6 Weeks Out—Halfway There!

Saturday marked the official halfway point of my contest prep! There are less than six weeks left until showtime! Funny how six weeks can seem both incredibly long (there’s still a lot of dieting and training in front of me!) and impossibly short (I need more time to practise my walk!).

It’s hard to believe that in six weeks, I’ll be strutting around in my 5” high plastic heels and posing for a crowd full of people with just a tiny bikini and some crystals to cover me! And not just that: I’m going to be judged on it.

Someone recently asked me how I felt about being judged purely on my looks. Obviously, by signing up for this competition, I knew the criteria depended almost wholly on my appearance. However, the more time I have to think about it, the more I realize how bizarre this is. In the end, my personality, experiences, and knowledge won’t help me on that stage. I’ll have to fit the mould of how a bikini competitor should look, pose, and smile, and I’ll be judged on my ability to fit this mould. I won’t be able to win them over with wit or charm or my own tastes in style, and I will be compared with other girls who come from very different backgrounds as me. I could lose to a rude, spoiled, stupid girl, and I could beat a girl who’s much kinder, humbler, and more intelligent than me. We will be exposing ourselves physically but hiding our true selves underneath.

However, in a way, this is also freeing. Unlike when I meet someone new in real life, I will at least have an idea of what the judges are looking for. I will know exactly how to paint my nails and curl my hair, and I will simply execute the walk and poses I will (by that point) have been practising for weeks. I won’t have to come up with a joke or find an amusing topic; I will just stand there and look pretty.

The prospect of being judged on my appearance also appeals to me for one major reason: by the time I get to the stage, assuming I’ve done everything in my power to prepare for that moment, the outcome will be out of my hands. It will all depend on what that particular set of judges find attractive. Do they like a more muscular physique, narrow hips, fake boobs, blond hair? I find this comforting in a way because once I get there, I’ll just have to do my best and (cue Tony Horton) forget the rest! In his DVD Unleashed, I think Layne put it best when he said that his goal is that "if somebody beats me, it's not because they outwork me."  This outwork principle is what I turn to when I need that extra push of motivation. If I get last place on show day, I want to make sure I don't have to say "maybe if I'd worked harder or eaten cleaner...". I have all the tools; I just need to follow the instructions and practise, practise, practise!

Those are my thoughts going into the second half of my prep. I’m going to give ‘er these last weeks, so I can bring my best package to the competition! And once I get there, I’m just going to stand there and look pretty…and hope I don’t trip over my shoes!

I think I may need new pants!

At the halfway point--a lot can happen in six weeks!

6 Weeks Out (Aug 25, 2012)

106.8 lb, 22.75" waist

7 Weeks Out (Aug 18, 2012)

109.2 lb, 23" waist

 

 

8 Weeks Out (Aug 11, 2012)

111.4 lb, 23.75" waist

9 Weeks Out (Aug 4, 2012)

113.6 lb, 24.25" waist

10 Weeks Out (July 28, 2012)

116.0 lb, 24.5" waist

11 Weeks Out (July 21, 2012)

119.4 lb, 24.75" waist

Starting Point

12 Weeks Out (July 13, 2012)

122 lb, 25" waist

 

47 Days Out

My travelling blog has decided to go on a short vacation this summer… Heinrich was away for work for a few weeks, and then I simply got bogged down with other stuff; i.e., cakes, working overtime, a Krav Maga class, AND the biggest distraction of all: my upcoming bikini competition!

In less than seven (7!!!) weeks (47 days to be exact!), I will be competing at the Muscle Beach Fall Classic competition here in Edmonton! It’s something I’ve been thinking of doing for awhile, and when I found out about this competition, I figured I should do it! If not now, when, right? So in a matter of minutes, I registered for the competition (and am also now a member of the Alberta Bodybuilding Association!) and hired my coach!

There was really no question of who to hire to coach me through the 12 weeks that followed. I am a huge fan of his for many reasons:
1. He has a PhD in nutritional science (specializing in muscle protein amino acid metabolism), so he actually really knows his stuff and can back it up with scientific studies.
2. He is well-known for his ability to diet people down without harming their bodies as other coaches generally do. He doesn’t wreck his clients’ bodies with extreme diets or cutting water.
3. His approach to training just jives with mine (read: weights over hours and hours of cardio), and I’ve had great results using his PHAT system of training (can you guess who he is yet?).
4. I love that he exposes all the “guru” or “broscience” out there. There’s so much bad information that exists, it’s great to see someone knock it all down (with scientific evidence!)
5. He’s trained one of my fitness idols (Ava Cowan), himself, and his wife for competitions. (You know he wouldn’t train his wife if he thought it would hurt her in any way!)
6. If I were to train with another coach, I would constantly be reading his articles and comparing them with the other coach’s training/diet. And I needed someone who I could completely trust for 12 weeks!

If you haven’t guessed it by now, I chose Layne Norton to be my coach through my contest prep! And so far, five weeks in, I could not be more pleased with my decision!

(As an aside, if anyone is interested in reading any of Layne’s articles, check out his website. He’s also an avid Tweeter with the handle @biolayne. A lot of articles can also be found on Bodybuilding.com.)

These last few weeks have definitely been quite the learning curve for me. I’ve been learning a lot about my body and about competing in general. Since it’s probably easier to organize in a list, I’ll name a few of these interesting findings in no particular order:

1. It is possible for me to weigh less than 115 lb (this has been my elusive goal weight for the past DECADE. I didn’t think I could ever get below 120 again!). And it’s easier than I thought! (Not that it’s easy, per se, but I thought it would be impossible!)
2. I was not squatting deep enough or doing my high-intensity intervals nearly as intense as I could have/should have been.
3. I was not eating nearly as clean as I thought I was. My diet is not that much different from my regular diet, but I have cut out treats and really stuck to my portions. How many times did I mindlessly grab a handful of sugar snap peas, carrots, nuts, dried coconut, or air-popped popcorn? As healthy as these foods are, they sure add up after awhile!
4. I was nowhere near as lean as I thought I was. Before I began, I figured I had about 5 lb of fat to lose in order to look stage-ready. Now, 13 lb later, I laugh at that statement, as I STILL don’t feel close to being stage-ready.
5. I will need to practise my posing more than I would have ever thought. Some say it’s more crucial than even how you look. I want to drill my posing and walking into my head so when the competition finally comes, if I’m nervous (which is a give), I won’t even have to think about what I’m doing; it will just come automatically!
6. A lot of my social functions revolve around food (I learned this rather painfully, after sitting through many social gatherings while not eating a thing).
7. My friends are family are more supportive than I gave them credit for before the comp! So far, no negative comments, and everyone seems as excited as I am to see the final package at the competition!
8. Competing is more expensive than I thought. After the registration (up to $400, depending on the show!), the coach, and the suit (ranging anywhere from $80 to THOUSANDS of dollars!), there are all of the other minor, but still pricey expenses: shoes (about $50, plus shipping), jewelry, tanning ($120 at the show), and I’m sure many other things I haven’t even thought of yet!
9. The fitness community is really friendly and helpful. I’ve messaged a few competitors/models, and I’ve received very positive messages back. It seems everyone wants the best for everyone else (even strangers!).

I’m positive there will be many more “fun facts” emerging from this experiment!

I’m also uploading some of my progress pictures so far. I’m excited to add more as my prep continues!