Holiday reflecting!!!

Yes again i have been missing but i have been busy planning, and on my first real overseas holiday which i went on my own :)
I left on May 22nd from Brisbane, a quick stop over in LA and first actual stop for the Trip was New York City. This is where i meet up with another Team Norton member Ebony who i had never met but planned via Facebook/skype, being another fellow Aussie in the big smoke we had a ball from Training in various gyms our Favourite was Bev Frances Power House Gym, we did the tourist stuff, attended the New York Pro and also experienced out very first Broadway show which i must say was still one of my highlights on this trip. I could have spent a month in New York it was great after 5-6 days next stop was Washington DC.
I trained it to Washington and finally arrived at my destination, the hotel i was staying was like a room from a horrer movie lol (I watch way too many scary movies)! Thankfully i was not their for too long! I enjoyed the sight seeing and riding the bike around the city. I was able to enjoy some nice meals i could fit to my macros as i was nice and close to a Whole Foods Supermarket!
From Washington i flew to Mobile, Alabama where Ebony had me there for a few days. We trained, went and viewed a BattleShip and headed to movies. Then our road trip to Clearwater was up next.
We didn't have great weather there but we did get in a good day at the beach and i got roasted ( i never learn) Another cool gym experience we trained Downtown Tampa at The Powerhouse Gym, there was great energy and we also saw Ifbb Pro Erin Stern training amongst the crowd. I can't thank Ebony enough for her hospitality and company and i hope to be able to return the favour next time you are home in Oz :).
The reason this holiday came about was that i was heading to attend Layne Norton's Natural Bodybuilding VIP camp as most know this incredible man is my coach and i was lucky enough to meet him in Australia in April this year, the camp was planned in December 2012 so it was a long time coming and something i was super excited for. I arrived in Tampa on Wednesday June 5th were i also meet up with some other Aussie team members and co. Getting settled in hear the following day we woke to tornado warnings.
Not only this trip was happening at this point in time my partner was about to become a dad, (This is the hard times i was dealing with through my last prep - but we have come through fighting and are stronger then ever) A very overwhelming moment to say the least, thankfully i have had some incredible support leading up and going through all this and this camp was just what i needed to be doing for myself.
There are really no words that describe how amazing the camp was getting to train with pros and experts in the industry left me speechless, also the knowledge these people shared was just mind blowing. I left camp feeling smarter hehe!! I now feel like I'm truly part of the Team Norton Family Layne and Isabel are wonderful people and all the people they brought to us campers were an amazing bunch i can't thank them enough for this opportunity. I still feel like i have post camp blues!!!
Next stop was Miami and everything that went wrong pretty much did not the best trip there but we live and learn i stayed here with a great group of Aussies, Joey, Courtney, Evan and Tom. After our lil adventures there next and final stop for me ... Orlando!
Got to meet up with Paul( from the camp) and his wife Misty and trained at Golds Gym another awesome gym! I attended Disney World which to be honest i was a lil let down by i guess I'm not that big kid i thought i was... Maybe it was the 35 degree heat or the 6hrs and only 3 rides bit.
And today my final day of holiday and i have decided to just put my feet up and hang out!
I have loved my trip the only thing that didn't go to plan was me hitting my macros I'm guessing i have put on 3-4kg which i am really not happy with as i had set a goal of not getting above a certain weight in the offseason and this would put me above that goal. So as of now i have set a goal to hit my macros and see where i am at on Saturday 22nd and Layne and i will decide whether i do a mini cut to get back to that weight again. I will report in next Saturday to see what happens.
Let the journey of balanced offseason body begin!!!!
Thank you for reading!!! xo

Time slips away when you are easily distracted 20 Weeks, 3 shows and Life in between!

Well blogging my journey to the stage 2013.... What the hell happened! I got through week 1 and then..... NOTHING lol so here is a lil recap on my 3rd  journey to the stage!

I started with a 20 week prep and starting weight was my heaviest to date 67kg!
My nutrition and exercise was probably the easiest prep so far i got to the stage eating more, doing less  cardio and the happiest i have felt with how i looked considering all the hiccups i faced along the way!

The hiccups:
At about 17 weeks out i finally took some time off work with my partner to just chill as it had been way to long, we had a great time went to a concert, spent time hanging out on the beach and we also got robbed while we were a sleep at home! 2 laptops a camera and my wallet :( first thing i was mostly worried about was the fact i couldn't track my food on my computer and then i realised 3 years of unsaved photo memories were also gone.... Devastated to say the least! But continued to push through this little challenging time.

