Hey guys!
Competing in body building competitions is expensive. Im raising money for my trip. Although I have gracious sponsors that cover my suit, tanning, hair, makeup, workout clothing and supplements. Im still left to pay for flight, hotel, registration etc.
I have started a go fund me. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks for your love an support!
Check out my newest video on my youtube channel:
www.youtube.com/trainitright <- Go subscribe and like!
Videography:
Cody Morin https://www.youtube.com/user/HafAndHaf89 Instagram: www.instagram.com/codymorin89
Song:
Fly Away - Kyrs Talk (JPB Remix) [NCS Release] Music provided by NoCopyrightSounds. Download: https://www.youtube.com/shared?ci=mIY...
As you guys know I am in Prep for OPA provincials. I compete in figure competitions. My photos show a strong physique but it takes a lot to get there both mentally and physically.
Lately I have been feeling more stressed than ever with life things. I have a lot on my mind. So I wanted to sit down and write to all my competitor friends, fans and any one else who is interested about how everyday is not perfect. Especially on prep.
On prep you often times have good days and bad days (I mean really bad days). Days where you're tired, hungry, upset, stressed or maybe all of those at once. And then if you are a woman and its that time of the month things seem 1000x worse.
You can't let those bad days throw you off track. You can't let those bad days, slip ups, mistakes or things that are out of your control dictate the rest of your day, week, month or prep. You have to be better than them. You need to learn to move on, move past them and make the rest of whatever is left worth it. Give it your all. Your 110%.
Every prep is a learning experience. A chance to gain knowledge, learn, grow and figure out what works well for you. And if you are lucky you will have a support system. That one person, group of people or even your coach that will listen, understand and support. You need to have at least one person on your side, rooting for you, in your corner and who can empathize what you are going through. Let it out, vent, cry but do not keep those emotions inside. Thats when more stress and problems occur. This will lead to elevated cortisol, hinder your progress and ultimately hinder your prep.
Let go of the people or person who holds you back. The ones who aren't on your side or in your corner rooting for you. Prep is a time to be selfish, put yourself first and do whatever it takes to get you to your goal. Its ok to go through emotions. There is nothing wrong with you. It's a normal part of prep when you are pushing your body to the limit. You are not alone. I have been there and so have many other competitors.
You got this!
A competitors biggest struggle in 2017
As a lot of you know who follow me know that I compete in Figure and also do competition prep coaching. I wanted to talk about Competitors Biggest Struggles today because I was having a conversation with one of my clients. She is a first time competitor and was telling me about the things she has been doing leading up to her competition. And I gave her a lot of advice however, it was a double edged sword. Because I too was guilty of all the things she was telling me about. And as much as I know better and try to teach better I too still fall into the trap of these struggles.
Comparing myself to other competitors on social media
Firstly INSTAGRAM and other forms of social media are not real life. So many girls I know with huge followings look so muscular, lean, and show ready in the photos they post. However thats not the case in real life. On social media they can curate their posts, manipulate angles, lighting and posing. So when you see them in real life you realize that you spent hours worrying about them and stressing yourself out (which raises cortisol) for nothing. And in the end they actually aren't your competition. Why? Because in this giant world of fitness competition you should only be competing against yourself. Mentally, physically and emotionally the battles during competition prep should only be with yourself. To beat your previous best, to become the best version of yourself and to overcome your obstacles on your journey.
You can't get those hours back worrying about others. In those hours you should have been focusing on yourself, your mind state, your training, your diet and what you can do it better yourself. How you can be the best version of you.
Curiosity killed the cat. Although I know I shouldn't be doing this myself as a competitor and a coach that tries to tell my athletes not to do it. I look, I creep, I compare. I worry. And unfortunately I don't know anyone who actually doesn't look. Im sure some will say that they don't. But I can almost guarantee you that they do. We all look. Especially women.
Is it the society we have grown up in, to compare ourselves, to be jealous, to want what others have? Or is it that we are all just nosey and social media has taught us to be creeps? I don't think that social media is going to change any time soon. Its quick, its entertaining, its stimulating. I unfortunately can't stay off of social media during prep like some competitors do because It is one of my avenues for advertising my business, content creating and influencer marketing.
I simply have to have a stronger mindset. No one is going to influence me. I am my own competition. No one will work harder than me. And I do not care what anyone else is doing.
Mantra = Mindset
And I know you can do it too. So good luck to all of you competitors for this 2017 season! Don't fall into the social media trap of comparisons. You vs You instead. Enjoy social media for what it is worth but stop worrying and comparing yourself to others!
