Fat Loss – Body Transformation – Advanced Nutrition

Hey everyone,

On May 14, my client Chelsey Young competed in her first NPC Figure Show, the Optimum Fitness Classic in Shreveport, LA. When I first met Chelsey, I knew that she had the potential to do really well at absolutely any level. After a brief discussion, we decided on the show she was going to compete and the work began.

Then, twelve weeks later, she was on stage for the first time:

Due to luck of the draw, Chelsey ended up in the middle. During a Figure Competition, they do what is known as “Call outs” and bring the top competitors to the middle initially and compare them against the others. Chelsey stayed front and center, and they moved girls around her. As soon as I saw her against her competitors, I knew that we were going to place well, and it’d be a travesty if she didn’t win her class.

Here are pics of her next to the girl that would be the eventual class runner up:

At the end, I had little doubt – I actually posted “CHELSEY WINS OVERALL” on Twitter and Facebook before the official announcement (and showed her husband as I was doing it.

Chelsey’s next show is the Europa Pro/Am in Dallas on August 17/18 and is a national qualifier (which will enable her to compete for her IFBB Pro Card). I have a lot of confidence that she will do well and I feel like she will be very tough to beat. Actually, I’ll say it: I expect nothing less than victory.

Chelsey, I’m extremely proud of you – few people have the dedication and the work ethic that you do, and your focus is extremely evident. You are an inspiration and a role model for everyone you come in contact with!

I’m extremely honored to have the opportunity to work with you!

So you work too much?

Don’t know where to start?

Lena works way too much. To top it off, she works all night as a NICU nurse. She trains on her way home from work in the morning after a 12 hour shift, only to go home, help her family start their days before being able to finally sleep for a few hours and then get ready to do it again.

She also wasn’t sure where to start. She just knew that she wanted to change, and a few weeks ago, she called me and has been consistently working out and eating right since.

Yesterday, she hit a new height.

You see, Lena has lost over 5 inches off of her abdominal circumference in the last month of training. So, she’s obviously doing something right. Oh, she happens to be 45 years old.

More impressive? She’s getting stronger: MUCH STRONGER. While dropping body fat, her strength is increasing exponentially. Yesterday, she was able to leg press 600lbs for reps.

Some make excuses, others make a decision to change, and that decision has to come from within. Most life situations aren’t conducive to adding a few hours each week of a new activity, but it comes down to how bad you want to change your body and your life.

The body WILL respond to the right stimulus – make it happen!

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

Hey Everyone, time to give some well-earned praise!

During Lena’s first month of training, she dropped her bodyfat 7 percentage points. On a three point skin fold test, she dropped 27mm in 29 days, and her abdominal circumference (at the navel) went from 36 1/2″ to 32″, more than 1 inch per week!

So you’re busy? Lena is a NICU nurse – she works 12 hour night shifts and then stops by to train with me three days per week on her way home at 8:30 in the morning. She’s also a mother and a wife, so many times, her day just begins after she gets off work.

If you’re serious about changing your body, the decision is yours, and once the decision is made, ONLY you can stop it.

Congrats Lena – now let everyone of this blog’s readers be inspired by your progress!

Progress pics to come very soon (yes, Lena, I’m holding you to that :)

Who is going to be the next testimonial?

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454
Text BOYD to 90210 for my mobile business card!

Wanted to tell everyone about Lena, my 45 year old client that, in her first two weeks, was able to lose nearly 3 inches off of her abdominal circumference and drop nearly 4% body fat!

So, you’re busy? Lena trains with me after work. But her work isn’t a normal 9-5 – she is a nurse that works 12 hour shifts at night. She comes by my studio on her way home, trains, and then goes home to take care of her home (she is a wife and a mother) before catching a few hours rest and then doing it all over again. If ever someone had an excuse of not having time or being too busy, she could, but she makes time and her hard work is paying off!

We all have obstacles, but allowing those obstacles to be used as excuses versus finding a way to get past obstacles is what separates those who can and those who cannot. Lena also knows that it isn’t just enough to show up – she follows my directions on what to do outside of my gym perfectly, and she is getting better each and everyday.

Congrats Lena – this is just the tip of the iceberg!!!

