A Bodybuilding Journey - 2nd Competition, 8 Days Out

Here I am, restarting this blog after a two-year break. It's uniquely curious that I shall feel the urge to write on the same topic - perhaps at times like this my mood necessitates certain thoughts being spilt out in a textual manner? But having been so busy throughout the past few weeks, I am only able to blog about my thoughts at this last stage of preparation.

Why another bodybuilding competition, you may ask? Maybe it's to prove that I still 'have it'. Maybe it's to prime myself for another photo session before I can no longer do so. Maybe it's to answer the call from my friend Eddy who has this jealously amazing body figure all year and who will also step onstage in physique competition this time round. In any case, in only 8 days time I shall once again step onto a stage, and start flexing.

If you know me in person, you will probably agree that this seems so out of character for me, for I am never one of the showy types - I will blush when I flex in front of a crowd. Strangely I did not seem to mind when I was asked to pose 2 weeks out on a beach:

Spot the odd one out!

I still vividly remember that moment two years ago when I was on stage. The lights were so blindly bright you can see no-one offstage - all one could see were spotlights where one posed in front of. There was indeed nothing to fret about.

Yet, I will be kidding you if I say I don't get butterflies right now.

So much have happened in the run-up to this competition that I shall not know where to start - I will perhaps blog about these another day after the big thing when I make some sort of reflection. On the other hand, it seems equally impossible for me to tell what it will be like on the day itself: so many things can go wrong; the diet, the workout, the cardio, the compulsory poses, the one-minute free-pose, the free-pose music, the angles, the arrangements, the logistics... so on and so forth.  The way to calm these down is: prepare, prepare, prepare... there is no way but committing full-time preparing for this hors d'oeuvre. But that means I'm also constantly on the alert for the things that I fear may have been forgotten - maybe a meal here, maybe another ticket there, maybe other things.

Man, it's getting difficult to get hold of everything. I wonder how some friends can pull a show like this every few months.

Tomorrow I shall start my carbs depletion (meaning less than 200g of carbs in a day, about 1 bowl of rice). Hopefully I can keep my sanity in check.

As someone not renowned for speaking too much, if you do see me now and then, maybe deep in thought, or panting and out of breath from a gym workout routine, just say, 'Good luck, Ant!'. I appreciate your support very much. :-)

PS: Should you be interested in watching me in this show, here are the details:
Date: 27 Sept 2017 (Weds)
Time: 1-4pm (1st Rounds), 6-11pm (Finals)
Venue: Rotunda Hall 2, Kowloon Bay International Trade & Exhibition Centre
(https://goo.gl/maps/hv4kFHMNtyR2)
Tickets: VIP $350, Standard $260
To buy tickets, email admin@hkbpsf.org or call 2345 6286 for details.
Website: https://www.facebook.com/hkbpsf/