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Recently I travelled upto Liverpool to speak with two competitive
bodybuilders. I wanted to get inside their mind. I wanted to see what drove them
to do what they do. And I wanted to see the extreme lengths that they would goto
to get in shape and win a bodybuilding competition. I have to admit that I have
been surrounded by bodybuilders and their lifestyles for nearly ten years and so
I didn't think much of what they would tell me would shock me. And indeed the
information they shared quite candidly about the sport and especially the drug
use in sport was not that shocking. Id heard that before. But to actually get
inside the mind of a bodybuilder to see how they carried on. How they motivated
themselves to succeed was more than fascinating. It was a very enjoyable day to
be able to pick the brains of these very interesting and passionate individuals.
Individuals that had a purpose and a reason for doing something. That makes a
welcome a refreshing change from what you often see around you on a day to day
basis.
I was thinking about the interview as I walked through the snow in Liverpool
to meet my guests. I passed by two or three MacDonald's, a Wimpy (I thought
they had gone) and a Burger King. I actually stopped and had a Subway sandwich
for my lunch. It was a steak and cheese foot long with a packet of crisps and a
diet cola. I guess I never prepared myself for what I was about to hear about
two people who were very passionate about their life's goals.
We are surrounded by people everyday. People who live their lives like
robots. People who will just go along with the flow and not stand up for
themselves. Not stand out for the crowd. These people who demand so little from
themselves that they are then not disappointed by what they find themselves on
the receiving end of. My Aunt for example has just suffered her sixth heart
attack. She is obese. She drinks and eats plenty of fatty, high glycaemia foods.
She complains often about her ill health. She takes more drugs than Mr Olympia
supposedly does or doesn't depending upon what you read. She turns her nose up at
walking around the block for exercise. She takes aspirin daily for headaches.
She has diabetes. Interestingly she seems happy some of the time. This is just
one way to choose to live your life. Peter and Julie, who I went along to
interview, obviously have chosen a different lifestyle. Although there are
definite patterns that we can see amongst human beings.
There's not many twenty odd year olds that have achieved much in their life.
Me -Im a big fan of Anthony Robbins and Pete Sipco. I don't know what you are
going to gleam from that. I just think that people are capable of so much when
they focus on the right things and aim for something special. I don't think there
is ever an excuse for mediocrity. I don't believe people should get fat, bald,
ugly and addicted. Im a bit out of weight though myself at the moment. I haven't
been giving my all to my training although I do consider myself an avid weight
trainer and exceptionally strong for my size. So whats my point? My point is
this. What makes that very difference. How come I have been training for nearly
as long as Peter and I have never competed. How come I found myself eating a
Subway when I am trying to get in shape and about to interview two very serious
competitors. How come I found myself enthused and intrigued and by the end of
the day dreaming of being on stage. My point is this. At which point do people
let their dreams slip? At which point do they start to fall away. Do we even
notice. Do we even know it is happening? Where do they go? They were there when
we were little. They were there when we were small. They just seem so far from
reality when we grow up sometimes. Sometimes we get so involved in our everyday
business - not looking more than two inches in front of our very eyes we cant
see where we were heading and before we know it we are lost and haven't achieved
very much at all.
One of the things that stuck with me after this day was a few things that
Peter actually said.
"I don't want to be wishy washy. Anyone can do that. I want to be different."
"When I go on stage - Im the smallest there. Ive been fat all my life. The
one thing I can say is that I struggled and no-one, not one of them on that
stage can say they worked as hard as me to get what I wanted."
Peter is a very enthusiastic and humorous guy. He oozes with natural people
skills and instantly becomes likeable. But superficially you can mistake him for
not having much depth until you really get to talk to this character. I hope he
doesn't mind me saying that. But once he's describing his journey through the
world of bodybuilding you cannot help but, through the wit and jokes, feel the
burning passion that propelled this man forward to his ultimate goal to demand
more of himself. To stand out from that crowd. To be different. To actually do
something. Anything. Something great.
And his partner Julie, although not as intense, made me feel a little weak
willed and lacking self confidence. She had pursued her goals diligently,
despite being knocked back and afraid. She overcame these feelings and pushed on
with something that makes her feel good. Makes her feel a sense of achievement,
despite possible injustice. And the whole time, seemingly sailing through it
with ease. Because she has a very structured and dedicated life all year round.
She has high expectations of herself because she knows that she can do it - so
not doing it is simply not good enough. Julie stays in great shape all year
round because she can. How many of us can say that. Even those of us who
compete. How many of us can just about handle it in the short term and then let
it all go to pieces off season. Do we lack will power. Or do we just focus on
different goals? Its fascinating.
I have a friend who is a personal trainer who probably has about the very
best natural physique I have ever seen in my entire life and he stays in great
shape all year round. He works at it. He works damn hard. But it just proves
that it is possible. How many of us don't have it in us. How many of us quit. Why
do we quit on the things that are most important to us. Think about it. If the
world was full of people that didn't quit on the important things in life,
wouldn't the whole world be a richer place to be. Full of excitement, passion,
drive and enthusiasm. I would rather live my life with passion and enthusiasm
than drab and boring normality. I left the interview determined to compete
myself. And that is what I am going to do next year. Because for me it is not
about winning. And indeed for Peter it is not always about winning. Nor even for
Julie. It is about demanding more of yourself. And why? Why - because you can.
Because you can do it. And because you can you can prove to yourself that by
overcoming these obstacles they reflect as a metaphor in your life. If you can
do this. You can overcome this hardship - you can overcome other obstacles in
your life.
I received two very distinct different views from these two people. Two very
different beliefs. Julie was very positive about her competitive career. She is
enthusiastic and almost enjoys the hard dieting. She diets for 6 - 8 weeks for a
show and sails in in great shape and has won numerous shows. She does not make
it the sole focus of her life. She does not torture herself or beat herself up
about anything. She measures her goals and progress and rewards herself
positively step by step for being successful. This sounded great. Positive,
motivated and almost enjoyable journey of change. Peter on the other hand had a
very different tale to tell. But both people are driven by deep routed needs,
wants and dreams. Values that are important to them in their hearts.
Peter told me how he diets for 22 weeks of gruelling hell. Where his life
nearly falls apart around him. Where he struggles like a war to walk up a flight
of stairs after training. Where he wants to kill the fat boy on the treadmill
next to him in the mornings. Where he is sick of eating dry turkey, after dry
turkey, after dry turkey all day long and nothing else. A world where his temper
goes, his inclination to do things wains, his attitude turns negative. A world
where he beats himself up. A world where he is frightened he isn't ready or good
enough. But driven he is. Driven to succeed. Anybody can be mediocre. Peter
wants to be exceptional. And indeed he proves it to himself time and time again.
Peter has successfully competed time and time again and won. And the whole
journey has been near torture in his own words. Upon asking him why he does it -
he said he doesn't know. But I think I knew. I think I could see the internal
desire to prove to himself that he could do it and not be a quitter on something
important to him. When asked would he do it again - he said yes. And when asking
both if they would recommend this experience to anybody else - they both were
very enthusiastic in their response. Both would recommend bodybuilding
competitions to everyone. I was in inspired. I cant wait.
Throughout the day I gleamed as much information from these two about
bodybuilding competitions, training, nutrition and advice I could. I even asked
some very direct questions about drugs in the sport and the politics of the
sport. I found this all very fascinating. I even took note of the conversational
topics that were going on in a group of them before the interview - where the
discussion had naturally turned to that of competition. What I heard was
shocking and appealing all at the same time.
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