Physique Changes

I am going to the gym after work three days a week now, to fit in the dreaded cardio. I don't have time in the morning, and while I still run my 300 stairs and jump rope 300 times at lunch, that is not quite enough to drop all the fat, it only take about 15 minutes so three days a week I am training three times a day, and the other days it's just twice.

I am only there 20 minutes, not hours like many others are. Darn it is crowded at night though and what a scene! People are there to socialize, check each other out, cruise, it's is a mad house and every machine is taken.

About a week ago I was feeling a little blue about everything, I go through that a few times as I get closer to a competition. Wondering why on earth I put myself through all this; why I make my family go through it all; why don't I just enjoy the gym, eat some good food and relax?

I talked to a friend, one who isn't competing this year and ask her what made her decide and tried to get a little advice. She asked me the same questions I ask myself, and she was straight up about it all. I was 7 weeks out, I have come this far just do it and then think about it.

She asked why I haven't ever gone to the Nationals or the USA's, I have qualified two years in a row, but I just don't think I am ready. I don't think I can compete with the other women I see in the NPC magazine. I deserve to according to the judges, but how would I do? My mind needs to be convinced before I would do that.

She is right of course. 7 weeks is nothing, it will be gone before I realize it. Then I can enjoy the time off for a short while or a long while, it's my decision.

So I changed into my running shorts, grabbed my jump rope and headed out in the cold, blustery wind, it was really, really cold (for California) and I didn't feel like going out in skimpy little Nike compression shorts, but I did.

I then had my lunch, finished work and drove to the gym for session three of the day, wanting to just go home and eat my soup.

The gym was packed, a nut house. I changed and climbed up on a stairmill, and started listening to a podcast that I had not yet finished from Sunday's cardio.

I then started looking around. I thought about myself and realized I do look quite good, better than most everyone I see there, with the exception of the woman in the pink tank but she was definitely not original parts if you know what I mean, refurbished from tip to toe. Nice looking but, just that look that isn't quite right, anywhere.

I looked over at the woman on the stairmill next to me and  she thought I had heard what she and her friend (standing on the ground in front of her had said), she looked a little alarmed. I pulled out my ear buds and told her I couldn't hear a thing, I had my sound up too loud, she laughed and was pleased.

Her friend said she liked my shirt, I thanked her and said I was about to take it off (I get really hot) so off it went. I get some disturbed looks at the gym when I do that with the afternoon/evening crowd, the morning folks are used to it. I do have a bra top on.

I finished up, went down to the locker room and that same woman was in there doing her hair and we have a conversation like this:

Woman: "I love that shirt, where did you get it?"
Me: turning around and showing her the back of my black t-shirt that says:

Good Girls Tone
Bad Girls Lift

"Thanks, I do too. I got it here, (company name is on the back) but they are out of business. I had a coach who told me I had to have it"
Woman: "You getting ready for a show?"
Me: "Yes, I have 7 weeks" (interesting she knew, most people have no clue about competing)
Woman: "Bodybuilding or Fitness?"
Me: "Figure"
Woman: "Well you look good."
Me: "Thanks, I am thinking this one, I will be 50 and then this will be the last. But who knows, I may end up doing July, then October, then next thing you know I am on a diet for a year again"
Woman: "50" You look good!"

Then as I left I started thinking "Bodybuilding or Fitness" ??? Have I gotten too muscular? I can't tell. She didn't think I was in Figure, she thought I was either big and bulky (bodybuilder) or tight and boxy (Fitness). I don't have a trainer to tell me, I only have myself and I see myself every single day, over and over.

Will the judges say I am too big? Wondering, I walked out, feeling good, I am glad I came. But still thinking, "am I too big now?"

What do you think?

Compliments

It's Sunday morning, one of my favorite days at the gym. I enjoy Saturday and Sunday because I don't have to rush to get to work, so as usual, I get to the gym as soon as they open and it's quiet, the weight room is pretty much mine and I can do everything I want, throw in some cardio, take time to chat with friends, or the gal in the cafe as I get my coffee.

I stick to a regular schedule all week long, with the exception of waking one hour later on weekends because the gym opens one hour later. This means I may stay up a half hour to one hour later too.

