Last weekend Sharon and I did something completely different. We went to the World Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation's World Championship Competition at Mississauga's Living Arts Centre. Now I know that it seems weird that we would go to a bodybuilding competition but it was recommended to me by one of my bodybuilding patients and I know that the vast majority of all the major professional and amateur competitors in the sport use chiropractic to help maximize their fitness and health. This includes the great one himself; Arnold Schwarzenegger who is a huge proponent of chiropractic and has no doubt that it helped him with his success. Neither one of us are into flat out bodybuilding, but we are both into fitness and Sharon often reads about the women's fitness and figure competitors in her magazines. She always wanted to go to a competition just to see what it was all about.
It was actually quite fascinating. Not so many years ago body building was strictly a man's domain. But slowly more and more women found they could gain strength and fitness by using weights in a gym. I guess that it just naturally followed that they too would get into competing amongst themselves. Anyway, things started to evolve and now women can compete in many different divisions at a body building competition. At this particular event the WBFF had three different divisions for women to compete in. There was a Bikini Model division with a short and a tall category which was the least muscular format. Next up the ladder was the Figure Model division (this is the type of training that Sharon is most interested in) which is a little more toned than the Bikini Class - you need a good six pack for this division. The Figure division had three categories: over 35 years old (this is the one Sharon is most interested in. I think she was checking out her competition.); then there was a short and a tall category. Finally there were the Fitness Model competitors. This was the most muscular class of competition for the women. Most of them look like Olympic athletes. Again, this class had short and tall categories. All of these were amateur. They also had a pro division for each of the three different divisions.
In men's bodybuilding there are lightweight, middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight amateur categories. They too have a pro division. I was surprised to see a Male Fitness Model class and a Male Muscle Model class. These levels are for men who are fit but with less muscle than a true body builder. This spin off is a direct result of the change in attitude brought in by women and it was great to see an emphasis on healthy, toned bodies and not just total focus on pure muscle size.
Having never been before we thought it would be a good idea to do the preliminary rounds (which took place from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm) and then go to the Evening show final competition. That way I thought that Sharon could learn about the sport. And boy oh boy did she - ad nauseam. Although it was truly fascinating and quite the learning experience for us both, each division/category had to be judged competitor by competitor and there were over 350 competitors. By 4:00 pm we were worn out and ready for the day to be done. Unfortunately, that couldn't happen because I thought it would be great for Sharon to see things close up - so I bought the best tickets that were available for the evening show. They cost a lot of money so I wasn't about to abandon them.
At 4:00 pm we hurried out to get some dinner at a nice little restaurant in Port Credit called Snug Harbour. It is right on the lake and has a lovely view of the port. We had salmon and trout with salad. It was nicely done. We hurriedly ate our meal while enjoying the beautiful summer evening and then quickly headed back to the Living Arts Centre for the evening performance which was scheduled to start at 6:00 pm.
We settled into our seats at about 5 minutes before 6:00 pm. They were the second row back from the orchestra pit where the judges, MC and disc jockey were stationed. From there Sharon could clearly see the judges and watch what they were doing while getting and excellent view of the competitors on stage.
I noticed that the row in front of us was filled with teenage girls. I was curious as to why teenage girls were there. I thought that maybe they were younger relatives of some of the competitors, most of whom were in their early 20's. I then looked down the row we were in and it was the same thing except for one other man and his wife. I looked behind and the next two rows were also filled with teenage girls. I thought to myself that it was great so many teens were interested in fitness or maybe they were there to see the Male Fitness Models.
The show began and I was surprised to see that it was exactly the same format as the daytime preliminary competition but with fancy lights and louder music. I think that having a second look at the competitors helped us because we were starting to pick favourites for each category. Anyway, we watched the endless stream of competitor's parade across the stage for 2 hours before the first intermission. Just as they announced that the intermission would be for 10 minutes they also said that Nick Carter would be on stage next which lead to significant cheering. I looked at Sharon and asked "Who is Nick Carter anyway?". Sharon shrugged her shoulders and said" We'll find out after intermission won't we - he's obviously some kind of performer".
When we returned to our row after our intermission I noticed that all the teenage girls were standing by their seats. Some were milling around in the isle by the front row. I assumed that they were trying to stretch out as much as possible before resuming their seats for the next phase of the evening.
The lights went down and the announcer introduced Nick Carter. I just about fell out of my seat from the shockwave created from the screams as the girls started jumping up and down. The screams were so loud I couldn't even hear the singer. I couldn't see a thing - I was trapped in a sea of screaming, jumping, swooning teenage girls. I thought to myself that at least I had Sharon in the seat beside me. WRONG - as I looked over I saw Sharon standing and swaying with the teens holding up her phone camera. I could barely see the other man down our row sitting and cowering the same way I was as his wife also jumped and screamed. Talk about Shock and Awe!!!! This went on for the entire 15 minute performance. I would only catch an occasional glimpse of the entertainer between the swinging, screaming teens. To say I felt uncomfortable would be a major understatement but I survived and the theater quickly settled back into the competition. I asked Sharon what she thought she was doing and she told me that this reminded her of the concerts she went to as a teen to see her old heart throb Donny Osmond. She was having a lot of fun getting caught up in the mood.
The competition for the different categories continued on for another two and one half hours. I was getting very tired and a little bored by this point. I'm also not used to sitting that much and my rear end was complaining with ever increasing intensity. Sharon seemed to be lost in the action so I just sat there dreaming of my nice comfortable bed.
The organizers knew that they were way, way behind schedule so they announced that the next and last intermission would only be five minutes long. After that Nick Carter would perform again and the winners of each category would be announced and prizes awarded. That sounded good to me.
