First show of the season!

Customary red wine pre show...
we all joined in to help her drink it

I took a bit of time out of dieting at the start of the semester to focus on school and get comfortable in clinic, however my buddy Shenae has been doing the hard yards for her first show.... Photos here!

THE ABS

Carb-up breakie....YUM!

Looking beautiful with our talented hair-doer and tanner Krista

Amazing muscles, hard work showing!

Back looking ripped up!

On stage with physique girls

Second place! BOOM! With the beautiful Michelle, our fairy godmother

Shenae is also a Personal Trainer, check her out here

A couple of weeks ago I injured my shoulder - I moved it in a funny direction and bang - pain for two weeks! (Ok, it had been niggling for several months but I was ignoring it). I went to see my favourite physios straight away, who diagnosed bursitis. Bursitis is inflammation of the bursa (little fluid filled sacs in your joints that work to reduce friction). The physio's orders were no shoulder workouts, no chest workouts (I've got a few biomechanical imbalances, mainly shoulder anteriority) specific stretches, take anti-inflammatories and do lots of rotator cuff exercises. One of my teachers at school also adjusted the surrounding structures to help improve the biomechanics of my upper body. 2 and 1/2 weeks later and I virtually have no pain! I did my first shoulder workout yesterday (probably wasn't supposed to do this) but this morning all I have are shoulder DOMS, no imflammatory aching to be seen! Very happy!!

Not surprising, shoulder injuries are common in bodybuilders.. we work very hard to build big beautiful delts (shoulders!) but are guilty of neglecting our rotator cuff muscles, which are the behind the scene shoulder stabilisers. Take care of your wee rotator cuffs; work them, stretch them, and they will be grateful. 

I keep this picture of myself in my head to remind
myself it's all there, I just need to do
the hard yards to make it show!

Its a bit difficult going to a bodybuilding show when you're not in condition, I tried to remind myself that what I look like is irrelevant, it's the girls on stage that matter! However it was great motivation for me to start working on cutting down, getting out of bed every morning and hitting the pavement or treadmill, being organised and prepping my meals, sucking it up when the chocolate craving hits! Weightwatchers Jelly and Jarrah hot chocolate, probably my best friends at the moment!

If you've ever considered doing a show but are maybe scared to take the first step, remember we all start somewhere! Everyone has a before and after, some of the transformations might surprise you. I've posted my before and after pics in a previous blog, here it is if you want take a look. To get started, join a gym, get weight training 3-4x week, look at your diet and clean it up here and there if needed. Find a personal trainer and nutritionist and set some goals! If you would like a nudge in the right direction, don't be afraid to ask for help.

Today you are you..

It seems I've been MIA from this blog.. I've got good news and bad news, so to start with the bad, my dearest Pop passed away after a long battle with illness. My sculpt down to the March show has not been smooth and because of this, Michelle and I have reevaluated my plan to compete in the Pro-Am show.

With a lot of hard work I may have been able to achieve the look needed for the March show, but I didn't want to compromise my muscle mass and my mental state - brain needed for school!
I know we have made the right decision to start afresh and the good news is...the next show planned is in MAY! A whole 14 weeks away!!

Progress pic - quads 14 weeks out.. watch this space!

This means my calories and carbs are higher (protein balls..yum!) and my training volume is lower.

 Allowed in my diet for a limited time only!

Protein balls
2 scoops protein
3 TBSP Peanut butter
1/2 cup oats
Cinnamon
Mix with a dab of water then roll in coconut. Makes 4 servings

My girls! Shenae and Tash

Another exciting thing about this show is that I will be sharing the stage with two of my closest friends, Shenae (She Fit - Personal Trainer) and Tash, who will be doing her first ever show.

This year brings new challenges academically as I make the step up from a second year student to a third year chiropractic intern. From mid year I will be available to provide care for public patients at our fully supervised Chiropractic Centre at school...more on this as the year goes by...

I'm so excited to be working under Michelle's guidance again this season! She is very generously continuing to sponsor my weigh-ins and nutrition plans, which I am so grateful for! Girls.. if you need someone to help get you in shape (whether you plan to compete or not), see this lady! Check out her website here.

