Reflection

It has been two weeks since my competition. And let me say that it was one amazing journey. After six months of preparing for show, I cannot help but reflect upon the entire experience and realize that it actually changed me... for the better.  Here are just a few of the things that I have learned:

Patience and hard work really do pay off. Persistence, diligence and discipline are key to being successful as a competitor.

I have discovered who my true friends are and who actually supports me as opposed to who secretly despises me. Who was there for me throughout the entire journey? Who encouraged me to keep going when the going got really tough? Those individuals are the ones that matter and the ones I cherish. Not the catty ones who constantly criticize because they secretly envy what they cannot achieve themselves.

I have realized that every single decision matters. When my friends call me up to go out to the bar, do I join? Knowing full well that there is a possibility of injury and that could put me out of training for weeks. That is unacceptable. Do I attend a thanksgiving dinner, considering I am not that strong with my diet and I know that apple pie will be sitting on the counter? I learned to sacrifice the little things because I saw the bigger picture. There is no room for indefinites or doubts.  

I chose the kind of competitor I wanted to be and how I wanted to represent myself on a daily basis. I discovered my true values and stuck to them whole heartedly. There is so much information out there, and one can only choose a single route. Combing different training strategies, diets and supplements will not get the ideal results. Stick to one strategy and trust the people that know you best i.e. your trainer and coaches.

Based on everything that I have put my body and mind through, I can honestly say that I am ready to do it all again.
I have plunged into my off season and started planning for my next show.

Until next time!

Change and growth take place when a person has risked himself and dares to become involved with experimenting with his own life. 
- Herbert Otto

Eight Days Out

Eight days out. Yes now I am counting down from single digits. The past two weeks have been an ultimate struggle... to do anything. My co-workers, friends and family have described me as "tired." However (if I had the energy to argue), tired is an under statement. I have been utterly exhausted with no ability to concentrate or grasp simple concepts due to the low body fat and lower carb diet. I think at some point your body just can't take it any more, and that's when you really have to push yourself. I truly under estimated the  mental capability that was required in order to prepare for my first show. When you are physically exhausted, that is when you have to rely on your mind to get through just one more day. This is also when you need to rely on your support network. I have found solitude in talking to my mother, my boyfriend John, my friend Christina, my trainer Kyle, other competitors and friends. But I honestly think my biggest support has come from Christina. My friend and fellow competitor. We are going through the exact same thing at the exact same time, so we can relate to each other in a way that no one else can even begin to understand. It gets me through the day just knowing I am not the only person going through the struggle of dieting and constantly feeling like I got hit by a truck. These things are normal! (for us anyway). I truly cannot express my gratitude for her support and friendship.

It's an amazing experience to push yourself to your maximum limit because it's so uncommon. Many individuals would have given up, but I am so proud to say that I did not. Throughout my downfalls and my difficult days, I kept on trucking.

As I pondered last night about when I first started training back in May, I had a muffin top, a ghetto butt, and a back filled with acne. Now I stand tall and proud to show off my smooth sculpted back and rounded shoulders, my plump and very toned bottom, and my solid calves. I have not only spent gruelling hours in the gym training hard, I have also worked hard outside the gym by preparing my meals daily and dragging tupperware around with me for five whole months to achieve this body. This has been far from easy. Throughout all of this training, cooking, dieting, crying, sweating, and dragging my butt, I can honestly say that I can't wait for my next show! Sounds  crazy after all this hard work but in the end I love it! I think only a fellow competitor can truly understand the self satisfaction you get from doing a show(s). Yes, I will enter a solid off season, but in the spring I will come back stronger than ever having a better hold on my diet, nailing my poses and having brought up the weaker points on my body.

Time to enter the last week... Carb depletion time.

Just keep smiling :-)

One Month To Go!

I am officially at the four week mark pre-contest. These are the toughest weeks yet. I know shortly my carbs will get depleted and I will become a grumpy, emotional, irrational mess of a woman. I can already feel the exhaustion in my body having hit close to 13% body fat. Simple day to day tasks are draining such as walking down the street, doing groceries, and doing the dishes. Quite frankly, I am trying to conserve as much energy as possible whenever I can.

I have been practicing my posing daily and getting comfortable walking in those damn heels. All body parts have to remain tight, but it has to look graceful all at the same time and not as if you're in excruciating pain.... Bum out, tummy in, lats out, quads flexed, hands relaxed, and smile. Co-ordination has never been my strong suit, but I will nail this because I worked too damn hard (and spent a lot of money) to look like a clutz on stage.

I am starting to get sick of dieting and I am literally counting down the days until I can have my nachos, chicken wings, and cheesecake. I am almost ready to embrace the off season and put on a few extra pounds. This has been such a long training journey that I can't believe it is almost over. It's crazy how hard and long you work for something and it comes down to three minutes on stage. Every rep you did or didn't do, every ounce of chicken eaten, every hour of sleep... all of those things factor into the physique presented on stage in those few crucial minutes.

