I don’t know how much you were looking forward to my return to the stage this March. I certainly was!
Unfortunately, there are personal circumstances that do not permit me to do the show. I have to focus on these circumstances at the forefront before I can provide a new show date with certainty.
Although I want to keep plugging through, I know that my decision is for the best, and I will come back stronger, badder, and tougher than ever. Your support is greatly appreciated.
I want mah legs to be schtrong and shapely. Ripped would be nice. Having legs like WBFF pro and fitness model Diana Chaloux (below) would be pretty coo.
After 2 days off completely from training, I hit the gym today ready to go! It was great. Here’s how it turned out:
10 min walk/jog (6 min in my target zone of HR 140+)
walking dumbbell lunges:
25’s x 15 reps per leg
30’s x 15 reps per leg
35’s x 10 reps per leg
40’s x 10 reps per leg (woo!)
stiff leg deadlifts:
95 lbs x 15 reps
115 lbx x 15 reps
135 lbs x 12 reps
155 lb x 12 reps (woo!)
2 min cardio HR 140+ (note: can’t stand long cardio sessions, so it helps me to break it into bits)
Leg Press:
2 plates each side x 15 reps
3 plates each side x 15 reps
4 plates each side x 10 reps
4 plates each side x 8 reps
2 min cardio HR 140+
Prone Hamstring Curl:
65 lbs x 15 reps
80 lbs x 12 reps
80 lbs x 10 reps
80 lbs x 10 reps
Hack squat:
full range of motion; 4 sets of 15 reps with 25’s on each side
Seated hamstring curl:
85 lbs x 15 reps
100 lbs x 12 reps
100 lbs x 12 reps
100 lbs x 12 reps
Leg Extension (I usually do this first, but forgot til the very end, so here it is)
70 lbs x 15 reps
85 lbs x 15 reps
100 lbs x 12 reps
115 lbs x 12 reps (woo!)
then 20 min jog/incline walk with HR 140+
It took a little less than 2 hours to complete, and I felt great. I love the gym <3
I read Ava Cowan’s newest blog entry for the Gaspari website, and I loved it so much that I wanted to share it with you. Not only is Ava Cowan one of my favorite figure competitors because she is amazingly gorgeous, but she is incredibly grounded and driven. I liked the post I am going to share because she is unapologetic about being absolutely dedicated to the sport, and conveys such incredible passion and focus!
Half Way there. Ms. Figure International 2012
I have been preparing for the Ms. Figure International diligently now for 6 weeks. I am at the halfway point and it is just mind boggling how quickly the time flies. Preparing for this show has been all consuming, every single aspect of it. Everyday, all of the pieces of the puzzle must start to come together and not one piece may be left out for the picture to be complete. Especially at this point, everything in my day is meticulously thought out. All I consider is my sleep, lifting schedule and split, cardio schedule, necessary training adjustments, deep tissue massages, diet changes, supplementation protocol etc. I have a very set schedule if at all possible, it creates a bit of consistency that is soothing to me. I find that the more things I do outside of what I have listed above seems to be a distraction and leads me away from my goal. The nice thing is that week by week, I tighten the reigns. There is a certain rhythm to it all, and it is exciting when things fall into place. I have to say it is exciting even when they don’t. My weight sticks forever it seems and just won’t budge for weeks. The internal tension that creates gives me an extra edge and surge of energy. So a seemingly negative actually is a positive. Fear has always been extremely motivating for me personally….I use mental tricks all of the time. I also watch motivational videos read inspiring books and look at pictures online to help me as well. Tonight I will be sipping SuperPump Max to get me through this long night [training]. As long as I get my 9 hours of sleep before my next session tomorrow I am good.
15 reps wide grip barbell row w/65, 85, 85, 85 lbs; superset with 20 reps calf raises on the leg press w/ 90, 90, 90, 90 lbs
15 reps single arm row w/ 40, 40, 40, 40 lbs w/big stretch and contraction
15 reps narrow grip seated cable row w/big arch; superset with 20 reps of bodyweight reverse hyperextensions w/focus on lower back
A.D.D. cardio w/HR 140+: 5 min stepmill, 10 min bike, 10 min jog
I love working out, and I love working back, but today it was hard to get out of bed. I’m glad I did though, because I had a great workout and burned 758 calories (according to my heart rate monitor). Today I wore my favorite new grips that are awesome for pulling exercises- they’re called Versa Gripps and they are SO MUCH less cumbersome than traditional straps. I notice I can pull a little more weight with straps, but was put off by how much of a hassle they are to wrap around bars. Then I was introduced to Versa Gripps, and they are so much easier to use! I am still breaking them in but so far I give a favorable review!!