Leaving you with Dr. Seuss wisdom xo

Pre-Christmas check in!

13 weeks out!
I caught up with nutritionist Tarren Mccall for a bit of a check-in while Michelle is away in the UK. After being back on a more of a pre-comp clean eating plan and making sure I do regular morning cardio I've dropped 2 kg of body fat in the last 12 days so am pretty happy with where I'm at.

Things are quite lovely at the moment, I'm still having milk in my coffee (only at home - long blacks if it's from a cafe!) only having to do 5 early morning cardio sessions before breakfast which I LOVE! Sunshine, fresh air and amazing views - living by One Tree Hill is so good! I also do weight sessions 4 times a week. That's TWO WHOLE DAYS OFF each week! Which feels like Christmas!

Speaking of which, Christmas is just around the corner. One week away in fact. My plan for christmas? Kumara and Chicken. JUST KIDDING! Ham and potatoes and pavlova and chocolate! Normal people's Christmas food! Very happy about this! I definitely won't be going overboard on the dessert but a bit of a relaxed day will be much appreciated.. by my family too I think!

I've been to two Pre-Christmas-Family-Christmases already. I managed to smuggle in my chicken and kumara and loaded up my plate with salad. Lucky my family is supportive (although they probably think I'm a bit strange, they're all strange too so it makes it OK).. I can imagine taking your own meals to a family lunch may not go down quite as well for other people.

Strength Gains
This time last year I was 2 weeks post-knee-surgery and hardly able to get around, even with my crutches.

So I had a look back at the weights I was lifting in June this year - I was shoulder pressing 8-10 kg and doing body weight squats for knee rehab. In the gym this week I was shoulder pressing 15 kg and squatting 70 kg with no knee pain.

It was awesome to think about these strength gains and a good reminder that weight training is what it's all about!

 Merry Christmas and have a great holiday!

Next season comp prep already?!

The calendars are out for next year's shows! My first show will be the NZIFBB Pro Bikini/Amateur show on March 16th, which is only just over 3 months away! The typical preparation period for a show is 3 months.. this means I had better start thinking about getting back into competition mode.

Morning cardio up One Tree Hill

With exams and school over for the year, a stressful house move done and dusted (literally dusted, scrubbed, scoured, spray and wiped, vacuumed and mopped) .. I can focus on creating the good habits again and learning to say no to anything that's not on my diet plan - that precious piece of paper that will get me stage ready.

We've weighed and pinched and where I am at now is a good place to start the sculpt down for the show.

I'm armed with a fresh pack of gluten-free oats, some new delicious protein powder and a whole lot of will power to resist Christmas nibbles! Never much liked chips and dips and Camembert cheese anyway... :P

Where to from here?!

Wow what a journey! As promised, the progress photos!

Some things I learnt on this journey...

*If you follow the rules, do the workouts and eat the chicken, the results will come!

*However tired and hungry you may be, it's not a good excuse to be impatient and grumpy with others. I wish I knew this at the start - something for me to work on!

*Sometimes, the numbers don't matter. If your body is changing visibly but your body fat is still reading high, IT DOESN'T MATTER!

*Bodybuilding is expensive!! Save, plan, ask friends if they will help with hair and make-up!

*Go to shows, watch the class you are entering, look at photos.

*Practise pays off! Routine. Posing. Routine. Posing. x 1 million

*Cardio pays off! Cardio cardio cardio :P

*Find a friend who is also waking up at 6am to get on a treadmill. Texting and walking makes time go quick! Or multi-task.. study, text, listen to music and walk on a treadmill. Boom. Cardio done.

*Try out your tan before you put it all over yourself. Sometimes you turn green. Not even joking.

So where to from here??

After a week feeling bloated, having sore tummies, feeling tired, having skin breakouts, food cravings and feeling like a balloon, I realised how over rated "unhealthy" foods are... Don't get me wrong, I am definitely going to have chocolate and red wine from time to time and can't bear the thought of black coffee (until next comp prep!) but clean eating is what I want to do.
Oats, tuna, chicken, salad, veges veges veges galore, bananas, steak, bok choy, dare I say it... CAULIFLOWER, salmon, rice cakes, berries, protein shakes.. they all seem like better options now that I know how my body operates with sub-par nutrition.