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

Hey Everyone,

Meet my new client Renee. She has decided to utilize my services as she prepares to compete in the NPC Europa Super Show on August 13 in Dallas. This show is 2 shows in one, and consists of the amateur portion that she will compete in, along with a IFBB show the same evening. Ironically, that date is exactly 5 months from today, and Renee is out having her “last supper” as I type this. :) It goes without saying that this is one of the premier figure/bodybuilding shows in Texas.

I’ll be discussing her training and tracking her progress here on the blog over the next few months, so if you’re interested in fitness related competitions (bodybuilding, figure, fitness, etc) then stay tuned – most people are shocked at the amount of time and preparation that goes into getting ready for that one day on stage. My track record with competitors is very good, and I’ve helped several win their competitions and several more have obtained professional status while working with me.

It’s important to understand that every person is COMPLETELY different, and no two people respond the same way to nutrition and training. I enjoy training competitors, as it is the ultimate test of what I do and validation of my experience and knowledge.

It’s Sunday, San Antonio! Make your week amazing!

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

Yesterday was the final day of in-studio training for my client, Christina C, as she is moving to the Washington DC/Northern VA/Maryland area for work.

In exactly two months with me, her changes were absolutely unbelievable, dropping from over 28% body fat all the way down to 15%. Her abdominal circumference (at the belly button) dropped from 31 1/2″ all the way down to 25 1/4″, while losing almost another 4 inches on her hips (again, in only 2 months – talk about rapid change?).

When she first came in, her appearance was by no means “obese”. She honestly looked completely normal, and the consistency of her body was what I like to call “skinny fat”. She looked “fine”, but she didn’t like the way she felt and wanted to be leaner and more defined.

Two months later, she has definition and tone all over her body and looks completely different (just by dropping a few pounds of fat and adding a little bit of lean body mass).

Aside from her obvious physical changes, my observations could clearly detect an improvement in energy and attitude. She’ll tell anyone that it was not easy – every time she came in, I made sure that I pushed her harder and harder. By no means was I trying to break her, but her motivation and discipline were completely unbreakable.

Aside from working her tail off in the gym and doing exactly what I asked of her on the days she wasn’t in here, she ate as close to a competition prep diet as anyone I’ve ever seen that didn’t have plans to get on stage (of which, if she decided to, she could). Her strength went through the roof as well. There were many times that guys would watch her lift in my gym and make a comment about how amazingly strong she was for such a small “girl” (she can bench press more than her bodyweight).

Christina (Circus ;), your progress was absolutely amazing, and I’m glad I had the privilege to train you! I’ll definitely use your success as a model of what clients can expect when they give 110%.

I’m also excited that you’ve decided to utilize me as your “Online Personal Trainer” and I can’t wait to see the progress continue! You are a motivator, and nothing can stop you – You’re going to do great in this next phase of your life!

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

Hey San Antonio,

Just wanted to take a second to give some credit to a couple of clients who are absolutely killing it. Mary S. lost nearly 4″ off of her abdominal circumference in her first 15 days of training – no tricks, nothing magic; just sticking to her plan.

In the next session, Christina C bested her personal record leg press by 140lbs, as she did a set with 550lbs! What makes it even more impressive is that her body fat percentage has dropped from 28.9% to 16% in under 2 months – constant, insane progress!

They will say that it’s mostly me, but I just point them in the right direction – THEY are the ones that do the work and keep the discipline.

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

Hello World!

Want to take a second to give my client Chuck F a shout out for a job WELL DONE – down from 20.4% body fat to 16.4% in TWO WEEKS (and I RAKE when I pinch and am extremely consistent, for the record)! Had a 14mm drop in skinfold measurements on a three point pinch – that’s what a nearly perfect two first two weeks can do!

The great part? I fully expect him to be getting near the 10% threshold within the next month. Everyone that has ever consistently measured body fat loss understands that as you get lower, the rate of loss slows down dramatically. It’s my job to make sure he keeps his fat loss at an optimal level.

His metabolism is just getting started. His body is just starting to react. He has some very lofty goals that he has set for himself, but I have no doubt that he’s going to reach them in a much less amount of time than he initially may have believed it would take.

I don’t even need to say “keep up the good work” because there is no question about his motivation. I just can’t wait until he shatters that first glass ceiling and realizes that the sky is the limit for what he can obtain.

KILL IT!

