Eternal Vigilance

After doing two competitions back to back—I won 1st place and best poser at the Jr. California and 2nd place at Venice, I’m experiencing the usual post show depression. It’s hard to understand unless someone’s been through it, but the experience is so demanding on every level, there is a huge letdown and sense of isolation afterwards. I train and diet year round—certain times are more extreme than others—but once I’m on stage, it’s over in a few minutes. Everything has to be timed just right. All of that pain and sacrifice and then it’s done.

I realized this time that competing isn’t fearful to me now, it’s more like work. Fun rewarding hard work, sculpting, refining, improving, creating, a reflection of my inner life. Constantly improving is what it must be about, because I have no control over who shows up on a particular day, but I can control how I come out, which is why the placing is less important than my ongoing personal progress. It’s ultimately a competition with yourself.

It takes eternal vigilance to be great at anything. And with bodybuilding it’ll never be good enough, it doesn’t matter what anyone says. It’s a double-edged sword, but that’s what keeps me going. My sport teaches me a great deal--face your fears, take risks, challenge yourself, believe in yourself, go forward regardless of the opinions of others.

Stay strong!

Dallas
Copyright 2007-2009 Dallas Malloy

Focus is Everything

I’m now 8 weeks out from competition. Doing cardio 1-2 times/day, lifting 5-6 times/wk, and posing 3-4 times/wk (which is exhausting because it’s continuous flexing of every muscle). The most difficult part is doing all of this on restricted calories. I’m tired most of the time and everything is more difficult. Of course there are no regrets, because this is what I do--this is my path.

The greater the pain, the greater the reward. What would be the reward in doing something easy? It will all be worth it when I step on stage. But that is really the icing on the cake (oh jeese who mentioned cake?) because the process is what really makes it. The process teaches me about myself, and is what makes me better and stronger in every way.

This experience teaches me many things. It forces me to slow down and stay in the moment. This is always a good philosophy but when I’m running on low carbs I really have no choice but to stay in the moment or I’ll forget what I’m doing. Focus is everything now. It is all about mind training. I continually learn to live in the now, do one task at a time, just breathe, and walk away from stress when possible. It also makes me really appreciate food, good clean food. I don’t take it for granted.

Continual relentless pursuit, vigilance, endurance, persistence. That’s where the results come from.

Stay strong!
Dallas
Copyright 2007-2009 Dallas Malloy

True Strength

Eating disorders are in the media these days. They affect so many people to different degrees—from an occasional episode of emotional eating to a debilitating condition leading to total self-destruction. As with all addictions, eating disorders are an incredibly complex disease with as many unique variations as there are people who suffer from it.

My particular form is bulimia and binge eating. I’m a typical addict, an extremist on an endless quest for perfection and control. So naturally, the attempt to control life and emotions with food, became an issue even before my addiction to alcohol and drugs. These addictions took over, but when I found recovery 10 years ago, the eating disorder slowly crept back up to the surface, progressing cruelly, as all addictions do.

My philosophy of turning weakness into strength, came together towards the end of my (hopefully last) bottom with this. I came to a point where the addiction itself just wasn’t working anymore, so painful, but necessary in the addictive process. I remember force-feeding addictive foods that I didn’t even want, just to get the feeling/effect, but it just wasn’t working anymore. I remember thinking … I would do anything to be free from this compulsion. Self-centeredness is the epitome of addiction. So an idea came, to do the opposite: if my nature was to isolate and self-destruct, I would go out and give the food away. What would have been poison to me became nourishment for someone in need. Sometimes the only way to rescue yourself (from yourself) is to help someone else. I did this many times and somewhere along the way, the compulsion diminished. As with all recovery, I must do daily work to recover.

I hit that bottom about 3 months ago. Knowing I would soon begin dieting down for competition, I had the usual anxieties associated with it. Under the best of circumstances, contest dieting is always rough, but because of my disorder, and remembering the torment of last year, I knew it’d be an uphill battle … will I be triggered? Most likely. So what can I do? Continue applying the tools that work, the ones I learned to use in order to recover from my other addictions.

Being of service to others is medicine and a major tool in my recovery. I share all of this only to be helpful, not for any type of commendation. Many people suffer with eating disorders, walking around in fear and shame, a living hell. I say to them, to you: you’re not alone. True strength comes from having the courage to ask for help. Whatever you’re battling, there is a limitless source of help, within and without.

“We all have fears, but those who face their fears, have courage as well.”--unknown

Stay strong and stay tuned!

Dallas
Copyright 2007-2009 Dallas Malloy

Keep Going Forward

There is a simple way to know what it is you need to work on, in the gym and in life. If there’s something you’re avoiding, that’s where you need to look. Instead of procrastinating, when I face challenges head on, only good can come from it, even if the results aren’t what I had wanted. Having faced it I am stronger, making the next obstacle less fearful.

People often fear failure, so they decide they can’t do something before they even try it. But instead of letting fear get the better of you, you can use it as ammunition to walk through something difficult.

