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For those of you who don't know my husband was suddenly hospitalized for several weeks with double pneumonia and blood clots in his lungs. His condition worsened due to a series of complications and we almost lost him numerous times. This was the hardest thing our family has ever had to endure but literally by the grace of God he made it through and has come home to us and although still recovering, is on the way back. Thanks so much to all our friends and family for their amazing support and all the prayers that He heard. Special thanks to Elaine for coming out and visiting Josh in the hospital when he was really fighting for his life. This whole experience has brought us all so much closer to the Father and to each other. What seemed so unimportant and taken for granted before now is so vibrant and vital such as simple moments spent with family and friends. I'll keep this brief, just wanted to share and explain why I haven't been posting for so long and to really shout out our thanks to the Lord and all of you for your incredible outpouring of love. Proof indeed that there is still goodness in the world and that genuine prayer is not only heard but truly acted upon.

In His mighty grip,

the Fallis family

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   THIS JUST IN: Went to Whole Foods last night to stock up (hey, its offseason!). Decided it was time to get my gourmet on as I've had to cook all warrior like (weeds and woods) for too long.  So I'm perusing through the the shelves of the unusual selection of wacky and weird vinegars.  Reaching deep to grab the single-remaining bottle of a particular champagne vineger, I skillfully tipped the neighboring one a bit  too far back, which of course nudged the one next to it, which then to my amused horror, in an uncomfortably slow motion began to knock the other bottles over in a domino-like fashion halfway across the grocery aisle. I wasn't sure which was more unearthing...the fact that I had just pasted my entire body in spread-eagle-like fashion against rows of expensively bottled shelving hoping to spare the masses, or the 4 bottles of balsamic vinegar that have now showered themselves onto my new jeans and lay in a pool of dark-stained soup and broken glass at my feet.  When my little girls came running over with their built-in megaphones, I had to graciously explain to them that this was not a re-enactment of the Titanic and that the red puddle I stood in was not Mommy bleeding to death.  Clean up on isle Kimberly! I went to the clerk for help and he looked at me and said "I've got just the thing to fix this." and came back with a $7 bar of divine dark Swiss chocolate and handed it to me. If I weren't married to the perfect man already I would have proposed to him on the spot. What other man would know how a woman really works??? Men, take note!
 
Wow, it's already been a little over a week from the cup. Time to put down the fork and pick up the mouse and rewind my mind about the whole experiences. First thanks are in order to the incredible Brad and Elaine Craig. This is really the first time I've ever gotten the chance to see Elaine in action wearing multiple hats. I got a glimpse during the Ironman but when she stepped up and coached a posing class I attended and then MC'd by training videos I got to see a whole other Elaine. This is who Josh has been raving about all these years and YOWZA this superchic can really turn this mother out!!! Elaine, words can't describe the appreciation I have for you and Brad and everything you do. Wow. You really ROCK is about as close as I can come. Thank you so much for letting me babbleblog here as well. I've met so many wonderful people this way as well as received so much feedback that it's nice to know that Christ is working thru me and impacting others.
 
Ok, here's the Sally Fields academy awards thank you speech. Ready? Thanks to Diane, Rachel, Noelle, Tanji, Holly, Lisa, Kristen, Save Fitness, Mark Mason, April Greer, Chrissy, Lori, Alicia and Rocco, Martin and Renatta, Steve, Bill, my children and hubby and Michelle Mayberry, Jennifer, Kelsey. Big shoutouts to Tanji for just always being my inspiration and my guide and hero and just allaround my UH-HUH grrrll. There's no "can't" in Tanji and I want to be just like her when I finally grow up. Not gonna say anything about my sister Diane who is the energizer bunny when it comes to her lunatic schedule but always finds time to give a word of encouragement and support and here's to Diane Rudholm for prez!!!! (never did come up with a nickname for you, dang!). Noelle for the love and sponsorship and love (did I mention the love?), Holly for making the best suit I have ever seen and for being a true friend, Chrissy, Lori, Alicia, Rachel and Kristen for being my rocks in a hard place and everyone else for just giving and contributing. I love you all so dearly and if I missed anyone please understand it's the carbs kicking in and forgive me. Mark Mason, you are the best. I can't believe the feedback I'm getting off the Quest for the Cup vids. You captured me as I really am. all GRRRR and stuff when I train and with Elaine's professionalism I didn't come across as a bimbo which was my greatest fear (at least I hope I didn't!). I can't believe the Lord put me in the presence of so many Christian women who are LEADERS and who exemplify grace and power and beauty and just an inner light that burns in them and inspires everyone that comes into contact with them. What an honor to have had this experience. When we move to Cali this summer we will be back monthly and I want to keep in touch with all of you and if you're goin' back to Cali you have my digits, let's get all beachlike and never stop empowering each other. Josh has set his sites on doing the old man's division (as he calls it) Emerald Cup in 2012 so that definitely signifies the end of the world so LOOK OUT Y'ALL. Don't call it a comeback!!!! I wanna see my baby rock a set of speedos one last time!!!
 
