Secret Weapon

by Kris Pitcher

Training for a physique competition is not easy. It is not a short process. It's not something you "do on the weekends".

In my opinion, you're either all in...or you're not. People struggle with their goals. Getting from point A to point B during your contest prep can be challenging depending on how you've spent your off season. It can be a race depending on how short, or long, you've chosen to diet.

A 12 week prep would be a "quickie" for any one. And I don't care who you are, you better be in good shape when you start.

Me? I know it takes me longer. A lot longer. Which is where my secret weapon comes in handy.

Spending a full year eating clean and training hard might feel like a prison sentence to some. But for me, it's just part of getting back on stage having made some progress. After all, isn't that the point? Why just come in the same contest after contest? As a judge I see a lot of that and it confuses me to be honest.

Then once it's time to diet I flip the mental switch. It is on! And I'm grateful for my secret weapon. It's a savior really. It's ability to keep me on track, to comfort me when I'd rather stuff my face with foods in pictures posted on facebook. I couldn't do without it.

As the diet progresses and I begin to tire, I've got it in my back pocket to draw on. The final weeks ahead will test me in spirit and in body...and in mind. But I'll have my secret weapon right there with me.

What is it you're wondering? It's simple determination. Determination to bring my very best to the stage. Determination to not leave anything on the table. Determination not to wonder if I could have done just one more rep, or just 5 more minutes of cardio...or done anything more.

It's the strength of knowledge that I can and will eat what I am supposed to eat, when I am supposed to eat it, and nothing more, or less. It is knowing without a doubt that I trust my coaches, their knowledge and the process they've set forth for me.

It's determination to complete my journey. It's my secret weapon. It's nothing that any of you don't have within you.Yet somehow, it sets me apart. And that's the whole point, I will stand apart on stage...in a few short weeks. I'll see you there!

Random Thoughts of a Competitor

by Kris Pitcher

To be fair, many of my thoughts are quite focused. But then there are the complete random things that flow through my head. I thought I would share a peak into the mind of a competitor. Random thoughts:

• Eye liner is hard: As I've been practicing my stage look, I have determined...eye liner is hard. One side is easy, but matching the other side to the first is very difficult.
• I can grow a lot of hair in a week: I don't have/take time to shave my legs during the week. My mornings are precision timed and leg shaving doesn't fit. By Friday morning...I'm glad I'm light haired.
• Things are gathering in a pile: My contest "stuff" is gathering itself in a pile on the bathroom counter. Nails, make-up, lashes...when you get all this stuff together - it takes a lot to look so pretty.
• Squasholi does not exist: I had a dream that my sister put me in charge of taking a vegetable out of the oven. When it was done I stood in front of the oven and ate it. All of it. It was a long stalked broccoli where the stalk was filled with an orange squash. I woke in a panic.
• Did I stop at that stop sign?
• I LOVE pickles right now: When a pickle is a treat, you are a competitor.
• I'm searching my belly for new veins each day: My belly button remains in it's proper position, but new parts of my vascular system become visible each day. I shouldn't do this in my office...
• My mouth waters for sugar free gum: I'm going to try some of these fancy dessert flavors everyone loves after my contest. I have fish breath. Bad. Sorry everyone.

These are a few of my random thoughts. The ones I can share...in public. The rest I'll just filter and we'll call it good. Three weeks to go and I'm working hard to stay focused, keep my sense of humor and perform on the job. So far, so good! *Smile!

I Ate A Fatburger

by Kris Pitcher

I'm on a contest diet...and I should not be going around doing this. But, I ate a Fatburger. In exactly four weeks I will be on stage. So, what am I doing eating at Fatburger?

Well, I didn't exactly eat there. I drove by there. I didn't know it was there actually. I knew there was a Fatburger at the casino. And, I have eaten there. For real. Apparently we have another Fatburger.

When I drove by I had this amazingly real fantasy about eating there. I could smell the burger, the fries...I could feel the fizz of the bubbles of my diet soda. My mouth started to water and I could smell that hot, salty french fry smell.

I don't even think I like Fatburger? I've eaten there once. One time. Ever. But dieting for a contest will make you want things, fantasize about, things you never really even want. I noticed the price of Pop Tarts for instance.

Off season, I would never eat a Pop Tart (sorry Mary). It just wouldn't be my first choice of something yummy to pick. The guy who checked out my groceries asked me if I liked the fish I was buying.

Yes, in fact I do. And that's why I was buying 16 pounds of it. He went on to tell me all about how his 13 year old daughter did not like fish, or shrimp, or scallops. I was drooling on the keypad of the thing you swipe your credit card on.

His daughter does however like pickled herring. I'll be damned if I didn't have the strongest craving for pickled herring that I still can't kick! Now, that is something I would eat off season. Please don't hate me.