We decided to stay in our seats since there was only five minutes. Twenty minutes later, when they still hadn't recalled the audience I was getting a little antsy. In the meantime, Sharon had texted Kim asking: "Who is Nick Carter anyway?". Kim wrote back that we should feel very privileged to be in the audience for one of the Back Street Boys who was embarking on a solo career. Okay, at least I have heard the name Back Street Boys before but I couldn't tell you any of their songs. Well, finally the intermission was called to an end. The girls began gathering at the front row again. This time though I felt prepared. I knew what was going to happen and I had enough courage to sit through it one more time.
The lights went down, the announcement was made and right on queue the shrieking began. But, I wasn't fazed. I thought to myself: 'Boy I'm good; I can handle this, no problem'. I looked over at Sharon standing, swaying with all the other teenage groupies and had to smile as I saw her grinning from ear to ear. Then something happened that I hadn't counted on. He went over to the edge of the stage where there were some stairs into the audience. I thought to myself: 'okay, don't panic yet, he wouldn't dare come into this mob, he'd be ripped to shreds'. I then watched in horror as he quickly descended into the abyss of teenage girls. To may surprise they didn't rip him apart limb by limb. In fact, they gave him room to move through the crowd. But, then it happened, my worst nightmare. Nick Carter came over to where I was sitting and stopped, put his arm around one of the swooning teenage girls and stood there singing. He was no more than two feet away from me. I instantly became stricken with panic. You see, although I realized that they wouldn't hurt their idle I knew they wouldn't think twice about climbing all over me if I got in their way of reaching him. Sure enough a got buried. Even my wife leaned on my head to steady herself as she shot her video. I was totally squished into my seat. The whole audience was witnessing my dilemma. How embarrassing is that?
Here's a couple of pictures that I took from her video of Nick Carter. You can't see me because I'm the one being pushed down into my seat by my loving wife as she leaned on my head to get a better angle for her video.
I thought I had two possible strategies to survive. First I could continue to endure the embarrassment of being trampled on by my wife and her accomplices until it was over and then try and pretend I was really okay with all of it. Or second, I could try and jump up and swoon and sway with the best of them and try to blend in so I wouldn't get trampled any more. Then I snapped out of it and realized that it might look very strange to the audience if they saw one weird old guy (old enough to be Nick's father) jumping and swooning in a sea of teenage girls. So, I sat there enduring the indignities of it all waiting for my humiliation to end. It seemed to take forever but it finally did end. My new buddy Nick (I now felt close enough to him to be on a first name basis since we endured so much together) went back up on stage, finished his song, and said his thank you's, took some bows and left the stage. Instantly the sea of teenage groupies began leaving the theater. My illusion of teenage interest in fitness was shattered. I finally realized that they had only come to see their heart throb - Nick Carter.
When the dust settled they began the process of announcing the winners in each category and awarding the prizes. At first Sharon and I would nod or give a thumbs up sign if we agreed with the judges or shake our heads (so as not to be seen by the competitors) if we disagreed. The awards kept going on and on and on. They went on past midnight and finally Sharon looked over at me and said the she had had enough, she was ready to go home. I calmly and quietly said: 'Whatever you want to do is fine by me', while inside I was saying: 'Finally, YES! YES! YES!!!!'.
We arrived back home at about 1:30 am - a time of day neither one of us had seen in many years. We happily crawled into our bed, spent 30 seconds agreeing with each other that it was an interesting day but that it was way, way too long a day, and went off to sleep.
The next morning we re-hashed the previous day's events after Sharon finished sharing her video shots of my good buddy Nick with her new teenage groupie friends on YouTube (here's the link). We decided that we had overdone it. We should have gone to the preliminary rounds during the day or the Evening finals but not both. Sharon said: 'Next time we'll get it right." I smiled and said to myself: 'Next time I won't be with you if Nick Carter is going to show up'.
One thing we both agreed upon was that what we saw the previous night were over 350 individuals who had a dream, and dedicated themselves to stay focused on their diet and fitness so they could achieve their goals.
What we observed were people who had a dream that they turned into a goal (healthy thinking). They made a plan to achieve that goal and obviously stuck with it (healthy moving and healthy eating). And, by doing so they accomplished what they had set out to do. They were fit enough to stand on stage and compete.
These were just ordinary people with one exception - they had a dream that they turned into a goal and then they turned that goal into a plan that they stuck with. They are proof positive that you can achieve anything you want if you make up your mind to do it. That is the only difference between success and failure. That is the only difference between them and you.
If you have a dream of being truly healthy and enjoying the vitality of life again then the only thing stopping you is not having a plan of action. Take your dreams of health, turn them into a goal and then make your plan of action - a little healthy thinking (the goal and plan) and the action (healthy eating and healthy moving). If you stick with it for a while you will see some remarkable changes - guaranteed! That is pure science - cause and effect. It doesn't matter if you are 10 years old or 95 years old - if you start eating a little better and start exercising a little more; if you begin to take better care of yourself with things like regular chiropractic tune-ups you will move towards health.
As human beings we are always happier when, first of all, we have a goal that we want to achieve, and secondly, when we are actively working towards that goal. Actively working towards a goal gives us a purpose in life and an inner peace of mind that feels quite wonderful. Exercising gives us a feeling of being energized inside. Getting regular adjustments releases al l the spinal tensions that interfere with the brain-body communications and that makes your body relax and reboot so you move more fluidly and sleep more soundly. And, eating healthy foods gives our bodies the energy they need to tackle the world so your life feels easier and that brings a calming mood. A little Healthy Thinking with dash of Healthy Moving and Healthy Eating is a powerful combo that can't be beat.
Next time you're in for an adjustment ask Sharon or myself what we do to move ourselves towards wellness and away from dis-ease. We'd be happy to help you get started with an action plan of your own. And who knows, you might even bump into Nick at my place since he and I are now good buddies.