“Some succeed because they are destined to, most succeed because they are determined to” ~ Unknown

Fitness Motivation:
Happy Monday Everyone!!  Not only are we starting a new week, but we are also starting a new month! It is now 3 months left until New Years 2008!! Do you know what that means? You have 12 weeks to get in awesome shape - This is the perfect time to take out your goal sheet, write new stats and envision bringing your best body into 2008! Life success is created from a balanced mix of destiny and determination. You’ve got to have ‘will’ behind your motive. SO get determined today by creating some aggressive goals for the rest of this year. Plan! Plan! Plan! And enjoy every moment on the way!

Greetings from Vegas! I’m here at the Olympia Show - all my predictions won! It is 5:30 am and I just took a shower from dancing all night at the voodoo lounge.

I found these clips of me when I was helping bb.com on their live webcast. For all y’all who haven’t met me in person - this is hilarious! Firstly, I didn’t know the audio was on when I was wearing it…so THAT was funny! This was cool since it shows the Expo from my experience. Check it out if you weren’t able to attend the O show!!

When I first met with the crew at the Expo.

Behind the Scenes with Will and Richard from bb.com

Visiting with Don Long at the Expo

So - it is 12pm in Vegas and I just recovered from a long day of

- Going to the Expo
- Watching prejudging for fitness and figure
- Hanging out with the bb.com crew and the live webcast
- Attending the Fitness Show
- Eating afterwards…

And coming home at 2am!
—-
And now! For the results! As predicted, Adela Garcia won. She performed her salsa routine (which she also performed for the Arnold) - she looked great, she performed well - and she was the natural winner from the beginning.

Other great moments:

- Kim Klein, (this year’s Arnold winner) looked beautiful. She had great transitions, an awesome physique and an “all American girl” look to her. She placed 2nd.

- I LOOOOVVVVEEEDD Jen Hendershot’s routine!! It was AWESOME.  She had a great “Britney” routine where she had 3 wigs! She came out drunk, left drunk and was absolutely hilarious. She is a HUGE crowd favorite and despite her lackings  in the ‘physique’ round, she managed to place 3rd.

- My favorite competitor, Tanji Johnson, received 4th place (as she did last year) with her Mighty Mouse routine. She had an awesome ‘not too hard, not too soft’ physique and stood out being one of two African American girls on stage. (Stacy Simons being the other one: btw - Stacy had an amazing routine too!! She is sooo flexible!)

- Other great surprises was this Russian competitor (forgot her name but will include it later) she had a ’slow’ routine and really showed her flexibility, strength and gymnastic ability. IT was my favorite routine!! (close 2nd is Jenny’s)

- Iris Kyle won Miss  Olympia. She was huge. I’m not a big fan of that sport - but if I were to take away my personal judgements, I do have to say that she stood out amongst her competitors.

- I sat for a short while with the guy I met the other night (Gary) He had seats right across the aisle from me! It was interesting to talk with him since I constantly asked who his ‘favorite’ was and his answers were always: “I have no favorites. I can’t be onstage so I can’t judge them”

- The bodybuilding prejudging was lastnight.  No big surprises. Jay Cutler was a favorite..but I have to say that the crowd really rooted for Ronnie Coleman. I was also REALLY impressed with David Wolf and Victor Martinez. Putting politics aside, I think Jay and Ronnie don’t have the best physiques…it were up to me, I’d say Victor Martinez had a great presentation. Also - Hidetada was a HUGE crowd favorite! He brought a great physique to the stage…I will post pics later!

Gotta Go!

Hello y’all! I woke up early this morning to get ready for the expo - after trying to figure out what the heck I should wear to compete with half naked girls and lots of abs and boobs, I decided to wear a nice, white, ‘virginal’ dress. LOL! I definitely stood out!

The fitness show was awesome! All the girls looked tight and confident. They had an amazing 28 figure competitors! ALL of which have different body types…naturally, Jenny Lynn had the most admired physique…so it will be interesting to see who will be placed in the top 5.

MY PIC FOR FIGURE OLYMPIA:
1. Jenny Lynn

MY PIC FOR FITNESS OLYMPIA:
1. Adela Garcia

I did some live cam with bb.com - so check their site out! Also, there is a head camera (I also had fun playing with) being viewed on justin.tv/bbcom

I ran into some good friends like Scivation’s Marc Lobliner, ISSA’s Don Long and Natural Freaks crew! There were also beautiful fitness models like Jamie Eason, Brenda Kelly and Marzia Prince manning the booths.

Right now we are resting up and getting ready for the fitness show tonight - as well as the bb prejudging.

I will post pics later!!!

So I arrived in Las Vegas at 3pm yesterday (Friday) and met up with one of my favorite mentors: Mike Mahler!! I was able to see the great landscapes of Vegas via a dog park - which was awesome!

Afterwards I attended the ‘meet the Olympians’ events at the Mardi Gras Ballroom. It was interesting as I recognized good friends and acquaintances. The first man to greet was Bob Chicherillo - dressed in his best, and taking pictures. The hall was filled with tons of fans and bb enthusiasts with all the competitors lining the parameter of the room. Naturally, Jay Cutler and Ronnie Coleman had the longest lines, while other competitors were greeting their fans and posing their DARK, tanned muscles.