I went downtown to Ohana's with the Save Fitness power chics last nite and had a blast while simultaneously celebrating Rose's birthday. Kristen is a kick and a sweetie! Who knew??? Definitely someone I want to hang with in the future. Thanks Tanj for the invite. Too much fun. Nice to pose for pics instead of doing quarter turns and trying to "pop" my lats for once. LOL! Great sushi, great company. I look forward to more of these.
 
Alright time to look back at the cup. I'm gonna be honest, I'm a competitor and I compete for both the journey and a win. I always shoot for the stars and hope to at least end up on the moon. If I don't try to absolutely exceed myself and if I just trained for the fun of it I would never push myself so far beyond what I could do, and if that was the case I would just train for myself and not comptete. It's called a competition for a reason. That said, I felt like I came in WAY better than I was at the Ironman which was my goal. I guess you could say that if the competition was between me and myself, I won. No, I wasn't happy with my placement and I know that is not the popular way to look at it, but again I'm an athlete that has competed her whole life and I just support honest placements. So there, I've said it and I hope that doesn't get me in trouble but I promised Elaine and Josh that I would speak the truth here. It's very confusing to know what the judges are looking for: hard or soft and while we added much needed mass to my upper body we still went for a feminine athletic look. Oh well, I'm gonna take a couple years off and build some mass in my shoulders and arms and come back swingin' cuz thats the only way I play. I want to make it clear here that I am not putting down the girls that placed ahead of me or the judges. This is a subjective sport and the criteria seems to constantly flux so I am just going to grit my teeth and hit it HARDER than ever and bring the best Kiminator I can next time, so please don't hate me for speaking my mind here. I shoot for the WIN and I'm not afraid to say it, is that such a bad thing?
 
So until next time, follow your dreams. Follow your heart and I'll see you at the squat rack!!!
 
MENTAL CHEW:
 
I will reflect on the past, set goals for the future, but live in the NOW.
 
The law of presence - living in the moment:  "Time is a paradox, stretching between a 'past' and 'future' that have no reality except in our own minds.  The idea of time is a convention of thought and language, a social agreement.  Here is the deeper truth:  We have only this moment."  Dan Millman
 

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“Confront the dark parts of yourself, and work to banish them with illumination and forgiveness. Your willingness to wrestle with your demons will cause your angels to sing. Use the pain as fuel, as a reminder of your strength.” ~August Wilson

OK, it's Sunday nite and five more wakeups til I hit the stage for the biggest contest of my life. The Cup. Oh yeah. It's on fo sho!!! I'm bringin a whole new Kimberly than what I demonstrated at the Ironman. No more car wreck days before the show. I'm raring to go! Did my final heavy leg workout today and then I start my depletion tomorrow before my loading phase. I'm a livin for that glass of wine Josh promised me Thursday nite after tanning if I live thru all this. I usually drink some 2 gallons of water daily so starting to cut that back tomorrow for a few days will be the biggest challenge but I'm up for it. I'm so physched to see all the wonderful friends I've made on this amazing journey compete. All the bloggers and Tanji's Save Fitness superchicks. It's gonna be Marti Grass!!! This is my last show for a while so I really am anxious to do my best. I want to thank Tanji and Elaine and Michelle so much for helping with my posing. My lats are a poppin for the first time and everything feels natural and I'm finally used to the heels. Lol.

