The Road to my First NPC Bikini Show – SHOW DAY

Welcome back! So ol’ girl right here has some pretty amazing news.. I WON.

My 3 trophies:)

For this show, with advise from my coach, I entered into novice and into open for bikini class. I am glad that I did both because I WON! I won novice bikini, open bikini, and then to my surprise, I won the ENTIRE BIKINI OVERALL AWARD! I am not going to lie, I almost cried right there on stage. It was like a freaking miracle! I could not believe what just happened! I went for the gold and brought it home!

It was a grand day overall and I want to share with you some of the experiences I had, along with things I learned, and some pointers for first timers. I feel so relieved now that I finally made the jump to compete. So if you are on the verge or need to set a fitness goal, I highly recommend it. It was such a huge commitment of time and money but I feel like I got so much more than just winning from this prep. I really learned a lot about myself, nutrition, and so much more. I truly am so proud of myself and I also want to thank everyone who has been there for me and supported my dream these last few months!

Waking up

Since the prejudging started at 10 am, my coach advised me to be completely ready by the mandatory AM meeting which started at 8 am. I decided to wake up at 5:45 to allow myself enough time to get ready and get dropped off at the venue. I decided to wand my hair and do my own make-up. I bought press on nails which I also applied in the morning to make sure that they stayed on the whole day. I bought fake lashes and darker foundation to set my make-up. I decided that I could save over a couple hundred dollars if I did all these things myself so I did and it worked out well! If you are not good at doing your own hair and make-up I would advise getting a friend to atleast help out but doing your own is very cost effective.

The 8 am Meeting

I arrived to the venue a little late and just sneaked into the back during the meeting. These meetings sometimes start late and can even last an hour so that is why it is important to be fully ready, especially if it is a smaller show because things will move quickly. At the meeting they discussed what to expect during the show, good sportsmanship, and other guidelines that they expect you to follow. They also talked about meeting the judges after the show and much more. To be honest the only thing that I could focus on was the muffin that my coach told me to eat during that time. I almost died with each bite. It was AMAZING. Glazed lemon poppy seed fo lyfe.

The Diet

Before I go over this part I really want you to know that this diet is extreme, not normal, and designed specifically for me, my metabolism, and body. Do not try to copy this by any means. Most coaches have the own methods and reasons behind why they do what they do. For example, a competitor who had the same coach as me, in the same class, had a slightly different food schedule and refeed than what I was told to do.

I was instructed to start eating rice cakes the moment I woke up.

• 6 am- 2 RC
• 6:45 am – 2 RC
• 7:30 am – 2 RC

Once I was at the meeting, I was told to eat a muffin. She did not have to tell me twice! That occurred at 8:30 am.

Then I was told to eat a rice cake with peanut butter and real jelly or honey every 45 minutes until I walked on stage.

• 9:30 am- 1 RC with PB and jelly
• 10:15 am – 1 RC with PB and honey
• 10: 45 am – 1 RC with PB and jelly

Since it was such a small show prejudging was flying by quickly. The last step to my pre-stage snacks was to eat a reece’s cup (YES), 4oz of coconut water, and then a tablespoon of sea salt. It was as bad to swallow as you might imagine, especially with only 4 oz of liquid to wash it down with. Thinking back to the this moment still turns my tummy. Don’t worry, there is a reason for all this madness.

First REAL burger and fries I had in a few months… it was gone in seconds …

After pre- judging I met with my coach to asses what I need to eat and drink

between the morning and night show. She instructed to me eat half a fully loaded burger, some fries, and 1 diet coke. I was super stoked about the burger but let me remind you that at this point, I had not had any water since the night before at 7 pm. If you wanted me to name the hardest part of the day, I would say not chugging every drop of water that I saw all day. I was beyond thirsty and quite miserable.

I took a hour nap in between since there was so much time to kill and I could not bare the thought of staying awake and thinking about water. It was literally a cruel joke to have to drink gallons and gallons of water and then to just quit cold turkey for so long.

The night show was set up the same. I was so full looking from all the food I  ate earlier in the day so I just stuck with some dry carbs to fill up with.

• 5 pm- RC with PB and jelly
• 5:45 pm – RC with PB and jelly
• 6:35 pm –  Reece’s, coconut water, salt (yucky)

The second that I walked of stage and it was over, I chugged a Gatorade and 2 waters and thought I was going to explode. I then proceeded to eat 3 cookies. It seemed like the right thing to do at them time. Afterwards I went out to eat with all my friends and family who came and it was literally amazing. I had ALL the food my little heart desired, along with a Blue Moon and two margaritas. You know how I said that it seemed like a good idea at the time? IT WAS NOT. Do not do what I did for the sake of your stomach and sanity. Excuse me while I get graphic here but I puked and couldn’t use the restroom for days. I was literally miserable and put on six pounds of water weight to where it hurt to move my joints or even move at all. Take this as a warning friends, your body builds intolerances if you cut out foods for too long. That is why it is necessary to introduce them back into your diet slowly and with care, not all in one sitting.

