and Wrong Reasons to do a show. I'm about to use both, as they both apply to me. Now remember, these are purely subjective - it's just my opinion. The "wrong" reason is because you want/need to lose weight. You have
10, 20, 30lbs to lose, so you figure getting on stage in a bikini/banana hammock will be that catalyst for you to FINALLY get the diet under control. If you have 20lbs to lose just for fun, enter a transformation competition. Go on a site, get your 12 week plan, and win a bunch of supplements in 3 months. There's nothing wrong with that! The "Right" reason to compete: You have the eye of the tiger. You're passionate
about the sport. You have the discipline and will power to do it. You have a
"Never-Say-Die" attitude. You live and breathe bodybuilding. You have something
to prove.

If we're speaking honestly and candidly, I chose the wrong reason. I had 5 (!!! Not even 10 or 20!!!!) pounds to lose, but the only way I knew I was going to get myself back on the wagon, was by picking another date. No transformation contest. That wasn't good enough. Only the "threat" of the stage would be enough to kick my ass into shape. So I bought my coach again, and started the whole pre-contest one more time. Now, before I'm accused of being a hypocrite, I'd like to add something. Somewhere around 2 weeks ago (3 weeks into my diet), my mindset changed. I got the fire back. The drive. The passion. The fact that I placed friggin LAST at my show despite losing 30lbs hit me square in the face, and I forgot about how much I had to lose this time. I forgot about everything except how much the feeling of placing last sucks, and how badly I want to become a pro female bodybuilder. The "Wrong" reason became the "Right" reason.

14/11 weeks out