Dialed Right In: Texas, Here We Come!

You ever hear bodybuilders use the term “dialed in?” I can best describe what that means as, when “peak week” rolls around, right before a competition, you’re either “dialed in” or you’re not.

You either feel ready or you don’t. And holy crap– when I compare how I feel right now at four days out from the Naturally Fit Super Show in Austin, Texas to how I felt for the BC Provincial Championships four weeks ago, this time, I am sooo DIALED IN. I am ready. I feel like a champion.

I now look back on my recent “fail” and I can’t believe how miserable I was throughout the entire prep. I was complaining all the time, shitting all over competitive bodybuilding to anyone who’d listen, I was the ultimate Debbie Downer–and a lazier, slobbier one than I’ve been for any of my other shows. Somewhere along the competition prep road, I lost that hunger to give it my best… and my placing reflected that.

Am I now hungry for redemption? Yeah, most definitely. Was I ready to throw in the towel on competing altogether after that loss? Hell’s YES! But the main reason I’m so much more “dialed in” for this show is because of the bigger picture I’m painting, alongside the PlantBuilt team. It is beyond amazing to see how many people are supporting us in our outreach efforts and how much awareness we’re creating about vegan health–spreading our message across the world.

I was thinking just yesterday that the amount of tempeh I’m eating as a vegan bikini competitor is INSANE. I seriously need to hit up Green Cuisine for sponsorship because I’m literally spending $100 a week on it ALONE. But it made me think– if I’m a 130lb. vegan bodybuilder consuming this much plant-based protein, how sad (and super disgusting) is the amount of dead animals meat-eating bodybuilders are consuming?!

It’s time to show what IS possible on a vegan diet. And I get to do it with so many of the greatest vegan bodybuilding legends of all time! I can’t even begin to describe how humbling it is to call Robert Cheeke (the God Father of vegan bodybuilding) my “team mate.”

It’s going to be an event for the vegan history books and I feel so blessed to be a part of it all. For anyone following me on social media, prepare to have your news feeds flooded with my posts starting NOW!

I’m taking the red-eye with Cousin Paula from Vancouver to Houston tonight and have a fun 2.5 hour layover from 1AM – 3AM! I’ll probably keep myself entertained via walking lunges across the terminal and writing blog posts of course 🙂

Cousin P and I arrive in Austin bright and early tomorrow morning, then we’re meeting Cousin Shanna at the airport.

Neither cousin is vegan but boy-oh-boy, they’re sure gonna get their fill this week! Maybe we can convert ’em?

Anyway, it’s time to get this vegan bodybuilding party started! Hope you’re ready for us, Austin! And yes, in our downtime, we’ll be exploring as much as possible (and tindering.)

To be continued…

 - Samantha Shorkey