Pro/Am Contests Blog

I am thrilled to write about the Flint show! I did not compete, but I had six of my clients compete. This was the biggest number of clients i have ever had go into one show.

I am so proud of every single one of them. Some of them worked a little harder than others, but they all did the work. It was one of them who came up with the idea for the Team Soper shirts. I ran with the idea and our gym even sponsored us! We sold over 20 Team Soper shirts that were worn that day (in the audience).

I have been personal training for 4 years now and am going into my 3rd season competing on a national stage. My job is very rewarding, but to get a whole team together and they ALL stayed on track, this has been by far one of the best accomplishments to date for me!

Every one of them had their struggles, and came from different points in their life and some of them even didn’t like one another in the beginning, and now we are a team!

Competing can be contagious if you treat it right and keep in a good mind frame. They all knew there would only be one first place and I love the fact that we created a support group for one another.

Out of our group, we had the overall figure and womens bodybuilder. Overall, there were 9 trophies handed to our team and the team trophy! I am not the only trainer for the whole team, Matt and Jimmy also trained some clients too! I have only been training at this gym for 9 months now, I can’t wait to see what we pull together for next year!

The season has just begun for myself and now others as well! Many of them caught the ‘competing’ bug and I’m so happy for that. One of the best things about being in a new gym where a lot of people were unfamiliar w/ competing in general, is the education we are giving them on the sport. Everyday we get more and more comments and supporters! Better yet, people are better understanding of what we do….oh, did I mention the show was sold out!

Check out more contest photos in my Myspace album:

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewPicture&friendID=37907367&albumId=1711186

Get the full contest results here:

http://www.michiganbodybuilding.com/MichiganArchives/2008/08flint/08flint.htm

Hey y’all!  I’d like to extend my personal invitation to everyone to come on down to San Antonio, Texas on May 3rd for my show "Diana Chaloux’s FAME South Central Championships & Health Expo“! We certainly have been busy preparing for this MAJOR event!

I am thrilled to be bringing the WNSO and the inspiring all natural FAME athletes to my home town. along with the competition we made the decision to make this event something that would reach an even larger audience here in San Antonio, and would be a way to motivate, educate and inspire the city to start leading more fit and healthy lifestyles!

To draw a diverse crowd to this event we’ve got SO much going on! This show is a Pro Qualifier for the WNSO and part of the FAME World Tour Season 1. We have a beautiful venue, the historic Sunset Station,  chosen for this competition and expo. In addition to the all natural physique competition we have amazing events happening throughout the day!  You won’t want to miss it!  Hope to see y’all next weekend!

Register to Compete Today!

Click here to learn more about the show:

http://www.dianachaloux.com/fame.html
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/breaking_in_a_gym.htm

The other day I got a call from my good friend Dave Slagel of John Scott’s Nitro supplement company.  Dave told me our friend Mike Jackson will be doing the USA this year.  Mike e-mailed me later and told me that he does have his plans set for this show, however, what I didn’t know is that Mike’s wife Tammy Jackson won the 2007 California bodybuilding contest and will also compete this year at the USA.

If that wasn’t enough Mike’s sister Lisa Person will also be at the USA but not to watch but to compete in the fitness division, Talk about a family event!  Having met Mike and his wife at Golds Venice before this couple are not your typical bodybuilders as they both have careers and also work with the Nitro supplement line in Northern Cali.  Best of luck at the USA guys!

Guess who made an appearance at the NPC Emerald Cup?

It’s guest poser IFBB Pro Bodybuilder Dennis Wolf!  Enjoy. 

Catch all the photos and results from the 2008 NPC Emerald Cup here:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/2008_emerald.htm

The 2008 NPC Ronnie Coleman Classic was my first competition ever, and was definitely the best experience of my life!

I placed 2nd in my class (Figure A) and will now be competing in the Junior USA’s on May 17th, 2008 in South Carolina.  I’m definitely hooked!!

The 2008 NPC Ronnie Coleman Classic was great! Metroflex Productions always puts on an incredibly organized, energetic, and efficiently expedited show! I was hesitant to follow through with the contest because I had actually spent more time OUT OF STATE than in Texas during the month before the contest.

