Well, it's Sunday, the day after my first figure competition. Wow! It was a wonderful experience. Let me tell you about it...
I arrived the night before the competition to check in and have a polygraph test. I appreciate OCB's commitment to a drug-free show, so we all had to take polygraph tests and winners had to provide a urine sample at the end of the show. My self-tanning wasn't working out so well, so I found a woman at the hotel on Friday night who was providing a tanning service and had her apply a coat of Jan-Tana to me. (I learned that Jan-Tana works much better on me than does Pro-Tan.) I met a few other contestants while waiting for the polygraph test and we had fun talking and sharing notes. I saw Lindsley from my posing class and met Barbara, who is 53 and looks like she's 33 (a walking advertisement for the benefits of weight training for women as we age!)
On Saturday morning at 8:45 am, I joined about seven other women backstage who were waiting for make-up pro Tanya to apply our stage make up (including false eyelashes). Tanya was fabulous and I LOVED my stage makeup. Figure competitions are a unique blend of an athletic competition and a beauty pageant. We were all pumping up before going on stage and eating our carefully prescribed foods at precisely the right times throughout the day, as well as making sure our suit bottoms were glued to our rear-ends (Bikini Bite) and our spray-tans were perfect.
I competed in two categories - debut (for first-timers) and grand masters (age 45+). I was nervous and excited, but mostly excited. I felt very prepared (thank you Domenick and Joe!) and enjoyed posing for the judges. It was hard work, but I was ready for it.
It was a long day, but time passed quickly as all the competitors performed in their rounds and the judges made their decisions. It was a great feeling of comraderie out in the hall with the other contestants as we shared stories and experiences about training and our lives.
Before I knew it, it was 5pm and time for the evening show. In the show, each contestant performed a stage walk (approximately 90 seconds). The announcer read my introduction and noted that I was a breast cancer survivor. The crowd cheered and I felt my emotions making their way to the surface. I thought "I can't cry yet!" and made my way onto the stage. I was nervous, happy and proud all at the same time. I managed to not fall off my shoes (!), even though I wobbled at one point. As I walked off stage, I did cry for a few minutes, as the reality of having reached this important goal set in.
I remembered that a year ago at this time, I was in the middle of chemo treatments and a figure competition was still a distant dream that kept me going. Finally being at the competition and completing the last portion brought a tremendous sense of closure to my whole cancer experience. From my diagnosis, I had been saying "I'm going to compete in a figure competition when this is over". So the competition became symbolic for my cancer treatment being over. I felt free and victorious.
On Sunday morning, I was so happy to be in church. During the prayer time, I shared with the the congregation how much gratitude I felt toward God for enabling me to reach this milestone. I felt strong, whole, healthy and beautiful. Praise the Lord!
A few people have asked me how I placed and if I won any awards. Awards were given to the top five contestants in each category, and I didn't win any awards for either of my categories. I wasn't dissappointed by this at all; I didn't expect to win awards as a 45-year-old first-timer who just completed cancer treatment. It was a major achievement just to know that I was fit enough to be up on stage and able to compete. I felt like a winner just being there.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
My training program
People have asked me how I've been training for this event, so I thought I'd offer a timeline of what I've been doing for the past year. Here it is:
12 months prior
Last summer (2009), I knew I wanted to compete in a figure competition, but I didn't have a date in mind. I was in the middle of chemotherapy and had radiation therapy and two surgeries ahead of me. My primary fitness goal was to rehabilitate my body after each ordeal. In between chemo treatments (and recovery from them), I would do a combination of resistance training, cardio training and stretching six days a week. I did all of this at home, using equipment that I own. Each day, I worked two or three body parts and did 3 - 4 sets for each part I worked. I attempted to evenly train my whole body. For cardio training, I either walked, ran (when I had the energy) or used my lateral slide trainer at home. Flexibility was very important, I knew, and I did a 20-minute whole-body stretching routine once or twice a day, seven days a week.
6 months prior
By mid-January, 2010, I was beyond my last major surgery and knew it was finally time for me to begin training more specifically and intensely. Over a period of a month, I built up to a training program that I followed for four months. Domenick, my trainer, worked with me to ensure that I was making gains and having enough variety in my training program. I trained one major body part a day, six days a week. This was pretty intense, as I would do about 15 sets of 8 - 12 reps for each body part. For example, on Monday, I trained my quads and hamstrings, Tuesday was arms (biceps, triceps, forearms), Wednesday was my back and shoulders, etc... In addition, I either trained my core (abs, obliques, low back) or my calves each day. I added cardio training at the end of each workout for about 20 minutes. This was a great program for me. It was very challenging, but I experienced significant gains all over my body from it.