People tend to not like things they aren’t good at, so they avoid it and never improve. Instead, why not work to get good at it? Empower yourself. Taking the easy way out is no challenge and has no rewards.

On “weak points” I have to work twice as hard so I might as well work three times as hard and turn them into strong points.

What are you afraid of? What have you been putting off?

Stay strong and stay tuned!

Dallas
Copyright 2007-2009 Dallas Malloy

Find Your Inspiration

It takes vigilance to stay fit and strong, and to keep motivated. If you are inspired, you will always find the desire to stay with it. Inspiration can be found anywhere if you’re looking for it--in a person, a movie, a song.

When I look for the beauty in others, I always see it, and I find inspiration in that. I find it in the feeling I get when I help someone. When I’m stressed, I channel that into my workout and leave it behind. I find inspiration in that. I find it in words--turn your weakness into strength, turn your pain into motivation, your frustration into determination, your fear into inspiration.
I find inspiration in the love for my sport, in always challenging myself, seeing the growth and improvement, the exhilaration I feel after training, enduring the pain, feeling exhausted yet uplifted. It is like being reborn everyday.

Here is the paradox: because I am so driven, there is always a sense of failure in training, because in my mind it is never good enough. Of course I find great rewards in it, but I will always strive to be better … bigger, better, stronger, faster … that’s what keeps me going. I think sometimes that’s what holds people back, because they’re afraid to fail while training, but you will always fail when you keep pushing the limit, but that is the only way to get better. If it was easy, what would be the point of doing it?

What inspires you? What drives you? What keeps you going?

I hope you’re going to participate in the 16 WEEK challenge with me and Erik!

Stay strong and stay tuned!

Dallas
Copyright 2007-2009 Dallas Malloy

Believe in Yourself

We have 7 weeks until the start of the 16 week challenge—our own personal physical transformations—for me, to be in top competition shape, for Erik, owner of Bodybuilders Gym, to be in the best shape of his life, and for you … ? We will take beginning photos and measurements, and chart our progress as we go. Watch what happens, participate!

For me, the 16 weeks is a specific time frame for dieting down for the competition. But training and conscientious food intake is a year round process, a lifestyle. I didn’t get into this lifestyle overnight, it took a lot of time, work, and is an ongoing learning process. So instead of viewing the 16 weeks as a diet that will end, you can use this time to create new habits, break ones that no longer work for you, make a new beginning to reach your fitness goals, follow through on something you’ve been putting off, whatever it is you want to achieve. What are you waiting for?

Fitness is not just a physical journey but mental, emotional, and spiritual. Something happens when we really test ourselves and see what we’re made of. In life, like in bodybuilding, growth comes from pain, positive stress, not staying in the same place. When we stand still we get complacent, we stop growing.

People tend to want everything to come easy, including their fitness goals. But if it was easy it wouldn’t be worth doing. And nothing can be learned if there’s no challenge. To become great I have to constantly face challenges, be unafraid of failure—or at least face it with courage. I have to take risks and get out of my comfort zone, walk through anxiety, and learn.

It comes down to the power of believing in yourself. I must believe in myself, because at the end of the day, that’s what matters. I can’t depend on others for approval, ultimately it must come from me. I believe in the strength and power within you because I know it in myself.

Stay strong and stay tuned!

Dallas



Copyright 2007-2009 Dallas Malloy

Turn Your Weakness into Strength

Preparation for this year’s bodybuilding competition is underway. I competed for the first time last year and was very happy with my results, but I look forward to the slow unveiling during the cutting (dieting) process starting in a couple months to see the improvements I have made. I look forward to sharing this grueling and exhilarating process with you. What makes this even more exciting for me is the owner of my gym told me he wants to get in the best shape of his life and I’m going to help him do it. I am certain he will be successful using the same winning strategies I use.

The official start will be in March, when I begin the cutting process where I will get as lean as possible. 90% of my results will come from the food intake.

I challenge you to join with us, to reach your own personal fitness goals. There is power in numbers; it helps to know you’re not alone. The reason most people fall short of reaching their fitness goals is often NOT because they are lazy or weak-willed, but because they don’t have the tools or strategies to get there. We live in a fast paced world, addicted to instant gratification and a quick fix for everything. But reaching your fitness goals, whatever they are—weight loss, muscle gain, athletic competition--takes time, patience and persistence. You can do it! And when you get there, it means so much more than if it had happened overnight. I encourage you to commit to yourself to start making changes, one thing at a time.

My life has been about overcoming obstacles, facing fears, and becoming stronger because of it. Turn Your Weakness into Strength means this: in the gym, we all have weak points. I used to hate training legs and abs, so I decided I would do it until I liked it, until I changed my mind about it. I would conquer it. Guess what? Legs and abs turned into strong points. And in life, we all have fears and demons. When I hit my bottom with my alcoholism, I asked for help and found great strength, and an untapped source of compassion and ability to help others. Being a Personal Trainer is one of the many ways I am able to utilize this.

The only limits are the ones we place upon ourselves.

Stay strong, and stay tuned!



Copyright 2007-2009 Dallas Malloy