Week 33 (The final part of a long diet)

Where shall I begin to continue the story ?
First of all, the week after Phoenix everything went simply amazing. I had the chance of doing 7 Photoshoots in just six days with some of the most famous & prestigious photographers of Bodybuilding.



It does not only sound like an amazing week, it also made me feel on top of the clouds.
I looked forward to the Arnold Classic. To improove again until Melbourne and I felt unstoppable.












I guess thats always the moment when your body will remind you that everyone of us is just a human being and we do not have something like super-powers.
My problems started directly when arriving in Columbus and in just the same night, after 26 hours of travelling, because of planes being late or bad connecting-flights, I spend my fist night in Ohio more on the restroom of my hotel intead of my bed.
The result was a dramtical weight loss of 25lbs and a really dangerously flushed out shade of myself. I still went to my shooting the next morning and after trying to smile and work as hard as i can, i needed to visit a hospital after two hours.

What was that? I was convinced I am capable to achieve anything, as long as my mind is completly convinced aout it... And now I need to go to a hospital ?
Well, it was hard for me but it is true... I am just another human being ;)
I needed 3 litres of sodium infusions to made me get well again and luckily the doctors were able to rehydrate my body a bit. Even if the sodium made me loose some of my condition, I was capable again to do a very important photohoot the next morning and to work on the Arnold Expo for 3 days...

I tried to rest as much as I could besides working the long Expo days at the MuscleMag booth. Because I knew Australia will be coming soon, I put my focus on filling up my muscles with good food again and to work against the dramatic weight loss I had the days before.



All in all the circumstances were really bad for Australia and Milos and I tried to achieve a miracle in just one week with a crazy load and the hope to make something impossible become reality.
I was fighting hard and besides travelling to Australia I felt good enough to have some good workouts, even if my body still showed a lot of signs of corrosion.
I guess 90% of other athletes would have pulled out of the contest, but that is not the way I want to present myself in Pro business. I signed a contract to compete, I arranged shootings in Down Under and I simply commited myself to do what have to do. Fight for my goals and never even dare to give up...

But there is this mean bastard called reality and he hit me directly in my face again.
I didn't make it to improove from Phoenix for the Australia Grand Prix.
It would have been the perfect end for a first Pro season like in fairy tales but nonetheless I am proud of what I did. I was never giving up, learned something and experienced Down Under and probably some of the nicest fans of Bodybuilding of the whole planet.
I might have been 20lbs ligther than in PHX and even if was disappointed, I am proud for my appearance. For my achievement to fulfill my contract, to have realized my scheduled photoshoots and to have finished my first DVD production with Wayne Gallasch.


A very long diet comes to its end right now. After 8 months (and still some photoshoots to go in the next week) I can look back on a Pro season, better than in my wildest dreams.
Having travelled about 50.000 Air miles, doing 28 photoshoots, filming 100 hours footage for my upcoming DVD-Trilogy and meeting my new mentor Milos there is nothing more I could wish for.

I realized myself what it means to be a professional Bodybuilder and I learned about the risk of over-exhausting yourself, which can be really dangerous for your contest plans.
But I also realized myself one other important thing in Pro Bodybuilding:

There are always two winners... The ones on stage and the ones who get the exposure.

I do not only feel like a winner in this way, I do also feel blessed.
Blessed of having met so many new friends around the whole world and of having a background of support among my family and friends, that is simply exceptional,
In this way I want to thank all of those who been a part of my first contest season as a Professional: My Parents, My trainers, my friends and all those who kept me going on the right way and helped me to focus my mind on the realisation of my dreams.



Thoughts become things and dreams can come true.

Dan

Week 30 (PHOENIX PRO)

The Pro Debut is successfuly made and after a busy weekend and still being completely busy working on the photoshoots around it, I finally find some time to write down my personal impressions and experiences.

It was all in all a great weekend with great friends and fans around me and it couldn't have been a better time to celebrate my Birthday as well.