3 months prior
I had my final surgery in early June 2010, which kept me from training for about 3 weeks. (I walked and stretched during this time, though.) When I went back to training, Domenick had me focus especially on my weak areas. He created two workouts for me: weak points (3 days a week) and strong points (2 - 3 days a week). My weak areas were my back, shoulders, chest and core, so I wanted to focus more on those. I also had one day a week to just do cardiovascular training. I also began learning to pose and practicing posing (seven days a week) at this point.
5 weeks prior
My workouts really kicked up a notch at this point. The competition was drawing near and I needed to work even harder to be prepared. I also began losing some body fat by dieting, which made the workouts even more challenging. Four days each week, I did two workouts a day. In the morning, I did moderate-intensity cardio training for about 40 minutes. Later in the day, I would do resistance training. Two days each week, I had only one workout, and it was an intense cardio workout with interval training. I had one day a week to rest. I followed this program until the week prior to the show, when the intensity of my workouts decreased.
Home vs. Gym workouts
I did at least half of my training at home, as it just wasn't an option to get to a gym on a regular basis. Being a busy mom of young children, I needed workouts that I could do at home while I watched my kids. We own a full set of Russian kettelbells, some dumbells, a TRX body resistance trainer (worth every penny!), a Reebok step and a Reebok slide, and body bar. Domenick and I were creative in figuring out how to use this equipment, plus furniture around the house. I was pleased with how much I could accomplish at home. In the gym, it was easier, of course. I used the fitness lab in my department at school during the school year two days a week and my home equipment on the remaining days. In the summer, I used my home equipment most of the time, but bought day-passes to gyms when I was traveling (for about four weeks). I loved visiting different gyms and found it motivating to have new places to train with different equipment to try.
12 months prior
Last summer (2009), I knew I wanted to compete in a figure competition, but I didn't have a date in mind. I was in the middle of chemotherapy and had radiation therapy and two surgeries ahead of me. My primary fitness goal was to rehabilitate my body after each ordeal. In between chemo treatments (and recovery from them), I would do a combination of resistance training, cardio training and stretching six days a week. I did all of this at home, using equipment that I own. Each day, I worked two or three body parts and did 3 - 4 sets for each part I worked. I attempted to evenly train my whole body. For cardio training, I either walked, ran (when I had the energy) or used my lateral slide trainer at home. Flexibility was very important, I knew, and I did a 20-minute whole-body stretching routine once or twice a day, seven days a week.
6 months prior
By mid-January, 2010, I was beyond my last major surgery and knew it was finally time for me to begin training more specifically and intensely. Over a period of a month, I built up to a training program that I followed for four months. Domenick, my trainer, worked with me to ensure that I was making gains and having enough variety in my training program. I trained one major body part a day, six days a week. This was pretty intense, as I would do about 15 sets of 8 - 12 reps for each body part. For example, on Monday, I trained my quads and hamstrings, Tuesday was arms (biceps, triceps, forearms), Wednesday was my back and shoulders, etc... In addition, I either trained my core (abs, obliques, low back) or my calves each day. I added cardio training at the end of each workout for about 20 minutes. This was a great program for me. It was very challenging, but I experienced significant gains all over my body from it.
3 months prior
I had my final surgery in early June 2010, which kept me from training for about 3 weeks. (I walked and stretched during this time, though.) When I went back to training, Domenick had me focus especially on my weak areas. He created two workouts for me: weak points (3 days a week) and strong points (2 - 3 days a week). My weak areas were my back, shoulders, chest and core, so I wanted to focus more on those. I also had one day a week to just do cardiovascular training. I also began learning to pose and practicing posing (seven days a week) at this point.
5 weeks prior
My workouts really kicked up a notch at this point. The competition was drawing near and I needed to work even harder to be prepared. I also began losing some body fat by dieting, which made the workouts even more challenging. Four days each week, I did two workouts a day. In the morning, I did moderate-intensity cardio training for about 40 minutes. Later in the day, I would do resistance training. Two days each week, I had only one workout, and it was an intense cardio workout with interval training. I had one day a week to rest. I followed this program until the week prior to the show, when the intensity of my workouts decreased.
Home vs. Gym workouts
I did at least half of my training at home, as it just wasn't an option to get to a gym on a regular basis. Being a busy mom of young children, I needed workouts that I could do at home while I watched my kids. We own a full set of Russian kettelbells, some dumbells, a TRX body resistance trainer (worth every penny!), a Reebok step and a Reebok slide, and body bar. Domenick and I were creative in figuring out how to use this equipment, plus furniture around the house. I was pleased with how much I could accomplish at home. In the gym, it was easier, of course. I used the fitness lab in my department at school during the school year two days a week and my home equipment on the remaining days. In the summer, I used my home equipment most of the time, but bought day-passes to gyms when I was traveling (for about four weeks). I loved visiting different gyms and found it motivating to have new places to train with different equipment to try.
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