I’ve written a little about karate but I haven’t expressed my feelings about it the way I have wanted. To be honest, let me backtrack, and start with bodybuilding. I love bodybuilding. I have for a very long time, but posing in a bikini is not athletic.
Am I really an athlete? Continue reading
Like usual, it’s fairly busy around my house and things are moving steadily. I made it through the first part of my job interview, and was invited back
Brownies Amy baked. They ROCK!!!
for the second half, but I asked to push the date back. There are a few things I need to do before pursuing any job, and I think it’s better to get those done first. I felt the pressure to apply for jobs, but in reality applying was premature. That clichéd phrase of “putting the cart before the horse” was created by moments like these.
April workouts were behind schedule
April was really a tough month for me in terms of training. The kids were sick for the first two weeks of April, and for the last week of April. With that said I think I worked out a total of five times; perhaps seven, but they were crappy workouts. Today, I spent an hour training with Amy though. It was nice to train with a partner, which I haven’t done since I left the Chi. She also brought me a batch of brownies and some bath bubblies for mother’s day! Thanks Amy!!! Continue reading
Spring 2009
It’s 2012! Another year passed, and I’m slowly working my way out of a strange place, but I hope to open some new doors for my family and I in the upcoming year.
Web writing
In 2011 I continued to web write with mixed success. My page views for Yahoo! Voices significantly dropped with the Google analytics change. Another solid blow from PANDA and my page views hit an all time low. C’est la vie. I can’t cry over spilled milk.
While my Yahoo!Voices content suffered my National Body Building title made headway in 2011. My page views doubled 2010. I had more page views in 2011 from Examiner.com than in nearly three years with Yahoo! Voices; with 1/8 of the articles. In 2012 I plan to spend much more time on my bodybuilding column.
I was also contacted by several fitness publications that asked for queries. This doesn’t mean the articles will get published, but it is another step.
Boggity, bloggity blogging
Over the course of the year I floundered with blogging. I wanted to do more blogs earlier, but wasn’t sure if I should take on the task. In November I finally did it and created Bodybuilding Event Tips and Tabletop Concoctions.
Late Summer 2009
There are still a few things I would like to change like the Twitter gadgets, but haven’t quite learned how to do it yet. I did, however, learn that if I’m not good with SEO I have to market my work more on social networking sites.
I also created and finished my website. It’s simple, but clean. I haven’t marketed it as much, but plan to during 2012.
Web writing basics
I finally have “the hang” of some writing basics. I’ve worked on writing tighter, keyword dense, concise content with smaller words. I also learned about pinging and hashtags to generate more page views. Yes, I’m slow to the finish line, but I’ll get there.
On the flip side of life
Before we left Chicago I turned away clients. Yes, I was busy with fitness coaching, and we moved so now my business is lacking. I have not worked with anyone in Virginia yet, but found two solid prospects this week. If they hire me my clientage will grow exponentially within six months.
Moving forward is the goal, but if I can find a job with benefits I will continue to coach on the weekends or via Internet.
Bodybuilding Endeavors
June 2011
In 2011 I resolved to win a natural pro-card, but once I began the contest prep process I wasn’t concerned with winning a pro-card. It’s not because I didn’t try, but because I didn’t want break down my body.
Bodybuilding Results
I placed third and fourth place in the OCB Charm City Classic, and third in the NGA Mt.Rogers bodybuilding show. Although I wanted to place higher I am content with my placings. I promised myself that I would not over do it, and I didn’t. I lost a total of 20 lb. to compete. I wasn’t lean enough for bodybuilding standards, but I still placed in the top five. Yahoo!
Throughout contest prep I learned more about my body, and know how to train for the 2012 bodybuilding season. From cardio lengths to weight training, it’s all been noted.
I’ve been weight lifting for years, but in the last two fiscal years I’ve made it a point to add muscle and I did. I should have taken note of my muscle gains, but I didn’t. Maybe in 2012 I will.
Fall 2011
Anyhow happy 2012!
Sick, sick, sick
It’s been two weeks and six days since the NGA Mt. Rogers bodybuilding show, and I have worked out two whole times since. I can say I haven’t been this sick in several years; not including diet induced illnesses. As a matter of fact, I haven’t been this sick since our first winter in Chicago.
Got dressed up in these beauties only to cough and pee myself; had to change.
My fever reached a surprising high of 102* and I ached all over. The morning after I had my fever I woke with a fever blister that nearly covered half of my bottom lip. Between my busted lip, pale skin, aching IT band, peeing on myself while coughing (yeah, it happens), and everything else; I looked like I was beat with the ugly stick. I was moving like a snail, and unfortunately, I wasn’t the only sick one. Everyone has been super sick, but we’re nearly back to normal.
