One of the most important lessons I have learned so far is finding balance. Personally, I practice a balance between the ying (relaxation techniques such as yoga and meditation) and the yang (high intensity/extremes like bodybuilding). Yin and yang is the concept of ‘duality forming a whole.’ We encounter examples of yin and yang every day. As examples: night (yin) and day (yang), female (yin) and male (yang).

Both of these concepts, when paired, balance each other out. If we lack one or the other in any aspect of our lives, we are not balanced. For example, if we feel overwhelmed and stressed out, we may need a ying influence in our daily lives such as yoga. If we lack energy, we may need a yang influence such as a cardio workout.

Finding Balance in Fitness

The balance of yin and ying ultimately supplement each other. If an athlete focuses solely on intense training, they have a high risk of injury. To perform at their ultimate best, it is important that they balance out their yang with the yin, for example, doing yoga several times a week to help with stretching and strengthening.

Before I learned the importance of having a balance, I would push past my limits in the gym. I was all about that yang, with little to no yin. Eventually, I pushed to the extreme and got injured (you can read about this in my second post in this Strong Mind | Strong Body series).

If it wasn’t for my injury, then I would not have worked on finding balance – and probably not found meditation and yoga. This not only healed my injury, but it helped me with anxiety and depression. Ever since, I practice daily balancing my yin and yang. That way I can perform at my best in the gym, at work, and in my personal life.

Finding Balance in Work, School & Other Aspects of Life

In addition to finding balance in fitness, it is important to have balance in other aspects of our lives, to prioritize our duties, families, friends and our hobbies. If we focus too much on one thing, the other things in our lives won’t grow. A lot of people in today’s society say that they don’t have time to work out because they are too busy. At the end of the day, we all have the same 24 hours, it just how we manage our time that will dictate what we can get accomplished.

Ever since I started competing, I have either been a full-time student, worked full time, or done all at once. It is important to me that I do my best in all of these areas, but I couldn’t do that if I didn’t prepare ahead. My main priorities are school and work, fitness is my hobby and therapy. By narrowing down what is important to me, I am able to find what times would work best to go to the gym, meal prep my food, and do homework based around my work and school schedule.

Related: curious as to how Sophia found her inspiration for bodybuilding? Check out this post!

Typically, on my off days, I dedicate my time to meal prep for the week, relaxation, and running errands. By meal prepping, you save a lot of money in the end and you are able to stay on track of your diet. I find that taking my meals to work/classes helps me stay focused and keeps me satisfied all day. I also write down in my planner what times I have to train, depending on what time I work or have classes. I typically like to work out before work so I can 100% focus on my tasks and then relax after I finish working. If I am feeling tired before work or I don’t have enough time to train, I will do it after work. We all have responsibilities, but it is important to make time for the things that we are passionate about.

I am lucky that I work for a company like FFC which supports my goals in bodybuilding and gives me access to their elite clubs to train and work. I am constantly surrounded by like-minded individuals that are hardworking and motivated to succeed. Your environment and those who you surround yourself with will also dictate your success. By working at FFC in Old Town, I feel motivated everyday by my co-workers to execute my job, and our members working hard on the floor to achieve their fitness goals. It reminds me why I chose to work for here.

Post written by FFC Old Town membership representative Sophia Valbuena.

About Sophia

FFC Old Town membership representative Sophia shares how she overcame a pretty big obstacle in her pursuit of her goals and some tips for how to find motivation, even when things get tough.

A pivotal moment in my life arose from one of the darkest times in my life. In the late fall of 2017, I started to experience extreme pain in my spine and hips. I would try to fight against my body and workout but one day doing deadlifts, I could feel my hips lock up and I could barely move. As a competitive bodybuilding athlete, I focused solely on intense training and very little on recovery.

My lack of recovery resulted in me being out of the gym for 2 months during the winter. Personally, for me, I find it difficult to be as productive during the winter time. Since I was injured, I found it difficult to stay motivated. I wanted desperately to get back into the gym, but I was losing hope and patience to get back onto my routine. I spent several weeks in a depressed and confused state, it affected my performance in school, my relationships and how I treated myself. I thought I was a failure for not taking care of myself.

