2009 Natural Physique Championships

2009 Natural Physique Championships
I just competed in the 2009 Natural Physique Championships - I placed 2nd.

I was happy with my performance, and upon reflection did all that I could to go for it. Nothing more could have been done. I did ask for feedback from all the judges on what I can do to win. They told me that:
1. I had to be darker - which hurt me (that I can fix...yay!)
2. Had no waist
3. Am limited by my genetics, and have a long torso
4. Routine needs more dance
5. Posing is good
6. Beautiful girl with great stage presence
7. Am too lean, or cut and need to come in fuller


That is about all. Certain things I can fix, others not so fixable.

So where do I go from here? Not sure. Immediately following the show I feel like just walking away from everything. It would be so easy to do just that. I mean I have a life, I have a family to take care of, a regular job that keeps me busy, and fitness is just a hobby. A serious hobby I guess. Writing seems to put things in perspective, and I already have my flight for Nationals, so therefore, I am going to Vancouver in August. But am so confused on what to bring to the stage. One minute the bodies are rocking big and hard, and now they are rewarding what I would be considered in shape but very soft. I like coming in lean. I think the look suits my body.

So what is next? A break till around June. Not a break from training, but a break from having competing and competing prep on my mind. My family needs a break, and I need to spend more time with my family. They were so wonderful this past weekend. My husband, and son came to the show, along with my mother-in-law, and her husband to support me. I hear a small, "go mommy" in the audience which was too cute. It was really wonderful to have them there at the end of the show, when the trophies are given out, as you do need some emotional support from time to time to ease back into reality. My mother-in-law was especially vocal and gave some good advice to help me leading into Nationals. Thank you for that.

Let's focus on the positive for a minute - I placed 2nd at 2 highly competitive shows. Made some big mistakes at the first one, and got 2nd, and had no mistakes on the 2nd show, and placed 2nd. At least I am consistent.

A few changes for August, but for now I will enjoy this time (and food) between shows. Really, I don't have an inclination to eat huge. No binge tenancies right now. I think that is a good sign.

Thank you to Erik Ledin for his continued support, guidance, and ear -- so that I can vent from time to time ;)
Thank you to everyone who keeps writing and giving me your words of encouragement. I do lean on them from time to time.
And to Slimquick Extreme and the WellNx team. I would not be able to do all that I do without you.
Lastly, but most importantly my family -- who continue to support me in this endeavor.

A.

Arnold Classic 2009 - Results

Hi Everyone -

I am back from the Arnold 2009 - whew! What a weekend. I am super tired, but I managed to get through it all. Working all day at the BB.com booth and competing is a lot. I did not realize how much work it was going to be.

Let's start with the BB.com booth - they were so busy and packed! The line was super long and some people waited upwards of 2 hours to receive some product. We did give out a lot of product, by the handfuls. People were so kind to wait, and we tried at the booth to be as fair as we could considering those who tried to cut the line. This was one of the busiest booths by far. I was so glad to be apart of team Bodybuilding.com and cannot wait to attend the Olympia in September of 2009.











































Now on to the Arnold Amateur results....I placed 2nd! Yay! I made a few mistakes in my routine. For instance, I went first - and usually I want to go first, but this time I had no choice. They went alphabetically and well A, or E - either way I am screwed. Ok, not a problem I thought I will go first. But when I got on stage and heard my music, it was so loud, that it did not sound like my music, and well I started 2 beats behind, and that set the stage for the rest of the routine. I did forget about 8 counts near the end, as I flubbed a move, and it make me forget some movements. I thought I covered it well, but one judge really nailed me for it. Next time if I don't start properly I will stop and re-start. I mean, I spent a lot of money to be there, and need to make sure I have the best performance possible.

The physique round went ok, but all weekend I struggled with my tan. The new JanTana did not work with my skin, and I got sprayed, and then the tan was all blotchy and then came off completely on the clothes I was wearing. When you tan does not go right it can affect your focus. I had to get re-sprayed, and well it was tough to manage as I was worried the same thing would happen again. My tan was not great and I am sure that hurt me in the physique round.

I think my shape has changed this year due to all my heavy training. I like it. Some judges preferred softer, and some harder. You just never know what they want. But I do enjoy the shape that I am currently bringing and will stick to that look.

You can see the scores here:
www.getmyshowscores.com

In the end, Sylvia and I were tied for first. The tie breaker is whomever, has the most 1st place finishes. She had one more than me.

Am I disappointed? Well, a little. I did not perform my best; and that makes me disappointed in myself. I always want to put my best performance on the floor, and entertain the crowd. Then whatever the outcome, I know I had done my very best. That is always my goal. To do my best, and then let the results fall where they may. I totally beat myself up about not performing well all Thursday night, and even Friday am went to the gym and worked out to try to calm my thoughts. All the judging is done on Thursday night - the Saturday only results portion.

I end up being very hard on myself, and not sure why. I think it is my work ethic, and my future goal of achieving pro status. Perhaps I am placing too much emphasis on that, and need to scale back and focus on what is most important. When I mentioned that I wanted to go pro to some International judges they told me it was a bad idea. It gave me something else to think about - what about the World Amateur fitness event - that seems like a fun show - Italy anyone?? I need to focus more on the journey, and making some new friends in the industry. My balance is off.

My next show is the Natural Physique in Laval QC on March 21st. It is 2 hours away from my house. I know that my family and friends will be there to cheer me on. That will be great to have them actually see what I do as it has been a long time since my husband has seen me perform, and other friends have never seen me perform.