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CHECK EM OUT!!! THANKS MARK, THANKS ELAINE, THANKS CHRISSY!!! HOW FUN! Let me know what you guys think.

http://www.youtube.com/user/photomaninc#p/a/u/3/YaWRtVvIC_E

http://www.youtube.com/user/photomaninc#p/a/u/2/rq42LX5A3jc

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Just got back from Tanji's Vancouver show Sat. night. We were only able to go for prejudging and we got to bring the girls so that was their first.  Since Ironman and the Cup are on casino grounds, the girls were/are unable to attend.  We wanted them to get a taste of what Mom does when she competes.  Alicia caught a glimpse of some young fitness/gymnastics girls around her age and now she's got the bug.  It worked!  We had to keep promising her we'd show her online when the show was posted.  Everyone looked fantastic and it was so great to see everyone. Made me all GRRRRR to want to hop on stage and bring it Down girl, only a couple more weeks. Boy, I am rearing to go. Everyday I see really cool things happenin' with the bod and it's so fun to see all the hard work and sacrifice FINALLY beginning to show. I've got leg cuts that I never dreamed I'd ever have and I'm still over two weeks out. YIPPPPEEEEEEEEEEEEE Skippy. About freakin' time boy!  Starting tomorrow, Josh has me doing lunges up and down our insanely steep hill in front of our home. I'm no longer commenting on his mental status but the results are worth it. Gotta say my Honey knows his stuff when it comes to contest prep. Thanks babe. Was really impressed with the turnout at Tanji's show. Looks like it was standing room only. Lots of fun and so great for the girls to go. Now if only I could get them stop vogueing the poses at random moments. Loved seeing my sponsor Noelle there as well. Thanks for the energy shot babe, You always take care o me.
 
Cheat meals are overrated.  Had my last real cheat meal after the Vancouver as we had plans to meet up with friends for a business dinner.  My insulin levels have been flatlined for so long and food portioned out for so long that I sat there staring at my meal unable to eat much.  My body didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the carbs.  We wanted to dial me out on the diet and calories for a day before going hard for these last 2 1/2 weeks.  It was a strange experience to say the least but as a result, I felt abnormally normal today and my energy levels were peaked and I got a great arm workout in. 
 
 
Soooo....the Abcircle thingie is an oblique assassin....possibly a mental health hazard as well. I can barely do 10 minutes on it... and I'm labeled the cardio queen due to my hour upon hour sessions trying to get the gold at the E-cup. My obliques are burned toast. Signing up for a photo shoot with April Greer for after the show as I don' know when I'll be in this kind of shape again. How many of you have ever done sissy squats? No, not the ones they do in San Francisco but the ones you do in the gym.  Old Skool is right. Temporary insanity is doing them supersetted with 3-way leg extensions with your toes pointed in, and then out, and then straight ahead. Grab on to something solid about shoulder height (your gym buddy's thigh might work...if not, change your gym buddy) and then squat down with your head arched way back and then squat up and back with your head still arched backwards and down as much as you can. Only do two-thirds range of movement and watch your knees, but these puppies flame and the results are fast and furious. COACH (I have officially ended his honorable title of "Hubby" until my training for the Cup is complete) has me doing inverted leg presses on the Smith machine lying on a bench supersetted with one leg lunges on the hammer deadlift machine. Buns O Knots indeed! Booty startin' to perk a little now thanks to this little hostile number. I guess you coud say that the END justifies the MEAN. Low Carb pun for the bun.  
 
Early day tomorrow so signing off.  Another whippin' word of wisdom to hang in your closet: 
 
Enjoy the process, no matter what it brings you or what you bring to it.  As Margaret Bonnano states, " It's only possible to live happily ever after on a moment-to-moment basis"  .
 
The Kiminator

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OK, TOO MUCH TO COVER SO I'LL DIG RIGHT IN. Five weeks left. WhooHoo! I'm rialin' and dialin'. Josh says I'm right on track and I can really see changes coming in pretty much every day know which is a blessing to my outlook and momentum. I'm at 800 reps of abs daily right now building 100 a week to 1000. I'm doing legs and delts 3 times weekly right now and HEAVY upper body and light legs to complete the sculpting I've been working on since the Ironman to bring it all together. With Elaine's and Tanji's weekly posing classes I feel like I can finally spread my lats for the first time ever and that will make all the difference in my quarter turns. I went to the mall today with hubby and wore my heels to get used to them and that was amusing. Sweats and clear plastic high heels. Elaine will tell you I probably looked a lot like some of Josh's old girlfriends-LOL. My diet continues to tighten up every week as we drop all carbs going into the final couple weeks up to the last week deplete/load. I'm eating mostly veggies and salads now for carbs while doing 2 hours a day of cardio. AUUGGGHHHH. But it's WAY better than the 3 hours a day I had to put in last year to catch up last minute after my car wreck. I've gott give mad props to Noelle at Max Muscle Bellevue for turning me onto the max before and after workout supps and the liquid multi vitamins as they are flat out really kicking my derriere! Thanks Noelle. Josh talked to Mark Mason today and we're setting up to do the RX Muscle training series on my preparation for the Emerald Cup so really excited about that. We're going to shoot at the Kirkland Gold's Gym.

