You Know You’re A Figure Competitor When…..

1. For a few days each year your toilet seat is brown and this time it isn’t your husbands fault.

2. You can honestly say you have spent more in a bathing suit than your wedding dress.

3. Six inch clear stripper heels are your footwear of choice in your own home. (and not just in the bedroom)

4. Someone asks about the man in your life and you tell that gym is fine!

5. You have two sections in your wardrobe. Contest & Off-season. And they aren’t mix and match.

6. Your top three priorities on any given day:
a. Workout
b. Eat Clean
c. Check the fitness forum board (not necessarily in that order..)

7. You can name any pro figure competitor by seeing her butt alone. When someone wants to take your picture, you immediately spread your lats, tighten every muscle in your body, point your fingers and SMILE!

8. You take more pills daily than your 80 year old grandmother.

9. Your idea of dressing up is taking your hair out of the ponytail its been in for a week.

10. If you have had someone close to you, hide food from you in your own house.

11. An easy day is lifting and only one cardio session.

12. Instead of carrying a Gucci pursue you accessorize with a Coleman cooler.

13. Waking up so sore you can barely move puts a smile on your face.

14. You cant do any work because you are to busy counting down the seconds until your next meal!!!!!!!!!

15.The faint smell of Contest Colour gets your heart pumping faster than your man’s cologne.

16. You leave a little trail of splenda packets, tupperware and empty water bottles everywhere you go.

17. Your hubby makes you pee in the guest bathroom because every meal includes asparagus.

18. You consider Beano an essential part of your supplement regimen.

19. Your jaws are sore because you can’t stop chewing sugar free gum!

20. You spend at least five minutes grilling your server at a restaurant, and another five minutes re-writing the menu until you’ve got a meal that meets your diet’s specifications…and then you devour it in less than 60 seconds flat!!

21. You consider a day when you only have to make ONE trip to the gym a luxury!

22. You think about having "relaxed hands" and sticking your butt out while standing in line at the grocery store. (Hey a girl’s gotta practice her posing!!)

23. You consider condiments and diet coke taboo!!!

24. Your neighbours start gossiping that you’ve had lipo because there is no way a girl could get that fit in twelve weeks!
Written by Lia Halsall

Also I  spoke with LizaLaura this morning on the phone, she is competing as well, and in good spirits. I am sure she looks AMAZING as well, I was looking at a few of her past contest photos - and she looks outstanding. Finally after all this time we finally meet !!
I am so excited!!!!

I wouldn’t miss this for anything - and what a great opportunity to "network." and meet friends old and new and go get a bite to eat after the show!!

If anyone else is going. Let me know

I received the go ahead to start working out again from my Sports Medicine MD- of course I cant go full blast – I have to just take it slow.

I was getting somewhat nervous- because, I was accepted to compete in the Arnold Amateur Classic in March 2009. I received my letter way back in July – just about around the time that I injured myself. I have kept this little bit of information on the back burner- and thought that I would share this joy that I have right now with you. My doctor said, that he will make sure that I will be absolutely ready, come March, he’s a bodybuilder as well; and completely understands where I am coming from.

The six weeks that I have taken off – did me a world of good, I am rested, I ate normal food, and more importantly, my body needed that rest after the two competitions that I did over the summer. The dieting and training takes its toll and can be a “metabolic disaster” if you don’t take a break; eventually it does catch up to you, even if you don’t feel it now, you will at some point, take it from me, I have experienced it, first hand, and many of my “figure” girlfriends have as well.

So at this point, I am back to training and eating 100% clean, despite my six week hiatus, I lost a pound! I feel so much stronger than before, muscle “never forgets.”

I apologize now (LOL) I won’t be on here as often as I would like; my main focus is getting my body in the ABSOLUTE best shape EVER for the Arnold. I need to be “dialed” in and ready!!