I have to scale back my routine a bit as it is a shorter time frame for this show - only 1 min 30 seconds maximum. This week, I will stay the course on my diet, practice my routine a bit more so this time I don't forget, and get my workouts in. I am also going to scale back my time on the Internet. I think I spend too much time here, and not enough focusing on other areas of my life. At least I am aware of that now, and can change it.

In other news, on the way home from the Arnold I was kicked off my flight. I had to spend an extra night in Cincinnati Ohio, and then only got home on Monday around 2pm in the afternoon. Brutal. Lost one day of training, but I am sure considering how skinny I was it won't affect show preparations for the Natural Physique.

The weekend was great, and I had some seriously hard laughs with my girlfriends. They are super fun to be with and I really wished they lived closer. When you grow older keeping your circle of friends tight becomes more of a challenge.

Here is a few pictures from the weekend. I will put the rest on facebook.

Interview with Fizeek Brazil Show

Hi Everyone-
I did an interview with Ana Tigre of Fizeek Brazil and & Terry Goodlad of Bodysport.com
I did this interview late Tuesday night before I left for the Arnold.
You can download it from BodySport.com

A.

Arnold Classic 2009 - Amateur Event & Bodybuilding.com Booth

It has been quite a journey between January 1, and now - March 1, 2009. The time went quickly as I have been very busy with school, and of course my preparations for the Arnold. I can remember when they announced a few years back that they were going to have the Arnold Amateur event - I was so excited. The first year I could not compete as I did not meet the requirements, however, after leaning about the show, the decision to switch to the CBBF and thus the NPC was a no-brainer. It was time. It was time to go for the IFBB pro card, and well competing in the amateur is another step in the journey. Is this show a pro qualifier or pro card winning event? No. Not yet. Hopefully they will decide to do just that as many international athletes attend the show, and have already qualified to turn pro.

My training and diet in the last week have been pretty much the same all along. A few changes, like eliminating my protein shakes, and sticking to real food; drinking more water; sleeping more, and increasing routine practice. My cardio has remained constant throughout this prep - no more than 25 mins per day, 5 days per week. When I do my routine it is 15 mins of warmup and not hard core. Just enough to get the muscles working.

My swimsuit is by Sylvia Tremblay of TremblayDesigns.com - she does fabulous work. I also purchased a suit from CeeJay of CJ's Elite Custom Suits - another amazing designer. I barely sent her my measurements, and arrives this beautiful suit that fits perfectly. I will wear her design at my second show of the season - the Natural Physique otherwise known as the National Qualifier. Maggie Blanchard of MaggieFit.com has so saved my butt, and made me a costume in a very short period of time. It is hard to find a suit designer who does costumes for fitness as well. Hopefully with the elimination of the one piece, more girls will return to fitness who otherwise would have chosen figure. That way they get more face time on stage.

Here are some shots from yesterday. This is the suit that I will be wearing. Red. Gotta love red. (looks kinda orangey in the photos though....)









































































Some girls don't want to show the suit before the stage. Some would compare it to the wedding dress, before the wedding. I paid "X" amount of dollars on this suit -- I am showing it to any one and everyone who is interested. The same went for my wedding dress - I showed everyone - but I digress.

My routine practice went really well over the last few weeks. I did it twice full out yesterday and really had to push through for the second time, but it is worth it. I try to cross train with running sprints to mimic the routine, but really the only way to have stamina for the routine (I find this anyway) is the work the routine. Practicing every part - the face, the feeling of the crowd, getting psyched to mimic the adrenaline.

Today, I am cooking. Still working with food all the time. My husband asked me today if I was "sick of eating that crap yet". Well, sure it is not peanut M&Ms (which are my favorite - and it is hard to go to Costco and pass by the 1.5 kg bag of them), but it is a means to what I want to achieve. I just keep telling myself that the food will be there tomorrow. Actually I really just want a huge, gigantic grilled chicken salad. That is right a huge salad, with all the fixings. I am sure this does not sound, post competition enough. Ok, I want bread as well - a big huge garlic loaf.

Tomorrow, packing and off early am on Wed to Columbus. I have a bunch of movies to watch while traveling, and a book to finish off. Plenty to keep my mind occupied.

I am very thankful to be able to compete again. I love being on stage in the spotlight - even if it is only for oh...a total of what? 5 mins?

Hopefully you can stop by and see me compete. It would be nice to have some supporters in the audience. The Arnold Amateur fitness, figure, and bikini event will be held on Thursday March 4th, at 7pm sharp at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Columbus Ohio. I believe all events are free and this is the first bikini event of the year, so that is going to be very interesting to watch and see the progression throughout the year.

And after the competition, the Arnold Expo begins on Friday. All weekend I will be at the Bodybuilding.com booth.



Even though the weekend is going to be busy, I am very excited to be competing, hanging with some very close friends, meeting new people, and new competitors, taking lots of pictures, videos, and making some connections.

See you soon,

A.

Oxygen Magazine Casting Call

Oxygen Magazine is holding a casting call at the Arnold next week.
It was kind of them to use my photo to promote the casting. Stacy Kennedy, the Editor in Chief is aware of my dreams of landing a cover of Oxygen magazine. Maybe you can email her and let her know your impressions (wink, wink) - Contact Oxygen Magazine.

Ok, I will probably stop by the booth and solicit myself to them. A girl can never stop trying. Shhhh, don't tell anyone.

A.