2016 WNBF Washington State Natural Recap
Holy smokes, it's been over 3 months since I last posted. I've been wanting to post for a long time now, but it seemed the longer I waited, the more things I wanted to update on, and thus the longer it would take me to write a solid update, etc. Competition season was quite the busy time for me, and after finishing my last show for the season in April, I just unplugged for a bit and focused on myself. I don't post on this blog for other people. I post for myself, as a tool for reflection, and as a way to document my journey, my ups and downs, and to have something to look back on. I do wish I had done more posts then, though, because post-season is always an interesting time for me.
April 16th was the WNBF Washington State Natural Pro/Am in Marysville, WA, which was my WNBF pro debut. The show was smooth, lots of great competition, and the atmosphere of the natural bodybuilding community was awesome. I got to meet some new people and catch up with old friends -- 2 of my favorite things about the sport.
Here's my video of pre-judging. 20 minutes of comparisons in the pro bikini class of 11 competitors. It was exhilarating and exhausting all at the same time. I love being on stage, and this show was no exception.
I placed 8th (out of 11) which is the lowest I've finished in a competition. I'm happy with what I brought to stage, and this was a good eye opener for what I need to work on. My feedback was to come in leaner and to continue developing glutes and shoulders. I also received feedback about having a beautiful stage presence, which was nice to hear, although I do think my actual posing didn't best showcase my physique.
The show promoters were giving away a trip to compete at the WNBF World Championships in LA in November, which I won (!!!) and competing in this show qualified me for Worlds. I am super, super excited.
Although I didn't do as well as I had hoped, the sting didn't hurt too bad. I had never *not* gotten top 5 before, and I expected myself to be pretty bummed, but that really wasn't the case. I realized that, win or lose, we are the ones that eternalize our thoughts and feelings about it, while the rest of the world moves on. My family and friends loved me no less and were no less proud of me, and the least I could do was to give myself the same treatment -- loving myself no less, and being no less proud of myself. I was hungry for more though, and I immediately went to work planning to bring a better package this fall.
I hired a coach for the first time ever which was a great decision and I've been enjoying it. I joined Dr. Joe's TEAM K -- Michelle does my nutrition, and Luke does my training. I've been seeing solid results and am feeling optimistic for this fall. :) I also headed straight back to posing with the best of the best, Andre Scott, for an individual session to get my mind right, and am looking forward to getting back into going to class regularly, hopefully this weekend. I'm not the most competitive person, at least not against other people, because I know that I can't control who shows up. But I have been noticing a growing competitive spirit against myself, all in the vein of self-improvement, and wanting to be better than I was last time. I'm really excited about what I do this fall. :)
Settling in to an improvement season, I did really well for the first 4-5 weeks post show. By month 2, I was struggling to find my own personal balance, something that has been a repeated theme for me after finishing a competition season. It's like the previous season feels so far gone, yet the upcoming season seems so far away, and finding that balance is a challenge for me. I did a lot of talking with Michelle, reflecting, trying things, reflecting, trying new or different things, and reflecting some more. Each day I continue to learn more and more about myself on this journey, and even (or especially) the most trying days teach me valuable lessons. Currently, I'm feeling really good -- super motivated and believing in myself and the things I want to accomplish with the fall competition season. :)
April 16th was the WNBF Washington State Natural Pro/Am in Marysville, WA, which was my WNBF pro debut. The show was smooth, lots of great competition, and the atmosphere of the natural bodybuilding community was awesome. I got to meet some new people and catch up with old friends -- 2 of my favorite things about the sport.
Here's my video of pre-judging. 20 minutes of comparisons in the pro bikini class of 11 competitors. It was exhilarating and exhausting all at the same time. I love being on stage, and this show was no exception.
I placed 8th (out of 11) which is the lowest I've finished in a competition. I'm happy with what I brought to stage, and this was a good eye opener for what I need to work on. My feedback was to come in leaner and to continue developing glutes and shoulders. I also received feedback about having a beautiful stage presence, which was nice to hear, although I do think my actual posing didn't best showcase my physique.
The show promoters were giving away a trip to compete at the WNBF World Championships in LA in November, which I won (!!!) and competing in this show qualified me for Worlds. I am super, super excited.
Although I didn't do as well as I had hoped, the sting didn't hurt too bad. I had never *not* gotten top 5 before, and I expected myself to be pretty bummed, but that really wasn't the case. I realized that, win or lose, we are the ones that eternalize our thoughts and feelings about it, while the rest of the world moves on. My family and friends loved me no less and were no less proud of me, and the least I could do was to give myself the same treatment -- loving myself no less, and being no less proud of myself. I was hungry for more though, and I immediately went to work planning to bring a better package this fall.
I hired a coach for the first time ever which was a great decision and I've been enjoying it. I joined Dr. Joe's TEAM K -- Michelle does my nutrition, and Luke does my training. I've been seeing solid results and am feeling optimistic for this fall. :) I also headed straight back to posing with the best of the best, Andre Scott, for an individual session to get my mind right, and am looking forward to getting back into going to class regularly, hopefully this weekend. I'm not the most competitive person, at least not against other people, because I know that I can't control who shows up. But I have been noticing a growing competitive spirit against myself, all in the vein of self-improvement, and wanting to be better than I was last time. I'm really excited about what I do this fall. :)
Settling in to an improvement season, I did really well for the first 4-5 weeks post show. By month 2, I was struggling to find my own personal balance, something that has been a repeated theme for me after finishing a competition season. It's like the previous season feels so far gone, yet the upcoming season seems so far away, and finding that balance is a challenge for me. I did a lot of talking with Michelle, reflecting, trying things, reflecting, trying new or different things, and reflecting some more. Each day I continue to learn more and more about myself on this journey, and even (or especially) the most trying days teach me valuable lessons. Currently, I'm feeling really good -- super motivated and believing in myself and the things I want to accomplish with the fall competition season. :)
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