The Six Characteristics of a Champion Bodybuilder

By Troy Tuff Enuff Brown

1. Persistence - In life, there are going to be ups and downs and the sport of bodybuilding is no different. Having a never give up attitude is crucial. I think that persistence and patience go hand in hand in order to be the best you can be.

2. Vision - Have a clear plan of where you want to go in the sport. Then work on steps on how to get you there. Start to visualize your end result. Visualize winning or achieving your goal at night before you sleep and when you wake up in the morning.

3. Belief - This point is very important to achieving great success in this sport. I have seen many amazing athletes just come and go because they did not believe in themselves. Believe you can do it and believe that you are good enough.

4. Focus - Focus on where you want to go in the sport. What are the things you need to do in order to be a champion?

5. Discipline - I cannot enforce enough how important discipline is. You cannot let any other distractions get in your way. If your friends are going out for a night on the town and you have to train the next day then this is where you discipline comes in. Should you go out? Probably not because you have big goals! Having the discipline to do the same things everyday is so important to be a champion bodybuilder. Find out what other champions have done to be the best they can be. All of them will tell you that they had to sacrifice a lot and have tremendous discipline in order to be the best.

6. Support - A support group is very important to succeed as a champion. You have to be around positive people all the time to achieve your goals. If you hang out with negative people then you become very negative. Be around successful people, people who have won titles and continue to be great ambassadors for the sport of bodybuilding. Another thing I have learned that is so important in this sport is having a very positive and understanding significant other. This person can be a key weapon to your arsenal in order to be a champion.

This game is all about duration and longevity. Get out of your head that you want it all now because you must be patient. Try to enjoy the journey and do not be hard on yourself when things do not go the way you want them to (like not placing well at a show). Learn from your disappointments and come up with a better plan next time.

Stay healthy!!
Troy Tuff Enuff Brown :)

Sitting this one out!

Hello everyone,
I hope life is treating you well. I just thought I would write a quick update on how things are going with me…
I have decided to not compete this year. I feel that I need to make some improvements in order to hang with the top boys in the sport so taking this year off from competing will allow me to do so. It was a tough decision but I truly think this is the right decision for me at this time. I am still doing my guest spots I have booked in June and I really looking forward to them.

Thank you so much for all the encouraging emails I have been receiving lately. I am still giving it 110% in the gym and I am hoping for my next show to be early 2010.

Until next time,

Troy Tuff Enuff Brown :)

Allmax Nutrition new signing!!

Greetings everyone,

Well it is about that time to put together another blog on how things are going.

First of all, I want to announce that I have just signed with Allmax Nutrition. Meghan and I are so happy and grateful for the Universe bringing this to us. I am extremely proud to be part of such a great team.

It was a huge honor to be a part of the Allmax Nutrition team at the 2009 Arnold Classic Expo in Columbus, Ohio. I really enjoyed meeting fans and many wonderful people in the fitness industry. It was our first time at the Arnold and I must say it took a while for Meghan and I to recover from the whole event. One of the highlights of the trip was being a part of the UFC pre-fight VIP party which Allmax was sponsoring. I had the luxury of rubbing shoulders with some great UFC fighters. I was so amazed at how friendly and down to earth they are.

It was so refreshing to hear that two of my friends from the UK did so well in the Arnold Amateur this year. Shaun Joseph-Tavernier and Alvin Small both put UK bodybuilding on the map. Awesome job guys!!!!

After the trip I jumped on the scale and saw to my amazement that I dropped 7lbs.
Luckily, I am now right back at the weight I was before I left for Columbus.

I recently brought a new MP3 player and it has helped me to raise my intensity in the gym. I have my UK House and Garage music playing so loud to really pump me up for the heavy sets. I love it!!

Well that's it for me off to eat some fish and rice.

God bless everyone

Troy tuff enuff Brown
IFBB PRO

PS Follow your bliss!!

What's up everyone?

I just thought I would touch base with you and let you know about how things are going with me....

I am still working hard in the gym and blasting the FST-7 training. I have been doing this training now for about six months and I must say it never gets any easier.

My life in general is great although I do wish there where more hours in the day to take naps.

My body is feeling good and I have been getting Active Release Therapy on my hip and can feel it is getting better. There was a point where I could not even squat on the free bar but now I am back squatting every week again. I just love the feeling of squats and there is no substitute for them. It is the king of leg exercises.

