Wonderful people: Sometimes I look back over my life and wonder if I was living under a rock. So much isolation fueled by irrational fears. I had to face those fears and get involved in life. I'd like to first thank God and technology (tongue in cheek...) If it weren't for Google and my obsessive brain I would not have known that it was possible to reach a crazy new way of living... giving myself permission to take care of myself and learning to enjoy it. I met Jason Lannigan (I learned later he is a Minnesota boy!) through FaceBook & his website Siouxcountry.com Click Here which provides balanced & informative advice for women in the world of figure competition. Through his site I met Jill Crean from New York -cancer survivor (read her story here) & May Strickland from San Diego. I also met Tammy White who's blog - Lifting My Spirits - Click Here and FB posts inspire me every day. I learned that Tammy grew up 100 miles from me and attended college in the same town AND the same time as me. Who knew?
It was so fun communing with other women my age and even older that love and live my lifestyle. A powerful connection was made for me... being around like-minded people is empowering and I feel strengthened to continue the journey of living a healthy lifestyle in the middle of a world of abundance of temptation to backslide.
Conflicting emotions: Gratitude & Disappointment I have had to be honest with myself. I am a competitive person so yes, I was disappointed in 11th place. My trainer said it was clear that I should have placed higher. Then I hear the grumblings and scuttle about the "industry" ... "The judges have their favorites..." "You are new at the Master's level the judges don't know you"... "It's a very subjective sport." "You don't have a narrow waist" It is so easy for me to get caught up and swept away in all of this. I was in "second call outs" so I knew at that time that I wasn't going to place. After the fact, I saw that second call outs at this level is actually pretty good. Especially since I am so new and only my second show.
I was frustrated with how fast the posing went. The show was so large - 800 competitors (split between 2 days) so they pushed us through like cattle. They first brought us out in groups of I think 8 or so... we only had what felt like a nano-second to pose. The judges had us quickly do a front and back pose. The stage was so crowded I was touching the shoulders of the other women so I was flustered and forgot to flare my lats. The stage was very small and uneven. I couldn't find my balance at all. We were quickly shuffled off to the side and then we were tapped on the shoulder when it was time to do our individual posing.
Now I could let all of this go to my head but the tremendous feeling of gratitude took the driver's seat is what is important. With my 11th place, it's what you don't see in the pics below that really matters. The fact that exercise and eating healthy keeps my depression & anxiety and crazy freaky obsessive thoughts at bay, the new found identity and confidence I have gained. It doesn't show how my testimony of healing has inspired and encouraged many women.
When the pictures from the show were posted I was able to see the progress I made in 4 short months of training hard. Below shows the progress in my glutes. The progress blew me away. What was the secret? I'll tell you... it's no secret. I started squatting very heavy (with a real good spot). I went deep and drove the weight through my heels activating the hamstring and glute. I went heavy to the point of failure... where I almost dropped the bar off my shoulders. A good spot means someone stands behind you all the way to the floor and up. I think my max was 180 lbs for 6 reps.
I also incorporated one leg'd TRX lunges with a dumbell in one hand and one leg extended backwards with foot in the TRX strap. Starting with a good warm up of two sets of 25 reps then increasing weight up to 80lbs. Probably a total of 8 - 9 sets. I went deep and heavy using my straps to hold the dumbbell. I will try get a video of this so you can see the movement more clearly. I did these new movements only for about 4 weeks while on high carbs (optimum muscle building opportunity!). I continued this routine while decreasing carbs and into show prep.
Why do I compete? I have learned that in order for me to stay on track with my food and healthy life style I need a solid goal. Before figure competing I started with triathlon, then half-marathons then figure competing. All of these endeavors were once quarantined in my brain to the younger folk. I had a strict rule in my head that as you age, become a grandmother and are over 45 you need to find a blanket and sit on the couch watching wheel of fortune. When I stumbled across other women who had much larger obstacles in their lives compete in their first triathlon and half-marathon I realized that I shouldn't use age & fear of failure as an excuse to stay stuck a victim. I decided to make it about being in the moment and having fun.
The Future: Right now I am back to my primary focus-being a therapist & pastor: Helping people heal emotionally, physically and spiritually. We are revamping our Health & Wellness program for 2014, rolling out a new "food issues" group that I will be facilitating. I will be addressing the underlying issues of obesity and poor eating. I'm excited about the potential this group will have alongside of our existing nutrition & fitness classes!
Health & Fitness Goals: After two weeks of much needed rest I hit the gym next week. I will be working on increasing muscle and playing with carbs trying to stay within 10lbs of competition weight. I'm thinking about going back to Pittsburg next year but it's just too early to make that decision. I need to focus on the here & now.
Random Progress & Competition Pics: I thought some of you might be interested in the process of dropping water (slowly tapering water consumption) before a show. The pic below is 4 separate days prior to going on stage. I took a picture every morning first thing, the last pic with blue tank is the morning of the day before the show.
The next pic is of my abs - I was laying on the floor doing some light crunches the day before the show - a rare and short-lived moment!!
Well that brings another chapter of adventure to a close. I hope to post again soon with updates on new growth in my life - as I face my own obstacles, mental games and fears... moving forward to encourage & inspire those that need it!
Remember to live "outside of yourself" and look for someone that needs encouragement. Keep your eyes open to those around you, ask God to bring someone along your path. Ask God to use you, He will. You have a story and that story can lift another up to higher ground.
