Along the way my passion grew into more and I began competing in Figure competitions in 2009:

• British Natural Bodybuilding Federation (BNBF) Ultra Bodies Competition Women’s Figure, 1st Place Open Class, Best Abs Award
• International Natural Bodybuilding & Fitness Federation (INBF)
• USAG Stuttgart Germany Bodybuilding & Fitness Competition, Women’s Figure, 1st Place Short Class, 1st Place Overall, earned WNBF Figure Pro Card
• Muscle Mania Northern Italy Regionals, Women’s Figure, 1st Place/Overall
• NPC Kentucky State Championship, Women’s Figure Class B, 2nd Place, National Qualifier

Contest Diet

The best way to implement a plan such as this is to make your meals ahead of time.
It is easier to stay on track when the right foods are readily available.

Meal 1: 4 egg whites scrambled with 2 oz ground chicken breast, ½ cup oatmeal.

Meal 2: 2 scoops Ultimate Muscle Protein (UMP) mixed with water.

Meal 3: 5 oz lean protein (usually chicken breast or fish) topped on a large salad always including tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet peppers, red onion, drizzled with red wine vinegar; plus a 4-5 oz sweet potato, lightly salted, and with red wine vinegar to moisten it.

Meal 4: 2-3 oz of tuna (in water) mixed with one chopped dill pickle and 1 tbsp light mayo, 1 medium tomato in 4 slices. I top each tomato slice with the tuna mix and avocado slices. Close to competition I omit the mayo and avocado.

Meal 5: 6 oz lean protein, 2 cups of steamed vegetables, usually broccoli florets and/or cauliflower.

Meal 6: On occasion, if I feel extra hungry before bed, I have 1 scoop of BI UMP pudding made with water.

Even more importantly, as a wife and mother, although my family does not adhere to such a regimented diet, I do my best to cook clean for them as well. At first, I would make “their dinner” then “my dinner.” Until one night I looked at the 2 different meals and saw a big problem. My family was eating processed fatty foods while I was eating a healthy clean meal. It all changed at the moment. Why was that food okay for them but not for me? Why was I taking in all the wonderful nutrition while they weren’t? I began incorporating clean diets for my husband and children. So now when we sit down at the dinner table we all enjoy a healthy meal together.

Preparation Tips

I cooked 1 lb of ground chicken to last the whole week for my breakfast. I also cooked egg whites up to 3 days in advance and keep them in separated containers in the fridge. I add 2 oz chicken to each egg white container so I can easily grab it and take to work. At work I store a container of quick oats oatmeal, a ½ cup measuring cup, a bowl and make my oatmeal in the break room at work. Every Sunday, I buy, wash, cut, and store all my fruits and vegetables. I build one very large salad with all my desired veggies and store it in the fridge. This stops me from having to build a new salad every day, I just serve a couple handfuls and I am good to go! I bring my salad to work in a freezer bowl to keep it cold.

I keep several must-have items at work so I don’t have to carry them back and forth from home: oatmeal, Uncle Ben’s individual microwavable brown rice servings, utensils, red wine vinegar, Splenda, salt and pepper.

Training

Split Routine over 6 days. Each session targets 2 muscles groups with under-trained areas addressed twice a week. The exercises remain the same for 4 weeks with each week changing variables such as rep, sets, intensity, and/or rest periods.

No matter how the program is designed, there are always plyometrics involved at least 1 day. Sample:

Monday – Glutes and abs

Tuesday – Back and chest

Wednesday – Delts and abs

Thursday – Glutes and hamstrings

Friday – Biceps, triceps, and abs

Saturday – Legs

Sunday – Rest

Cardio schedule

5 days a week: usually 3 sessions of 30 minute HIIT, and 2 sessions of 45-60 minutes moderate intensity steady state. If I can’t get at least 30 minutes in one workout session, I will do what I have time for even if it is only 15 minutes. But in that short time I will go at a very high intensity leaving myself exhausted. Then go back that evening and do at least 30 more minutes of cardio.

TIME MANAGEMENT

Everyone’s experience is so unique and everyone encounters different challenges. For me, my hardest obstacle to overcome during contest prep is time management. Managing all of life’s day-to-day aspects gets harder when you add consistent training, prepping meals, posing practice, so on and so on. So I would like to share this with BI readers who are wondering how they can do it.

