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 Dr Buff
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| Get Into Auto-Pilot |
| 02.04.2012 07:18:00 | |
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I cannot take credit for this. This is from Roger and Ally Baker of RAB Fitness over in Kennewick, WA. Truer words were never spoken of a competitor and Competition Coach!
"In case you forgot, here's the thing about being a competitor... you wake up every day knowing that you may or may not see changes in the mirror [or] on the scale... and this does not shake you. It may be WEEKS before you see any changes. Some weeks will be awesome. Some not. Instant gratification is not in your vocabulary. You've heard this before and I'll say it again, THERE IS NO OFF-SEASON! That means that you REALIZE the dedication, sacrifice, time, sweat [and] tears that will go into this even in the dead of winter when no is looking or even paying attention. Now, this isn't something that I can just tell you and you will learn. Only time and experience will teach you this. So, if you are the one that is out there struggling today...take a deep breath, remove yourself from in front of the mirror, and get into auto pilot. Because this is just the beginning and if you stick to the plan.... you will be rewarded... " Roger/Ally Baker – RAB Fitness
Roger and Ally NAILED it on the head with this one! Look, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – if you wanna be a competitor – a GOOD competitor - then you’d better be willing to do what others won’t, don’t, and can’t. It’s not about motivation. It’s not about inspiration. It’s not about the trophy or the glitz and glamour of the night show. It’s not about size and muscularity and freakiness or anything else. Competition is preparation, pure and simple. Oh sure, we end up on stage looking our absolute best (or at least that’s the goal) but the contest is not about the end result. It’s about the journey – it always has been about the journey and it always will be about the journey. Several sayings that I’ve coined over the years and use on my website goes like this:
“Many competitors want to win. Do work first. Do not put the win before the work!” David “Dr. Buff” Patterson
“You’re not always going to win, but you sure as hell better train like a winner!” David “Dr. Buff” Patterson
Do me a favor – re-read Rog & Ally’s post one more time, this time with conviction and purpose. Read it out loud! Take every word to heart because, trust me, they both have! You don’t get to the caliber of either of them without hard work, discipline, and sacrifice. There IS NO instant gratification. There IS NO easy workouts. And there sure as hell IS NO OFF-SEASON! Not an off-season, not an off-day, not an off-hour.
Sunday is Super Bowl Sunday, traditionally a day of feasting and festivities. All I can say is, if you wanna put yourself in the best possible position to take first place, then you’d better enjoy the festivities without the feast! Some of you will get this…many of you won’t. And it will show onstage on April 20th or 21st, trust me. Personally, I’m gonna watch the game, but all by myself, at home, in my chicken and salad and green beans and yams and potatoes and rice infested house. No temptations. No struggles. Just me. Is it worth it? That’s the question each of you will have to ask yourself Sunday morning…”Is this worth it?” What do you CHOOSE to do in two days? Because remember, no one is holding a gun to your head. It will be your choice – it always has been and it always will be. If the choice is to ‘stick to the plan’, then as Rog and Ally said, “You will be rewarded…”. Peace…
The Dr.
David "Dr. Buff" Patterson, MPE, CSCS, CSTS 253-576-4859 - Mobile http://www.TheDrBuffExperience.com/wordpress http://www.facebook.com/drbuff http://www.facebook.com/TeamBuffedBods http://www.facebook.com/thedrbuffexperience "Tell me you will...tell me you won't...don't tell me you can't!"
Tags: Craig Productions | Emerald Cup | Bodybuilding | Figure | Fitness | Bikini | Dave Patterson | Determination | Goals | Mindset | Thoughts | training legs | setbacks | Dreams | Visualization | Journey | Posing | training | intensity | focused | disciplined | drive | work ethic | hard work | persistence |
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| Dr Buff
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| Super Bowl or Super Feast? |
| 02.01.2012 13:24:30 | |
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The rapper-turned-actor, Ice Cube, once said in one of his songs from back in the day, “Y’betta check yo’self before y’wreck yo’self…”. That’s my advice to many of you this coming Sunday – Super Bowl Sunday. For the majority of the world, Super Bowl Sunday is a day of eating, relaxation, trash-talking, eating, watching the game, entertaining, eating, yelling at the guys, yelling at the refs, yelling at (and gettin’ your head knocked off later) your wife…and let’s not forget the most important thing…eating! Ahhh yes…Super Bowl Sunday…having the guys come over, throwing some steaks or burgers on the grill, opening up the bags of Lays Chips, Doritos, Cheetos, Fritos, and all the other O’s, along with nuts, dips, beer, coolers, wine, alcohol, and anything else your ethnicity adds in. For many, it’s the life – the day that’s bigger than Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Mom’s Day, and all the others combined. But for the competitor…nada… Well…lemme rephrase…for the SERIOUS competitor – for the competitor who understands the task at hand and knows what he or she needs to do – for the competitor who has committed to achieving his or her all-time best look – for the competitor who understands sacrifice – for the competitor who has said over and over and over again, “This is MY show…”…nada - Super Bowl Sunday is just another day. Personally, I’m gonna watch the game, but I’ll watch it at home all alone. I don’t mind. It doesn’t bother me. I haven’t watched a Super Bowl game with family or company in several years for a couple reasons. One, I like to WATCH AND LISTEN to the game. Do you guys know how hard that is with a room full of black people milling about? We are LOUD! Especially when we’re in a social environment! Don’t believe me? Just ask Elaine Craig or Tony Ruggiero what they thought the first time they came to one of The Dr’s house parties…they were like, “WTH…these people are CRAZY!” That’s how we roll. We have fun. And we’re loud. And because of that, I don’t want ‘em in my house when I wanna watch the game. I love my peoples but I like peace and quiet when watching the Super Bowl so I can hear everything, especially the commercials. I remember one year I had a bunch of people over. The noise level was so intense I went into my bedroom, closed the door, hooked the headphones up to the TV, and watched the rest of the game in there. That’s just me. I don’t need the social interaction to enjoy myself. If you can be kinda quiet and be into the game, you can come over. If you wanna talk the whole game, I’m not the guy for you. Two, the Super Bowl is a complete and total food fest. Every time I either held a party or went to a Super Bowl party, it seemed to be more about the food than the game. With 11 weeks to go this Saturday, there’ll be some of you who definitely need to stay home! You know who you are. Don’t think you can go over to your partner’s/girlfriend’s house and not eat or drink anything and just watch the game like a good little boy or girl…yea…right… You know you’ll be in that dip faster than a pig in space. It’s been my own personal experience and from talking with so many competitors that days like the Super Bowl are ‘traumatic’ to say the least, for many. I know I want to eat. I know I’m GOING to eat. That’s why it’s easier for me to stay home. Even when I took my own food I cheated. To me it was like Thanksgiving…there’s absolutely no way I was gonna be around all of that food and not touch one single bite. And once I started, I gave in to my Thanksgiving mantra, “I’m gonna eat ‘till I get sick…”. Now there’s a select few of you that can tolerate the food and not give in. Not me. And if you know you’re in that category as well, then my recommendation would be to stay home. It’s not worth it. Once you go into the pool you’re gonna end up in the deep end real quick! All joking aside, Super Bowl Sunday is a great day for friendship, camaraderie, and peace of mind. We gather, we enjoy each other’s company, and we party. Nothing wrong with that. But know who you are. And know what you will and will not do. If your mental discipline is not that strong, my recommendation is to forego the fellowship and enjoy the game in the privacy of your own home. I’d hate to see someone ‘blow it’ this Sunday by pigging out thinking they’ve got enough time to dial in when they were sitting on the cusp to begin with. Don’t make your work any harder than it has to be. But if you do choose to party like a rock star and eat like Oprah Winfrey, then be ready for one of two things…harder work or a butt-kicking at the 30th Anniversary Emerald Cup! You’ve been warned…peace… The Dr. David "Dr. Buff" Patterson, MPE, CSCS, CSTS 253-576-4859 - Mobile http://www.TheDrBuffExperience.com/wordpress http://www.facebook.com/drbuff http://www.facebook.com/TeamBuffedBods http://www.facebook.com/thedrbuffexperience "Tell me you will...tell me you won't...don't tell me you can't!"
