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.
No comments:
Post a Comment