It has been a while since my last post. One big reason was I did not know what to write about then things just got crazy. Pete and I have been traveling the last 3 weeks to three different shows. It has been both good and bad.

The first show was the Night of Champions in Spokane WA. We had 6 competitors we traveled with-including Samantha. It is so fun to watch her excel and grow in the fitness world. I believe that the confidence she has developed over the past year and a half competing will help her develop into a confident young woman. When she first started I was worried about her being on stage and being judged. Fortunately I have seen her go from someone who was upset about not winning and feeling like she deserved to win just because she wanted to, to a competitor who understands that she wants to win, but everyone can't win and as long as she does better then last time she is a success.

The other 5 competitors where figure competitors. Natalie, Ruth, and Tonya all competed for the first time. It was so much fun watching them work through the nerves and using everything they had learned on stage to present their best package. Jen competed in figure for the first time in 8 years and you would have never guessed she has missed anytime. Linda competed and looked the best yet.

The next trip was the Olympia in Vegas. This was my first trip to the Olympia so I was excited- yet it was bitter sweat because this was the first time leaving both the kids over night. (turned out they were just fine.) We went down to work with Tanji and Gina Trochiano. It was fun to watch all of the athletes walking around and to see how even the pro's go through same issues the armatures go through- suit malfunctions, missing food, getting tan, hair make up done on time. You name it- does not matter what level you are pro or armature, bodybuilding or fitness you all have the same needs and problems. Tanji and Gina had the same prejudging-Friday morning. Tanji brought her "A" game with her new orange suit- she looked amazing and was in the first call out. (of course) Next was Gina, in a group of over 20 girls it is hard to stand out- she did of course. For those of you who do not know Gina turned pro at Team Universe in 2009 so her road to the Olympia stage was pretty short and fast. As you most likely know by now Tanji placed second- should have been 1st and Gina placed 14th- should have been in the top 10. But you know that is the joy of competing you do the best you can and wait to see what the judges think. I believe that both Tanji and Gina came away from the show wanting more.

The last show was the 2010 Ironman at the Snoqualmie Casino. It was a great experience. We had a team slumber party at our house- not much sleep was had by many. We had 9 people competing in fitness, figure, and bodybuilding. While no one won overall everyone achieved their goal of looking the best yet. Tonya competed in her first fitness show (placing 5Th). She also showed us how tough she is she by competing in figure also. Poor girl was rushing everywhere but she gave it all she had. In figure Ruth showed what she had learned since Spokane in the masters figures class. Nice smile Ruth. Natalie and Linda competed in figure- Natalie placed second still waiting on the numbers for that one. Linda place third looking the best yet (even with strep throat). Shaylen competed in her first figure competition looking regal and lean in class of over 15 girls. It is always amazing to me the changes people can make- she had to have her suit adjust twice because she kept on getting leaner.
Jenn changed course from the Spokane show and did ltwt bodybuilding. She was the only one so we were able to see a preview of the overall in the morning. She looked great and gave it her all. Jake and CJ both competed in the men's middle weight class. We tried to get CJ down to light weight but his body did not want to let go of 5 more pounds after loosing 50 pounds. Just weight until you see is pictures. Jake placed 4th (looking the best yet) and CJ placed 3rd. Not what we wanted but in this sport all you can do is accept what the judges say and get better.
Last but certainly not least is bikini. Our own miss Nicole, proud mother of two placed 4th in her class and received an inspirational award from the Craigs. It was great for to receive recognition for all of her hard work.

Now you are all caught up. I hope that this gives you some insight of how we work with competitors and how we feel about their hard work.

Mental Weight Loss

Ok so now that we know we need to hold our selves accountable for our actions- both positive and negative what’s next. I believe that there is still more mental work to do. I know you are thinking but I just want to lose weight and look better. Isn’t that a physical thing? Yes the weight loss is a physical thing but that is where it stops. There are so many mental things that need to be work on. The questions you need to ask yourself are: why am I not where I want to be? How did I get here? How can I not let this happen again? Also why am I not happy with how I look? Many times we get caught up in what the media says we are supposed to look like. Not everyone can look like a model- and let’s face it when you see things in print how many of those people actually look that way. I know we have all heard of photo shop.
The other side of it- for those of you who have been working hard and have been able to get some of that weight off- now what? When you look in the mirror what do you see? I hope you see the beautiful woman you are? But my guess you see the person you are not. You most likely see all of your flaws- you see the places that are not tone enough, the places that are not lean enough. Stop it!!! You need to see how far you have come and see yourself for all of the hard work you have done. No one is where they want to be- even those beautiful models and for you competitors those IFBB pro’s you see on stage and in the magazine. If you were able to have a private one-on-one conversation with them you would find out that they too have places on their body they don’t like. If goes back to accepting that you are who you are and it is ok.
To sum things up: when you are working on changing yourself physically don’t just look at the physical part of the change also look at the mental part of it. If you do not the change will not last.

