This past weekend I had the opportunity to compete at the Vancouver Pro/Am & Expo held at the convention centre in Downtown Vancouver, British Columbia. This particular competition was a qualified only show which essentially means that I had to qualify at a lower level show to be able to step on stage this weekend. Now most people usually pick one or two fitness shows a year to prepare for as the diet and training necessary to display a contest shaped physique can put alot of stress and fatigue on the body. Well, I’m not like most people and therefore I opted to train for 3 bodybuilding shows all within a span of 5 weeks just because I love the torturing and suffering that comes along with the intense dieting and training that is required for contest preparation. And I can proudly say that I cracked the top 3 in each one of these shows, I even took the overalls in one of them. But this past weekend was different. At the end of the day, once the dust had settled, I found myself out of the top 5 for the very first time in my competitive career. Was I upset? Sure. Was I disappointed? Definitely. Did I think the judges were blind and each had a personal vendetta towards me? Well maybe for a few minutes after I stepped off stage yes. However even though I suffered my worst contest placing to date I truly felt as if this was actually my best showing and I don’t mean conditioning or aesthetically wise. I can honestly say that this particular show taught me more about my body both internally and externally and what it could accomplish then any of my other previous shows have taught me over the years. So in hindsight, my worst show has actually become my best show. Let me explain why.

As I mentioned I’ve never placed out of the top 5 at any bodybuilding or fitness show in my life. The lowest placing I’ve ever received prior to the Vancouver Pro/AM Expo was 4th place and that was over five years ago. So you can understand how placing out of the top 5 this year was a bit of a surreal experience for me. Again I maintain my position though that this was in fact my best show. And not for the typical reasons that one might usually hear from a competitive athlete. The truth is I was not in my best condition, I did not diet as long nor as hard for this show and I didn’t change up my style of training one bit, except for adding in an extra 15 minutes to my cardio sessions at the end of each workout for the past 3 weeks. Which reminds me, I only trained and dieted for this show for 3 weeks! Most fitness competitors give themselves 12-16 weeks of intense dieting and training to get ready for a show. I decided to give myself 21 days. Was it a foolish decision? Maybe. Was I delusional with what I might be able to accomplish in such a short period of time? Perhaps. Do I regret preparing for something in 3 weeks that most people take at least 3 months to prepare for? Absolutely not. In fact, given the opportunity I would do everything the exact same. I learned more about my body from losing this show then I ever did when I was winning all the other ones. So even though I lost the show, I won more then I’ve ever won before. Therefore this lost was actually my victory.

For those of you who are interested I placed 6th at this year’s event. Even though I don’t necessarily agree with this placing I have to respect the judges decision. Bodybuilding is a subjective sport. Everyone has their own likes and dislikes when it comes to judging one’s physique. Some people prefer the bigger muscular look where as others will prefer an athlete that may appear to have less muscle but is much more conditioned. It’s all relative to what that person likes. For example, my training partner believes I should have been in second or third place. My dad thinks I should have been in first place. And my mom thinks everyone should have placed (my mom doesn’t like to see anyone lose). Now perhaps these particular views may be a bit bias but at the end of the day my placing is not what’s important to me. How I ended up placing so high in a extremely large and competitive class is though.

Truth be told I never really cheated on my diet since my last show in October. I never missed more then two days in a row with my training either. Sure I ate a little bit more carbs and had the occasional slice of pizza and even skipped out on a few cardio sessions but for the most part my diet and training was on point. I never allowed myself to get out of shape in the offseason because personally I don’t believe in an “offseason”. My weight on the scale never went higher then 15lbs from my usual contest weight. I stayed lean for the entire year and not just because I felt I looked better but more importantly because I felt better. As the entry date grew closer for the Vancouver Pro/Am Expo I became hesitant to sign the contract as I did not feel I would be ready in time to compete. I had not suffered through a long calorie restricted diet nor was I doing endless hours of cardiovascular sessions, both of which are usually required to get body fat levels exceptionally low for the stage. However at the very last minute I decide to sign up. I realized that even though I was not depriving myself with my diet or depleting my body in the gym that I had actually been preparing for this show all year long, I just didn’t know it.

To me the definition of a bodybuilder is someone who works on their body and their health. A bodybuilder is constantly looking to improve his or her physique both externally and internally. Competing on stage does not make someone a bodybuilder in my mind. In fact, I know many physiques competitors who are so-called bodybuilders, who are the complete opposite of  the definition I have described. These people are not healthy by any means. Sure they may have fantastic physiques but at what cost? It’s a known fact that steroids are widely used in the sport of bodybuilding. This is no secret. I personally do not have anything against people who use steroids however I do have issues with people who abuse these drugs. And I can honestly say with a clear conscious that I did not take a single steroid or fat burner for any of my competitions this season. Make no mistake, being a natural athlete who competes against performance enhanced athletes is no excuse. I know the rules. These shows are non-tested and I am completely fine with that.

So what did I learn from my little experiment this past weekend? Well a few things. I learned that by living a healthy and active lifestyle without having to go to any extreme or drastic levels of steroid abuse or following dangerous diet plans that I was actually able to achieve a fairly high placing in an extremely competitive class. I learned that I didn’t have to reduce my calories down to next to nothing or perform endless hours of cardio to bring my body fat levels into single digits. I learned that my health needs to and always will come first when it comes to training for these competitions.

As I mentioned in my previous blog from last week, competing in bodybuilding is my hobby, it’s not my job nor is it my life. I enjoy getting up on stage and displaying the best physique that I possibly can. And knowing that I did that this weekend with little to no change from my daily lifestyle make this loss a win for me.

Yours in Good Health,

Nick Cosgrove