I am a firm believer in sleep, lots of it and regularly scheduled. It is as important as nutrition and weight training, one piece of the triad.

I trained shoulders today, they look pretty nice here in the picture don't they?  I am not flexing or posing, I am totally relaxed. Shoulder day is my favorite! 

I was really pushing hard, I can tell because people start to watch, I am sure I am making all sorts of painful sounding noises, but I cannot hear a thing, I have my music on way too loud.

As I gathered my things in the locker room a woman looked at me and said "You have a stunning physique". I thanked her and told her I work very hard at it.

So she asked what I do - what type of training and how often. I explained I train with weights, 7 days a week and I don't do much cardio.

She said she thought I looked like I lift weights, and asked if I was a bodybuilder. No, I explained I compete in Figure, and told her I was a poser!

She wasn't familiar with the sport, and that isn't unusual, most people aren't.

I hit a pose and laughed and said "That's what I do!" ha ha ha

We both had a laugh, she said "I don't usually comment on peoples physiques, but those arms, they are absolutely amazing!"

Again, I thanked her and explained I just trained shoulders, so they looked especially good at that moment.

Turns out she is no slouch herself, she is training for her first triathlon! She was in her suit and was going to swim for several miles (I can't recall how many), but I asked how long that would take her and she said a half hour.

Then she would go on a 27 mile bike ride. She said she still had 100 days left for training, her event is in Idaho.

I told her I ran a marathon once, when I was 40 and I would never do it again. I told her I was impressed with any woman who had the determination to tackle a triathlon.

That put everything into perspective for me. While I do believe I am an athlete, the sport I compete in is not athletic, it is physique based. I honestly don't think I have the passion for it that many of my peers do, It keeps me on track for weight management, keeps my body fat low and allows me to interact with others who have similar interests. 

I often consider  stopping, the competitions only, I love to weight train and would never consider limiting that part. In fact, I don't particularly like the look they want for Figure competitions, I much prefer a more androgynous, muscular physique. There is a new division in the NPC called Women's Physique that I am interested in, it's for more muscular women who don't want to look like bodybuilders, in fact, they will be marked down if they are over muscular, I am keeping my eye on this new division to see if I might fit in better there.

But  the culmination of all of my training? A walk in the park compared to her triathlon. Except maybe the fact that I have to do mine in 5 inch Lucite heels!

I wished her luck and went out to the cafe for a cup of coffee, thinking about how much bigger I want to grow my arms and quads.

I want to be a Bodybuilder

I want to be a Bodybuilder. Well, not really but this is funny. (Email readers will need to navigate directly to the blog to see these videos).

If you are a Bodybuilder or Figure competitor, no doubt you have seen this, it has been all over Facebook for weeks. But, there are some folks who don't get sucked into the social media websites and who may not be Bodybuilders or Figure competitors.

These two videos are so accurate it is hysterical. The person who created them is either a Bodybuilder or lives with one.

Are there any inaccuracies? A few, for instance, posing trunks may only cost $50.00 but a custom suit for a Figure competitor starts about $350.00 and goes way, way up. I have one, some people get a new one each show (yeah, I know, I just don't have the money to burn like that).

The suit I am wearing in the picture above? $380.00 and then, I decided I didn't like the first bottom that I had made, so  had a smaller one made and that set me back $160.00.

These are not swim suits, they are custom made to fit you very tightly, and show off your physique. The material is velvet with sparkles in the fabric, and then rhinestones set into the fabric, those stones don't pop off, and if they do, the person who made the suit shouldn't be in business.

I can pose in a swim suit and look like a different person in my competition suit, it does wonders!

The farting from the egg whites, ummm I don't believe I experience that.





This is even accurate about the $100.00 fee to the National Physique Committee (or other similar organization) just to be a member who can pay to enter a competition. Here is a picture of my 2011 membership envelope, just about ready to be mailed in.

The cost to do all this is crazy, and sometimes I wonder why I do it. Now, I realize, that I will never be a model, or a supplement spokesperson, or famous. That's not what motivates me, hell I am going to be 50 years old in April, I am thrilled just to look the way I do.

