INBA Titles & other stuff

Yesterday was my second body building comp that I attended, and I went mainly to support Michaela (pictured above) who has successfully completed an Ideal Bodies Online program and is doing exceptionally well (as you can see). It was her first comp and she was in Figure Masters 40+. And doesn't she look gorgeous?

I was surprised at how calm she was, considering it was her first time and her backstage person hadn't arrived (she got lost) and didn't know what was going on. But everything turned out well, and even though Michaela didn't place, she's still a winner in my eyes for even going through the process required to get up there on stage. It's not for the faint-hearted, and what these women (and men) put themselves through to achieve this physical state is nothing short of amazing (or crazy).

I was asked whether I'd do comp, and I flat out said "NO". It's just not a burning desire for me, though I have to admit at one brief moment, I thought about the possibility, thinking..."shit, I could do this". I think I was hungry when this thought emerged, so I was obviously suffering from a momentary lapse of reasoning from lack of sustenance...lol...

It was nice to see people I hadn't seen since last years October titles, and put a more human face to names and people that I had been reading about in blogs, such as KatieP, Shelley, and Selina, to name a few. It was also great to catch up with Hilary from IBO, and LizN. This time, I also had the opportunity to talk with Lindy Olsen. I think I said this somewhere before, maybe facebook, but Lindy just exudes such strength and confidence, and she is quite down-to-earth and willing to share stuff about herself that normally you wouldn't on a first encounter. She's a person you could learn alot from. It is obvious why she is so successful at what she does, with such a wonderful attitude.

So overall, I enjoyed the day and got to catch up with Lesley and her daughter Emily. Lesley has done an IBO program as well, and made contact with me via the forum. So it was nice to see her again, which reminds me...it's my turn to shout for lunch!

It's another busy week ahead getting all my medical report stuff completed. So hopefully this time next week I can be given the official all clear, and then it's only the pre-enlistment fitness test to be done, which I am not concerned about.

On the program front...I did manage to finally get back to my 'happy weight', and weighed in end of last week at 57.7kg. Start weight was 59.1kg. My body fat% is 15.3%. A bit of a shock, as at the 6 week mark of program 3, I was 11.6%. The difference being this time, I now have a different person doing my measurements who is very experienced and precise (and has competed in BB comps). So my BF% was obviously higher than I thought. The upside of this is that I can improve from here, and have set my sights on achieving 12% body fat. It's good to have a goal. It's not a necessity, but I'm hoping with the current exercise and nutrition program, I will most likely drop the fat anyway....fingers crossed XX

It was a great week nutrition-wise...100%! So I am very happy I've been able to get back onto a clean diet without any hesitation. Though I have been hungry. Exercise-wise, I missed one weight session and one ab session, but got in all my cardio. This week is an unpredictable and busy week, so my main aim is to get in all 3 weights sessions (they are full-body workouts), a swim and running session, and at least another cardio session. I was a bit tired and had a few niggles, which I anticipated may happen due to the increased intensity, which I haven't seen for about a month or so now. So overall, I was happy with how my week went.

Thats about it for now. Have a great week! :)