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So physched!!! My training is just dialing in. Thanks to Elaine and Tanji, my lats are starting to pop when I do my quarter turns. Josh is killing me with all sorts of new exercises that I’ve never heard of: Lying on your side cable laterals? Incline bench dumbbell pullovers? Serratus crunches? 21’s on squats? Spider dumbbell curls off the back of an incline bench? Doing incline flyes and dumbbell presses starting at 90 degrees and lowering 10 at a time to flat? OUCH!!! I am sworn to secrecy on my new glute buster program but will reveal it just before the show as it is decoder ring double super secret, (hint, it involves a harness and a jeep). We start doing shoulders and legs 3 times a week next week for a few weeks to really bring out the caps and sweeps and tighten everything up. Thanks for your kind comments Elaine regarding my increase in shape but you know you inflated Josh’s head up even more if that’s even possible!

Wanna give a huge shout out to my sponsor MAX MUSCLE BELLEVUE!!!! Noelle is the absolute BESTEST! She’s putting me on liquid egg whites, the house liquid vits, and the new BODY EFFECTS AND EXT are off the chain when it comes to revving up my workouts to triple GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR status. Spin me out baby..Go see her and the whole crew and tell ‘em the Kiminator said to whip you up a shake sample and let Noelle give you the rundown on what’s new and exciting on the supplement front. You will thank me fo’ sho’! We just got our Emerald Cup tics and our hotel rooms and Josh’s business partner is flying in from Nebraska to watch me compete. It’ll be his and his lovely wife’s first show ever so that will be fun. Holly Petersen is going wild with my suit prep so be prepared to be blinded by some bling when I step on stage. Holly, Holly….she’s our woMAN!

Tanji is doing classes almost every Saturday for the time being so really going to focus on my presentation and we can’t wait for the Vancouver to cheer on Diane and the gals. Allright, just wanted to touch base. I’ll be writing a lot more now that I’m rialed and dialed.

RAAWWWWRRRR and stuff!

God bless! In His good grip I remain His faithful servant in all that I do. Thank you Father!

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Sick, sick, sick!!! Just great. I don't think I've ever had a cold this bad. Blah! Def not able to give 1000 percent to my training although Josh says I'm still on track and at least it's not the car wreck I got into a couple weeks before the Ironman. Ok, enough of my whining. I'm still training and dieting and doin' the cardio thang, just rarin' to give it my all so when the Lord heals me look out! Booyah! Went to Tanji's posing class Saturday and will be at Elaine's this Saturday. Goin' to the Vancouver to cheer on the gals. Just dialing everything in. Josh took me and the girls out to El Gauchos for Valentine's dinner date and he had the girls glam it up and it was so much fun. Thanks honey. It's these moments they'll always remember. Don't really have that much to post today, just really sleepy but wanted to stay in touch. Much more later I promise after I get the wind back beneath my wings.

God bless!

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WE'RE PROUD TO ANNOUNCE MAX MUSCLE BELLEVUE AS ONE OF KIMBERLY'S NEW SPONSORS IN HER QUEST FOR THE CUP. THANKS TO NOELLE AND NIEL FOR ALL THEIR SUPPORT!!! GO BABY GO!!! (posted by josh as my honey is passed out from no carbs and cardio).

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Jay and Max Muscle Bellevue ROCK!!! Look out Jay, Rachel and I are "GUNNING" for you-LOL!

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Quick note: Went to the Jay Cutler appearance at the new Max Muscle in Bellevue (wow, you gotta check this place out). The staff was amazing (Hi Amanda) and I met the owners and they were so nice and helpful, (Thanks Noelle and Niel)! Jay was as big as a house and very polite and fun. Very accommodating to his tons of fans that came out to show their support. So rare in today’s superstars-yay Jay! Go to:  http://www.bellevue.maxmuscle.com/ to see more and go in today and tell em’ the Kiminator sent ya.

