I'M COMPETING!

You're hearing it from me first....I'm going to start competing in fitness competitions!

I've been teetering back and forth of whether I should do this or not for months now. I was training with my trainer and he says to me, "have you ever thought about competing"? That right there, was the only reassurance I needed. I never expressed my interest to anyone about doing this, just in case I decided not to. But the fact my trainer thinks that it's something I can accomplish combined with my new "grab life by the balls" outlook on life, I decided right then and there that I'm doing it. 100%. Full throttle. No holding me back.

I've competed in pageants for years, so I'm well adjusted to competitions, stage presence, competition politics and what goes in to preparing for something like this. I've also been on stage since I was 7 years old between dance, singing and acting. Being on stage doesn't bother me, in fact, I get an incredible thrill being on stage. I think that is something that's going to be in my favor, because I'm sure that's something that many contestants have a hard time overcoming their first go around.

I've decided I'm going to dedicate 6-12 months of solid, hardcore training before I begin competing. I think I'll start with Bikini, depending on what my body is like by that time. If I don't qualify and too jacked (which I hope happens) then I'll enter in Figure instead. I'm not a patient person by any stretch of the imagination, but I want to do this right. Although, I do plan on entering smaller scale local competitions in the next handful of months just so I get a better idea of what they are all about. Also, it will be beneficial to me because I can make all of my mistakes there before I do at a larger and more prestegious competition.

From where I started from up until now, I've come leaps and bounds. Seriously a complete 180. I'm almost an entirely different person when it comes to my outlook on exercise, nutrition and just an overall healthy lifestyle. But quite frankly, I prefer it this way. I'm in good shape now, probably the best shape of my entire life. But now that I'll be competiting, I need to take my diet and fitness regimine up like 10 notches.

I already eat clean almost 90% of the time. Now I just need to be eating MUCH more than I ever have before, since I want to put on about 10lbs of muscle. Let me tell you, I've never been so full in my entire life. I eat every two hours from the moment I wake up until right about the time I go to bed. I began this new plan on January 1st, and since, I don't think I've felt hungry one time. It's been a struggle eating so frequently and so much, because that's not something I've been used to, especially when I'm not even hungry. I'm literally forcing food into my stomach because I know I have to. In two weeks I've already seen some changes in my body, and I love it. I still have a long way to go in order to achieve my goal, but it's all a work in progress.

In terms of fitness, I've completely revampled my workout routine with much heavier weights and just a completely different layout than what I've been doing. It was about time for me to switch it up anyways because I was beginning to plateau. I'm beginning to see muscles in areas of my body that I've never had developed before...like rear delts and traps. Let me assure you that when I first noticed these developments, I couldn't stop staring at them. I've cut cardio down even more than when I did before, since I'm trying to put on weight and muscle mass. Instead of doing 30 minutes of cardio four days a week, I'm doing 20 minutes of HIIT training three days a week, which is actually more effective for my goals...but that's another blog for another day. (I promise I'll post about it soon!)

I've certainly been doing my research on what I have to do in order to prepare. I won't lie, it's overwhelming. I need to consider how to train 12 and 6 months out, 18 weeks, 12 weeks and 6 weeks and 3 weeks out prior to competition. I have to learn how to pose and work the stage in order to best feature my body. I need to take into consideration competition costs, registration fees, travel expenses, posing suits, tanning products and oils  and misc. expenses. It's a plethora of different things to consider which is overwhelming at first but something I know I can do.

I'm over the moon excited for this new journey. I just want a serious goal to work towards, and this is by far the ultimate goal in my opinion. It's going to be a lot of hard work..grueling work actually. But I'm ready and can't wait to endure this journey. I'll be posting blogs periodically about what I'm doing with everything from nutrition to fitness and everything in between.

If you're one of the many haters out there, go on and hate. Judge me for trying something unattainable by many and outrageous to some. Talk shit because you think I'm going overboard and need to slow my roll. Be unsupportive in any way you want to be, because frankly, I don't care. I'm not doing this for anyone else, I'm doing it for me. If you're the few who I know will actually be excited for me and supportive of this journey, then I more than welcome your prescence in my life. Otherwise, leave me alone and let me lift.