I spoke at the World Scientific Congress of Golf in a symposium about the nutritional needs of golfers, as well as supplements for concentration and focus, as well as golf-related psychology. I also presented at the FASEB (Experimental Biology) conference in San Diego. Though these were great professional opportunities, traveling away from home a ton makes it exceedingly difficult to eat and train properly, though I did my best.

That said, I was not too confident going into the contest. I have a very well-rounded musculature, from years of consistent training and good nutrition, but my conditioning was sub-optimal. In any case, the announcement was made during the competitor’s meeting that a softer look would be favored for figure. Such comments are often delivered during a meeting, but with poor follow-through in the actual judging. NOT SO this time. Women with essentially *perfect* figure physiques of yester-year were over-looked in favor of prettier, younger, and more simply fit-looking women.

Generally speaking, I believe this is a positive trend. This kind of judging is exactly in line with the NPC criteria (as stated by the actual rules of figure). The NPC rules specify that the competitors should display a small amount of muscle with some separation, a small amount of body fat, and NO visible striations. A women cannot be as lean as the national level competitors of recent years and still meet these criteria. When judges who prefer a bodybuilding physique and conditioning judge figure by the same standards, the difference between figure and bodybuilding can become easily blurred. The point is to have two separate divisions, not simply to have figure contestents that look like miniature bodybuilders.

Kudos to the Texas NPC judges for choosing a figure-appropriate look in all classes and awarding the most stunning woman on stage (Jodie Minear) the overall figure title, even though it was her first show and she was not overly muscle-bound.

I also had the chance to take part in the Metroflex video interviews for the contest, which allowed me to meet Marzia Prince; she is an absolute doll and also very down-to-earth and well-spoken.

The next Metroflex show is the NPC Branch Warren in July. If you come, you may even get to see me sing again– who knows? 

On Friday and Saturday April 18 & 19 in Panama City Beach, FL was the NPC Southern USA Classic bodybuilding & Shannon Dey Fitness and Figure Championships.  It was a joy to see all the NPC Steel World Athletes on hand competing in the show- Stephanie Larkin, Victoria Hamm, Rusty Disher, Michael Bailey, Ron Maseth, and Jamie Montgomery .  

Mike Horn, IFBB pro, was the main Guest Poser, we had a booth set up.  He was asked for more autographed photos than other people I have seen at other shows.  He had friends come from all over just to see him.  Stoney came all the way from Nashville, TN down to Panama City Beach, FL. He brought gifts too, thanks.  Jason came in from N. Alabama. I would like to thank everyone who stopped by the booth. I was asked for some autographs too .   Thank you for your support.  Thank you Robert Calin, who is training for Masters Nationals,  for all your help.  It was good to see Jimmy Babb too.  Thank you Cole, Teja, & Reno Schmitt and family and crew (Suzy).  When it came time to for Mike Horn, IFBB pro,  to Guest Pose at the end.  Mike had the audience on their feet jumping up and down screaming. Mike was in great shape.  He came in ripped and took this guest posing serious.  We made sure to leave a clean room at the host hotel.  Anyone else interested in hiring him for making guest appearances at other NPC shows may contact him at mikejanhorn.com.

Mike did an interview with the TV news at check-ins and invited everyone out with their families to watch.

Judges- Mike was on a great judging panel. Pete Fancher was the head judge at the show. We always enjoy seeing him. Thank you other judges, Mike & Christy Mckinnley and Vic of Gold’s for letting me work out at your place since it was just around the corner from the host hotel/resort at Sterling Reef.  

Booths-Mr. and Mrs. Stacy Seals had a booth for Stone Wear clothing. I really like their shirts.  I look forward to seeing them set up at the NPC Steel World on May 31 in Mobile.  Shannon Dey had a booth with her super cute clothing and accessories.  I had to get some of her great fitting pants and unique tanks.  She is a kind person, always smiling, always has good things to say to people.  

Trainers- Team Bomb shell and Mike Davies had girls in the show that were in good shape.  Greg had some top level girls in the show too like Stephanie Larkin.  Linda Campbell of Columbus, GA had quality athletes like Michael Bailey, Jamie Montgomery and beginner figure,  Brooke Teaster.  

Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Key of Health Works Gym in Panama City did the best job ever of running the show backstage.  Things ran really smoothly.  You can tell they really care.  

