Competition Completion!

I did it! I’m so relieved and also a bit in awe of the whole experience.  Cue the Rocky theme song!

Let’s break down the statistics: there were nineteen men, ages 22-41, and only four women, of which I was the oldest. I won in my age group, but I feel like I can’t really count that as a win since there was no one to compete with. I was the only one in the Grand Master (50 yr olds) category. But I still appreciate the golden statues I won because I see them as an award for all my hard work. 

Age group awards aside, I did win one other award. Out of everyone competing, I won best symmetry. The symmetry award was judged based on this definition from the website: 

Symmetry of Proportion: Correspondence in size, shape, and relative position of parts on opposite sides of a dividing line or center of axis. Competitors will make quarter turns to the right on command while in their “Physique Stage Stance” Symmetry is defined as the proportional balance of opposite body parts such as: Shoulder caps to the arms and to the calves, Barrel of the chest to the quadriceps together, Upper torso tapering down to the waist and hips). 

Honestly, I was really surprised that I won. Some of the guys that competed were very defined and had great muscle tone. I can’t believe I was awarded over them, but I’m so honored and proud of myself.

What I learned: 

Now I know why people usually only enter one category. I spent so much time learning the routine for the physique category that my posing and flexing suffered more than I realized. I also learned that I really needed to work with a posing coach. When I finally got up the courage to look at my photos taken by friends, I realized how much I needed to improve my posing. A coach would’ve been able to help me refine the poses and the flexing. Another thing I learned is that tanning and oil make a huge difference under bright lights. They make all the muscles pop!

There were a lot of things I spent so much time worrying about pre-competition that ended up not mattering at all during the actual competition. A few examples are: my shoes, having tan lines, bloating, and falling. The shoes I bought from Amazon* were really great! They had padding so my feet felt great all day. I practiced walking in those heels all the time and as I said they were comfortable so I had no problems (even though I am not graceful). As for tanning, the company touched up whatever was needed. Until shortly before competition day, I was really worried about bloating, but by the day of, I was fine. I guess I have mild dehydration to thank for it. (No surprise there, that will do it!)

As for the shoes, I never had any issues there either. They were actually pretty comfortable and falling was less of a concern than I thought it would be. I had already been practicing for hours each day leading up to the competition, which helped break in the shoes and get me used to their height. Plus, while I practiced at home I had to walk on tile where there are dangerous ridges all over. Luckily, the stage at the competition is completely flat and relatively safer in comparison. All in all, it worked out okay. To be honest, now that I’ve gotten used to them, I actually really like walking in those heels. Besides, my legs look really good in them. 

What I did not expect:

Can I be blunt? I didn’t expect to look so unbelievably, over-the-top HOT! Wow, I looked like a magazine cover model! That aside, I was surprised how difficult it was to hear the judges and their cues while on stage. At one point, the judge asked me to do something but I couldn’t hear him at all. Since I was the only one on stage, there was no one to look at to see if they heard what he said. At the time, I had thought he said something about lats, so I flexed. I still don’t know if that was right, but oh well. 

I definitely didn’t expect to get the shakes once I left the stage. It was a huge adrenaline rush when I was finished, not because I was nervous, but because of the hours and hours and hours (months worth) that I had spent preparing that were all over in just a few moments…mere moments! Literally, I was only on stage for just a few minutes. I did a T-walk for each category, posing for each category, my routine for the physique category…then boom! It was done. Each category was about 2-3 minutes long. But that was probably because there weren’t any other women competing in my category. Then there’s that, I didn’t expect to be the only one in my age group and the only one in most of the categories. Granted, it was a small show and the following weekend was another competition with more competitors than this show had.

Another unexpected aspect was that the lights were so bright that I couldn’t see anyone. Maybe that was a good thing because I wasn’t distracted trying to look for friends or analyzing people’s expressions.

Most ironic: I was very confident about my routine and I had a lot of fun with it! Ironically, the routine is the reason I almost dropped out of the physique category. As of two weeks before the competition, I was terrified because I hadn’t worked out my routine yet. I need to pause and give a huge thank you to Michelle Harris of Get Poised. She was so professional, knowledgeable, timely, and basically saved me in that category. She sent me some great ideas, then I was able to put in the work and practice for hours every day. On competition day, I nailed it.

Overall, the whole competition was an enjoyable experience, especially because everyone competing was so friendly!

The tanning (by Shawnpjohn) was fantastic and worth every penny. Working with a tanning company just made the process so much easier. He and his assistant were very helpful. They were always willing to step up and do what needed to be done to help the competitors, and aid in anything that I needed (sometimes the bathing suit did not cooperate, lol).

My suit was rented from isewityoushowit (on Instagram) from Haylee Varner. It was a beautiful suit and the colors were fabulous.

Most of all, I owe a thank you to my trainer who transformed my legs and my whole body. Steve Suthers (owner of Sportlander West) was endlessly patient with my panicked texts and he guided me the whole way through the past 3-4 months (not to mention the past year—covid changed our expectations for the timing of the competition).

Best overall positive award: I learned a lot about what I can do physically, mentally, and emotionally. This competition required at least ten small deaths a day. Every day for about a year, I had to make little, but hard-core, choices, plus four months of denials. My body, mind, and heart all felt strong by the end but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t really really hard some days.

Best overall praise and struggle award: This award would go to my daughters. Do not be fooled, your whole family goes through the competition with you. For months, my kids had to get up at 10am to smell fish and broccoli. Nobody likes that. Also, I had to stop cooking with them, which we do as a family activity. Normally, we plan our meals, prep, execute, and eat! It’s a big part of our family time. But because of my diet changes, that all stopped. We all really missed it.  

On top of all that, they often walked into the living room when I was practicing my routine…barely clothed. That was a bit of a shock. To be honest, I’ve never really been a modest person so I often don’t wear pants, but that bikini is something else entirely, especially when they weren’t expecting it. 

Another big change is that they rarely got to see me or spend time with me. Working out for numerous hours per day takes a huge chunk of your time. My morning workouts were fine because they were usually still asleep, but in the evening after work I would go to the gym again. Then I would come home and eat. After eating, I was so tired that I went to bed (around 8pm most nights.) All of that piled together didn’t leave much bonding time for us. They were tired of hearing how tired I was. Please understand they are VERY supportive of me but they too had reached their limit.

• The items through Amazon are affiliate links. That means I make some money off the sale of those items. Thank you for supporting my small business.