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

Hey San Antonio,

Received the following in an email from my client Lynette. I trained Lynette when she lived in San Antonio, until work moved her 300 miles north to the Dallas area.

“Hey … Just had a guy tell me i was the best woman in the gym b/c i was doing dead lifts and squats. Said most women were marshmallows b/c they didn’t do them-he even clapped for me Just had to share. :)”

Sounds silly, but I can totally tell who is serious in the gym by the exercises they are doing, and the two that I’m using for that criteria are dead lifts and squats. Not glamorous – hey, they’re had damn work, but you show me someone who is performing these exercises and I’ll show you who is serious about becoming leaner, stronger and more defined with a much higher resting metabolism.

And it blows the misconception of “I don’t want to get big and bulky I want to be lean and toned” away.

Change is not easy, and doesn’t happen overnight. It takes a lot of effort and WORK (hence, working out). Don’t waste your time: lift with a purpose!

To Lynette: my hat is off that you are doing those. Sure, I prescribe it and point you in the right direction, but going into the gym and actually doing them takes a lot of discipline. Too many people find way too many excuses to “skip” them on most workout days. You’re awesome!

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

Hey San Antonio,

Happy Valentine’s Day all! For the entire week, I will be offering my Two For One Personal Training special where two individuals can train together at the one on one rate.

Whether your goals or fitness levels are similar or entirely different, my personal trainers and I are able to simultaneously to train both of you accordingly to help you reach your goals in as little time as possible – we have experience in simultaneously training individuals in completely different conditions with completely contrasting goals.

Not only is it motivating and fun, but it’s also less expensive per person/per session to do so. As always, all personal training packages include complete nutritional guidance, 24/7 access to your trainer and complete guidance on what to do when you’re not in the gym with your trainer. Whether your goal is fat loss, body transformation, or athletic performance, our training and nutrition programs will help you reach your goals in the shortest amount of time possible.

For more information, check out our webpage: Personal Fitness Revolution – San Antonio Personal Training

Client Shout-Out
I want to give a special shout-out to my client, Christina C – in just one month, she lowered her body fat from 28.9% to an amazing 20% – Again, that was in just 12 sessions, doing everything that I asked her to do and by doing her “homework”. Don’t use travel as an excuse – she has done this while living in a hotel.

If you want it, nothing can stop you!

Congrats Christina!

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

In my opinion, no matter your goal, the dead lift is the one exercise you should be performing, period.

There’s absolutely NOTHING wrong with a strong female, and most ladies that I train really enjoy the simultaneous gain in functional strength that coincides with becoming lean. This is my client Mary performing a dead lift with 200 pounds at a bodyweight of 125lbs.

So, why dead lift? It completely activates the core and posterior core. It requires more than 70% of the muscles in the body to correctly perform. More muscles worked mean more calories burned, more blood pumped by the heart, a higher metabolic rate, more strength gained, fat burning hormones increased – shall I name more? If you are not dead lifting, you are missing out no matter what your goal is. I see so many people spending so much time isolating the abs, glutes, lower back, etc – the dead lift maximally recruits nearly every muscle group in the body!

Had you asked Mary if she thought she could do this just 3 weeks ago, she would’ve never thought that it was possible, but she was able to do it. Also, this was probably the seventh time she had performed this lift before we were able to get a good video, so this is not her maximum attempt.

She is, however, becoming more and more lean, and stronger – and in no way becoming big, bulky and masculine. Unfortunately, most ladies have been mislead by fiction and myth that gaining strength means that they’re going to become overly large, while that simply is not the case.

I want to take this time to say “Great job” to Mary for all of her hard work! Very impressive, girl!

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

Just wanted to take a second to congratulate my client Lynette for finishing her first half marathon in Dallas a couple of weeks ago. We worked together to ensure that her weight training complimented her run training, to maximize recovery via both training and nutritional protocols, and to minimize loss of lean body mass. During her preparation, we made many adjustments as recovery demands increased, and we kept her recovery optimized, allowing her to continue to train with high intensity and to keep making progress.

Here’s a pic of Lynette with her “bling” (1127):

Big congrats to you, Lynette! I’m very proud of your accomplishment and I’m excited to see which goal you decide to conquer next!!!

