It's been quite a whirlwind. Eighteen months ago I was studying for my sports massage qualification, I was on leave from work, and Pearly's training partner at the time had other interests instead of the gym. So it was because of these factors that I took over with the task of pushing Pearly through her workouts. What's interesting, and what I'm writing about here, is how we then found all the 'requirements' as we went through the process.
Back at the start of 2022, Pearly had masses of strength, buckets of enthusiasm, but zero technique (blimey, I'll probably get sacked for saying that). I suppose what I really mean is, Pearly was a rough diamond – very raw, very hungry and very determined. And in the beginning we didn't know where that determination was going to take us. The point here is though, that raw determination is one of the requirements for success.
After a trip to see The Arnold's, Pearly decided that she wanted to step on stage, or at least get in good enough condition to do so. She engaged with an online coach and Pearly's commitment went from zero to a hundred, overnight. So there's another two requirements - the pro coach and the commitment to follow through on what we're told to do.
So Pearly trained hard through summer 2022, and it was November 22 when she started her prep for her first competition. And at the prep stage, it's my job to make sure that every rep and every set is completed with the upmost intensity. We talk a lot more about prep in our training section here, but this identifies another requirement - the need for a training partner pretty much all the time to keep us at the required level of focus.
Pearly and I sometimes clash in the gym of course, but the marque of a talented athlete and a good support team is to work through those differences. I have worked with lots of athletes, cyclists, rugby players, martial artists, field athletes and rowers and all of them who had talent can be a bit tricky to manage, but when they are dialled-in the results are very rewarding. So there's another two requirements - management and teamwork.
Pearly is no different of course - when she's focussed, her talent is unbreakable.
Pearly has completed five shows so far this season, resulting in a trophy haul that in lots of ways is unbelievable and being part of this journey is a true honour for me.
As a team, Pearly, Steve and myself do two fundamental things - keep Pearly at a high level of competition readiness and promote bodybuilding as a lifestyle and healthy way of training. This second element is the core of our mission statement and of paramount importance to us. But I can see clearly now, that helping to get Pearl up on that stage and winning prizes is all about managing and developing 'the requirements'.
Light it up Pearly, and by the way ........... don't forget to smile.
Coco
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