Hey Guys and Gals!
What's the point of having a blog if it doesn't get a little personal every now and then. As some of you who follow me regularly you know that I am now prepping for OPA provincials. I am a figure athlete.
Prep is tough. Motivation is key. Seeing the positive comments and having you guys behind me and my boyfriend/Coach keeps me going. I want to show you guys that if you say you are going to do something you can do it! It helps keep me accountable and I know a lot of you are embarking on your own fitness journey in 2017 so I hope that I can inspire you! If you need help I do online training so email me alicia@trainitright.com for more information and we can discuss how I can help you!
If you haven't been following my vlogs go and subscribe now: www.youtube.com/trainitright it will give you an awesome look into my life at an even more personalable level. I share some of my prep friendly recipes, grocery shopping, workouts and much more. Life as a competitor, athlete, model and trainer is not as easy and glamorous as it looks on instagram so I want to give you a real look into my life and prep.
Although 20 weeks sounds like a long time away its not. The days go by so fast. The workouts are tough (for me anyway) but I love them. Each and every prep mentally has gotten easier for me so far so I am hoping this will be my best yet. Ive been implementing positive self talk, graphing progress and even using meditation. Prep is just as much mental as it is physical and nutrition is key. I have a few meetings this month so Im hoping to share with you guys some key things on the nutrition aspect soon.
Another hard part for me on some days not all is getting in all of my water. I got a jug from Popeyes to help me with that. If I drink two of them in a day thats my full 4L aka Gallon.
My biggest goal for this prep is to have my legs come in more and show some amazing definition. Its hard as a woman because of estrogen. Also I tend to do loads of cardio because of my track background my body is a bit stubborn so I get a lot of water being held there! My boyfriend/coach has implemented some great strategies in my program to combat that and I can't wait to see how we can improve on this sculpture!
Let me know anything that you guys want to read about/see etc! If you have any Questions or comments leave them below and maybe ill do a Q&A blog and video!
Hey Guys! I have decided to enter the 2017 www.bodybuilding.com model search! Please take a look at my entry video! Don't forget to subscribe to my channel www.youtube.com/trainitright , like the video and leave a positive comment! Thanks so much!
Hey Guys!
I want to make my blog a little bit more intimate. As some of you who have been following me for a while know that as of this year I started competing in Figure Competitions within the Ontario Physique Association OPA.
I was previously with Bombshell Fitness. Where my coach had me training and competing for bikini category. Although I love bikini. My body seemed more suitable for NPC bikini than bikini here in the OPA. I decided to switch to local coaching and saught out the best of the best. Sean Tierney of Team Trex. We both concluded that I would be more suited for figure than I was bikini. I also began coaching with Team Trex. So if anyone reading this is thinking of doing a competition feel free to contact me about it. I will give you all the information for you to get started with me as your coach!
Anyway back to the point. The intense training/prep was much different than what I had been doing commenced. For my first show my coach and I decided to go the natural stream. I did a regional show. This show as held in Barrie. I placed second in my category and qualified for provincials to be held two weeks following in London. Where I placed 5th which qualified me for natural provincials.
Im still learning the sport, the judging and the reasoning behind placings. And I know I have a lot of growth and development to do physically to get to where I want to go in the sport. With that being said the training, dieting along with living my life with regular work etc was not easy. It was hard. I struggled with the diet the most. Not the training. When I don't have carbs I feel deprived for some reason when in fact the opposite is suppose to happen because your body produces keytones. This time around I plan on being even more detailed with my diet and hydration. Drinking 4L of water a day isn't easy either.
Im currently sitting 10 weeks out from the OPA Gala. This is an Open show. Not a natural one. I am really excited about this show and I can't wait to bring an enhanced package. An unforgettable one I hope. I have some weight to lose. I know it sounds crazy but stage ready is a whole different level of fitness than fit for life. Or even fit for a photo shoot. This lifestyle of competing is not for every one.
Im going to try and update you all as much as I can with my schedule on how everything is going. There are ups and downs but thats what makes sport magically! Competitors lifestyles are tough but I know I can achieve much more in this sport if I really put my mind to it! And if I inspire some of you along the way to compete, go to the gym or even just become more active will be reward enough for me!