Christmas approached fast which made me nervous as my previous preps always ended around christmas and this is where my blow outs usually happened post comp i saw this as a great way to look if i could get through Christmas sticking to the plan i could just about get through any event. It came, i saw i conquered!!!! And i even managed to fit my refeed on Christmas Day :)

Between Xmas and New Year i had some devastating news that involved my partner and has changed my life forever, here we are at about 11/12 weeks out this was when i just wanted to throw everything i was working towards out the window. I think having the focus of my goal to compete was what kept me sane to be honest in this hard time. I had (and continue to have) amazing support from family and friends who without them i don't know how i would have dealt with things the way i have. Also having the support from seeing a councillor previous to this situation arising and then continuing on to see her has also been a major factor for me to be able to keep my head held high. What has happened still is with me to this day and some that a close to us both know about it and im sure as time goes by others will find out about it. But with Mick and i working through it we have become stronger and such an amazing team. (This can all be left yet for another blog i am sure)

Back to the shows.....First up was Fitx in Melbourne :) I had never travelled for a competition before which made me a lil nervous in itself, will i forget something, how will my body respond with a flight? Will i be ready in time, how do i stop stressing?.... the list goes on. But what a great experience it was We arrived on the Thursday and got ourselves to the motel, organised food and then pretty much relaxed. Mick had his very first Men's Physique show on the Friday and we just wanted to be settled and relaxed for that. Getting to see him on stage for that was incredible i was so extremely proud of him to have followed through and make it to the stage with all that he and i were going through. This was the very first time Men's Physique was at an Australian event and we were not sure how the judging was going to go with what thy were looking for, in my eyes (non biased) i though Mick brought an incredible look and that he suits this division very much so. He placed 5th in a line up of 16/18 men.

Saturday was my turn this was my second IFBB show my first in 2011 where i think i placed 4th, i once again competed in Novice short class and i placed 2nd at this huge event. When i look at the pics i feel i was a little fluidy and not as hard as i was hoping to be im not sure if it was a combo of, stress, flight, to much walking around the day before as well as being  hormonal. But i was extremely proud of myself and had a great crowd of friends out there supporting me :) Thanks to all that came and cheered me on. The whole FitX experience was awesome, from the competition to the expo and meeting some of the awesome pros who kindly spent time to chat and encourage me to follow my goals and dreams. I love Melbourne it was a fun filled weekend :)

My second show was a week later here on the Gold Coast The IFBB All Female classic, this was an exciting event to be apart of as it was the first to be held :) after the weekend before i thought i may as well step up into Open class i had now done 4 shows and thought it would only help me see where i kind of stood in an open line up, unfortunately my line up only had 3 competitors including myself where i placed 2nd, still over the moon about this i was happy that i could see i had brought a tighter package to the stage and that was my goal for this show. It two was a great show which was run very well and i made some new friends out of it :) The day after this show i had a blast with a photo shoot with Dallas Olsen i can't wait to purchase some of those pics :)

2 weeks 2 shows and 2 second places i thought what the hell lets just do one more.... this one i planned to do purely for the experience The IFBB Australasian show held in Sydney, where Mick also joined me again in stepping on stage this season. As nervous as i was i took the stage in Open short class again and got totally smoked by the amazing girls on stage with me it was so cool though to be up on stage with new and old friends in the industry and to see just where i need to prove my physique, bring on a thicker, bigger upper body!
Once again i was happy with how i looked i feel each show i came in better and better. Mick was quite unwell on the day and still managed to get up on stage and do an awesome job :) It was an extremely long day for us both but a wicked experience.

I love competing and i already can't wait to do it all again. Thats it for this year though i have a lot of other things coming up which i am looking forward to.

A few people i'd like to give a huge shout out to that helped me get to the stage :)
My coach Layne (and his beautiful wife Isabel) he is always there through the ups and the downs and always believes in me! Thank you.
Mick through the darkest moments and the uncomfortable times you have propt me up and encouraged me to never give up, you have made me a stronger person, Thank you.
My Family - you guys are there for me no matter what... Thank you!
My friends - You guys rock there is just to many of you and I know when you read this you will smile and know who you are :) Thank you
Team Norton - What can i say you guys are frigging UNBELIEVABLE :P Keep up the awesome job Guys!
Nutrition Warehouse - my sponsors who without them i'd not get through my workouts lol! Thanks for your ongoing support and amazing supplements :)
IFBB Australia - for the great opportunities to step on stage at your wonderful shows

And last but not least i'd like to thank MYSELF for never giving up, for picking myself up after i fell and looking deep and believing i can achieve anything i put my mind to!!!