ladymystique80’s BodyBlog

In late February, when I decided that I was definitely, without a shred of doubt, going to do my first competition I set out on a mission to find the right coach to help me get there.  I started out with a basic Google search which yielded me very few options – I decided to step it up a bit and see if I could find some decent referrals. I went on bodyspace and found other females who were in competition shape and who noted the various competitions that they have or intended to compete in on their profile.

I got some referrals – but none in my price range or weren’t able to do one-on-one sessions with me because of my geographical location. I knew that this would take a level of commitment – both physically and financially but I wasn’t going to break the bank. Another problem (not from the referrals that the competitors gave me but just in general) was finding someone who actually understood the nature of the beast. Preferably, someone who had competed before and knew FIRSTHAND what I would be experiencing, feeling, and what I needed to truly be focused on. Turns out, the bigger part of the challenge was finding a trainer who knew that the heck a competition WAS. One day, at my ok-but-not-too-fluff gym I stopped by the table laden with business cards from travel agencies to trainers to real estate brokers. As I stood there browsing the selection and screening them, one of the gym trainers walked up to me, glanced at the cards I had picked up and asked,

“Oh so you’re looking for a trainer?”  I told him yeah, I was.

“Well lemme recommend this guy” as he leans over and yanks a card from the desk. “This guy *insert name here* is really good, and he’ll give you a great rate.”

“Oh for real?” I respond, feeling somewhat skeptical. I asked the gym trainer if his “boy” had any experience with training people for their first figure competition.

Pregnant pause…followed by a perplexed facial expression…which faded into stammering verbalization “Uh, yeah, yeah, I’m sure he could help you with that.”

Uhhh. No. I had a couple of run-ins like that. When I called someone or talked to someone and as soon as I mentioned a figure comp or a bodybuilding competition they gave me a weird, confused look like “what the **** is that??”  or “Why’d you wanna do something like THAT?”

But then almost always they go to their game face as if to say, well I have no idea what the heck she’s talking about OR I don’t think I can help her with that – but lemme push this person on her instead and maybe she’ll go for that.

It kinda felt like the time I was looking for my first car and I told the salesmofo I wanted a Honda Accord but instead he kept trying to push the souped-up Dodge Neon instead. I consider myself a pretty straightforward person- that is once I’ve made up my mind on something. So I find it especially aggravating when someone PRETENDS to hear what I want, then push something else all together on me.

Fortunately, I did find a reputable trainer with the competition experience and reasonable rates close to where I live. Now, the problem is, I guess since they don’t see me one-on-one with him (I intend to meet with him biweekly) they assume that I’m still in the market or whatever. And it seems that even though I’m there in the mornings 730am, sometimes 630 or 600 there they all are in full force. Sometimes they’re with clients or sometimes, as it would seem, on the prowl to snag other clients. I kindly already told two of them that I already hired a trainer, and I already have a program…

…but it looks like I might have to be a bit more *ahem* forceful with some of the more obtrusive ones.