There are some women I know who do think they will be discovered doing this and then become famous, and I support them 100%, but it is like the poor kid from the projects who dreams of becoming an NBA star, it just doesn't happen to that many people.

For most of us, it is a hobby, and like most hobbies, it gets expensive.

This also brings up a lot of good points about the bad part of competing. You cannot go out and enjoy restaurant foods, you do have to go to bed early, get up early to train, or train late.

Pack your food everywhere you go, limit your foods at times to a very few things.

Pay $150.00 for a spray tan that turns you very dark for one day, pose nearly naked on stage (this doesn't bother me, or most people with a great physique though), stand around backstage and hours for hours and what do you get?

A plastic trophy..

But there are so many rewards, and that will definitely be another post!

2010 NPC San Francisco Championship

Saturday I competed in the 2010 NPC San Francisco Bodybuilding, Fitness, Figure and Bikini Championships.
If you have been following me, you know this, you know all about the weeks of preparation, the diet, the weight training, the cardio. The emotional ups and downs. There is so much to say about the day, I cannot possibly do it in one post, but I will give all the highlights, and then elaborate later. This show was a milestone for me personally. It marks the very first competition that I have prepared for completely on my own. I stopped training with SC and FP back in May, and then had a show in July, but I had seen FP a few times so felt I wasn't really on my own at the time. 

This is really important to me not just because I want to do it on my own, but because, due to two different sets of circumstances, I was  not able to train with my two long time trainers and that can be a devastating blow for any athlete, and I was not going to let it get the better of me. I needed to learn that I could do it without them. 

I have learned that I can not only do it without them, but I can do it damn well!

This show was old hat to me, It was at the same location that I have done at least three other shows, so I knew the hotel, the road, the stage, everything. I was feeling great!

I checked into the hotel in the late afternoon, I didn't have to tan until 6:45 pm. I still had to put sheets on my bed, make sure I showered first and ate, so I got there early.

I am having fun posting on face book, I have cheesecake for dinner and also for breakfast, this makes other woman mad (understandably). Why am I eating this? It certainly does not make sense? But, there is so much to write about this that I will wait to do it till later.

I wandered down the hall to Jan Tana's room for my spray tan. I knock on the door and it is quietly opened, I slip in then it is shut quickly. They have four pop up tents set up and they are spraying two women at a time then two dry at a time.  We are all naked, save our plastic shower cap to protect our hair...I am talking with Christina, she is one of the two tanning technicians, I know her, we are jabbering away as she works.

There is a cute really outgoing girl in the tent next to me asking all sorts of questions, it is her first time. Christina tells her everything she needs to know, but it isn't enough, she is worried, it's all new, I pop my head over and say "don't worry, I will help you, I can show you whatever you need to know, I have been here a zillion times".  Off we go our separate ways, and I will look for her in the morning.

I get to the auditorium  early and all ready, I had awoken early and couldn't sleep, so why not get ready in the good light? Last show the dressing room had no light bulbs, today it was lit like the Taj Mahal!

Immediately I was greeted by other women coming in, excited voices, tentative whispers, so many different feelings and energies.

I knew that I would be seeing several other friends there, women I have met from competitions, and we now stay in touch on facebook. I am looking around, I am excited, yet a bit hesitant at the same time.

I connect with some wonderful new women, women that I can say will be in my life again, they were that influential. I will write about them later. 

I felt very much at home, I know this setting, I was just here in May at the Contra Costa Show.

I competed in the Masters 45+ and the Unlimited C division (5'2" to 5' 4") which means I am doing double time! Two "show times" and then two shows, so a total of four times on stage, it is stressful, exhilarating, tiring, exciting, you can name all of the high strung emotions, and it is there.

I felt really good, I felt good about my own personal preparation, training, conditioning, then I look around and see so many sleek, buff, cut, pumped bodies, I am blown away! Where are these women in my day to day life? They are no where around me that's for sure! I placed 3rd put of 11 competitors in the masters 45+ division, then 4th out of 9 in the unlimited "c" division, I was thrilled!

I have been in three shows each year for the last two years, and in every show (save one) have come away with two placings, one I only placed once. What's the significance? I will tell you, it is huge. Every single woman who even walks through the door of that auditorium has accomplished an amazing amount of personal feats. Every woman has trained harder than she wanted at some point in the last few months, she has ensured she has eaten only the best, most nutritious foods, at the appropriate times, forsaking treats, only because she had her focus here.

