Fitness Cure

It seems like dejavu all over again with the absense of the reigning competitor, Davina Medina, in this year’s Figure Olympia. (Does anyone remember the Arnold Classic without Jenny Lynn)  Either we should start seriously re-thinking what ‘fitness’ means, or we’ve got to stop requiring them to lose so much water, so much fat and so much salt pre-competition.

Here are some pictures of my top competitors to win. I’m not judging them on how balanced their quads look in comparison to their calves – I like these 2 girls because they are plainly just cool.

Monica Brant.  While there are speculated reasons why she will never win a proshow – it doesn’t stop her fans not wanting to see her win.  lf your success is based upon the people you influence, the money you generate and the fans you have, Monica Brant is on top all the way.

When I competed in Model America 2003, Jane Awad placed 5th. (I stood next to her in 4th place!) I knew immediately that she was on the wrong stage and needed to compete in the NPC Circuit. As a season athelete her entire life, not only does she pose the competitive drive and discipline needed to win, but she has All American girl good looks that no other competitor really matches. Since this is only her 2nd appearance at the Olympia, there is a huge chance she won’t win, but I definitely think she’ll place. I also like Jane because she is an EAS spokesperson and new brunette! Read her interview here.

Other favorite competitors (but no picture here) include Jenny Lynn and Christine Pomponio-Pate.

Adela Garcia!! Trailing behind her was last year’s winner, Jen Hendershott, owning Adela’s position at 3rd place last year! The results are as follows:

1.Adela Garcia

2. Kim Klein

3. Jen Hendershott

4. Tanji Johnson

5. Tracey Greenwoood

When I first began reading fitness magazines, I was always wondering who the little latina girl was – and as a spectator watching Adela’s career rise (especially after the retirement of Suzy Curry) has been inspiring! In her court of winners are girls who show amazing talent, feracious drive and a hearts full of passion.  Tanji Johnson is a beautiful competitor both inside and out. And after meeting Tracey as an SF Pro show a year ago, I was impressed at her down to earth attitude and openess about competitive fitness.

I wish I went…but unfortunately I’m in Malaysia right now!

 For more Olympia pictures and coverage go to bodybuilding.com

Adela rocks out with her batman routine.

Kim Klein taking a ride onstage.

I hope Jen Hendershott got the oxygen she needed to perform in that head piece!

Tanji Johnson looks like she’s ready to win!

Wow! Tracey Greenwood’s body looks like she’s definitely a seasoned competitor!

The All-Star Lineup!

So you’ve got your action plan, you’ve got your 3 month goals, you’ve got your cupboard filled with diet friendly foods…so what else do you need, Right?

You need a Reality Check.  This is not going to be easy, and your plan is only as good as when you created it. A lot of people start off with the best intentions – but not everyone succeeds. This is my down to earth, top 6 Ways to get you started. I guarantee that if you follow all 6 after you create your goals and action plan, you will be destined to succeed.
So let’s get REAL and put some “KICK” in the Start of a new Program.

1. TELL everyone you know. Some people like to keep their program a ’secret’ until they succeed: but unless you have continuous internal discipline, you’ve got to get yourself accountable! Tell everyone you know that you are now in success mode and on a mission to change your physical form in the next few months.  Their job is to snicker when you don’t succeed, hold you accountable when you fail to plan, and support you when you get off focus.

2. SET a big, fat, audacious, reward that will be given to you on the exact day you end your program.  Your reward could be in the form of a nice vacation on the beach or a very expensive technological device that you would never spend on yourself right now. Set a reward that will be deserving for you hard work! This will not only make you excited to reach your goal, but it will also create  increased accountability to achieve it.

3. GET started with a Personal Trainer or Boot Camp class that will get you physically challenged for the next 3 months. When you are sore, tired and experiencing pain beyond your normal circumstances: you will learn to appreciate not eating a dozen donuts when you spent the last hour trying to burn just 2 donuts.

4. TAKE a picture.  Take a picture of yourself next to nothing and post on your refrigerator or in your daily planner. Your results are measured in weight, body fat percentage and strength…but nothing tells the story like a nice picture of all that flab before you took off on this journey. This ‘before’ photo is there to motivate you…and that image will remain in your brain when you want to cheat, not work out or stay disciplined and focused on a goal you personally set.

5. JOIN a support Group. This could be in the form of a fitness weblog site or a local community group – all you need are people who are just like you! Your Environment is key to creating a successful outcome. If you’ve got friends who are pessimistic, who don’t take care of their health and don’t support you then watch out! I guarantee you that they will either make or break your program.

6. CLEAN UP. You might be asking yourself why I mention this since this has little to do with your program right? Well to me, how you handle any situation in life mirrors how you will handle this ’situation’ of building a better you.  Start taking control on your environment. Keep a clean and structured household.  Have a routine that will support a pace you want to live: which is a “I have a mess so let’s take action. Let’s plan a routine and prepare for future mess up’s by preventing sh*t that led you here in the first place to never set in again.” Enough said.

Good Luck.

“The people at British Lion Quality Eggs have developed eggs that let people know when they’re done. The new eggs are sold in three varieties: soft, medium and hard. A hungry moron need only buy the egg type that corresponds with his preference and place it in boiling water. A special heat-activated logo appears when the egg is cooked to your liking. It even reminds you how it is that you’ve cooked your egg so there are no unpleasant surprises when you crack it open…read more “

At least these guys didn’t waste their lives developing something useless. Because the number one priority in the world today is making sure people are able to properly cook their eggs. I’m not sure I’d be willing to buy a $5 egg though, even if it was gauranteed to cook perfectly.

New York City’s health department has a proposal that would ban cooks at any of the city’s 24,600 food service establishments from using ingredients that contain the artery-clogging substance, commonly know as “partially hydrogenated oil.”

Artificial trans fats are found in some shortenings, margarine and frying oils and turn up in foods from pie crusts to french fries to doughnuts. Badda Bing Badda Boom!