What a blast!!!!

Yesterday was the last bikini competition I will ever do. From now on it is going to be figure competitor training. I came in 4th place, which I am satisfied with. The competition was a tough one. It was the first international competition that I have competed in. The competition was about 50 percent American, 40 percent Australian and 10 percent other European countries. The Australian people really dominated the competition. All day long I was admiring how amazing the figure competitors looked. What is interesting to me is they all say they do not do cardio because it breaks down muscle tissue. That makes sense, but it is going to be hard to let go of the cardio. If I want to get that kind of body that is what is has to happen. The competition was a lot of fun but, it feels kind of good not worrying about one coming up in the near future. My next one will not be until June. I need to take about a month off from the gym. Some of those nagging muscle strains I have will only get better with rest.
The best thing that came out of yesterday was getting to know Sylvia. Sylvia is a bodybuilder that I met at the Sacramento show, she was competing yesterday too. We exchanged phone numbers, she plans on taking some time off and competing again in June. Hopefully she will do the same event I will be doing. I believe if you come away from something making new friends that it was worth all of the hard work put into it.

Good times, fun people!!!

Hi everyone,
I am very exited!!! My dad and Karen are flying in tomorrow. It will the first time I seen them in a very long time. This competition this weekend will be a lot of fun. It is great to have them come out and watch it. There will be a lot less stress at this event because I will be minus a certain person that was present at the last two shows. This show I will have nothing but people i love to come and cheer me on.
Last weekend was a great time. My boss threw an amazing Halloween party. Unfortunately Dave was on call, but he game with me anyway. He dressed as a nurse and I dressed as a German guy. Not too many people got my costume, they didn't know what I was suppose to be, but I thought the costume was cool. It is so nice to have a boss that works hard and plays hard. I never had a boss like that before. It sucks that I can't take her with me when we move. The only reason Dave and I would ever want to come visit this place is to visit Sonya, Tony, Rae Rae, Crystal and Rachel. I love those guys.

New Opportunities

Hi Everyone,
The last couple of weeks have been very busy. That is the first time I have said that and actually meant it. Last weekend was the competition. It was a great time, I took home a second and a fourth place finish, very happy about it. The next one is in just two weeks. That one is going to be a lot of fun because my dad and Karen are coming to see it. It has been a year since I have seen any of my family and I can't wait to have them here. After this show I will be taking a mandatory month off from working out. I have to go through another surgery on Nov. 16th, so that forces me to take time off. In January my training will start up again for the next figure competition. Bikini competitions are fun, but to me the bikini division is kind of a stepping stone to the figure division, that is the division I really want to be in. The first time I was not prepared at all, it is going to take an unbelievable amount of work to get ready for a figure show.
The last two weeks have been filled with great new opportunities. Sonya gave me the opportunity to help out with the biggest loser competition going on at the base gym. They are up to 31 contestants. I have met so many wonderful people, it has been so much fun helping out. After I recover from the surgery I will get to start seeing clients of my own at the gym. Sonya also gave me a job at the smoothie bar at the gym. It is the first time where I enjoy the job I have. It sounds crazy but, I am going to be sad when it comes time for Dave and I to leave here. I am very greatful to Sonya for giving me the opportunity to work as a trainer at such a great facility.

Remember, just have fun!!!!

Hey everyone,
Well, it has been a bad day for football. My Packers and Dave's Bengals lost by a field goal today. In my opinion today's game for the Packers clarifies that they are not that good this year. 3 and 2 is not that good and the games they won were not by much. All the Packer fans out there please, don't be upset with me, that is just my little evaluation of this years team.
There has been good news for me!!!. I got a job as a trainer, well sort of. The gym on base this year is having a biggest loser contest. Shannon and Sonya want me to shadow them during the contest and then I can start training clients on my own. I don't know if they meant on my own by myself or on my own at the gym. I think this is kind of a trial period for me. If they see that I am very involved and enthusiastic they may hire me full-time. I would love, love, love that!!!. It would be so convenient, we live just 1/4 mile away from the gym, I know almost everyone who works there, the facility is awesome, very big. I am keeping my fingers crossed that this works out.
My bikini competition is on Saturday. I am nervous because the bikini walk is a lot like a model on the runway, its all about strutting it, walking with confidence, like you own it, walk in those heels like they are sneakers. That scares me, I am not a pro when it comes to walking in 5 inch heels, even though I practice everyday it still feels like a daunting task. And everyone always says the same thing "Remember just have fun!" No matter how many times I tell myself that it doesn't calm my nerves.
Well, I hope my competition goes well and I hope the Packers and the Bengals can turn around this runaway train.

