Trish's 2011 Competition Season- Sprint, woman, sprint!

Even though I've been dieting since the 2nd of January, I still feel like it's a sprint to the finish before a big show. My two biggest or most anticipated shows this year are the IFPA Pro in Sacramento 7/16/11 and the NPC USA's in Las Vegas 7/30/11. Having these contests fall within two weeks of each other is pretty stressful, but I'll finally get to have a cheat meal after the Vegas show! I try not to think about that because it seems so far away still, but I want pancakes!!!! Anyways, all I can say is that I'm glad I started dieting down so early this year. It's given me and my husband/ diet coach plenty of time to make the needed adjustments to my diet and cardio schedule. It's fascinating how much my body changes each year! It 's not just the outward physical appearance that changes, but also my reaction to food, cardio, sleep. stress, etc.

After the last contest I did at the end of May, I decided to kick up my cardio and my husband tweeked my diet a little to lean me out more. This year I wanted to get that "hard" look. My body loves to hold onto water, so getting rid of that excess has made all the difference in my appearance. I must say that going into this contest, I am in the best condition I've ever been able to achieve. I really wanted to have a great 2011 season & with 4 wins so far this year I'm definitely satisfied with my performance.

Last weekend I competed in the NPC San Jose Championships in both Bodybuilding and Figure . I actually placed first in my class in both categories! Talk about a shocker (especially with the bodybuilding)! Of course the girl that took the overall in bodybuilding was about 40 lbs heavier than me, so I really wasn't expecting to win the whole thing. Getting up on the bodybuilding stage after not having done it in 3 years was terrifying and exciting at the same time. I was so nervous trying to remember all of the tips and tricks I've been taught and actually remembering to flex my muscles (which I don't do in the NPC figure division). Wouldn't you know that when it came time to do my routine my music didn't work in their stereo (talk about my worst nightmare!)...So, I ran off the stage to get my back up copy while the other lightweight competitor did her routine. I gave my disk to the DJ and when that one didn't work either I could literally feel my stomach sink. The DJ let me look at a list of songs and thankfully he had the song This is why I'm Hot on his computer. I did my first routine in 2008 to that song so I told him to just play that one. Talk about nerve wracking! Anyways, I did it and thankfully didn't mess up or fall, etc....

While I had a bit of a technical challenge during the bodybuilding portion of the competition, it made me realize how much I miss doing the bodybuilding division. Figure is fun with the jewelry and glitzy suits, but I just love flexing my muscles and doing the routine portion. I'm really looking forward to competing at the USA's in the new Physique division. It think it's the best of both worlds- glitz without the shoes!

So we'll see what the future will hold for me after these two shows. I've got a big month ahead of me and will be sure to keep posting!

To carb or not to carb...

That is always the question!  Unfortunately in my case the answer is almost always NOT to carb, but every competitor is different.  We all process foods differently and my stubborn body just doesn't really seem to do much with carbs or fat except store them under my skin.  So this causes my poor husband to change my diet every so often to shock it into submission (as I like to call it).  I say my "poor" husband because once those necessary changes are made, my hormones seem to get completely out of wack and I become a complete Biatchhh.

It's absolutely insane how much food affects my mood, personality, and yes even my brain power.  I know that I'm lean enough to compete and have done well in my competitions so far this year, but I'm one of those people who want to take it further.  I want to challenge myself in new ways every chance I get.  So to switch things up a bit, I'm competing in both bodybuilding and figure at my competition on 7/9 in San Jose .  I'm really just doing the bodybuilding for fun because I miss flexing my muscles.  Believe me, I'm not naive to the fact that I'm a natural competitor who'll be trying to compete against women who may (or may not) have had some pharmaceutical help along the way, but it'll be fun nonetheless.  So, my point was that I want to get harder & a little leaner for my upcoming shows- San Jose bodybuilding show, the natural Pro figure show, and the national level Physique show in Vegas.  Needless to say I talked to my husband and after taking a good look at me he decided to go ahead and cycle my carbs a bit more drastically (at his own risk!). 

These jeans fit me in '08 during my
 1st contest prep.
I weigh more now than I did then!
.

