Be OK With Feeling Like Crap
"The unavoidable reality is that you're going to have to deal with low energy, low mood, brain fog, and feeling like a dumb, muted, 70-percent version of yourself," says DeCosta, who recently competed at the INBF Natural Muscle Mayhem contest.
It can seem bearable until you reach that point a few weeks in, but with proper guidance you can combat it. Good coaches will help set these expectations so that one, you aren't surprised when it happens, and two, they can be a reliable voice when you need to get talked off the ledge.
DeCosta says he sees people fall off the wagon all the time because they don't see it coming and the hunger and low energy catch them by surprise. This goes for the gym and your workouts, too.
Resting on a barbell rack.
"You're not going to be as strong and you're not getting a pump every time," he says. "Give it what you've got, but know that your performance isn't going to be up to par."
Abel Albonetti, one of the most gym-addicted guys around, admits that even he struggles with motivation to get in the gym during contest prep. It's easy in the beginning, when the results come a little quicker and easier.
"I love working out—I love the feeling you get—and when you're in contest prep, the first four weeks is not that bad. The last 4-6 weeks, though, you kinda suffer through all of the workouts, and, frankly, they suck," he says. "You just have to make yourself get in there and start working out. Just know it's normal."
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