My fantasies will continue and I hope they'll seem as real as life. I hope I can smell and taste and reach out and almost touch them. Then I'll smile in the mirror and march through the next four weeks as I make my way to the stage.

I don't even know if I like Fatburger? Who knows, maybe I'll give it a try...it's just four weeks away.

Baggy What?!

by Kris Pitcher

You know I'm up front with you. Well, up front...things are changing. When you're dieting it's not uncommon to think things aren't changing. You might feel like you're not making progress, or that your measurements aren't any different.

Then one day you put your bra on and...the girls could use some friends. There's room to have a party in there! Heck, invite some people over because there is PLENTY of room!

What is going on when you need a size run of bras? It's one thing to need a size run of pants, skirts or even purses (kidding). Actually, depending on how many meals you need to carry you might need a size run.

But seriously, if you've dieted you know what I'm talking about. Natural or not, things are going to change. You loose fat from all around your torso, including...well right up front.

So, the drawer is full and I am not. I have fewer items to wear in that department. It won't be until off season when those items come back out from the drawer. With it will come the extra weight no one wants.

You have to give and take in this sport...to fill your sports bra that is. Baggy it is, for now. Can I borrow those socks?

Let Us Fill Your Cup!

by Kris Pitcher

Remember what your mother told you? "Why buy the cow if they can have the milk for free?" Giving and receiving is an interesting thing. There is a delicate balance there. Sometimes you give...hoping to receive. And. Nothing.

It's a good reminder that we should give to give. This is why you never loan anyone money. You give them money without expecting it back in return. Should you get it back in return one day, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Advice is the same way. Knowledge is power they say. Well, maybe. But everyone seems to want it for nothing. "Can you just give me your diet?" They'll ask. Um, no? I paid for that and someone is making their mortgage payment because I did. Besides, it's my diet - meaning it was developed for me.

Applying that same information to just any old body doesn't work. It's the manipulation of the information that makes the science work. So, no - you cannot just have my diet, my macro break down, my calorie count, my workout plan, my peak week protocol.

All too often we want to cut corners. But cutting corners doesn't work in manipulating body composition, in building a body, or in creating an outcome with a physique. This is a science. General information is just that - it's general. You can drink that milk!

I'll pour you a big old cup of that milk any day. In fact, it's my pleasure to do so, to dispel bad information and to guide people toward great information. I just can't help myself from doing it.

And when you're looking for specifics, designed just for you...I hope you'll come this way too. Because your cup will over flow! Team Pitcher has you covered. *Smile!

Fried Chicken of My Dreams

by Kris Pitcher

There are times during a contest prep diet when your head begins to fill with strange things. Exciting things. Forbidden things. Fried things...

Your senses are heightened to the fact that the world around you is filled with sights, smells and tastes that will not get you to your goal. Foods and choices surround you which will set you back if you have an ounce of weakness in your tiniest finger.

And I eat in my dreams. Last prep, I woke suddenly in a panic having dreamt I ate a banana. Big deal you're thinking. It was a big deal. This week I dreamt I ate fried chicken.

I wasn't worried about it...chicken is on my plan. But then I went back into the kitchen of the restaurant (don't ask me why) and I realized that they had fried it in a giant vat of hot oil. I was mortified. Fried chicken!

At 5 weeks out I cannot be eating fried chicken. I woke up feeling upset and disappointed in myself for letting that happen. Realizing it was just a dream I was comforted in the notion that there is indeed nothing fried in my life. Nothing. I was also comforted in the immense strength of my tiniest finger.

For the duration of this journey, this is where my eating will play out...in my dreams. And in my dreams I'll be eating fried chicken.

Broccoli Belly

by Kris Pitcher

Broccoli is one of those vegetables that can give people trouble. Gassy trouble. It's considered part of the brassicaceae family , or cruciferous.

You can find cauliflower, cabbage, cress and bock choy in this family as well - Brussels sprouts too. But broccoli belly is an external condition.

Broccoli belly is brought on after an evening cardio session, when you are eating your meal in the reclining chair. I love broccoli and I eat a lot of it. I buy it frozen for ease of preparation and my cart is filled each week with it. Filled!

This condition happens when you are eating your meal in your sports bra (the joys of doing cardio at home) in the reclining chair and you have a mishap with your spoon. Broccoli tumbles onto your belly resulting in...broccoli belly.

Now, in itself the condition isn't so bad. The problem is broccoli is a wonderful transporter of condiments. I like chili sauce, curry powder and cinnamon lately. It's a tasty combination and makes a creamy, sweet yet spicy mix for my broccoli and chicken. It is however a dangerous combination for the belly.

Luckily when broccoli belly occurs you have much longer than the 5 second rule to retrieve and eat the broccoli since it has fallen on your own body. I just wanted you to be aware of this condition and the dangers of broccoli, reclining chairs, and evening cardio. Happy training!