Keeping Your Goals in Sight

Cooperation and Competition

What? 

Being in a group working to together can have its benefits and be very productive but, it also can have some draw backs.  Previously I mentioned how great it is to be in a team all working to better one another (Holfstede,1980).  It also needs to be understood that at team is made up of individual’s and they do not always agree on certain goals. I am currently in a team that has added two new additions Power-lifter Andrew Jones, and future bikini competitor Andrea Long.  They are an amazing addition to the team. They are great motivator in the and out of the weight room.  The team could not have made such incredible gains in strength and definition without the addition of Andrew and Andrea.

So what?

Having Andrew now as a workout partner is great we help push one another to our breaking point and then some.  We are both very competitive as well so we love challenging each other in the weight room.  This can be fun at time but it can also take away from our main goal of following a program and getting stronger (Levip.77).  I will admit that it is mainly my fault I feel the need to always be the best and do the most weight.  This is not the right mentality to have.  It can be destructive and have the team lose sight of what we are trying to do (Levi 80).  Also it is a great way to get hurt.  I think it has something to do with the way I was brought up.  My mother had her hands full being divorced working full time and having to raise 3 children.  I will also mention my sister and I were not that well behaved.  Being the youngest of three was not always easy I felt alone most of the time and wanted attention.  I felt as if I was always competing with my brother for attention.  But I want to say that I had an amazing mother and I do not know how she had the courage and the strength to raise all of us alone.  There is much more to the story but that is for another day.  But that is where I believe I developed my competitive nature from fighting with my brother (Levi p77 Culture). 

Now what?

           That is where cooperation and communication comes in to save the day or by back.  Knowing that we are very competitive it helps having someone else in the team step in and talk some sense into us.  Lowering the weight and having good form beats heavy weight bad form any day.  This is where having good communication and knowing your team members well really helps.  Talking to each other working together (cooperating) and doing the weight that is better for you is going to help everybody reach their goals faster and create a better team (Levip.80).  So be smart listen to each other and always be safe.

Simple Sweet Potato Protein Pancakes

Protein pancakes are certainly one of our breakfast favorites. A great sunday morning treat without the guilt! We think they taste even better then regular pancakes!

Sweet Potato Pancakes:

 (Here is a picture of some protein pancakes, they aren't the exact ones we made. We gobbled them up too quickly before we could take a picture! :D ) 

Ingredients:
1 sweet potato (4 oz.)
1/2 cup egg whites
1 scoop vanilla whey protein
1 tbsp. stevia
Vanilla extract
Cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder

Blend together in blend. Then pour in pan, flip, and enjoy! Its really that simple!

Also feel free to add your own alternatives like coco powder and chocolate protein powder for a more chocolate pancake. If you like pumpkin, swap out the sweet potato for 4 oz of canned pumpkin and use some pumpkin spice as well (this makes a great fall treat) 

Try avoiding using maple syrup with this one. If your craving some syrup feel free to top them off with some almond butter or applesause. You can even make your own berry syrup! Just place some frozen berries (or whatever frozen fruit you like) on the stove (you can add some stevia) then pour over pancakes! Its tastes great! 

Try it out and let us know what you think! 

-Nate and Kate 

What?

Bodybuilding… the term has been labeled with such negative connotations.  “All bodybuilders are meat heads” “Bodybuilders? Are they the big freaky muscly people on steroids? ”  I started bodybuilding the summer of my junior year at Virginia Tech.  My girlfriend Kat Cody had just competed in her first figure competition.  She won her first show and placed very well in her second show.  Before I met Kat, I had a long history of lifting weights for sports but being in college and not playing any sports it was hard to keep myself motivated.  I had seen bodybuilders before, but I never thought I could actually look like those guys.  Seeing all of their muscles and veins bulging from their shirts was simply intimidating.  But being with Kat and watching her transformation taught me that you don’t have to be a muscular freak in order to be a bodybuilder.  So going into my senior year of college I decided to enter my first bodybuilding show.  Preparing for a bodybuilding show has been one of the hardest things I have done in my entire life.

             All throughout the summer I was prepping for my show that would not be until October.  It was a long, brutal, and demanding road and I could not have done it without Kat’s help.  She was my rock; we were a team of two.  She helped me through all the long days of heavy lifting. Right when I thought I could not pick up another weight, she was there to push me through.  The long hours in the kitchen to prepare meals for the week, she was there telling me what to eat and what to cook.  She was there all those early mornings waking up before another soul would dare to go do cardio.  Walking on those revolving stairs thinking they will never end, thinking you are going to collapse and die from exhaustion.  We had to work as a team. Through all the hours of posing practice while dripping sweat, Kat corrected every little position of my body until it became second nature.  It’s not always easy working together with your girlfriend. But we push our differences aside because we had a goal to achieve.  Our goal was to walk on stage 14 weeks from now and win our first show as a team. 

So what?

Along our journey we began to realize that our bodybuilding lifestyle had left us very isolated from the rest of the college population.  Instead of spending our Friday nights down town drinking, we were in the gym sweating, grunting, and grinding away.  Over time being isolated we became shut-ins. We needed a change, and we needed it fast. Our goals began to take over our lives. We didn't have any other social outlet other than the gym, and that was starting to eat away at us.  That is when the new members of our team, Hannah Poole and Ben Bowles, stepped in. They seemed like they had been sent from God.  Here was another bodybuilder couple that understood our struggles and problems.  Finally, we had people we could relate to; a couple who lived a similar lifestyle and goals.  It didn't take long for all of us to become a great team.  We all help each other out with workouts, nutrition, and competing.   We have all the conditions for a successful team according to Daniel Levi. We have the right group of people, our tasks are suitable for the team work, combine our knowledge of fitness, and we competed our goal.

Now What?

Even though we have not been friends for very long, our relationship has taken to new heights. We have inspired others in the Virginia Tech community to adopt a healthy lifestyle. We are always willing to give out advice and guidance to our fellow peers. We also aim to serve as a positive example to others, and make sure that we continually challenge and push each other to new heights. Bodybuilding has given us so much more than just a great body or a set of trophies. It has transcended into all aspects of our life. We strive to give this incredible gift to others. 

People have noticed that Kate (aka Kat) myself and some other students doing bodybuilding competitions.  Some of those people have approached me wanting to compete in there own bodybuilding, physique, or bikini competition.  I love that all of us competitors have been able to inspire other people to try some thing new that will challenge then mentally as well as physically.

During my prep I kept some journals about how I was feeling and my progress through out the prep.  I want to share those journals with you so you can see how I transformed not only my body but my mind as well. I will also be posting my progress pictures and any videos that we have during my prep. So stay tuned for Nate's First Contest Prep!