Prep Files - That's a Wrap

Well, it’s official - I’m an NPC bodybuilder!

I think that first photo is my fave - my heel slipped as I hit my first pose, and I really thought I was going down for a split second! Priceless.

After 5 months of prep, this journey is finally at an end. It’s been a couple of weeks since the show, and I’m still processing everything. It was both more and less than I was expecting - it was thrilling to step out on stage, and I love looking at my photos and videos, but I’m not sure I would do it again. Despite my best efforts, I spent way more than I should have and got a little weird about food (I’m still struggling not to eat everything in sight sometimes), and I didn’t do nearly as well as I’d hoped (basically last place). On the other hand, I think I’d probably do a lot better now that I know more about what I’m doing, and where else am I going to wear the bikinis that I rhinestoned by hand? It’s kind of hilarious that I’m still this ambivalent about the sport, even after competing.

The Nitty-Gritty

I was really hoping to place, but I ended up getting 7th out of 8 in my class in novice, and 8th out of 9 in my class in the open. It was a definite blow to my ego, but when I got my photos back and saw the comparison shots, it was earned. Don’t get me wrong, I know I look great! But a big part of bodybuilding is posing, and mine didn’t display my physique as well as it could have. One thing I would definitelly do if I compete again is get a posing coach - that’s something I find very difficult to figure out on my own. I’m still waiting on my feedback, but I’m guessing they’ll have some comments about my conditioning (I wanted to come in about 5 lbs lighter than I did), upper glute fullness, and possibly my tan.

Oh my god, the tans. It’s crazy - I’m ghostly by nature, and I thought I was DARK after 4 layers of ProTan Competition Color. Dear reader, standing next to my competition, it was like a printer had run out of ink.

I’m still in the process of setting new goals, but one thing I know I want to do is keep getting stronger. A lot of my lifts unexpectedly went up during my prep, and I attribute a lot of that to training with intensity and intentionality. I’m trying to bring that same energy into the gym in this post-competition phase - I know what I can do now, and I’m excited to keep pushing myself to do even more.

I’m probably going to to a deeper dive into how much things cost and other, less pleasant aspects of competing, but for right now I’ll end on a celebratory note. I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to do this, and yet I did! If I can do that, what else might I be able to accomplish?