Feed Me Fit

Food makes you feel good doesn't it?  Food is one of the greatest needs for all humans; according to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, so that we can reach a higher state, if you do not have food you really cannot even think about doing anything else. Food just makes you feel good inside and out. If we are just talking basics needs, you don't need much, Prison Loaf will do (yes I made it).

But we all want more, we want healthy food that is easy and quick to prepare and that tastes great. It's not all that easy for some people though. Then for those of us who want to get lean and ripped, or even just lean, it's a whole different ballgame.

You need to eat the right foods, healthy choices, feed the magnificent machine called "your body" what it needs to function properly. That doesn’t mean bland and boring food and it doesn’t mean the same old thing over and over.

Maggie Shih of Feed Me Fit spent two hours in my kitchen on Sunday and made three very simple, healthy and incredibly tasty dishes. Dishes that I can make, you can make, and everyone would eat and not know how healthy they were, seriously. I wrote about her previously, you should read that post first if you have not yet read it.

No salt was used, very little oil (olive oil spray) and no refined starches.

We met in the same way I meet so many people, I emailed a complete stranger! That’s how I have made connections with so many wonderful people in my life, and how I even found my favorite vacation destination in Mexico- 16 years ago, Hacienda Eden (I still go back every year).

I was searching for a gift for Roy, his birthday is coming up and cooking lessons might be in order! Maggie is a Certified Fitness Chef. She spends most of her time at her customer’s homes preparing food, typically in advance so they can pop it in the refrigerator or the freezer, or both. She will even shop for the food too if that’s requested. In addition, she offers cooking classes for individuals or small groups for those who want to learn to do it on their own.

Maggie knew I am prepping for a competition so my food had to be light and low calorie, but she wanted to show me some other dishes too, so we had a range of things on Sunday.

She pulled up in her car and toted all her things effortlessly into my kitchen and made herself right at home, she was comfortable in the kitchen, I could tell. I have a big kitchen, actually my favorite room in the house and there is lots of room to move around.

She started with an egg dish "egg in a ring" and it was so simple yet wonderful; I cannot believe I never thought of it! 

Yellow bell pepper, egg and seasonings (no salt) and a few slices of avocado. 

We asked David to be a taster and he ate half (I ate the other).

Next Maggie moved on to a staple on my diet, tilapia. I eat tilapia almost every day; it is a mild, firm white fish, inexpensive and plentiful. It takes on the flavors of anything you season or cook it with, so it is versatile. Most tilapia is farmed; you will not find "wild" tilapia around here. I caution you to check the origin of your tilapia and try to only buy that farmed in the USA, with South America being a second choice. Tilapia raised in Taiwan and China will be raised in water where there is no lead control, the groundwater is polluted and the fish are too. (Did you know that’s why we started selling unleaded gasoline? The lead in the gas was causing birth defects in our children! They don’t worry about the lead in China unfortunately); in addition, the feed used and the cleanliness of the pens are questionable in these countries, your health is not worth the few cents savings the cheap and muddy tasting fish you will be eating. If you buy it at a market where it is laid out on a tray and not in a package, just ask where it is from, by law they must have tags showing the origin of all fish.

The dilled tilapia was moist and flavorful, I get so used to baking a big tray of it that I forget that my healthy food can also be wonderfully flavorful and moist, if I just put a few more minutes into it. Maggie served kale on the side, seasoned with garlic powder, yum! Here again I caution you about the origin of your kale, it is #11 on the top 15 fruits and vegetables that have extreme pesticide usage- meaning that it is one of the foods you MUST buy organic!

David bravely took a bit of the tilapia, he isn’t a fan at all, but he actually liked it. 

After Maggie left we talked and he said "No offense, but her food just doesn’t taste like your bland diet food, I mean it has flavor."….right, well it did and he was right, but when I am cranking out my food, in between working a full time job, training 7 days a week, and most of them twice a day, it does take a bit of the "joy" out of cooking and trying to make it all more palatable. I eat for fuel right now. I am a machine!

The last dish was stupendous, but not something I would eat on a competition diet. Off the diet- sure I would, so now I just had a few bites and left the rest to David. I took half of it to Roy too; he had it for dinner on Monday night!

A smoky bacon loaded sweet potato! A paleo dish (for those who follow that diet), that can be enjoyed by anyone. 