What also is keeping me busy is my website!!!  Hopefully in the next month; my web developer is fine tuning it at this point and putting it together. I cant wait until you guys see it.  I will keep you posted on that as well

www.kathymarcos.com

http://theconnectioncom.proboards58.com/

After the show is OVER by Collen Mahoney

You’re a fitness enthusiast about to enter your first competition. You’ve talked to other competitors, read about contest preparation, studied the diets of the champions, and pored over lists of tips and tricks. Music has been chosen and your choreography is in the works. Water intake is up, protein is the staple of your diet and you’ve clocked so many miles at the gym you’re thinking about buying your own treadmill. Hip to the inside scoop on posing, tanning, and walking on stage, your confidence is high. Your mind is firmly focused on taking home the trophy.

But are you prepared for what happens after the contest?

There is a dirty little secret associated with fitness and bodybuilding competition that before now hasn’t been discussed — the virtually universal post-contest rebound effect. Familiar with the term “yo-yo” dieting? It’s not just your mother’s nightmare; even bodybuilding and fitness champions will gain weight after they stop the highly restrictive diets that are required to achieve the extremely low body fat levels they need to be competitive. It is a consequence that is almost never talked about, and therefore, rarely anticipated. Strict competition diets and training programs work, even for non-competitors. But the extreme results can’t — and shouldn’t — last forever. Anyone who is considering entering a competition should be prepared to deal with the physical and, more importantly, the emotional impact of returning to a more normal eating program.

The goal of pre-contest dieting is to lose as much fat as possible, and to achieve this, most competitors undergo a highly restricted eating and exercise plan that starts 12 to 16 weeks before the competition. As the macronutrient balance shifts toward high protein, moderate carbs and low fat, the competitor’s body begins to shed both fat and water. As the intensity of the precontest diet increases, the competitor’s mind compiles a list of foods that she can’t wait to eat when the show is over. Most athletes want to celebrate, or simply reward months of sacrifice with a feast right after the competition. Some will take their indulgence a step further and immediately resume an offseason diet. This type of competitor may also stop taking the fat burners that helped her get through her twice daily cardio workouts, cut back on the cardio or stop altogether, and decrease the intensity of her weight training sessions. Such an abrupt change in eating patterns and workout schedules will shock the body and cause a rebound effect. While enduring a calorie restricted diet, a competitor’s body tends to go into a starvation-survival mode, which subsequently causes her metabolism to slow down. When she starts to eat a few more calories, her body will quickly store them as fat, stocking up for the next famine. Within a couple of days, her hard, lean appearance will smooth out primarily due to water being pulled into the muscles when glycogen (from carbs) floods the body. After even one week of less controlled eating and drastic reductions in her training intensity, she will regain body fat. This is the very same yo-yo effect that plagues many conventional dieters.

Although the physical effects of diet rebounding could be harmful if taken to the extreme, perhaps the more significant impact is the psychological one. To a fitness or bodybuilding competitor, this kind of rebound can be emotionally devastating. She may only rebound to half as much body fat as she started with, but to someone who has been in the single digits, that small increase may feel like an enormous failure. One day, the competitor is onstage presenting her perfectly sculpted and lean physique, subjecting herself to the judgment of a panel of strangers, and within a couple of weeks, she feels fat, bloated, and self-conscious. The form fitting clothing that she bought to show off her hard work is snug, her six pack is gone and she feels embarrassed by her sudden weight gain. The judges at her competition weren’t nearly as critical of her as she is of herself at this point. “It’s amazing the kind of pressure we put on ourselves,” says personal nutritionist Keith Klein, CN, former champion bodybuilder, and founder of the Institute of Eating Management of Houston, Texas. “When you start your diet at 20% body fat and get to 15%, you’re on top of the world; from 15% to 12%, you feel like wearing only your underwear all day; then when you get to 6%, you can’t believe that you’ve reached the best condition of your life. But once you begin to rebound, you feel as fat at 10% as you did at 20%.

The problem isn’t that she’s lost her willpower or control over her body; it’s that the competitor’s standards for herself are unrealistic. Rebounding is the reality. It is normal. In fact, it is a mistake to believe that one can achieve and sustain a sharp, competition look year-round. It may help to know that most of photos that fill the pages of health and fitness magazines are taken at competition time, and are not indicative of how even champion competitors look in the off-season. “Competition shape is unnatural,” says Labrada, former world champion professional bodybuilder and a past winner of the IFBB Mr. Universe, and founder and President of Labrada Bodybuilding Nutrition. “Your body has a thermostat — and it seeks to maintain its body fat level around a constant amount.”