Got to see my galpal Rachel Murray there and boy what a cutiepie! The northwest sure does produce the most beautiful warrior women on the planet. Just checkout Elaine’s facebook profile pic of when she competed, and then of course ya got Diane and Tanji and numerous others. Wow, makes me proud to have rainwater in my veins as a true northwesterner. Got to see Tanji, and I agree with Elaine, she looks better than ever. Obviously whatever Gaspari is feeding this super chick is working like crazy. Look out the rest of the pro fitness contingent, the Tanjinator is in da hizzouse. “To the left, to the left…..” Represent Tanj! I am joining Ms. Johnson’s save fitness and you can too by going to http://www.savefitness.net and showing your support and thereby enlisting Tanji’s own personal arsenal of tips and techniques to take you to the next level.

Ok, just wanted to bring everybody up to speed on what I thought was a class event by bringing the reining Mr. O to our home. Thanks Max Muscle Bellevue-YOU OFFICIALLY ROCK!!!

God bless you and yours and may today be the start of something new and exciting in your life that sparks your passion and inspires you.

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Whoo boy! Been busy so sorry haven't blogged for awhile! We launched our new business so it's been hectic to say the least. OK, enough of that, let's get it on! Today is the 11-week countdown 'til the cup so trying to get as much mass in certain areas as I can before I switch to my shaping and tie-in work and then the final ripping up phase into the last week of carb/sodium deplete/load.  Yes, I'm a freak... sounds like I'm a walkin' talkin' lab experiment. What's a girl to do? I've had to really step up my cardio to accelerate the fat loss. My injury from my car accident is still kicking me in the glutes so going to massage, PT and chiro is quite the load when combined with business, momming, wifeing, training, yadda, yadda, yadda. I read Diane's blog and her schedule seems crazier than mine, if that's possible, so see ladies: THERE ARE NO EXCUSES!!! I think Elaine even trains super late at night to get her lift on so just make it a priority and do it for you. There is no wealth after spiritual wealth like your health and that kind of energy and confidence spills over to so many other aspects of your life that it just changes everything. So set your brain to train to the insane.
 
I would like to put in a word here for Pastor Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church in Ballard who went to Haiti and is doing so much to help there. Contact Mars Hill or www.churcheshelpingchurches.com for awesome ways that you can get involved. Mars Hill dontated over half a million dollars from their Church alone!!! What a testament of faith and love!!! The videos and news coming out with story after story of heroic people like Pastor Mark walking the Lord's talk makes me just want to shout out His name in praise. I think God gives us these chances to prove our faith in standing up for more than what we are and demonstrating our willingness to love our neighbors so c'mon y'all-do whatcha can and pray hard for our brothers and sisters. Thanks and God bless! I can't believe I complain about not getting to eat carbs when there are starving people who don't even have the choice. Makes one think don't it?
 
I'll be at the Bellevue Max Muscle on Jan 30th to see big Jay Cutler and Tanji's Vancouver show so if you see me please come up and say "HI". We're hoping to take our girls to Tanji's show so that should be fun! It'll be their first one. I just have to keep them from hootin' and hollerin' too much. Oh well, maybe for Diane we'll be very loud and proud!!! Go girrrrlllll!
 
Ok, onto training. Josh showed me how to do glute presses on the lying leg curl in front of it with a mat and my tush has been knotted up ever since. Thanks Babe! We superset these with one leg lunges on the hammer deadlift machine or one-legged presses for the ultimate butt buster. Try 'em and you'll be amazed. Really trying to bulk up my upper inner chest and lateral delts so pounding HEAVY hammer and dumbell incline presses. I touch and squeeze the dumbells together at the top of the press to concentrate the area. We do a lot of low-cable crossovers supersetted with decline pushups to failure and sometimes tri-set these with two-second hold pec-decks to really tear it up. I've put on a tremedous amount of delt size which I feel I really need in order to stand out in the lineup by doing a super old skool exercise where I take the olympic bar and clean it up to my chin, do a front press, lower it behind my neck and then press it back up, bring it back down to the front and lower to my waist and then repeat. We add weights slowly and aside from train-wrecking the bar into my chin last week have really enjoyed this grueling exercise to finish delts. Another Hubby original is to take a cambered pressdown bar and prop it between the handles on a seated bench press machine and do close grip presses supersetted with machine dips for the ultimate tricep burn. Ok, one final: do your machine shoulder presses sitting backwards to really hit a different angle. Try supersetting sitting forwards with sitting backwards on the same machine.
 