My diet is going well and I am constantly trying to get all the food I need to grow and recuperate.

Meghan and I are absolutely thrilled to be going to the Arnold this year. It is our first time going and we cannot wait to soak up the atmosphere. So, if anyone is going to the show it would be nice to meet you all in person.

Until next time keep training and go for your goals......as one of my favorite authors would say: Feel it, See it, Believe it!!!

God bless all

What's up everyone?? Another year is among us and we are all setting new personal goals. My goals are to have an awesome off-season with lots and lots of gains. I have hit the 250lbs mark and I am in pretty good condition. I still want to bring up my quad sweep and my shoulder width so I am working extra hard to do that. I am hitting my delts twice a week now. I am also happy that my appetite has improved and I am eating 7-8 meals per day. It feels so good to be hungry most of the time.
The attached picture was taken at the gym last week and I am hoping that the gains I have made in my upper body are evident
. This off-season I am taking a different approach and trying to not put too much pressure on myself. I am trying to make training fun so that I enjoy my workouts like how I used to be in the old days. I can be very hard on myself sometimes and I am finding that is quite detrimental to my progress. I am just going with the flow now! If I feel strong one day then I go heavy and if I feel not so strong the next day then I will go lighter. The main objective is to keep training consistently the entire year.
Megs and myself are most liking going to be attending the Arnold this year so if you see us then do not hesitate to come over and say hi. This will be the first Arnold that Meghan and I have been too and we are really looking forward to it... Until next time....Be happy and train hard Troy :) P.S. Many thanks to my good friend and legendary producer Karl Tuff Enuff Brown for all the new music you have sent me.

Off season Up date!!!

What's up everyone? I hope you are all doing well.

Wow, where has this year gone? Time flies when you are having fun!!

I thought I would just post an update on how things are going with me. So here goes....

I am really into my offseason now and my strength in the gym is improving big time. I have taken my food consumption to another level because I know I need to eat more if I want to make the gains that I desire. I feel like I am constantly eating. Thank you to my training partner Rob for showing me some new tricks on getting more food down. I often struggle with my appetite and getting all my food down in the offseason. I am trying to eat 7-8 meals a day. I am eating more beef (extra lean) and I am keeping my carbohydrates pretty high.

I have recently started going to the chiropractor to get my body adjusted. My goal is to go every other week and I feel so good after each session so it is definitely worth it.

My left bicep tendon has been playing up lately so I have been getting Active Release Therapy (ART) on it. So, at the moment I cannot train biceps heavy but I have been doing slower repetitions to compensate. I think it is so important to look after yourself and your body in order to remain healthy and happy.

I have received the IFBB Professional Contest dates for 2009. There are some awesome shows that I could do in 2009 but I am more focused on making gains in my offseason rather than competing. Once Hany Rambod thinks I am ready than I will compete. My heaviest offseason weight was 250lbs in 2007 so we plan to get me up to 260lbs in good condition. WOW! I love this sport!

Tonight is chest so to fire me up I am going to watch some of Phil Heath's chest workouts and play some banging UK Garage Music in my car on the way to the gym.

I must keep saying to myself Mr. Olympia, it is my dream to make that stage.
I cannot do it without a good team! Megs is always there supporting/encouraging me with everything and making sure I eat and sleep. Rob, my training partner kicks my ass in the gym and helps me take my training to another level and he is a great friend!

Until next time peeps!
Follow your Bliss!!!!

Hi everone,

Nothing really to report here my end. Just doing the normall stuff such as eat, sleep, train. I did have to take a week off from the gym recently due to over doing it in the gym. Hany advised me to shut it down for a week. Also my training buddy Rob was sick with the flu so the week off was timed perfectly. I tell you what, taking that week off has made me so hungry to train. I am one of those guys who never really takes time off but this time is has really helped.

Tomorrow is leg day so I have already switched into the "leg day" mindset. It is my first leg workout in three weeks so I am not looking to be breaking any records but excited nonetheless.

Good news!!! We are going to start filming my DVD in February and I am really looking forward to that. We have some great ideas for this DVD and hope that we can come out with something different than the training DVDs that we see today. So stay tuned!!

Just before I sign off, I want to thank Rob............. for helping me out and for being a good friend.

Thank you to my little Taz (Meghan)... I love you lots!!