Yikes! i just realized it's been three weeks since my last entry! Guess I have been busier than I thought!

 

A good busy! I just wrapped up another 6 week session of my Ladies Boot Camps and it was awesome! Each session that passes ends up being the best session to date! I am lucky to have a great group of women who see the value in putting in that hour twice a week for themselves and step outside their comfort zone. Being only two hours a week, there are lots of things you can do in every day life to screw up that number on the scale, but I was super impressed with not only the changes in some of these womens' numbers (one woman dropped over 15 lbs!) but the changes in FITNESS levels were astounding! I start each session taking weight, measurements, and callipers and I also test for power, endurance, and strength. I think it's important to evaluate your progress and it gives me a chance to evaluate my programs as well. I am always looking for new exercises and circuits to challenge these ladies and I love when a program can really offer something different for someone and produce amazing results!

 

The next session will be running from January 5 - February 11. Tuesday And Thursday mornings. I will be posting my registration up online before Wednesday.

 

So many things to do before Wednesday! My husband and I are heading to Vegas once again that morning for a short 3 night trip. I'm super excited for it! We'll be doing lots of shopping, dining, and shows! I can't wait to get dressed up and have fun for a few days before i go hard for 16 weeks starting December 12. Michael is excited to hang with Grandma and Grandpa for the week and we are so lucky to have them nearby for our little man.

 

A couple of shout outs to friends and clients of mine - the first one is one of those random 'feel good' stories for me. A few months ago I was contacted by a friend of a friend who wanted a meal plan to lose baby weight. Very typical scenario, I worked with her and sent her off a plan that was customized for her but I never did hear from her again. I don't chase people down and i certainly understand that sometimes it can be tough to follow up or even follow the plan at all. I am always here for people and I love follow up, but life happens and it can't always be a perfect scenario. Anyways - I got an email last week from this girl asking for another plan. To my pleasant surprise, it was because she has been following the plan I had originally given her for the past few months, she has dropped over 25 lbs and now she figures she is at a plateau and has a new goal to reach. Awesome!!! I love hearing stuff like that!

 

Another journey I want to point you towards once again is my friend Heather's cause. Heather is currently 21 weeks away from her first Figure show and is tracking her progress and her story on her blog http://www.heathershealthypromise.blogspot.com There is a greater purpose to her journey as she is asking for weekly donations that she will match to an prganization she works very closely with - Hands at Work. Heather travelled and worked abroad in Africa last year and is encouraging all of us to not only take care of ourselves but also to contribute to the well-being of others who are less fortunate than us. Please contact her to be a donor.

 

And less than a month until Christmas! Woo Hoo!

 

 

I was just thinking that it's now been over 4 months since my last competition and as I look to the 2010 season, I really realize that the contest diet plan is just around the corner.

 

So what do I want to do?

 

This year was a letdown in a couple of areas but also a great setup in others. I wanted to win the ABBA (Alberta Bodybuilding Association) Albertas, and I didn't. I was second to an amazing and inspirational woman, Cindy Jones, in a clean and fair win. That was my peak show for the season and my only Fitness show. I was able to experience competing in Figure for the first time both with ABBA and WBFF (World Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation). It was great to get on stage more than once and I think it definitely made me comfortable in presenting my physique, but I figure I have one more season left before the Tzavaras clan expands, so I want to use 2009 as the ultimate setup for 2010!

 

My number one goal is to get my IFBB Fitness Pro Card. Whether it is next year or 10 years from now. That is the ultimate for me. The IFBB is the overall governing federation for the CBBF and the ABBA. IFBB Pros include the big names you might be familiar with - Arnold Schwarzenegger! Also for the women the stars include Monica Brant, Jen Hendershott, Jenny Lynn... the IFBB is kind of the old school 'original'. And it is really the most desired federation for professional fitness. That said, there are lots of other federations featuring their own professional ranks and perhaps if I were to be pursuing the avenues of Figure or Fitness Model, I might be shopping around more as an amateur to find the federation that would be most suited to my physique.

 

This year, the IFBB is holding a drug-tested event in Montreal on April 3rd that is a National Fitness event. It would be great to compete in Fitness in the Spring and use my 2009 routine one more time before retiring it. I have an important doctor's appointment on Monday for my options with my hernia (yes, I am secretly 80 years old) and unless I will need to be taking significant time off for this I would like to begin dieting for this show right after the new year. A bonus about this show is that for the first time, they will be giving out an IFBB Fitness Pro Card.

 

Next on the agenda should I need to re-qualify to the National level would be the ABBA Fitness Provincials in mid-June - in Calgary! Which is cool... and hopefully my redemption! The Fitness Nationals are in Ontario at the end of August which is where they will be giving away another Pro Card and then LAST CHANCE to go Pro in Fitness will be September 3-5 weekend in Cleveland, Ohio at the North Americans. So three major chances in 2010 for a Pro Card. After next week, I will be solidifying the process to peak for these shows with my trainer, but for now it's fun to just look at the possibilities ahead. It's also fun to be surrounded by a large group of women with similar goals. I am working with quite a few girls working towards their first and second shows this season. I also have the current National Fitness Tall champion - Kira Forrester coming out for my Wednesday Night Adult Gymnastic classes which is fun and also motivating because she is really going for that Pro card in the same category this year and as it stands we will be on stage together several times this year.

 

For fun shows - I am thinking of doing the Calgary WBFF show once again on July 3rd. I did Figure last year and would like to try doing both the Figure and Fitness model categories this year for the different experience. That means I get to do theme wear! Fun!

 

Another event I have been looking into (Seriously, I am not doing 101 shows this season!) is the Women's Tri-Fitness Championships. They hold events usually in Las Vegas and Florida a few times a year and there are 4 categories - a grace and physique (Swimsuit) round, a routine round, a Fitness skills event (box jumps, bench press, shuttle run), and an OBSTACLE COURSE! How fun would that be? They only have there info for their next event which is next week - I somehow don't think I am going to get into shape for that one! But I plan to keep checking back and keeping my options open!

 

Right now though, I have to get the go-ahead for the intensive season - getting this hernia resolved, and my back problems managed. Then it's full out!

 

I am on a really great off-season program right now. Tons of food, lots of variety, dynamic circuit training, no cardio, with my weight holding in the mid 160s and I can still wear size 29 jeans and medium tops on a regular basis. Certainly not the 'lean machine' I would like to be all year round, but not a bad place to be with the amount of freedom and normalcy i feel from day to day.

 

Other exciting things in life right now - Michael is feeling much better, my Mom is taking yoga which is awesome for her, I leave for Vegas in three weeks and got amazing seats to several shows, I am almost done my Christmas shopping, and my Boot Camps are halfway done and already there has been tremendous progress among my ladies.

 

Life is good.