I was a little sad to  not be the reigning NPC Shannon Dey Figure Overall Champion anymore.

Muscle Papa was there to video to whole production from start at check-ins, then backstage, and to the finish.  

Pat & Donna Sporer and Shannon Dey had a quality show once again.

We look forward to seeing everyone on May 31 in Mobile for the NPC Steel World Bodybuilding, Fitness & Figure Championships www.npcsteelworld.com 251-634-8885 for Personal Training & Nutrition Competition Workshops

I had a weight issue going into this meet.  some of you know i was trying to lose a few pounds so i could compete in the 75kg (165lb) class.  my first weigh in when i arrived on friday was 75.5kg (166.5lbs) Oops!  i went to the sauna fully clothed, put a towel over my head and stood over the heat bouncing and waving my arms around.  25 min later, i weighed in at 74.5kg (164.25lbs).  Lost over 2lbs…Success!  i just don’t want to have to do that next time.

I started off good in the squat, opened with 585, went to 628, and i missed 661.  i didn’t squat down low enough on that one.  next time.  i wasn’t too happy with my bench/dead numbers.  i opened on the bench with 395 easy.  went to 429, which i have done many times with no problem… but today was not my day here.  missed that twice!  with my first 429 attempt, i think i adjusted my shirt too much as i wasn’t able to bring it in where i usually do.  the second attempt at 429 felt good getting it down, but after i got it off of my chest, i just had nothing left in the tank.

On the deadlift, i opened at 507.  i picked it up so fast that i lost my balance forward, and no good.  i did it again, under more control, to make sure that i got it.  went to 556, which i’ve done before, picked it up no problem, but halfway up, my right heel slipped outward and i wasn’t going to try to finish it out of position.  no need to risk injury.  so i totaled 1530, ended up with 1st, and i should be getting my invite soon to compete at the AWPC World’s later in the summer.  need to start revamping in a about 6 weeks… i may be doing a local meet (bench and deadlift) in Wallingford mid/late august for those interested.

Well, I am just 9 days away from my first NPC Figure show, the Texas Shredder and just 15 days away from the APF Teen National Powerlifting Championships.

I am getting leaner everyday. I can hardly wait to see what I look like next Friday and Saturday!

Here’s a photo of me taken 10 days out:

And here is a video of my training I did this afternoon (9 days out):

peace,
Barbie Barbell

Spotted in a MySpace bulletin from Dave Goodin: "The NPC Texas Shredder Classic is only one week away! We have 95 drug-free athletes entered at this point and I’m sure we’ll be over 100 by showtime.

We have some amazing competitors entered and great great guest posers.

Guest poser Kiyoshi Moody is one of the best drug-free bodybuilders I’ve ever seen, and our show opening guest poser, Austin Barbisch has the most entertaining routines ever!

You also don’t want to miss the chance to meet our smokin’ hot trophy girl, Super-model Cody Bentsen. Cody will have some photos on hand to sell at prejudging, as well as before and after the night show.

Call 512-626-0413 for info and tickets.”

http://www.texasshredderclassic.com/

http://www.myspace.com/texasshredderclassic

This year was my third time attending the Boise Fitness Expo and it was a blast as always! I always feel a sense of pride for being a part of Bodybuilding.com and getting to attend with VIP status It’s definitely an exciting event, and everyone in the whole office was running around like it was the last day of school. We were all pretty stoked! Plus, when you have people like Jamie Eason, Jay Cutler, Bill Romanowski (and the list goes on and on!) in the building, it gets tougher to focus!

Walking up to the expo is always exciting just because the line stretches down the street. Inside, it’s just elbow-to-elbow crowds of people! Once you make it up to the stage, Bob Chick’s running the show. It’s nonstop excitement, with dancing, competitions, announcements (Congrats to Bill and Will for being employees of the year, and to Jamie W for her awesome transformation!), as well as a special tribute to the late Jesse Marunde.

After taking a few rounds through the crowd, we ventured back up to the VIP room and relaxed a little. The stars filtered through, so we all got to spend a little time feeling special and mingling with them. And as the expo events started to wind down, the excitement sure didn’t. Many of us used the expo day for our cheat day, so we enjoyed what the bar had to offer.