Patty Urrutia, age 30, didn’t know how to transition from pre-competition to post-competition eating after her first Miss Fitness contest in 1994. “I had worked so hard to achieve my physique, and I didn’t want to lose it,” she said. “I wanted to continue with the high protein diet, but I also wanted to eat some of the foods that I missed. I ended up doubling the amount of calories that I needed and gained a lot of weight.” Patty competed in another Miss Fitness and two Galaxy contests after that, going through the rebound cycle each time. After her last contest in 1998, she realized that she would rather return to a more normal eating routine than to make the sacrifices necessary to keep her body fat at 7%. She now maintains a healthy, feminine physique at around 16% body fat, and allows herself to indulge in what she calls “fun foods” in moderation. “I don’t want food to be a focal point, just a part of my healthy lifestyle.”

For some, the only way to reverse a rebound and a corresponding sense of failure is to begin another competition diet. Whereas winning, placing or simply entering a contest used to be the goal, now they become the means to an unattainable goal — physical perfection.

Laryn McCandless, age 22, will have competed nine times in three years by the end of 2001— including a bodybuilding competition, four Galaxy competitions, two NPC fitness contests and an upcoming NPC Figure competition, a Women’s Tri-Fitness and the Fitness America pageant. Although she’s experienced the rebound each time, the emotional impact is still significant. “It’s hard to watch yourself gain weight, and then look at your competition pictures,” she says. “I feel guilty and unhappy.” Laryn has decided to win the rebound battle by avoiding it completely. In effect, she plans to convert her precontest diet into a strict lifestyle that allows for few days off.

Unfortunately, for women, there are health risks associated with having too little body fat. Some of these risks include hypothermia, vitamin toxicity, cessation of the menstrual cycle, and osteoporosis. Hal Louis, founder of Better Reflections: Fitness through Strategic Training, Inc. believes that a female athlete should carry enough body fat to maintain her menstrual cycle. “You must take your health into consideration,” he says. “You can still look great at 14-16% body fat.”

So how can a competitor avoid this emotional rollercoaster? “The solution lies mainly in adopting a more realistic, accepting view of your body,” says Klein. “You need to realize that 10% or 12% or 15% body fat is totally acceptable — especially since you felt good about yourself when you first got there on the way down to your competition shape.”

An athlete must go into a competition knowing that she is trying to achieve a temporary condition of leanness, and accept that her body fat will return to a more natural level. With this in mind, she can prepare for a smooth transition, extending the discipline she’s gained from dieting and training for competition into a healthy program that she can maintain for life.

author Collen Mahoney

This is a video I took yesterday before we went to the hospital.

Driving home early this morning I took a different route to avoid the rush hour traffic. My MRI was a 7am!!

Driving down Rte. 202; I saw a “bird” standing in the middle of the double yellow line; just standing there and not flinching at the on coming cars and trucks passing by. I couldn’t stop until about a half a mile down the road and turned around and drove back, and pulled over to the side.

Route  202 is a very busy road, at some portions, the speed limit goes up to 50 mph., luckily for me I was @ the 30 mph. section so the traffic was a bit slower. I made my way to them middle of the road, and picked it up and ran with it across to the other side. Not knowing exactly at this point what it was, I placed it down on the grass. To my surprise, it was a “baby hawk”!!!

Not knowing much about hawks, only the fact that they are carnivores; I guess I took my chances, bare handed, scooping this injured, dazed and confused meat eating baby LOL.

Much to my surprise, another vehicle pulled over, amazed because no one stopped at all but the two of us. We chatted a bit and I picked him up ( The hawk, not the man, LOL ) and placed him in a box that the man in the car provided.

It was a total adventure driving home with one hand holding the box closed and trying to stay comfortable because of my Low Back Pain. This babies wing span was a little over 2 feet !  I can only imagine what it will be when he is fully grown.

