What it's doin' to my head! OR Why I have the utmost respect for the Pros.

[Sassy69]

Fennec - I realize you are gettign closer and closer -- but something my last trainer told me when I was prepping for my last show --- its not your responsibility to be nice to people right now --- focus on what YOU have to get done. If it means you close yourself off for a couple of days, stay away from emails, phones, etc. - just tell people you need that time to prep and they will just have to understand. Dont' start feeling guilty pressure to be nice, etc. YOu've worked a LOOOOOOONG time to get to this week -- so dont' blow it now because someone got nosy. You have enough stress - you dont' need more. If they are your friends, they will understand that you will get back to them next week or in two weeks.

Make sure you watch all the stuff you put in your mouth with sodium -- it will just make you retain water - you need to dump all that subcutaneous water before the show. But you also want to time your carb up so you dont' look flat from being so water depleted. (I'm not an expert on the figure requirements ... but it should be similar to bb.) The carb depletion sucks, but let me tell you about the water depleton..... You start getting a greater appreciation for not living in the desert. You will probably cut your your water in half on Wed, cut that again in half on Thurs, down to about 1/2 liter on Friday, and then after Friday night, no more water. (You may start water depletion Thurs - check w/ the trainer) You will be chewing on your tongue you will be so dried out. BRING GUM! And dont' talk alot during Friday and Sat -- it just makes you that much drier in the mouth.

You might also consider using Taraxatone or dandelion root & uva ursi (usri uva??) to help with water dumping. These are natural diuretics. Check w/ your trainer.....

The night before the show the steak will help give you energy and the yams will help you fill out. Ask your trainer tho -- lots of people carb deplete and then dont' start their carb up until its too late. Carbs take about 48-72 to hours to get you filled out again. Many competitors end up looking flat on Sat & then look the best they've ever looked on Sunday. Uhhhhhh... a day late. Oops. It was also recommended to bring red wine to the show. I think I killed half a bottle with another girl before 10 am when we did the prejudging -- red wine is a bit of a diuretic and will kinda of help bring out some vascularity. Also you can't drink any water so it helps, and it also helps you relax a little. Between the morning & night shows I was also told to pound a burger & french fries w/ ketchup - fat & salt to help fill you out again. A little iced tea w/ lemon -- lemon is another mild diuretic. But DON"T DRINK WATER YET. I drank too much damned iced tea between shows -- I had a nice thick guy when I got on for the night show. Shit.

Everyone has their own favorite way to prep the last few days and I still haven't found my favorite. But I would mostly say listen to your trainer - BRING GUM to help w/ the water depletion and DON"T DRINK ANY WATER after dinner on Fri night until you are done w/ the night show on Sat. Then go wild!.

Oh yea -- be careful how you go wild -- you can pretty much eat whatever you want Sat night and maybe thru Sunday. But get back on a low carb diet on Monday so you don't freak out your body. Be REALLY careful about eating dairy (substitute soy if you have to) - your stomach will probably rebel if you try to eat dairy anything. I had no diary tolerance for about a month afterward. And just ease back into "life" --- you might retain some water right after the show, so be careful -- it really sucks to come out of a show all nice and ripped and then bloat up like a water balloon in 2 days. And then just rest for a few days and then start back into the regular training.

YOu will do wonderfully! But be good to yourself -- pace yourself during the last week before the show -- you will be stressed and depleted - get a good night's sleep and don't feel pressure to answer to other people unless you have to. They will understand if you just tell them you need some time to stay focused n your comp. They can see the pix when its all over.

 

[MS]

Wooohoooo I just got back from the BB National competitions and I'm all excited for you fennec. It looks soooo fun being up on that stage. My 3 negative observations were 1) that the vast majority of men and women still don't know how to manage the last week since there were a lot of competitors that looked lean enough, but smoothed out, 2) the rest of them didn't have a clue how to diet, and 3)you cannot possibly spend too much time practicing your posing and putting together a good routine. Also practice your smiles In summary, not enough people hang out here at the Elite women's board like you do!

 

[Fennec]

(laugh) But I DO live in the desert!!

You're right, we talked about the water tonight, and it's just what you said: Wednesday drop to 1 gallon, Thursday 1/2 gallon, Friday 6 8-oz glasses, Saturday (show day) nothing but sips if needed to prevent cramping. I'll ask about the wine and the natural diuretics. Also have to remove sodium from Tuesday on.

I actually felt better after I worked out tonight - nice to have real physical pain instead of all the phantom pains from the diet.

 

[Sassy69]

(laugh) But I DO live in the desert!!

I can appreciate what you are talking about - I went to school in Phx and spent a lot of time out at shooting ranges, etc. (that's another story...) But when I say you feel like someone stuffed a bag of cotton in your mouth... you will understand. To keep track of the amount of water you are drinking it helps a lot to get a bottle like the 1 1/2 liter bottles and mark out what is the amount you are allowed for the day. Maybe put it in the freezer for a few hours so you can enjoy it to its fullest. But mentally it helps you to pace yourself. That's also when you get a feel for what its like to have water "rationed". It kinda makes you think....

Definitely have some good sugarless gum with you. And not the kind that disintigrates in your mouth. It just really makes it a lot easier. Otherwise you just end up gettign your teeth stuck to the dry sides of your mouth. Trust me --- all my pix from my first show all show me doing that - constantly licking my teeth to get the "layer of fuzz" off. LMAO! Here's another trick -- ask the trainer about this too -- take a b-6 pill around 1 pm of Friday and then another at 1 am Sat am. b-6 is a bit of a diuretic. I was also told to keep a bag of potatoe chips, even just a little one, with me - esp. right before the prejudge - if you start to cramp up your electrolytes may be a little f'd up - so eat a couple chips - this is supposed to help. I got this and the b-6 thing from C.J. -- of posing suit fame. Maybe keep a potassium supplement or some magnesium / calcium or Vit E - according to my bible "Prescription for Nutritional Healing", cramps can be due to dehydration and some doses of potassium, Vit E or mag/cal can help. Again check with your trainer. I haven't proven this last part to myself yet , but its in the books.