Back in the gym on Monday
Hopefully, I’ll head back to the gym on Monday. I’m feeling lazy and…sedentary? Were you expecting fat?;) No, not fat. I love working out, and although there are days I don’t want to go to the gym, I still love it. Working out is for my mental well-being, and not just my pant size.
Shopping for posing suits
I’ve also spent the last few days looking at bodybuilding posing suits, and found several I love. I’ve been going back and forth with the idea of competing for 2012, and although I’m sure I’ll compete in the end, I have a nagging feeling about it.
We shall see…I will keep looking for a posing suit though. That’s the best part of competing.
Check out that tan line! 7:00 a.m.
The NGA Mt. Rogers bodybuilding show was on Saturday and it was a very competitive show. There were fewer competitors than last year’s bodybuilding event, but the girls looked fabulous. The girls in my open class were more athletic looking so I felt really good in this line up. It meant that the comparisons were based on an athletic look. Of course the judges would look for conditioning, but I still appreciated that.
Makeup to match the tan. 7:30 a.m.
My season ended with another third place win at the NGA Mt. Rogers, and I’m content with that. I thought I would be disappointed, but I’m not. I learned so much about myself this season. I learned that I do not have to kill myself with 2.5 hours of cardio a day with little food. I learned that I could have been more conditioned, but that I can compete at 128 lb. if I’m conditioned right. I don’t have to kill myself to weigh 120 lb.
Yup, I brought weights. The last show only had two sets and a small pile of bands for 100 competitors.
I also received great advice from judges Medina Roberts and Gary Jackson. Medina explained that I have a wide waist, but very good lat development. She told me to continue with twisting exercises for my waist in the off-season. She also said to come in tighter. She was very kind, and what she told me did not surprise me since my waist is always an issue. Gary told me to come in tighter, and to change my training at the last three weeks. He recommended doing high reps with lower weight to bring in that conditioned look the judges seek. He also said my back looked good, but it needed more definition. With better conditioning that is possible.
With all this information I’ll plan my off-season accordingly. I’m still debating on taking 2012 off, but it’s too soon to tell.
Top 5 list for each class.
I’ve eaten around the clock and feel utterly gross. 
This always happens after every bodybuilding show. I am trying to eat cleaner foods this off-season. I’ve tried to stay super clean in previous off seasons and it just didn’t work.
I don’t want my diet bodybuilding clean, but I want it to consist of more complex carbohydrates versus simple. I want to grow, but not to blow up. Not because of the weight gain, but to salvage my skin. The weight fluctuation is hard on everything especially my skin. The less I stretch my skin in the off-season; the less time I spend in the tanning bed in the in-season.
Thank you for the suit Vandella Costumes!!!
I’ll start this once I’m over the re-bound effect. It’s something every bodybuilding athlete has to deal with in their own time. Mine takes at least two months before I feel like I can reign in my diet without being deprived.
I feel great to workout. I usually take time off from lifting, but because I didn’t over-diet or over-train this season I wanted to work out today. I haven’t had aching joints, eyelash loss, sickness or ailments. It was a stellar season.I did my best, won a trophy and am on to overdue projects that need to be wrapped up. Namely, my website.
Chunk, Me and a third place bronze goddess.
Back training: supersets:
After a great back workout today.
On to other adventures!
Two days out
It’s two days out. My last bodybuilding show of the season is two days out. Yahoo!
They're not from IHOP, but these pancakes are darn good!
I am very excited and can’t wait for the NGA Mt. Rogers show, and for it to be over. lol I’ve said the diet is hard, but as a parent I find it a bit grueling. Besides being responsible for myself I am responsible for two fabulous kids (of course I’m biased). In no way do I neglect my children no matter how tired or hungry I am, but what I don’t like is my lack of 100% participation.
Back to normal
I’m not the mom that sits on the bench at the playground. If my kids need me to hold them to cross the monkey bars I do it. If they want me to be the tiger, or recently the wolf, that’s the role I play. I run and growl and play, but in these last few weeks of competition prep I have struggled to do these small things. I have played the bench warmer, and am glad it’s time to get back in the game.
My energy level is low and my focus is lower. Once this show is over pancakes from IHOP will cure-all these ailments.
Last bodybuilding show of 2011 plans
The plans for the next two days are pretty basic. I will take my polygraph, tan and NOT workout. I need to paint my nails and toe nails and exfoliate until there is only bone left. Josh will tan me, which is an unbelievable ordeal. He cusses a lot during this act of love. It is love, because no one would do it for free unless they loved you. Hopefully I’ll be “drying out” and then I’m off to bed.
