This weekend I’m 3 weeks out from my first Figure Show and I’m so excited! I cannot wait to kill the rest of this prep and hit the stage! I am so proud of the hard work that I’ve put in over the past 13 weeks and I know I will kill these last 3 weeks! Never have I felt stronger, more capable, more beautiful than I do now! I am so glad that I stepped out of my comfort zone, added on some good size and muscle to compete for the first time as a Figure girl! I feel as though this category really suits me and I am so happy that I listened to my coach Josh and went for it! I cannot wait for what the future holds for me, because I can see such endless possibility for me in Figure! However, even though I am so excited for this show, and I am so proud of how far I’ve come, this past week has been the hardest week of my prep so far, and I know this week coming will be just as rough! I may have come a long way but I still have a ways to go! LOL still need to lean out so more… I know I can do it, but I also know that there is no way I would have been able to make it this far if it wasn’t for the wonderfully amazing people who stand behind me!
I’ve been actually planning to write this blog post for a while now, and I was thinking about how I wanted to write it. Did I want to just write a thank you letter to all the amazingness that’s in my life? Or did I want to add a little bit more of a life lesson to it? So here we go with a mix of the two! LOL Literally I’ve been thinking about how blessed I am to have the people who I do in my life everyday. And every time I think about all the love and support I’ve received over this past year of my bodybuilding career, it makes me run a little bit faster, stand a little bit taller on the stair mill, and it helps me get through the hardest times of my prep. I don’t think I can fully express how happy, proud, and blessed I feel to have the people who I do in my life! It makes me tear up sometimes to know how truly loved I am… this is why I knew I had to write this post on my blog! Even though some of you may think it’s premature to be writing this because I haven’t hit the stage yet, but honestly, I can’t think of a better time! It’s when things get really tough that we need to remember where we came from, who we are, why we do what we do, and know that we are not alone! So, I am writing this post to all my family, friends, coaches (Lauren I consider you a coach too), teammates, colleagues, and followers on Instagram, Facebook, and this blog, and anyone else who has supported me directly or indirectly though out this process. THANK YOU! YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH IT MEANS TO ME! ALL THE POSITIVE FEEDBACK, ENCOURAGEMENT, LOVE, SUPPORT, GENEROSITY, THE LIKES, COMMENTS, SHARES, EVERYTHING! All of that and more lets me know that I am on the right track, that I must be doing something right LOL and so I keep pushing harder, I keep hustling through this prep. You guys help to keep the fire within me alive and I cannot thank you enough!
If you really want to be a better or a more successful person you need to surround yourself with positive people. You need to surround yourself with people who help you to grow as a person in more than one way. Your friends, family, anyone who you surround yourself with on a regular basis need to coincide with your values, beliefs, and they also need to support you in your goals and your dreams. That is the only way you will be successful in whatever you want to do. Now, they don’t need to understand all your goals and dreams, but they do need to see their importance to you, and therefore support/encourage you to achieve them.
Now when it comes to my own personal life, not everyone I surround myself with are into the gym or bodybuilding. Actually, out of all my closest friends, I would say I am the only one who really lives the gym life LMAO and maybe one or two can try to argue with me on this, but really I am the only one who will go day in and day out hahaha but that’s ok!! I have a bunch of people who I work with, and people on my team who feel the same way I do about the gym, and they help to fulfil that part of me. My closest friends may not live the gym life, but they support me 110% They have been there for me, and they will always be there for me. That is why they are my closest friends! They also help to balance me, bring me back down to earth, and they are always teaching me things, things that I would probably never have learned on my own, and that is how they make me a better, more capable person. You guys have no idea how much your encouragement, support, understanding, and love means to me! I cannot wait to celebrate this upcoming show with all of you!! I know I will have the biggest and loudest cheering section once again, and that will be because of all of you! Even if you can’t make it to the show, I know how much you guys love and support me because you call/Skype me from China, buy me awesome pizza shirts, and send me tones of love! Thank you! SQUAD UP!
Me and some of the squad this summer at the Wayhome Music Festival! I was on prep during this festival and my friends couldn’t have been more supportive and understanding of my prep/diet! Best people alive I swear!
My family… don’t think that because I talked about my friends first that my family comes second, because anyone who knows me well enough knows that my family is my EVERYTHING! They are my biggest influence in life, and the biggest reason why I am the person I am today! Thank you for putting up with my diet, workout regime, occasional mood swings, and me using majority of the Tupperware on a regular basis LOL You guys may not understand what I’m doing, but you have always supported me! Thank you for all the love, and generosity! I would not be able to compete if it wasn’t for all that you guys have done for me and I will never forget that! I’m sorry if I ever come across as ungrateful, or selfish because that is not the case! So excited for us to go to Oktoberfest after the show as a family LOL it’s going to be hilarious!! I can’t wait!
We should have our own show… just saying 😛
Thank you to my coach and my team! Josh, I am so glad you encouraged me to work towards Figure after I did my first show. Thank you for seeing potential in me and then helping me to realize this potential for myself. I am so happy as a Figure girl, I love the way my body has changed and I cannot wait for what the future may hold! I have learned so much about myself, and about this sport from not only my coaches but from all my teammates as well! I am so glad to be a part of such a wonderful bunch of humans! All of you are superheroes in your own right, and that helps to elevate me as a human! Seeing all of your progress and hard works pushes me to be better myself. Thank you for liking my pictures, coming to my first show, all of your words of encouragement, your generosity, and the workouts together! It means so much to me, and I have learned so much from all of you! I look up to a lot of you, and I know the future is so bright for Team NGA!
Lastly, I want to thank all my co-workers from Habitual Fitness and from Goodlife! A lot of you have been very supportive, and have been genuinely interested in the process which is really cool 🙂 Some of you have told me that you were coming to my show and that’s awesome! It means so much to me to know that you guys are on my team! Thank you for all your encouragement, support, and kind words! And thank you to all the members, and clients who again have shown genuine curiosity towards this sport and the process I am going through! Thank you for all the love and kind words! It means so much to me, and I’m so glad that I can be a positive influence for you guys! Thank you to everyone who has been reading this blog of mine, it has been so fun writing this and knowing that people are enjoying it! It is so motivating for me and I will keep writing this blog to share with you guys my passions, knowledge and expertise. I am so glad to be able to connect with so many of you through this, it has honestly added so much to my life so thank you! Thank you to everyone on Instagram and Facebook! The likes and words of encouragement put a smile on my face, and help me to continue pushing towards my goals! Thank you!
I know this blog post is probably super cheesy but I don’t care! I LOVE CHEESE! And since I can’t eat it LOL I might as well have it on here! I am so happy I took the opportunity to express my gratitude now towards all of you, I really needed to get it off my chest! Now that you know how much I love you all, and how much I appreciate you all for getting me this far, I can now put my head down and grind through these last 3 weeks like a champ! KWO Show here I come! I am so pumped! I have so much fire left in me, and when I feel like shit (cause sometimes I do during prep lol) I think of all of you and I keep hustling! Oktoberfest here I come! This is mu homecoming show LOL and I am so ready! #3weeks out!
Alex Rinaldo 