Tags: setbacks | training legs | Thoughts | Mindset | Goals | Determination | eating | Super Bowl | nutrition | control | focus | discipline | Dr. Buff | David Patterson | Bodybuilding | Emerald Cup | Craig Productions |
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| Julie N |
| 12 weeks |
| 02.01.2012 02:24:33 | |
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“Let your mind start a journey thru a strange new world. Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before. Let your soul take you where you long to be...Close your eyes let your spirit start to soar, and you'll live as you've never lived before.” Erich Fromm So far this journey to the stage for Emerald Cup has been amazing; it’s far superseded any of my wildest expectations. I really had no idea how empowering this entire process would be. If competing is something you think you might want to do, but think you can’t, I’d highly recommend you give it a shot! I started back in July with 45% body fat, I had NO muscle definition; I was a marshmallow! My kids called me squishy, I like to refer to it as height challenged. Since then, I’ve dropped a substantial amount of body fat. My perception of what I look like versus what I actually look like is not quite on the same page yet. I still think of myself as “fluffy Julie”, but every now and then I catch glimpse in the mirror of this much thinner and fitter me, it’s AWESOME! Little shameless confession yesterday while at the gym, I was admiring the more svelte me (when no one was looking of course) I couldn’t help myself from flexing those arms to check out those guns (ok, they are wee bitty guns) and even attempted to strike a bikini pose. The whole experience left me feeling giddy. Back in July when I started working with Julie, she advised to pack up all the skinny clothes. I wasn’t ready to get rid of them, but boxing them up outta sight was a good way to remove the distraction. A few weeks ago I pulled out the old skinny jeans, only to find that my old skinny jeans were too big, and so was everything else in the boxes. At this point, my emotional attachments in many ways are now being lifted and freed as I experience this journey. While I hung on to the clothing from my “skinny” days in hopes of getting back in shape, no need to hang on anymore I’m knocking those goals out of the park! Relating back to emotional attachments, losing weight has also dug up some old baggage and really forced me to deal with some of my deeper food and self-image issues. I hadn’t realized just how much I covered myself up to protect myself from fear of judgment. Obviously, this goes far deeper and back to my childhood, but I’ll save that for another post. By having to face the baggage as each raw layer of emotion is exposed, I feel it has strengthened my resolve and conviction to want to live healthier and be my best self. These little milestones, while they may not seem big to some, are huge to me. I each day, each meal, each successfull day on plan, each workout, resisting temptations, I feel stronger in the lifestyle and empowered to do anything. It’s a wonderful feeling! My attitude shows it, I’m much happier at home, more content, at peace with myself, and much more outgoing. As Martha Stewart would say, “It’s a good thing!” Huge kudos and thanks to my coach, Julie Michaelson for guiding me and encouraging me in this process! I couldn’t have made it thus far without her! Thank you to Elaine Craig for allowing me to share my journey with all of you. To all you, best wishes in your journey!!! Tags: Emerald Cup | Bikini | Craig Productions | Thoughts |
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| Dr Buff
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| If It Ain't On The LIst, Don't Eat It! |
| 02.01.2012 00:10:03 | |
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Last blog I promised to write on nutrition, so here we go. Even though I’ve written dozens of blogs and probably hundreds of articles on nutrition over the years, and written quite a few on this site over the past 3 years, there’s always a new competitor who doesn’t know this game. And I also know that one person’s way of saying something just might make sense to a reader over another person’s writing style. What I’m saying is not new, not revolutionary, and definitely not the gospel on nutrition, but if it can help someone, then I’ve done my job. So lemme see if I can help that one person…and perhaps remind others of where they should be and what they should be doing in their own nutrition.
This past weekend we were 12-weeks out from the 30th Anniversary Emerald Cup. At this point, unless you’re roughly 12 lbs. or less out from your show, you should be 100% on task. What does that entail? Well…before I get into that, let me say that the number of ways to diet down are as many as the styles of Martial Arts…everyone has their own style, and they all think their style is the best. I’m not gonna argue with anyone on what the ‘best’ way to diet down is. I’ve said this many times, “All diets work, and all diets fail…”. What I WILL say is, find out what ‘plan’ works best for you and stick to it. Quit jumping from one competition diet to another. That’s why you shouldn’t get fat in the first place – so you’ll have enough time to experiment with different plans until you find the one that works best for you. Secondly, know your body type. That will typically tell you what plan(s) fall in your diet-sphere. Finally, if you need help, find someone who’s knowledgeable in ALL the ways of dieting down – not just the one way in which he/she dieted down. That way, if/when you get stuck, your competition coach will know how to take the appropriate action to get you coming down again.
I’ve seen it too many times before…a trainer who does decent in a show decides to become a ‘competition coach’ and toss his/her hat into the ring. I don’t have a problem with that as long as the trainer possesses enough knowledge and information to help ALL his/her clients – not just the ones built like him or her. Otherwise the competitor client ends up on a cookie-cutter routine or an exact replica of what the trainer does. Not smart. Not good for the competitor. Just last year I picked up 3 people whose trainers, although nationally qualified, didn’t have a clue on how to dial their people down. Sometimes the most dangerous trainer is the brand new one. As my professor, Dr. Hacker, used to constantly tell us, “A little bit of knowledge can be dangerous…”. I’ve helped many a competition coach through the dieting down stages of their clients because they (the coaches) were lost. The client stalled and the trainer didn’t know which way to go with him/her. Heck, even I still get mystified over a client every now and then. But this blog isn’t about trainers, so back on point…
We learned last blog that with 12 weeks to go, one could easily drop 10-12 lbs. of bodyfat on 1 to 1-1/2 hours of cardio and clean foods. 13 to about 20 lbs. would take around 1-1/2 to 2 hours with clean foods, while 21 or more lbs. probably would take at least 2 hours a day. Now I know some of you are wondering or questioning this info…well…I’m a cardio person, so that’s what I do and teach. But that doesn’t mean I don’t know the other ways. If you’re not a cardio person, then you’d better be ready to drop those total calories, and especially those carb calories to lean out. And if you’re a high-intensity interval training (HIIT) person and you’re pushing hard enough (and your calories are dropped enough) you can get by on one session of 30 minutes...but you’d better be ready to bust your butt, and I mean bust it HARD for that to happen. So are we clear on the cardio/no cardio/long cardio thing? I know em all, so if you need any explanation on whether you should use this or that method, holla.
Realizing that everyone is different, and this is just general information, I can’t categorically say where you’re at on the continuum and what you need to do unless I see and comp you. So I’ll use me as an example and everyone can adjust accordingly. I just cut my oatmeal to 25 gm wt with a slice of Dave’s Killer Bread as my starch for breakfast. My protein is either egg whites with some turkey breast (that amount’s classified…) or chicken. I eat what THIS body needs, realizing that I’m not a mass monster, and I know how my body works, and I know my timeline. Since my cardio is still only 45 minutes in the morning, I’m s-l-o-w-l-y dropping my starchy carbs and replacing it with Parrillo Performance’s CapTri – a medium chain triglyceride that’s called the ‘fatless fat’. It processes and acts like a carb in the system, making dieting slightly more tolerable. I only take my starchy carbs so low up to 8 weeks out and then I up my cardio to one 60-minute session. Then I’ll see how the body is responding and stair-step the carbs/cardio cuts until I achieve the look I want. All of this is assuming this ole’ body will hold up to the rigors of contest dieting…
The rest of my meals are simple – protein, veggies, carbs, in that order. I adjust as I need to based upon my timeline. What you have to understand is how to manipulate your macros, meaning we’re all eating protein, veggies, and carbs…the question is, how much do YOU get to eat, and what’s your ratio compared to mine compared to Joe’s, Sally’s, Bertha’s and all the other competitors. Another question you have to ask is HOW MUCH do I get to eat in relation to everyone else? If Big Bradd gets to eat 750 cal/meal and I try to eat what he eats, I’ll blow up faster than your kid’s summer beach ball. Now do you see why I don’t like and don’t do cookie-cutter diets? If no two people are exactly the same, how is it possible for those same two people to be on exactly the same food plan…especially if one is a 5’4”, 135 lb. female and the other is a 5’10” 195 lb. male? It’ll never work. Either one will dial in beautifully and the other will look like crap, or they’ll both be off their macros and neither will dial in to their best look.
