The Results Are In!

Well... they have been for over a week now, I just haven't had a chance to post yet!

This competition was a crazy experience unlike any other.  It was one of the most difficult yet rewarding things I have ever attempted.  The week leading up to the show was extremely hard and I was constantly declaring how I would never do this again. However, I've always loved the stage and this was no different!  The experience was exhilarating and the whole process was fun - even the backstage waiting around and "pumping up" with over a hundred other competitors.

Here are a few photos from the show. Professional photos to come later:

8 AM - Getting ready to head to the venue!

 

 At the hotel before finals

Prejudging Photos

3rd Place!

My hubby and I with my award!

Third place in my first NPC show was a HUGE accomplishment!  It feels really good to know that my hard work paid off.  The long nights of research and the endless tilapia and green beans along with hours upon hours of heavy lifting and steady-state cardio were all worth it in the end.  I was also happy to have achieved this goal with the most natural diet possible.  Many competitors spend hundreds of dollars on supplements and I opted to try this my own way.  

So... I've been asked if I'm doing another show any time soon.  Although I am tempted to hop right back in, my current priorities are graduate school and work as well as gaining some financial stability and strengthening our fairly new marriage (just over 9 months!).  A good friend of mine is hoping to compete next year after she has her second child and right now I am planning on joining her.  Look out for me in summer 2013.  Until then, I'm going to enjoy a long off season and build some solid muscle!  I'll keep posting throughout it all.

Thank you to all my friends and family who came out and supported me - what an awesome group!  I love you all very much!  

In Less than 48 Hours, I will be on STAGE

Less than 48 hours to go.

I must say that Sunday-Wednesday were TOUGH.  Now that it is Thursday, I am depleting water, not eating carbs of ANY kind, and I'm no longer working out (or attempting to as this past week of workouts has been rather wimpy).  I am close enough now that I am feeling FOCUSED and even EXCITED!  I will have a long posing session tonight and eat a lean (unmarinated) steak before bed.  Tomorrow I just have to get up, shower, come to work for a couple of hours and then head to the host hotel and get ready for my spray tan. 

More than anything, I am just excited to see all of my friends and family.  The fact that so many of my friends are coming seriously means so much to me.  This is the most challenging thing I have ever done and to know that I will have people there yelling for me just pushes me along and drives me to see this through.

I will tell anyone who is interested in doing Figure, this journey is NOT easy, nor is it even moderately tough, it is DOWN RIGHT DIFFICULT.  A mind game and a huge physical and mental challenge.  I have learned so much about myself from this experience.  I hope that at the end, I can feel accomplished and realize that I can do ANYTHING if I really set my mind to it.  10 years ago, I didn't even exercise.  I ate fast food and doritoes all the time and didn't give a thought to my health.  In 2 days, I'm going to stand on stage and prove to myself that I am in control of my body and my habits and only I had the power to change my life. AND I DID IT. 

I can't wait to see everyone on Saturday night.  Remember, the night show is at 5:00pm and doors open at 4:30.  $20 cash only at the door for tickets.  Meet me after the show at The Ram for some pub grub and LOTS of photos with friends. :)

God bless everyone and thank goodness it is ALMOST HERE!

Quick comparison photo...

Just wanted to post a quick update/comparison.  38 Days between Pic #1 and #2.  Getting pumped for next weekend!  Can't wait to see the changes that occur the next 7 days!

The Final Push

10. More. Days.

The past two days have been a struggle.  Cardio twice a day and trying to maintain heavy lifting is so hard when your diet is so limited.  I am getting excited that peak week is almost here and while I'm sure that will be a somewhat miserable time, it will also be an exciting time.  I don't mean to complain about something that I have decided to do, I just never realized it would be THIS difficult.

The past few months have been awesome and difficult all at once.  I am afraid that I may have missed out on many opportunities with friends that may only come around once in a lifetime.  My first year of grad school has turned into a year of being anti-social.  But, I have learned SO MUCH about myself.  And about my abilities.  If I can accomplish something like this, what can't I do with hard work and dedication?  This was a dream that I had that I never thought I would actually try and attempt to live out.  And here I am. Ten days out from an NPC Figure Competition.  All of the hard work and the healthy choices lead up to 10 days from now.  And I am ready.

I am currently an emotional, tired wreck. Last night I decided there was no way I could compete. I'm not muscular or lean enough.  Then I went to the gym for round #2 and after kicking my own butt, I was a believer again.  This morning I am trying to find the motivation to walk next door and start my workout.  I'll get there, and once I'm done I will be back to motivated Heather.  It's just getting there and getting through the workout that is hard at this point.  After that, I'm happy and feeling good.

I just have to keep the final goal in mind.  Ten more days.

20 Days To Go!

Twenty days out and I am feeling good!  Had a great posing session this morning and finally stopped comparing my physique to that of other competitors.  This is MY body and I know I worked my BUTT off for this.  I need to be proud of where I am and MY best physique.  I have been worried this whole prep about how others have more rounded shoulders or bigger glutes or a wider lat spread.  Today I looked in the mirror and actually saw that this is the hardest I have ever worked for something.  And I am proud of that.  I can't wait to get on stage and have friends and family there cheering me on. 

Our spring break trip to Florida was great.  I pretty much stayed on track with diet and exercise, though it was challenging at times to keep the lifting as intense with the limited equipment available.  I got creative enough that it worked.  :) 

I had a wonderful time visiting my in-laws and they were so great with encouraging me all week!  Here are a few photos from the trip:

Early Morning Run through the Neighborhood

At Fisherman's Village

Getting some Sun

This past week has been crazy with school work and hiring new group exercise leaders at work.  We also opened up a new position and are looking for another Graduate Assistant to work with me next year so interviews have been taking place for that as well.  I expect these next 20 days to fly by and I am looking forward to seeing some of my closest friends at the show on April 14th.  So excited they are traveling here to see me compete!  