The most exciting part is introducing different flavours into my cooking now that I can have more variety. Curried cauliflower and chickpeas anyone?

Mine didn't quite look like this :P

Maybe some honey-soy glazed salmon? I used a recipe from a class-mate but it was very similar to this one! Team it with some bok choy... Delish!

I've caught up with Michelle for a post-comp plan.. we pinched, weighed and talked food, as we do.

The plan is to stay at a healthy body weight over summer. This means a higher body fat than what you see in my competition photos - more sustainable (and less boney!) while still looking fit! I've never been very good at "maintaining" my weight, always been more proficient at either losing weight or gaining weight so bring on the challenge (as well as a flat tummy for bikini season!)

And next year?? More more more!! The dates for next years shows have started to come out so it will be a matter of working out the best timing with school and exams. Can't wait!

Remember that photo shoot Kurt and I won a while ago with Jennifer? Here is a couple of sneaky pics...

NABBA North Harbour Champs '12

First place Shape class at NABBA North Harbour Champs 2012

Photo blog!

The Day Before the Show:

 After some posing practise we decided I was looking a bit too lean for the Shape class I was entered in, so after a week of hard dieting, I went home and had a massive salmon fillet, kumara, peaches and peanut butter.. YUM!

The morning of the show we sent a quick couple of pictures through to Michelle and decided I still needed to "soften up" a bit.. kumara and chocolate for breakfast.. I think so!!!!









       Finally, show time!!! The Shape line-up - a big class with eight gorgeous, friendly girls. 

A massive highlight was performing my routine, choreographed by Johanna Mountfort

Prize-giving...First place Ms Shape North Harbour :D

Such an honour to be sharing the stage with these amazing athletes - the Overall winners of each division

My amazing crew (minus a few) who keep me smiling on stage! Thank you xxx

My gorgeous ab-tastic friend Linda (in the middle) placed second in the Open Figure tall class

Backstage Fun!!

Team Club VO2 (or Team blonde?? )

The beautiful Michelle and I xxx

My placings in these two shows mean I am qualified to enter the National IFBB and NABBA shows next season! I'm going to enjoy some food then come up with a plan for some off-season training, with guidance from Michelle at MDSportsClinic. I will be blogging again soon to recap my adventure, (including some pics from the very start.. eek!) and what has been an amazing start to my new found sport!

There are so many people to thank for their contribution to my journey!

My gorgeous flat mate and friend Krista - "pro-tanner," driver when below-average-brain function, Routine-partner, Encourager, Confidence-giver, peace-keeper.. Krista you have been amazing xxxx

My Walk-when-we-are-ridiculously-tired-and-carbless buddy Tash AKA The World's Best Kitten Saver.. thank you for getting me through those last few weeks and making it a shit load of fun!!!

Thank you my beautiful Shenae for getting the ball rolling and inspiring all of us to take it further with our bodies and showing us what is possible. For passing on not only your shoes and your potassium pills but also your knowledge and bloody awesome support when on stage... "Nice legs!"... "Awkward"... "Same pose again Tarn"

Thank you Jo for putting together my routine, for  whipping my posing into Shape, for the last minute advice with how I was looking on Friday and for your time on the day of the show! It was great to learn from such a polished professional xxx

My hair and make-up professional Elle! Thank you for making me look good on stage ;)  It was so stress-free knowing you would be there with your magical bag of wondrous tricks, at BOTH shows to Barbi-fy me for stage!

My family for always being there however and whenever you are needed.. and thank you for the gluten free sausages!!!

My boys Daniel and Derek for helping me survive at school on those carb-less, tired days.. just knowing I could sit next to you guys and have you there for me was so amazing.

My patient wonderful understanding man Kurt, thank you for everything...

And my beautiful friend and mentor Michelle for being an inspiration from the beginning, for your time, energy and your belief in me. For helping me to achieve and surpass my goals. For an amazing, fun introduction to what is looking to be my new sport!