New goals, anyone?

Do Something that Scares You

I'm all about goal setting.  Having a measurable challenge helps keep me focused.  I typically reevaluate my written goals every 3 months.  One that I was already afraid to put in writing continued to sit in the back of my mind for the past few years.  For many reasons, I was afraid to write it down and go for it.  It was something that was going to push me out of my comfort zone and something that people may criticize me for.  Nevertheless, it was something that would make me work really hard and I'd have to be disciplined in many areas to achieve my goal.  I'd have to have a very structured nutrition plan.  I'd have to increase my workouts, including cardio and weight training.  Most difficult of all, I'd have to get more sleep.  Who has time for that?? So what did I do?  

I competed in my first figure competition  The Mike Francois Classic!:

For those of you who haven't heard of this, it's a bodybuilding competition.  The 'figure' division (which I participated in) is a class of bodybuilding where the judges are looking for muscularity, symmetry, stage presentation (posing, posture, grace and confidence), body shape and muscle shape.  For this category, you don't put on as much muscular size as a traditional bodybuilder.  

On any given Saturday, you can find me at the gym doing something like this:

But last Saturday, I stepped outside of my comfort zone and transformed into this:

If I were a bettin' women, I'd never believe I could get that tan.  But there are some skilled tanners out there!! I went to a gal named Ginger who definitely rocks the competitive tanning world!! 

Behind the scenes what amazing!! The other competitors were extremely friendly and helpful.  They made me, as a first timer, feel completely at ease.  The ladies I was on stage with were full of class and I'm honored to have been next to them.  After some final primping:

Some filling up the muscles:

And a quick pump up behind stage:

It was time to present:

I'm the third one from the left (in case you can't tell).

It was a gorgeous group of strong competitors.  I was very excited to be called out in the first line up.  For my first competition, my goal was to be in the top 5, as that is the number of places that they award. So, with that goal in mind, I was giddy when this happened:

Fifth place!! Don't mind if I do :)  

This was an amazing learning experience and I felt great about the entire day.  I took away some education as to what I can do to improve and I met some people that I hope to come in contact with again.  I'm so glad that I decided to step outside of my comfort zone and try something new.  

Top Five

It was awesome to see some familiar faces having a great day at the show as well:

That's Autumn next to me.  She finished 4th in the Bikini Class and totally rocked it on stage!

So what happened the next day:

A trip to my favorite bakery!  Pattycake's Vegan Bakery!  After a few months of a very stringent meal plan, a splurge was in order...and it was delicious!!

Thanks for letting me share this experience.  If you have any questions about bodybuilding or competing, I'm happy to answer them.  If you comment below, others will be able to reference the responses as well.  If you'd rather reach out to me privately, I'm happy to respond to your emails.  

Remember to write down your goal!! Don't quit!  You are closer than you think :)

Now your turn!  Share a goal that you have that scares you & why...