Im not going to lie this picture of my really bothers me. There is more Tom in this picture than I would like. As proud of my growth in the sports of weightlifting over the past few years , I am significantly less proud of the growth of myself ...in my singlet . After USAW Nationals this year I knew something needed to change.
Recently I went to the doctor to get some testing done..In the last few years, I have accomplished a ton of things both personally and professionally . One area that I let slip was my health and body composition. I have put on 30-40lbs and I was convinced that there was something wrong with me. I had "tried everything" , super restrictive diets, abstaining from alcohol, intermittent fasting , RP templates , the list goes on. For the past 6 months or so I have prepped most of my meals, workout out consistently , and have eaten more mindfully than ever before.The problem was is that I continued to gain weight throughout the year as well. I was planning on competing at USAW Nationals in the 105kg (231lb) weight class. About a month out I was still about 8kg over and realized that if I did make weight , that my performance would suffer. At the recommendation of my coach I stayed in the 105+ Class. I had the best meet I have ever had , hitting competition PR's in all my lifts and increasing my total by 16kg in the process. I placed 7th place for the second year straight at nationals . I also hit another PR , I weighed in at over 116kg(255lbs) . The frustrating part for me was that in my normal weight class(105kg ) I would have had the opportunity to finish as high as 2nd if I would have just taken care of what I had to with my diet. When I got home I was angry. I thought I had done everything I could, but nothing worked. I decided there had to be something wrong with me . I went on WebMD and convinced myself that I had Hypothyriod that was causing my weight gain. It couldn't possibly be the combination of stress, life changes, lack of sleep, etc. This couldn't be my fault, I am a fitness professional , this is my job, and I couldn't possibly be to blame . So I went and got tested. I have never wanted to have a medical condition so bad in my life. This would vindicate me , alleviate me of any personal responsibility for making into my weight class, those feelings of guilt for my less than ideal body composition would go away. This was the reason , I was sure of it. Then the tests finally came back . I found out, I have a perfectly healthy thyroid. My situation was 100% my fault. What the heck was I going to do now?!? I decided to do what I should have done in the first place. I finally took some responsibility for my situation. The reality was that I need to be more disciplined, eat less, workout more , and recover like a champ. It is time to stop going through the motions and get to work . I've spent months feeling sorry for myself , now with my excuses gone I have no where to look buy inside. Time to be an example to my clients and athletes . One week down and I have lost a few pound and all of my excuses I've got about 10-15kg(22- 33 lbs ) to lose , it wont be fast, it wont be easy, and it wont be fun. Time to lead from the font in EVERY aspect of my training and lifestyle . About Coach Tom :
1 Comment
7/12/2018 06:40:16 pm
While the whole world will always be busy pointing fingers towards each other, we should try our best to acknowledge our own misdealings because it's the only way we can learn and become better versions of ourselves. Really what do we get when we escape blame? Unless it's a life and death situation, it really wouldn't hurt to just admit that we made a mistake. Even if we are not directly involved, if the person who committed the mistake is expected to be within our watch, the blame should still be on us.
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