Some competitors seemed very anti-social and unapproachable - especially some who sat behind their tables and didn’t stand up and seem warm and talkative.

But in all honesty - it did seem like a ‘freak show’ - almost like a circus…where people were taking pics of the competitors eating, drinking…just absolutely amazed at their size and veins.

In fact, as I walked around, I heard a lot of people conversing about that ‘freak show concept’…so unfortunate since the competitors are human, they trained hard and they are more than just a body.

BUT THIS WEEKEND - it’s all about their bodies…!!

Afterwards I ate at “Fridays” and met another person who was dining alone! He is from Oklahoma and came for the show - but also to view Vegas. I ate a lean meal and called it a night!

BUT BEFORE I got to the hotel room, I ran into the men of bb.com! Richard and Will correspond with me frequently online - so it was nice to see these funny fellows in the elevator area!!

I was sooo annoyed when I found my camera was DEAD - so you won’t find any pictures from lastnight except for the one I’m posting below!

More pics coming soon! Will is on my left. Richard is on my right!

(more…)

“He who has health has hope, and he who has hope has everything.” ~ Arabian Proverb

Fitness Motivation:
Regardless of what’s happening in your life, if you’ve got good health, then you can still do something about your life. One of the worst things to feel is an inability to move your body in active motion to make progressive changes. It sounds cliche, but when you are depressed, sad, down and out…at LEAST you have your health. So take care of your health. Your body is the greatest commodity you will ever own.

For all of y’all who don’t know about the world of bodybuilding and fitness, allow me to educate you!

The biggest show/competition is happening this weekend in Las Vegas on September 28-30th. There will be fitness models, protein bars and lots of muscles!!! If you haven’t been - it’s worth the experience. I attended the show two years ago and was excited to see my favorite competitors, beautiful models and be in the company of my ‘boyfriend at the time’: Louis Dorman.

There is much to be said about ‘the industry’ - in all honesty, the idea of being in a town where drinking, strip bars and sex is rampant…doesn’t really appeal to me. In addition to my recent vents on the ‘whole mythical idea of the fitness industry’ - GOING there doesn’t really make me jump up and down. I’ve been in L.A. for a couple days now and in San Diego as I type! I will make my trek over there tomorrow to watch the “meet the Olympians”…I will update y’all on this interesting ride later next week!

Here’s a great article I wrote in 2005. It is a ‘funny’ article that showcases 14 great travel tips. Enjoy!

Olympia 2005 was the first time we both made the trek to the bustling city of Las Vegas to watch the biggest fitness show on earth.

We weren’t planning on writing this article, but we learned so much from our experience together that we created 14 Fitness Tips on what we gathered from our first experience at the Olympia together.

This is a special account based on personal photos and stories on our road, as a fitness couple, to the Olympia.

Click To Enlarge.
A Fitness Couple At The Olympia.

10:00pm, Wednesday, October 12, 2005

[ Louis ] I am waiting for Maria to arrive in Phoenix airport. I haven’t seen her in a week and I am dying to get some good loving from the woman of my dreams!

[ Maria ] Baby don’t be stupid! You’re making people think you actually like me.

[ Louis ]So Maria arrives and of course I end up in the wrong terminal somehow… we finally meet at baggage claim and I could see her smiling from afar, wearing one of my t-shirt designs!

Click To Enlarge.
Maria In My T-Shirt Design.

[ Maria ]As soon as I saw Louis I could not stop smiling… finally I just stopped in my tracks and made him walk towards me because the drama leading up to our embrace was soooo annoying!

[ Louis ] Afterwards I took her to one of my favorite lounges, where we shared the first of many healthy meals we ate all weekend.

Read the rest here!

“Motivation will almost always beat mere talent.”- Norman R. Augustine

 Fitness Motivation:
Now I’m sure you’re wondering…why the heck is this a motivational quote? How is Norman’s quote supposed to make me feel like getting off my couch and doing something today? THIS IS WHY: because many people have talents, in fact all people have talents…but the biggest difference between the winners and losers is that the winners all find a way to motivate themselves every, single day towards their unique cause. They follow through. They dream. And most importantly, they Deliver.  All of you have seen people who have ’so much potential’ but don’t do ANYTHING about it….do something now. Knowing your talents is not good enough, finding motivation to utilize that talent and taking action is good enough..

“The early bird is the first to get the worm.”

Fitness Motivation:
I love this quote! WHY? Because I AM AN EARLY BIRD. MOST fitness people wake up early because they are ampt and ready to get the day going…that first priority being their fitness. IN FACT, my former boyfriend, Spencer Fesmire, texts me this quote every morning at 530am which is why I have such a strong connection to this phrase. If you are excited about life, you want to take action. A great man once said, that “nothing is achieved without enthusiasm.” SO be Enthusiastic! Get Moving! Wake up! And be the first to get the worm!!!!