Hello everyone.
I am back in the Uk after my wonderful 2 wks in NYC...my home, and I miss it already! The Bev Francis Atlantic States was a fantastic show and I am very pleased with my win and the experiance of it all. Doing a show, especially one of that magnitude, was a humbling experience for me and it also inspired and motivated me to be a better natural BB. I will always strive to improve myself, both physically and mentally within this challenging sport and lifestyle.
Every time one prepares for a show, the diet and training not only play these mindgames with you but it builds a better you in the longrun. You truly test your limits, taking them even further than you ever imagined you ever could. This show put alot of things into perspective for me as a natural female BB and I do consider myself an athlete...any serious BB should for that matter.
My gf never realized what it took to get your ass on that stage for the one day. My parents, who attended the prejudging, saw me the week before the show..saw my mood swings, the depletion process and the aggressive training style that was involved and could not understand what the purpose was until they saw me on that stage with the bright lights and the streaking tanner from sweating and trying to hit and hold my mandatory poses for the observing and oh so critical judges.
I admit, I have the itch to do another show...and I am going to try to stick to my agreement with myself of waiting until next year. I am eyeballing a November 2007 show in NY, but I will play it by ear for now. I want to give myself ample time to prepare properly and be in the best possible shape I can be. Vinny taught me many new things as far as dieting and training are concerned. I want to use what he gave me to my advantage. I want to win the whole show next show. In order for me to achieve this, I have to work extremely hard on my legs. Harder than I already was. If I feel come September that I am on the right track, than a Nov show in NY seems more realistic.
I love the whole dieting process, I love the stress, the pressure of getting ready for a show. I love the challenge and the unanswered question of who else is competing. This forces me to work harder to surpass any insecurities I may have in regard to my physique and my overall attitude and approach.
This new journey will be about my battle in getting my legs where they need to be for next show. I will also focus on putting on more muscle. I weighed in at the Bev Francis at 109 lbs. I was 101 lbs at my previous show in Germany. I managed to put on and hold onto 8lbs of muscle, which I had gained over the past year, with Vinny's help. I was the lightest female BB at this show; The other girls were weighing in at 118 and over!
I was still holding water the day of the show...mainly because I had my monthly friend that day..and that seems to be tradition for every show I do! Plus, I did not use any diueretics. I was completely clean and natural for this show.
I weigh 112 now...let's see where I go from here. I will post pics every now and then too. I may start this week with a few pics to show a starting point.
So, this new journey will be all about my leg training and progress, adding some mass on my back, get shoulders a bit more rounded and prominent, and keeping everything else balanced along with that.
So, come join me in my new journey, to a new Toni! ;)