The "chili" was made with bacon, ground turkey, and vegetables. I am not a real bacon fan, I have a hard time moving past the copious amounts of fat in it, but this was good, really good! Maggie said you can easily cut most of the fat out too!

David tried the loaded potato, and he tried it again. He loved it. It was time for me to eat, and I had several bites of the dishes Maggie cooked, but I am lean and ready early, so I can stand some extra calories right now, in fact I dropped too low and panicked a bit, so I was ready for a full meal.

As she packed up and I walked her to the car, she said "eat the tilapia!" I ate the whole thing and the kale (I love kale and eat it several times a week).

I came in to find that David had devoured the potato and topping…almost, he didn’t eat all the sweet potato and since I needed some starch, I ate it!

I packaged up the rest of the "chili" that was in the pot and set half aside for David and the other half to take to Roy.

I left the house right after Maggie did, so I could head back to Gold’s Gym, I was off for round two of cardio and posing. When I came home, I would start cooking my food, more tilapia, sweet potatoes, chicken and vegetables.

I know first hand, that when people start a new fitness regime, the area that causes them the most stress, and will usually make them fall short of reaching their goal, is the food prep. They usually have no idea what to prepare, how to prepare it, how to make it taste good and they usually don't have the hours and hours it takes every week to do it. I spend several hours a couple times a week just making my food since I eat 6 times a day! 

You cannot out-train a bad diet. 

When I returned home for the gym, there was a house full of guests, all sitting in the backyard having wine and pizza (a Sunday ritual around here now), Virginia came into the kitchen and said David was raving about "some egg McMuffin with no muffin". He told her how good it was and didn’t taste anything like "Kristy’s diet food"…..hmmm I think he was talking about the "egg in a ring"

Contact Maggie at Feed Me Fit if you are interested in food prep or cooking classes, she says some people get a group of friends together at their home, and they all split the cost of the cooking class. Then, if you like, she can prepare meals for a week or so just until you get an idea of proportion and dishes and then she sets you free to experiment on your own.

She also has a Facebook Page where you can stay connected, learn about special events and check out her dishes. 

All opinions expressed are mine alone. I have not received remuneration for this post or content. 

Motivation

"Happiness is the result of my decision to be happy. There is no way to happiness, happiness is the way. In other words, happiness is a feeling I tap into, not an outcome of events. I can be happy without changing anything in my life except my relationship to my own thinking. I decide to be happy and commit myself to making happiness my state of mind, rather than relying on 

a set of circumstances to do it for me." 

~Richard Carlson

"You are free to experience life negatively or positively, and the choice you make determines whether you are at cause, or at effect, of the life you are living."
~Marianne Williamson

“People love others not for who they are but for how they make them feel”

~Irwin Federman

"The best day of your life is the one on which you decide your life is your own. No apologies or excuses. No one to lean on, rely on, blame. The gift is yours - it is an amazing journey - and you alone are responsible for the quality of it. This is the day your life really begins."

~Bob Moawad

“Don't rely on someone else for your happiness and self worth. Only you can  be responsible for that. If you can't love and respect yourself - no one else  will be able to make that happen. Accept who you are - completely; the good  and the bad - and make changes as YOU see fit - not because you think  someone else wants you to be different.”

~Stacey Charter

"Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful."

~Albert Schweitzer

“You just have to do your own thing, no matter what anyone says. It's your life.”

~Ethan Embry

"People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can't find them, make them."

~George Bernard Shaw

"Above all, to thine own self be true."

~William Shakespeare

Abs Are Made In The Kitchen (Feed Me Fit)

“Abs are made in the kitchen”

We have all heard this right? It’s true.  I am a firm believer in this. You can train as consistently and hard as possible, be spot on with every bit of your training and still never achieve the results you want if your diet is not right. And those crunches? They aren’t going to help if you have a layer of fat over the muscles.

Above are my abs two weeks ago, below a week ago. Further below was Thursday (the evening before this posted).

I have just recently launched into my "6 pack ab" goal, never before have I attempted such a lofty goal! I asked Roy what to do and he advised that I do  Garhammer Raises, a lot more difficult than they look, here is a video of them:

I do these at home with my pull up attachment in the doorway of my son's room! Then comes Swiss ball crunches, lowering my back over the ball all the way down so my head almost touches the ground, then slowly up. I hold a very small 5 pound dumbbell at the back of my head. I do these at home in my guest room. My abs are burning after the Garhammer raises, the crunches really are difficult then. 