Every person I work with, I get as much detailed info on their life and what they’ve done in the past to give me clues into what ‘plan’ will work best for that individual. Some are similar, no doubt, but some are totally way out there. For example, last year I had Gerry Bernabe, the bantamweight overall winner at the Wash. Ironman pretty much doing what he wanted until the final 3 weeks or so. His body was a genetic marvel so the best thing I could do for him was to get out of his way until the last few days and then dial him in. Barb O’Dell, on the other hand, (the Most Inspirational Award at the Ironman for having lost 180 lbs. on her way to the stage WITHOUT surgery or drugs…) had to start doing double cardio sessions 18 weeks out as her body was stubborn in releasing fat. I was wracking my brains trying to figure out how to keep her from stalling as her normally obese body was fighting her every step of the way once she got below 200 lbs. It may seem easy, but it’s not. When you’re dialing in a dozen plus competitors, let’s just say that good note-taking is highly recommended. There’s no way I can remember everyone’s individualized food plans, and when I don’t keep track, it shows!
IN GENERAL, I can tell you that many of you will fall into the 3-8 oz. of protein/meal based upon size, muscularity, sex, lifestyle, etc. Being off an ounce or two over the course of your diet doesn’t seem like it’s a big deal, but it can be the difference between 1st and 3rd come contest day. That’s why it’s important to know your body and understand your macronutrient ratios and amounts. Your veggies are easy – unlimited amounts for the majority of you. If you need an amount, then go with 7-10 oz. (that’s 150-200 gm wt for you metric people). The starchy carbs are the lil’ tricky creatures. Some of you might do well with large amounts, some with literally none, and some dispersed in small amounts throughout the day. Again, it would be unwise of me tell an entire readership what to do and expect it to work for everyone. But I can tell you that once you find that magic number of carbs that YOUR body needs, you’ll know it within a week – guaranteed! And once you find your numbers, then follow it! Don’t be haphazardly changing things up thinking you know better than your coach or you read this or that saying this is what you should do. FOLLOW THE PLAN!!! If you’re doing your own diet, you HAVE to give it about a week to 10 days to see the effects of it. You’ll know in that period of time if it’s working. If not, make subtle changes. If you’ve hired a coach, do what the coach says! That’s the only way your coach can determine what’s working for you and what isn’t.
Well, that’s about it for this blog. I’ve got just some chicken to eat for my last meal. I might have half of a Parrillo Protein bar right before bed…don’t’cha just hate those people who can still eat literally right up to bed and still diet down…peace…
The Dr.
David "Dr. Buff" Patterson, MPE, CSCS, CSTS 253-576-4859 - Mobile http://www.TheDrBuffExperience.com/wordpress http://www.facebook.com/drbuff http://www.facebook.com/TeamBuffedBods http://www.facebook.com/thedrbuffexperience "Tell me you will...tell me you won't...don't tell me you can't!" Tags: Competition Coach | Foods | nutrition | Craig Productions | Emerald Cup | Bodybuilding | Physique | Figure | Fitness | Bikini | Dave Patterson | Determination | Goals | Mindset | Thoughts | training legs | Visualization | training | focused | disciplined | drive | succeed | Dr. Buff | David Patterson | The Dr. | The Dr. Buff Experience | competition | crossfit figure cardio contest prep | coaching |
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| Dr Buff
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| Time to kick it up a notch... |
| 01.26.2012 06:26:16 | |
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12 weeks this Saturday. That’s it. That’s all the time we have. It’s an eternity – 3 months – but it’ll fly by faster than the F-18’s that scrambled out of Portland last summer when President Obama was in Seattle and some idiot invaded restricted airspace…airborne and over Seattle in less than 6 minutes I heard. That’s how fast these 12 weeks will seem to disappear.
If you’ve been on task then you have nothing to worry about. If you knew your timeline and adhered to it, you’re in good shape. But if you’ve been naughty…well…you’ve got some work to do. Let’s take a look at where you should be on the continuum timeline…
If we’re looking at how much fat we have to lose, the formula is simple – we can safely and realistically shed 1.5 to 2 lbs. of bodyfat a week. That should translate into .75 to 1% change in body composition. It’s extremely difficult to drop more than 1% of fat/week unless you’re on the dark side. That’s a blog for another day. But rest assured that a 1% change is quite a bit to change in 7 days…and to do that you’ll have to be literally perfect. The formula is simple – lose 2 lbs. of fat a week with 12 weeks to go – 24 lbs. of fat loss with minimal lean mass loss. If you have more than 24 lbs. to lose, well…you’d better plan on more cardio or even less calories or more drugs to get that fat off!
Even though losing the 24 lbs. is simple, it’s not easy. You’ll have to be perfect – beyond excellent – to make it happen. Losing 2 lbs. a week in my book means doing 2 hours of cardio a day (or expending the equivalent in HIIT cardio in a 30-45 minute period, which is DAMN HARD…) and probably dropping most of your starchy carbs out except for the oatmeal at breakfast. Not fun. Expect to suffer. Expect to suffer hard! As far as I’m concerned, cheat meals are a thing of the past. I know many individuals and trainers will disagree with me, but time and time again, I’ve seen people who ‘cheated’ through their contest diet and people who held their diet, and in just about every instance, the person who held looked significantly better. There’s a great short video out by Dave Palumbo and Kevin Levrone that says it all, in case you think I’m just stupid and don’t know what I’m talking about. Start at about 3:40 and run to the end…it’ll open your eyes if you haven’t already seen it…and it’ll re-awaken you if you have. I know it did and continues to do so for me every time I watch it. It doesn’t ‘motivate’ me, but rather it gets my head on straight on what I have to do to accomplish what I said I wanted to do – come in looking my absolute best for my last show.
I’m not saying that when the time is necessary, you plug in some starchy carbs, such as yams, potatoes, rice, beans, etc. But I am saying that the free-for-all food fest on a Friday/Saturday/or Sunday evening needs to fall by the wayside. Just humor me for a sec, will ya…if you have say, 30 lbs. of fat to drop in the next 12 weeks, why in the world are you taking in unnecessary fat every weekend? I understand the Anabolic diet, the Paleo/Caveman diet, and all the other so-called ‘best-way-to-diet-down-for-your-show’ diets. If you or your trainer wants to do that, and it WORKS for you, then you can click out and be about your merry business. But if you’ve done that in the past and went in your show fat, and you’re wanting to do that again this time, that sounds like the definition of insanity to me…doing the same thing over and over expecting a different outcome.
