6-Pak Girl's 2009 Competition Season

**tooncesthecat** · April 5th, 2009, 08:06 PM

Thanks for the update. My trainer wants me to look at adding a fat burner as well. What do you recommend?

**lizzyb** · April 5th, 2009, 08:41 PM

Reassuring to know I am not the only one feeling fatigued, lol! Sourced mine out to be hormonal......due to crossing over of change in plan and TOM. Wow, 5wks huh? You must be getting psyched now? Are you going to use a thermo at all in your prep, or try to go without? I'm always curious about this aspect, if anybody DOES diet down for a show without the use of thermo's?

**6-Pak Girl** · April 7th, 2009, 12:44 AM

I'm not a big fan of fat burners cuz they raise my core temperature resulting in more hot flashes than I care to have!!!

) I only use them sparingly - just for extra energy boost, not really for the fat burning capabilities.

The two I've used that I like are Jet Fuel and MRM's Metaburn XP. Neither one gives me the jitters but I never take them after say 1:30 in the afternoon just in case the caffeine might bother my sleep.

Had a great back workout today - also some abs. Was able to get 8 reps of 110 pounds on the wide grip lat pulldown in my 4th set. Not bad at all. 30 minutes stairs for cardio. Energy level was great today. Gonna go have my protein shake with flax seed, L-Glutamine and Cortisol Complex and call it a night.

**6-Pak Girl** · April 10th, 2009, 11:30 PM

4 weeks out from Contra Costa show. Starting to get all the details in place - airfare, hotel, rental car, makeup artist, tanning appt. I always forget until it gets to this point just how expensive this sort is!

)

Did a killer legs workout yesterday. I am SORE. Trainer added a 5th day to my split - just to work glutes and hammys so I'll be back in the gym on Sunday doing that. Hopefully I won't still be sore by then.

Did shoulders, biceps and cardio today. Feeling pretty good but boy do I get tired by the end of the week.

**6-Pak Girl** · April 18th, 2009, 11:45 PM

Three weeks until the Contra Costa show. I'm feeling pretty good. Did my second day of legs this week today and 30 min of stairs for cardio, also some abs for good measure

) Muscles are feeling full - I just love that feeling! Did my check in with my trainer and he said keep everything the same this week. It makes me a tad nervous that he's not upping my cardio but since I typically peak too soon I guess he's taking me in slow and easy this time around. I am definitely leaning - seeing all the sculpted muscles in my shoulders, back and abs. My legs and glutes still have a little ways to go - they're always the last to lean.

I'm going to Pasadena tomorrow (2 hour drive) to meet with one of the IFBB pros to practice posing. It's always my weak spot. I mean, I do okay with it but I want to be really good at it. Hopefully, she won't laugh at me or completely change the way I do it. A complete shake up of my posing this close to show could do me in!

I'm having fun with Twitter. I've got 18 followers now! I'm never quite sure what to say but I'm learning. It's way fun to follow other people - all over the world - who are into fitness. Kinda like this community at EF. Only you guys are better cuz alot of the people on Twitter are trying to sell stuff.

Anybody following the Emerald Cup this weekend? I hear its a great show to compete in. The athletes are treated like kings and queens. The BB finals are tonight. Figure was yesterday. Muscular Development doesn't have the info up yet.

**lizzyb** · April 21st, 2009, 03:45 PM

Sounds good in here! Hey about that Twitter....I've heard of this and am curious about 'followers', lol! Are they anonymous/invisible or can you 'see' them? Sorta like blogging isn't it? At least that's my understanding?

**6-Pak Girl** · April 24th, 2009, 11:42 PM

Hey Lizzy - Twitter is a microblog. You can only "tweet" 140 characters at a time so you have to learn to write concisely!!!

) Every time someone signs on to follow you you get an email that tells you. You can then go to their profile and check them out and decide if you want to follow them too. There are directories (twellow) like yellow pages that you can list yourself in so people with like interests can find you but mostly it seems that people find you if you're following someone they are following. I have 31 followers now - today Tosca Reno of Oxygen magazine fame signed up to follow me. I'm following her and she reciprocated! Very cool.

**6-Pak Girl** · April 24th, 2009, 11:48 PM

Two weeks to go to the Contra Costa competition. Woo Hoo! Yesterday I was having a down day. Hubby took pics to mark my progress and I wasn't happy. I still need to work on my glute/ham tie. I've been working so hard that it ticks me off that I still have a crease to smooth out. I did order a firming gel to slather on so let see if that helps.

)

Today I had a meeting with my coach, Kim Oddo. What was the first thing he said? He loves how my glutes have lifted and filled out. Ha! I looked at photos from February when I started pre-competition training and then yesterday's photos and sure enough, a HUGE difference (not sure I should be talking about "huge" when it comes to my butt

) He's super pleased with my results thus far. Said he just wants to bring me down a little bit more so we upped the cardio a touch. I'm now doing 30 min of cardio 5 days a week. Unheard of so close to competition but I tend to shred so in order to keep me full and tight we're going easy on the cardio. Hope my conditioning stays good. Of course I have The Cal to do 2 weeks after the Contra so I guess he wants to make sure I haven't over-peaked or something for that show.