And lastly, crunches on the Glute Ham raise, again all the way down so there is a stretch in the abs, and slowly pull up using only the abs. 

I trained for years and never truly saw the physique I was yearning for until I started to consider my diet as important as my training. The two go hand in hand; they need each other so that you, as a whole can be complete.

I learned to eat properly first by hiring a nutritionist (who also happened to have been a Figure competitor previously), then I started reading every book on nutrition I could find.  After that it was all trial and error, finding what worked right for my body.

Your diet will change according to your goals. A  Powerlifter certainly will not eat the same as a Gymnast, who will not eat the same as a Sprinter. So you need to first have a good idea of your goals and what you are trying to create.

Many people really struggle with this, I find that interesting as I have absolutely no problem with this. First, cooking was my hobby before I started to seriously train. I can taste almost any dish at a restaurant and re-create it on my own. I often ask the wait staff about ingredients and express my interest, I have been invited back into the kitchen to watch and speak with the chef more times than I can recall.  I even won the “Build A Better Burger “contest in the Western United States many years ago! This is one big reason why my family isn’t always so keen on my competitions, all my wonderful “restaurant creations” get kicked to the curb when I am in competition mode. 

Even when dieting I seem to feel fairly satisfied with my diet; I still manage to create interesting and varied foods while adhering to a clean and nutrition diet.

But, for those of you who struggle, or don’t have time to cook, there is hope and flavor!

Feed Me Fit

Maggie Shih is the chef/proprietor of this service. She will plan and cook your meals so you don’t have to!  

Maggie is a Personal Trainer & Certified Fitness Chef who works with her clients to determine nutritional needs and will shop, cook and deliver meals all created specifically for you.   Maggie will even collaborate with your own personal trainer to discuss dietary needs if you prefer! 

Never heard of a Certified Fitness Chef? It is indeed a real designation!  Maggie is certified through the Spencer Institute, it is a NESTA (National Exercise and Sports Trainers Association) designation. 

I haven’t tried Maggies cooking yet, but I am very interested in learning more and I will soon. One of my attractions to the fitness industry (besides all of the beautiful bodies) is the passion that everyone has about their hobbies, interest and professions. It’s not an easy one; you must pour your heart and soul into it to be successful. Meeting others with the same passions and sharing experiences is a joy to me.

She and I have been trying to get together so I can see some of her creations first hand, and because of our demanding schedules, it keeps moving; but now it looks like we will be meeting at my home on Sunday where she will whip up some meals so I can give you a firsthand report.  I will be posting a blog with lots of pictures and reviews from our morning together.

In the meantime, she will be joining other health and wellness professionals at the San Jose Nutrishop, during a sponsored “wellness night” on Monday, March 25, 2013 from 4-7pm. You can stop by and sample some of her goodies, meet her and learn more about her services (since you cannot come into my kitchen on Sunday!) 

I will not be able to attend the Nutrishop wellness night because Roy and I will be training my hamstrings at the same time, and my training always comes first!

If you stop by, be sure to tell Maggie I sent you!

Look for my report on our morning of cooking next week. Check out Feed Me Fit on Facebook or Feed Me Fit website for more information.

Nutrishop South San Jose 

117 Bernal Road #10 San Jose, CA. 95119

I have not received any compensation or remuneration for this review, all views are my own. 

Women's Physique Posing Routine

On May, 11, 2013, I will be competing in my first Women’s Physique competition.  As you are aware, if you have been reading my blog, I am not new to competitions at all, but this division is new to the world of Bodybuilding and new to me.

The physical criteria is different between all the divisions, although to the untrained eye, many can look quite similar. The main difference for me was the posing.  In Figure there are “quarter turns” and then “model poses”, I had those down, and they were easy. Physique requires similar “quarter turns” although these are performed with every part of your body flexed (unlike Figure) and are slightly more exaggerated to showcase the added muscle the competitors have. In addition, there are “bodybuilding mandatory poses” that differ in that the hands are left open and not clenched into fists, so the end result is a much more fluid and feminine look. The competitor must have one foot in the “toes pointed, heel off the ground” position in each of these poses. Again, this creates a softer look when comparing it to a Bodybuilder.

Last, Physique requires a “Posing routine” set to custom mixed music that each competitor will select, and create.

Many of the women who moved into this new division came from Bodybuilding backgrounds, so they have an advantage in that they already knew the mandatory poses and had performed a posing routine at the evening finals before.