Saturday is go time.
Four days out from the NGA Mt. Rogers Bodybuilding show
Saturday is nearly here and I don’t feel ready; which is usually the case for every competitor. It’s funny…For the most part each competitor who sets out on a bodybuilding journey feels confident until those last days. For me, I always know that I worked hard, but the likelihood that someone else worked and dieted harder is always present. I can’t do anything about the way anyone else does their bodybuilding program, but I’ve done my best for this season.
This season I worked smarter, not harder, and maintained far more muscle than I have in the past. The diet, though restrictive, was balanced compared to other seasons. No, I am not as lean, but I didn’t have health issues like bronchitis, aching joints or the loss of my eye lashes. In all, it’s been a good season.
Saturday will end my third season (second fiscal year) and I’m ready for the break. Not a permanent bodybuilding break, but a break from the diet and training. I always take ten days off at the end of my competition season. I eat, sleep as much as I can with the kids, and give my joints, muscles and mind a break to recuperate from a tough sport.
Thanks Mikie! xoxo
I’m taking a break from the huge project I’ve been working on. Actually, I’ve got several projects I’m working on including my website and third blog. I started the blog ages ago, but it needs a major facelift. I even debated on doing an additional blog for my website, but that’s one too many blogs!
My website
Anyhow, the website is nearly finished; so I keep thinking. I added extra elements to it, and hopefully it’s presentable when it rolls out. In a way, I haven’t rolled it out because I’m not personal training clients or bodybuilding athletes right now.
Josh’s schedule is still ridiculous, and getting someone to watch Chunk for an hour is also ridiculous. Next year, this will be a different story. I will still freelance write for Y!CN and Examiner, but I will find a place to work as a contractor. I prefer not to work for a corporate company because they won’t pay me what I’m worth. Call it arrogant, but I know my value.
Contest prep training
Anyhow, training is totally off schedule. My Chunk is sick so we’ve hung out at the house. I am thankful for the chariot though. I walked to the apartment complex to workout this morning. I’ve got under three weeks left, and I’m excited about the next bodybuilding show.
To be honest, I can’t really say that I’ll take off much more weight. I said I was going to do one hour and ten minutes of cardio a day, but so far I am doing one hour a day. My diet is on track, but my real goal for the next show is to get the water right. After that, it’s up to the judges.
xoxo Thank you xoxo
Thank you Dara! xoxo
Anyhow, back to my projects, but not until I say thank you to my mother-in-law Mikie for sending me a gift for my birthday. The dumbbells rock Mikie! You told me to buy something for me.
I’d also like to say thank you to Dara for my lovely flowers. They sit in the center of my newly re-finished kitchen table.
Last but not least, thanks mom and dad. You guys are the best, and I can not wait to see you on Thanksgiving! xoxo
Whew-hoo, I had a momentary lapse of sanity in yesterday’s blog post. I was being a blubbering baby. After getting the pictures, I was unsure of myself on stage, because of my leanness, or lack there of. Then I stepped away from it for a couple of hours, talked to Josh and went through the pictures again. Here are my thoughts:
No, I’m not quitting
Walking into the T-walk.
No, I’m not going to stop competing because I enjoy it. Everyone knows how much I dislike the diet, but I love the posing and presentation. There is something very comforting about the stage to me, and it’s a second home when standing under the lights. I also realized I enjoy the natural bodybuilding organizations because of the T-walk. This is one extra minute of self-expression that you don’t get in some of the other bodybuilding organizations.
Natural Bodybuilding, NPC and WBFF
But, the photos did not lie. They revealed what the natural organizations are looking for, and I’m not sure if I fit the bill. Guess what? It’s all good. There’s no reason I can’t do the natural organizations, NPC or the WBFF. I’ll just have to give them all a try.
New Training Program
I have, however, taken Josh up on the offer to train with him. We started yesterday and he’s changed the program to bring me in a bit tighter and more conditioned, but not to lose size. He thinks my size is great, and the goal is to get the water right. The water part is difficult still, but when it comes to sculpting a body he’s excellent at what he does, so I’m going to take advantage of his knowledge.
Cardio here I come
I did increase cardio, but am not changing my food intake. I don’t want to look emaciated, which is something often seen on natural stages. My cardio increased to fifty minutes in the morning, and an extra twenty in the evening if I can fit it in. One hour, ten minutes and not a minute more. It is a lot, but nothing compared to some competitors who do two or three hours a day. This is only for another two and a half weeks, and I can handle that.
Posing suit made by my sponsor Vandella Costumes. Thank you for the beautiful suit Kira!