Allright, gotta jet. Let me leave you as always with some recent quotes that help insprire me to go beyond what everyone else thinks is possible, to the Lord's realm of the infinite that is His Kingdom and the ONLY thing worth truly striving for:
 
 "Worthwhile goals demand effort, risk, and sacrifice.  You have to persist through fear and doubt; you have to draw on inner resources and become more than you were before.  Every new challenge serves as an initiation:  You meet discouragement; you overcome discomfort, boredom, and frustration; and you find out what you're made of....What pulls you through the muddy paths of life is the vision that inspired you to begin the quest.  It can draw you like a magnet through the muck and mire.  So the first step in any process is creating a direction, choosing a goal that shines for you....Well, you won't discover it by waiting. So don't weigh ideas or wonder; don't doubt your direction or depend on others to tell you what you should or shouldn't do.  Go toward what attracts or excites or inspires you--toward what touches your heart.  Ask yourself what's worth the effort and the sacrifices that come with committment to any goal."
 
In Faith and Fitness,
 
Kimberly

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Hey everybody. I just entered the Flex magazine Mr. Olympia weekend bikini model search contest. If y'all would be so kind as to vote for me I would really welcome the opportunity to represent the Pacific Northwest in this fashion. Thanks to all of you for the overwhelming response to my blog. It is such a treasure to be able to share with you and you are my heros. All the gals and moms in the trenches fighting day in day out to look, feel, and be their best is just the most inspirational thing in the world outside of serving our awesome God. Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit bought at a a great price and not being at our best in my opinion is just not giving Him ultimate regard. The Bible is clear as to how the temple is to be built and we must take that to heart in how we arm ourselves as warriors in the Holy war against the enemy. Thanks again for spending this time with me and for all your support. All my love and God bless. More later. Muchas smooches, da Kiminator.

To vote go to:

www.flexonline.com

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Huge 4 way birthday bash this weekend so ya I junked it up, I junked it down, I even junked it all around. Last pigout before warrior mode diet and training for da Cup! Wanna give a shout out to Tanji for her birthday as well. Yay us Tanj!!! Gettin' bettah and bettah every year. I'm just so blessed by the Lord for all my friends and family. Thanks guys, you mean everything to me. Big Hugs!!! OK, enough of that, lets get it on.

I mentioned silohette training before and a bunch of you have asked me what the heck that means so let me clarify: It means training to project a certain shape especially when you are doing your turns. Josh learned this from Frank Zane and Cory Everson back in da day. So you really train up your deltoid lateral and rear heads, your lateral tricep and brachialis, upper chest and and upper inner chest, lat sweep, intercostals and serratus, low back, upper glute and tie in, ham and quad sweep and inner calf. Add vacuums to this and you train for a longer, leaner, look that features muscles that "pop" when you turn and flex that few others have focused on and it makes you really stand out. At least I hope to achieve that for the Cup. Josh doesn't believe in any direct oblique work and cringes when he sees women doing dumbell side bends or training their lower pecs (when are you ever going to see that development and aren't we all working AGAINST gravity not FOR it??? Train for shape first and everything else will follow is his philosophy and it works for me.

Quick funny: my new nickname is "HAMBONE". Josh told everyone the hilarious event that happened at the Ironman where some HUGE guy kept yelling "Hambone!!!" at me thruout the night show and when we later walked by him, Josh (who's not so small himself) asked the guy to explain.  When he came back shaking his head and told me I about died. He told my husband that he meant no disrespect but that he liked my look and just wanted to knaw on me like a big ol' hambone. Josh didn't know whether to hit him or laugh and thank our Lord did the Christian thing but the name has unfortunately stuck. What a slice.....! You meet all kinds.