Anyway, I am ready to grind out another week at the gym and put the finishing touches on my bod.  

Train hard!

Make Due With What You Have...

Over the Labour day long weekend, I went camping to enjoy what was left of summer by being in the wilderness.... Six and  half weeks out from competition does not give me much wiggle room with my diet. Being well aware of my strict meal plan I went fully prepared (or so I thought) and had the best intentions of sticking to my diet. Upon arriving at our site, my boyfriend and I proceeded to set up our tents and then relaxed by the campfire.  When we finally decided to turn in for the night, we made absolutely certain that we "bear proofed" our site. Just as we were dozing off we heard the unmistakable sound of ruffling plastic. And then the pop of an oatmeal bag... Proceeding that, came the rattling of a protein shaker. And then came the heavy breath of a snorting bear enjoying my breakfast full of oats, protein powder, multivitamins and sugar free maple syrup. Who would have thought that bears like whey protein?! As unwilling as I am to share my meals with anyone, a bear is my one and only exception. I love my breakfast but I like my life more. So we did nothing. In the morning we did damage control of our campsite as I tried to stay calm and collected. Luckily there was a general store around that sold quick oats. As for my protein, well it was consumed in the form of numerous boiled egg whites. The moral of the story.... Expect the unexpected (or in my case, expect that the park rangers of a camp ground really aren't lying when they say "active bear on site"). Be willing to deal with adversity and go with the flow because sometimes, a hungry bear just might catch you off guard.

Keep training hard!

Setbacks

 After years of secretly wanting to compete but never really having the courage to go for it, I finally decided to train hard for figure category. So I went in with the highest expectations of myself not fully understanding or compensating for any set backs that may creep up along the way. For instance, having to go for surgery (albeit minor), it was still surgery that I had to recover from. That took a toll mainly with my diet because I could not eat for several hours before hand and very little following surgery. Secondly, overcoming the dreaded sinus flu that slyly seems to lurk in every gym corner was ultimately unavoidable for me. This one was much more difficult to get over. When the body is desperately trying to supply energy for the workout as well as heal itself, my training sessions resulted in a sloppy, sluggish ordeal.  Thirdly, migraines.  Nothing is worse when you're in the middle of a set and you get the awful aura that comes along with a pounding headache.  It inhibits concentration, coordination, speech and vision. Workouts are quite difficult when you cannot see or think properly. With all of these obstacles in my way, only one option occurred to me.... Keep plugging away. Do not let a few bad days determine the outcome of your goals. When you fall down, pick yourself up and keep going because you're the only person who can drag your butt back to the top.  When you have bad days you best be willing to embrace the unavoidable because it is not always smooth sailing (as we would prefer).  Make the best of what you can, stay positive and smile.  

"The ideal man bears the accidents of life with dignity and grace, making the best of circumstances." -Aristotle 

My fitness journey

THURSDAY, 30 JUNE 2011

16 weeks out     My training and diet have progressively gotten more intense. I cannot I say that I fully understood the hard work and dedication that these figure athletes put in day in and day out. I would be lying if I said this was easy because it affects everything around me; relationships, work, family and mostly me, the competitor.     There are many instances where I want to give up, directly in the middle of a set. Just drop the weight and walk away because that IS what’s easier. But I am not a quitter and failure is not an option for me. I remind myself why I committed to competing and that allows me to stay focused. I love the feeling of accomplishment I get when I start to see my body transform. I love the sense of pride I get upon completing a two hour leg day; utter satisfaction.  I am going to push through every burn, every cramp, and embrace all challenges.  There are certain individuals who secretly hope I fail because I am doing what they cannot do themselves. This is all the more reason for me to prevail. For anyone who has ever said, “she can’t do it, she’s not strong enough,” I embrace that challenge and welcome any other criticism that comes my way. I will not accept defeat until I know deep down that I have trained my absolute hardest and to my maximum potential.

So I prepare for yet another day of training. 

No going back

Today I ordered my suit for my competition and it was so exciting! I can feel October 22nd just looming around the corner and I can't help but feel nervous, excited, scared and proud all at the same time. This is something I have always wanted to do but never thought I would actually go through with. Purchasing my bikini today made me realize that this is going to be worth every penny, every ounce of sweat, and every piece of broccoli grudgingly eaten because I am giving my all. I am working hard every minute of every day and when I get on stage I want to know that I did everything in my power to be my ultimate best. Twelve weeks out from competition, and everything is slowly starting to fall into place. From my quad sweep taking shape to my nutrition remaining (mostly) balanced. At this point, there's no time for bullshit, or for half ass efforts. The only thing to do is to stay focused and keep plugging away. Enjoy this journey and embrace everything that comes with it. 


 ~Energy and persistence conquer all things. -Benjamin Franklin