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

It has been a very good week for me. Of course, I’ve mentioned Sarah winning her IFPA Pro Card in figure, and from a professional standpoint, helping a competitive client obtain professional status is extremely rewarding. However, that is a very small part of what I do, and I take as much pride in every single client as I do in my competitors. Here are a few clients I’d like to give a shout out to for a job well done!

-Jennifer has only been working out with me for two weeks, initially had a little bit of trouble with bodyweight squats, and now is leg pressing 400lbs for reps while losing weight! Intense weight training is the key to becoming lean and defined, and her strength is increasing exponentially with every single workout while the weight continues to fall off!

-After 3 weeks, Jose has dropped 3 1/2″ from his abdominal circumference and 20lbs of bodyweight, while dropping his body fat percentage by over 6 percentage points. THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is remarkable change. The crazy thing? I expect at least that much progress over the next three weeks – my goal is an eight inch decrease from Jose’s mid-section in his first 6 weeks. I know he will do it.

-”First time in a LONG TIME” were the words that Nathaniel spoke after bench pressing 315lbs on Wednesday of this week. While that sounds like someone who is trying to “bulk up”, this is another guy who the fat is melting off, and in just a few weeks, he looks like a different person.

-I’d like to know how many times Joel has heard “What on earth are you doing?” over the last few weeks… I see Joel three times per week, and every time he walks in, he looks a leaner and and more confident. Results motivate, and this guy is the poster child for what effort and discipline will do. Strength keeps going up, fat keeps coming off, and it’s obvious to everyone who sees him. The other personal trainers that work for me here in my studio keep commenting about how quickly he is transforming, and this is just the tip of the iceberg!

-“Teach a woman to fish” – my goal is to teach every client how to keep making progress on their own. Recently, Michelle has started tackling the occasional workout on her own, and I was very proud when she texted me last week (I was in St Louis) to tell me how sore she had made herself following the workout I had sent her. The key to continuing progress is intensity, and no matter what workout you are doing, it means nothing if you aren’t pushing it every single rep of every exercise.

-”I was the hottest one there, thanks to you!” – the text I received from Lisa after her 25 year high school reunion.

-”I must be sick…” – The first thing Ruth told me was that she hated every second of exercise. Now, she can’t live without it. She even finds herself doing lunges at home, and telling people how she loves to workout. I can see how you can hate something if you feel like you are wasting time. But when people regularly comment on how lean you are looking and want to know your secret? It kind of becomes addicting.

What kind of amazing progress are YOU making?

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

Hey San Antonio,

I just received this amazing write up from my client, Sarah, who obtained professional status as an IFPA Figure Competitor by sweeping all three of her classes last weekend at the Gateway Naturals in O’Fallon, Missouri. This is an amazing write up about her decision to hire me as her personal trainer and her experiences over the last six months as she prepared for her show.
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Being an athlete is part of who I am, it always has been. I find solace in competing in intense sports – from ultra-running to mountain biking to figure competing, I have always been amazed by what the human body will do, if we just ask it and don’t question whether or not it can.

To compete in extreme sports, it takes dedication and intense focus. The more serious you become about achieving your best (no matter what that may be), the more you begin to prioritize and detail out every facet of your training, nutrition, time and training support.

After taking a year plus off from competition and serious training due to a new job and relocating, I decided it was time to refocus my efforts, make a plan, and set a goal of competing in a natural figure competition. New to San Antonio, I knew very few people outside of my professional circle, but was determined to find the right trainer who could take me to a new level. If I knew more then they did, there would be no deal!

And so it began – I researched online, made phone call interviews and scheduled in person interviews in search of the right trainer. After 2-3 weeks, I kept coming back to the same name – Boyd Myers. We met and in the first consultation, I found myself selling HIM that I was a worthy client! (What an unexpected turn of events!)

I began training with Boyd in April 2010. Although I wasn’t overweight, I had a lot of work to do to gain strength and build back my basic fitness. Boyd knew that I had quite the road ahead, and understood that as an athlete who was making a comeback, it can be very challenging; you know what you USED to be capable of, but now have to fight your way back – it’s very humbling.

But then began our true partnership. Boyd encouraged me and was there to answer every question along the way with detailed explanations for all of my “why’s?”. He helped refine my lifting technique and offered constructive feedback that got the message across but left me feeling solid. I was learning and growing as an athlete – this was and continues to be exciting for me!