I first wanted to move to Physique because I tended to carry more muscle than Figure competitors, and did not like the new “softer” (higher bodyfat) look that the division moved to. I like to be very lean and I feel I look best leaner than most people like to be.

My last competition was May of 2012, I decided to take a year off so my family could enjoy a summer without me being on a strict diet, and so I could concentrate on adding some additional muscle to my frame. The adding muscle part proved to be harder than I had imagined. A natural athlete cannot add as much muscle mass as one who takes androgenic drugs, but my decision is to remain natural, so I shall always be a bit behind the curve in that department, and I am perfectly happy that way.

I quickly realized that proper posing was a vital component to learn and started posing with Kristy Enos every other week. We concentrated only on the posing, not the routine. She was a fantastic teacher and I would not be where I am today without her.

The mandatory poses are what the competitors are judged on, the posing routine is not what will decide the placement, and it’s more of a treat for the audience to see the beautiful bodies move to music. So I didn’t worry too much about the routine at the start.

Once I had the posing down, and was no longer working with Kristy, I launched into it. I quickly learned this was not something I could do on my own. Why? I am a great dancer, I love dancing, why couldn’t I do it on my own?

Because it’s basically bodybuilding poses set to music. I just learned the darn poses; they aren’t second nature to me like dancing to music I love, moving my body the way it feels good. The routine had to be purposeful, choreographed and show the muscle groups that I have worked hard to build.

I knew it didn’t matter to the judges what I did, or how I looked, but I think it comes down to personal ethics. I want to do my best, even if it doesn’t count. It’s what you do when no one is looking that proves the kind of person you are, do you help someone and perhaps don’t take credit? Do you do a kind deed without thought of repayment?  Or do you only do what needs to be done just to ensure you get ahead in life?

I decided I needed to hire a professional, someone who could choreograph a routine for me, someone who had a lot of experience.  I had some fairly specific criteria: 1) They had to have been in Bodybuilding a long time (experience); 2) They had to actually offer this as a regular business, I didn’t just want some competitor to throw something together and say they choreographed a routine for me; 3) I had to like their personality.

#3 is interesting, how would I determine that? Well I like a fun loving, energetic and positive person. I can tell from Facebook and pictures what kind of person they are. A whiner or a Prima Donna? I have no room in my life for that.

I found my gal and I contacted her.

IFBB Pro Bodybuilder Michelle Brent

Michelle has been a bodybuilder for 20 years.  She certainly fits #1! And I saw her deliver other routines, she fit #2. And #3? Well if she still lived on the West Coast we would tear up the town together! (She is from Monterey, California)

Michelle and I connected on Facebook and we chatted a bit. I explained that I was a newbie so I needed something basic. I also expressed that music was important to me, I didn’t like all the painfully slow songs that so many competitors used.  She said she could design a routine that would be suitable for a less experienced competitor like me.

I finally found some music I thought might work, something that made me want to move yet could possibly work with bodybuilding poses and I sent it to Michelle for her advice. She liked it and said go for it!  She then recommended a fellow who could mix the music, JSinn of Masterminds Productions and once he finished my music, she would choreograph my routine.

All of this requires a lot of trust. I am a very trusting person. I will always trust you until you give me a reason not to, I have rarely been disappointed.

I paid Michelle’s fee through her PayPal account for her other business Michelle’s Magic Morsels (I haven’t had the pleasure of trying these yet, but they are cookies made with whey protein and egg whites!);  and a couple weeks later she then emailed  a video of herself performing the routine. 

David saw it and remarked “Damn she looks like she is having fun!” and she does, that’s what makes it all so special. It’s about the enjoyment of it all, the experience. She said I could contact her with any questions, gave me some tips and encouragement and then rest was up to me.

She and I chat once in a while; she checks in and asks how I am doing. I go to the gym and practice every Friday afternoon after training, and on Saturday and Sunday for about 45 minutes to an hour.  I get a lot of smiles, and questions, men walk by and waive or give me a thumbs up, people stand at the door and watch.  They are very curious as it’s not every day you see something like this, Bodybuilding for women is becoming a dying art, and Physique is in its infancy, so there are not too many of us! It’s important to feel comfortable performing in front of strangers so doing this with an audience is a plus no matter how uncomfortable it may seem at first.

I have changed a couple things; just slight placement of my hands or arm movements, the beauty of this is it changes according to each person’s personality.

