Give me STEEL over STILETTOS!

I can honestly say I LOVE training for figure competitions. I especially love the Hour of Honour sessions with trainer N8. I never know what kind of hell he's going to unleash on me. I totally love getting a pump when I'm doing weights. Makes me smile just thinking about it! I actually don't mind the diet this time around. I enjoy the meals. I admit I wish there was more flexibility but that's the nature of competing. And of course I love the reward meals best! But I'm not so crazy about the girlie part of competing. You know ... The high-heeled stripper shoes ... The shiny posing suit ... The glam make up (ok I kinda like that one!). Then there's the T-walk modeling thing. Ugh! That's the part that I'm most nervous about. Give me STEEL over STILETTOS!



Allow me to complain a little (after all I'm a bit "low carb" right now). The damn shoes are so high! I even thought about doing body building just so I wouldn't have to wear heels. But I'm looking at it as yet another challenge. So I keep practicing. A couple weekends ago was the first time I wore my stripper heels to do chores around my condo. Any guys reading this may be thinking "Oh that's hot!" Sorry ... no French Maid outfit. I was in my fleece pj's. Not sexy.



It's funny because I have spent months running my ass off, throwing around heavy things, swearing when it burned, fist pumping in celebration of an intense workout, and wiping the sweat from my face with my drenched tank top and in less than 2 weeks, I have to be on stage all made up like a beauty contestant, "T's" up, "A" out, smiling like a prom queen ............... and flexing my hard rippling muscles. Is it just me or does anyone else see the irony in this?

Riding a Roller Coaster of Emotions

I've only been on a roller coaster once when I was maybe 10 years old. Never again! But that's not always hard to avoid. You see, I've been riding a roller coaster of emotions for the last few weeks of contest prep. It all began about 3 weeks ago...

Roller Coaster Going Up
I dieted perfect. I got in all my workouts, cardio, and even taught a few classes. I got fairly decent sleep as well. Got on the scale for my weigh in at the end of the week. WTF! I dropped 5 pounds since last week's weigh-in. Unbelievable! Trainer N8 was surprised. And I "earned" 2 reward meals! Woohoo! Contest prep was going great!

Roller Coaster Going Down
So I was motivated to do everything perfect the next week too. So I did. Dieted perfect. Did all my cardio, workouts, and classes. Got to bed on time. But then a couple of "issues" came up. Let's just say "issue #1" was a girlie thing and "issue #2" ... a recurring "issue" ... will be referred to as ... "issue #2". Both of these "issues" wreaked havoc on the scale at my next weigh-in. Up 3.5 pounds from the previous week. Eff!

I had my whining vent session with a couple of close and special friends (thanks guys!). There was a lot of "I'm frustrated!" and "I don't know what I'm doing wrong!" and even some "Why me?!" Believe it or not I even contemplated ... for a split second ... quitting contest prep altogether! It was just a split second though.

After I calmed down and got all of that negativity out of my system, I made a decision. I decided to accept what was happening and just continue to do the work.

"Issue #1" is a fact of life so I just need to suck it up and deal with it. "Issue #2" is manageable with patience and time.

I told myself to believe that it will all work out if I just focus on what I'm supposed to do, focus on the positive, and make the necessary adjustments to deal with whatever "issues" come along.

I admit it's not rocket science but we ALL need to be reminded of this from time to time. I know I did and probably will need it again before I hit the stage in about 4 weeks. Because training for a figure competition is not just about sweating it out in the gym and eating super clean. That's the easy part! It's about believing in yourself, staying positive, and learning to deal with life's ups and downs without too much drama. Kind of like a roller coaster!