Dara the Figure Competitor Part 3

Although I am quick to say, I just wasn’t met to be a professional figure competitor, there is a part of me that still wonders what could have been.  Genetically, I do have the makeup to be successful in that arena.  But I do NOT have the mentality.  I missed food.  I am a foodie.  I love food!  There were some women (who I deeply respect and wish I was more like) that truly didn’t crave any of the “bad” foods.  It wasn’t that hard for some of these women to eat the way we were eating.  I was not one of them. 

In the first few days after the competition, I was retaining water like a boat going under.  Matt affectionately called me “bowling ball face”.  What a sweetie.  But it was true!  My legs and calves and ankles looked swollen.  It was bizarre!  It didn’t take me too long to come down to size (no pun intended).  I will say that my metabolism was a little weird in the year after the competition.  My pre-competition weight was 122.  My competition weight was 115.  And in the months following, I had a tough time getting below 128!  The workouts and diets I followed before the competition were not effective in the months after.  My body was definitely confused.  BUT, in June of 2010, I was back down to a normal weight I felt good about and my metabolism was back to working great, as well! 

All in all, I am happy that I did the competition.  I am proud of myself for the discipline I showed and I learned a lot.  Since the competition, I have had more balance in my fitness and nutrition than I have ever had.  Because the nutrition plan was so extreme, it made me appreciate delicious food more and freed me up to let myself enjoy those foods every once in a while.  Even before training for this, I ate extremely healthy and rarely indulged.  So I feel like I have a healthier relationship with food and working out.  I used to be very all or nothing in my workouts.  If I didn’t have time to go to the gym for over an hour, I wouldn’t go at all!  I now realize that  10, 20, or 30 minutes is better than 0 minutes! 

I very much appreciate the experience I had in the two competitions that I attended.  The people I met were so kind and supportive of one another and I deeply respect the dedication and commitment they are willing to make to do what they love. 

Here are some photos I took right before the competition.  Call me vain, but I had worked too hard to not get some photographic evidence of my figure competition physique.

T-25 Cardio Review

I just completed the T25 Cardio workout for the 3rd time since starting the program, and I had to press pause much less than the first two times I did it.  Less being ONLY five times in a 25 minute workout, as opposed to seven or eight times.  Hey, improvement is improvement!

So what exactly are you doing for 25 minutes?  Jumping.  At least one foot is off the ground for  25 minutes straight with the exception of 30 seconds of lunges somewhere in there.  And lunges are STILL lunges.  It's not like you are getting a 30 second break for water and a snack.  

To be honest, last week (my first week) I wasn't sure how much I was loving this program.  It was just so hard!  These 25 minutes are jam packed and that's WHY it works.  But towards the end of last week and after this morning, T-25 is growing on me.  I LOVE that it's only 25 minutes, and even though the plyometrics and sprint drills are exhausting, I love what it's doing for my body.  My core is getting ripped and my legs are moving quicker and in ways they haven't for a long time.  I really appreciate what Shaun T is doing through this program, and I'm looking forward to getting better with each day and each workout.

Dara the Figure Competitor Part 2

The competition was in mid-August, and I flew back to Tampa at the beginning of the month to see my coach, Tim, and get prepared.  Truthfully, I think Tim was shocked by how "good" I looked.  Some people had warned me that the week before the competition, I would have to cut my calories and water intake drastically.  Well I didn't.  To be honest, I think I was competition-ready ahead of schedule, so I didn't have to make any major changes.  In some ways that was gratifying, but in some ways I was annoyed.  I hated how tough the workout and nutrition regimen were, so I wondered if I was already in the right shape, did I really need ALL 12 WEEKS of the preparation period?  I would have gladly cut off a week or two.