Hallo hallo! It’s my official “off season” and I am BUILDING! I have been eating lotsa cals, lotsa carbs, lifting heavy, and feeling STRONG! I want every figure competitor’s dream of great quads, nice glutes, capped shoulders, wide lats, narrow waist, nice calves, all that!! I am really motivated to use true STRENGTH as the foundation of my hypertrophy. I want to LIFT heavier and BE STRONGER. Yes, the most important thing is the aesthetics, but I am very interested in ACTUALLY increasing my strength, especially in my legs. It’s a fun challenge for me.
I don’t know if I would necessarily call not being on a strict diet “joyful” but I have definitely been living it up. But every day I’m back in the gym tearing it up! So this has been spectacular for my building.
Since the last show, I have experimented with different recipes. I seriously meant to create blog entries for each and every one but :::cough cough::: I’m a delinquent.
*Sorry all the pics are sideways!*
Antelope Burgers
Fiber Pizza
Faux Fried Veggies
Post Workout Ice Cream Sandwich #1
Post Workout Ice Cream Sandwich #2
As many of us figure competitors do…I’ve been dreaming/preparing for the next show(s). That’s why I’m so focused on muscle building. In the last shows, I lost a lot of muscle and my ass DISAPPEARED! So I want to make sure I have big full muscles so that even if I experience atrophy, I will still have plenty of muscle to reveal *SO* for now my focus is BUILDING, and then I plan to start dieting after Christmas for my spring/summer show season:
(tentative schedule)
NPC Governor’s Cup in Sacramento on March 24, 2012
WBFF Fitness Atlantic in Connecticut on April 21, 2012
WBFF show in California- date not yet released, probably in the summer
That’s the update for now!
Here is a quote I found on Facebook today and would like to share:
Why complicate life?
Miss somebody? Call.
Wanna meet? Invite.
Wanna be understood? Explain.
… Have questions? Ask.
Don’t like it ? Say it.
Like it ? State it.
Want something? Ask for it.
Nobody will know what’s going in your mind. Its better to express rather than to expect.
If you already have the ‘No’, take the risk of getting the ‘Yes’.
We just have one life. Keep it simple. LIVE IT & Be happy &…
I am feeling fantastic! After my last figure competition- my first one ever- I decided I wanted to get a taste of a completely different organization- the NPC. I had done the INBA show and wanted to get another experience, because I knew the NPC would be a COMPLETELY different experience. And it was. And it was AMAZING.
(me with bikini bunny Danna)
I am SO glad I decided to do the show! I kept it to myself, as I felt like flying under the radar and just do my quick prep and go for it. I was intimidated by the talk of stiff competition in the NPC but didn’t want to manifest insecurity…wanted to challenge myself to gain more stage presence….to face fear…etc etc…I convinced a bikini competitor named Danna Bridges to do the show with me and we did everything together and we were true partners in crime!!
(us before hair and maekup)
(us after hair and makeup)
Everyone thought we were sisters or twins LOL!! Turns out we are alike both physically and psychologically We understand each other well. Check out HER blog chickeninmypurse.com to see her perspective of the adventure
The NPC show was run in a MUCH more organized fashion.
(we got there early, a lil bit before athlete registration)
It felt altogether more professional, and the girls in figure and bikini (I wasn’t paying attention to the guys lol) had phenomenal physiques! Truly a step up in competition. I was so stunned and ecstatic to have done so well at the show because I felt every single other figure girl had an AMAZING physique!! Wow. Oh wait- I didn’t tell you how I did?! I got first in my division You’re reading the blog of the NPC Central Valley Classic 2011 Figure A 1st Place Winner!! YAY!!
I felt SO energized and shocked and privileged to compete with the amazing women for figure overall winner. Alas, I talked to the judges afterwards and they said I was a close 2nd because I needed to tighten up the posterior a bit! REALLY?! I thought I would be nowhere near 2nd place overall, but yes! WoW! The woman who won first looked so cut, nice capped shoulders, ripped abs, all that, and had many many years of competing under her belt and has won over six 1st place wins! I couldn’t believe that my first show was 2 weeks ago and I placed right after HER! I was not mad at all!!
