I got 2nd, and thats OK!

So I placed 2nd at the MuscleContest NPC Spartan Championships in San Diego last weekend. I got 2nd at my last show, so I was really hoping for a first place win! 

BUT!

This time, the woman who beat me looked amazing. It was a legit win :) So I am happy. Last time I was beaten on a technicality (tan wasnt dark enough) but this time, I was actually placed front and center, first callout! Now I went to a great posing seminar led by Head Jusge Tamer El Guindy and he had a couple of great take-home points that stuck with me.

1. You pose to hide your weaknesses, not necessarily to show off your best assets

2. EVERY second you are on stage counts. So if you have one bad face, one second where you slouch, and that happens to be when the judge looks at you, then guess what? You are judged based on what they see. If they only see that split second where you look like a troll, then you will be ranked accordingly.

3. EYE CONTACT with the judges. Ya, I pretty much kept my eye on the head judge and gave her my best "you want to go lesbian for me" looks. Major flirt action here.

So with those points in mind, I decided to take out my front pose, which is my weakest (thick waist and big quads). And I guess it worked because I was placed first!! It wasnt until comparisons where we have to hit front pose where I was switched to 2nd. But for a split second the judges thought I was first place material. The even better part about that, is that the girl who won, not only won my class, but she took overall in both Masters and Open.

Riana's Posing Routine

So if you think about it, I was placed ahead of her for a split second, so the judges thought I was overall winner material. hell I will take it!

SO now, I have 11 weeks until USAs. I took basically a week off to eat, fill up, fill out, get strong again, etc. And of course I feel HUGE and Bloated, but starting Monday, its ON!! USAs here I come and I WILL BE MY BEST EVER!!

Peak Weak Challenges

         Well I decided to do the NPC Spartans on May 3rd. I havne been prepping for this show (my 2nd this year) but I got really sick about 3 weeks out that caused me to lose a ton of water weight (I couldnt keep any food in me except crackers...not really condusive to a competition diet). Of course when I was feeling better, my body held onto EVERYTHING and I ended up putting on more weight which has been very hard to drop off. Our bodies are build to survive and when I got that GI Virus, my body went into survival mode, hording my calories and hanging on. Needless to say, one week out I looked like shit!

       After talking with Coach, she thinks that its mostly just water weight and will fall off during this peak week. This is a smaller show, and I paid for it, so I am just oging to go balls to the walls and give it my best! So of course, this will be a hard peak week.

     Normally, I dont do anything extra special this week, because I have gotten to where I need to be (stage ready) through normal means of diet and exercise, but since I have to actually drop this time, I may have to experiement with diuretics (although I hope not). My carbs have been dropped fully (usually I still get some carbs this week), and my cardio is still high (normally I stop all workouts by weds), but I am mentally tough! Not to mention I still have my full-time job, son, family, and clients this week too! Life goes on.

       This show date marks 12 weeks out from the USAs. Since I have been dieting since December, I would really like some time off to be a little more relaxed, perhaps enjoy some food at a baseball game, etc. I just have to be very careful post show to not rebound since this week is so hardcore. No major splurging for me! The better I maintain, the less pressure USAs in July will be. Here is to motivation and wish me good luck!


If I look ok, I will post Spartan (May 3rd) pics. :)

Why is every post a "Welcome Back?"

Seems like I just can't stay consistent on here!

I live a pretty busy life being a full time mom, having a full time job, training some clients in the evenings, and of course my own training and contest prep, and I try TRY to write blogs for various sites. I can't do it all and I am learning that, and that is a whole other blog post.

As for now, I competed in March, the San Diego championships, and I got 2nd place - Lessons learned: HAVE A BASE TAN. That is all. Next show is 3 weeks.

I hit the stage about 7 lbs heavier than last Feb, and 5 lbs heavier than last March. Goal is 132 for the Spartans in May 3. I am loving my prep this year, it is not to hard and I am finally learning balance and how to not over indulge in my off-times. I feel like this year is a good year. I plan on competing all throughout the year. :) More later, when I have a bit more time :)