Life On The Other Side

by: Joe Lyons - July 8th, 2008

For those of you that have competed, you are very familiar with the focused mindset, and that single mindedness it takes to attain insane conditioning. Competitors often go through their days focused on themselves with meals, training, tanning, cardio, and of course family and friends. Family and friends usually get the short end of the stick.

When people find out that my wife and I both compete, and diet at the same time, we always get the "how do you guys do it?" question. The thought of two people in one house, exhausted from training and cardio, while starving to death, sends a shiver down their spines. Jess and I have made it for 3 years now. I don't know if I could have made it without her. The patience and understanding we have for each other during the prep is all part of the ordeal of competing.

Recently my wife earned her Figure Pro Card at the '08 Jr. USA. This was supposed to be the last show for the two of us, and we would start a family soon. Upon winning her pro card, neither of us could accept her not stepping on the pro stage at least once before the arrival of a little Lyons'. She decided to train for a show, the Dexter Jackson Classic Pro Figure, which is the first weekend in August. I support her the entire way, and I'm excited to see how she'll compare with the pros.

The first two weeks after the show where Jess got her pro card was exciting and fun to discuss with others. The reality of one of us competing while the other wasn't hadn't set in yet. All the plans and activities that we had made were now set on the back burner, and our lives were once again dominated by food, training, and cardio schedules. Gone were the thoughts of Sunday brunches and going out with friends. Gone were the ideas of taking one more vacation before the family planning arrived. Gone where the thoughts of cooking things with flavor, color, and excitement, and we welcomed the bland chicken, fish, and greens.

People have said to me, "why do you have to eat that way?" and my response is that it's not something I would appreciate if the roles were reversed. If I was getting ready for the stage I wouldn't want to see cakes, cheeses, and other taste treats tempting me to cheat on my diet.

Summer is here, and I have gone with my friends to dinners and evenings out, but like most marriages, my wife is my best friend. Sure I would say "it's your choice to compete, so I'm going to do..." but that's not how you treat your best friend.

The reality is that the ones that support us unintentionally get left behind. They are somewhat limited in what they can or will do while their partners get ready for a contest. They care about us and want to do activities together, not going out and having fun only to come home and tell their husband/wife of what a great time they had. The people that support us deserve a lot of credit for sticking with us through this process and should be appreciated more then we show them.


I will constantly keep this in mind if/when I compete again. It's a different perspective being on the other side. Granted this is an observation on a general scale, but one seen all to often, and one I'm experiencing for the first time.

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