You can hear my music that JSinn mixed, it is the pink triangle on the right side of the main blog page, under the woman snapping the whip, (it has a watermark sound to protect the mix). I cannot show you the routine as I haven't performed it yet! You have to wait for the competition.

Could I have done this without spending the money on a routine? Probably. Would I have felt comfortable and excited about it? No. I am glad I did it, I feel great heading into this! As you can see by these pictures, taken 8 weeks out, my physique is on point, I look good. My posing is fine, I know the required moves. It's now just more practice on the routine and I have plenty of time.

I am having fun! 

A lot of it this time around. I think I have the diet down so it's not rough for me, (I am sure I will go through my small meltdowns here and there though); I no longer have those painful 5 inch heels required for Figure (I sent them to my friend Sakura); I love how my physique has changed, it looks different, more muscular and healthy; I get to train as hard and lift as heavy as I want; and I am enjoying my posing and dancing!

Remember: Girls Just Want To Have Fun?

One word of advice is that you should not wait till the last few weeks. I started posing with Kristy about 9 months before my competition, and I got my routine 4 months ahead. Give yourself time, stress causes your body to produce cortisol!

Contact Michelle if you are interested. You can reach her via Facebook or email her at michellesmagicmorsels@yahoo.com                                              

Motivation

“There's only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that's your own self.”

~Aldous Huxley 

“To achieve the impossible, it is precisely the unthinkable that must be thought.”

~Tom Robbins

“A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.”

~William G.T. Shedd 

“If you were born without wings, do nothing to prevent them from growing.” 

~Coco Chanel

“Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.”

~Napoleon Hill 

“None of us will ever accomplish anything excellent or commanding except when he listens to this whisper which is heard by him alone.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson 

"I am always doing things I can't do, that's how I get to do them." 

~Pablo Picasso

“Achievement of your happiness is the only moral purpose of your life, and that happiness, not pain or mindless self-indulgence, is the proof of your moral integrity, since it is the proof and the result of your loyalty to the achievement of your values.”

~Ayn Rand

Travelling with your Food

I love bags, purses, packs, anything that carries "stuff". I always carry way too much "stuff", you never know when you might need a tape measure, flashlight, toothbrush, mirror, floss...you got the idea right? 

I have a new bag, you can see me sporting it in these pictures and I love it! This bag is huge, I mean its a good twenty inches long, 8 inches wide and 16 inches tall; It has a nice, thick shoulder strap that I can wear comfortably; it is lined with insulation; it's gray (I hate the flowered stuff); it has a pocket on each end (one zips for the wallet and one is Velcro for quick access); and it was $8.49!

It's a grocery bag from Whole Foods Market! I love the idea of those fancy shamncy "6 pack fitness bags" but they are awfully expensive, and honestly, I wouldn't use half of the little cubbies. I have all my supplements in their own pill containers and dose them out once a week, (actually five of them, since I take supplements five times a day),  I am not about to arrange them in the cute cubbies everyday; I have to carry a couple gallons of water with me or I fear dehydration, so the one slot for one water bottle will not cut it; and I prefer my own food containers.

Sure, if someone wants to give me a gift, I wouldn't say no to that bag but I am not about to spend my money on it as this works better for me. 

This one is great for a one day or an overnight trip. I can carry all my food and it has room for sweatshirts, jackets, even a small blanket! I can also use it for a gym bag if I travel to my father in laws. Just transfer my food to the fridge when i arrive and this will double as a gym bag. 

This is the perfect bag when I go to see my son's lacrosse games, go someplace for the night, or a long day trip wine tasting (even if I am not drinking) with David. Everything fits in here, hell I could almost crawl in here!

Did I mention it was $8.49?

Women's Physique Competition in 9 weeks

Life has been quite busy these days. I realize that only my closest friends and family really know that I have a competition coming up soon. 10 weeks when these were taken, 9 weeks now! 

To the average person that's a long time - like two and  a half months! But to a competitor, that's just around the corner.

It means time to buckle down and stick to the diet, be religious with cardio, weigh myself everyday, scrutinize my physique, practice posing and now...now, I need to add in the routine!

Actually, many competitors have been doing the "diet" thing for many, many weeks. I actually went on vacation to Mexico and enjoyed lots of great food and drinks, at a time when most competitors would be on a hard diet. I stay lean year round so I can do that.

