It’s 10:15pm. I’m sitting here on the swing set rocking back and forth and write this and listen to Eli’s breathing as he does his evening cardio/”vanilla” body weight strength routine. It looks (and sounds) way past “vanilla” in my humble opinion — and I would actually compare it more to one of those Ben and Jerry’s concoctions. He jogs. He sprints. He side shuffles back and forth. He does pushups. He does squats. He jumps up on the swing set and cranks out pullups. He drops and does situps and leg lift. Then he lays still, breathing deeply (still labored) but there’s a defintantent sense of self and purpose that is easy to recognize.
I’ve had moments in my own training pre-contest when I felt so good and so positive that nothing could bring me down. I have had countless times that I wondered why the heck I was putting my body through this tourcher. And each of these times I find myself coming back to the fact that I love this sport and the adventure that is show prep. It is definitely different being the support team rather than the competitor myself. But through this process I am learning more and more what this really is to those of us that have chosen this strange lifestyle.
The national show is 3 full days away. The countdown continues and the little finishing touches and tricks are almost here. But, what I am most excited about is that I am so inspired by the transformation that I am watching unfold before me. It’s just amazing to witness the process we have found and learned and continue to improve as a bodybuilding community as a whole. People like Eli, sacrificing and persevering, learning and educating, motivating and demonstrating, inspire not only the 1% of the population that do this kind of ridiculousness, but all that are open to creating a healthy, more enlightened way of living. Being in tuned with the activities we do with our bodies and how we chose to fuel that vessel that carries us through our lives. It’s a beautiful thing…and being able to demonstrate all of that in South Beach this weekend will be my pleasure to be a spectator at — whether you’re a physique, figure, bikini or bodybuilding competitor. Inspiration at it’s finest.
- IFBB Pro Venus Nguyen on Eli Blahut
