The importance of honesty
Having a chat with a few coaches this week has really made me think about this one and how hard it can be when a client isn’t honest. Now this doesn’t mean you need to tell us every detail of your private life but something we were talking about is how to help a client when you don’t necessarily know what they are struggling with?
I personally think there are 2 elements to being honest -
Firstly is just lying to your coach e.g have you done cardio today? and you reply yes when you haven’t. firstly this is setting a standard to yourself once you lie once you are more likely to lie again but secondly this makes it very confusing to your coach when they think you have and e.g your on prep/ diet and your not dropping fat, they will think the plan isn’t working, up your cardio more and drop your food etc making it harder and harder for you when it dosen’t necessarily need to be that way. if you haven’t done your cardio or you have eaten off your plan for whatever reason just be honest with your coach and say look I haven’t done X and they will come up with a solution with you so firstly your not falling behind on your diet and secondly to put actions into place so that it dosent happen again.
The second element to being honest is with your emotions -
Now on first reading this might sound a bit strange but coaches arent mind readers we dont know if you are struggling with something unless you tell us you are. struggling with food relationships? family or friends not understanding your goals? feeling anxious about stage? uncomfortable with how your body feels in the off season? talk about it, let your coach know as most of us have come accross these issues 100’s times before and can help you and give you the right answers you need to move forward. your never alone with how you feel and most coaches can empathise as they have had the same struggles and there is always a way to resolve it and continue to work towards your goals. The worst thing about this is there are so many people who struggle, don’t talk about it and let it manifest and build into something it didn’t need to be then give up on their goals and resent training and health and fitness for something that would have been completely fixable had it been spoken about sooner. bodybuilding is hard and so are lifestyle changes, bettering yourself is about stepping out of your comfort zone be that to step on stage or to make a healthier lifestyle for yourself, so there is no wonder there will be little wobbles along the way, but they can stay as little wobbles and we get back on the road with clear communication and the correct support.
As a competitor in my journey I have struggled with every element mentioned above at some point, food relationships, family and friends, over eating, binging, missing cardio, feeling uncomfortable, anxious and more, there were times I wanted to quit as I just couldn’t do it anymore, but I didn’t I was honest, reached out to my coach and other people in my circle and worked on what I needed to, so now when I decide my time is done in bodybuilding it will be for positive reasons not negative, and that will be a good few years down the line yet.
As a coach I look back and am glad I had such awful post show experiences, wobbles and hard times because now I understand how to move productively through it and how to help others in a similar situation too, you may have heard me say this before but to get an incredible physique transformation you must do the inner work as well, especially as a bodybuilder.