There will ALWAYS be a small percentage of the population for which ANY crazy diet will work – heck, it worked for the individual who ‘invented’ it…or did it? How many times have you seen a current picture of the person who SWEARS by this or that diet and they’re in great shape because they’ve been following it for years? Unless it’s lifestyle-oriented, I’d be willing to bet very few if any. Diets in which you have to severely restrict calories or do really dumb, stupid things to diet down are setting you up for a tremendous rebound effect post-contest. You’ve worked hard to get in the best shape of your life, and then two weeks after the show you look like a bloated beach whale about to deliver…doesn’t make sense to me. But I digress…back on point…
The goal is to be at a point to where you only need to lose 1 to 1.5 lbs. of fat/week. That makes the ‘suffering’ bearable. If you’re at a point to where you only need to lose about a pound a week, then you’re sittin’ pretty. At this point you still only need one cardio session a day. It could be the 30-minute HIIT (and please understand that a true HIIT will leave you exhausted and dripping water on the floor…) or a 45-60 minute HISS (High Intensity Steady State – you’re working in a range of 80-90% of your VO2 max as opposed to going into your anaerobic zone on the HIIT – if you don’t understand, hit me up and I’ll explain in more detail). Your foods are in order with no cheat meals added in. The goal is to be at your contest look a couple of weeks out and just coast into the show doing the water, carb, and sodium (if you do that) manipulation thing. In other words, you wanna make life easy for yourself. I absolutely HATE to put people on more than 2 hours of cardio a day…all that means is they were behind the power curve by waiting too long to get serious about their contest diet or their foods are waaaay off which usually means they’re cheating. Either way, they just increased their own misery and run the risk of either dropping out of the show or never doing another show again.
Personally, I prefer to stay within 10 lbs. of contest weight. Part of the reason is because I’m old. I don’t want to stretch out my skin any more than absolutely necessary. Heck, in a few more years I’ll be saggin’, baggin’, and draggin’ due to Father Time gettin’ in bed with me…I don’t wanna have him visit any sooner that when he’s supposed to. The other is because I’ve learned. I learned 20+ years ago that as a drug-free competitor, my contest weight, regardless of what I do, is around 160-162 lbs. As I’m aging it’s dropping a bit. But at 57 years old, I don’t expect to ‘bulk up’ in the ‘off-season’ and miraculously gain an additional 10-15-20 lbs. of muscle. C’mon…seriously? If that were going to happen, don’t you think it would’ve already happened?
I’m at 5-6 lbs. to lose to make contest weight/look. That’s assuming I haven’t lost any more lean mass due to aging. Life is good right now. Next blog I’ll go into a bit more detail on what foods you should be eating. As I say to all of my people who are dialing down, “If it ain’t on the list, don’t eat it…” Peace…
The Dr.
David "Dr. Buff" Patterson, MPE, CSCS, CSTS 253-576-4859 - Mobile http://www.TheDrBuffExperience.com/wordpress http://www.facebook.com/drbuff http://www.facebook.com/TeamBuffedBods http://www.facebook.com/thedrbuffexperience "Tell me you will...tell me you won't...don't tell me you can't!"
Tags: Emerald Cup | Bodybuilding | Dave Patterson | Dr. Buff | Determination | Goals | Mindset | training | intensity | focused | disciplined |
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 Julie
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| Got Obstacles? |
| 01.19.2012 02:47:29 | |
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“Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off the goal.” ~Vince Lombardi It’s no secret: I am NOT a fan of the snow. For various reasons but the top 2 would be: being trapped indoors with 4 children for several days and not being able to work. For people without children a snow day sounds blissful. Come hang out at my house for a day with my foursome and you’ll probably wish for rain to come and wash away the snow STAT!! I will say that the snow has been a nice excuse to sleep in the last couple of days. I should qualify that I use the term “sleeping in” quite loosely. I have been up by 5:45am every day this week. But it sure beats my usual 4am wake up time. The roads and the gym have been empty and it’s actually been kind of nice.
Something I notice among clients and gym friends and people in general…when the daily routine is thrown off by something like a snow day, not only does the workout often get sacrificed, but almost more importantly, the nutrition goes by the wayside. If you are preparing to compete in the Emerald Cup in just over 13 weeks, now is not the time to allow yourself to be derailed by a little snow! It’s really important to stick to your nutrition plan, eat all your scheduled meals and don’t use the snow as an excuse to “junk out.” This week feels a lot like a holiday…but it’s not. It’s important to remind yourself of that, stay focused on your goals and stay on track. Have you allowed the weather to impact the quantity and/or quality of your workouts? You shouldn’t. Where there is a will, there’s a way! You might need to find a ride to the gym, you might need to find a way to do your cardio at home. But trust me, if you really want it bad enough you WILL find a way to get it done. What’s stopping you and more importantly, WHY? Use this time to rest, while still keeping your nutrition and training on track. The next 13 weeks will be grueling if you’re doing it right so take advantage of a little down-time to get some extra sleep, sneak in a nap or just get more prepared for the days, weeks and months ahead. A goal that you are committed to achieving will not allow room for any EXCUSES!!! Stay focused and recommit yourself if you need to…and if you’re heart’s not in it, give yourself permission not to do it! ~Julie~ Fearless, with cape in hand…committed to the GOLD Tiara!! www.juliemichaelsontraining.com, Twitter: @IrieFitGirl Tags: Emerald Cup | Craig Productions | Figure | focus | Julie Michaelson | Goals | Mindset |
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| Dr Buff
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| Pavlov's Dog Theory applied... |
| 01.18.2012 14:49:57 | |
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Yesterday afternoon one of the independent trainers who leases the use of my facility had one of his clients in. The trainer’s client was nice. Talkative but nice. I was in the middle of my workout and I guess he didn’t quite understand gym etiquette rules – the number one rule being “You don’t talk to a person in the middle of a set, especially when he’s in full contest prep mode for the Emerald Cup”! Newbies…gotta love em, huh? N-E-Whooo…after about the 4th time of me ignoring him (I’m never rude or mean…I just continue to ignore people during the set, and when I’m done I casually look over and ask, “Did you say something?” By the 3rd or 4th time they usually ‘get it’…) he left me alone until the end of the workout. Then came the flood of questions. Now mind you, this is not my client. I, for the most part, deliberately stay out of the gym when other trainers are in there to avoid awkward situations such as this. But sometimes life gets in the way and I’ve gotta get my workout in when I can get it in, and yesterday was one of those days. The conversation first started off in the form of a statement…
Him: “You’ve got a great gym here, Dave!”
Me: “Thank you…appreciate it…”
Him: “Really nice – love the layout, pictures, sayings, and especially the privacy! I hated going to that other gym we used to train at.”
Me: “Thanks…”
Him: “Hey, can I ask you something?” (This coming while his trainer is standing right there…the trainer looks at his client, then me).
Me: “Yea…what?”, I cautiously reply. I’ve always been of the mindset that I don’t ‘steal’ clients from other trainers, and because of that philosophy, I shy away from answering questions from new lifters who have trainers. No, I’m not egotistical – far from it! But I do have a Master’s Degree in this field and over 37 years’ experience as a trainer, competition coach, and competitor, going up against an early 20-something, 2-day certified trainer in my own gym – game over if I want it to be.
Him: “What’s your take on cardio? I mean, how much do you do and what do you think I should do?” His trainer now has that deer-in-the-headlights stare as he looks at me…
Me: “Personally, I do 45 minutes every day – been doing that for years…but for you I recommend you ask your trainer. He can answer that for you”. The trainer kinda breathes a sigh of relief…
Him: “Yea, but we’re in the same age group (we’re both in our 50’s) so I was wondering if I need to do something different because of my age…”
Me: “[Your trainer] can answer…that’s an easy question…”.
I tried to get out of the gym but the client kept asking questions. I kept referring him back to his trainer, but this dude was really pushing for answers. I even tried to defer the conversation to the trainer but he was in over his head. Finally the client started talking more than asking questions, so I just listened. He got on the topic of foods (doesn’t everybody?) and said, “I gotta tell ya, Dave, one of the best meals to have for dinner is…” and then goes off on this in-depth explanation of food preparation with wild hand gestures, wide-eyed looks, excitement, animation, and all the other adjectives. I listened for a few minutes as he described how to make an Italian dish with yada, yada, yada…finally I stopped him.
Me: “You’re a food addict.”
Him: “Huh?”