I was making progress. The nutrition guidelines that Boyd provided were broad and flexible but based on strong nutritional principles – the main movement was from relying on protein bars and shakes to mostly whole foods. This was new to me – former trainers had requirements of measured and scheduled meals 4-5 months out, while Boyd’s strategy is based primarily on timing nutrient intake. I wondered how this was going to work, but placed my trust in him.

In July I picked a show and told my closest friends and family. This was nerve-racking. It meant I was committed to a hard and fast goal; I am not one to take commitments lightly. As we progressed, the training became more intense and Boyd constantly challenged me to push. While I often worked out on my own, he made it priority to be there for my hardcore workouts where I needed the extra support. I broke new ground with my leg press (pressing 800lbs at a bodyweight of under 110lbs) as we worked to build my muscle mass that had been decimated from my ultra racing.

My body was responding – this was no workout designed for a man. This was no pre-designed workout used for the masses who wanted to prep for a show – Boyd had a customized plan to get me there and this plan he constantly changed in complete response to my condition and nutritional needs.

Two months out from my competition and I was getting nervous. The good news – while Boyd’s approach was different than every other trainer I had ever worked with, I knew my body was improving. A battle I fought was for energy and sleep (have I said that I have an upper management position in a large corporation?:). Many times I was working long days – I would get up to workout at 4:30, shower and work and be free go to workout again at 9:00. He helped me balance my supplements to ensure that my body had the fuel and vitamins it needed to best sustain. This was NOT a litany of random supplements – Boyd zeroed in on specific needs and kept them manageable.

As we closed in on 5 weeks out, Boyd planned out a run-through of my depletion. This seemed a bit risky to me, to take my body through this when it was already stressed…this ended up being invaluable as we saw exactly how my body would respond to the varying levels of sodium, water intake, nutrition etc. Boyd proved himself through results to be a bio-chemistry expert – I have never seen my body respond like this.

Boyd had agreed to travel with me to St. Louis – I wanted him there to ensure that every detail had his guidance. What a great decision – I could have never asked for a better helper. Round two of depletion went well – we flew to St. Louis and finished the last two days of prep there. The lessons learned from the run-through depletion allowed for tweaking to optimize our results; on show day we were confident that we were in the right spot.

Competition Day was finally here. While I was carb depleted and dehydrated, Boyd kept me focused and calm. He was a rock throughout the day and constantly coaching and advising on my nutritional intake. Mind you, the last few hours can make or break you as you may be competing in finals (and I ended up doing just this!). He pumped me up and encouraged me – entering two categories meant a T-walk and two pose downs in the morning judging and then a T-walk and pose downs in the evening… if I made it that far. This is gruelingly tiring – Boyd was there through it all.

In the end, we won – and we won big. This was a complete surprise to me – I never imagined this happening. I simply wanted to compete and do my best and left the rest up to God… I was able to go above and beyond and sweep the Open Figure Short Class and the Open IFPA Pro Card, in addition to the 35+ Pro Card. Surreal and very humbling as the ladies I was on stage with looked AMAZING.

Issac Newton once said, “If I have seen further it is only by standing on the shoulders of giants.” Boyd Myers was/is definitely my giant and has been key to my unexpected accomplishment of becoming an IFPA Professional Figure Athlete. Boyd, you deserve this win just as much as I – thanks for sharing your gift with me and all of your clients! I look forward to our continued partnership – get ready… time to take on the Pro ranks!

Sarah L
IFPA Professional Figure Athlete
San Antonio, TX

Sarah,

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to work with you, and I look forward to working with you as we get ready to win your first competition as a professional! You are unstoppable!

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

While this article specifically targets what my client went through to change her body as she prepared for her figure competition, I think it’s important that anyone that is serious about changing their body understand what is possible, so whether you’re considering a bodybuilding or figure competition or just looking to lose 10-20lbs and like what you see when you look in the mirror, you can benefit from this! Obviously, competitors are a small part of my client base, but the science of the body is the same no matter your goals, and I take great pride in being San Antonio’s foremost expert in training and nutrition.

Just over six months ago, Sarah came in to visit me about hiring me as her personal trainer to help her get ready to compete in a natural figure competition. For those of you who aren’t familiar with what a figure competition is, Wikipedia defines it as: a class of physique-exhibition events for women; while bearing a close resemblance to female bodybuilding, it emphasizes muscle tone over muscle size. These competitions are frequently held as part of the same events as bodybuilding contests.

