28: The Three Types Of Competitors - Which One Are You?

Welcome back to the show! I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting while on the road and while judging and spectating at various bodybuilding shows.  I was thinking the types of people that compete in bodybuilding shows and came up with three of them.  

Join the Facebook group called “The ‘Everything Else’ in Bodybuilding Podcast Insiders!” and tell us which one reflects you the closest… and find out the latest on the podcast tour as we travel the USA promoting the show.

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-FREE ebook “5 Things Every Bodybuilding and Fitness Competitor Needs To Know Before Preparing For A Show” at http://www.eeinbb.com
-Grab your “My Own Motivation” tank top at https://shop.killitwithdrive.com/
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Key Takeaways:
*Why are people showing up so unprepared for shows despite deep down really wanting to win? (4:15)
*When poor placement is NOT the coach’s fault (7:52)
*The three types of competitors in bodybuilding (9:47)
*Doors to the all new second edition of Posing Wins Shows just opened! (14:30)

--TRANSCRIPT-- 
Welcome back guys!  Wasn’t that interview on the last episode with Victor Black quite the listen?  By the way as it’s looking, that episode might surpass the episode 7 interview I did with IFBB Pro Physique competitor Jamie Pinder which is currently my top downloaded episode of all time. I’m super happy about this because it shows me that the conversations we are having on this show are important to you and not necessarily because they align with your personal decisions.  They interest you because they are… interesting.  

And that is why I started doing this show.  I didn’t want this podcast to be another pile of episodes of people sharing inspirational stories …or a bunch of show recaps for one federation of bodybuilding and leaving out the rest of the bodybuilding industry as if it doesn’t exist.  I’ve said it from the beginning that a bodybuilder is a bodybuilder no matter what federation. No matter what division.  Someone doesn’t work any less hard preparing for a show because they chose one particular federation and not another.  I’ve competed in 6 federations over the past 20 years and I can honestly say that I gave it my all for every show.  Why? Because I wanted to win.  

This podcast is for everyone in bodybuilding and fitness that wants to have interesting conversations in and around the industry as a whole, no matter how taboo the topic is.  It is also for people who want to win their shows and want cutting edge science based information that will help you achieve your goals.  And it is a show where I share a lot of my first hand experiences and perspectives on the industry over the past 20 years.  I appreciate all of you listening and especially those who are starting to tag me on social media in posts of you either spotting our podcast van or taking pictures of you next to the parked van.  

Speaking of podcast tour, we had to make a change in our tour schedule this week due to hurricane Ian.  We were scheduled to be in Tampa next week for some appearances but we decided to rerout west to avoid the storm as a whole. So we are now on our way west and will be arriving earlier than planned to the Las Vegas and Las Angeles areas.  We will be on the west coast for the rest of the year going show to show and trying to reach more listeners.

In the mean time, I’ve been doing some reflecting after head judging the Pro/Am WNBF show in New York last weekend and spectating at various other shows around the country while we have been on this podcast tour promoting the show….and I had a thought.  I’ve been thinking about the attitudes of people in this sport during their contest prep.  Everyone wants to win.  I think we all know that. But what I’m thinking about is WHYYY many people show up so UNPREPARED for their show…despite deep down wanting to win? 

I’m the most surprised at the amount of people who are pros and competing on pro stages and are really bad at posing.  I believe this is unacceptable. A pro should look polished on stage.  But it’s not just one person here or there with bad posing.  It’s a LOT of people.  Perhaps it’s because people are getting their pro cards left and right and aren’t truly READY to be a pro?  And if everyone is posing like a hot mess, at the end of the day someone has to win, so people with bad posing skills still win so bad posing can squeeze by at shows. 

But it’s not just posing. I’m also surprised at how many people on stage truly aren’t lean enough to be competitive and could have used quite a few more weeks of dieting.  And again, this goes for pros too.

So I go back to the question….why are people showing up so unprepared for shows despite deep down really wanting to win? 

I think it’s two fold. 

For one, I think it’s the culture we are in where everyone wants instant gratification and underestimates how much time it really requires to become great at something. Just because you achieved pro status doesn’t mean the improvements should ever stop either. For example, it was known that NBA basketball legend Larry Bird would begin his morning with 500 jump shots.  And then there is Michael Jordan and what was called the Breakfast Club, which was he and a group of teammates, that got together every morning for 2 hours to work out whether it was practice day or game day with the goal of being more prepared than anyone else.  These guys made it to the NBA and their work ethic was freaking awesome. They were always seeking improvement. They didn’t start shooting a basketball and then within 6 months make it to the NBA like in bodybuilding where people have been known to start exercising and after a few months get a pro card.

 I think with the influx of fitness influencers on social media making fitness look cool, I think people forget that bodybuilding is an extreme sport.  

Looking hot under expensive lighting with just the right angle in a photo will not translate to total domination on a bodybuilding stage. You most likely won’t be lean enough.  

Being super lean kinda hurts.  Again this is an extreme sport. The psychology of preparing for a show is equally as important as the physical part. 

And there is a difference between being starved and consuming poverty calories for a period of time and actually being lean.  You can be on poverty calories and still not be lean enough for your show. I hear people at shows crying about how much they miss carbs but they still look 4 weeks out.  An extreme drop in calories will make you hungry no matter what.  Being starved doesn’t mean you are lean.  They are two separate things. You aren’t lean, you are just hungry.

Which leads me to the second part of why I think people are showing up unprepared for shows despite deep down really wanting to win.

It’s your level of inner drive.  The how bad do you want it kind of drive.  Your ability to embrace the suck.  You can want something and it only be a wish.  It’s easy to get motivated for something for a few days or even a couple of weeks. But can you be like Michael Jordan and crew and keep the routine for 15 years straight no matter what?  What exactly IS it that will keep you getting up and slaying the day to reach your goals?  What type of motivation do YOU need and where are YOU going to pull it from?  

