Week 12: Team T & E: Five Things That Mark the End Stages of Contest Prep

Coach: Tammy Strome

E is now three weeks and six days away from competing on the stage in Amateur Figure at the Ontario Championships, being held in conjunction with the Toronto Pro Supershow.

This weekend she hit 129 lbs, so all that hard work is paying off. What has helped a lot is the huge shift in her mental space and attitude—which were bumpy in the beginning. I’m so happy she was able to pull through.

It takes courage to face yourself honestly and go forward from there.

One of the greatest things about sharing this journey with you is that you can all read the honesty of the process. It’s hard work; it certainly isn’t all rainbows, unicorns and butterflies. E has had to recruit some serious mental fortitude to see this through to the end.

Contest prep requires everything you’ve got and then some!

As part of the standard contest prep process, I am now seeing E weekly. Her body’s changing quickly so we have to keep tabs on things to make sure she’s on track to the end result. These frequent visits help her maintain mental focus and attitude as well.

E’s suit arrives this week. It’ll be great to see how well it shows her off during her posing practice. She has been working hard to perfect every quarter turn and pose while exuding the energy and confidence she knows she will have to bring to the stage on show day to rock their socks off!

The one area where she’s still struggling is her walk. We’re working together to get it to a place where it flows more naturally with less rigidity.

We have made some final dietary tweaks as well. I expect to see her drop about 5 lbs in the next three weeks.

All in all, she will definitely present more muscle and more balance on stage this year!

Tune in for Thursday’s post on the importance of eating the right fats.

Yours in health,

Tammy

Client: Eftihia

We’re down to the last four weeks! Woot woot!

There are five things that mark the end stages of contest prep.

1. More Coaching. I see Tammy weekly from now until the day of my show, which I LOVE! Seeing Tammy always renews my energy and spirit; she’s an extremely positive influence. Her support helps push me through the hard times, because there’s NO TURNING BACK now! I’ll have to work my absolute hardest to attain the image and look that will help me to achieve my goals on and off the stage.
2. Diet Changes. Tammy will be sending me my final diet changes for the next three weeks before dial-in (dial-in is a special diet that will help my body look its best for show day). Food at this point becomes a little funny. I always say you know that you have been dieting a long time when yellow mustard, salsa and gum become food groups. In less than three weeks I have finished, YES FINISHED, a family-sized yellow mustard! It goes on EVERYTHING!
3. Posing and Walking Practice. Learning to hold poses and smile through them is easier said than done. My body has to get used to the isometric holds. My back aches, my calves get sore and my cheeks hurt from smiling so much. Sometimes it feels like another workout, but it’s necessary to remain composed on stage. Continuous practice forces your body to get used to it FAST so that, on show day, there’s no worry about hitting poses when asked to turn and face the judges. The body remembers…and adheres! This makes smiling easier!
4. Buying Tickets. I have now gotten my “athlete” email from the OPA. With this email comes the reminder to get friends and family to buy tickets! So I sent out a mass email to everyone I know. This is one of those times it’s so wonderful to have support. I’m always AMAZED at the turn-out of family and friends who come to support me!
5. Visualizing and Meditating. This may not seem too important to someone reading this blog, because it isn’t tangible like the other items I listed, but it’s the most important item for a competitor. During my second cardio of the day I visualize myself on stage, walking confidently in my suit, smiling for the judges, doing my quarter turns and waving to family. I talk to myself and…I LISTEN TO WHAT I SAY: “I am a champion.” … “I worked hard.” … “I deserve to be here.” … “I am beauty in human form.” Tammy reinforces this task with me all the time…it helps with my mood and my sanity.

This week, I realized something amazing. The day I compete will be exactly 11 months to the DAY that I first competed last year! This means I will have competed three times in eleven months, something I NEVER would have FATHOMED doing a few years ago.

I will say it now because I can: this has been the most difficult journey to stage I have encountered since my first show, and finally the excitement is mounting inside me like a firecracker waiting to pop!

The end of this journey is so close…I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and I’m running towards it!