I really wanted to try to prepare myself for the shows this summer. But I'm wondering if it's possible and if it should even be attempted. Why would I try to prove this to myself? I know I can handle a diet for myself and come up with my own workouts, but in the face of all the other stress I've dealt with in the past year and in light of the fact that I have other goals beyond just the shows to accomplish, why would I put a burden of this extent upon my own shoulders?

Ideally, I should be able to write up my nutrition plan and workouts for the off season, and then do the same for the contest prep, and just have someone look at me and say yay or nay when it comes to the details and how my physique is looking at the time. But is it really that simple?

A trainer offered to help me. (Not for free, of course. I have had that offered in the past...training for free. There's always a cost in this industry. Always. Trust me.) And I'm seriously considering working with him, but I'm letting this sit in my mind and I'll have a phone conversation with him and let it sit in my mind a little bit more and then make my decision. But I'd like to list the pros and cons to working with him...or any trainer for that matter, since he's not the only who has offered some guidance or all out control of the contest prep.

Pros:

1. He is only training four people at this time. One is a national level female bodybuilder. Two are national level male bodybuilders. One is a pro female bodybuilder (no, I was not so bold as to ask who. I'll ask on the phone.).

Why is this a pro? Well, I've worked with someone who had over 200 online clients and about 50 to 60 NPC/IFBB competitors. The diets look amazingly similar and the phone calls and e-mails take an amazingly long time to get answered sometimes and the responses are quite short and some questions are left unanswered due to time constraints. Not knocking anyone; just stating facts that can occur with anyone who has more than 20 clients who are competing. I like individualized attention, so this very fact alone is a huge draw to this guy.

2. He is very aware of my look and conditioning and how it has changed from 2002 to 2003 to 2004. Last year was my worst year on stage. There, I've said it. My conditioning was way off. I know the reasons for it and won't make excuses but will say that those reasons aren't factors this year. But the very fact that he is aware and has promised me much better conditioning is a huge plus in his favor.

3. He has brought a natural female bodybuilder to the national level and had success...top ten success. I looked at her conditioning and was impressed. Now, I'm trusting that he is telling the truth in stating she is natural, and he is fully aware that I am natural and refuse to budge from that status, and he will work within those parameters only. That's difficult to find. I've had many people tell me a little bit of anavar, a little bit of growth, some cytomel/T3, etc., etc. would be useful weapons in my arsenal of contest prep. And I'll admit that I have had weak moments and have actually considered using anavar. Then I wake up and realize how disappointed I would be in myself if I went that route...especially after 14 years of training and 5 years of competing. No way, no how! End of story.

4. He listed what he saw as areas I needed to improve on. I agree with every single one of those. This means he has actually evaluated my physique, and without us ever broaching the subject of him training me. I'm impressed with that. People only pay attention when they see promise in others, and if he feels that I have promise, then he will work hard for me.

5. The price is not too shabby. He wants it up front, but he will train me for five months and get me ready for a show this summer and it amounts to $200 per month. That's pretty similar to what Kim Oddo and Mike Davies charge, so I don't have a problem with that. If you ever wonder what the website memberships go towards, well, that's one huge competition prep expense...paying the trainer. I won't bore you with details of the costs of actually competing, but just know that the members' area helps out so incredibly...more than you can realize! And I'm grateful to every person who joins. I'm getting off topic now. Let me return to the list.

6. He's in Florida, and I have friends in Florida who have invited me out there to visit, so if I needed a place to stay and wanted to see him in person, I could and it wouldn't be exorbitant.

7. He's reputable on the various bodybuilding boards, and I've never had a problem with his responses.

8. He is very willing to hear what I know and have learned about my body and how it reacts to certain foods, supplements, cardio, weights, etc.

Okay, onto the cons:

Well, before I continue with the cons, let me state that I'm realizing the cons don't have so much to do with him as they do with working with a trainer in general. I just wanted to preface this list with that statement. Ignore me and carry on with the reading (wait...if you're ignoring me, then can you possibly carry on with reading my words? Lol! Nevermind...ignore me. Dang it...there I go again!).

1. He has not gotten a girl ready for figure. He is aware of the what the girls look like for figure and thinks figure girls should be natural, but this still does not erase the fact that he has never prepared a girl for figure. Now...I know what to do for suits, hair, make up, presentation, so I don't need him for the "girly girl" stuff. And see, in this particular con, I'm listing my argument against my argument against him. Does that make this null and void? I don't know. I think I'm confused now...lol!

2. How much control do I want to give to someone else over my body? And am I willing to give up the control I've had over what I eat and what I train and how I train? When my ex and I were training me, he was mostly doing the programs, and I was arguing that he wasn't paying attention to the way my body was responding, and he'd argue back, and two weeks later, he'd agree with me, but by then it'd be too late. I somehow have to learn to keep my mouth shut and trust the trainer. But I guess in this case, I'd be paying him, and I wasn't paying my ex to train me, and he later on told me he hated figure and hated training me for it, so his heart wasn't into it, and as long as this trainer's heart is into it, then I don't have a problem with giving up some semblance of control.

Wow...I'm working through these cons so they really don't seem like cons. But that's why I do lists like this. To really evaluate the situation and determine the right answer.

3. Do I really want to pay $1,000 over five months to have someone tell me I can't eat chocolate? Okay, that's childish, but if I were to train myself it mgiht be cheaper. And it might not if I were to put a monetary value on time and peace of mind. And there I go again...wiping out another con.

Come to think of it, there aren't many reasons as to why I shouldn't go with this guy. He's not involved in the nasty nature of politics in this industry. He doesn't have enough people on his clientele list to put me at risk of being sabotaged or ignored. He made the offer. I didn't ask him, so he obviously WANTS to help. And I personally think he can do a good job as long as he and I work together and we both listen to each other, and I let him do his job and he lets me get onto stage in the form I want to bring into 2005.

And that, my friends, is how I work through dilemmas. I won't make an impulse decision. I've done it with men and moving, but I won't with trainers. Again...no decision will be made until the beginning of next week. I'll talk with him tomorrow and mull it over on the weekend and run it by a couple of close friends who understand what I want out of these shows...and life in general...and then I'll give him a call and tell him yay or nay.

Now...I'm going to bed. Oh yeah...I didn't slack yesterday or today. I did a circuit leg training workout yesterday with Amanda and worked biceps and triceps today. I'll give the specifics over the weekend when I get back into my journal. I'm taking tomorrow off from weights and just doing cardio, and then Saturday is bleachers, chest, calves, and abs. Woohoo!!

Goodnight everyone (or good morning, depending upon when you read this).

Jodi :)