Reenergized & Ready to Conquer!

The last few weeks have been a bit difficult for me in terms of prepping for my next show. Oh, you didn't know I was prepping for another show??! I must have forgotten to mention that but yep, I'm currently in prep for the NPC Western Regional that will be taking place in Phoenix November 9 & 10.

The prep has been difficult for reasons I have expressed during past preps so I should warn you that I'm going to sound like a broken record here! I shared with you the feedback I received from the head judge at the AZ Open show in my Determined vs Unrealistic post. The p-word or physique was the one word we were trying to avoid hearing and yet, it made an appearance in the head judge's reply to my request for feedback. When Tommy the team made the decision to compete in another show before the year ended, a discussion took place about what would need to be done to make the judges think "figure competitor" not "physique competitor" when they saw me on stage. It came down to one thing - I had to lose muscle.

For those of you who might be newer readers, we've been down this road before. After the 2011 Orange County Muscle Classic, I was told that I would need to come in smaller (less muscular) if I wanted to continue to compete in figure (physique was being introduced at the time). I went back & forth about the sacrifices I would have to make in order to "drop size" but decided that I wanted to do it. I shared that I wanted to be able to look back at this time and say that I did everything in my power in order to be successful. More than a year later, I still feel the exact way.

Competing is a beast. It is not for the indecisive, weak, or faint of heart. At times, you have to make choices that you may second guess later and that's the point that I was at the last few weeks. I was second guessing my decision to sacrifice even more size in order to continue competing in figure. Sacrificing size, for me, means minimal weight training, additional amounts of cardio, and a diet that often lacks flavor & excitement. It doesn't seem like a big deal when you type it out but when you're living it week in and week out, it can break you down.

Last Saturday, I checked in with The Boss #1 and told her that I was not excited about doing this show. I told her that prepping for this show was starting to be a pain in my ass and while I wanted to give it my all, I just didn't feel like I could. I was worried because I could sense that Tom felt like I was not at the point where I should be given the number of weeks until the show. Needless to say, The Boss #1 sent back an email reassuring me that I was right where I needed to be and that we would be switching things up starting this week.

I got my new plan on Saturday night and while the plan doesn't have cake or booze in it (hey, a girl can dream!), it does have me hittin' the weights more than once a week! Can I get a "woot woot"? A shift in my approach to training and tweaking of the diet has resulted in a reenergized, ready to bust out a can of whoop ass Tenecia!

The goal for this next show is to win my class but I will be content placing in the top 3.

I have 8 weeks to make it happen. I'm up for the challenge now. I can do this.

Sweaty & stinky but ready to take on the next 8 weeks!!