After all the holidays I'm at my top weight of 145 and doing HEAVY upper body moves. The idea is to slowly cut out allmost all carbs and up cardio while continuing to train as heavy as possible on upper body to increase and maintain mass. I want to compete at 128 to 132 after depleting and carbing back up (more on this later and I'll get to my supplementation thoughts next time as well). I did 50's for alternate DB curls the other day and 4 plate t bar rows so really trying to add the extra upper body mass I feel I need to be competetive for the Cup. Have any of you tried doing the lunges in the Hammer deadlift unilateral machine with one foot back and up on the brace??? Ohyeah dey burnnnnnnn. Give em a try. Siff legged deads on a bench are a mainstay too to really round out the hams, try supersetting them with lying leg curls with your hips stabilized on the bench. Pre exhaust movements for my upper chest are really bringing out the definition as well with incline flyes supersetted with incline DB presses. Work up the rack and back down and then say "I must, I must, I must increase my bust....." (or not.....). Just a thought.

Ok, thats all folks. Until next time. Praise God and ask yourself "What are you grateful for?" "What makes you happy?" You can't look down if you're a' lookin' up. Call a friend or relative TODAY that you haven't talked to in a while and see how they're doing and see if that doesn't just make your day. Put a little good out there in the darkness and see if it don't come back to you tenfold. Just sayin'........

Thought for the week:   "Unless you realize you have the power to say 'no',  you can never really say 'yes'.  To your relationships.  To your work.  To your life.  To anything.  You don't have to wait to make positive, empowering changes.  You don't HAVE to go to school; you don't HAVE to go to work;  you don't HAVE to go to war; you don't HAVE to be married, or have children, or act as other people expect or desire.  You don't HAVE to do anything.  Just recognize that every action or inaction has consequences, and that your willingness to accept these consequences gives you the power and freedom to choose who you are, where you are, and what you will do.  That's when life changes from an obligation to a blessed opportunity.  That's when miracles happen."

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Woof! Legs today. Augh. Josh had me do lots of glutes today and med-heavy squats. We finished with 10 sets of squats pyramiding up to 225 for two sets of 6 and then back down. My best ever is 345 for a triple but we don't do heavy legs anymore as my upperbody is the one that needs more thickness and we're just focusing on shape and cuts and tie ins for the lower half at this point. Tanji calls Josh "old skoool" as he competed in the 80's and trained with Tom Platz and Zane, etc. back in the day so he really pulls some dusty exercises and routines out of his hat that get us some really weird looks in the gym but boy howdy do they ever work. I'm gonna give up some of those tips here so you can benefit from a leetle old skooolin' as well. Tip 1. superset opposing bodyparts together and really go for the pump, ie: chest and back, bis and tris, quads and hams. Tip 2. superset 20 rep breathing squats with dumbell crossbench pullovers. breathing squats are when you take two deep breaths at the top of each squat, really stretch out on the pullovers. Tip 3. do lying on your back v bar cable rows to really fill in your mid back like nothing else. Tip 4. do 100's every once and a while to really shock a bodypart. my lateral delts were basically non existant until Josh had me start doing 100 rep sets of laterals and presses. Yowza! Leg extensions are a total burn doing this as well. Try turning your toes in on leg extensions and see if you feel a different burn. Yay old skoool!

I used to be 125 at 5'6" and do tons of cardio and was skinny fat and very unhappy with my apperance. My diet consisted primarily of what I thought were good carbs. Now I'm 145 offseason and 130ish for competition and I'm very happy with the shape I've achieved thru Josh's silhouette training program and a hi pro/med fat diet. More on silhouette training later but for diet I eat the standard 6 meals a day of clean protein and good oils and fiber from grains and salads and I supplement like crazy, more on that later as well.

I wanted to wish everyone the happiest and healthiest of new years. May God bless you and your families and make this the best year ever for you. The other day I came downstairs and my two little girls were doing the figure posing routines they saw me practicing. They ask so many questions about training and diet and the show. They critiqued all the contestant's suits, hair and makeup. I got the worst of it. The whole thing was so hilarious. It was like listening to two mini Joan Rivers run down the red carpet celebrity apperances. I gotta get that on tape. I'm so grateful that they are growing up in a house of health where they are learning not to be ashamed of their bodies as I was taught to be. I struggled for years with eating disorders and never felt adequate until the Lord led me to a better place. I don't want my girls to go thru any of that so we are showing them thru scripture that the body is the temple of the spirit and that we are soldiers in the fight against evil and in both these cases we are to be the best we can be in every area of life including our physical health and well being and there is no shame in wanting to look and feel your best. In fact just the opposite so all you Christian ladies out there who feel guilty about going to the gym or maybe wanting to compete ask yourself what God would want you to do to best set an example to others as far as what Christians are capable of. Aren't we to look for ways to shout out the good news? What better way than to let your body do the talking in showing your respect for the Spirit's temple. I can't tell you how many people, both men and women, my physique has given me the opportunity to witness to and I wouldn't give that up for the world. I was so thrilled to hear how many of the competitors gave thier first thanks to the Lord upon winning at the Ironman. What better testimony can you give? Ok, nuff said. Just trying to get y'all to overcome and come over.