Me: “You’re a food addict…you’re addicted to food! Listen to you – you’re getting more and more excited as you talk about and describe how to make the meal.” He looked at me with this incredulous look. “You’re Pavlov’s Dog.” Laughter…
“I’m serious – you’re Pavlov’s Dog theory in human form. You’re literally salivating as you describe the food dishes. You’re so excited it’s crazy!”
Him: He pauses for a second as he’s thinking…”Wow! I never looked at it that way! Yea…I guess you could say I’ve got a love affair with food…”
We continued the conversation for a few more minutes and then I bugged out. After I came in the house I realized that at the seminar I held this past weekend 3 of the participants got up to share their story and they all said the same thing – “I’m addicted to food!” Now this is no revelation to me. I mean, I deal with people and their foods on a daily basis. But with everyone dialing down for the EC and Vancouver, I thought it might be a good thing to see if you too have a ‘Pavlov’s Dog’ mindset.
Do you constantly think about your next meal? Are you literally foaming at the mouth as you count down the minutes to ‘chow time’? If so, you might be Pavlov’s Dog! Do you post to FB every time you get ready to eat, while you eat, and finish eating? If so, then you just might be a Pavlov Dog. Are you on a weekly cheat meal (a better question is why in the world would you need a cheat meal this far out?) and all you can do is talk about your cheat meal all week long leading up to your cheat meal like it’s your last meal on Death Row? Yea…you know it…you’re probably a Pavlov Dog. Are you looking at every McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Pizza Hut, and every other fast food sign you drive by with unabashed wanton lust in your eyes and mouth watering? You just crossed over into the Pavlov’s Dog Zone. Do you get a ‘contact high’ every time you pass candy, chips, or donuts? Bow-Wow…
C’mon people, it’s just food! While I can appreciate a good meal, especially a good home-cooked meal, the thought of food is not all-encompassing and literally orgasmic to me. Food is fuel, pure and simple. It’s energy to allow me to replenish what I just expended or get ready for what I’m about to do. I don’t have a love affair with food. Now I know this isn’t gonna sit right with a lot of you, but you’ve gotta understand the task at hand here and how the mind works.
If all you do is think and talk about food during your contest diet, you’re gonna have one hell of a hard diet! Yes, we’re gonna talk about it, yes, we’re gonna get sick of the foods we eat, and yes, we’ll be so glad when the contest is over. I’m not gonna sit here and lie to you and say that the commercials won’t become more appealing as I get closer, and that pizza contest night will be oh so good, but as long as I’m on task, they’re bearable. But the one thing I’ve learned NOT to do is continually talk about food to every single person I meet during the day. I don’t blast out on FB to all who’ll listen (and to those that don’t really care as well) every morsel that goes in my mouth. If all you do is think about food, talk about food, and write about food, then food will be a major issue for you. Self-fulfilling prophecy will kick in for many – they’ll sabotage themselves because they’ve got food on the brain. You’ll start justifying a small piece of this, a little bite of that, a slice or taste of this…and the next thing you know it’s showtime and you’re still 5-7-10 lbs. away from stage look, all because of your Pavlovian ‘addiction’ to food.
Your thoughts instead should shift to how you’ll look contest day. See yourself as you want to see yourself onstage that morning, and I promise you the foods and meals will be more bearable and tolerable. Talk about anything BUT foods. Learn to control your foods and your thoughts about foods rather than let foods control you. It’s hard. For many it’ll be a learned behavior. It’s sorta like learning how to speak positively and upbeat instead of negatively and gossipy. It CAN be done. It’ll take work, but once you learn to change your thoughts and focus by changing your behavior the food issues will fade…and your onstage look will improve!
If you find yourself breaking out into a sweat, getting anxious, excited, all shakey, almost panting and turning in circles over the anticipation of your next meal…I got a bone for ya…I’m just sayin…peace.
The Dr.
David "Dr. Buff" Patterson, MPE, CSCS, CSTS 253-576-4859 - Mobile http://www.TheDrBuffExperience.com/wordpress http://www.facebook.com/drbuff http://www.facebook.com/TeamBuffedBods http://www.facebook.com/thedrbuffexperience "Tell me you will...tell me you won't...don't tell me you can't!"
Tags: Craig Productions | Emerald Cup | Bodybuilding | Dave Patterson | Mindset | Thoughts | setbacks | Visualization | disciplined |
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| Julie N |
| Chin up buttercup! |
| 01.03.2012 11:35:46 | |
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“The reason people give up so fast is because they tend to look at how far they still have to go, instead of looking at how far they’ve gotten” Author unknown
I’m having a hard time blogging this week. I’m in a funk (I know, way too early in the game to be in a funk). I’m pretty sure it was the 3 way mirror in the Nordstrom dressing room that sent me in a downward spiral. I had a serious freak out moment! “16 weeks to go from this to BIKINI body” OMG!!!!! To pull myself out of my funk, I decided to take a look at some old photos and walk down memory lane and how I got to this point. I needed something to show me HOPE of my transformation. Something to remind myself deep within, that I CAN and WILL accomplish my goals. Something to remind just how far I’ve come from my heaviest (1999 photo below), what progress looks like (2009 photo) and motivation to fuel my fire for the next 16 weeks to get in my best shape ever. Back in 2008, I joined Gold’s Gym in Bothell, and started my journey once again to get in shape. I was doing great; I fell in love with spin classes, body attack, and lifting weights. The weight dropped off. I was 15 lbs. from my goal weight. Life was good on the outside. In 2009, my personal life hit what I can only describe as the “perfect storm”. The “perfect storm” which lasted several years sidelined my efforts with weight loss. Instead of continuing with my diet and exercise, I buried and busied myself in other things as a way to deal with the grieving/healing process. I also buried myself in a nice juicy layer of fat! In 2011, I’d finally had enough and decided I needed to meet with my dear friend and trainer, Julie Michaelson. I met with her in July; I decided it was time for me to finish what I started in 2009. This time I would far surpass my original goals and focus heavily on getting fit and dropping body fat. This brings me to where I am today…. I’ve lost more than 20lbs of fat since training under Julie (even with a trip to France in there where I ate EVERYTHING). For the first time in a very long time, I feel in control of my health and my body. To have the whole process, diet and exercise dialed in, is AMAZING! Each morning I wake up and I can see changes, it’s like Christmas morning, minus the candy! As to the dressing room mirror, it’s a reminder that for the next 16 weeks, I have to give it my ALL. Push myself harder, farther than ever and past the breaking point. This morning’s workout was awesome, I showed that mirror who’s in charge! In less than 16 weeks… me and the mirror, we’ll be tight J. P.S. I dropped an entire size on those jeans!
Tags: Goals | Emerald Cup | Bikini |
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| Julie N |
| Done with Average |
| 12.07.2011 08:04:40 | |
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“Being average means you are as close to the bottom as you are to the top.”
I’m done with being average… Hi, I’m new here! Let me introduce myself, my name is Julie, wife and mother of 3. I enjoy working out, hiking, photography, design, gardening, and anything that sparkles. I have to admit I feel a bit amiss amongst all you great competitors and amazing physiques! I’m new to this arena, when I say NEW, I mean it! I’ve never stepped on stage, nor really rocked a bikini. I’m the average flabby mom getting ready to shed some layers and step on stage in the best shape of my life. Emerald Cup 2012 Masters Bikini is the catalyst for me to go all in! For me, this isn’t about winning a prize; it’s about me achieving success. The prize will be my results, discipline and determination to change my life from here out. After so many years of wishing and wanting an amazing body, it’s time for action! It’s time to show moms that you’d don’t have to accept the “mom body” and that is possible to juggle it all. If I can do it, so can you! I look forward to sharing my journey! ~Julie
Tags: Bikini | Emerald Cup | goal setting | inspiration |
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| Jen B |
| The Dreamer Vs. The Fear |
| 11.11.2011 00:28:21 | |
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Anyone else's mind do this to them? I know mine does, and I've been reading, and journaling to overcome it. I have always loved training my body, have put to much focus on that and not enough on my mind. Take a minute to think about your strength not physically but mentally. What do you do to defeat the naysayers of yourself and others?