Which is why when it comes to how well you looked and placed on show day, I want to talk about how often I think it’s NOT the coaches fault. Coaches get all of the blame, whether it’s warranted or not.  One show and now a pro Coach Joe and his 800 calorie diets and 2 a day workouts deserves alllll of my sarcasm.  Not talking about that.

There are coaches who are actually phenomenal at what they do.  They have the knowledge and the heart to make you a champion.  And coaches like this get frustrated when they see the talent and potential in a client, give them the protocol, advice, and support to make them a champion…..but said client doesn’t follow the protocol, or follows it half ass, and never reaches his or her fullest potential.  But people will judge the outcome of the competitor on stage and attribute it to being all because of the coach’s skills.  How frustrating.

I admit I understand what that feels like from my own experiences with people as a posing and stage presentation educator and coach.  I’ve taken people with two left feet and turned them into total show stoppers. So I know it’s possible to make anyone look and feel like a champion on stage.  And then … I have had the client who has a ton of potential to be great and they book a session with me once in a while and then never practice anything they learned, so every time they come to me, I am covering the same material I taught them at the previous lesson and never really get anywhere with them. 

I’ll also get inquiries from people looking for an overhaul of their posing skills who think we are going to accomplish that in one session.  

To become great at ANYTHING takes TIME, patience, and consistency.  Partly why I created my weekly posing practice classes. I found that people will practice if they have accountability.  So I am that accountability for weekly posing practice year round. If you haven’t joined, go to weeklyposing.com and stop procrastinating.

So after reflecting on the various reasons I think people show up unprepared for their competition despite wanting to WIN I came up with three types of competitors in this sport. 

Which one are you?

There is the silent champion that puts the work in day in and day out, year round, and never complains.  She or he follows whatever plan is given, bodybuilding is truly a lifestyle and the nutrition and training requirements aren’t a big deal.  They enjoy it.  They are also the ones I’ve noticed as a posing coach come to me more regularly.  And in between sessions they practice everything we work on diligently. And on show day they show up looking their best. Even if they win their show, afterwards they immediately look for things they can do to improve on all aspects of competition including both the physique and the stage presentation. They start on making improvements right away.  This person is driven and their own motivation.  Does not need outside encouragement to become a champion.

Competitor #2 has the hash tag “beast mode” on every social media post when in reality it should say “least mode.” They are overly dramatic about all the woes of contest prep but somehow still look 8 weeks out when it comes show time. Secretly they are struggling with contest prep. They hire the most popular coaches thinking that they must have an easier magic pro card formula. From a posing standpoint they will only hire someone in person to teach them posing because they need the feeling of having extra attention on them.  It’s all about finding the easiest and most attention grabbing route. What they are really looking for is extra outward motivation, accountability, and encouragement, not for the love of the sport, but for the love of the attention and compliments. Competitor #2 doesn’t last long in a sport.

And then there is competitor #3. Loves fitness and leads a relatively healthy lifestyle year round. Doesn’t live for bodybuilding so gains a little extra weight in between shows. Loves to compete but loves to eat too.  When competitor #3 finally commits to a show, that commitment alone is the drive that carries him or her to do all the work needed to get to a show.  With the show date in sight, they now Put 100% effort into tracking food and training.  Also, they come out of nowhere and reach out to me for posing assistance because she/he is super rusty.  Competitor #3 feeds off of the crunch time vibe of a show date in sight, but often underestimates the amount of time needed to dial in their physique in order to be fully prepared. That extra weight they gained in the off season might mean 8 more weeks of prep but they decide to dial in without the extra 8 weeks of prep because they are motivated…and would rather work harder in a shorter amount of time. In addition, Competitor #3 underestimates the amount of posing practice time needed and the benefit of learning nee posing skills that will help them look their best on stage. This is the competitor that often shows up not lean enough and performs good but not great on stage.  

Bodybuilding is a sport that requires a unique kind of commitment.  It’s the most demanding and the least paying of all sports. It’s a 24 hour, 7 days a week commitment. But Winning doesn’t give you the $30mil per year contract like a Major League Baseball player.  The pay outs are so low I don’t think many pro bodybuilders even know how much the prize money even IS for their win.  Why? Because we are only talking maybe $5,000 for first place. No one is going to make a living off of $5,000 per year win.  

The achievement of Winning is the ultimate goal, not the money.  HOW one goes about preparing for the competition day to vie for the plastic trophy is determined by ….the motivation he or she is driven by.  Basically…what’s their motivation to win if it’s not money?

Are you your own motivation?  

Or are you looking for outside validation to feel more worthiness within?  

Orrr are you just a terrible procrastinator who has the capability of being awesome but needs better planning skills and more accountability when not in show season?

The silent champion competitors will become awesome in this sport.  

The least mode competitor, I can’t help you.

And the procrastinator you are the one with a ton of POTENTIAL to be awesome.  You are the one that can go from “meh” to superstar with better planning and year round accountability .  The drive is in there…it just needs better structure.

All right guys I hope if anything this episode gets you to think about contest prep a little differently.  I’ve got a really great interview coming up about the contest prep mistakes that keep happening despite science telling us otherwise.  It’s a fun listen coming up next week. 

Speaking of next week, I just opened the doors until next Saturday on the all new second edition of the Posing Wins Shows program for those who are competing this fall or spring next year and want to go from Meh to freaking awesome on stage. It’s an 8 week program and you will get a lot more of my personal support in this all new Fall edition of the program.  The enrollment closes next Saturday though so better go to posingwinsshows.com now before enrollment closes for the season. 

See you guys next week!