The Waiting Game // Making New Friends

After the meeting we were all instructed to have our bikinis on and go into our backstage room to have our suits assessed. This is to just make sure that your suit meets the guidelines for NPC. Then after that we were free to touch up our tans, sloth around, make friends, and pump up. Since bikini class was last to go in the show we had over an hour to chill. I mainly rested with my feet up and listened the chatter and crunches of rice cakes around me. It is sort of comical just watching all us bikini girls sitting half naked while lifting weights and eating rice cakes.

I did however make some really cool new friends while I was back there. One of the girls competing and I shared the same coach so we quickly became friends right away! I also met other girls that I had previously contacted about the show! Everyone was so nice and welcoming. Sitting backstage was not as bad as I thought it would be. Other than that people did some hair and make up touch ups. As a tip I would not wear headphones, but meet the girls and pay attention to the schedule. Shows move quick and you do not want to miss your big moment because you were being anti-social in the corner. They do have an expediter (a person who brings you to the show room)  that helps you with when you need to be getting ready for the stage. Once you are called, you make your way to the back room where your bottoms are “glued” down and you get “glazed”. This is were you really start to pump up because it is almost show time!

Tips when “pumping up”:

• Do not pump up your legs, abs, or triceps.
• Only do glute isolated exercises such as kickbacks and maybe goodmornings.
• Pump your shoulders (front and lateral raises, shoulder press)
• Pump your biceps (bicep curls)

Being on Stage

WOW. What an experience. I am not going to lie, I was so scared to walk out there for the first time. I was shaking and every time that we faced the back I would deep breath and try to calm myself down. I feel that posing for me throughout this prep was my biggest struggle and if I was to win I really needed to be conscious of all parts of my body. I have a tendency to forget what is going on when I get nervous so being on stage was so scary for me. After the first time up, it does get easier. When I went up the second time I knew the feel of the floor and tried to correct some of the mistakes that I realized I had made beforehand.

• Tips:
  • Do not look directly in the judges eyes, but look right over their heads.
  • Make sure to always be smiling and add in some spunk and sass.
  • DO NOT get sexy. No butt touching, kisses, and do not bend over too far.
  • Stay focused and listen to the judges. Listen for your number and instructions.
  • Lastly, have fun. All of your hard work comes down to these few minutes that you are being judged and compared to so just rock it and show them your full package!

The Feels (my feeling)

Man, what can I say, I think I am still in shock/ underestimating the potential that I poses. I had no clue that I would do so well in my first show. I am slightly modest so being up there, practically naked, was a HUGE step for me and at that moment I really overcame some fears that I never thought I could overcome. This journey has had its ups and downs and lasted a LONG TIME. There were many instances where I had to sacrifice what I wanted to do for what I needed to do to succeed. I have grown in so many ways mentally and physically. Regardless of how I would have placed Saturday, I would have still been proud of myself. I didn’t even think I could do something like this a year ago.

All of goodies from the show. I was pretty darn excited! Cant wait to try all these supplements out!

I have challenged myself in so many ways and I really feel as if I matured a little. I really had to step back and look at my life and start making decisions that I would have normally just blown off. I have become more self aware and feel a little more in control of my actions.

For a few days after the show I was feeling pretty down not only because I ate all the food I saw for 3 days, but because the excitement of working towards a goal was gone. I realized that I did not have another one waiting for me to beat.. I felt lost. This is why I preach setting goals. It does not matter what they are or how big they are. If you have a reason to wake up and be determined, it really sets you off to have a good day!

I am also really thankful for everyone who came and helped and supported me through my journey. I have had so many people reach out to me, congratulate me, and even drive hours to come see me compete. I really think that the support helped me through my journey more than anything. I really did feel super special that day/night and to be honest that is where my drive to become a life coach and trainer comes from. I want to give this feeling I have away to others. There would be nothing in my life that I would rather do than help people reach their goals and be proud of who they have become through the process.

What IS NEXT Allison?

That is the million dollar question my friends. Before I ruin the surprise all I can say is that this girl might be flying somewhere pretty for another show soon and cant believe that she is about to commit to it. Yep, what is another prep? CAKE WALK. My coach has some big plans for me this next year. Also to you coach, thank you for being awesome. Thank you for building up my confidence. Thank you for listening to me holler about how thirsty I was. Thank you for hollering at me during my show too:)

I expect to have my plans fixed by the beginning of next week so stay tuned!Until next time friends. Once again thank you!