This year I decided to enter the CHIN Bikini Contest. Please take a moment and go to http://www.chinradio.com/ and create a passport...top right corner. Then once you are logged in click Miss Chin Bikini and please vote for me. You can vote once a day! Thanks so much! (dont mind these pics...I had thrown my back out and walked about 1km in the rain haha)
Huge congrats to a long time personal friend of mine Lita Lewis. Who recently won her class in her very first figure competition and took the overall win. Who is Lita you may ask. The follow is an interview I did with her prior to her competition when she was still considering competing in bikini before deciding on figure.
Q: Full Name/Nick Names (why)? Lita Lewis, also called Xena but not because I am a princess but because I am a warrior ; lol
Q: What is your favorite sport and why? To pick just one is difficult but if you had a knife to my throat I’d say Track & Field. Primarily because it was the first sport my parents introduced me to as a kid. I immediately grew a love for it that not only meant 12 years of competitive pursuit but a love, appreciation and respect that I still have for the sport & the athletes today.
Q: Who inspired you to be fit? Earlier, my parents. My parents told me that as a toddler I had way too much energy they could handle so mum signed me up to the local Little Athletics team so I could burn all my energy running around a track. Because my involvement in sports became a passion it then essentially became a goal to maintain ultimate fitness and health so I was able to perform at my best and be fit. In more recent years, Alicia Marie, an IFBB Pro, Fitness Model, Multi-media personality, Health & Fitness Guru, Publisher Author. About 3 years ago I saw her picture in a magazine publication and said to myself, yup, I want to look like her! Ha!
Q: Do you have a trainer? If so who? I don’t have a trainer but I am working with a specialist. He is a strength & conditioning coach, he specializes in literally everything I can think and under his guidance he has helped me shake things up. Since following his programs I’ve seen amazing results, increased my strength, endurance, flexibility and muscle definition. More recently I have joined Team Blade, a professional training & nutrition team that caters primarily to athletes currently in and pursuing various categories in the sport of Body Building. I look forward to starting specific training and a diet in preparation for my first Bikini competition.
Q: Can you tell me about your diet? Do you have cheat days? If so what do you like to have? My diet is relatively clean, by that I mean I’m eating 85% healthy, which consists of a variety of fruits and vegetables, lean meats like fish, salmon, and chicken (red meat maybe once every 8 weeks). I typically start the day with a big breakfast; oatmeal, blueberries, cottage cheese, almonds, white eggs. Eat grilled chicken or salmon during lunch and again for dinner in a smaller portion. In between meals I snack consistently throughout the day on unsalted almonds, a berry mix of fruits, trail mix. I drink a green juice every day, and drink plenty of water. I also add in a protein shake in the late afternoon. Cheat days?! No such thing, I have a cheat meal 2-3 times a week – which for me is usually dark chocolate covered mints & truffle friend fries.
Q: What does your typical workout include? Does it vary each day? How many days a week? My workouts vary each day, I currently work out at least 5 days a week alternating each day with a lower or upper body attack. Some weeks I’ll target 2 or 3 specific muscles and exhaust only those muscles solely during the one workout. Each workout starts with a core warm up, followed by 3-4 sets that make up 3-5 different movements that I will perform without rest. I conclude with 300 reps of any core exercises, stretch, take in some protein and pray I can make it down the stairs to the locker room without tripping from exhaustion, lol.
Q: Top 3 exercises you like to do in the gym? Outdoors? Gym; Weighted Hip Thrusts, Kettle Bell deep seated squats and Bicep Drop sets. Outdoors; Hill/Bleacher Sprints, Pull Up-to-Burpee-to-Push-Up combo and Running/Workouts on the beach.
Q: Any upcoming projects? I’d say so! Currently in training for my first Bikini competition. I’m amped about it!
Q: Where do you see yourself in the future with your health and fitness? The ultimate goal is to become a nationally recognized health & fitness icon. This goal sits on the very top of the golden list, however stepping stones towards achieving such status will involve many things, some being; becoming a true competitor in the sport of bodybuilding, fitness modeling, providing training & consulting services, motivational speaking, creating fitness DVDs, writing books and developing programs for our youth to encourage and promote healthy lifestyles. The latter being one I am very passionate about.
Q: Words of wisdom to others or favorite quote.... One of my favorite quotes is a Japanese proverb – “Fall seven times, and stand up eight.” This speaks to having resilience and adopting a true warrior attitude. Many greats have fallen or failed at some point along the journey to success but it is the will to pick yourself up and continue on that separates good from great. I say, be consistent in your actions & your thoughts while in pursuit of your goals. Success is at the end, you will only meet defeat if you stop.
Twitter: @FollowTheLita
Instagram: FollowTheLita
Blog: www.followthelita.wordpress.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/litalewis
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