NPC and NGA Bikini Athlete : NPC October 2014

You Win Some, You Lose Some.

And that's okay!

That's how it should be!!

If I got first place in every show, I don't think I would enjoy this sport quite so much.

But like.. maybe one first-place trophy would be nice... Hahahah

No but really, I am so happy with my accomplishments.

Whether I place or not, I'm proud of myself.

I won't lie, I was a little bit frustrated with some of the judging.

I was only frustrated because you just can never know what to expect.

At my last show, the same judges picked very very muscular girls.

I placed 5th in that show, and when I looked at pictures, I knew that I needed to put on more muscle.

So I spent the last few months doing that.

Same judges....

Different show...

And apparently different preferences.

Some of the girls were very muscular, but most of the winners were very lean (in my opinion).

YOU JUST NEVER KNOW.

But here are some things I took away from this show:

*ALWAYS come in with your personal BEST.

*I won't try to conform to what the judges like. I like a lot of muscle on my frame. I like super round shoulders. I like ABS (still workin on those hehe). I like the way the IFBB pros look. And I'm going to keep trying to put on muscle and come in really tight and as shredded as possible for these shows. Some days that may be what the judges are looking for, some days it wont.

*My body responds really well to carbs on competition day. I felt like I looked better for the night show, than I did for the prejudging.. because I ate a baked potato in between. Good to know, for this next show. Might want to eat a baked potato before the morning show!

*It's so much easier when you have friends there. I have my girl Hannah who was competing with me. I've also built a lot of relationships from this whole experience and I'm so grateful for each one of them. It makes it all a lot more fun.

*The most important thing is to not take it too seriously, and to stay positive even if you don't place!

I have another chance this weekend at the NGA show. Some of the same judges will be there. I'm loading my water again (after dropping it for the last show). I won't lie... it is more of a challenge the second week in a row. And it was reeeaaaally hard not to pig out after that last show. This week feels like a complete blur so far... and it's only Wednesday! Haha I'm just hoping my body will drop the water the way I want it to! This show will be so much fun and I feel a lot more relaxed now after doing the other one! :)

Let's GET IT!

Strawberries: one of my favorite pump-up foods.

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Another favorite pump-up food :) Believe it or not, my body responds well to them!

Rice cakes! As weird as it sounds... these are probably my favorite pump-up food. They taste SO good on show day. Probably because my body is starved for carbs! Put a little natural peanut butter on there and I feel like a million bucks!