Arnold Bikini Prep Update

Hello all! Just wanted to inform my friends and family Im not stepping in the stage this upcoming week as I have not reached the conditions I desire to attain to compete on stage. After chatting with friends, my coaches, etc. I thought about what I really want to present on stage in both mind and body. You all are the best and I have never been closer to where I want to be as a human being. I am gaining so much in contest preparation. You know what they say, if you don't succeed... :)

Adriannie Stephanie

Quotivation!

At times when I'm feeling particularly down or demotivated I often turn to quotivation for a pick me up. I just wanted to share quotes that particularly moved me and remind me to keep persisting. Hope you like them too! Feel free to add on any additional ones to my facebook page or post a blog comment.

STRIVING FOR YOUR BEST
"I live life with purpose to be my absolute best at everything I do. That, to me, is what success is at every level." - Kai Green

YOU DO YOU
"No one but you knows how hard you work, how many hours you put in behind the scenes, so rely on yourself for approval, not the outside world." -Unknown

"Not everyone will understand your journey. That's fine. Its not their journey to make sense of. It's yours."

"If your dreams don't scare you, they aren't big enough."

OBSTACLES

"You can either allow the obstacles in your life to be the excuse for your failure or make them the reason behind your success."

VISION

“The first step toward creating an improved future is developing the ability to envision it. VISION will ignite the fire of passion that fuels our commitment to do WHATEVER IT TAKES to achieve excellence. Only VISION allows us to transform dreams of greatness into the reality of achievement through human action. VISION has no boundaries and knows no limits. Our VISION is what we become in life. ”
― Tony Dungy


"I think, therefore I am." -Descartes

“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.”
― Albert Einstein

“Nothing is more imminent than the impossible . . . what we must always foresee is the unforeseen.”
― Victor Hugo, Les Miserables

BE AN INSPIRATION

“Every child needs a champion.”
― Hillary Rodham Clinton

Choosing Your First Bodybuilding Show

**Many thanks to friend Josh Burt for his contribution to this post*

    Do you want to compete in Bodybuilding so don't know how to go about choosing a show? This post was written for you in mind :) Here are the key factors to account for:

CURRENT STATE OF YOUR PHYSIQUE

Across the board, all coaches I spoke with asked to see initial front, back, side, and abdominal pictures. They will also want your height, weight, and body fat percentage results. I prefer the 9-point caliper testing with the same test administrator under the same conditions. A good coach will have knowledge of where and when to get you started. See my second post for more details on this! Especially if this is your first show, you want some cushion timing to adjust to the new prep. Most competitors prep 12-16 weeks from what I have read so far.

COSTS OF COMPETING

        No joke, bodybuilding can be expensive. For almost all competitors there is the cost of specialized food, personal trainers, coaches, transportation, tanning, posing classes, competition federation membership, and entry fees. Women have the added expense of heels, designer suits, hair, and make-up. In a nutshell, this is not the cheapest sport to compete in so check your bank account before filling out that show entry form.

DO YOU HAVE A COACH?

     I personally highly recommend a coach that has experience competing, knowledge of the sport, and a sound nutritional/training philosophy. (Of course the last criterion is up for debate). Aim to get a coach with judging experience that you feel communicates well and you feel comfortable with. If you don't have this first, I highly recommend reconsidering starting show prep.

*WHAT DOES THE COMPETITION MEAN TO YOU*

    You will need more direction and focus now than ever. Consider why you want to compete. To better yourself in some way? Win the attention of that certain person? Hit a personal goal? Become a professional bodybuilder? Personally, my drive stems from being the best me and living out the character-based principles I have set for myself. Bodybuilding has made me more punctual, dependable, agile, interdependent, free-spirited, and competitive. I prepare compete with the goal of winning the trophy :). That's just my bodybuilding philosophy.

Now, take a look at that NPC calendar and start planning :)

Going Public: Strength Training

     A few people have inquired about my current workout program to date. It has been, once again, designed with my end competition aesthetic in mind so this program may not workout for you in particular.

     The days for working particular body parts are not set, but rather I try to gauge my energy level, schedule, etc. to work it all in a day at a time.