Of course I will try to compete even more successfully in the future and maybe place higher very soon. But the feedback of the big stars, judges and photographers of the scene besides all my loyal fans was already overwhelming and that is what really matters to me.
I achieved my goals, proofed everyone that I am already competitive in the Pro levels and I established new contacts for my future projects in the fitness industry.

I need to thank all those wonderful people and friends around me, especially my parents and coaches who made all this possible and just give them the credit they deserve.

Without you I could have never been here already !!!

Now its time to get refocused again. Having some awesome photoshoots and
to look forward to the new goals and to take care of business.
Australia is coming very soon and before I am looking forward to meet you at the Arnold Classic in Columbus, Ohio !

Week 29 ( 1 week to go)

Its been a busy week in sunny California.
Milos was killing my muscles perfectly with every single workout and the improovements in fullness and also a more ripped look are tremendous.



Next to hardcore training and diet routine (did I mention before how hungry I am all the time ???!!!), I also had 4 successful potoshoots with LA'smost famous photographers and magazines this week. I mad myself a really tough schedule and many days I felt like its too much, but I was never giving up. Milos watched every day very carefully and was preventing my body from going catabolic. Even if we achieved this, the last workouts before starting my depletion became horrible and my muscle feeling seemed to be completly gone. For this reason we started my carb depletion today with my first rest day since... well, I dont even know when it was ;)

I enjoyed taking the day off and as I have to prepare my travel to Phoenix next week, I still needed every minute of the day, to keep my journey moving. It is a hell of a trip, but together with my mentor Milos, I am anything else than afraid of competing. I am ready and Milos will make me even better than I can already predict.

The support of all my fans and the feedback on my video diary on www.youtube.com/bigdanhill is just overwhelming and it motivates myself so much to see that other people can identify a bit with myself and start living my dream together with me.





To have my family and friends in Germany, writing me and calling me almost every day and giving me the mental strength that I need is just a great feeling. My mother learned to use a Computer, just in order to check my videos daily and I am really proud, that they became so interested in what I am doing. I am enjoying this journey and every day is more and more an unforgetable memory... Though I know, that my career has just started.

Week 28 ( 2 weeks to go)

The first week in the USA is over already and it feels more like a month.
Not because the diet seems to take no ending which is also the case, but mainly because so many exciting things were happening.

After my first visit back in Koloseum in Fullerton, Milos Sarcev and I decided to start a cooperation and after just half a week the changes are phenomenal. Milos is supporting me with all his heart right now and having such a great personality and legend in the sport of bodybuilding directly behind my back is the best thing that could have ever happened to me.

I am two weeks out of my Pro debut and I am right on track. Considering that Milos takes care of my diet and training now, I am convinced to show my all time best at Phoenix.
I am almost sure I will be able to surprise myself. Or possibly you couls say, Milos will be able to surprise me...



Two more weeks of hard work and dedication will follow and you can be part of it on my video diary:

www.youtube.com/bidanhill



Enjoy my trip and if there is one thing I want to proof with it, it is that the power of the mind can push us over all limitations and make the impossible things become reality. This power is in everyone of us.
I had to face negativitiy for years, but now you can see, that no matter what others might say, I am able to live my dream !!!

And so can you !!!

Week 27 (3 weeks to go) Leaving to the USA

Suddenly the date of the show gets closer and I see the end of the tunnel.
Most of my photo shoots and appointments are fixed and I can leave with the good
feeling to present myself in America in my best possible shape.
I worked hard for every tiny success so far and yet I don't know how rich the harvest will be.

Most of all it is exciting to experience a whole new episode of my life and I am blessed to have
the chance of working with the best photographers of the scene and competing with the idols of the sport of bodybuilding.
At 23 years I achieved already, what seems to be impossible for so many others and it is a great feeling to have prooven all the
sceptic people wrong. I made it to the Pros and my journey has just begun.

As planned by my trainer Francisco Guerrero we are almost ready to go on stage and just because of the stressful flight and travelling this week,
we kept a little extra pounds.
Basicly I could get ready for the stage within a few days, but it makes no sense to take a risk of overdieting.
Though I am feeling tired and of course some days I cannot even stand seeing myself in the mirror, but this is the moment when the mentally strong have the chance to proove their inner strengh.
Athletes with a weaker mind start to mess things up, start to do unlogical things in order to get better in the last weeks, but in most cases they destroy everything.
Every day I keep telling me, that I am going through a process and on the contest day, everything will be alright.

