Competition Secret Weapon #7

So when we are in competition season much of the time it is the little things that bring us joy on a daily basis. For me, I start to get very testy by the end of my week. I start feeling like each next meal I have to eat is a chore and my next bottle of water is an inconvenience. The inconvenience of water is two fold getting it in and getting it out. I feel like I spend my entire day in the bathroom; unfortunately I can't fix this problem as much as I'd like to. But I have found a little secret weapon to get the water in. I love BIG THICK STRAWS... At Smart and Final one day I could not find regular straws to go in my competition makeup kit (by the way you should always have these. Great way to sip water and not mess up your makeup or spill on your tan) so I was forced to purchase Milk Shake Straws. OMG that might have been the best day of my life. I stuck one in a 16 oz cup of water and in 3 drinks it was gone. So, my competition secret weapon #7 is the Milk Shake Straw. I can help you get the water in and your gonna have to handle getting it out.

Central US Championships - 4 weeks out

The WBFF Central US Championships in Kansas City are 4 weeks out.

For me 4 weeks out is a critical time to get my nutrition and workouts dialed in and make sure my costumes are almost complete.

Nutrition/Workouts
What makes this most difficult for me is that I just completed the CT show, and although I did very well in that show I saw some areas for improvement. I am going to step up my cardio and my functional training this week and keep my focus on those improvements. In terms of diet; the week after my show I opened up my diet options in order to recover from my CT show prep. I had to get rehydrated and rebalance my bodies hormone levels. I did a great job of eating a lot of great foods and some fun cheats; but not too many. Now that my body is feeling balanced, happy, and full; now I am prepared for more limited food choices.

Limitations - No Processed Foods, No Alcohol, No Dairy....These are my 3 big limitations. All of my starches come from unprocessed sources like Yams or Sweet Potatoes. Then my diet consists of lean protein sources, lots of green vegetables, good fats and some fruits in limited quantities. Prep'ing this way still leaves me feeling satiated and full and my body really responds.

Costumes:
This is where I am lucky and love the process of competing. I make all of my own costumes. I ordered the fabric online last week and as of today I have all of the pieces of my costume already cut out. I will sew it and have it complete by Friday. I like to have all of my bags packed early so it is critical that I have all of my costumes, props and suits finished by the end of the weekend (3 weeks out).

4 weeks out is when I can really lose focus. My show is far enough away I subconsciously feel like there is a lot of time and I can feel like I have plenty of time to prepare; but if I mess up this week it can be unrecoverable.

Competition Secret Weapon #6

Creating and maintaining focus during such a long competition season is a big challenge for me. In addition I find that having a busy personal life will distract me from my fitness and business goals. Conversely, having a busy fitness/competition life will distract me from my personal and business goals. So finding harmony among all 3 aspects for me is the hardest part about competing. Last year I went through a very difficult time in my personal life where my goals and dreams were shattered in a single day; but I had to pick myself up by my bootstraps and make the best of a challenging situation (like so many of us have to). I went to visit my good friend Alex Navarro and as I sat on her bed feeling sorry for myself I looked up and saw her dream board. It reminded me of when I did those in my 20's and how great it was for me. I returned home from that trip and made my dream board and it was the best thing I could have done last year; and I will continue to make a dream board for the rest of my life. I include my person goals like "only love the deserving"; and my professional goals like "host a booth at the IHRSA convention"; and my fitness goals like "Eat clean 6 days per week" and "Do yoga 2 days per week". I hang my dream board right outside my closet and bathroom, so every morning I have to take a look at it. One last thing I do is add to it. There are fun shapes of paper on it and as something special happens to me or I hear a great saying I add that to my board. Lastly, I add mementos to the board to remind of special things as they happen; a plane ticket for a special trip, a fortune cookie from my best girls wedding, and most recently the top 5 medal and blue scarf from the opening number of the WBFF Fitness Atlantic competition. This really is a great way to remind myself of the many things that take me off course, create an imbalance in my life, and distract me from all the things that mean so much to me.

My dream board when it was created

My dream board now.

Central US Championships - 5 weeks out

WBFF, Central US Championships are a little less than 5 weeks away. This week is critical for me and I have to stay really focused on my goals. Right after you complete a show it is so easy to blow off the next week and not eat right and not work out. Well this is not an option for me when the next show is 5 weeks away. So, here are my post show steps for success...

