Man you guys—it’s been a while since I’ve posted on this thing! Life gets BUSY and awesome and then before you know it several weeks just whoosh on by! Can y’‘all believe summer is just about here?!
If you’ve been keeping up with my Instagram / Social Media posts then you’ve probably figured out I’m prepping for my next Figure competition! Several months ago (January) Shane and I joined an amazing gym here in Fort Worth, the Fort Worth Field House. It has just been awesome and was exactly what we were looking for! The environment, people, and atmosphere are just awesome and just what these gymrats needed. We LOVE training there! It was a difficult decision, but I also decided to find a coach that was closer to me and someone that I could train with several times a week to help me get where I want to be with my next season. Luckily, I crossed paths with Joe Cortez, the owner of Field House. Not only is he a Bodybuilder himself, he’s an awesome trainer and contest prep coach too! We hit it off, and I’ve been training with him 2 to now 3x a week for the past several months and it has been AWESOME. Shane comes once a week to train too! I’m seeing some major results and it has been so great to have someone pushing me in the gym! Joe’s training style is a lot different than my last coach, so it took some getting used to, but I always know he’s going to challenge me and push me in the gym, which was exactly what I was looking for! There are also several girls and guys there in the gym who also compete, so I’ve been able to get to know fellow competitors and other fitness minded people which has just been awesome too! Honestly, I didn’t know how much I was missing out on by not having this before, but I’m 4 weeks into my Prep for this season and feel like I’m mentally and physically in the best shape. It feels really good, and I’m super excited about the next few weeks and to see how things continue to play out!
My first show will be August 5th in Dallas, the NPC Texas Legends, followed by the NPC Johnnie Jackson August 26th in Fort Worth three weeks later. If all goes as planned and I (and my coach) feel like I’m where I need/want to be and wouldn’t come in dead last, I’m shooting to go to Pittsburgh for Nationals the last week in August. I qualified last year and really want to go for the experience and feedback— so we’ll see!
Now that I’ve caught y’all up on what’s been happening these past couple of months, I thought I’d share some goals I have for the next 12 weeks. Every Prep is different, and even though I’m only one month in I can honestly say that this one has been really awesome so far! Here we go:
1.) I want to LEARN. If y’all remember, my first Prep in 2015 was awesome well, mostly because it was the first one. I’d never done anything like that before, and everything was new and fun and exciting. I felt awesome because I was so proud of myself for pushing that hard, and felt like at the end of it all my body showed how much work I had put in. YAY! Last year’s Prep was AWFUL. Complete opposite. I pushed and pushed and my body would just not respond. Low carbs, and ultimately an hour and a half of cardio a day for about half of the entire Prep, I lost six pounds in 12 weeks. To make it worse, I let my nerves and anxiety get the best of me right before the show, and although I did fine placing wise (there were only 5 girls in my class) I was extremely disappointed because how I felt and how I looked (puffy, bloated) did NOT reflect the effort I know I put in. Super super frustrating. I know now that it was mostly because of some major hormonal and metabolic imbalances due to my birth control/ IUD and polycystic ovaries/ PCOS. What did both have in common? A girl who busted her ass and gave 110%, and LEARNING EXPERIENCES. Every experience good or bad in life will teach you something if you allow it to. I’m so thankful to have the opportunity to compete again and can’t wait to see what I learn on this journey back to the stage.
2.) I want to maintain my positive energy and attitude! Remind me of this in like 6 weeks when I’m depleted and hangry and digging deep to finish a workout, okay? Last year it was honestly probably not the best “season” of my life to be in Prep mode. We were house hunting, work was a little crazy, I had a lot of family drama going on, and I was driving an hour and half one way to go see my Coach. Although he was awesome, I wasn’t getting what I needed and I felt like most of the time I was just going through the motions of the process. Because of how frustrated I was with my lack of progress, the battle against myself in my head was just non-stop the entire time. Not exactly in the best spot mentally or emotionally to commit to the added stress of contest prep. My first Prep I was excited and motivated pretty much the entire time. This Prep feels a lot like the first but better— my physique has improved considerably, and I’m doing this for a third time, which brings an added level of confidence. My routine is predictable, I’ve got an awesome gym and the most amazing people to help support me, and that feels so awesome! I want to maintain my positivity and excitement through this process. That’s me at my core, and I want to stay true to that!
3.) Have fun and ENJOY the process! This is FUN! It’s FUN to push yourself. It’s FUN to see results. It’s FUN to razzle dazzle and strut your tan muscles off in front of strangers and your favorite people. It’s FUN to be proud of yourself and look amazing after three months of meticulous nutrition and training. If you view it any other way, I promise it’ll be pretty miserable!
4.) I WILL DO MORE THAN ONE SHOW!!! Big mistakes from before, I didn’t take full advantage of doing one more than one show after going through an entire Prep. Whomp whomp whomp. This year I’m doing at least two shows, potentially three! More importantly, I want to EARN being nationally qualified, not just get it because there were only 5 people in my class and the top 5 get NQd. I have something to prove to myself. I’m in this to crush it.
5.) Be an influencer and motivator to those around me. This goes for competitors and non-competitors! I want to be able to use my experience, my discipline, and my struggles to influence and encourage others, as an athlete, as a trainer, and as a person! I have such an opportunity and a platform to use this, and I just want to use it to be a blessing to others.
6.) Regardless of the outcome, I will be proud of myself and happy with my results. No further comment necessary 😊
That’s it! These next 12 weeks are going to FLY by. Once we get to 8 weeks out it’s like things are on fast forward! I’m really going to try to have more posts up to not only share what’s going on with the gearing up for the shows, but also to help share fitness and nutrition tips and tricks.
Thank you all again for coming along again for the ride!
Till next time,
-Mere