One day my dad said to me “The most successful people in the world have failed millions of times. If you don’t fail you will never grow. Wear your failure like a medal around your neck, and use it as the fuel to improve”. I thought hard about this and I sat down and opened up a fresh journal and started writing.

My vision of becoming a pro bikini competitor had not changed, it was now just a matter of developing a game plan to get back into the gym. To develop a strong body, one must have a strong mind. This means that as long as you have a clear goal in mind, a plan to get there, the right attitude, and persistence, you can achieve anything – whether that is a strong body, or landing that dream job, or changing a bad habit. Anything is possible with the right mindset.

Related: how did Sophia discover her passion for bodybuilding? Check out her post here!

How to Find Motivation: Set SMART Goals

One day in December, I opened up my journal to write down my goals for 2018. I committed to myself that I would land an internship for the summer, I would get all A’s and B’s in my classes, and that I would qualify for nationals in the fall of 2018. How to find motivation and achieve them? The first step was to commit to myself; the second step was to develop a strategic plan to execute my goals.

To achieve any goal, it is important to set a realistic time frame to complete it by. There is a difference in someone saying ‘I want to tone up for the summer’ vs ‘I want to lose 10 pounds by May 25th.’ I determined what dates I had to complete these goals by, which helped to create a sense of urgency.

Related: (SMART goal stands for ‘specific’, ‘measurable’, ‘achievable’, ‘relevant’ and ‘time-bound’ – time-bound being one of the most important factors). For more tips on how to set SMART goals, check out this post!

My plan for 2018 looked somewhat like this (I titled it ‘My Plan to Conquer 2018’).

• Land an internship by May 11 (steps I took were to apply to at least 5 internships per week).
• Get As and Bs in my classes by May 11 (steps I took were to review my notes before and after class, schedule monthly check-ins with my teachers, plan at least 3 weeks in advance for exams to begin studying).
• Qualify for nationals by November 13 (steps were to, first and foremost, get my body back into the gym. I began to do yoga 3x a week, to meditate, and to stretch first thing in the morning. When I was able to start training again, I set a short-term goal to increase my weight by 5 lbs by June 10, which is when I began my cut for my competitions).

Achieving Success

I successfully achieved my educational and professional goals before the dates I had set! I believe it was because I stayed committed to all of the steps in my plan and I didn’t give up when I failed or doubted myself.

Fast forward to my competitions in November. My goal was to qualify for nationals, to do this, one must place in the top 2 in their category. My first show of the season, I did not place what I wanted. I got 9th place. I worked extremely hard for this, made sacrifices, and pushed my limits more than ever. I had my second show the following weekend. After licking my wounds, I analyzed the situation and realized that I had two options. I could pull out of the show or I could figure out what I did wrong at this show, make improvements, and try again.

The next day following the competition, I contacted one of the judges to get feedback. He told me where I lost points and what I could do in the next 5 days to place better. I entered my second peak week with every intention to perfect the improvements. The day of my second show, I had an internal feeling of calmness and happiness. I knew that no matter what happened on stage, I had already won.

I ended up placing 2nd in Open Bikini B, which qualified me for nationals. I was beyond thrilled, but not done yet. I celebrated my achievement, and reflected back to a year ago when I was at my lowest point in my life to where I had come. In less than a year, I had grown so much and achieved a goal that has gotten me closer to achieving my dream. The skills I learned in personal goal setting is something I practice daily. You can achieve anything with a strong mind.

Post written & photography provided by FFC Old Town membership representative Sophia Valbuena.

About Sophia

Sophia Valbuena is a membership representative at FFC Old Town. She has been in the fitness industry for over 5 years and it has entirely changed her life. In this series, Strong Mind | Strong Body, she will cover how she got into fitness, as well as mindfulness, nutrition, motivation and time management tips. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, you can follow along with her on LinkedIn here and Instagram here, as well as check out a behind-the-scenes article she wrote about her bodybuilding experience here.