**lizzyb** · April 28th, 2009, 09:58 AM

Isn't it great to get feedback from somebody else........shows how sometimes we can be too hard on ourselves! You're doing great and wow...2wks to go too!

**6-Pak Girl** · May 1st, 2009, 12:36 AM

Met with Kim again. It's 9 days til the first of my two competitions. Can't believe I'm almost there! Everything is going exactly the way it's supposed to. My conditioning is spot on. I'm stage ready - so all I have to do is hold this for 9 days !!!

) He brought my cardio down again so all I'm doing is 20 min, 4 days a week. I can tell it's getting close to competition because I'm getting weaker - I can't lift as heavy as normally. Must be the lack of carbs is finally catching up to me.

**6-Pak Girl** · May 5th, 2009, 01:33 AM

So, today was my last legs day before the comp on Saturday. It went surprisingly well. My strength was up a bit from last week so that was nice. Personally, I hate working legs so I'm glad I'm done with those for a week. I'll split my upper body workout between Tues and Wed and then no more workouts before the show.

I'm still doing 20 min of cardio @ 5 days just to keep things spinning - but not lose anything. I'm at 116.2 pounds today. I wish I was at 117 but I'm still okay at 116.2 so I won't sweat it yet. I may need to eat some steak or salmon before Saturday in order to keep the muscle bellies full. That's the worry about being stage ready early!

My new posing suit should arrive tomorrow. I'm so excited. Merry Christine designed it and she emailed me today that she couldn't help herself, she added porcelain flowers to both the top and bottom. It sounds gorgeous. Of course porcelain is glass so I'll have to be extra careful storing, cleaning and wearing it so I don't break the adornments! That baby is going with me in my handbag on the plane.

)

I see my trainer/nutritionist tomorrow. He'll tweak my food and supplements for the rest of the week as well as make any adjustments in my cardio for the next two days.

**lizzyb** · May 5th, 2009, 04:11 PM

I do hope you will post some pics with your new suit....sounds so lovely especially with the porcelain flowers.....nice touch instead of just rhinestones.

**6-Pak Girl** · May 6th, 2009, 12:25 AM

My beautiful new posing suit arrived today. It’s gorgeous – navy velvet with crystal aurora borealis colored stones and porcelain rosettes in the center of both the top and bottoms. One problem. The gel implants for the top (sorry guys, this is a girl’s topic) are HUGE. I look silly in them. Luckily they come in a smaller size so Merry is FedExing them to me for Thursday delivery – just in time since I fly out on Friday morning for the show. (There has to be a little bit of drama, right?

)

Saw my trainer/nutritionist today. He is very happy with my look. I’m holding nicely. This should prove to be my best look yet if I can hold onto it. Nice V-taper, perky glutes, 6-pack abs yet no striations in the shoulders or quads, just a nice feminine roundness. (Love how he describes me - like a slab of meat! LOL) He told me to train upper body today and tomorrow but just train lightly and do my 20 minutes of light cardio too. Felt weird going to the gym and lifting light. Almost like I was wasting my time. I did it though. I know how important it is to hold the fullness in my muscles at this point in the game. Last year I dropped 5 pounds overnight the day before the show. It was awful! I don’t want that to happen again.

Friday morning (travel day) I’m to text him my weight. If it’s between 116 – 118 then all is good. If it’s 116 or lower then the minute we land in Oakland I’m to have an 8 oz steak with 8 oz of yams and asparagus. Since I haven’t had a steak in 3 months that’s sounding pretty good about now!

Once we check into the hotel it’s off to the grocery store to buy chicken, turkey, steak, salmon, yams, asparagus and whatever other food items I need to carry me through Friday and Saturday.

I’m having JanTana do my spray tanning and my make up for the show. My first tanning time is 1:15 pm on Friday and my second is 7:15 pm on Friday. Make up will be done the morning of the comp at 9:15, following the athlete’s brief. That means I have to go to the venue without my “face on.” Yuck. I hate that – especially because I use makeup to darken my face. I don’t tan it. So I’ll look pretty funny with a dark spray-tanned body and a white face for awhile.

I will definitely take photos. I don't know how to post photos within the journal though - can someone give me simple, step by step instructions?

)

**lizzyb** · May 6th, 2009, 03:36 PM

I think if you go to 'advanced' mode in your post in your post options you will see a 'paperclip'...meaning for attachments......click that. A window will appear and you will be given the choice to upload images from your PC or to upload from an url (url's are for when your using image hosting sites like flickr, imagebam, photobucket etc...) I prefer using my PC files but that's just me....other's prefer imagehosting.........try it and see for yourself.