Dreamer: Check it out, Emerald Cup 30th Anniversary!! Jen do you know what this means...You could finally make it to the stage and your first competition could be at the 30th anniversary of the Emerald Cup!! Its a coincidence, I'll be 30 next year in 2012...2012 is the year of 30!!! Ok, I need to start training now, I have a lot of work to do and need to take it slow. I just started the Isagenix 30 day system and am feeling GREAT! Were on the right track, now a coach!! The Fear: Haha...right Jen. Here you go again, the thoughts overtake you with excitement and I will crush you! You have looked for coaches before, remember how expensive they are? How are you going to pay for that, supplements, suits, music, dance classes, choreography, plane tickets, you see the list doesn't end. Dreamer: If I have not shaken this dream yet I will not let it go. The fight in me is more than I can explain I will do this I WILL!! Ok, lets find a coach... The Fear: See I told you...your looking for coaches, nobody near here, nobody that is going to put the time into you and stay on your back every step of the way. And do you see those price tags...sorry Charlie just not gonna happen. Dreamer: Ok, ways to come up with competition funds? *Thinking*...I will find a way, I have come to far to not find a way and will not let this stand in my way. I wonder if anyone would be willing to invest their time in me to see me succeed? To know where I'm coming from and help me blossom into what I am about to become? Prayer and passion can take a person a long way, and I am digging deep into both right now! Stay positive Jen, it will work out. The Fear: Your hillarious...who is going to take the time to help you, nobody knows who you are, your not a known competitor. If they do know you its because you have tried to start with them and then your body shuts down and they see you quit. No way are they going to reach out and push you! Its not time Jen, its not time. Dreamer: I am tired of hearing its not time. When is it time? So many things in life are never "in time". What I feel in my heart, in my soul, that is what is time. And I know I feel different now, I know I feel strong. My mind strength is growing and its carrying my body further as well! I am a strong woman with motivation and drive out of this world! Some can't believe at what I have done and will do to achieve a goal, to live a dream and inspire others along the way! This is the time! Patiently waiting for my green Emerald Cup bracelet to arrive, I will wear that puppy day in and day out! And one lucky audience member will catch it when I chuck that baby off the stage during my debut!! Check it fear, you are dead, I will catch you and tear you apart! The Fear: Right...to be continued... Tags: Figure | Bodybuilding | Washington Ironman | Emerald Cup | Craig Productions | setbacks | Journey | Thoughts | Mindset | Determination | Goals | goal setting | Fitness | Visualization | Dreams | focus |
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| Jen B |
| Check me out on YouTube |
| 11.11.2011 00:02:43 | |
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After working for hours trying to figure out how to embed a YouTube video into the blog here I have realized I cannot figure it out...or maybe my patience has just worn out! So here is a link to a YouTube video I did explaining a bit about where I'm at and where I am heading. Its a history of my journey thus far and a precursor of so much to come! Please check it out HERE. But be aware, I am a goofball and have a very dry sense of humor...hahaa ;) Tags: Figure | Fitness | adrenal fatigue | isagenix | Emerald Cup | Craig Productions | fitness routines | competitors | mind | strengthFigure | Ironman | training legs | setbacks | energy | vision | discipline | focus | training partner | disciplined | focused | night show | persistence | commitment | choice | challenge | personal training |
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| Jen B |
| Doubt Will Kill Your Dreams |
| 08.23.2011 03:38:13 | |
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Coming to this site, looking around, I am so grateful to be here writing to you. I look at the photos, I read the articles of those in the industry and I wonder what am I doing here? Who wants to hear about my challenges when you see all this success? I posted my first post and then hid, wondering if I should continue, let alone blog on one of the top competition sites! I want to thank Elaine Craig Wright for pushing me, she didn't do much. A simple post on my Facebook page. (New friends welcome) Short and sweet "Missing you on the blogs!" That simple post made my day and pushed me to face the self doubt and open up to this journey. How am I going to grace the stage if I'm already hiding from the computer screen? :) Good news!! The doctor has given the OK to run, yup, thats it. But check out my new running kicks!
No more than 30 minutes a day, try not to break a sweat or get out of breath. Really? To hear that as an athlete, a fitness competitors soul is not an easy pill to swallow. I try to look forward and not backwards, though at this moment I have to look back. I was on a no activity order from the doctor. 30 minutes is a long time from nothing! So here I am 7 weeks later finishing up the 5k training program and running a steady 28 minutes with no breaks! I know, doesn't sound like much but from where I was this is GIGANTIC! Bad News!! My body is in a recovery mode, still not super excited over my exercising and putting extra demands on it. It is holding onto the weight, actually I have gained another 2lbs. Though I do have to say my husband was checking out the tone in my legs the other day! It is so hard to understand how 7 weeks of running and I gain 2lbs. For those of you that have dealt with adrenal fatigue and hormone imbalances you know the frustration, for those that haven't it is close to absolutely impossible to push weight off while in recovery. As I need to improve my nutrition and trying to learn as a runner now, or runner in training. Resources and recommendations gladly accepted! So where am I now? Where am I headed? I am fighting the doubt and the fear. I am fighting and keeping my eye on the prize. I am running a 5k in October, I know not the stage but even the title holders started somewhere. I have talked with a few amazing competitors with very big hearts that have gone through what I am going through and successfully manage it and compete. It took them a long time too. It is hope and motivation to hear stories of those dealing with the same conditions that I am. It can be very lonely out in the world and when we isolate ourselves it may seem as if we are in it by ourselves, that nobody could possibly understand. No matter your situation that is wrong! There are people out there that want to love you, support you, and help you succeed. Thank you to Elaine for dropping a kind reminder that somebody does want to hear about the girl that isn't on stage YET. *smile*
~Jen B.~ Tags: Emerald Cup | Figure | Fitness | Bikini | Mindset | Thoughts | training legs | Dreams | Visualization | illness | goal setting | Dedication | desire | sacrifice | motivation | inspiration | succeed | crossfit figure cardio contest prep | nutrition |
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| Jen B |
| Center Stage and Eyes Closed |
| 07.02.2011 13:49:33 | |
