Motivation

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Letting your emotions rule your actions can and WILL lead to anything other than your desired outcome.

Noel Adame started his career in bodybuilding as a hobby. It was the thing he liked to spend most of his time on as a favorite past time. He quickly excelled in it, as is the case when most people experience success and progress, when he started seeing results and changes in his physique.

"I never had it in my mind to become a professional bodybuilder. This all started as a hobby."

Noel is preparing for the Indy pro and his main objective is to improve from his last presentation. He attributes his continuous improvement to his consistency of giving 100% every time he trains.

"Every time I hit the gym and cross the threshold, I leave everything that could effect my performance outside."

Emotions, whether it be the fatigue from competition prep, or problems outside of bodybuilding can lead you astray from your primary objective. It is a slippery sloe to act on emotions versus your logical side of your brain that understands why you want any goal in the first place.

Long story short is to check your emotions. Understand them, don't mask them And then still do the damn thing.

Check Your Emotions - Improve Everytime | Noel Adame

From origins to upbringing, everyone has a unique story and circumstances that made them realize the importance of eliminating excuses and taking charge of their lives. With Center Stage, we bring some wildly diverse excerpts from great people in and around our community.

At the end of the day IT IS UP TO YOU. Mike Newkirk realized it's up to himself when he lived in Illinois and wasn't happy with certain things going on up to that point in his life.

One day he visited Texas and destination and you could say the rest is history.

Check out how being decisive and hauling ass to a state he's never been to and setting up a new gym home changed his life thus far.

Center Stage - Mike Newkirk

Johnnie Jackson in classic full throttle mode at the Original Metroflex in Arlington shows out a bit with his shoulder training with Branch Warren. Competition always gets Johnnie fired up and there is something great in the works for this year.

Johnnie finishes the workout and explains why he values competition and deadlines that competition creates to zone in on his target, eliminate noise and distractions and to keep him ultra accountable for what he is busting his ass for.

"Competition helps me to get to my goal faster. You end up leaving all the noise outside and allows me to better control my environment and atmosphere and focus on the things I really want in life. Set that competition as your goal and it'll help you focus and study and figure out the things you have been missing to make you better than ever before."

Put some pressure on yourself and set deadlines in any way you can.

Competition Accelerates To The Goal - Johnnie Jackson

We catch up with 212 Mr. Olympia Shaun Clarida, Samir Troudi and Derek Lunsford to get a brief raw take on what's going on.

Last time we had Samir in Orlando with GASP and Better Bodies crew while Derek and Shaun were competing. This year Samir is competing and trying to secure the Olympia qualification. We will have the same digs in Orlando but will no doubt have an ultra packed agenda to catch up with all these guys competing.

This is the first time Shaun is coming into his off season as Mr. Olympia. He gives a brief run down of how that feels and of course what's good with his training. Last year was a shocker at how much improvement Shaun made BUT him and Matt Jansen have yet another plan to improve for this year.

Derek Lunsford made it out to Destination recently and was crazy huge and in condition which lead to wondering if he's doing open at the Olympia. His offseason is in full swing and he "surprised himself" with the poundages he's gotten up to during training.

We will catch up with more friends and athletes next week. Stay disciplined!

How's Your Training Going - Shaun Clarida, Samir Troudi, Derek Lunsford

Divine Master is setting a different standard when it comes to pro bodybuilding and elite pro bodybuilding at that.

Right off of a great finish at the Olympia, Divine missed no time in examining his own physique and went to work on what he decided needed to come up, namely his quad sweep, lat width and even more caps to his shoulders.

"I have already improved so much in these areas and I have 14lbs. to lose with a week to go. It is tougher than last time but should be."

Divine is quickly becoming known for his balanced approach to pro bodybuilding competition. Its not too often you hear of top competitors enjoying life, going out, hitting up music festivals etc and showing up in top form.

This all stems from Divine "staying ready" knowing what his body can and cant do, and putting in the requisite work in the years prior to turning pro and competing with the best.

"I like to be abnormal. I don't want to do thing show other do them. I want to do it my way."

My Way with Divine Masters

It's NOT just some cliché BS. It's the truth. Don't try to be anybody else or compare yourself to others. As soon as anyone figures out that being an individual and owning the things that set them apart from others is a strength and instrumental in personal development, a whole other perspective opens up.

Here Johnnie Jackson spews some learning lessons from earlier on in his pro bodybuilding career.

"It was 5 long years that I spent trying to win my first pro bodybuilding contest."

