What I Learned This Year by Kevin Parker |
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| What I learned This Year… While preparing for bodybuilding competitions this year, Bobby from Midwest Christian Bodybuilding asked if I would write down some of my thoughts from competing again, five years since my last show, now in my forties. Here's what God taught me this year… 1.) Losing fat is a slow process if you've not competed recently (or ever). I always underestimate, pridefully I'm sure, how long it takes to get into competition shape after years of carrying bodyfat. While others can stay lean from metabolism, activity or age it takes me about 18 months of hard dieting (throw in a couple of contest diets) to get into good, competitive shape when starting from a standstill (not competing). It's like Joyce Meyer says, just because I do something right for a short time with my diet, I expect immediate results! I hadn't competed in 5 years but I expected fat to fall off me in 5 months! I always think I can cheat this, but I never do. 2). Don't force things; if you don't have God's grace to do a thing, there can only be disaster waiting if you try. This is certainly true if God hasn't opened the door for you to compete. To prepare successfully for a show, you need the dust to be settled in your life. A contest diet puts your body under stress so you won't react well to additional stress. However, that's secondary to the point I' want to make. I don't have the grace to hack squat. It puts my knees in an awkward position & makes it very easy to go deeper than 90 degrees. Here is a key to longevity in bodybuilding. Don't take your joints deeper than 90 degrees if you want to lift weights indefinitely. When you're on a contest diet it's also very difficult for your joints to recover once they have become chronically sore because you're not taking in enough fat to lubricate them. I competed twice with sore knees because of this error. 3). While there are exercises, like hack squats, I need to avoid; there are also some I can't do without. No matter how heavy I do Cable Pulldowns for my back width, it can't compare to chin-ups with my bodyweight. Actually, I try to do exercises that include me lifting my own body as some of my core exercises such as bodyweight dips, chin-ups, & squats (on a smith machine to keep my hips directly under me) as they give me a thicker look on stage. 4). Make bodybuilding & physical fitness inclusive rather than exclusive. This year, I had workout partners for both weightlifting & cardio who were Christians & kept me focused on God rather than focusing on myself. I could tell the difference between 1998-2001 & 2006 as I've never enjoyed a contest preparation cycle as much as I did this year. I believe I grew as a Christian because of these workouts with these workout partners as I did muscularly for the show. You'll never do better than that. 5). This year I began to see bodybuilding as a journey of worshipping God rather than a selfish destination of how I placed at a show. Bodybuilding is accumulative; you get better the longer you do it & if you're consistent in your competition endeavors, you really can't help but improve with each effort. This year, I learned that I'm not in control of the judging panel's decision or the outcome. I give the stress of the outcome to God so that I can enjoy the time of fellowship with other bodybuilders, talking shop with those who are as passionate as I am about this sport and/or just making some new friends. Most people are stressed leading up to the weigh-in if not through the prejudging/first couple of rounds. I know this isn't what God intended for us but is an easy thing to fall into after dieting & training literally months if not years for just one weekend. Well that's it in a tiny nutshell; I hope there is something for you in these thoughts & whether you choose to compete or not, glorify God first, everything else is just a detail and will work out. Your brother in Christ, Kevin These newsletters aren't a substitute for a doctor's advice, prescription or care. They're only my opinion. Please have a physical by a qualified physician before embarking on a workout program. |
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