Baby sister for Mohinder

Hi everyone,
Dave and I are very exited. We have been talking about getting another cat for awhile, but could not decide what kind. He didn't care so much either way, but I wanted a Himalayan cat. That changed earlier this week when we were watching old episodes of the Osbourne's. They had this beautiful exotic looking cat. Dave and I both had never seen that kind of cat before. The beautiful cat was an Abyssinian cat. The Aby cat is gorgeous and it has the same temperament as Mohinder, both very playful and loyal to their owners. This particular cat breed is very hard to come by. There is a breeder in Racine WI who will have one ready in February. I wish I could get her earlier but, it all works out because my dad is getting married in February so Dave and I will be in Wisconsin anyway. Speaking of my dad, he just did another full marathon this morning, it was the Lakefront marathon in Milwaukee WI. I am very proud of him, Great job dad!!!!
Dave and I both had minor injuries this week. He hurt his lower back earlier this week and I pulled a muscle in my obliques during core crunch class. This is the second time I pulled that muscle doing the same type of exercise. The exercise is standing with a weight in one hand and leaning over to the side to work the obliques, my body just does not like that exercise so, I am taking that completely out of my workout regimen. There are many other ways to work your obliques without hurting your back. Luckily my little injury did not sideline me from doing any other exercises. Even if it did I still would probably find ways to work around it because I am stubborn. I believe that all people who love to work out whether it is weight lifting, running, cycling, we are all stubborn.
Dave made his first visit to the Chiropractor and his opinion about them has definitely changed. He used to think that they couldn't help much, but the chiropractor made him feel a whole lot better and explained exactly what was wrong. An inversion table is going to be our next purchase. Many people have said that it works wonders for your back.
I am down to the two week mark again. Starting tomorrow the carb depletion begins, down to 80 grams per day, not to hard to do. Shannon said that the water depletion will not be as severe as it was last time, thank goodness. With Bikini the judges want the girls looking a little softer, so extreme water depletion is not necessary. That is it for right now.
Talk to you soon.

maintenance, maintenance

Hi,
So far this week I have been accosted by three different people about tanning beds and skin care. It is common knowledge that using a tanning bed is not the safest thing to do. But, this is what is necessary when you are training for a bodybuilding competition. After the show on November 6th I will have a six month break before the next show, so I do not plan on going to the tanning salon for much longer. My skin regimen is also pretty pathetic. The routine for me is washing my face in the morning and putting Vaseline all over it. A good friend of mine told me the importance of taking good care of your skin. From now on the new regigmen is use moisturizer in the morning and before bed.
Training is coming along good. I have been training more independently now. I use to train with Shannon about six days a week and now we only meet one or two times. Shannon trains clients at Lemoore, In shape in Hanford and sells real estate, she is also training for a show in November. She has mastered the art of juggling a bunch of different things, I don't know how she does. It's good to be training on my own, eventually I will be training clients myself. Unfortunately Dave has been the Guinea pig. We worked on quads yesterday. We did sets of walking lunges, squats, leg extensions, calf raises and then Dave went for a run. When he got home he started feeling a pull in his lower back and it has been hurting ever since. I am feeling horrible about that. When I mentioned this to Shannon she said "what did you do to him" Honestly, I don't think he was pushed too hard. Injuries just happen. Hopefully he will still want to work out with me.

Slow Roasting

Good evening,
It was a great day for football, Packers won and the Bengals won, wooohooo!!!!! Packers are 2-0, hopefully they can keep this winning streak going.
I can't believe it has been over a month since my last competition and my next one is less than a month away. This next one will be a little less stressful on myself and my trainer Shannon. This time around I am utilizing a powerful tanning bed. 12 minute sessions every other day are darkening me up pretty good as you can see from the picture, the face is a little red but, as a whole it is working out. It is like I am slow roasting myself, that is exactly what laying in the tanning bed feels like. And I will also be utilizing the spray tan service they have on site of the competition and that is it. Shannon will night be applying four coats of the body paint on me. As I have mentioned before that all competitors need to be tanning for competitions. The tan is a very tricky process and body painting is especially hard because you don't know if your skin will absorb the crap or not, a lot of times it streaks and you have to keep reapplying, it could take up to four hours to do this. So, I decided screw that I will just get the spray tan. Shannon and I both think that it is risky relying on the spray tan service. If I turn out looking horrible then I will know not to use it next time. Food wise I am enjoying the last couple of weeks of eating a variety of healthy food and cheating one day a week. October first is when I will have to go back to the diet of chicken and green vegetables. Workouts are going great, I really appreciate Shannon meeting with me several times a week to not only work out but, also practice posing and the walking. She is awesome.