This is a small segment I wrote to share with my FB page followers that reveals my dearest secret to accomplishment:

Mental compartmentalization. This is truly my “secret” weapon to living a military life, raising children, maintaining my health, the health and happiness of my family, and finding time for self-improvement. I mentally compartmentalize my entire life by breaking it down into the main areas:

• Family/Home Life/Religion
• Fitness (Gym/Exercise Time)
• School/Education
• Social Relationships
• Work

Each of these areas is important to me so I groom them separately. Of course they overlap each other at times, but helping them flourish takes extra effort and we have to give each the individual mental attention they need to do so. For example, when I first decided to compete, I was working full time, in school full time, my husband was deployed, I was raising 2 very young toddlers in Europe with no family near, and I was going to train for a competition. I had to tackle each area separately. Here’s how. When I stepped into work I did my best to block out the other areas. I didn’t worry about what assignment had to be accomplished for school or what workout I was going to do later. I focused on work and work alone. When I left work, I left thoughts of work there as I stepped out of the office and into the gym. In the gym all I focused on was conditioning for the competition. Yes, many times I heard people saying I was stuck up in the gym, but socializing was not on the top of my list at the moment. When I left the gym and picked up my kids, my focus for the evening was all on my 2 year and 3 ½ year old daughters (favorite part of my day). As soon as they were in bed, I opened up my laptop and school books and thought about nothing but how I was going to rock out this A-paper. When I could not concentrate another second, into the kitchen I went to prepare all my food for the next day, got all our bags lined up by the door, caught my 7 hours of sleep and by 6:15 am, the girls and I were out the door for another day just like the previous. Two of the best feelings of my life were walking across the stage graduating from college with honors, and then 2 weeks later walking across the stage accepting 1st place in my first competition! Although my husband was not there to witness either, he was so proud!

My point is that we all have “stuff.” List your “stuff,” weed out what is not important or makes you unhappy and put the rest into categories. Then find a way to arrange your categories into manageable areas of life. At times in our lives this will be easier or more difficult. But it can be done.

Age: 33

Occupation: Air Force Weapon System Supply Management Specialist

Family: Married 9 years to my best friend, Zack. We have 2 amazing daughters, Ryah (7) and Ella (5)

Current Residence: Shiloh, IL (near St. Louis, MO)

Years training (total): For competitions 3 years; for general health about 10 years Height: 5’4; Off Season Weight: 120-122, Contest: 115-117

Height: 5’4;

Off Season Weight: 120-122, Contest: 115-117

Favorite Bodybuilding Meal:
It has to be my egg white and veggie (onions, mushrooms, zucchini, and tomato) scramble with a bowl of oatmeal and strawberries. 

Favorite Supplements:
Without doubt BI’s Ultimate Muscle Protein both chocolate and vanilla. I use UMP as a source of well-balanced protein supplement to help support lean muscle gains. There are so many ways I include UMP in my diet. The most convenient is just a 2-scoop shake with added water to my desired consistency. I will drink this after my resistance training session or as a meal later in the day. I also like to make UMP pudding using 1 scoop at a time mixed with enough water to create a pudding consistency to enjoy with a spoon.  I also make protein pancakes – 3 egg whites, 1-2 scoops UMP, cooked oatmeal ( ½ cup measured prior to cooking), water, cinnamon and vanilla extract to taste. Combined and made like pancakes topped with sugar free maple syrup. As a small dessert at night, I mix vanilla UMP, 1 tbsp PB2 with water or unsweetened almond milk until pudding like, topped with 2 Tbsp fat free Cool Whip. I actually crave this! These are just a few examples.

Figure Presentation tip:
Don’t compare yourself to the other competitors, that’s the judges’ job. Accept that you are nervous but be confident!

Most Inspiring Book:
Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff by Richard Carlson, Ph.D.

Favorite Hobby or Interest Outside of Bodybuilding:
I love to cook and bake and find new healthy recipes. I am putting together many of my own recipes to someday publish a cookbook for busy moms and dads who want to be fit and healthy and give their family the same advantage.

Words to live by:
In my own words. “Excuses are like bad manners, we all have them but it doesn’t mean we should use them.”