Johnnie did spend years with "the monkey on his back" trying to win a pro contest. The point he is making in this particular video is that he was getting invited to make appearances globally before he even had a title to his name. He was ONLY getting invited and flown all over the globe because of his passion to... be Johnnie (groundbreaking).

Johnnie was Johnnie and gave zero f.cks before it was cool to give zero f.cks.

"Don't let titles, or lack there of, or comparisons define who you are. Be the purest you possible and it'll always be enough."

Be Your Purest YOU - Johnnie Jackson

If one day you found out you only have 5 more summers to enjoy, 100 more weekends to experience the world or your last 52 weeks to fulfill your goals, chances are you would waste one minute of any day.

Ray Lundin was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer over 10 years ago. The odds to live past 5 years were stacked against him and the odds beyond that were as slim and as akin to impossible as can be. With all that in mind Ray is alive and well and sits down here with GASP and Better Bodies CEO Michael Johansson to talk about his lifestyle leading up to his diagnosis and his choices that directly effected him NOT only living this long, but living and enjoying life to the fullest.

"I used to be a someday guy. Someday I will get to do this or someday I will experience that. I am no longer a someday guy. If it is sensible and within my budget I go for it."

Get Busy Living - Ray Lundin

Courage Opara focuses on what's important. Sounds simple, but in a time when distractions are buzzing around us all like a disturbed hornets nest, avoiding distractions is near impossible.

Courage won the IFBB Battle of Texas in December 2020 qualifying him for the 2021 Olympia. He did so under the radar (so to speak) without riding a hype wave and without tagging himself in every training session he did or meal that he ate. We aren't talking down on posting what you want on social media, we are just speaking to the fact that Courage doesn't get distracted with things that might take energy that don't really contribute to what makes him happy.

"I will have a year to prepare for the Olympia. That has never happened before. I won't have hype coming into it (being that the contest he won was in December) so I will try out this social media thing."

In this catch up with Courage we get an understanding of why Courage is so "chill" and positive, what he thinks of a classic physique, what he expects from himself and how simple he celebrates big wins in life and on stage.

When asked how he celebrated his big Battle of Texas win he said, "I just prefer to go eat dinner with family and friends and then play video games. My girl friend was a little mad but these things make me happy so yea..."

Courage Opara - Expect To Win

We caught back up with Jon Irizarry during week 4 of his prep to sit down and ask him how he's feeling physically and psychologically during these early stages of his prep.

"I know what's coming, and I know how I'm going to feel. I anticipate it and I'm ready for it, but at the same time that's what makes it harder. That's where you have to really dig deep."

This is not Jon's first rodeo, he's been through numerous amounts of preps, he knows the way his body and mind will be working at week 1 and how it will be moments before stepping on that stage. This veteran experience gives Jon the extra confidence he needs to get through the mid-way part of his prep and be on track every single day. He's feeling strong, confident and dangerous, a place he knows his competitors don't want him to be.

You Got To Be A Little Crazy | Bodybuilding Re-boot with Jon Irizarry

Hunter Labrada gives a run down on his expectations and results of the 2020 Mr. Olympia and how he feels going into prep mode for 2021.

Here he is joined by Liv Roth at destination for a weekend of product feedback meetings, training back, arms with Derek Lunsford, legs with Liv Roth and more of living the lifestyle.

Hunter Labrada - Lit A Fire

The devil is in the details. You forget any details to be the best in your field then you're leaving the door wide open for someone to take what you worked so hard for.

Master the basics and pay attention to the details!

Johnnie Jackson with IFBB Physique pro Sheilahe Brown and Joe Mackey emphasizing the importance of posing practice for competitive bodybuilding.

Johnnie gives an update, shares some pro competitive experiences and a fun Ronnie Coleman story.

Stay tuned for more Johnnie and Joe Mackey updates as we zero in on the Arnold Classic and the New York Pro.

Video: Fail to Prepare? Johnnie Jackson On Attention to Detail

"If you've been following the training, I busted my ass. I gave it my all for sure!"

"What we are doing here is bigger than any 1 contest. The Arnold was a stacked line-up for a comeback. In one hand its an accomplishment to being invited and busting my ass and making it to stage. On the other hand its a disappointment with a feeling of failure and shame."

In any case the Arnold came and went and "it is what it is." Johnnie is still getting back in the groove and growing into his new focus of the Chicago Pro. "I literally went from sitting on the couch to training for the Arnold Classic."

Be sure you guys stay tuned because we are just getting started!