Step 1 - Debrief from my last show. It doesn't matter if I won or not I still need to do this. I look at photos, get feedback and am really objective here. What can I improve and stays the same.
Step 2 - Establish my new goal (this one is easy WBFF Central US Championships)
Step 3 - Put on my new wristband, lavendar (check out my secret weapons for this)
Step 4 - Sunday, have one cheat day that has all of my favorites in moderation in it.
Step 5 - Monday, get back on plan. After the first show all I have to do is stay on plan, no tricks.
Step 6 - Start food journaling, blogging and finding the focus it takes for the next one.
Step 7 - Book Travel - Now I can't back out.

WBFF Central US Championships, Here I Come!!!

* FOCUSED * FIERCE AND FEELING FANTASTIC *

Fitness Atlantic - Post Show Wrap Up

I am so excited to share todays blog. I home home from Fitness Atlantic and I won Fitness Model Masters. This is the best federation I have ever competed for; and I'm not just saying this because I won. (those of you that know me, know I am very honest and very objective) The WBFF are getting it right and it is only going to get better from here. There were 3 very distinct and separate categories for the ladies to compete in and this is exactly what I was looking for. Figure Ladies looked like figure competitors and were rewarded for it, Fitness Model Ladies looked like fitness models and were rewarded for it, and Bikini Model Ladies looked like bikini models and were rewarded for it. The judging was GREAT!!! What is so great about this is that you know exactly how to prepare for a competition. This doesn't mean that your going to win because you never know who you are going to be competing against, but you know how to prepare and can look the best that you can for that category. Thank You WBFF for creating this amazing organization for us to compete in and thank you Fitness Atlantic for providing and amazing venue, etc.

Competition Secret Weapon #5

I know it's been awhile since I've given you some secret weapons. So here is another one. We all love to have french pedicures for a fitness show, but it is so frustrating when they chip before we ever make it to stage. Well, have you ever heard of Shilac....Shilac is this amazing permanent and no chip nail polish. I love it. I can even do my fitness routine without it chipping. It really is that amazing. So call a couple of nail studios and ask for a Shilac French Manicure....

Final Week - Fitness Atlantic

I have made my lists, checked them twice and have even finished packing. This last week is all about the finishing touches. Prep my body for my glorious gravy to be slapped on (Tanner), making sure my pearly whites are white (Teeth), getting my nails done, hair washed and blown out, last of the grocery shopping with food prep, and staying calm cool and collected. I really couldn't be any happier right now. Zero distractions = Complete focus. Just wish one thing, my girl Alex was gonna be there with me. Hey girl, this ones for you!!!

2 weeks until showtime

This is it, Fitness Atlantic is 2 weeks away. Most of my preparation for a show is finished by now. My nutrition is perfect, because at this point why on earth would I slip. 2 weeks out is all about CONFIRMATION; confirming travel (and printing all of my confirmations), mapquesting all of my directions (hotel, venue, etc. and printing those directions), completing my final shopping (eye lashes, wax buffers, etc.), and contacting the promoter if I need to (in this case they have done such a good job communicating with me I don't need to but I will print the information they sent to me). 2 weeks out I do step up my cardio a little bit just to get a good sweat and practice my walking and posing every day for about 15 minutes in a posing suit; just so I stay sharp and can fine tune posing my physique. 2 weeks out is where I start all of the beauty treatments hair -  fresh cut, color, etc; facials, exfoliating my body so my tan looks good, waxing, and nails (at the end of the week). Lastly, I pack. Everything will be packed up in my bag this week. I leave very little to be done the week of show because it will lower my anxiety level. This is where I start to get really excited about competing. This is actually my favorite week of the process, the show is so close I can taste it.

Competition Secret Weapon #5

So I have shared quite a few of my secret weapons and I only have a couple more for you. This one is one of my favorites My Binder. Yes it is as simple as that. I keep a binder of everything I have learned over the last few years. It has tons of tabs in it. Tabs include things like Tanning, Makeup, Hair, Competition Suits, Off Season Workouts, In Season Workouts, 5 weeks from Comp Workouts, 5 days to Show Workouts, Off Season Nutrition, In Season Nutrition, 5 weeks from Comp Nutrition, 5 days to Show Nutrition, and Ask the Experts. I then put my show prep for a specific show inside a manila folder in the front of the binder. I carry this with me everywhere I go when I am prep'ing for a show. It is another visual aide that makes show prep so much easier. Lastly, on the outside of my folder I write down sayings that make me feel powerful and successful.