I’ll be uploading more pictures to my BodySpace this week (even though Maxed Out Mike’s pictures are ten times better!). The night was a lot of fun, and it’s too darn bad we have to wait a whole year until the next one. I know next year will only be better… and I hope to see you there!

I had a blast at the Bodybuilding.com Fitness Expo this year.  I hadn’t ever been but I have heard alot of cool stories about the Expo from my friends who have attended in previous years.  I really enjoyed seeing some of my idols like Jay Cuter, Bob Chicherillo, and of course Bill Romanowski!  All of them are down to earth and not total meat heads like some people imagine.

Seeing Jay in real life was CRAZY!  I had seen him in pictures many times but in real life is insane, he is a monster!  I knew that the Expo is a big deal but I was shocked how many people showed up.  It’s cool to see that bodybuilding and fitness is big in Boise and draws a big crowd.  I can’t wait to go next year and experience it all over again.  I will leave a few minor details out about the end of the night.  But yeah it ROCKED!

Boise Fitness Expo 2008
At the Big Easy Concert House, Boise, Idaho

What a night. Arriving just after the girlfriend put an offer on a house (which we are still hoping she gets) the first thing I notice is a MILE of a line! WOW. Now this is my first time coming to the expo. I didn’t think it was going to be very big, because before I worked for BB.com, I never heard of the Boise Fit Expo (apparently I don’t get out much). Ron Avidian and Isaac Hinds were interviewing VP Jeremy DeLuca out front. A few co-workers were slammed at the door, so as a gentleman, I started helping out getting out the “empty bags” which were slammed packed with samples and supplements that vendors handed out inside. We had around 500 t-shirts, which went fast. To try and get the line to go smoother, we were running down the line, throwing shirts out, like cheerleaders at basketball game, we were only missing the slingshot to launch it into the upper deck!

Once I finally snuck inside, I headed in to look for other employees. The joint was packed! Music playing in the background, guys doing ez bar curls for a competition to win a supplement from BEAST sports. I got distracted at the main stage where the FAME Bikini Model search was taking place, which I think would stop any man, and a select women, in there steps. I make it up stairs and look for the other employees. Don’t have to go far, just have to head for the bar! After finding Ryan DeLuca, hanging out with the VIP wristbands, I get mine and mingle with some fellas from my dept. I attempt to go check out the different vendors, but I figured I get enough goodies being an employee that I’ll stay out of the way of the guests!

I head into the VIP room to hang out with a few employees and head to the balcony where we could see the venue and the stage. Jay Cutler is at the MuscleTech booth taking pictures and signing autographs. Bill Romanowski was signing copies of his book and promoting his new supplement line; Nutrition53, in another corner. BSN had their booth set up with “The Prodigy” Brandon Curry signing autographs and taking pictures. Up on the balcony, I bumped into ErgoPharm’s own Patrick Arnold was watching the ladies finish up the FAME Bikini contest. Thanks to the beautiful Crystal Matthews and the eccentric Jerome Ferguson for hosting the contest and getting the fans to cheer instead of just stair with their jaws on the floor in awe! After that, Boise’s on Marika Johansson, put on a great posing show, in her Viking format, equipped with a sword. She is stacked alone; does she really need the sword? No, but it adds for effect!

Alright, enough standing and watching pretty ladies on a stage, time for a drink! After socializing with a few employees and vendors, I figured I would venture through the crowd, now that its died down a little bit. During the last 3 months, BB.com did its own Transformation challenge within the office, the winner, gets to go to host the booth at the Olympia this fall! While everybody did amazing, we had to have a winner. Kris Gethin, our editor-in-chief and author of the Transformation challenge took it with our Marketing Anylist Jamie Winery coming in a close second. Since Kris gets to go to the Olympia anyway, he gave his winning tickets to Jamie! Ryan DeLuca and Bob Cicharillo awarding them onstage.

Cruising around the crowd, I get over to meet Scott, the owner of BSN as well as get a picture with Brandon Curry. During that, Ryan DeLuca and Bob Cicharillo were up on stage handing out the employee of the year award! And GUESS WHAT…… It wasn’t me. Damn. I think it was rigged, but anyways, the winner’s were (that’s right, two EOY’s) Web Content Manager Will Wiedenmann and Purchasing Specialist Bill Baldry (and it’s the first time any of us have EVER seen Billy without a hat!). Went around and got to meet the guys from MuscleTech (and yes a picture with Jay) and then headed back upstairs.