As soon as I got home ( My back is now SCREAMING) I put him in the kennel that I have on my deck. He seemed more alert now, not dazed at all, flapping his wings etc.

I made a few phone calls, and eventually brought him to a local animal hospital that will examine him and turn him over to Raptor Rehab for eventual release. I have to call later to see how he is doing.

I took some pictures before I brought him over to the hospital.  

Meal One

½ cup liquid egg whites

1 scoop Jay Robs Whey protein

Mass Aminos 3

EFA Gold 1

Ultra 40 1

Advanced Anti Oxidant 1

Meal 2

Oatmeal 1 pack

1 Scoop Jay Robs Whey Protein

Meal 3

4 ounces chicken

12 asparagus spears

Mass Aminos 3

EFA Gold 1

Ultra 40 1

Advanced Anti Oxidant 1

Meal 4

4 ounces chicken

½ broccoli

Meal 5

Same as meal 3

Meal 6

½ cup liquid egg whites

1 scoop Jay Robs Whey protein

I need to work put my legs

:D

Equal pay for Female Bodybuilders

By Erin Tideman posted on www.thewhitonline.com

For a long time, the highest level of competition a woman athlete could play at was college. A select few athletes could go on to play in the Olympic games, but few women had an opportunity to reach that level. Recently, women in certain sports have been given opportunities to continue playing at a professional level. Despite this opportunity, women athletes are underpaid, especially when compared to male athletes in the same sport.

The Numbers
The inequity is visible in every sport. According to the Women’s Sports Foundation, the total prize money for the LPGA was $50 million compared to the PGA tour’s total of $256 million. Until this year, the Wimbledon used to offer more money in the prize purses for male athletes.

The maximum salary for a WNBA player in 2005 was $89,000. What was the maximum salary for an NBA player? Fifteen million. The team salary caps for these sports were similar to the salaries; the WNBA team salary cap was $673,000 and the NBA team salary cap was $46 million.
In 2003, when the women took third place in the Women’s World Cup, they made $25,000 each. If they were men who only reached the quarterfinal, they would have received $200,000 each.

Bringing in the dough
Many people believe that the main reason male athletes get paid a higher salary than women is because men bring in more money. Ticket prices are higher, there is more of a demand for the game, and men’s sports are marketable. But let me ask you one question: how often do you see women’s professional sporting events being advertised?

Women’s sports are rarely marketed. You don’t see the advertisements, commercials or promotions that you see for men’s sports. Advertising has the goal of bringing in support and money. If women’s athletics are not advertised, how can they become marketable? Newspapers don’t give women the coverage they deserve. Sponsorship opportunities are lacking for women. Without these key channels to give awareness, women’s sports will never stand a chance.

Don’t compare the two

The biggest complaint about the women’s game, whether it is WNBA, tennis, golf, ang so on is that women aren’t as good as men. But women should not be compared to men: they are not worse, or better - they are different. Women rely more on their balance and finesse to play the game; men rely on their strength and speed. However, on average, one thing professional women athletes play with more than professional male athletes is heart.

Too many male players care more about themselves and their paychecks. Look at the NBA. The games are boring compared to men’s college games because there are so many selfish players on the court. If you watch a WNBA game; there might not be as many players dunking baskets or showing off with special moves and plays, but there are athletes that never give up and always play as a team. I would pick a player who shows heart and a dedication to their team as a role model any day.

It seems that male athletes get caught up in life in the fast lane because of their big paychecks and sponsors. Women still haven’t lost the true meaning of sports, which is, a love for the game. When people stop comparing women to men, and the women’s game is promoted and advertised to some extent, women can finally begin to gain equity when it comes to their salaries.