Time to get back to homework but I will definitely be writing more as I am preparing for the show these next couple of weeks!  God bless!

Fit Weekend

What a weekend! Needless to say, I am still pooped from The Arnold Sports festival and Midwest Fit Fest this past weekend. But, my motivation is definitely up! Quick recap of the weekend:

Left Bloomington bright and early Friday morning around 6:30am with two of my friends/coworkers to get to the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, OH by noon to catch prejudging for the Ms. International, Fitness International and Figure International prejudging at the EXPO. Parking was frustrating but we got there pretty much right on time to catch all three categories. If you aren't familiar with the world of figure, you may not realize that Nicole Wilkins has taken 1st place at the Arnold Sports Festival for the past two years and the runner up has been Erin Stern. Both of these ladies are two of my favorite Figure competitors and a huge inspiration to me. I was closest to the side of the stage where Erin was so most of my photos are of her.


Erin Stern
2012 Arnold Classic
International Figure










Nicole Wilkins was across the stage


Here's a photo of the first side line up (first 8 competitors out)




After watching this event, we went along the EXPO to try different supplement samples and check out all the booths. Although I really wanted a photo with Jamie Eason, the line at Bodybuilding.com to get a photo with her was extremely long so I decided to wait until later at which point she was gone. Too bad.  :(

I did, however, find Monica Brant. AND she pointed out how awesome my quads were even though I was wearing jeans so that felt pretty amazing. She let me know that she will be in Bloomington next week but I'll be out of town for Spring Break so I'll unfortunately be missing her.








We then went over to check out the Crossfit events going on throughout the day. Kelsey ended up deciding to compete in an event and won a free T-shirt as well as mad props from everyone present when she smoked a big dude at a two-minute deadlift competition. (Video should be uploaded to facebook soon if you'd like to check it out!)







That night we stayed in a luxurious Motel 6 that was located pretty much directly on top of a set of frequently used train tracks.

The next morning around 6:30am we headed out again, this time to Dayton to meet up with some of my employees and a few other RecSport workers to hit up the annual Midwest Fit Fest conference. This conference is basically a 2 day conference with continuing education lectures and presentations as well as a ton of workouts for those involved in Personal Training, Group Exercise, or other Fitness activities in the Midwest. I got some great new ideas for the TRX system and apparently my Group Ex leaders came away with many new ideas for their aqua sessions. I also filled some of my continuing education requirements for my Personal Training and Group Exercise certifications (thank goodness) and had a lot of fun. We stuffed 7 people into our hotel room that night and returned Sunday evening - completely exhausted.  Unfortunately, I did not get any group photos of our group at Fit Fest.

 

 

 I am VERY happy to be home and back on schedule. Carb cycling started two days ago and my competition suit is supposed to be finished by the end of the week! I am looking forward to getting it so I can really start focusing on posing in it.


I am also very excited to take a trip with my husband to visit my in-laws in Florida this coming weekend for Spring Break! They have continued to be extremely supportive and I can't wait to see them!

Here are a couple of photos from my first EVER visit to see them at their Florida home in 2009.

Weren't we cute? :)

God bless, everyone!  Have a wonderful week!

I Woke Up This Morning with ABS?

Less than 7 weeks to go and I am getting PUMPED!

Yesterday, I decided to omit fruit from my diet as a test just to see what would happen.  Instead of having berries on my oatmeal and my one apple before lunch, I put chocolate UMP and PB2 in my oatmeal and omitted the apple.  This morning I woke up and was shocked when I looked into the mirror.  WHAT A DIFFERENCE!  

Now it may not seem too impressive to most people, but if you've ever heard me complain about my physique my biggest complaint is that I gain fat in the stomach area, not the lower body like most women.  Some women think that's awesome because my legs are constantly lean.  However, if I do gain weight my body not only looks extremely out of proportion but fat gain in the abdominal region is linked to increased risk of coronary heart disease and diabetes.  So even if it is a small amount, seeing the definition in this region is a huge stride for me.

Throughout this prep, I have noticed not only difference in my physique, but also differences in my attitude.  More recently, I have just been happy and positive constantly.  I don't get stressed as easily and I don't yell quite as much as I used to.  This seems strange considering the diet limitations, but honestly, the diet is not so bad anymore.  I am used to the way I eat now and I think I am just getting excited about tackling the upcoming challenge of my show. 

Although I am concerned that I am not muscular enough or that my glutes and shoulders are just too small compared to most figure girls, these thoughts are not my focus.  My focus currently has shifted into realizing that I am pushing myself harder than I have ever pushed and doing something I never imagined I could achieve.  I am going to represent the best ME when I step on that stage and no matter what that looks like and what place it gets me, I am a winner.

Here's a relaxed photo - Once the diet gets a little more fierce I know that abdominal area will tighten up more.  Need to work on glutes and shoulders still.  Hitting those twice a week.

Just to leave you with something DELICIOUS.  Today I made some protein packed chocolate peanut butter pancakes.  Here's the recipe:

1 cup egg whites

1 scoop UMP chocolate protein powder (or other protein powder)

cinnamon to taste

nutmeg (optional)

Spray your pan with PAM, stir up the ingredients in a bowl and bake it like a pancake, flipping once.

Cover in 1 tbsp natural peanut butter or almond butter.

SO DELICIOUS and extremely low calorie, esp if you use almond butter rather than pb.  :)

That's all I've got for now.  More after this weekend at the Arnold and MWFF. 

I can't wait to have my friends and family cheering me on in less than 7 weeks.  Love you all and God Bless!