As the vendors started running dry of free stuff, they started to gather up stairs in the VIP. Up here I got to meet and spend some time with a few new people. Bill Romanowski was hanging out, he had his ’98 Denver Bronco SuperBowl ring I got to try on. This was a huge moment for me, as it is the closest I will ever get to a Super Bowl and the Broncos are my team! Also got to spend some time with Brian Roubach from PhenogenX, Dave Nelson from iForce Nutrition, and Patrick Arnold from ErgoPharm; These aren’t your science nerds from high school! Some very cool guys that were fun to hang out with and represent great companies! Also got to swap some stories with Jerome Fergeson; Saw him at lunch earlier that day with his hair up, and he is actually 6’4 when he has his hair up. Its nuts! Of course I got to meet Jamie Eason finally, as she always was coming to the office when I wasn’t there! All in all, it was a great night! Big thanks go out to the Big Easy for hosting and of course to Dave Middleton, our marketing and events manager, for bringing it all together! If you missed it this year, don’t let it happen again next year! BFE 09 here we come!

So I went to the Boise Fit Expo last night. What a crazy experience!

I got there 2 hours early so I could be at the front of the line. There were about 10 people ahead of me when I got there and that number grew to about 40 with all the cutting going on. I swear one kid let his whole football team in front of him. A few of the ’special guests’ made there way outside to pose with the bodybuilding.com sponsored race car. Bob Cicherillo, Mak Attack, Hollywood, and the Fame Reps were a few come out and pose.

I had met up with a couple friends in line, but actually ended up hanging out with the lady ahead of me in line. Her name was Janet and she happened to be the concierge at the hotel all the special guests were staying at. They all recognized her and we got to chat with some of them. YAY!

We finally got in the door at about 6:10 and squeezed our way around the bottom floor and then to the upper floor. This was my first BFE so I had no idea it would be like this. I seriously felt like a sardine for about 2 hours. It also felt like a race to grab as much free stuff as possible while pretending to listen to what the vendors had to say. After filling 3 bags, we made our way to the dance pit.

We found a good place to stand up on a ledge. It was a great view for the events to follow. The bikini contest had a very poor turnout. There was about 6 girls. As soon as the girl who ended up winning walked on stage, I KNEW she would win. She had the best ass out there! She was also very confident, pretty, and had a rockin suit. There were a few girls that could stand to put on a little muscle and lose a little bf but it was pretty entertaining to see all the hooting and hollering.

There were a few performances by a local dance troupe, Studio C. They did a good job, but their choice of costume wasn’t very flattering. (come on this is a fitness expo!) Mak Attack was totally cheesy as always. It was fun to watch, but a professional choreographer would help tremendously. Her back up dancers were also not the best example of being in shape. I guess they were there to help Mak look better. There was also a performance by the bboy break dance crew. THEY WERE AMAZING! Best entertainment of the night!

The Mr. Puniverse contest was interesting. A few were booed off for having muscles, a few weren’t even old enough to compete, and the ones that were left were pathetic. They were great sports though. They all had their fan clubs rooting them on. At one point the top three took their pants off for a pose down. It was hilarious. The guy that won last year had improved too much to keep his title and passed it on to a scrawny red head kid. So fun! He earned a 250 gift certificate to bb.com. Hopefully he will use it on weight-gainers!

There was pose routine by Marika Johansson. She was a warrior princess with a sword. It was pretty cool, but a little drawn out.

I took my pic with Jay Cutler of course. He’s huge!! -and in desperate need of a new hairstyle!!

I wanted to meet Jamie Eason. She was mostly the reason I went. I saw her onstage and that was it. She spent most of the night backstage. boo!!!

Anyway, I had fun, and will definitely be going next year. Hopefully they will chose a bigger place to hold the event at next time.

Any athlete that did not get a chance to get feedback after the show can contact us at 251-634-8885.  We kept our notes from judging.

