FitBody Lifers, we’re back!
You can build beautiful glutes. You can nail your macros, perfect your posing, and bring an incredible package to the stage.
But one of the most important things you'll ever develop as a competitor can't be seen in a progress photo.
Your mindset.
In this Fit Body Lifestyle Fusion Hack, Jami and Greg are joined by IFBB Pro, Olympian, and coach Taylor Crowell for a conversation about managing your mindset going into a competition—and perhaps even more importantly, managing it when you walk off the stage.
Bodybuilding is subjective. You don't know exactly who will show up, how everyone will look under the same lights, or how a particular lineup will come together. You can execute beautifully and still not receive the placing you hoped for.
Taylor's approach is to shift attention away from obsessing over the outcome and toward something far more valuable:
Who did I become, what did I improve, and what can I learn from this experience?
5 Key Takeaways from the Episode
1. Focus on Your Improvements, Not Your Competition
It's tempting to study everyone you're going to compete against.
Once the competitor list comes out, you can head straight to social media and start comparing physiques, analyzing photos, and deciding who you think you need to beat.
But Taylor reminds us that Instagram isn't the stage.
Athletes can look very different in person, under competition lighting, and standing next to one another. Someone you didn't expect may arrive looking incredible. And someone who appeared unbeatable online may present very differently on show day.
None of that changes your job.
Instead, look at your own improvements. Is your posing better? Is your confidence stronger? Did you improve your hair, tan, presentation, conditioning, fullness, or overall package?
Those are the things you can influence.
2. It's Okay to Be Disappointed—Just Don't Live There
Taylor isn't suggesting competitors shouldn't care about winning.
Quite the opposite.
If you worked incredibly hard and didn't receive the placing you wanted, you're allowed to be disappointed. Sit with the emotion for a moment.
Then ask the question that moves you forward:
What can I do better?
Maybe the judges want a different front pose. Maybe they want more fullness or glute development. Maybe your presentation needs refinement.
And sometimes, another athlete was simply better on that particular day.
As Greg points out, there's an important difference between wanting to win and expecting to win. Wanting something can fuel your work. When winning becomes an expectation tied to your identity, however, disappointment can become much harder to process.
Feel it. Learn from it. Then get back to work.
3. Judges' Feedback Is Information, Not a Guaranteed Formula for Winning
Feedback is incredibly valuable, but it needs to be interpreted thoughtfully.
Taylor shares an example where judges wanted her fuller. At the next show, she came in fuller—and discovered that wasn't quite the look they wanted either.
That's bodybuilding.
Feedback isn't a mathematical equation where changing X automatically guarantees placing Y.
Sometimes you and your coach have to experiment. Was more fullness really the answer? Was it muscle density? Conditioning? Presentation? A combination?
And while you're improving, everyone else is improving too.
Use feedback as another piece of information that helps you and your coach refine your individual package—not as a promise of a particular outcome.
4. There's Enough Room for Someone Else to Win
One of Taylor's most powerful mindset shifts is remembering that someone else's success doesn't take anything away from yours.
Maybe today isn't your day.
Maybe your teammate wins. Maybe your friend earns the placing you wanted. You can still celebrate them while continuing to pursue your own goals.
Taylor describes it beautifully: when her friends win, she gets to share in that joy too.
That perspective transforms competition.
Instead of walking into a show thinking, I need to beat her, walk in thinking:
I'm going to bring the best version of myself today, and I'm proud to stand beside these athletes.
Your fellow competitors don't have to become your enemies for you to be competitive.
5. Sometimes You Win—and Sometimes You Grow
Jami shares something every athlete chasing a big goal needs to hear: keep showing up.
Her own road to earning her pro card required repeatedly returning to the national stage. She didn't get what she wanted immediately, but instead of allowing those experiences to convince her to quit, she kept working, learning, and returning better.
That's where mindset becomes a superpower.
As Greg puts it, when you bring your best, there are two possibilities:
You win, or you grow.
Look at the competition history of almost any successful athlete and you'll find losses, disappointing placings, setbacks, and shows that didn't unfold as planned.
The athletes we eventually see succeeding are often the ones who stayed around long enough to learn from those moments.
