Angel Blog
My Show was Cancelled!
How to Cope, Regroup, and Be Better Than Ever!
By Alissa Carpio, IFBB Fitness & Figure Pro and ACBikinis Sponsored Athlete
Angel Competition Bikinis is committed to making your feel confident not only on stage, but during your entire competition prep journey. We hope this blog helps you cope with the current state of uncertainty, and keeps you feeling confident and motivated.
THE CURRENT SITUATION
You’ve gotten up early for fasted cardio for months, meticulously stuck to your macros, watched your abs carve out and your glutes pop. Your nervous excitement grew week after week as you prepared to showcase all that hard work with the best physique of your life! Then, in a matter of days, your life went from normal work and prep to social dissociation, limited workouts, and no competition date in sight for at least two months. Relax. Take a deep breath. We’re here to help you manage this.
It’s normal to feel disappointment when your expectations are suddenly dashed. So don’t beat yourself up about that. But don’t even start to think that all your work was a waste or all for nothing.
Before you anxiously move forward to the next thing, take some time to slow down, reflect, be mindful of your journey and the changes it’s manifested in you, and put it all in proper perspective.
"If your goal was to gain confidence and self-worth, you’ve likely made it!"
-Alissa Carpio
CAPTURE YOUR HARD WORK
Reflect on Your Original Goal
Before you started prep and before you started even considering the idea of competing, you had a goal. What was that goal? It was probably a lot deeper than winning, placing in the top 5, or qualifying for nationals. If your goal was to get in the best shape of your life, then congrats – you made it! If your goal was to gain confidence and self-worth, you’ve likely made it again! Think back on all your intrinsic goals – make a list if you have to – and reflect on how much you’ve actually achieved. We all love to win, but more than likely you were attracted to this sport for deeper reasons.
CELEBRATE WITH A PHOTO SHOOT, SELFIE SHOOT, OR THE ACBIKINIS VIRTUAL CONFIDENCE SHOW
You’ve probably been snapping selfies and progress pics every few days during your prep, so you have everything well-documented. If you have the budget, schedule a professional photo shoot. If you don’t have the budget, buy a few outfits and set up some looks for your own do-it-yourself-ie shoot! Journal about your prep experience and share it on your social media channels. Celebrate your success and share it with the world!
MAKE A GAME PLAN
Talk to Your Support System
You probably have a few close people in your corner that you’ve shared your challenges and successes with during your prep. It might be your coach, partner, mom or best friend. Even if bodybuilding seems like an individual sport, those of us who live it know that it takes a great behind-the-scenes support team.
My boyfriend is also my trainer, and he offers me great objectivity and positive alternatives any time we experience an unexpected outcome or shift in plans. Even the strongest of us are strengthened by the support of our loved ones.
Consider Your Options
You don’t have to decide immediately. Take a few days to consider your options and make plans for next steps. The competition season has only just begun! Here are a few things to consider. How long have you been prepping and how far into prep were you? If you feel burned out after 4 or more hard months, take a week off to rest and eat. Decide if you want a short off-season or pick a show just past that 8-week window in late May, June or July.
Stay Structured
While it’s tempting to go on an eating tirade, please don’t! You’ll feel bad physically and mentally, and you’ll rebound hard with weight gain. If you’re lost at how to balance a mid-season plan or a tight mini off-season, find a well-respected coach, or learn to adjust the macros yourself and find what works for you.
I was 3.5 weeks out when I got the news of the Savannah Pro being canceled. My next options are in late May, putting me back to 9.5 weeks out. So I simply adjusted my plan back to that stage, and I’m enjoying a few days of extra food and rest before I pick things up again.
"Celebrate your success and share it with the world!
-Alissa Carpio
SHIFT YOUR PERSPECTIVE
Look How far You’ve Come!
My favorite part of the competition process is reflecting on my prep during peak week. In the days leading up to the show, when my work is done and I know what kind of physique I’ll be presenting, I assess the completion of the journey.
What have I done better this time? What body parts have I improved on? What things beyond my control were I able to cope with and overcome? And most importantly, how have I grown mentally and emotionally during the past few months?
You can journal this on paper, or my favorite way: videos that I share on my social media stories, IGTV or YouTube. I think this part of my sport is the part that people like to hear about. The part that they can relate to. The part that makes elite athletes seem just like ordinary people. I know I draw inspiration from other athletes in other sports when they share their vulnerabilities and their human side.
"At the end of the day, if I’m laying in my warm bed healthy and comfortable with my family safely asleep next to me, I consider that an absolutely perfect day! "
-Alissa Carpio
TRACK YOUR PREP PROCESS
Whether you work with a prep coach or do your own prep in full or partly, it’s important to document everything along the way. Every week, I track my weight, photos, mood, energy levels, macros and cheats and how I look and feel after eating certain foods. I adjust my cardio up or down, add food or change the timing of meals, adjust sodium and water intake, and add supplements along the way. Up until the end of your prep, this information is so valuable. It will help you learn your own body and to be able to make your own adjustments. While it’s still fresh in your mind, write down as much as you can remember about what variables changed and when. You will carry this with you into your next show and become even better.
FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS
Be mindful and do some self-reflection. Remember, you’re not the only one who’s been hit with devastating news of an important event being canceled. All large events nation-wide are being postponed, including work conferences, weddings, vacations, and more.
The coronavirus has hit many people hard and in many ways: emotionally, financially and physically. At the end of the day, if I’m laying in my warm bed healthy and comfortable with my family safely asleep next to me, I consider that an absolutely perfect day!
THE MINDSET OF A BODYBUILDER
As an active IFBB Pro and NPC veteran competitor, I started competing in 2003 and didn’t turn pro until 2017. I’ve been training for 21 years and I still feel as passionate about my sport as when I first began.
When you become a bodybuilder, you allow this sport to shape and mold you. It toughens your resolve yet makes you more flexible to changing circumstances. You become physically and mentally stronger while humbling yourself and stifling your ego.
Embrace this as a lifelong process and I promise you, you will not be disappointed. These lessons are carried over in every other area of life, gifting you with wisdom, patience, resolve, grit and compassion. Nobody can ever take those gifts away from you!
There will always be another stage, another
ACBikinis suit, another spray tan, and another quarter turn to the right.
The coronavirus has hit many people hard and in many ways: emotionally, financially and physically. At the end of the day, if I’m laying in my warm bed healthy and comfortable with my family safely asleep next to me, I consider that an absolutely perfect day!
"I know I draw inspiration from other athletes in other sports when they share their vulnerabilities and their human side."
-Alissa Carpio
Our Mission: Making YOU feel CONFIDENT!!
Angel Competition Bikinis is committed to making your feel confident not only on stage, but during your entire competition prep journey. We hope this blog gave you some confidence or motivation to keep moving forward and crush your goals!
About the Author
Alissa Carpio is an IFBB Figure Pro and ACBikinis Sponsored Athlete
Available for posing, keto and traditional contest prep and meal plans, and in-person coaching in Rock Hill, SC.
Instagram @alissa_carpio
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