I am proud to announce my new website: www.bigdanhill.tv (coming very soon)


You will find a new video of my journey every few days there and I want you to be part of the first almost "Live-Documentary" in the world of real PRO Bodybilding.
Enjoy the movies and maybe it will motivate some of you to also take their courage and live their dreams.
Everything is possible !!!



See you in Phoenix

Dan

Week 24 (6 weeks to go)

It has been a while since I was posting my last entry on my blog.
The reason I was not writing anymore is simply that my trip to the USA gets closer every day and I can almost count the hours until my flight will leave from Frankfurt to my favourite country. There are so many things to do right now. It starts with practising posing even harder from now on, making appointments for the photo shoots and making the final bookings for hotels, rental cars and flights. All this needs to be planned as perfect as possible, so it will not negatively influence my diet routine when I am finally there. If you fail to plan ahead, it will cause a lot of extra-stress and this would be the worst nightmare for the last days.

Nonetheless everything is going better than expected. I dropped a little bit of weight in the last weeks and so I am staying around 260 lbs by now. I believe this happened by switching from chicken to fish as my main protein source.



I realize that my energy levels are really low. After my morning cardio and posing session I first of all need at least 1.5 hours of sleep before I can really start into my day. I am getting tired really fast but the same time I cannot sleep in the nights. At some days I am even a bit afraid of the night, by knowing that I won’t sleep well for sure. Those are the worst nights. Staying in bed hungry, unable to sleep and fighting against the doubts in your mind.
This is a major fight which has started now as well. The battle of yourself against your mind. When looking at yourself in the mirror the mind will give you a wrong picture of your progress. You don’t see how your shape gets better and you just see that you are getting smaller when loosing the weight. Still you have to go your way, to keep your diet and to continue with what you were doing. Otherwise you won’t be looking good on stage.

It is just about 6 weeks until my Pro debut now. The moment I was fighting for since more than 2 years. It feels unreal to be close to this point and at the same time I already feel like a winner. I have to push my limits for only a few days more. At this point of the diet it is all about your mental strength. Your body is already exhausted. You cannot expect it to reach perfection if there is not a strong force from behind. This force can be only created by your thoughts and goals. You must be driven to do this by your very own skills of staying focused and motivated. Nobody will go this way for you. Every great success demands sacrifice before. I already demanded total dedication from myself for over two years now and I got it in my own hands to create a satisfying result or to disappoint not only my friends, family and fans but most of all ME !!!
Failure is not an option and in the next few weeks I have the chance to achieve something extraordinary. Something I can be proud of forever.

Week 21 (9 weeks to go) Merry Christmas !!!

First of all I would like to say thank you to all my fans and friends who are writing me Christmas letters and those wonderful wishes for 2010.
2009 was a great year for me already and I can honestly say, that I never enjoyed that much being a professional Bodybuilder like in the last few months.
Looking forward to 2010, I know it will become an even more successful and better year for me. I met so many great people this year who taught me to be more positive, to use this mental energy for reaching my goals and who showed me what it means to be strong. I still need to become a lot stronger in so many ways, but even this process is somehow quite magnificent. I learned again to enjoy the small things of life and at this moment I can say that I even enjoy the daily “boring” routine of doing cardio or preparing the same meals again and again. It became a pleasure again to do every single step into the direction of my Pro debut.

Almost half a year has passed already since I started dieting and still I am at 270lbs.
I didn’t expect to be in such a good condition already with this relatively high bodyweight, but basicly it shows to me that I did everything right so far. Day by day it is getting harder now but day by day I also start to motivate myself more and more.

Last week I also had another great photo shooting with my good friend Reiner Dahms.
Actually the first photographer who ever took pictures of me (in 2006) and so we have a long history of our photo sessions already.

I hope you will also follow my journey in 2010 and before I wish some happy holidays to everyone. Stay positive and realize your dreams !