I've gotta admit that I'm not "fun" right now.  It always takes my body about 2 weeks to adjust to even slight changes in diet.  So following this revised plan has been extra tough on me- especially mentally.  I get frustrated (like I'm sure all of you do) when I follow a program perfectly and then don't see the result right away.  It's our nature as humans (and Americans for that matter) to want immediate gratification.  It'll be 2 weeks on Tuesday that I've been following the new plan and I'm finally starting to see the fruits of my labor!  I see new veins and muscle definition as well as the hardness I've been working towards in my legs. 

Yesterday, after walking around like a zombie for a week, I decided to "flip the switch".  I get tired of people telling me how exhausted I look all the time so I decided that I'm done with that!  I'm going to go to bed at a decent hour, get my cardio and workouts in, and love every second of it!  I chose this lifestyle and I need to remind myself (maybe even daily) why I do it.  I do it because I love the challenge, I love stepping on that stage, and I love feeling like I've accomplished something that very few people are able to do.  But, in all honesty, I couldn't and probably wouldn't want to, if my husband wasn't behind me 100%.  His support is everything to me...the least deserves is for me to be nice to him!  I'm off to a good start today and tomorrow I'm going to make even better than today! :-)

Let the craziness subside...for now.

What an insane couple of weeks I've had!  Between my own competitions and my clients' contests, I feel like I haven't even taken a deep breath in the last few weeks!  Our team's had 3 contests in the past 3 weeks, 2 of which were out of town.  But I must say that both our company Iron Addiction and I are off to a really good start this year.  All of our competitors have placed in the top 5 in each contest and a few even placed first.  I feel like such a proud mama watching them on stage :-)

As for myself, I've done 2 contests so far- the Contra Costa May 7th and the Cal State May 29th (both were NPC contests)  and I placed first in figure A in both.  I'm off to a great start this season and am getting revved up for the next ones now: the San Jose- July 9th (NPC), the IFPA Pro USA in Sac July 16th, and the NPC USA's in Vegas July 29th.  After that?  I have no idea really.  I'm really waiting to see how I do in these next big contests.  It's almost like my recent contests were just warm-ups for the "big ones".  I know that I need to get a little tighter and leaner for these next shows, so that's where my focus is going to be for these next few weeks.

I have a lot going on right now, but I feel really good about the upcoming contests and the decisions I've been making concerning my future competition plans. I've decided to switch over to the NPC Physique division at the USA's this year.  It took some serious soul searching, but I'm excited about making the change.  I've missed being able to really flex my muscles!  Since Physique is pretty similar to "regular bodybuilding", I figured I'd go ahead and compete in both the bodybuilding and figure divisions at the NPC San Jose show in July.  Those girls are going to out-weigh me by about 25 lbs, but  I really just want to do it for fun. I miss the performance aspect of bodybuilding- doing that routine was my favorite part!  The figure stage walk just isn't the same high as the one you get from bodybuilding.  I also think it'll help me to condition for the 30 minutes we'll be on stage in the IFPA show....

 

I've come to a couple of realizations over the last few weeks of watching my team compete.  First of all, I absolutely LOVE this sport!  It doesn't matter what side I'm on- whether be coach or competitor, I know that I'll always want to be involved in competing in one way or another. Secondly, I realized that I've been taking it too seriously and putting way too much pressure on myself to win and set the perfect example for my clients.  It really can be challenging sometimes, especially when I'm having a bad day, to keep up that image of  "Mrs. Iron Addict".   Everyday I train these awesome competitors and then I go home to my coach/trainer/husband extraordinaire at night.  I feel like not only do I need to succeed for my clients but I don't ever want to let my husband down.  He works his butt off so that I can get on stage in new blinged out suits, purchase the best supplements, and I can't forget about all of the entry fees, videos, pictures, photo shoots, and so on...

It's not everyday that I feel like hitting the gym hard and staying on my strict diet (of which I've been on since Jan 2nd by the way...but who's keeping track), but I'm going to do it simply because I love that stage and the feeling I get from being up there.  There really is nothing like it in the world and I keep competing because of that enjoyment.  Once that joy is gone, then I'll take a break. But until then...ya'll better watch out if you see my name on that competitor list :-)

 

Trish's 2011 Competition Season- Decisions, decisions...