The day before the competition, I had to prep my skin with a self-tanner, and also get professionally spray tanned.  The lady spraying me commented that my skin takes really well to the tanner.  She was right.  I didn't look tan.  I looked like I was an entirely different race!  I couldn't believe I had to go out in public looking like the way I did.  It makes me laugh as I type this.  You'll know why when you see the pictures below : )

As it turns out, I won the competition.  I won the "short" division and then went on to win first in the figure competition overall.  It was extremely gratifying and I was very proud of myself for the hard work and discipline.  I never thought I could be so disciplined with my diet.  And it did feel wonderful to be "good" at something again.  I hadn't felt that high in such a long time.  Was it all worth it though?  I'm still not sure.

Tim, my coach, tells me that my next competition was in two weeks.  I was completely unprepared for that revelation.  I thought MAYBE I would do another one in a few months.  I know it makes sense to do one sooner, since you are already in such great shape, but I was so ready to LET LOOSE!  But reluctantly, I agreed.  Tim really believed I could go "pro" in a very short period of time and from there get in to fitness modeling, which I really did want to do.  

To make a long story short, I didn't win or even place at the next competition.  Tim thinks I got lost in the shuffle, but admittedly I didn't look AS good.  However, I have to believe that God was at work because the girl who won the second competition, I had beat in the first competition!  It's hard to believe I would have changed that drastically in just two weeks to not even place.  Had I done well again, I probably would have continued to pursue it and I'm just not sure that would have been what was best for me.  

To learn more about how my body responded after this extreme lifestyle, stay tuned for 

Part 3.

Did I mention that my skin took
to the spray tan VERY well?

This picture is from the 2nd competition
where I did not place.  

Focus T-25: Speed 1.0 Review

I started T-25 yesterday and so far SO GOOD!  I completed the cardio workout yesterday, but it was not as quality as I would have liked due to two babies who did not want to nap.  So I will post a review on that workout when I do it again (which I believe is Friday).

So today was Speed 1.0.  As a former track athlete, I was excited to see what this workout would entail and I was not disappointed!  It basically felt like I was doing running/sprint drills for 25 straight minutes with a  tad bit of stretching at selected intervals.  There were a lot of high knees, lateral movement, hopping, criss-crossing, and even some kicking and punching.  And as I mentioned earlier, every few minutes, Shaun T generously incorporated a stretching exercise to give you some time to catch your breath (of course, it really just gave you time to go from desperately gasping for air to heavily panting).  Thanks Shaun T!  What a gem that guy is.  

So I'm cruising along thinking how wonderful those little stretching breaks are when with 9 minutes left in the workout, the breaks are no more!  So for the last 9 minutes, plan on pretty much just jumping for 9 minutes straight.  Enjoy! ; )

Do you know what I love about this workout though?  There was not one ab-specific exercise in the entire 25 minutes, but my abs were screaming at me by the end!  Have you ever seen world-class sprinters' stomachs?  Do you think they get that way because they do 200 sit-ups a day?  No!  They have superhuman abs because they are sprinting!  Just something to keep in mind the next time you decide you need to incorporate more ab work.  Most likely, you need to do less crunches and more running or plyometrics.  

Dara the Figure Competitor Part 1

In 2009, I got the itch to try a figure competition.  I was three years out of competing in track and field, and I MISSED working hard for something and having a goal!  But I was scared and skeptical.  Anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE to eat, so I was very fearful of what the nutrition plan would look like.  And I was skeptical of myself more than anything.  I was one of those people who just thought no matter what I did, I could never have a real six pack.  But I was up for the challenge and through word of mouth, I heard about a man in the Tampa area named Tim Gardner who was highly successful in that realm.  I approached him and he agreed to train me.  