A typical week might look like this:

Mon

Fasted AM Cardio :30-:60 min (stairs, cycling, swimming)

PM leg workout

Tues

Fasted AM Cardio :30-:60 min (stairs, cycling, swimming)
PM arms

Wed 

Fasted AM Cardio :30-:60 min (stairs, cycling, swimming)
PM shoulder, abs workout

Thursday

Fasted AM Cardio :30-:60 min (stairs, cycling, swimming)
PM back workout

Friday

Fasted AM Cardio :30-:60 min (stairs, cycling, swimming)
PM back workout

Sat

Fasted AM Cardio :30-:60 min (stairs, cycling, swimming)
PM chest workout, abs

Sun - REST

    The leg days are of particular importance because the lower body is of prime importance in the bikini division. I know my quads are well developed but my glutes and hamstrings and much less so. Hence the lower reps for the exercises that aim to create muscle in those areas. A sample leg day might look like:

Leg press 4x25reps
Jump squats 4x15
Lunges 4x30
Squats 4x15
Leg extension 3x25 1x50
Frog jumps 4x15
Glute bridge 4x15

leg abductor 20 X 4 sets

leg adductor  20 X 4 sets

    For overall fitness and a starting point for most fitness levels, I highly recommend Jaime Eason's Livefit Trainer. It's flexible, flesh, and straightforward. Try it out!

Link here: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamie-eason-livefit-trainer.html

Choosing Your Bodybuilding Coach

      Many friends have asked me "Where does one find a bodybuilding coach?" I'm sure some have done it through word of mouth, at their local gym, or through search engines. I wanted to share exactly how I found my coaches.

      I first started by looking at perhaps most of the most obvious of places - an NPC show schedule. Found here: http://npcnewsonline.com. On it was the committee's complete list of competitions throughout the nation. I eyed coaches  at locations close to home (Florida) so that I could work individually with my coach during academic breaks and compete locally.

      To my pleasant surprise the promoters and contacts for these competitive events are listed on the same page so I simply picked up the phone and started calling numbers and asking around. I spoke with coaches who discussed their training philosophy, personal competitive experience, training track record, availability, etc. 

        After some time I decided on my two fabulous coaches, Chris and Allison. This married couple has over 20 years of experience as competitors and coaches and train bodybuilders and non-bodybuilders alike.  Not to mention both are NPC judges and bodybuilding event promoters. The Eaddys train bodybuilding athletes and others full-time in central Florida. I've found they are incredibly detail oriented, supportive, kind, and constructive. The couple's simplistic but effective nutrition plan is exactly what I need to be on point to compete. Also, their adjustments to my training and posing have allowed me to overcome the training/knowledge wall I recently hit. My body has responded so much better to my workouts since! I also can finally pose now! 

      Here are my coaches on the stage :). To find out more about the Eaddys you can visit their website here: http://www.teameaddy.com/index.html

Chris Eaddy

Allison Eaddy

      I can't stress asking around enough, doing your research and doing it early! Off to work, friends! Oh, and as for the progress picks they'll have to wait. The photos are looking better but I think I deserve a grand final reveal :).

-Adriannie

MAKING PROGRESS IN POSING

~ Dear all, my apologies for the unannounced hiatus on my posts. Focusing on the culmination of my crashed computer, getting a bit disorganized, and focusing on family stuff got me a bit distracted but I'm back on the grind :).~

   
     I have begun posing lessons with my bikini coaches, which I was so excited for! Posing in bikini, in comparison to the other bodybuilding categories, differs in that flexing is minimal.  My coaches, who are both NPC judges and bodybuilding promoters, advised me that the only pose requiring flexing is the back pose.  So, for the most part, focus is on posture, gracefulness, and "personality." The latter is a form of stage presentation on the part of the competitor unique to herself.

     The biggest challenge I have noticed so far in posing is  establishing bodily self awareness. As a bodybuilding competitor your job is to present the best physique possible while appeasing the aesthetic tastes of the judges. A competitor must know his or her best angles to flatter the final  package he or she might bring on stage while manipulating perspective, lighting, etc.

    My second biggest challenge with posing has to be the discomfort of being critiqued with so little clothing on. It is a foreign feeling having professionals in a world of incredibly athletic, toned people chime in on the areas to improve on your physique. However, all the comments have been incredibly constructive and seeing my weak points in the mirror  motivates me to get on that stair stepper in the morning to get even closer to my goal.

     To practice, my coaches ask that I practice 15 minutes every day. This serves both to help with my balance (I don't wear heels often) and comfort on the stage. I use the time to imagine what it would feel like to be in the competition mindset. "A quarter turn to the right," I can hear the judges say on the microphone. I imagine my fellow competitors, the chitchat backstage, and knowing my work in the gym is done and all that is left to do is in front of the judges. I will have the feeling of accomplishment knowing my consistency, integrity, dedication, and passion have all brought me to that point.

       At every session I feel as if I'm learning a choreographed dance. At this moment, I feel my movements feel a bit choppy and mechanical, but I know with practice they will become more natural and lithe. I am learning that the best bet in bikini is to master the posing to convey confidence, gracefulness, and of course, best flatter the physique presented. On that note, off to bed to prep for an AM cardio session.

More on NPC Bikini Posing with my girl, India Paulino

Be Positive. Be Mindful. Be Persistent.

~Adriannie~