The show had about 70 athletes.  Gennifer Conn won the overall Figure Championships.  Shannon Dey did her new routine for the first time this season.  Her routine was very entertaining and had more complex skills.  Shannon and her husband Rob were also there promoting the Southern Muscle Plus Magazine. This magazine is the best for contest and athlete updates. I really expect this magazine to go nationwide.  If you do not already have a subscription you can contact her today at shannondey.net.  Kevin Key, former NPC Steel World overall bodybuilding champion and his wife were at the show also.  

We look forward to seeing athletes again in Panama City on April 19th for the NPC Southern USA Bodybuilding & Shannon Dey Fitness & Figure Championships.  

more details to follow…..

Actually it’s a bit less than 2 weeks, I’m now 10 days out.  You can ask anybody who competes and they will all tell you that there is a period during contest prep that they dread.  For me it’s 2 weeks out.  I’m not a big girl so in order to look really full on stage I have to deplete like crazy so that I can really carb up.  It means that 2 weeks out I’m beyond flat, I lose the skip in my step, I have 0 energy and I ask myself daily why I’m doing this.

This time it doesn’t help that work has been crazy and on top of having to follow a diet of 8 meals of 100% protein ( yep 0 carbs and 0 fat)  I have to attend conventions and Galas almost every single day and night for the next 2 weeks.  If I have to explain to one more person why I can’t even touch the salad I will scream lol. I shouldn’t complain,  I’m one of the lucky ones who doesn’t get bitchy without carbs.  I will forget things and I try to drive as little as I can because I’m afraid of running over pedestrians but my mood is good, I laugh plenty and my boyfriend hasn’t threaten to leave me yet. I still have a life, I still go for coffee with my friends and play with my niece and nephews.  It’s not really the typical social life of a 32 year old, I didn’t eat valentine’s day or Easter chocolate, I postponed my b-day party till after the show and I’m in bed by 8h30 every single night ( hey I get up at 4h30 to train)

My coach called last night to see how I was doing and told me to look at it one carb up at a time lol.  He’s right, 10 days is nothing, I can do it.  It’s so easy to get depressed when you see yourself getting flat and you feel like you have no muscles left. The worse part is that even at 8.6% BF yesterday I had a fat day lol.  My goal was to come in at 3 lbs more than my last show. I did it and we’ll only know on the last day but I’m pretty sure I will come in 4 lbs heavier. I will also be leaner then last time, it’s just weird how we forget the "flat" phase each time and freak out.  Right now I feel I look so skinny, besides my back and my abs that never go away I can’t see the muscles.  My training partner is a WNSO muscle model pro and even she has those days when she’s afraid she’s going to be way too small and she’s afraid she’s losing all her hardly gained lean mass.

That’s when you have to focus on the good stuff, the pedicures, manicures, suits, make up, routine practice!  Competing is fun, when things get rough you have to focus on the good stuff, like knowing that I will have nachos in 10 days, that I will enjoy a glass of wine really soon and that I won’t be hungry!!!!!!!!!  You also  have to look at old competition photos and remember that you will fill out and that you’ll look even better this time.

You also have to remember that you are doing this for yourself, and that you need to be happy with what you’ve accomplished.  I will show up on stage April 19 knowing that I’m in the best shape of my life, that I did my best, that I couldn’t have pushed one more rep, that I followed my diet to a “T”,  that I practice my quarter turns and walk until I could do it in my sleep…  The rest I can’t do anything about.  I might not be what the judges are looking for, they might not like my suit, my hair, my style…  Judging is very subjective and you can put the same girls with a different  panel and you’ll get a completely different top 3.  If you compete with that in mind you will never be disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, I think we need to listen to what the judges have to say and use it to get better but we should always remember that when we get on that stage, we have every single reason to be proud of what we’ve accomplished.

The thing is I know why I’m doing this, I know why I’m working my butt off at the gym.  I want to win.  WNSO is a great federation, when you look at the WNSO pros they are all girls we want to look like…  Jamie Eason, Nicole Costa, Isabelle Galarneau, Maggie Diubaldo, Julie Marsland, Sylvia Tremblay, Michèle Lévesque… They are pretty, feminine, healthy and strong.  They are the girls we post on our fridge for inspiration and I want to be on someones fridge one day

Tomorrow when my alarm goes off at 4h30, I will get up, have my egg whites, grab my gym bag and remember a quote from the great Vince Lombardi that I have on my log book…. "INCHES MAKE CHAMPIONS"