Let me be tell you something. A two competitor home can be overwhelming. Last year, between my husband and I we did 5 shows. In Utah, California and Louisiana. Were we the best at balancing life? Nope! We had a lot of ups and downs. Happy and Ugly times. Let’s be real. Depleting for a show comes with it’s own ugly side affects. Bodybuilding is selfish. Which can be a good thing and a bad thing. The key is finding the balance of it all to ensure you don’t neglect your spouse, family, work, and other important priorities.
Utah Cup was my very first show. I placed 5th and received my very first NPC hardware. It was great to have my husband and daughter there for me. I also had some very close friends come out to support me. This prep took a LONG time. I went from being 178lbs. to 130lbs. This took about 17 months. I also had back surgery 6 months before this show and the recovery of it made me on bed rest for 8 weeks! Getting on that stage was a huge accomplishment for me.
Salt City Show Down at Fit Con in Utah was Johnny’s first show of 2017. His prep was 6 weeks long. I chose to do the fitness model search this time. I met a ton of wonderful women and loved being at the show to support my husband. He took 2nd in both Heavy Weight Body Building Novice and 2nd in Heavy Weight Body Building Open division.
July 21, 2017 John Linday’s Muscle Contest In Los Angeles, California. This was my second show for NPC and I did a 12 week prep. I took first at this show. It was such a great feeling to know all this hard work paid off. My daughter flew out with me for this show and my husband surprised me and flew in for pre judging. It was so great to have all the love and support. My Coach Robyn Mahur even flew out to be with me throughout the show. This was a HUGE help!
October 28, 2017 Southern Muscle was Johnny’s second show in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He did a 14 week prep for this show. His Coach, Jimmy Cassels lives in Louisiana so he was also able to be at the show supporting him. He took 3rd in Heavy Weight Open Class. This was such a stacked class. I was so proud of him. We took our younger two girls with us and had a mini holiday while we were there. It was so fun.
Here is a display of all our hardware we earned last year. It was so fun to take hardware home at every show we attended. Shows that hard work does pay off. When Johnny was in the Louisiana, the Promoter of the show, presented him with some hardware from his first show, years ago, that he lost in the Louisiana flood.
Let’s talk about what prep goes into a show. The obvious weight training and strict regimented diet. These are essential. Now the closer you get to a show the more cardio you need to do. To give you an idea, I was doing 2 hours of cardio a day for my first show. This is on top of 6 days a week of weight training. This is on top of being a mom, a wife, house hold chores, driving kids everywhere, check ins with my coach, meal prep, eating 6 times a day minimum, posing practice etc. Not a lot of extra time to work on a marriage. Especially when we were both doing preps that over lapped one another.
There were moments where I just focused on the show prep and shut everything else out. This is not good! I had tunnel vision and just wanted to do the best. Which I did! But after my second NPC show I really thought about the time and energy that went into that prep and I really felt like I needed to balance my life and priorities. It was then that I decided to sit out the Southern Muscle, Louisiana show. Focus on my family and let Johnny do the show. That way if he needed to do extra cardio or whatever, someone is always home with the kids.
Keep in mind Johnny and I got married last February too. So a new marriage, 5 shows, 3 different states, three teenage daughters….you get the picture.
To help with the chaos and stress the competing caused our family and relationship last year. We have made huge changes to try to get balance and perspective back on life. Johnny has chosen to take some time off from Body Building. We have added some amazing work out equipment to the garage so we can do work outs from home to minimize time away. Our kids now can join us in our training. Which we love.
We can all look at ourselves when know one is looking and know that we do better with a balanced life. We all know what we need to put into things to have them successful. Whether its a career, relationship, training, competitions, family, you name it. We all set different priorities on life depending on what our particular goal is. And as a result neglect other things. It’s all a juggling act.
I love fitness! I love my family! I love my husband! I love competing! I love my family, and I love my girls!
My goal this year is to find a balance that doesn’t neglect things that are important to me. I don’t want to sacrifice my family relationships for my fitness goals. Just like I don’t want to sacrifice my fitness goals entirely either. I have to find a balance so I can more confidently train and compete knowing I haven’t neglected my support system and ultimately who are most important to me at the end of the day. This is not easy but I am going to do my darndest to figure it out.
I am spending more time with my husband and daughters this year. I have equipment at home to minimize my travel time on top of training for the busier days. I still go to the gym, but when I have the extra time. I can balance appointments, car pool, house chores, time with family and my training better now.
I am meal prepping faster this year by making similar meals for my husband and I. My girls love the clean eating lifestyle and embrace the meals we prepare. This helps take pressure off of making many additional meals just for my daughters.
Life is busy but balance makes it bearable and enjoyable. I want my balanced life to simplify the crazy. If that’s possible.