Accountability

You can ask my clients this has been my go to word of late. To me this is one of the most important things in life. I strive to teach me children this, even at a young age. As Americans I believe we have lost the ability to hold ourselves accountable for our situations. I mean look at the oil spill. So many fingers were being pointed when a solution should have been worked on. I believe that we have to hold ourselves accountable for our lives. Stop blaming others for our situations. Yes there are things that are out of our control. If someone is suppose to give you a check and they don’t that is not your fault- but how you handle it is. Or if you can’t get your cardio in because the babysitter did not come home- yes your baby sitter baled on you but your cardio is not their problem- what will you do now to fix it? If you are overweight, or unhappy with where you are in your physical fitness what are you going to do about it? Are you busy- yes? We all are. Maybe you will have to get up earlier in order to get everything in, or maybe you will not clean the house as much. I say either except that fact that you are not where you want to be or change what you are doing and get it done!!


I do think that it goes both ways- he need to hold ourselves accountable for the positive also. So many times I hear someone say “you look great.” And the response is “oh I guess but I still need to lose more.” Come on people if someone is taking the time to complement you accept it. You have been working hard and maybe you are not at your goal- but you have made changes. Sometimes we cannot see it on our selves but others can. So accept and take the responsibility for the hard work you have been doing. Answer “yes, thank you I have been working hard.”

I know it has been a long time since I posted anything. Life has been crazy. New clients and the end of the school year for me, Samantha, and Savannah. I found this article and being that I know there is a lot of TV watching going on, with this lovely liquid sunshine we been having I thought I would post this link. It talks about how our diet would be if we listened to advertisers. To me this just goes to show that we need to take responsibility for our choices and for the things we share and teach our children.
http://www.eatright.org/Media/content.aspx?id=6442452385


On the other side of things boot camp is starting up next week, give me a call or shoot me an email for more information.

Well the first show of the 2010 season has come and gone. What a show over 200 competitors!!!! Construction Zone had 17 competitors in the show all who did well. We are proud of each and every one of our team members, no matter where the judges placed them. We know that every one put their heart and soul into their preparation for the show. Nice job to all!!

Anna Yamada won the lite weight novice division not on to the open class. Erika Lombardi took third in a very competitive masters class only 2 points separated the top three competitors. Fred Varang after 5 years off came back and won the bantam weight class and gave it his best shot for the overall. Jennifer Willms rocked it in her first fitness competition taking 3rd place in the short division. Josh Davis our own mini Arnold took 5th in a tough teen class. Jennifer Rogers –after five years off Jennifer came back to competing and tried her hand at bodybuilding. Second place in Lt wt open class. Joy Fruehauf may be small but she still packs a powerful punch taking 6th in the figure short class, looking forward to the Emerald cup. Juliana Gould took 2nd place and Hillary Carey 3rd in their first figure competition. Look out world here they come. Karli Richter took the stage by storm and placed 2nd in fitness tall and 4th in figure medium class. Kiersten (Kay) Stone took 3rd place in her first bikini show. More to come soon. Our own Samantha Grubbs took 3rd place in Jr fitness all while fighting a cold and lack of sleep. Sara Bankemper took 2nd in the fitness short class with a routine that was out of this world. Samantha Myers got her feet wet in her first figure show now maybe bodybuilding? Shaylen Richards took 9th out of 20 in her first biking competition. We are excited to see what her future in figure will hold. Tamara Watt came all the way from Utah to take 3rd place in a very competitive fitness class.
(Pictures will be coming soon.)

Why Eat slowly?

Here is an interesting article about eating slowly. It seems like we are always in a hurry here is a good reason to slow down.

One Bite at a Time: Eating Slowly in a Fast Paced World

In today's society everything is high speed. What once took weeks now takes mere minutes or seconds. That goes for mail, travel and particularly mealtimes. We can heat up our meal in our microwave in less than 5 minutes or we can spend 30 minutes preparing dinner, only to consume it in less time.

Why then, when everything is so fast paced, would anyone want to eat slowly? There are many reasons, including: reduction of stress, improved digestion, enjoyment of your food and the people with whom you are sharing it, and controlling portion sizes by allowing your stomach time to realize it is full. How then, do we slow down our eating when we are used to being so fast and efficient? Try a few of these simple steps to eat more slowly and purposefully in a world where fast and efficient is the way of life:

- Always sit down when you eat. When you stand, it is much easier to try multi-tasking, which makes it more difficult to pay attention to when you become full.

- Reduce the amount of distractions around you when you eat, such as turning off the TV and having a space clear of clutter for your plate.

- Chew your food completely between bites. This can be accomplished by putting down your fork or spoon while you chew and only picking it up again when your mouth is empty.

- Take the time to really notice the taste and texture of your food.

Experimenting with any or all of these ideas will help you to slow down and relax during whatever meal of the day you choose to be your time away from life in the express lane.

- Laine Lum, MS, dietetic intern, and Debra A. Boutin, MS, RD
chair and dietetic internship director, Department of Nutrition and Exercise Science at Bastyr University

Link to the article http://blog.seattlepi.com/naturalmedicine/archives/194237.asp