To compete or not to compete....?

Last week I competed in the IFBB Pro Physique Grand Prix in LA and it was an eye opening experience for me.  When I competed last month, I had a disastrous first show.  I got on stage bloated and looking way too soft.  So with a few tweaks to my diet and cardio plan, I entered the Grand Prix with a competely different look and enthusiasm.  I went into that show hard, tight, and feeling really good.  My color looked great, my suit fit me so much better, and my posing was much more polished.  So, when I got the very last callout I was a bit thrown off.  I placed 8 out of 9 competitors at the Governor's Cup so I was really hoping to move up in the ranks this time.

I ended up placing 9th out of 16 beautiful girls.  All of us were shaped very differently, from smaller figure girls with less muscle to former bodybuilders with more size.  According to a reputable reporter in the industry, I pretty much disappeared on stage among this group of ladies.  At 5ft, 100 lbs, I just looked way too small compared to them.  Then, after speaking to the head judge and getting his feedback, he confirmed that I need to put on some more size- mostly in my legs. 

So here in lies the dilemma- do I continue to compete or take the rest of the season off to make improvements?  I think that every competitor (especially the natural ones) has to make a decision like this at one time or another.  In fact, I know some athletes that take off every other year to put on muscle.  As for me, I haven't taken a break from competing in 5 years because I was riding the waves of winning shows and pro cards.  But not even cracking the top 8 in this last contest when I was truly looking my best, caused me to re-evaluate my season plans.  With that in mind, I decided to play it smart, give my body a break from the dieting, and change up my workouts to focus on my leg development.  I think that giving me the rest of the year to improve will hopefully make for an incredible showing at my first contest next year.

The nature of this sport is making physical gains in the off-seasons to showcase your best physique come contest time.  Making the decision to take a little time off the contest circuit can be tough, but as a competitor you're never really resting...you're always hitting the weights hard and making the most of the time spent in and out of the gym.  As for me, I'm going to actually get to celebrate my 6th anniversary next month! I've been dieting every year for the past 5, so this year I'm going to actually order off of a menu and enjoy every bite!

So, while I may not be blogging about upcoming competitions and shows as much, I will be filling ya'll in on my workouts and progress!   Let's do this!

Show me the money...shot!

"Money shot!"...That's what my husband yells everytime I'm on stage and it's time to turn and hit my back pose.  It makes me smile every time I hear it because I know that he's my biggest fan...after all, he's helped me create my physique!  If you read my last blog then you know how my pro debut went a couple weeks ago. But, if you for some reason you didn't read it then I'll openly admit that I placed 8th out of 9 competitors at the Governor's Cup in Sacramento, Ca.  If I thought that competition was tough, then I'd better get ready for the 16 girl line up at the Grand Prix next weekend- including 2 past IFBB WPD contest winners.  

I recently read this quote by Josh Billings: "Success does not consist in never making blunders, but in never making the same one a second time."   How true is that statement...especially when it comes to physique competitions?  If you didn't place well, why would you go into the next contest looking the same?  There are so many times that I'll see competitors coming into shows looking identical to their past appearances, even though they placed at the bottom of their class!  That seems like such a waste of valuable competition prep time to me.  As competitors we go through months of resisting food temptations, late night or early morning cardio sessions when you'd rather be sleeping, and working out when you'd rather just watch a movie with your family.  To do this is tough enough...now imagine that you do all of this and then don't place well at your show because your diet or prep plan just didn't work that well for you?  It's frustrating to know you went into a show not looking your best and that can potentially be damaging to a competitor's spirit. But I decided after that morning show to not let it get me down.  I went back on stage that night and nailed my evening routine, bloated stomach and all.  In fact, I'm using that experience as motivation and fuel for my fiery spirit!  My mom always says that I'm like TNT- a lot of power in a tiny package!   

After placing so low in my first pro show, I couldn't wait to talk to the judges and get some honest feedback.  When you're leaning out for a show, your friends and family will all think you look great because they have no one to whom they can compare you.  But on the other hand, those judges have seen the best of the best- and that's what I strive to be.  Finding out exactly what I need to improve upon and then following that advice are the key components to me moving up in the ranks of this new division.   

So after talking to several of the judges I took their advice and ran with it!  I've been hitting that cardio hardcore (sometimes even twice a day) and my dieting has been on point so that when I present this new and hopefully improved package on stage next week I will know that I've truely done everything that I could in such a short period of time between shows.  Now, they did tell me that I could put on some muscle since I'm the smallest competitor in the division (100.6 lbs to be exact...and I'll probably be down to about 97 lbs by the end of next week) but me and my trainer/husband know that there's really no way for me to make any huge gains while dieting.  So, instead, I'm hoping to just look bigger by bringing in a tighter package.  I guess we'll see what they think!