REFLECTION ON 2008 TO 2009 SEASON
Sunday, August 2nd, 2009Well, two weeks ago I competed at the NPC Los Angeles and over the last year it’s been a rough ride. I had nearly chopped my finger off my left hand and was in and out of the hospital for over 3 months time… I had surgery for that and during the reconstruction of my finger I had another surgery.
January 17th I was back at Golds training hard and getting ready for the 2009 season. I had done everything right from dieting and such that the 37lbs I lost while being out of the gym - I gained that back gradually being at my previous off-season weight of 222lbs.
Over the past year I got to really work with some key players… I worked with Dave Palumbo that taught me how to Keto and Hany Rambod who taught me the principle of LESS IS MORE. lol
One of the funniest things that happened was I met a competitor backstage at Nationals and this kid was crazy shredded. Turned out we became best of friends, like brothers, and now a days he’s like family to me. He prepped me for the Los Angeles and the things he had me do really improved my work ethic on the scene, such as, I did endless hours of Stairmaster (NOT Palumbo style where I had to do 3hrs a day. LOL), I posed ALOT and saw the muscle bellies really getting rounder and harder, and not to mention I tanned so much that one coat of jan tana was enough to get me looking like this-
It’s funny how during prep so much happened and I lived everyday to the extreme. I got a wisdom tooth extracted during 2 weeks in the prep, NOT A GOOD IDEA, and I was in the worse pain for the next 2 weeks as I was liquefying all my meals and training lightly during the exercises… SUCKED!!! ha-ha
Somehow I made it down to DAY 01 and I got SMOKED on stage. It was a BIG let down for me but it was a HUGE learning experience. lol. I transitioned into the Open class and took 7th which was a surprise to me since I had finally brought the conditioning but the size and striations weren’t there… took 4th in the Novice. Yay. LOL
Anyways, I realized that my 3 month LONG off-season was not enough to compete against these guys and I’m thankful for all those who stood by me during this time frame. I’ve been talking to my best friend and my training partner; they both feel that a year off the competitive track would be sufficient to make those huge improvements I need to make. Unfortunately I’m so addicted to performing, as an ex-dance instructor, that it’s going to be HARD to watch those around me go on stage and do their routines as I sit in the audience smiling…
:)
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