The fitness industry can have a lot of moving parts. They can be so different as to not seem like they are even related. For me, training is the constant and it connects me to everything else. But I have to be careful because the cumulative effect can catch up to me before I even notice.
I had 3 clients competing in physique shows last week. It’s amazing to watch their transformations. During the last week there are daily checkins, diet adjustments, picture reviews, and condition analysis. Since they are all in a different time zones than I am that can effect my normal schedule as I try to be as available as possible.
As ongoing as that was, the rest of the week included some more specific things. Monday I did a consultation and fitness program for a new client looking to get back on stage. It was Memorial Day but that didn’t stop the FITLife crew from some serious plotting and planning. I found myself heading to the gym at 9:00pm in 100 degree Vegas heat. All good!
Tuesday I did a podcast with Terry that we both enjoyed. By the time we wrapped things up and I got checked in with all my competition clients it meant a 10 PM workout.
Wednesday I wrote my Fitlife training journal and connected again with all my clients. This was the final training day and two would compete on Saturday, one on Friday evening. They all looked really good and on track. Although Wednesday was a schedule off-day from training, I felt the need to get it in while I could and push my rest day to Thursday. Another late night workout but I find training after I’ve done the rest of my work to be very relaxing. It was a good one!
Thursday I needed to do more informational videos for a new fitness course I’ve created. I recorded and reviewed seven clips, then formatted and uploaded them into the course platform. Learning the information is only a part of the process, delivering it and making it available is the key step. Throughout the day I did more check ins of course, but I was glad that I had trained on Wednesday and could take Thursday off.
My client who competed Friday shocked me with how she looked that morning. Maybe the best prep transformation that I have seen. She really worked hard and her before and after pictures were hard to believe. She would place 6th in a National show the next day. Maybe not enough to get a pro card, but more than good enough to impress me with how far she’s come. My Friday workout was when I saw the news come across a silent screen in the gym about the passing of Muhammad Ali. I knew he had been hospitalized earlier but it was still hard to process. Post workout, I watched all the news stories, tributes, and 3 of his fights. The Greatest was with us no more.
I think I got my first text around 3:00am Saturday morning from one of my east cost competitors. Life of a coach in the information age. The morning and early afternoon was spent with final checkins and instructions. One had been a national level competitor who was forced away from the stage due to metabolic issues. After getting back up onstage last year, this year she was determined to start moving up the ranks again. Finishing 2nd and 5th in the divisions she did and re-qualifying for Nationals was very exciting for her and very well deserved. Back to the grind for the next 4 weeks.
Ironically, it was my other competitor who I thought had the best chance to win her entire show. She had taken her physique to a completely different level. Her pictures that final week and especially that morning looked like the images of a pro competitor. She had also come from metabolic issues and had transformed herself over several years. When she didn’t make the top 5 it was surprising to us both, but then again it wasn’t since I know how these things are sometimes judged and what can go into a decision at an amateur show that would and shouldn’t happen at a higher level. We will adjust a few minor things to get her even better and simply go to a show hoping that new judges might be better able to reward what she puts in front of them.
In the midst of that, I squeezed in my Saturday leg workout. I felt stronger than I had and pushed through to some good weight for good reps. My knee had been a little tender so I resisted the temptation to add more, but that’s the plan for next time.
Sunday is usually a good wind down day but the world doesn’t always cooperate. I did a consultation and program for a new online client and tried to catch up on my writing. I knew I had 2 articles to finish for the upcoming premier issue of FITLife Magazine, plus I wanted to do a tribute to Ali.
A week of moving parts had left me pretty checked out! But Monday came and that first workout of the week came with it, just as I knew it would. I’ve avoided heavy weight in my chest training and it’s paying off in a shoulder that finally feels a bit better. Let’s see if I’m smart enough to give it a least one more week of caution before allowing my ego to take over. My clients are transitioning to their next challenge, I have a mind full of articles that need to come out, and I have another client competing this weekend an ocean away. It will be her first show and she looks amazing!
The parts keep moving, but the training keeps them all from moving too fast.
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