Earned Pro Card

Crystal Lowery
Amy Martin
Mendi Sakamoto
Kristin Nunn
Jamie Costa
Rachel Cammon

Class A
1. Jamie Costa
2. Akane Ismeal
3. Carin Hawkins
4. Nicole Coleman
5. Sarah Nakajima
6. Aketa Thomas
7. Mary Cencich
8. Shawna Kondo
9. Ann Treesukosol
10. Mandy Henderson
11. Lisa Sandercock
12. Prudence Moe
13. Traci Hall
14. Gemma Santos
15. Rosalind Vail
16. Devin Kenney
16. Joni Starkey
16. Huong Vo
16. Denise Dinger
16. Katherine McPhee

Class B

1. Crystal Lowery
2. Candice Houston
3. Shannon Bennett
4. Kerri Simpson
5. Ann Pratt
6. Jennifer Migliacci
7. Keri Moser
8. Tiffany Procopio
9. Jennifer DeJoya
10. Jessica Brichta
11. Lauren Pearlman
12. Denise Rose
13. Kiana Lewis
14. Misi White
15. Vicki Counts
16. Mona Liza Reyes
16. Darice Smolenski
16. Shari Santos
16. Frederica Brant
16. Lila Sandozezqui
16. Lisa Hutchinson
16. Angie Platten
16. Heather Misra
16. Sheila Bratten
16. Kim Carmichael
16. Laura Millar
16. Laurie Costa
16. Kenyatta Parham
16. Michele Suszek

Class C

1. Kristin Nunn
2. Michelle Anderson
3. Emily Nicholson
4. Chrissy Burton
5. Cynthia Herndon
6. Bea Fox
7. Edy Neal
8. Sherrie Carnicle
9. Ana Tigre
10. Lauren Rosen
11. Joy Kushner
12. Lori Brooks
13. Ann Titone
14. Marga Martin
15. Danyell Johnson
16. Laura Bailey
16. Doneker King
16. Emily Roberts
16. Monique Jones
16. Ashley Cooper
16. Patricia Moore
16. Angel Allison
16. Allison Malone
16. Grace Rivera
16. Wendi Medders
16. Dawn Melanie
16. Carmen Demske
16. Lori Pavesi
16. Kim Bell
16. Brenda Dunsmore
16. Shannon Furstenberg
16. Rada Reyes
16. Elissa Schlichter
16. Selma McPherson

Class D

1. Amy Martin
2. Kristy McKinney
3. Shelley Hillesheim
4. Amanda Quinlan
5. Amanda Darce
6. Natalie Calland
7. Alicia Harris
8. Amy ONeil
9. Valerie Carlino
10. Ahsley Harrell
11. Veronica Miller
12. Jillian Mabin
13. Laura Pine
14. Joanna Frichtel
15. Tiffany Waddell
16. Stacey Barta
16. Bethany Karlin
16. Tracy Guarino
16. Traci Saba
16. Qawnana Crockett
16. Andrea Romero
16. Joy Lewis
16. Kelli Kratt
16. Kimberly Agnew
16. Corina Frikken
16. Juliet Banks
16. Christine Vallancourt
16. Echelle Harris
16. Jackie Buckley
16. Jessica Troha
16. Robyne Roveccio-Palmer
16. Jennifer Myers
16. Tanya Rhoades
16. Jill Oksenhorn
16. Joni Neilson
16. Enji Khoo
16. Sara Hurrie

Class E

1. Mendi Sakamoto
2. Stephanie McDonald
3. Jaime Meade
4. Alecia Rankovic
5. Ginny Gardea
6. Tami Delzenero
7. Jenny Lewis
8. Nicole Vitale
9. Crystal Rush
10. Kat Morrill
11. Hannah Fox
12. Danielle Edmonds
13. Magoa Galloza
14. Gina Cook
15. Nola Trimble
16. Nicole Key
16. Rachel Chapman
16. Wendy Bogard
16. Ilona Maj
16. Natalie Calland
16. Ursula Cristofaro
16. Heather Jones
16. Kelley Green

Class F
1. Rachel Cammon
2. Alicia Marie
3. Monique Minton
4. Michelle Batista
5. Brandie Gardner
6. Ali Huston
7. Veronica Ramirez
8. Jeanne Nimmer
9. Jennifer Hernandez
10. Katie Coles
11. Sunshine Loustaunau
12. Jessica Shannon
13. Kristen Crigler
14. Kelly Hill
15. Stephanie Gruner
16. Christine Aguilar
16. Becky Youngberg
16. Tandy Robinson
16. Jessica Livingston
16. Brigitte Blount
16. Aletha Tatge