drtbear1967
Musclechemistry Board Certified Member
Contest Prep Success - By Nick Tong
Succeeding in a contest prep situation is as much a product of the work involved during the process, as it is the logistics surrounding that period of time.
9 Times out of 10 I see people underachieve during contest prep if:
*They have excessive social stress, whether thats relationship, job, or family.
*They have perpetual body image or food issues.
*They start a prep as a reactionary decision; in an underwhelming position metabolically or physically.
*They have an inconsistent schedule, i.e. swing shift.
*They work an excessively laborious or mentally draining job.
*They insist on concurrent training. Sometimes this can be had with SIMILAR adaptive stimuli approached by those experienced...i.e powerlifting training while prepping for a physique contest. But don't think you're going to have optimal results crosscutting 4x a week or training for endurance while prepping.
However, 9 Times out of 10 I see people overachieve during contest prep if:
*They put their dues in prior to prep to get all systems in an optimal state and put on metabolically active tissue.
*They make sure they're in a positive social situation, and approach prep with a "be like water," approach, knowing life will be there throughout.
*They take adequate time to prep and build in "flex time," for those instances life do occur.
*They do what they need to in the gym 100%, but realize time outside of the gym is meant to REST, not burn maximal energy. Often times this is a less vs. more mentality.
*They maximize time in a daily schedule and even if needing to travel, etc. they pre-plan in order to keep as much of a schedule during as they can.
*They believe in their abilities, and realize this is a game of inches, taking objective data to evaluate at intelligent individuals to adjust by, rather than waking up every morning, upset with the scale and the mirror.
TOO many individuals see prep as a black and white endeavor: You do X work, you get X result. As important as that work is, the factors around that work are going to have as high of a correlation to your success as the work itself.
Succeeding in a contest prep situation is as much a product of the work involved during the process, as it is the logistics surrounding that period of time.
9 Times out of 10 I see people underachieve during contest prep if:
*They have excessive social stress, whether thats relationship, job, or family.
*They have perpetual body image or food issues.
*They start a prep as a reactionary decision; in an underwhelming position metabolically or physically.
*They have an inconsistent schedule, i.e. swing shift.
*They work an excessively laborious or mentally draining job.
*They insist on concurrent training. Sometimes this can be had with SIMILAR adaptive stimuli approached by those experienced...i.e powerlifting training while prepping for a physique contest. But don't think you're going to have optimal results crosscutting 4x a week or training for endurance while prepping.
However, 9 Times out of 10 I see people overachieve during contest prep if:
*They put their dues in prior to prep to get all systems in an optimal state and put on metabolically active tissue.
*They make sure they're in a positive social situation, and approach prep with a "be like water," approach, knowing life will be there throughout.
*They take adequate time to prep and build in "flex time," for those instances life do occur.
*They do what they need to in the gym 100%, but realize time outside of the gym is meant to REST, not burn maximal energy. Often times this is a less vs. more mentality.
*They maximize time in a daily schedule and even if needing to travel, etc. they pre-plan in order to keep as much of a schedule during as they can.
*They believe in their abilities, and realize this is a game of inches, taking objective data to evaluate at intelligent individuals to adjust by, rather than waking up every morning, upset with the scale and the mirror.
TOO many individuals see prep as a black and white endeavor: You do X work, you get X result. As important as that work is, the factors around that work are going to have as high of a correlation to your success as the work itself.
