Just Do It!

Having recently turned 40, I’m amazed when guys roughly my age write to me and mention that they’ve been thinking about competing for years but still don’t think they’re quite ready. I tell them all the same thing—just do it! When do you suppose you’ll be ready? When you feel you can give Phil Heath a run for the money?

Odds are, unless you’re one of the very rare genetic freaks like Phil, it ain’t happening any day soon. If you feel that you shouldn’t compete until you’re 100 percent satisfied with your physique, you’ll be pondering contest schedules till the Second Coming.

We bodybuilders are never completely happy with what we see in the mirror. There’s always some bodypart we want to improve, some issue of proportion we hope to resolve. So just pick a contest far enough in the future that you’ll have time to get in shape for it, train and do the damn thing. It doesn’t really matter whether you win or lose.

In the process of dieting down to your best condition, you’ll learn a lot about yourself and what you’re really made of. Anybody can go into the gym and have a great workout under normal circumstances, but it takes a rare breed to keep the intensity up when you’re tired and low on carbs and can’t stop thinking about pizza.

You’ll discover that few thrills in life can equal the experience of standing on that brightly lit stage and showcasing your months and years of hard work. A pretty trophy and the roar of the crowd are nice, but they pale in comparison to knowing you did your very best and reached a new pinnacle in your lifelong pursuit of a better physique.

So what are you waiting for, you procrastinator? If you’ve been on the fence about competing for a long time, it’s time to hop on over and see what you’ve been missing—and I guarantee your training intensity will reach new levels.