Understanding The "Why" in Prep & Pique with Reijuana Pribula
Hey, FitBody Lifers!
We talk all the time about finding your why—the deeper reason you train, compete, chase a goal, or commit to becoming a healthier version of yourself. But on today’s Fit Body Lifestyle episode, we’re taking that conversation one step further.
Do you understand the why behind what you're doing every day?
Jami and Greg sit down with Reijuana Pribula to explore why athletes shouldn't simply follow instructions—they should learn from them. Whether we're talking about posing, nutrition, hydration, peak week, training, recovery, or improvement season, understanding the purpose behind your plan can completely change the way you execute it.
Reijuana shares how her early years as a competitor involved a lot of figuring things out herself. Today, as both a prep and posing coach, she takes a different approach: teach, don't just tell.
When athletes understand what their coach is trying to accomplish, they can communicate better, recognize important changes in their bodies, adapt when circumstances shift, and take greater ownership of their fitness journey.
Because great coaching isn't about creating an athlete who blindly follows directions. It's about helping develop an athlete who understands their body, trusts the process, asks thoughtful questions, and eventually knows how to make better decisions for themselves.
5 Key Takeaways from the Episode
1. Understanding the "Why" Creates Better Buy-In
A coach can tell you what to do—but understanding why you're doing it creates an entirely different level of commitment.
Reijuana explains that when athletes understand the desired outcome behind a change, they're more likely to execute it properly and recognize which details matter enough to communicate back to their coach.
That creates collaboration instead of blind compliance.
Whether your coach changes your macros, adjusts your posing, modifies your training, or approaches peak week differently than you're accustomed to, don't be afraid to ask questions. Understanding the strategy can help you become a more engaged and empowered athlete.
2. Your Posing Habits Can Affect More Than Your Stage Presentation
One of the clearest examples of understanding the "why" comes from posing on both sides.
It's easy to think, Why practice my weaker side when I'm only going to present my best side on stage?
Reijuana shares from personal experience how years of repeatedly twisting in the same direction contributed to imbalances that extended beyond posing and into everyday life. Jami also discusses experiencing lingering issues from favoring one side during her own competition years.
The lesson is bigger than posing: repetitive movement patterns matter.
Practicing both sides, paying attention to mobility, and recognizing how you move during everyday activities can support better symmetry, movement quality, and longevity.
3. Your Physique Won't Look "Show Ready" Every Day of Prep
This one is especially important for first-time competitors.
As an athlete becomes depleted during prep, muscles can begin looking flatter. That visual change can create anxiety if the athlete doesn't understand what's happening.
Reijuana explains how teaching an athlete about glycogen depletion and the purpose behind different phases of prep helped completely change that athlete's mindset. Instead of believing something was going wrong, she understood that what she was seeing was part of the process.
As Greg reminds us: today is not show day.
Your body won't look exactly like your final stage package throughout every phase of prep—and it isn't supposed to.
4. Recovery Is Part of Training, Not Something Separate From It
Training harder isn't always the answer.
Your ability to perform a movement effectively can depend heavily on mobility, hydration, sleep, bodywork, rest, and overall recovery. Reijuana uses her own hip thrust as an example: if she neglects taking care of her hips, she can't achieve the same quality of movement or full extension.
That means recovery isn't something you squeeze in after doing the important work.
Recovery is part of the important work.
Muscle growth, performance, movement quality, and even how you feel outside the gym can all be influenced by how well you recover. Sometimes the next step toward better progress isn't adding more—it's improving how you recover from what you're already doing.
5. More Weight Doesn't Automatically Mean More Progress
There can be something incredibly satisfying about moving heavy weight—but your muscles don't care about your ego.
Reijuana shares how she once performed heavy hip thrusts with multiple plates, believing the exercise was working because she already had naturally bubbly glutes. Eventually, she changed her execution, dramatically reduced the weight, slowed down the movement, and focused on what she was actually trying to accomplish.
That adjustment was humbling—but she understood the why, trusted the process, and gave it enough time to work.
This is where athlete maturity comes in.
Your training may need to change as your physique develops. The exercises, loads, and techniques that got you to one level aren't automatically the same ones that will take you to the next.
Train for the outcome—not for the number on the bar.