The term natural implies that the contest is drug free. In the case of this weekend’s show, Sarah was administered both a polygraph and a urinalysis.

While I realize that the great majority of people have no desire to be a competitive fitness athlete, the process of body transformation is very similar. Trust me, as a competitive bodybuilder myself, I will be the first to tell you that show and contest prep are not lifestyles – they are very temporary and while I typically prefer 4-6 months for preparation, sustaining that type of intense regimen for any longer is not doable. Nonetheless, the sport, as a whole, is the absolute model for discipline, hard work and intensity.

Funny thing is that my approach varies so much from client to client. I had a conversation this morning with a client that was interested in this weekend and had told her friends about it. She said that her friends were “afraid that by the way I trained others, she’d end up looking like a man…” That’s comical, because first and foremost, my goal is to get clients in the condition they want to be in. If you want to lose a little fat and look better? That’s what we do. If you want to be competition ready? That’s what we do. People don’t passively exercise and “kind of” diet and all of a sudden start looking like fitness competitors! (Here’s a pic of Sarah backstage – sorry, it was taken with my iPhone).

I’m not going to speak for Sarah (she’s going to write about her experience and let me post it here), but I cut out a lot of the BS that most people think is necessary. Aside from the last 3 weeks of prep, she did not measure her food intake. Make no mistake, it was excruciatingly regimented, but I base intake on timing and food selection and have quite a bit of flexibility with amounts – proof that the “calorie in versus calorie out” method is prehistoric and useless. My entire programs are adaptive – we gave special focus to weaknesses as they came up and made regular adjustments to her training program to ensure that no time was wasted: week in and week out she made incredible progress.

Are you one of those who “just doesn’t have time”? Sarah works 65-80 hours per week as an upper management professional at a very well-known company. Her goals required her to make sacrifices and adjustments (going to bed a bit later, waking up earlier, etc). Not one time over the entire six months did I hear her make one excuse. I KNOW she was tired. I know she was drained, stressed and exhausted. But a goal is a goal, and she kept plugging along.

Figure is an intense sport – I monitored her condition every single day from day one through the show (and now helping her recover today). I would never allow one of my clients to put themselves at physical risk. Winning is important, but nothing is as important as health. I hear some of the tactics that some trainers employ and it makes me outright angry – some of their depletion and dehydration tactics are far and away ridiculous, and do much more damage and harm than good. My approach is scientifically based, practiced and carefully administered and monitored. A trip to the emergency room should not be on the agenda for the night of your show.

Preparation is everything. The will to win is important, but that will must be exhibited day in and day out. No workout is an easy one. The body must be continuously pushed and the balance between stimulation/recovery and annihilation/overtraining is a very fine line to walk, but must be explored. From day one of training until the night of the contest, nothing was overlooked – it is my job to give me clients that wish to compete every opportunity to do their very best, and she looked amazing.

Bodybuilding and figure are very subjective sports, as it is judged and scored by humans – it isn’t a case of “lifting more weight” – it is solely based on appearance and “who looks best” is determined by judges. While it’s tough to tell what they may be thinking on specific days, my motto is simple: make their job as easy as possible. In this case, we did just that. I’m not sure I did a great job of hiding my excitement when I saw her next to her competitors. I knew she was going to be damn near impossible to beat.

Speaking to the judges after the contest, they told us that it “was never really in question” and she was far and away the best of every division she competed in. I take a lot of pride in that because it was my job to ensure that she was completely prepared, and she was in absolutely every way, won all three of her classes, and obtained her “pro card” (she now has the opportunity to compete as a professional).

Again, words cannot say how proud of her for what she has accomplished. I have a lot of self-satisfaction as well, as having a client get to this level requires a ton of experience and knowledge, and validates my confidence in the type of fitness professional that I am. I can honestly say that I have had few moments in this career that compared with how I felt when she was announced the overall winner.

For me, it’s back to the grind. I have a few other clients that are also preparing for competitions – a couple that I train here at my personal training studio in San Antonio, and three that I am helping online. I don’t hope – I expect the same results that Sarah achieved this weekend.

Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.

Boyd Myers
San Antonio’s Premier Personal Trainer
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454