When it comes to prepping for a show, a lot of people have a belief that each prep should be ‘easier’ than the last. Now in a perfect world, that would be the case and we’d spend the appropriate time in a surplus (not the entire time or you’ll get 🐷) to successfully build up our metabolic rate while also making the muscular improvements needed. Diving deeper internally (hormonally), the goal would be to ensure our bodies are healthy. However, even if this is the case, this does necessarily mean prep will be any easier. Case in point, we have @Halliecampanaro who just finished her 2022 contest prep season. Hallie has been working with me for two years now (Swipe right to see where we started). This was a rather long and difficult prep that required pulling back (feeding up, diet break - whatever term suits your fancy) several times to then allow us to continue on. At a few points, we both considered possibly stopping the prep. Ultimately, Hallie was able to showcase her best package to date (though it was not her highest placing, the look without a doubt was!). Hallie’s relentless work ethic and ability to really trust the process goes a long way and is something that I don’t take for granted. The takeaway - realize that bad days (mentally, emotionally, and physically) are part of the agreement that comes along with prepping. When you sign up to prep, you sign up for all the emotions that come with it. The good, the bad, the ugly. The good news though is that a bad day doesn’t make a bad life and a week of no progress doesn’t mean that one needs to pull the plug. Most people could easily achieve their goals if they were patient enough. Whether it’s losing weight, running a successful business, or building healthy relationships — all these things take time. The world we live in has made us so used to instant gratification across the board. We think one decent off-season is all that we need. That one mistake is all that it takes to learn from. Learning patience can be a difficult experience, but once conquered you too will find life is much easier. Proud of you Hallie - for digging deeper than you thought you could and following the plan from day one!