More women will walk away without a trophy than will walk away with one, more will go home without a symbol of their hard work, of their perseverance, of their commitment.That shouldn't diminish their  accomplishment, yet I am afraid it does. I know that most will carry it in their hearts, yet it must be difficult to feel that it wasn't enough when they have given every ounce of their being just to stand on that stage. 

Each has spent countless hours at the gym, past the point of exhaustion, because she had committed to this event, she has told herself over and over that she is looking great, she is on the right track, she is beautiful, she is strong she is capable, she will not fail.

I met wonderful women, touched base with others whom I had not seen since past shows, others I only see through facebook, I felt very much at home and among friends. I was pushed and cajoled about doing nationals- I have qualified every year- this is a level of show higher than the local level, but I have never felt that I was ready, either with my posing or with my conditioning.

I am thinking though, I have lots of things running through my head. I can do anything I want, yet I don't know what I really want right now.  I still think I am going to stick to my resolve about getting bigger, putting on as much mass (naturally) as I can, and then assessing my options.

But that's the beauty of being an independent, intelligent adult, I can change my mind if I want right?

Bodybuilding, Wine and Food (Compromise)

I have been thinking of competing in the INBA, the International Natural Bodybuilding Association. I thought it could be interesting to compete where I knew the playing field was even (it is drug tested).

I heard that they posed completely differently and the criteria was also different so I had to go check it out for myself, before I entered a competition. 

Unfortunately the show was in Fairfield, about an hour and a half away. I planned to go by myself, with the top down and listen to music and think about things as I drove. I don't get a lot of time alone, and I do like to be alone, it's peaceful.

David was feeling a little sorry for me I think, he didn't believe I wanted to make that drive all by myself, but I really didn't mind, it was my deal, I wasn't going to drag anyone else along for my research project!

Then we worked out a deal! We would head over to the show and then on the way home, drive through Berkeley instead of the way we came, and we could stop and David could eat lunch at Provence Day, an annual event held by Kermit Lynch Wine Shop and Cafe Fanny.

Everyone would be happy today.

We arrived at the competition about 15 minutes after it started, It had to have been the smallest one I had ever attended, I was in the second row! I could see up close and personal, and if anyone missed a spot shaving, I could easily point it out.

This was actually the very first competition I had ever attended as a spectator. I have always participated and never watched from the audience. I never realized how hard those bodybuilders work to hit those poses.

I found that I was a bit confused by the many different categories that the INBA has for women, there was bodybuilding,  Classic Figure, Ms. Figure, Sports Model, Divas and Fitness. Whew! That's an awful lot. I had difficulty discerning what they were looking for in some as there were so many cross overs too.

It was good to see, the posing is much more relaxed, they put more personality into the event I think, I just couldn't quite tell who belonged in which category though. 

It's almost like the start of the "Bikini" category with the NPC and how some gals could be in Bikini or Figure, the judges were not always quite clear on it.  I think they are getting it dialed in now though, the Bikini look is definitely softer, rounder, higher body fat, not ripped. You can easily tell a Figure gal from a Bikini gal now.

After the show we bombed down I-80 to Berkeley where Kerimit Lynch had the parking lot closed down, tents up, communal tables everywhere  with red checkered tablecloths and a great live band.

The sun was shining, a rare occasion for Berkeley and I sat in the sun and soaked it up.  

The were serving bouillabaisse, a heady shellfish stew with mussels, clams, calamari, white fish, fish broth and rouille. Served with garlicky toasted baguette, it was a meal I would have enjoyed; however, it's not in the plans right now, I have a competition in 14 days. I brought my own lunch, salad and vegetables with steak and beans, all in a big bowl.

They were pouring french wines too, David enjoyed a white then a red, I stuck with spring water.

Then back in the car to drive home, the top was down and the sun was still shining.

I have added Bouillabaisse with Rouille to my "Good Eats" list that I will be posting soon, I make a mean one, in fact, it is the same recipe that Chef Christopher Lee used at Kermit Lynch, it's from my Chez Panisse cookbook.