Most bodybuilders would consider themselves hardcore or extreme, and this would typically be worn as a badge of honor.
Not only do you get to look awesome, but you are also viewed in an awesome light by the general public as a badass who is so invested in their physique that they were willing to do whatever it takes to get jacked and shredded.
I’ve definitely been in that position and felt those feels. I am extremely proud of how hard I work and thoroughly enjoy when that hard work is recognized.
But when a bodybuilder thinks about doing “whatever it takes”, they’re usually talking about the fun stuff.
Training hard and dieting like a champ might seem difficult to the average human, but not to us. When you put in the work and get the results, it becomes more of a delightful challenge than a soul-sucking workout or terribly bland meal.
To us, it really doesn’t take all that much. If you’re ready to embark on a contest prep journey, the habits are already established and ingrained.
And all that aside, there is a whole different type of work that gets overlooked — one that most bodybuilders are actually NOT willing to partake in.
It’s the mental and emotional work required to voluntarily lose the very thing you’ve been working for all long.
In my recent years of being obsessed with this sport, I have observed that the big question separating the amateur and the elite natural physique athletes is this:
Are you willing to spend most of your time looking “worse” than you do on show day?
How do you feel about body fat, bloating, and flatness? Are you so invested in muscle gain that you lose your abs in the off-season? Are you fine with weighing a lot more tomorrow in the name of an intense refeed that will help your prep run smoother in the long run? Are you okay feeling like a tiny string bean in your old t-shirts as you finish your fifth low carb day in a row?
In essence, are you willing to invest in your career, or are you so caught up in looking the part that you remain unchanged for years on end?
I truly believe I lost about three years of bodybuilding progress because I wasn’t ready to put in this kind of work. The grind of training and dieting was a walk in the park compared to the overwhelming task for me to weigh more than 135 lbs. In hindsight, I believe this was a short-term, amateurish view of my body and of the sport.
But the greats know this is just part of the game. They don’t “allow” themselves to put on body fat, they do it on purpose.
So, if you’re debating whether or not this sport is for you, please consider this. When you prep for the stage, it is only for the stage. When that time is over and your recovery diet begins, that physique will be gone. You don’t have to go overboard or become obese, but you definitely cannot keep the stage look forever.
To most people, you will look like an in-shape athlete. In the mirror, you think you look awful. But this is where the “whatever it takes” mentality has to come in. This is what separates the athletes from the exercisers.
As crazy as it sounds, the best stage physiques usually belong to those who are willing to lose them as soon as possible without hesitation.
Something else I needed to see…♡
You’s the bestest Tanya 🙂 Happy it helps, homie <3
Thank-you for posting this — that string-bean line made me laugh as I just went through that same feeling last week. I’m 4wks into my first serious cut and am having a really tough time with the rapidly diminishing size and strength. A solid re-feed day and this article have put me back on-track!
A
thank YOU for reading it! Ain’t nothing a refeed and a mindset shift can’t cure 😉
Best of luck with the remainder of your cut! and I appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment <3
It cannot cure severe debilitating illnesses, among other things. But then again, the fitness industry is known to be very exclusionary of people who don’t possess the privilege of semi-decent health.
True. Debilitating illness would definitely keep someone from a lot of things in life.
But this article is on a blog about bodybuilding and the intended audience was that of a competitive bodybuilder. It was not to address any type of general health or fitness challenge. I have spoken very publicly about that fact that this sport generally does not support a healthy life. But neither is getting concussions in a football game or developing chronic shoulder injuries due to years of pitching baseballs. Every sport has it’s unique set of dangers, and our just happen to mostly be psychological. Hence, I wrote this article to help some people address that.
So your point is extremely valid. But not EVERY point of EVERYONE’S life can be so addressed with an article such as this. Hopefully it goes without saying that this website of bodybuilding advice is not going to be very useful for someone who is unable to lift heavy weights or exert themselves regularly.
But thanks anyway for reading our stuff and for taking the time to you leave your input 🙂 It is much appreciated.
This is a fantastic article. I have not been wiling to eat more and cover up the abs.
glad you liked it! And yep, I’ve definitely been there before. It’s a scary place, but it can def pay off in the long run for a bodybuilding career 🙂
Another obstacles are people who expect to see you always in-shape, about the influence of other people on our psychology can be written infinitely.
SUCH a great point. It’s so hard to deal with the social pressures of fitting certain visual molds. Especially since there are so many ways to put yourself out there now and receive validation all over the internet for looking stage lean. it makes “unlean” seem like you’re doing something wrong in contrast.
Thanks so much for leaving that input 🙂
Great job. Try more and go on.
thank you 🙂
I found it interesting how you mentioned how you should consider if you are willing to make bodybuilding a career when starting your bodybuilding adventure. My son has expressed interest in becoming a bodybuilding medical consultant to help those who are willing to bodybuild all the time, but he has been hesitant to do so because he won’t know how dedicated his clients will be. I will be sure to pass this information on to him so he can start living his dream with dedicated clients!
Wow thank you so much for telling me about your son! And just like with every sport, there are many who attempt to dive into it, but few who are willing to dedicate their lifestyle to it. It’ll be hard to find the right clients for his practice sometimes, but they are definitely out there! Just takes some time and effort.
A great book I recommend for service-based businesses who are searching for very specific clientele is “Book Yourself Solid” by Michael Port. And if he wants to do it online, a website with courses that helped me a lot early on was fizzle.co
Best of luck to you and your son, Ethan!
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thank you 🙂
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I sincerely appreciate this feedback Gyanol. Thank you so much for acknowledging the writing and the message. Means a lot 🙂