After the Contra Costa competition I emailed the promoter to request feedback from the judges of the contest.  Even though I placed 1st in my class, I placed 6th of 6 competitors in the overall comparisons.  I was curious as to why I placed so low compared to the other girls so getting the judges' feedback was  important to me.  Figure is a hard sport because it is so subjective.  There is no set "look" so getting the right amount of muscle, hardness, and symmetry is tricky. The fact is that the physical requirements vary in each organization. The natural organizations want you harder, leaner, and more muscular and according to the judges I heard back from this week, the NPC is going toward a softer look for the figure girls. At the check-ins the night before the contest, the promoter of the Contra Costa show recommended the new physique division to the "more muscular figure girls".  I never really had considered myself a more "muscular" figure girl until I heard the feedback from the judges.

All 3 of the judges told me that they think I'd do well in the new physique division, so now I've got some decisions to make.  Back in 2008, I started my fitness journey by competing in bodybuilding.  I really enjoyed it, but was afraid that I was just too small to really progress in the sport.  So in 2009, I competed in both bodybuilding and figure to see where I fit in the best.  I ended up placing first in both, but the size of my legs seemed to put me more into the figure category (at least in the natural divisions).  Over the past 2 years, I've really focused on building my legs up to match my upper body and I feel like I've made some pretty good progress; increasing my symmetry and overall muscular development.

But the amount of muscle I carry on my frame now may be a little much for the NPC figure division.  Personally I love having muscle.  I think it helps me to stand out because it's not often that you see a woman with "delts" not shoulders.  I love having "cuts" and definition and I'll even admit that I like having both guys and girls stop me in the store to ask me how I got my arms to look like they do. 

So, now it's time to make a decision.  July 29-30th (USA's in Vegas) is the first NPC physique division contest that I can do.  I was planning on doing the show as a figure competitor, but now I'm thinking it would be a good time to try out the new division.  I love performing routines and you do get so much more time on stage.  Plus, I feel that I can really bring a femininity to the sport that I think has been lacking in bodybuilding, with the exception of the "natural" female bodybuilders. 

I've decided to start practicing the new physique poses, but I'm going to still compete in the Cal State Figure show next weekend in Culver City and just see how I do.  I've leaned out my legs a little and tightened up my glutes and hamstrings, so hopefully I've have a good showing there.  The fact is that I love to compete and whether or not it's in figure, bodybuilding, or physique I'm going to have fun, express myself, and show off my muscular (yet I think feminine) physique!

Culver City here I come!  One week and counting!

Trish's competition season- Contra Costa recap

For the past 4 months I've been writing about my journey to get ready for my first contest of the season, which I finally was in this past weekend. What a great way to start off the season, by winning my first show! While getting ready for this show was much easier this season than last, I've had some serious self-doubt and self-criticism creep in. In fact, instead of relishing in my victory, I've been focusing on how bloated I felt all day, how washed out my abs looked, and how I don't think I looked as good as I could have. It just goes to show that no matter how much experience you have your mind can really mess with you!

The roadtrip to the show was eventful to say the least. We left home about 2 hours later than I'd planned so traffic was a nightmare, our GPS got us lost and added an extra hour to our trip (needless to say, I almost chucked that thing out of window at the lady who wouldn't let me over on the Bay Bridge), and the competitor check-in meeting went WAY long so we didn't even check into our hotel until 9pm!

About 10pm, after I tanned my client with our fancy new machine, my poor husband attempted to do my color. He'd never used the spray gun before and let's just say that he has a very heavy trigger finger. It was so dark that if you would of put me against a black curtain I'd have disappeared! So, I had to wash it all off the next day and redo it myself in the morning. Talk about having some added stress! In spite of the tanning fiasco, I woke up feeling really good. I wasn't holding water and I could see all the definition in my abs and legs. Somehow though, throughout the day, I became totally bloated and had some major issues with holding water. Talk about a competitor's nightmare! I felt terrible right before hitting that stage, so Mike and I have to re-visit my competition day food strategy before this next one in 3 weeks.

The actual competition itself was good though. There were some strong competitors and they moved through it quickly, which is one thing I really like about the NPC organization. I saw several competitors from past competitions and lots of new faces too. While I was in line backstage, waiting to go out, these two girls behind me asked me if I'd competed before. I answered "yea, a few times." and they asked me for some advice, any advice. I just told them to have fun on stage because that 10 minutes you're up there is what you've dieted and worked for this whole time.

That truly is the best advice I can give to new or even seasoned competitors. Have fun! If you look scared, miserable, or tuned out, the judges are probably gonna notice and you'll pay for it. But, if you get up there, strut your stuff, enjoy it, smile genuinely, and really try to light up the stage, the judges won't want to look away from you! I've seen several girls with "ok" bodies place higher than the girls with the best bodies there. That's proof that it's all about how well you present your physique to the judges!