I feel awesome after winning FIRST in my division AND second OVERALL at BOTH of my first two figure competitions, but want to come into the competitions confident in winning overall if I compete again. This means I want to work on my shoulder caps, my lat width, my outer quad sweep, and tightening up my glutes and hamstrings. GLUTES GLUTES GLUTES!
Saturday after pre judging, Danna and I began our nutritional debauchery.
(Danna showing off some of the goods)
It lasted through Sunday night. It was complete gluttony, and damn did it feel good. Made us bloat like we’re preggers but damn it felt good Now it’s Monday, and back to cleaner eating. Not contest-prep-strict, but not straight junk food. And today I lifted heavy. Low reps. It felt great. My muscles were full of candy glycogen and I felt great!
On Aug 6th, 2011 (8 days ago), I competed in my first ever figure competition. It was the INBA California Natural Bodybuilding Championships. One of the ONLY all-natural organizations in bodybuilding. I had been wanting to do a figure competitions for years, and decided to embrace the challenge. I began a 12 week prep and it was amazing to prove to myself what I was able to accomplish, the discipline I was able to achieve, and everything I learned about figure training, nutrition, and all the girlie stuff like walking in 5 inch heels!
(me and another figure competitor)
Friday afternoon my friend Jenny and I drove up to Windsor to commence tanning. I want to give her a HUGE shout out (and her new blog! http://jenniferbenda.blogspot.com/) because she was a huge support for me, coming up there and keeping me company, staining her hands along my naked body to apply the tanning lotion, becoming utterly stir crazy and exhausted as she was waiting for me allll daaaaayyyy saturday as the show ended wayyy past schedule- in other words, going beyond the call of duty! Friday we started tanning and it was looking umm not so hot so it was relieving when Akane, experienced competitor de jour, came and cleaned it up! We relaxed and…I couldn’t sleep, though a certain tranquility set in and I was able to think beyond the competition tomorrow and felt I would perhaps like to compete in another one…
(me and a bikini competitor)
Before ya know it, it was morning time and that meant hair and makeup. Wassup! Chica totally made me look good (yessah! good thing, cuz I do NOT know how to do hair and makeup- especially for stage!). We got to the venue for orientation, registration, and urine testing. Then, it was time to get ready for pre judging! Everyone was glazing up, pumping up, walking around all orange, scantily clad. Pretty funny.
(pumpin up! GRRRRRR beasssttt. okay i’m smiling but stilllllll imma BEAST!)
I was dying-nervous in my heels! It was SO hard for me to walk in those things! As I did the T-walk on stage, I was nerve-racked and as I filed into diagonal line, I was shaking like a leaf. Scary! I did my best to portray a confident composure, though.
(me in mah 1 piece)
(me in mah 2 piece)
I competed in 4 divisions: 1 piece novice, 1 piece open, 2 piece novice, 2 piece open.
After pre judging, there was a lonnggg break of a few hours before the night time show, which is when decisions are cemented and awards are bestowed. Peeps were texting me in the afternoon how did you do how did you do?!?! I was like I reserve judgment until I hear the results!!
As the show ran late, it was forever until my participation in the night time show. I wanted to get it over with
:::Drum rolll::::
RESULTS:
1 piece novice: 1st place
1 piece open: 1st place
2 piece novice: 1st place
2 piece open: 2nd place
Not too shabby for my first competition!
(2 buff crew in tha heezy!)
By the end, I felt really bad for Jenny because she wanted to get the eff home (another 1-2 hour drive back), so we bounced pretty fast. Sadly, I forgot to get the judges feedback before leaving.
We came home, I showered off a coat of tan, and the next day I was back at work training clients!
It’s felt a little unreal, partly perhaps because this week has gone by SO FAST. I wanted to document everything right away and write a blog post ASAP but I have been on the go, go, go! I’ve been training clients around the Bay, so my commute time has increased tremendously, so I think that has been where my time has been guzzled…
I LOVE Emily Stirling. She is one of the few figure competitors who doesn’t stick with only old-school bodybuilding methods. Her style is often times functional, athletic, high energy, and plyometric. Interesting! Here is an example of a core workout she did that definitely does not fit into the conventional figure competitor core workout! Although it does still focus on the “abs” unlike “true” functional training for the core which may be TRX atomic push ups, beach uphill crawling, multi-planar lunges with twist, and so forth. It’s stimulating my brain cells…hmm…you can‘t say it doesn’t work, her abs are BANGIN! :::drooolll::: B_A_N_G_I_N_G. What do you guys think of the video?
