What You See Is Not What It Is All Cracked Up To Be...

Envious, comparisons and competition are all intertwined among the sport of bodybuilding.  I think that a lot of individuals do not realize is that what is seen among social media are illusions (as I like to call them) everything is masked and filtered to some extent.  As I mentioned in a previous blog, we are all vulnerable when posting publicly to a social media platform.  

The sport of bodybuilding is a process.  You have to embrace every stage of the process, that is how it is possible to develop in a well seasoned athlete. This means you have to gain weight and body fat, a body type in which is commonly referred to as "fluffy" in the bodybuilding world.  Then we have our dieting phase as we begin to lean out and cut the additional body weight and fluff off, and finally we have our stage ready and stage lean body.  The process of the sport is a cycle and each phase needs to be hit in order to improve each season.  Many competitors and individuals on social media fail to show each area of prep and creates an illusion for others that it is possible to have a stage lean body all year. For some, yes, I have seen it possible, but for the majority of us competitors we get heavier, stronger and our body composition changes for each stage of prep.  

This weekend I had two photo shoots (I will post photos later).   When you flip open a page and see a model; the media needs to realize that these individuals do not look like this year round.  Dieting, water depletion, exercise and a whole lot of filtering and photo editing went in to make the photo flawless.  I am not by any means against posting photos of yourself in the best light, I am only writing this to make others aware that models, competitors and myself do not look shredded and flawless all year round. Everyone is human, we all enjoy our lives once in awhile. 

When people tell me that they - "Want my body" or " I want your muscles" I always reply the same way, "WANTING TO BE SOMEONE ELSE, IS A COMPLETE WASTE OF THE PERSON YOU WERE MEANT TO BE."  You are just as important niche in society as I am, we are all equal and make up the constant ebb and flow of how society functions, we need each other regardless if you believe that or not.  

In my bodybuilding journey I try to post as much as I can throughout my progress and transitions through each stage of my prep.  I write this now as I preparing myself to transition into my off season bulking stage. Being accepting and learning that your clothes are going to be a bit more snug, your ass a bit bigger, and your strength a hell of a lot stronger is the off-season acceptance that I enjoy.  Kyle [Fiance] actually enjoys my off season more, he tells me he is able to actually lift heavy with me and not have to coddle me through workouts with baby weight.  My off season allows me to utilize my strengths, hit PR's (personal records) and keep building up my muscles to ensure I stay symmetrical for next prep season.  Each stage of prep is essential, off season is just as important as on season, off season is the only time you are able to really push and build your strength and muscles.