THE TRANSFORMATION
OF / BY DYLAN NEIL
session was grueling . The only thing that kept me in line was my fiancé keeping me in line and my coach trusting me and keeping me accountable by communicating daily with me . Without any of that support , I don ’ t know if I would have been able to succeed .
By September I weighed 235lbs . I maintained the same routine through school I had plateaued because of slacking on my diet . I learned that you can ' t outwork a bad diet . Getting back on track we decided to prepare for a bodybuilding show in summer of 2023 . We chose our hometown show , the Ottawa Natural Classic in June of 2023 . However hard losing weight was before , this was incredibly more challenging . I now knew what being a bodybuilder was like . You cannot only dip your toe in and out because partial efforts render partial results .
Balancing my engineering courses , working as a TA , and training . I was now completely immersed in the bodybuilding lifestyle . I only had time to do my hour of cardio before sunrise , go to school with packed meals , attend lectures and labs then correct my students ’ homework and leave for the gym at night . I was seeing rapid changes in my physique and was frankly obsessed with progression and not disappointing the version of me that had started this journey , often looking at old pictures of myself helped whenever I felt like it was too hard or when I was exhausted .
Day after day .
The hardest part was 6-4 weeks out from show day . When depletion is starting to kick in , you feel tired and hungry and you ’ re too far away from the show date to consider it close . That ’ s when I personally discovered the make of my character and my true determination for competing . As the weeks went on , I was lucky to have my fiancé and coach once again supporting me and family to encourage . This was by far the most mentally challenging moment of my life , I never want to go back to being the boy that hated what he saw in the mirror .
As we approached the show , I learned certain tips that might help others during their body transformation of show prep .
- Watch your favorite show on the cardio equipment , time will fly by quicker . Follow the plan to a T , not even a little modifying , just trust it .
- Communicate to your coach , every miss and every victory . That ’ s why they ’ re there .
- Make a protein brownie with your pre workout oats or cream of rice by adding baking soda and egg whites along with your protein . It ' s better than shlop !
- Whenever you feel like quitting or cheating , remember to not let down the person you were before starting this journey .
- Asking yourself “ If you can take one more step , never mind two or three , can you take this ONE step ? The answer is usually yes , ask yourself again and again .” - David Goggins
I finally made it to show day , winning my bodybuilding heavyweight class and competing for the overall . Although I was wanting to win , I had felt I had won my own challenge as I stepped on stage at 195 lbs , 150 lbs lighter and 18 months older . I was proud of what I had accomplished , and I was excited to present my hard work to an awesome and electric crowd that cheered me on stage . I was extremely lucky to have enjoyed my time during show day and on stage , affirming my passion for competing and bodybuilding more than ever .