Wow eh? Time sure flies........sounds so exciting though, the buildup and all. After your comp season is completed, do you find it difficult to get back into regular life/routine with diet and training? I know some girls get a little depressed or freaked out by eating 'normal' again....I suppose it's just the anti-climactic thing.....all the rush and stuff, then after....nothing......but I've always been curious about that aspect as well.....the 'after' competition phase.....does this 'rebounding' thing really exist or is just a small handfull of ladies who are poorly prepared? Just curious......I know of many who slip in and out of comp. mode without so much as a hiccup too......I'd like to think that was the norm, but I know nothing about it....

**Italianangel** · May 7th, 2009, 10:17 AM

I am so excited for you!!!!!!

**6-Pak Girl** · May 8th, 2009, 12:01 AM

Thank you! I'm excited too.

Lizzy - thanks for the info on the advanced mode. I will try that. I really know so little about how to use everything this forum has to offer. I just kinda bumble along.

Anyway, personally I don't really have a problem with the post competition thing. At least as far as eating goes. I stay pretty disciplined all year long, primarily because I hate cardio so if I stay lean then I don't have to do as much cardio to get ready for a show. That's just me. Also, I used to be anorexic as a teenager so being disciplined about my eating just works for me. I allow myself a few cheats each week but they are teeny tiny cheats.

I know alot of girls who have trouble post comp with the eating part. They just go crazy with eating and then gain 10, 20 or even 30 pounds so fast and then get depressed. I've never had that happened but I've certainly seen it with others and it's really hard on them.

I do get a little funky about my training though. At first I like having a more relaxed feeling about my training - just maintaining - but after a few months I get the itch and then it's time to figure out when the next show is going to be so I can take it up a notch. This time I have another show in 2 weeks so I'll be back in the gym on Monday and just have one or two cheat meals after the show and back to the nutrition plan after that.

So here's where I am today. I've just finished packing as much as I could pack ahead of time. I'll pack my personal items and food tomorrow morning before I leave for the airport. All is well. My weight is 116.4 today. The muscle bellies are full and tight. I'm not doing much water depletion - just a touch - and so far it's working. I'll take a herbal diuretic on Friday in case the flight causes me to hold water but I'll still keep on drinking so I don't shred. My new top inserts came in and I think they are perfect so no worries there.

When we land in Oakland we are renting a car and going straight to the event hotel. Hopefully, we'll get to check in early. I have a tanning appointment at 1:15 and after that it's off to the grocery store to buy all the food items I'll need for Friday and Saturday. My trainer will arrive later Friday afternoon and he will look at me and determine what changes I need to make in my food and whether I need to cut more water. Another tanning session at night and then I get to sleep with all that wonderful, stinky tanning stuff all over me and hope I don't sweat during the night. I hate that part!

The atheletes meeting is at 8:00 am on Saturday and then I have make up and hair appts. Prejuding starts at 11:00 am; Finals at 6:30 pm

I doubt I'll get to a computer tomorrow but if I do, I'll post an update. Otherwise, I'll tweet what's going on.

**lizzyb** · May 8th, 2009, 08:18 PM

best of luck to you 6-pak girl!!!

**6-Pak Girl** · May 10th, 2009, 09:58 PM

Wow, where to start? I had the best time ever. I think this was the most fun I’ve ever had at a competition. I thought the Contra was going to be a small show. Boy was I wrong. It was big. Lots of body building, bikini and figure competitors and one fitness competitor. Jay Cutler was the guest poser and boy was that a treat. He really has a lot of charisma and jumped on empty seats in the auditorium to pose and take photos with the fans. Very cool.

I did really well at this show – better than I expected. I won the Masters 45+ class (9 women) and came in 2nd in the Unlimited Class for my height (Class C), out of 20 women. When they did call outs for that class I was in the middle the entire time (1st place) until the very end, when they switched me with the girl next to me. She eventually took it but that’s ok. She was in her early 30s and I’m almost 50 so I’m super thrilled to get 2nd place!!!

My trainer said I never looked better. I’ll post more pics when I get the photo CD from the show but here’s a couple shots from musculardevelopment.com.

My trainer said that after the show I could eat a hamburger and fries if I wanted and then go back to my comp prep diet the next day since I’m doing The Cal in 2 weeks. The problem was I was too pooped to go out to eat after the show so my celebratory meal was: hunks of Italian bread, provolone cheese, jelly beans and a glass of champagne. Pathetic, huh?

Today is a day off from the gym (Happy Mother’s Day!) and I’m back at it tomorrow. I’m hoping to bring the same package – or even fuller if I can – to The Cal.

**lizzyb** · May 11th, 2009, 07:33 PM

Congratulations girl!! Way to rock the Master's too.......I had no idea we were 'peers' as far as age goes........thanks for the inspiration!! You look just great too, your hard work dieting and training really paid off for you.....what a huge difference from last year's!! I am soooo happy for you!!

**Italianangel** · May 11th, 2009, 08:03 PM

wow, babe you look better than I have ever seen you, I mean the body is not much different, you always had a nice lean muscled body but I love the style you chose, hair cut/color/ make up, tan.....what product did you use?
Congrats killer!!