Trip to Fort Lauderdale: Inspiration/Motivation Found

I haven't written a post in a few weeks because law school is rudely interrupting my blogging career. But I'm still working my butt off in both school and my contest prep program. Here are some updates:

Trip to Florida (& the Resulting Inspiration!)

Last weekend I flew to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Florida is my team's (Team Bombshell) "base". During this trip, I got to meet my coaches (Shannon Dey and Gennifer Strobo) as well as several of my Bombshell teammates. This was very exciting for me for 2 reasons: first, it's hard to really feel like you're truly part of a team when you haven't met your coaches or teammates in person. Second, I really look up to Shannon and Gennifer because they're experts in preparing for competitions. They are role models for me and I loved getting to know them in person.

I also got to help out backstage with the Fort Lauderdale Cup (a bikini, figure & fitness competition held annually in Ft. Lauderdale). I originally planned to compete in this show, but since I switched from the bikini division to figure, I couldn't be ready in time (oh, and that little obstacle called "the first year of law school" slowed me down as well). Here's a picture of some of the gorgeous figure competitors onstage from Flex online:

I helped out backstage and had a great time meeting people and watching the competitors onstage. Here's a picture of me with one of my favorite competitors, Jaime Baird. She's incredibly beautiful inside and out. Additionally, her husband, Eddie, is a pro competitor and an attorney! So he and I talked about law school while assisting backstage.

I left Florida feeling inspired and motivated again. It suddenly seemed a little easier to stick to my strict diet, because I had met other women who did the same thing with incredible results. The best part about the whole trip was how nice everybody was. Every single one of the pro competitors I met was kind, gracious and willing to give me tips & advice.

Progress Update

I told my best friend out loud that I wanted to compete on March 17 in San Diego for my first figure competition. As I said this, it suddenly became real. My coach told me last night that she thinks I can definitely be ready by then (as long as I quit my "nibbling" habit - I'm workin' on it!). Here is the flyer for the competition:

Also, I got my first figure competition suit! It's not a fancy one because I'm mostly using it just to take weekly progress pictures (believe it or not, the top professional competitors purchase custom-made suits that cost hundreds or even THOUSANDS of dollars!)

Those Last 2 Reps...

Training in the gym has been going well. I've recently learned the vital importance of those last 1 or 2 reps of each exercise. When my coaches told me months ago to "push harder" in the weight room, I thought to myself, "I don't know how!" But recently, I've learned that I must push beyond the point where my body said, "Ok, this hurts now... time to quit." And I've been seeing better results (and feeling more sore!) because of this.

The point is, don't be afraid to push your body to it's absolute limit (*without injuring yourself!). You are probably capable of more than you thought.

Personal trainer certification?

Lastly, I have realized that at some point in the future, I want to share my love for fitness and training with others. I know firsthand how confusing all the information available can be, and I want to help people figure out what works for them and see results.

I bought a book about personal training certification (for Dummies... ha ha!) and will hopefully find time over winter break to start looking into it.

Consistency + Patience = Results

I struggled this week with school and figure competition training. I've reflected on that for the last couple of hours (during a pedicure which my gross, callused feet desperately needed), and I can see that the universe has been trying to teach me 2 important lessons: faith and patience.

Struggles in School...

Regarding law school, the first few weeks were pretty exciting because it was a brand new endeavor. But now I'm realizing that the pace and workload are going to increase significantly as we get closer to December. Final exams will be here before I know it, and on top of that everyone will be trying to secure a great 1L summer job. Because of these reasons, it would not be wise to let myself start getting behind in my reading. I've got to keep reading cases until my eyes fall out of my head. Is the end result of all this work going to be worth it?

... And in the Weight Room

In terms of my figure competition training, I've been getting a little discouraged about how long it takes to see results in my body. When you work SO hard for something, it's natural to want to see overnight results. I want Nicole Wilkins' muscles right NOW! Bodies, however, do not change overnight. One of my awesome Team Bombshell coaches, Gen Strobo (who is competing at the Figure Olympia as I write this! GO GEN!) reminded me of this as I complained in an email to her that I'd been struggling. She insisted that with consistency in my diet and workouts, day in & day out, I WILL see results.

But It'll All Work Out...

The struggles I've had this week both in the classroom and the weight room have illustrated that, first of all, nothing worth having is easy, nor does it come instantly. Second, in order to stay motivated and focused on my goals, I must keep reminding myself to have faith in my everyday efforts, even though they seem small. Sure, individual court cases in my textbooks can seem unimportant and boring ... but every single case counts toward learning the law & ultimately becoming a great lawyer. And every time I curl a dumbbell or do a lat pulldown or a squat, my body is a little bit closer to the awesome figure competitor shape that I want. All the effort counts.