But you will do wonderfully. And just remember to have fun. You've done all the hard work - now all you have to do is have fun, don't trip on the fuck me shoes and SMILE!

Here's some good luck karma for ya!

 

[MS]

No doubt that first time around you should do exactly as your trainer tells you (I'm sure you've picked a good trainer). Next time around you may have a better feel for what YOUR body responds to or doesn't. That's why they have novice classes! No one can know at their first competition how to dial everything in to perfection. You just have to be the absolute best you can be on the day, have fun, and exude positive vibes as best you can in the circumstances. For instance, at the competition I was at today, one poor guy had to come on 3 separate times to attempt his free-posing routine because they couldn't get the tapes straight. Talk about a psych-out! But when they finally put HIS music on he performed one of THE best routines of the whole show. He had that good-feel positive vibe/I'm enjoying myself attitude and the audience loved it.

As my first trainer said to me once-upon-a-time " there are hundreds of different ways to get to the stage and look your best. The only thing I ask is that you don't try and mix-and-match advice your first time. Pick a trainer and a method and stick to it 100%". These are words of wisdom. It's sorta like saying "don't change horses mid-stream". You'll be the best looking body you've ever been in a week's time. Enjoy the moment.

 

[Sassy69]

I definitely concur w/ MS -- that's why i said check w/ your trainer. I related my experiences so you can maybe understand why you are doing certain things or what you should expect. For ex, I NEVER thought water depletion would be that bad -- but it was miserable. And if you do lose your restraint you end up w/ a bloated look from like one extra glass of water.

The first time you want so much to understand why and what's going on -- I kept askign questions so I could know what was going on and I either got "don't worry about it" or "just stick close to us" -- well, my trainer was too busy w/ her husband who was also in the comp - so I was on my own. And stuff she told me to not worry about I realized was very critical to the comp -- like how your hair looks, etc -- not the absolute most critical part, but still important and she told me to not worry about it. That sucked.
And I got the same thing the second time - it was all -- So and so will be there and take care of it. Well, so and so wasn't there. I was repeated told she would be there, and then after spending ridiculous $$ prepping for this show, no one seemed to give a shit that I got fucked by these people who told me I could trust and who I paid sick $ to to ensure that I would get the things I needed. Thx alot.

So it becomes obvious to me that the only way I can be sure that these things will get done is if 1) I know about them and 2) I take care of them myself - or at least be able to if the trainer cant' be there for whatever reason. It is sooooo no fair to spend months and months prepping for something and then get fucked within 2 days of the show. So I guess I go really far out of my way to try to help at least give other newbies/novices an idea of what to expect. Its not fair to have someone you are supposed to trust tell you that these things are not a big deal or that they will take care of it and then leave u hanging. By saying "dont' worry about it" they are not only not giving you info you may really need , they are basically telling you that your questions dont' even warrant a straight answer. Not cool.

But definitely stick w/ what your trainer says - other people's advice can really just leave u completely confused - but at least ify you ask your trainer and get clarification, you have learned that much more.

 

[Fennec]

I know you were speaking figuratively (about the desert), and at the same time letting me know how bad it's gonna be - I'm dreading the water depletion. That is gonna be sooo wierd, after training myself to drink 3 gallons a day!

Yep, I'm doing what my trainer says. I've been working with him for the past 3 1/2 years. When something I read on the boards sounds reasonable, I run it past him, don't just jump in and try it. Of course, since he's a guy, I get a lot out of the advice from the women here! There are things he just doesn't focus on, that other women do. Every now and then I go ahead and try stuff, even without his say-so, but not when it comes to the show.

The really nice thing, though, is that there are three of us girls in the same show, same class, and we're all friends. We will be helping each other get ready backstage and stuff. We've been trying to get all the info we need from him in advance, 'cause he's not allowed back stage to advise us.

I am scared of screwing something up at the last minute, so I'm really glad you told me about watching the water the day of the comp - I probably wouldn't have been thinking of it. So many details to worry about.

Thanks for all the help, again! I'm gonna go look up the nutritional value for the yams I'm supposed to start eating tomorrow, now, so I can plan my final week's menu.

I keep going up and down emotionally. I agree 100% with MS, I think it is pathalogically unhealthy mental stuff we do to ourselves. But, I'm gonna finish the job. I'll just keep posting here, when I start to lose it, like ya'll said!

Fennec

 

[Fennec]

That's one of the things the other gals and I have been talking about: It doesn't matter where we place, we have already won just by getting there! We are so proud of each other and ourselves! It was funny, when we went down together for our final fittings for our posing suits, one of the ladies in the shop asked if we were nervous, and we all just sort of looked at each other, shrugged, and said "Nope!" We've already done all the hard work - we've been working really hard all year long - now it's time to enjoy showing it off! I think we'll be relaxed and we want to have fun with it and show our support for eachother. We are all looking forward to the show!!

Fennec

 

[gymratess1]

I wish you the best of luck. You'll do great. Just remember--you are doing this for yourself. And you are almost there. When it's getting rough at the end just remember how great you'll look and feel when you are on that stage. I can't wait until I do my first show next year. I backed out of one a couple of years back. What a big mistake. I was four weeks out and when I watched the show I was so unhappy with myself because I knew I should've and could've been up on the stage. Keep up the good work. Here's a little lucky man for you to carry around on your shoulder.

 

[new@gettinbig]

Just checkin to see how you are doing...Keep us posted this week....Your almost done girl