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Apr 08

212°: The Extra Degree of Doing

Boiling-WaterDid you know that at 211 degrees, water is hot.  Very hot.  But it doesn’t start boiling until it hits 212 degrees.  You see, that extra one degree takes water from very hot to extremely hot, from almost boiling to boiling. One lousy degree.  But that one degree makes such a huge difference.  That one extra degree captures a simple, yet powerful concept.  It’s the extra degree of effort that often separates the good from the great.   It’s that extra degree that can power a locomotive…or take your life results far beyond your expectations. By taking ownership of this fundamental principle, focusing on a clearly-defined goal, maintaining an unstoppable attitude, committing to take action, and persevering, you’ll see life-altering, positive results.  At  211 degrees, water is hot.  At 212 degrees it boils.  The message is clear:  this is YOUR contest.  YOU are responsible for your results.  It’s time to turn up the heat!

We have less than 4 weeks until many of you step foot onstage at the Mac Daddy of Pacific Northwest Bodybuilding, Fitness, Figure, Physique, and Bikini Championships – the coveted Emerald Cup!  If there was ever one show in which you would want to put it all on the line, this is it!  Competitors from all across the country, from Canada, Bermuda, Hawaii, Europe, and so many other places will grace the stage.  This is the setting where you want to leave nothing behind.  Turn up the heat!

Lion-Everyone-wants-to-be-a-beastWhat could potentially happen if you were to do just one more rep per set the remainder of your contest prep.  Just one more lousy rep per set.  Or how about just one more set?  Perhaps when you’re doing cardio, adding only one minute per session per day. Could it make a difference?  I don’t know.  But I do know that one extra degree makes water boil… 

Bodybuilding (also including all the other categories) is considered by many to be one of the most personal sports in the world.  I can think of no other event in which you’re more open to criticism by others.  Think about it…every comment, whether it be positive or negative, directly reflects upon and impacts you.  The body you present to the audience and judges is you in its entirety.  There’s no sun to get in your eyes, no teammate who sucked, no ball taking a weird bounce, no referee who cost you the match, no crowd noise that affected your shot…nothing.   It’s you and you alone onstage in the skimpiest of trunks and suit presenting the body you’ve prepared so hard to show.  You’re at the mercy of both the crowd and the judges.  It’s at this moment that you’ll either be ‘hot’ or ‘boil’. Will you be prepared to boil?

Boiling means reaching that one extra degree – turning it up a notch.  It means digging down deep and giving it just a little bit more when you believe you’ve given all you had.  It means sucking it up to suck down.  Look, the reality is, you’re already in a class by yourself simply by deciding to compete.  But is that what you’re satisfied with – just stepping onstage?  For many that’s good enough.  But not for you, right?  If you wanna boil, you’ve gotta be willing to get ‘hotter’ than you’ve ever gotten, if you get my drift.  There’s no balance in your life right now – only sacrifice.  Things get put on the back burner until the show is over.  Social lives get canceled.   Functions and gatherings become a thing of the past.  I know of too many competitors who tried to ‘have a life’ while dieting down.  When they hit the stage, it was apparent they had a life.  It showed in their physique.  Having a life means being lukewarm at best.  Your sole focus the next 4 weeks is to boil.  Nothing less is acceptable.  Turn up the heat!!

lion-focus1This sport is demanding, just like any other sport.  But the difference is, no other sport is judged like ours.  Your look, and only your look, is the determining factor of your placement.  It’s this degree of intimacy that frightens many individuals from ever considering doing a show.  It’s this degree of intimacy that halts many contestants from doing a second show, thereby falling into the category of the dreaded “One-and-done” syndrome.  If your body isn’t tight, taut, high, lifted, muscular, veiny, shredded, full, shapely, symmetrical, and pleasing to the eyes of the judges, then all your preparation was for naught.   You do NOT want to step onstage smooth, round, flat, fat, being a guy with moobs, being a woman with hips, or any other adjective that describes an out-of-condition competitor.  Boil…

Bodybuilding allows no margin for error.  You HAVE to boil in preparation for this show.  If you screw up, you screw up, and it shows.  If you don’t put in the work, it shows.  If you skip cardio, it shows. If you have that late-night pizza or cheat meal you’re not supposed to have, it’ll show.  Literally everything you do (or DON’T do…) over the next four weeks will show.  Bodybuilding is unforgiving.  The judges are unforgiving.  The audience is unforgiving.  Do not give anyone a chance to be unforgiving.  Boil…

We’re all ordinary individuals.  But to be honest, to do this sport well, you must become extraordinary at times, especially the next four weeks.  You must put all else down, all else aside, and all thoughts, actions, words, and deeds must be turned toward your contest preparation.  I tell all of my competitors, “To be AT your best, you must GIVE your best.  You cannot have empty production in the gym.  Everything you do must be for one singular purpose – to achieve your all-time best look onstage.  Workouts are not skipped.  Cardio is not cut.  Intensity is not reduced.  Do everything you’re supposed to do.  Take nothing away.  Add nothing to it.  Then we’ll see if that personal best look can become THE best look according to the judges.  But everything starts and ends with you.”  Boil…

Black-man-He-who-conquers-himself-is-mightyWhat can you accomplish in the next four weeks?  How much can your physique change?  There’s an old saying, “With great sacrifice and great effort comes great reward.  But understand that the reward I’m speaking of is of the personal, performance-related type.  Can anyone predict outcome at this point, meaning victory of winning their class or the Overall?  No.  That’s foolish thinking to think so.  Have you not been watching the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball March Madness?  Gonzaga got knocked out early.  Duke got taken out.  Kentucky didn’t even get in the Big Dance, and then got bounced in the first round of the NIT! On the women’s side, Baylor got eliminated.  Upsets are part of sport.  I promise you, there is someone out there in a small, dungeon-like gym with no social media to feed and fuel them training like you wouldn’t believe.  Do not believe your own press clippings.  Do not believe the hype about yourself.  ALWAYS believe there is someone better than you.  Stay hungry.  Stay humble.  Boil…

When you step onstage, step knowing you’ve given it your all.  Step knowing you couldn’t have prepared yourself any better.  Step knowing you left everything on the floor, including your blood, sweat, and tears.  Step knowing that the sacrifice, suffering, discipline, and pain was worth it.  Step knowing that you went that extra one step – that one degree.  Step knowing that you boiled!  Peace…

Doc

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