CRAIG PRODUCTIONS LLC

In the off season, my philosophy is to be healthy, active and enjoy life. For me, this does not mean getting back on a strict diet, doing 2 hours of cardio or taking fat burners. Your body is a very smart machine and will adapt and adjust to your eating habits and exercise pattern.  When I am 12 weeks out, I gradually increase my output (amount of time worked out a day) to 2 hours a day. So it is important for me to rest more in the off season and give my body a break so that when I do “turn it up” during pre contest,  my body responds because it is experiencing a higher level of output.  This is why I don’t take fat burners in the off season.  I save the good stuff for 8 weeks outs.  I am almost 4 weeks out from the Phoenix Pro Fitness. It is time for me to take my output to 3 hours of cardio a day. I flew to Hawaii yesterday and am here to train. My brother has a condo here so I am blessed to be able to come to this beautiful place to train and focus on my preps.

After getting 8 hours of sleep, I woke up to the sound of the city of Honolulu. I got on my knees and thanked God for his blessings. I asked him for healing in my knee, which gives me constant problems from my ACL tear a few years ago, and I asked him for endurance as I start my cardio marathon and training.

As I went down for my first cardio….I said to myself….”Time for session 1. I am going to work hard to get my heart rate up. I am going to focus on my end result. I am going to endure the fatigue and hunger pains I will experience during my session (my first session is on an empty stomach). I am disciplined. This is who I am and this is what I do”.

This is a part of my script. This is how I speak to myself. I am careful to guard my thoughts and keep my confidence in line with God’s abilities. I learned from my experience training for the 2009 Olympia, that His strength and provision is sufficient for me as an athlete. And as long as I keep my identity and abilities rooted in Him, I will have victory.

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