Its something I see everyday on Facebook and Twitter, girls talking about their prep with other competitors. I think its fine and a great way to be encouraged. The one thing I do see a problem with is when girls start asking questions about diet and training. Comparing their prep with others can be a dangerous thing. I was talking with featured athlete Kari Keenan about this very topic and she agreed to do a short interview with me. Kari has the experience and knowledge to take on this topic. Read more about what she shared with us:
What are your recommendations for girls who are competing and social media sites?
If you’re working with a coach, listen ONLY to your coach. You hired him/her for a reason, so why waste your money if you don’t plan on listening to him/her and following the plan? There are a lot of competitors on social media sites, and many of them are very willing to share what does/doesn’t work for them and methods THEY feel are best. Keep in mind that just because certain methods, diets, or training programs work for one person, that doesn’t mean they’ll work for everyone. If you listen to everyone, you’ll quickly become confused and begin to doubt your own program. That’s a slippery slope, and often leads to disappointment and frustration. Trust YOUR coach. Trust YOUR program. Don’t listen to the “advice” of anyone other than your coach. You’re paying that person for their expertise, so respect them and follow the program they designed specifically for YOU.
What are your feelings about posting progress pictures on sites?
I believe that a lot of people (competitors and non-competitors) post progress pictures just to receive praise and to get followers. I say this not to anger anyone; I’m guilty of it myself periodically. I see a lot of unwarranted self-promotion on social media sites, and to that I say, “different strokes for different folks.” I very rarely post my REAL progress pictures anywhere other than on my personal blog. Simply for the fact that I don’t think my 2,xxxx followers and friends need to see me in various stages of fat loss in a bikini. If you want attention, then by all means, post pictures. But keep in mind that you’ll most likely receive both positive AND negative comments. And you’ll most likely also receive false praise.
What are some of the negative results one can have by listening to “too much advice”?
When you listen to advice from everyone, you end up with a mismatched and unguided plan that will guarantee you to fail. And by fail, I mean you won’t be the best you could possibly be had you just listened to ONE person. Different foods and training programs work differently for different people. Find what works best for YOU and then stick with that. The best advice someone ever gave me was before my first show. He told me, “Everyone becomes an expert when you begin prep. Ignore them all and only listen to ONE person.” I didn’t know what he meant until I started getting confused and frustrated from information overload. Once I stopped trying to follow everyone else’s plan and just concentrated on my own, I began seeing better results.
Contest prep is trial and error each and every time. What worked for you last year may not work for you this year. What works for your friends may not work for you. Like I said, every BODY is different; every BODY responds differently to different foods and training programs. For example, one of my friends has oatmeal in her diet. When I tried oatmeal in my diet, I became very bloated and uncomfortable. Listen to your body. Pay attention to how you feel after you eat different foods. Do you feel full? Do you look watery? Do you feel bloated? Do you feel hungry? All of these questions are important to ask yourself in order to discover what works for YOU.
One of the best (and most important) things you can invest in is a prep coach. Find one person whose methods seem to mesh with how you’d like to approach prep. Listen ONLY to that person. Follow the plan EXACTLY. Don’t lie to your coach. Don’t get distracted by what other are or aren’t doing. Most of all believe in yourself and have faith in your coach. Best of luck and enjoy the journey of contest prep!
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Kari Keenan is a National-level Figure competitor who is an Instructional Designer by day and gym rat by night. She has been competing for six years and is currently prepping for her 11th Figure show on June 30 in Maryland. She writes about the everyday life of a Figure competitor at www.figuregirlworld.com, and submits weekly fitness/health articles for www.fitnessrxmag.com. You can reach her at babytatten@yahoo.com.
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