I started in March, but stopped about four weeks later due to schedule conflicts.  But I restarted in June and was all in.  Tim would send me my nutrition and workout plan every four weeks and in return I would send him progress pictures.  The first four weeks, the nutrition plan wasn't horrible.  I was still eating a normal amount of calories, but they were all good calories, so it was very boring.  The good news is I got a cheat day, and boy did I cheat.  I look back now with disgust at what I would consume on those days.  The workouts in the first phase were very long and challenging.  I would take a 45 minute brisk walk in the morning before I ate breakfast.  In the afternoon, I would do my lifting, and I had never done so many sets and reps before in my life.  Most of the exercises I did four sets of 10, 12, 15, and 20 repetitions.  Just imagine doing 20 repetitions of step-ups on EACH LEG.  Ugh.  And then in the evenings I would do 45 minutes on the elliptical.  Most days, this added up to three hours of working out.  

The second and third phases were pretty similar and they were awful.  The calories got cut and the food was still boring.  So I was hungry, but often, I didn't eat as much as I could have because I was so disgusted and tired of the same old foods.  The workouts were very similar to the first phase.  The problem was, I had a lot less energy to complete them.  I almost completely stopped going to my husband's baseball game because I didn't have the energy AND I couldn't be around the delicious stadium food smells!  Torturous!  And my poor husband and parents were dealing with a very crabby and moody girl.  My husband said it was like I was on my period all the time.  Yikes!  Looking back, I am shocked at how disciplined I was when it came to the meal plan.  The extent of my cheating was a dollop of Bar-B-Q sauce to dip my boring chicken in.  

Finally, it was time for the competition…

Here are my progress pictures from Week 1-Week 4-Week 8.

What is a Beachbody Challenge Group?

If you are at all familiar with Beachbody or are friends with a Beachbody coach on Facebook or another social media site, then you have probably heard the term "challenge group" mentioned.  What does it mean??

A challenge group is when a group of people commit to doing a Beachbody at-home workout DVD, drinking Shakeology, and checking in with their coach via a closed Facebook group for a specified period of time.  Most challenge groups last from 3-4 weeks.  In some groups, everyone commits to the same workout program and in others, members can choose any program they would like.  As a coach, I use the Facebook group to post fitness and nutrition tips, recipes, inspirational quotes or pictures, and assignments.  The group should also be used for the members to post any questions they may have throughout the process, encourage one another, and post their progress.  

To be honest, even as a coach, I was skeptical about how effective being a part of a challenge group would be.  I wasn't convinced it would truly serve to keep me on track, consistent, and accountable to my workouts and eating habits.  I was wrong.  I felt very connected to my group and coach.  I wanted to make her proud.  I felt guilty if I wasn't participating in the group, but to participate, I needed to be doing my workouts and eating healthy!  IT WORKED.  

Challenge groups are the answer to the accountability question of at-home workouts.  As a coach, I act as an online personal trainer for a lot less money than you would pay a trainer at the gym.  Thanks to social media, it is VERY easy to connect and stay up to date on everyone and where they are at.  

Challenge groups are for everyone.  All ages and all sizes.  You may be the most disciplined person in the world, but joining a challenge group will make you even MORE disciplined.  Engaging in your challenge groups will get you results.  Your coach can help you reach your fitness goals.  

P90X3 Progression Pictures

I have a love/hate relationship with Tony Horton.  I love P90X3 and I love the uniqueness of the program and I love what it's done for my physique and shape.  But boy do I dislike Tony Horton while I am doing it and I hate how good he is at his job because it makes me hurt everywhere!  I mean, how many different kinds of squats are there?!  

In all seriousness, I have been SO impressed with this program.  I consider myself to have prolific experience in the fitness industry between my track career, internship at the Olympic Training Center, becoming a personal trainer, and training and competing in a figure competition.  I figured I would have done or at least seen most every kind of exercise you can do with your body.  I was wrong.  The variety and uniqueness of each workout and the exercises within those workouts have blown me away.  I have not become bored and my body has not stopped responding to the workouts.  I have become better and stronger, but I can still be physically sore after each day.  Oh and I can't believe I didn't even mention THE BEST PART…each workout is ONLY THIRTY MINUTES!  You can do anything for thirty minutes, right??  

So…here are my results 60 days in to the 90 day program: