above-first figure show 2006 5 months after 2nd baby
above 1rst OCB show (8 months after 1rst show)
2nd NPC show,6 weeks later (last on the end)
I cant believe its been a year since i turned Pro in this sport called "Figure".If someone would have told me 2 years ago that i would be holding not one,but two Figure Pro cards in my hand,i would have laughed. hard. 2 years ago,i was done competing, i was done with the sport. 2 years ago i made my mind up to be Forest Gump. I was going to get back into running again and was never going to step foot on stage again. ever.
So how did i get here from there??A long Story,and what a long ,strange trip this one was.The road to get the pro stage wasn't easy. The road to get my actual pro card wasn't easy at all either. No one ever said it would be a cake walk,i knew that going in,but i did know it would be worth it. so hang on to your hats y'all,this is a mini novel,so if you have the time,just sit back and read on....
(I'll try to keep this as brief as possible,but this may be a long one...sit tight!)
so where do i begin?- well in order to get a good idea of getting from point A to point B to point C, lets start with point A, at the beginning of my figure adventure -2006,the start of a year long process that almost convinced me to turn away from figure all together.
(prior to this i had always wanted to compete,but never had the courage to do it-BUT i finally competed in 2004 FAP/FAME Miss Bikini America just 11 months after my first child was born. long story short-,i went into this BLIND. was clueless on everything from nutrition,tanning,hair,nails,makeup,suit choice,shoes,etc-i though since i was "in shape" i could just go out on stage and look good,and win-boy was i wrong. i came in 9/11th place. and my esteem was crushed. i decided not to compete again for a while).
well 2006 i got the bug again,except this time i was 7 months pregnant with my second child. since i was unable to workout during my pregnancies,i did research. well actually since 2004 i was looking into finding another show,and a new event called "figure" was emerging on the scene and seemed like a perfect division for me. similar to fitness,but without the routine,and a far cry from bodybuilding .they were looking for athletic yet feminine women- not ripped and shredded like a bodybuilder.hmmmm just up my ally! since i have always been so self conscious about my athletic frame,what better way to help me out by finding a sport that embraces this type of look,the athletic woman. i wanted to try it,but needed a guideline,needed something to help me improve. i did not want to be disappointed again.
and so my quest began.
women such as Alissa Carprio,Nicole Weeks,Julia Lohre,Monica Brant,Jen Hendershot,etc etc,inspired me to go on stage again.along with the idea of having a goal that forced me to get back into shape after another child-i refused to be one of those moms who "let themselves go" after having children.so after i had my second baby, i followed Alissa Carpio's workout plan .well almost......i had to tweak it to make it my own-during prior contest prep in 2004,i just followed what everyone else did,and it totally did not work. i was doing everything wrong for my body....so even though this time around i would"follow" a structured plan,i did have to re-arrange things to find out what worked.
so what i did to prepare for my first amature figure show:
2 weeks after i had my daughter,i started to walk 2 miles everyday,slow. 2 weeks after that,i started going back to the gym-and wow,let me tell ya-after 7 months off from the weight room,i was not able to do very much.(at 19 weeks along,i was put on "modified" bed rest-meaning i could not work out or do any type of cardio-i couldn't even lift my then 2 year old son. i even had to cut my work hours in half....BLEH! )
so my workout regime for the next 6 weeks would be simple. a gradual ease back into the gym. no heavy weights,no high impact aerobics,no sprints- i stuck with 3x a week in the weight room,alternating between a total body workout 3x a week and breaking muscle groups into different days,3-4 sets of 12-15 reps and about 30-60 minutes of LIGHT cardio 6x a week. i didn't start running again until 6 weeks post-delivery,and when i did i was SLOW. so until i got my speed back,i was doing elliptical most of the time and did my running on the weekends.
before i went back to work,i was in the weight room 6x a week working each major muscle group 2x a week. lighter weights,higher reps.
when my daughter was 10 weeks old,i went back to work full time and my schedule changed big time. i no longer had the freedom of an 8'0clock AM workout or even a 4o'clock PM workout (based around child care hours at the gym) in fact, i would only have time for the gym 1 or 2x a week.....
the gym with child care,that is....
since i worked in a orthopedic outpatient rehab setting,i had access to a very small collection of weight machines and some dumbbells (which only went up to 30lbs)
so that's when i knew i had to find the balance between fitness and family and make the most of what i had available to me in order to get back in shape and hit the stage. there was no way i was going to be able to go to the gym before work. my husband worked nights at the time,so no one would be there to watch the kids at 4AM while i worked out,did cardio and got ready before 6AM. there was no way i would hit the gym after work,because from 5-8,well, that was the only time i would have with my kids before they went to bed. the gym would not dominate my life over my children. so i decided i had to use the equipment at work and make the best of it.
my schedule went something like this:
4:30 AM-wake up and hit the el'cheapo treadmill for 30 minutes (did not go fast enough to run-i had to walk at 4.5mph)
5:05 in the shower and get ready for work
5:30 baby girl awake and ready to eat and play
5:35-6:15 get both kids ready and myself fed,and be out the door no later than 6:20
6:35-6:40-drop kids off at day care
7:20-7:30 at work with my happy face on
LUNCH-1 hour power workout-usually broken up by 30 minutes of cardio and 30 minutes of weights.
workout plan:
work each major muscle groups 2x per week-back/bis/abs, then chest/tris, then legs/shoulders/abs. 3-4 sets of 15 and HAD TO super set and giant set all the way due to time constraints.
3x a week i would pyramid weights and lift as heavy as i could. 15,12,10,8 reps,increase weight each set until failure.
1x a week HIIT on TM
4 weeks before the show i went to 2x a week for a HIIT
4:30PM-leave work to pick kids up
5:15-get kids
5:40-get home
6:00-get dinner going for self and kids (baby still nursing so she was attached to me until she went to bed,and every 2 hours afterwards)
6:30 dinner
play time!!!
8:00 bed time for kids,nurse the baby..
8:15-9:30 house work,nurse the baby again
9:45-10:30 more cardio,nurse the baby again
bed before midnight.....and waking up every 2 hours to nurse....
then start all over again.
NUTRITION :
during this time was tricky,i was still nursing up until 4 weeks before the show,so i tried to cut back as much as i could,without compensating my milk production.
my meals went something like this:
AM: egg white omelet with ketchup and low carb bread
snack:
rice cake with natural PNB OR protein bar
LUNCH:
ground turkey and veggies or a protein bar or a lean meat sandwhich on low carb bread (depending on time)
snack:
rice cake with natural PNB
DINNER
lean protien with veggies
water was about 100oz a day
i did NOT keep a food journal or keep track with actual amounts of food. i never measured,but kindof had an idea of how much i was taking in. I did not track workouts(other than a weekly list of what body parts to work),water or sodium either.
i had an idea of what a nutrition plan for a figure gal should look like,but honestly,i was scared to take in too much proteins and too many carbs. so tried to keep in less carbs to see what would happen.
oh,the fun of trial and error!!!
4 weeks out (after i stopped nursing) i dropped my calories ridiculously low (under 1200)and upped my cardio-i also started taking a fat burner. CHARGE by Labrada.
that last week,i went into panic mode and dropped my calories more and did more PM cardio-one hour or longer,sometimes 2 hours. (which i totally dont reccomend btw!!)
i also practiced posing 3x a week after the kids were in bed.
i got posing DVD's from Julia Lohre. i got a better suit and the right suit.even though training was difficult with 2 small children and a husband who worked nights,i did my first NPC figure show 5 months after my daughter was born,and i made top 5 at a National Qualifier.i had improved my knowledge about the sport (but obviously did not know everything) and i was hooked. the judges feed back was that i was on the small side and needed more muscles-everywhere.
even though i knew this,i kept training the same.what i did differently for nutrition: added about 1/4cup oatmeal to my lunch(for more enrgy) and i started fat burners 5 weeks out this time.
then the year long process that ALMOST made me turn away from figure all together started.
the following spring of 2007 i competed again through OCB and placed well (a 2nd-by 1 point!-,3rd and 5th place placing in a pro qualifying event). i came in leaner and more defined,and 3lbs lighter.
Judges feedback was brutally honest.i needed to gain more size and work on posing as well as stage presence. the only thing that held me back from being #1 or #2 is that i didn't know how to hit a back pose,hide my nerves,or showcase my physique properly,meaning i didn't create the illusion i was bigger than what i was-certain ways i would stand would hide my hard work!Ok,i could work on that,except i refused to put on size.
8 weeks later i was on the NPC stage this time,(last picture titled 2nd NPC show)still on the small side but more detailed and more polished than ever....what i did differently: added in HIIT 3x a week at 4 weeks out from show.
and also lifted even heavier weights.
i thought i had everything that all the other gals had,except i was just smaller.i didn't make top call out out and made an 8th/12 placing. judges said i was too lean and ripped and should think about switching to bodybuilding. ok,that was never going to happen. so i ate like a pig for a week and hit the weights HARD.
6 weeks later i was on NPC stage again-3 lbs heavier due to that time of month,and looking softer than last show,wasn't happy about it,but if its what the judges want??
i made 3rd place of 5 gals..judges feedback? i was "too thick" and muscular and should think about going into Fitness division or BB. wth? so the very next week, i was on stage again,and the same panel of judges were there. i came in 5lbs lighter,looking lean, mean and defined-not as soft as last show but still not as ripped as i was 2 shows ago.the main thing i did differently was water manipulation to i took natural water pills..TARAXATONE. i still wasn't personally happy with how i looked,but if its what the judges were looking for-someone not too soft,not too ripped,but with good lines and feminine muscle? well once again i was disappointed in how i placed.8/14.
the same judges who told me the week before i was too thick and muscular,told me i was too small and needed to gain muscle and weight. i needed to gain about 15-20 lbs in order to hold my own on stage with the short class gals,and i needed to work on my backside. omgosh and WTH?? i was done. i didn't know WHAT the judges were looking for and i was tired of trying to make my body look how someone elses subjective opinion wanted. i was done. i was tired of the emotional roller coaster,tired of beating myself up over how i looked. my self confidence was crushed. i worked so hard and let the subjective opinion of 5 people effect how i saw myself. i was discouraged and almost ashamed of my athletic frame. I thought this sport was supposed to embrace athletic feminine muscles,i though this would help me feel more confidant about my athletic frame. but i was wrong.i was done. 4 shows in 5 months and my body had enough,mentally and physically.
TIME AWAY....
so i took a full year off from competing all together to regain my physical and mental composure. i eventually got the bug again,but with a different mindset and a new knowledge of nutrition,cardio and workouts,all learned by trial and error over the previous 2 years. so in late spring of 2008 i became my own coach(as I've always been) and made my mind up to train for another show(not through NPC),but this time,would come into the show looking how I wanted to,looking and feeling happy with how i appeared on stage. i was not going to change how my body looked based on what the judges wanted, i was simply going to be me, the 98lb lean mean,defined me-i refused to gain 20 pounds,i refused to add lots of extra muscle (even though i did add some!) This was the show that would propel me to the Pro stage,although not a Pro qualifying event.
September 13th-exactly 1 year and 1 month since i competed in what i thought was my last show ever-was the day i had set in mind to get the guts to compete again. and i had to do some hard work to get there!
if your still reading this,stay tuned for part 2! things are about to start changing.
