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"Suddenly I thought: I want that too!"
by Roxana Fröhlich
"After all, it's a competition and I don't just want to have been there"
10.7.2017
Translation: machine translated
Roxy works at Galaxus and is a bikini athlete. Originally, she just wanted to eat healthily. The third part is about training and mental attitude.
In the last part, I told you about preparing for the competition. Today it's not about nutrition, but about training. Unfortunately, just like the diet, I found training increasingly difficult. Sure, a lot of things were fun. But this was spoilt by three things:
- The lack of energy
- 5-6 workouts a week were too much
- Cardio!
Missed part 1 and 2? This way!
The lack of energy was frustrating as I had to reduce the weights to prevent injury. So I switched from hypertrophy training to definition training. In other words: more repetitions, less weights. I didn't enjoy that. Last month, I added cardio and abdominal training - I'd been able to hide from them until then. Yuck! I spent what felt like ten hours in the fitness bunker and was constantly tired and exhausted.
A question of attitude
In the first season, I also had to take posing lessons to train my steps, movements and posture. Because on stage you have to show a prescribed choreography and poses. To my delight, I loved it! Initially, I was worried about coordination difficulties, but after one or two lessons with my trainer's partner, it gradually came. But that also needed to be practised every day.
In the final phase, I spent four hours a day training, doing cardio and posing. I was also tired, hungry and listless. For the first time, I had to really push myself and learn to get through unpleasant phases.
The mental thing... that was the worst thing for me. Looking back, my biggest mistake was that I had the wrong attitude. It was a mistake that I didn't try to see the process through different eyes. How you feel about yourself, how you see yourself and above all: the attitude you have towards the matter is the most important thing of all! Along the way, I often met athletes who were beaming! They were looking forward to the competition, they saw success in themselves - such as the much longed-for six-pack - and they generally had a more positive attitude.
Not that I wasn't happy too! I was just afraid of losing the muscles and curves I had built up. With dieting and the lack of energy in your body and mind, your perception of your own body is limited; your self-esteem drops and you don't want to see any progress: either the six-pack doesn't want to appear or the love handles just won't go away. In my case, it was the fear of being too "thin" for a bodybuilding competition, of not having enough muscle. After all, I wasn't preparing for a fashion show.
On to the fight!
It's a competition; you do what you have to do. You put yourself under pressure and compare yourself with the competition. In my opinion, that's totally legitimate and human. If you're ambitious and disciplined, you don't go on stage just to be there. No! I didn't throw myself into an iron diet for three months, spend money on licences, bikinis, shoes, posing lessons and more. And I certainly didn't give up indulgent food just so I could say: "being there is everything".
I had never seen myself as a girly girl, perhaps more of a ballet dancer or a pole dancer if I wanted to. But not as a sweaty beast in a gym surrounded by pumped-up boys. But I realised that I love fitness and bodybuilding. I enjoy pushing myself to my physical limits - I would never have thought that about myself!
Through this experience, I would advise everyone: choose a hobby or sport that you like and that you enjoy doing. There's no point in dragging yourself to the fitness centre and throwing weights around if you're not having fun and putting your heart and soul into it. If you really want to change something about yourself, then choose a sport that's great for you and adjust your eating habits - even if it's just a little. You'll see that the results will come almost automatically.
Enough for today! The most exciting part awaits you next time! Day x!
These products have helped me
Warm up
Training
Stretching
Nutrition
Roxana Fröhlich
Marketplace Specialist
roxana.froehlich@digitecgalaxus.chI like weight training/fitness, have a weakness for pandas and am a serial junkie. At work I am responsible for the watch and jewellery purchase. Glitter, glamour, fashion and trends- my world! If you want to know more about me, check out my Instagram "roxyslifestyle" and my blog site www.roxyslifestyle.com.
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