I have been doing a lot of thinking about post competition and reading different things about it. It’s a really big deal. Competitors change their whole life focus for contest prep and take on this new form of dieting and training and LIVING, for this short moment onstage, then once it’s over and it’s traumatic and anti-climactic because it’s like…now what? It’s all over and life is back to “normal”…and what does “normal” mean anymore? How am I supposed to eat? train? What am I supposed to look like? Many competitors binge like crazy and end up gaining 5-20 pounds in a week or two!
I’ve known that I needed a plan, but didn’t know what I wanted it to be. One part of me wants to be the devil and say eff all this, and not even consider any cardio and blah blah EFF IT! One part of me wants to eat the world, especialllyyy the delicious and highly delectable, heart attack treats oh yes oh yes. On the OTHER hand whispers to me the angel. The sculpted athlete. That cautions against feeling and looking like crap, in such little time after getting the most smokin body ever! Took me months to get here, but um I don’t think it would be that hard to gain a lot of weight quick!
As I draw closer to Saturday and my workouts have been reduced and my energy is being restored, I feel my mood lifting and my post competition plan crystallizing. It’s not all the way set, but this is my general plan: Stay eating clean. I ABHORE CARDIO. Really. I REALLY don’t want to do it. Maybe a tiny bit. But to be able to do minimal cardio, I have to eat clean. I plan on consuming MORE carbs, and MORE calories, but sticking to clean eating sources! I will probably still buy and cook in bulk (a lot of chicken breast), and may even still bust out my food scale for protein portions. I will eat more complex carbs surrounding resistance training (perhaps carb cycling, with higher carbs around leg training), and will consider incorporating simple carbs as well in the post workout window. I am thinking about adding creatine to supplement pre workout to promote anabolism. I want to experiment with my crazy protein and veggie recipes again I am thinking of continuing with a multi daily, fish oil daily, and L-carnitine pre cardio. I think I want to get back into MMA. Maybe other cross training. I want to build up my LEGS and get some shredded-azz LEGS!!! QUADS, HAMS, GLUTES! I always love new challenges. I wanna look at these babies and see some ripped-ness! Heavy leg resistance training twice a week…hitting other body parts (minus chest, I RARELY hit chest) once a week, except abs maybe 2X a week. Cardio if I feel like it? Maybe once, maybe twice? Maybe none. <Delivish Look> Maybe I’ll count MMA/no gi/muay thai/wrestling if I take those as a cardio….Really want to use the alleged heightened anabolism of the post contest period to gain serious muscle, especially in the legs…by doing my (4 day?) split hard and really dialing into pre and post workout nutrition….Then once I get a little breather in my system then I’ll consider another show But anyway that’s what I’m thinking for now as far as post comp plan…I am sure it will become clearer day by day until it will just manifest…Just have to keep my mind right!
Here are some articles/blog entries related to post competition. A common theme overall is to BE PREPARED as well as to GRADUALLY introduce elements of the pre-contest lifestyle back in OVER TIME. Don’t just jump back into eating tons of carbs n candy and stop exercising or you’ll be VERY, VERY SORRY. Check out Berardi’s article, in particular.
I am a certified personal trainer, avid fitness enthusiast, and creator of Freestyle Fitness Addiction. Come visit frequently, as I add articles, video clips, and personal blog posts related to building strength, power, and stability in fun, outside-of-the-box ways; nutrition; inspiration; injury prevention and rehab; figure and fitness; mixed martial arts; random ruminations, and daily personal life. When not driven by my fitness addiction, some of my favorite things include being a badass with my hoodie up, sparkles, and kittens.
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*SO* for now my focus is BUILDING, and then I plan to start dieting after Christmas for my spring/summer show season:
(me with bikini bunny Danna)
(us before hair and maekup)
(us after hair and makeup)
(we got there early, a lil bit before athlete registration)
You’re reading the blog of the NPC Central Valley Classic 2011 Figure A 1st Place Winner!! YAY!!
(Danna showing off some of the goods)
Now it’s Monday, and back to cleaner eating. Not contest-prep-strict, but not straight junk food. And today I lifted heavy. Low reps. It felt great. My muscles were full of 
(me and another figure competitor)
(me and a bikini competitor)
(me in mah 1 piece)
(2 buff crew in tha heezy!)