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I sit here tonight, ecstatic over the opportunity to be blogging with www.craigproductions.com. Today has been something a bit surreal for me. Small accomplishments in the big picture though steps I have put off for fear of rejection. I sit here tonight ecstatic, yet unsure. I want this to be big, I want this to be real. For me, Jen, to be blogging on the website for Emerald Cup and Washington Ironman feels as if my dreams have come true. To some of you this may be cheesy, well even to me it sounds a bit silly. We are not to idolize, but I am obsessed! The fitness industry has intrigued me for over 11 years now. Sitting on the couch after midnight flipping through cable when I stumbled on a fitness show on ESPN. A former cheerleader, wanna be dancer, and in athletics my whole life I was hooked. These woman were on national television, they had to be of some weird and famous breed. I set them on a pedestal, something unattainable by an average girl like me. At that time I was 17, young and naive. Though our thoughts lead to our actions and our actions lead to our destination. Eleven years later I'm still in the audience, dreaming of standing center of that stage, head high, shoulders back, to close my eyes for a moment and feel the feat of accomplishment. Though the road has not put me on stage yet, I will not be defeated, I will not quit fighting until I am on stage. So I guess this is where it gets a bit personal. I've been a gym rat since high school, loving the smell so stuffy and stinky. Cold hard floors, cardio machines buzzing, weights clinking...paradise. It is not difficult to get me to the gym, its not difficult to get me to push myself. This is where the issue comes in. I might be a bit hard on myself...well ok...I said I was going to be honest, I am very hard on myself. I will take myself to the gym, roll myself up like a back alley cat fight and love every second while I'm there. I am very good at over training, if it was a good technique I would be famous! Several years of this, committing to this show or that show, working with this trainer or that trainer, I always got the same result. I was on cloud 9, pumped and ready to go. Two weeks in I would get sick, I would start having anxiety attacks, weakness, and foggy brain. Yup...aren't those right out of the training manual for OVER TRAINING! Well I never caught on to this, I fizzed out, felt defeated, tore myself apart emotionally and became angry. I tend to live life in black or white, so if I couldn't do it overnight with intense training then I would not ever reach this goal. 5 years or so of off and on choosing shows, starting to train, my body freaking out and me giving up I have thrown my endocrine system into a fit! Now dealing with much more sensitive issues such as major hormone imbalances, adrenal fatigue, chronic fatigue syndrome, 20lbs weight gain, on and on. Turning from doctor to doctor looking for the magic pill. I haven't found it yet but I am starting to realize my body is different, I can't jump into a competition training regiment overnight, cardio has to be done at a lower intensity, sleep is not negotiable, and nutrition is HUGE! So...maybe I'm not that different. I'm rambling on, wondering where to take this blog venture. I am going to take you on my journey through adrenal fatigue, hormonal imbalances, chronic fatigue, and more and right onto to center stage where I promise win or lose I am going to take a moment to stand still, eyes closed, and breathe in the drive, motivation, blood, sweat, and tears of many years fighting my way. Right now my doctor has me laying low, I'm listening for once, trying to be patient. Its hard to look in the mirror and not recognize the body that encompasses such a fit and strong soul. With time and patience, and the grace of God I will be an inspiration to men and women alike. Those that believe that they couldn't do something like that, or that are dealing with physical ailments interfering with their training. It is possible, even for a regular girl like me! :)
Jen
Tags: Ironman | Craig Productions | Emerald Cup | Washington Ironman | determined | WA State Show | setbacks | Goals | Determination | Weakness | persistence | goal-setting | illness |
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| Ginny |
| Rollin', rollin', rollin' |
| 03.21.2011 18:37:24 | |
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We're rollin' right into the stage! Under two weeks to the Vancouver. I'm a happy camper, holding steady at stage condition. Work outs are fun and the food (while I'm still trying to wrap my brain around how much and what I'm actually consuming) is awesome. I got my Suits by Amy bling bikini! It is amazing. I'm so excited. It's totally different than any suit I've worn. SO much sparkle. The craftsmanship is incredible. I have one tiny alternation for it to fit like a glove. Amy and I Skyped this weekend. Nothing like standing in your kitchen in an itty bitty bikini with sick kids climbing your legs like mucousy marmosets, trying to show your suit maker tiny tweaks to perfect the fit. I so appreciate her time. It's like a personal fitting in your own home. Speaking of mucous. My children are sick AGAIN. Germs are one of the glorious inevitabilities of full time day care. I have "slept" the last two nights in Annie's rocking chair as it's the only way she (we) can get any sleep. I wouldn't trade a second of it though. She's such an easy kid that it feels good to be so needed. I can scarcely sleep for gazing at how beautiful she is. I remember these moments with Ethan and they slip away all too quickly. So, I'm just trying to keep myself healthy. Guzzling the fluids, doubling the vitamins and sleeping when I can. I logged 136 hours in my last two week pay period. Love the new job in spite of the wicked demands. I work from home a great deal which makes life a whole lot easier, especially with food prep. I hang out in my home office and move from one conference call/webcast to the next. Sometimes I'm even able to switch loads of laundry with my earpiece in and chiming in on sales strategies and marketing initiatives. Multi-task or DIE. Train hard! Almost there! Enjoy the ride. Here's a little snap from training this week...
Tags: ginny gardea | npc | Figure | Emerald Cup | Onstage Image | suits by amy | Canby Hair Design |
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| Ginny |
| Hey, pretty lady...can I take your picture? |
| 03.17.2011 19:34:28 | |
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A beautiful portfolio goes a long way for self-promotion and posterity. Many of us compete just for fun and want to capture our hard work on camera and others have career goals in the industry that require images. Photo shoots can be a ton of fun and a great deal of hard work. Perhaps the most difficult aspect is determining with whom you'll work. There are oodles of dudes with cameras--eager to take your picture. It's flattering! You've worked hard to get to the stage and the recognition feels good. Just don't be seduced by big promises or name-dropping. If you're approached by a photographer, ask questions. Be polite and professional but don't be shy. Pictures last forever and you have control over how you'll be perceived. Does he have references? Where can you view his work? What type of shoot would he have in mind? Is it a paid shoot or trade for print (TFP)? If it's paid, ask very specifically about how the photographer will use the images. Are you comfortable with the use? Most amateur models are not compensated unless the photographer sells the images for some type of use, most often web. Just be very clear on where your pictures will be viewed. Protect your personal safety. Again, ask for references and check them. Make inquiries with other ladies and industry professionals on the credibility of the photographer. This is not rude, it's responsible. Your approach is everything--polite, professional, protective. Bring someone with you to the shoot. This is just a personal credo and not necessarily what everyone does. My perspective is that if I'm shooting one on one with a freelance photographer that he/she should be comfortable with my bringing along a partner. The role of this person is to be a quiet observer and not interfere with comments or suggestions. They may be enlisted to help but are intended to be seen and not heard. You might also try to book your time with another competitor who also plans to shoot. Be prepared to work. Arrive ready to shoot unless you're given other instructions. Shoots often take place after a show, so you may have specific nutritional considerations. Also, coming off a day on stage you'll be tired and shoots can be hard work. Don't whine. Smile, follow instruction, think creatively, ask questions and remember that your performance builds a reputation. No one likes a diva. Have fun, contribute with enthusiasm and creativity, know your limits, express them clearly and stick to your guns.
Tags: ginny gardea | npc | Figure | Emerald Cup | Onstage Image | suits by amy | Canby Hair Design |
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| Ginny |
| Ninja Girl - in stealth mode |
| 03.16.2011 19:56:03 | |
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Well the edict has been passed down...no lookey, no peeky, no weighy. Had a nice little Skype chat with Coach yesterday. We're looking good! But, there's no more looking allowed. To prevent any neurosis in these final weeks before my first show it has been habit to have me cover up and let Coach do all the evaluations from here on in. No second guessing, just keep up the hard work and enjoy coasting into the show. So, I'll be in my ninja gear for a little while--pants, sleeves and sassy attitude.
