Saturday, June 4, 2016

Prep With Purpose: Making the sport of bodybuilding about more than myself.

​Hey Everyone,

Tomorrow, I end my off season and start a 4 week prep for the first show of my 2016 NPC Bikini season! It's the same show I started my 2015 season with - Team Universe in New Jersey! I had hoped to start my season earlier this year but had some set-backs with moving and life in general. I'm excited that it's finally here!

I log my day-to-day personal details and workouts YEAR round, but I always start a new book when prep begins. I found the perfect journal for this year! I love what it says!

                               

This prep, on these pages will be more than my daily weight, macros, mood, sleep, lifts, cardio, foods, etc. Each day someone elses name will be there as I PREP WITH PURPOSE!

((Keep reading .. details further down .. but gotta write a little back story first.))

Let's be real. For the most part the sport of bodybuilding is very self serving. Day in and day out (especially when on contest prep), everything we do is focused on OURselves and OUR bodies. There are few high level pros that do this as a career and therefore it is a means to provide for their family, but the other 95% of us do it because it's a personal goal or hobby. We sculpt our bodies in order for our physique and stage presence to be judged. It no doubt requires discipline, dedication, work ethic, and sacrifice .. all things that are very admirable and because of that, we may motivate others to take care of themselves along the way. For the most part though, it's a very self serving sport/hobby. While there is NOTHING wrong with wanting to take care of yourself and have personal goals (I highly encourage it), when your life literally revolves around improving YOURSELF .. it can quickly become ALL about … YOURSELF.

When I first started competing 2 years ago my goal was to see how fit I could be in my 30's. I needed some hard core motivation to start taking better care of my body and competing sounded like a good way to achieve that. Then I saw how many people I was motivating and it motivated me to want to do MORE than just compete, so I tried my best to use my platform to motivate anyone that needed it! I had all kinds of ideas of what I would do if I earned "pro" status (and I still have some), but this year when I started thinking about competing I found myself totally lost. I couldn't figure out my purpose.

I could not answer the simple question of WHY I am getting back on stage again this year. Of course I came up with generic answers ... I really do love it, I love being in the gym, it's great motivation, it keeps me accountable, it's a fun hobby and I do have a personal goal to be a professional athlete in this field. But what then?! At 36 what am I realistically going to DO with that PRO status if I earn it? Will I compete on a pro stage? I'm sure I will at least give it a season or two, but my time on stage won't last forever, competing isn't a LIFELONG thing. Health and fitness will always be a part of my life .. but competing will not. Could I maybe figure out a way to monitize myself a little more if I were to be a pro .. maybe? Could I potentially have a bigger platform to motivate even MORE people .. sure!! But there are literally a million social media/blog/youtube "motivators" out there, so seriously, what is one more? Plus I don't need to have pro status to be a motivator. I also don't need the stage to kick things up a notch. I could easily book a vacation and make THAT my goal and spend all this money traveling instead?

I found myself lost. I personally needed something more. How could I make walking on that stage serve a greater purpose than -- myself?

I started thinking about how some days I have NO motivation. Literally zero. But on those days I remind myself that GOD gave me an ABLE body!! So I got to thinking, what if I took that ONE step further? What if every lift, every  session of HIIT, every cardio class, every thing physical that I do on prep was fueled by SOMEONE ELSE!? Someone who is physically unable and needs prayer for healing? That is where the idea of #PrepWithPurpose came about!

It clicked. That was it. I finally had peace about competing this year. I found a purpose. I found a reason bigger than myself to step on that stage again! I'm not saying anyone needs anything other than the fact they want to be fit for themselves or healthy for their family .. there is nothing wrong with that at all!! But for me personally, I just need more.

So there ya have it! Everyday my motivation will come from someone who is fighting for their life, to regain mobility, or simply needs urgent prayer for physical strength. I will pray for this person, and I will do what my able body is capable of doing in honor of them!! Then .. guess what?! When I walk on stage to compete it won't just be about ME!! Whether I bring my personal best or not, whether I earn my pro card or not, whether I get first call outs or last, it won't really matter because the VICTORY will be that lives will have been touched during this prep … truthfully touched!

I always said I wanted this sport to make me a better person INSIDE and OUT! So this is it …this is my purpose. This is my why that I was so desperately searching for. Thank you God for helping me find it. I was about to give up. I will be thankful for the ABILITIES you give me and lift up those that are not as lucky as I am. I will not take my health for granted.

I hope you all join me on this journey! Even if you don't compete you can still #PrepWithPurpose! Also, I know many of my friends/followers aren't Christians and may not believe in prayer, but that doesn't mean you can't participate! You can still use each person as YOUR motivation and lift them in your thoughts however you see necessary!

I'll try to post who the person that I'm praying for is on socials everyday, but I'll for sure be doing it here on the blog and hopefully youtube if I can shoot videos!!! If you subscribe on the homepage, my blogs will go to your email each evening! If you subscribe to my youtube, you will get a notification when I post a new video! So make sure and do both if you think you will forget! If you decide to join me on this journey, please share my post today and/or hashtag #prepwithpurpose when you train! I'm sure these fighters will want to know they are being prayed for!!

Together .. we can make a difference!
Stacy


**** If you know someone that needs prayer as described above please email me!! I need someone every single day! My email is simplystacyfitness@yahoo.com. Please include what I am allowed to publicly post and a picture if possible ****

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