I have actually been humming along quite nicely  I enjoy the routine, the structure. I do well with that. Don't get me wrong, I love to be spontaneous (as long as I have all my food prepped and gym time scheduled!) LOL!

I find it all very interesting to see how different individuals handle the preparation for a competition and all of the added steps that go along with it. Everyone handles it differently based on their own personalities and their comfort zone. Of course, it also depends on if this is their first competition or they are a veteran. (Notice my deltoids in the picture below - those are what they call "striations", almost like groves or lines running down the muscle you can see just underneath the skin). 

I was scared as hell the first time, and I always get nervous as I lead up to it each time now, but I have an unusual sense of calm this time.

I don’t tend to be a reactionary person in life anyway, nor do I get freaked out over things, as David always says “You NEVER worry about anything! I have to worry for both of us!” ha ha 

I am a planner - I hired a posing coach since Physique was all so new and I wanted to feel comfortable. She did a great job, gave me many tips and feedback (good and bad); but I am no longer posing with her. I learned a lot but needed to venture out on my own. I am a person who likes to learn how to do something, not have it done for me. I do practice on my own almost everyday. I feel comfortable, very comfortable and in fact, am having quite the time posing in the gym these days!

I have been quite happy with how my physique has changed in the last year. I stayed lean, maybe too lean, so that is making my diet very, very easy. I didn’t say it was fun, but it is easy (there is a big difference).

Last night I finished cardio (my treadmill in the guestroom) and then took a nice long shower. I walked into the kitchen naked (and I think I opened the refrigerator and just looked at the homemade almond butter), and David says “You are looking pretty awesome you know! Before when you did Figure you used to look all (then he scrunches all up and makes himself look skinny and drawn). Now you look all (he hunkers down, holds his arms out from his sides and makes himself look short and bulky).

I think he was trying to say I look fuller, more muscular and healthier. I do like the look better myself!

I have reached the stage where I honestly feel it is the journey and not the destination. Getting up on the stage on May 11 will not alter my life, it won’t really change anything, and it isn’t the start of something. It’s an event that I am working towards right now, a goal with an ending date, and like any other event, I will enjoy it and move on when it is done.

I enjoy the weight training and staying lean and healthy, so I haven’t made many changes to prep for this.  I have stopped snacking, stopped eating out at restaurants, cut out my occasional wine or sparkling wine and added in cardio.  If I had started at a very high body fat percentage (I was at 7.8% 15 weeks out from my competition), then I would be singing a much different tune, but I remained lean and so I’s more mental that anything right now.

I have already starting thinking after the competition! I want to sit down and scientifically work out my diet so that I can gain but not bulk. There is no reason in this day and age, with the knowledge we have regarding nutrition and training that anyone needs to gain a lot of weight to add muscle. Yes, you need to have a calorie surplus and will gain bodyfat, but no one should turn into a hippo “off season” unless they just want to get fat and eat without being responsible about it all.

I have the competition diet down, and frankly the off season diet down too, I think I still tend to eat a bit less starch than I should to gain properly, so that will be the next goal.

But I am jumping ahead, I still need to drop a little fat, but not quite yet. So I am sticking to the diet, doing my cardio and lifting as heavy as I can.  I will reassess each week.

But back to the posing....I hit these poses in the locker room and always have my phone or camera. The other women no longer look at my quizzically  Competitors stare at themselves, a lot!  Many people think it's vanity but it's not, it's constant self doubt, constant anxiety, constant worry that you ate something at the wrong time, or you ate the wrong meal, or even (god forbid!) missed a meal and your whole being will crumble.

Posing is very, very important. Of course, the physique comes first, but once all those beautiful bodies are up there, what separates them? The posing. I can stand relaxed and look like a normal, regular woman, but if I hold my lats out, pump my chest up, bring my shoulders up and pull in the abs, all of a sudden, I am amazon woman! 

The posing is important to show off the muscles, the definition. 

Practicing the posing also ensures you learn to hold the poses, often a judging panel will make you hold them for quite some time, you need to get used to it.

If you plan to compete, I cannot stress how much you need to practice- I started six months prior I think, I know people who will start six weeks before their show.

Soon, the "routine"!

Motivation

"I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times."

"If you love life, don't waste time, for time is what life is made up of."

"A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at."

"I'm not in this world to live up to your expectations and you're not in this world to live up to mine."

"Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind."

"If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you'll never get it done."

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else. It will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them."

"The possession of anything begins in the mind."

~ Bruce Lee