Tags: ginny gardea | npc | Figure | Emerald Cup | Onstage Image | suits by amy | Canby Hair Design |
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| Ginny |
| On cruise control and lovin' it... |
| 03.15.2011 18:39:37 | |
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With less than three weeks to go to my return to the stage and just five out from the Cup I'm cocked, locked and ready to rock...so to speak. This prep has been a blast. I think it's a combination of having some time off while preganant with Annie to feel refreshed and excited about the process, the nature of the training and nutrition, and the fact that I'm just seasoned enough to not sweat the small stuff and enjoy the ride. I have not had to resort to any marathon cardio or drastic nutrition changes. My intensity and strength have remained high throughout which fuels my motivation to kill it in my training sessions. The fact that I'm still eating 3+ carb servings a day (pasta, bread, rice, quinoa, oats, etc.) and even some cheese and fruit is almost more difficult to tackle mentally than going without. It's easy to get brainwashed on the "rules" of comp prep. Turns out, there are no rules...just hard work and discipline. We have found a great balance in this prep. I'm really excited about the package I'm bringing to the stage this year. I have balanced out my trouble spots and have a good ratio of muscular development and conditioning. Factor in some fun styling choices and a pretty new bling bikini and this girl is ready to slip on the heels and go for it! How will it all turn out? Who knows...I have reached a point where I don't think about that too much. Do I want to be recognized for all this hard work and sacrifice? You betcha! Right now, I'm just on cruise control--feeling focused and loving every minute of the challenges I tackle in the gym and the little last minute things that go into polishing my final presentation. One of the greatest things to come out of this season so far is that I find that I'm connecting with people in a way never before. I don't know why exactly but I seem to have people approaching me in the gym more often--asking questions, lending support, and finding inspiration of their own from my crazy hard work. I had a really nice mature gentleman approach me a few days ago... He prefaced his comments by humbling saying that he was a happily married grandpa and NOT flirting but wanted to tell me that he'd never seen anyone who looks the way that I do. We shook hands and chatted by the barbell rack. After a bit, he asked if I would wait so that he could get his daughter. He pulled her off the cardio deck to make introductions. They both went on to encourage me in my journey. Before we said our adieu's he thanked me. For what, I asked. He sort of shrugged and said, "Thank you for showing people what's possible." Wow. What a compliment! I'm tremendously grateful for the growing support coming out of Club Fit--the Raines', Tom and Shannon, Katie, Wendy, Lori, Tonia, and everyone else! There is also one heck of a team coming out of Onstage Image this year. I'm so excited to have had some of my very favorite girls come on board (Ryan and Heather). I'm also getting to know some teammates who have been on the roster but haven't had a chance to meet (Kim, Tabitha and othes). I'm in the company of some killer competitors who share my enthusiasm for making the process fun. Love ya ladies! The camraderie is a huge motivator. I'm also inspired by a friend of mine and her husband who are not competitors but have joined the team and are making amazing life changes. Their daily dedication and progress is awesome. So, I probably ought to get to work. I receive about 75-100 emails daily and none of them are spam. Time's a wastin'. Final countdown to the 2011 season is underway and I am excited!
Tags: 2011 NPC Figure | Emerald Cup | suits by amy | Onstage Image | Kris Clark | Canby Hair Design | ginny gardea |
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| Ginny |
| Working girl wants a win |
| 03.11.2011 20:13:30 | |
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I'm back! After a three day whirlwind business trip to Vegas I'm back home. The trip went off without a hitch. The business aspects were very successful and training and nutrition stayed on point. Those lists certainly paid off! I navigated airports, taxis, board meetings, presentations and business breakfasts/lunches/dinners with cooler or tupperware in tow. I impatiently waited for the hotel fitness center to open early so that I could get my sweat on before racing off to rub elbows with excecutives and ducked out of company "socials" to don gym gear and hustle off to move some weights. It was a rapid fire series of acts that included wardrobe and accessory changes trading business suit for sports bra and ever checking my daily itinerary and meal plan to make sure I had the right food items tucked into my briefcase alongside my trusty laptop, smartphone and assorted paperwork. High hopes of rest faded quickly when the meetings that took place on site generated an immediate need for work to be created and shared overnight. It was a treat however to snuggle into a cozy hotel bed armed with my laptop and pound out the work in private comfort. I think I added an extra measure of cardio/training by hoofing it all over the hotel and casino in heels. It had to be miles... Being new in my role with the company and in a highly visable position to executive management I had to be somewhat discrete with chowing down on my unusual prep food during presentations or worse AT scheduled meetings that took place over a meal. In some cases I had to politely let everyone know that I had already eaten or brought my own as I was a competitor in training and no, I do not have an eating disorder. Trust me...I eat. You should see my stocked hotel fridge! Speaking of the hotel fridge...travel and training is a unique animal. We're talking power suits, Power Points and protein shakes. That's how I roll now a' day. Certainly no complaints from me, but my menu this week is incredibly diverse. I had to prep three different proteins, five different carb sources, baggie up protein powders, parcel out supplements, etc. But, it all paid off as I held my conditioning and am literally ready to slap on a tan and step on stage. The days are flying by and the big day will be here before I know it! I am so exicted for Saturday...I have the afternoon blocked out to meet with my stylist, Kris Clark of Canby Hair Design. It's going to be fun! Kris is available for styling services for upcoming Northwest shows. She is fully licensed and fully amazing. She can be reached at 503-313-3707 or you can view her website at http://canbyhair.tripod.com/. I'll try to post some before and after pictures of our work on Saturday...or, I might just make it a surprise. Almost there! Train hard, stay focused and keep it fun!
Tags: ginny gardea | Emerald Cup | NPC Figure 2011 | Onstage Image | suits by amy | Kris Clark | Canby Hair Design |
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| Ginny |
| Suitcase living, sponsorships and Sin City bound... |
| 03.06.2011 19:35:07 | |
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Well, it's list making time again. Knowing my love for the list, it's all about creating some org structure for the week ahead. I'm traveling this week and need to pack for a long week of meetings and presentations, training and eating on the road, and getting the family squared away to be without mommy for a bit. Today I'm prepping neat and tidy zip lock baggies of food to freeze for my flight, putting the finishing touches on PowerPoints, packing training gear and business suits, and loving on my little people as much as possible before things go 'tilt' tomorrow. They rest of the week will unravel like a cheap sweater after that... This trip is going to be sun up to sun down meetings and business functions. I'll likely not know I'm even in Vegas except for the necessary scavenger hunt through the casino to find the elevator to my room. You gotta love the rat mazes they build to get you to drop your luggage and drop a $20 on roulette as you scurry to the safety of your hotel room. I don't gamble and drinking isn't in the cards for the foreseeable future so it could be any-town-USA for all I care. It'll be a good trip though, business wise. Hoping to hook up with NPC bikini competitor, Danny Johnson for a few giggles but we'll see if after dawn to dusk meetings and squeezing in gym time if I'll be able to. I'm dialed in as far as prep goes. We're sitting right at where I should be to walk on stage. The next four weeks will be little ups and downs with nutrition and training to keep me just about where I'm at. Feels good to not stress! I'm excited to hit the Vancouver and then onto the EMERALD CUP! In other news, I'm very excited to announce that I'll be partnering with Kris Clark of Canby Hair Design as my stage styling sponsor for 2011. She's full of ideas and we're coming up with some very cool stuff for my new look as I get ready to return to the stage. I'll probably be MIA from the blog-o-sphere for this week... Will update as often as possible. Train hard! Just weeks to go! Tags: suits by amy | Onstage Image | Emerald Cup | Figure | npc | ginny gardea |
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| Ginny |
| True - my thoughts on the Arnold |
| 03.05.2011 20:07:00 | |
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I always look forward to the weekend of the Arnold Classic. It's the big kick off to the season. It's my Oscars. I giddily await the webcasts and tweets on call outs and soak in the industry media comments and critiques. I was excited to see new IFBB Pro, Courtney West high in the lineup. I am inspired as an amateur athlete to know that just last year Courtney was in my shoes...training hard with a world of opportunity ahead of her. She looked amazing and I'm motivated by her journey. I think the biggest thing I took away from the show is the notion of "truth". Tanji never fails to bring her best to the stage and this year was no different. Hands down, her athletic talent blew it up. I have also been privileged to follow her prep through her blogs and Facebook updates. Knowing the passion she has for her sport and the lengths to which she'll push her abilities has been inspiring. I love that Tanji is always "true" to her style of presentation in both her routine and physique rounds. This is NOT to say, predictable. It's always an exciting surprise! If there is one thing I carry with me in the prep process it is to be "true" to what I love about this sport. I love the athletic training and never want to let that take second to trying to be what I think someone else would want to see out of my presentation. I pour my heart and soul into crafting my body of work and what the finished product ends up looking like is simply the result of that effort. I don't have a "look" I'm trying to achieve. There is no mold for me. I will always strive to be my best and only when I step on stage will we know how that looks in comparison to the competition. I hope I will always remain "true" to who I am and what I want. Thanks Tanj for the inspiration!
Tags: ginny gardea | npc | Figure | Emerald Cup | Onstage Image | suits by amy |