Now it's on to the next one! The "Cal" May 28th!

Trish's 2011 comp prep, week 16- Let the countdown begin!!!

Starting weight: 113 lbs, Current weight 104.7 lbs

Well, let the countdown formally begin!  As of tomorrow, I will be 1 week out from contest.  For so long it feels like contest day will never come and then all of a sudden, it's here!  I went yesterday and bought all of my contest day odd and ends- dry shampoo, super dark makeup, travel sized toiletries, etc...  Just shopping for that stuff made me so excited, knowing that I'm getting so close to stage time! 

Feeling so enthusiastic yesterday reminds me of how emotional of a time this is for all competitors- seasoned or novice.  We all have our ups and downs during contest prep and it's a real test of someone's emotional strength and ultimately their willpower.  I've definitely had my share of mixed feelings this season.  I've had really bad weeks, like last week, and then I'll have a great week, like this week.  But it is an awesome feeling knowing that I've stuck to my diet 100%, given my workouts and cardio 100%, and have been able to stay married through it all! It's a tricky time because my hormones are going crazy (not in a good way either!) and the physical changes occur so slowly that it often feels like a plateau.  I just keep trying to remind myself that is was the tortoise who won the race, not the rabbit.

It's important to remember that in this type of dieting it's not about fitting into a certain size jeans anymore, it's way beyond that.  It's hard core now!  The workouts and strict diet are about sculpting and refining my physique, carving out every muscle, and losing only fat while retaining every ounce of muscle possible.  That's what it's all about...taking my body to that next level that so few people will ever be able to reach!  That in itself is an awesome accomplishment! I've gotta pat myself on the back sometimes too, right?

So far this season, I've gotten some great feedback on my blogs and competition prep from various people (you all know who you are) and I'm really thankful for all of it.  I may train competitors for a living, but even I need some encouragement and reinforcement every now and then!   In fact, one of the other trainers I work with (who is also a competitor) and I were chatting about how easy it is to focus on our clients' goals and often push our own needs to the side, squeezing in that client's workout or training session.  All I know is that judge on the panel sure isn't gonna care that I was too busy to practice myr posing or get my personal workouts in!

So, this week I start my peak week.  I think my hubby's got a great plan laid out for me, but we'll see how it all turns out next week.  Mike's never done me wrong in that department, so I'll roll with his insight and I'm sure it will turn out for the best. We did a trial run this week and it worked pretty good so I should be ready for the stage May 7th! 

Trish's 2011 comp prep, week 15- Do you see what I see?

Starting weight: 113 lbs, Current weight: 105.6

So this week the scale moved but my body fat stayed the same...frustrating!  I feel good some days and other days I just feel like crap.  I wish that my mind would quit messing with my competition prep already!  I didn't even want to work out on Sunday.  Mike actually forced me to go to the gym, telling me that I'd feel better once I was there.  He was right, again.  I felt great once I started the workout and ended up lifting heavier than I have in a while.  I don't think I'm over-trained or anything, I think my head is just messed up right now.  Mike kindly pointed out to me today that I do this before every competition- about 2 weeks prior.  I start psyching myself out and saying stuff like: I'm not ready, not conditioned enough, not lean enough, etc.  Some days I wish I could just snap out of it and get some freaking self-confidence!

I know that many people go through this stage in dieting.  Some people are in it longer than others.  I guess that I would call it the competition jitters.  It's a combination of excitement about getting on stage again and nervousness about what the judges will think about my physique changes over the past year.  I know that my body changes every year and hopefully this year it's for the better.  I have put on more size, but I'm also leaner than last year, which should be a good thing. I really want to stand out from the other competitors but once I step on that stage it's all up to the judges.  And Lord knows they have their own opinions and visions of what they want. All I can hope for is that I have what they envisioned...

With the past couple of weeks being pretty tough on me mentally, I'm in serious need of an attitude adjustment.  So this next week, my goals are the following:
*to stay positive and not get down on myself
*to keep myself on track with my workouts and diet
*to get plenty of sleep and rest my body (because it will really help with the grumpiness)
*to not put so much pressure myself to place high and just enjoy the sport that IS figure competition!
*condition, condition, condition!

Two weeks until contest......let the countdown begin.