Peace out for now and thanks for all your input. You are all so truly inspiring to me. In His good grip. Now where did Josh hide the pink frosted cookies.........

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Hi Everyone,  and welcome to da House o' Kiminator. First I want to thank the Lord for all my blessings and opportunities in Brad and Elaine offering me the chance to share my thoughts regarding my preperation for the upcoming Emerald Cup. Thanks Brad and Elaine! Big shout outs to Tanji Johnson and Holly Petersen and all my friends and family for all their love and support and of course my fantastic hubby Joshua who also acts as my coach/trainer/nutritionist/oil man and best friend. Thanks honey!

The Ironman was an incredible experience as I had always wanted to compete but just never had the time, etc. Being a busy mom of 2 young daughters, and helping with the family businesses etc., my life is pretty hectic as is, but after turning 35 Josh encouraged me to just go for it and offered to help out a little more with family responsibilities to cover for me in my training etc.  Sooo....I went for it and praise God I PLACED SECOND IN MY FIRST SHOW!! Whoo-hoo!

I got so much feeback before and after the show from a ton of moms (no pun intended) that wanted to compete but never could find the time or motivation that I asked Elaine if I could blog here to try to help them take the plunge. If I can do it, especially after being in a car accident three weeks out from the show (more on that later)...than anyone can! The rewards of finally fufilling a longtime dream is beyond any trophy. Just stepping on that stage was the greatest victory in and of itself and having my two little girls just be so proud of me is priceless. I give all honor and glory to the Lord for letting me set an example to my children and when they bragged to their friends about me and showed them my trophy it just about melted my heart. How's that for motivation all you ladies out there who are thinking about doing this but just aren't sure? C'mon, get up there and join us. I read Diane's blog and look at where she and I started from and I just hear so many stories from women who have just gone for it and how much their self esteem and relationships blossom as a result that I just want to encourage everyone to try it at least once. Write me for advice or encouragement and we'll do it together (OK, starting to sound like Richard Simmons here so I'll get on with it).

I'm going to be posting my routines and diets as I go in preperation for my assault on the cup. I simply cannot recomend going to Tanji Johnson for help and advice. Tanji is one of my heros and a woman of Christ who I first met in Bible study at the beautiful Christina Dugdale's home (wife of superchamp Mark Dugdale and a champion in her own right and one of my inspirations as a Christian mother who really showed us how to do it). Anway you can go to her site at: www.tanjijohnson.com and sign up for any of her posing classes/seminars and I can't reccomend her or them enough.

Quick training update and then I'll Osta for now and I'll be gettin' back all hardcore on trainin' and stuff next time. Training log stardate 12/30/09. Finally deadlifted 225 today. Yay! I'm really trying to focus on my glutes and lower back and tie-ins for this show so heavy deadlifts at this building phase are a must! I do them as part of my back workout usually towards the end to be totally warmed up for them and oh my how they hurt so good. I train on a 5 day split hitting a different bodypart each time for approx 20 sets each. Lower reps for upper bod and higher for lower. I try to do abs and cardio daily and eat clean year round slowly cutting out carbs as I get closer to the competition while keeping my protein intake high with salads and good oils mixed in. My downfalls are a glass of good merlot, rembrandt gouda and wheat crackers and the pure evil that is the one and only pink frosted cookies at Peet's coffee in Redmond. They call to me and I cannot resist their siren call...... Ok, better stop there, Peet's here I come!  Oh wait....Josh has just locked all the doors and hid the keys.  Good trainer.  

Until next time o' faithful reader and new friend.  God bless and go heavy or go home! Train like you mean it and challenge yourself just a little more each day. Surround yourself with positive people and get on stage. Brad and Elaine have provided a home for athletes in Washington state that few others have and we should all show our gratitude and support by coming to the shows and yes gettin' on the stage. C'mon now, somebody try to take my tiara. I double dog dare ya!

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