New blog is UP!!

http://kimberlywardmitchell.blogspot.com/


Here it is, everybody! Go check it out!!

New Blog Coming!!

Hey, everyone!!

Boy, it seems like FOREVER since I've blogged! And I've missed it so much!

But I've needed this time to put my thoughts together with regards to my family, my career, and my fitness goals. Believe me....you don't want me blogging if I'm just a rambling fool. lol You really want me to have a point, don't ya? :)

Very soon, I will be launching a brand new blog. It will be focused on more than just figure competitions. I'll include my fitness routines and contest prep, no doubt. But it will also contain some family stuff, recipes I'm trying, and crazy random thoughts. I'm finding out that life is SOOOO much more than just competitions. My off-season is well under way, and I'm excited to share with you all the great changes I'm looking to make for the 2010 contest season!!

The new blog will be available for the public, so you won't have to wait for an invite. This blog, however, will stay private until further notice.

And thanks much for your support, thoughts, and prayers. It's been a very tough 6 weeks since I decided to end the 2009 contest season. But now that I know the direction I'm headed, things are looking up. What else can I say but God is good!

So stay tuned!!

Thank you!!

I am in awe by your responses to my blog. Because of your encouragement and prayers, I will NOT stop blogging. I will do my best not to step on any toes, but I can't promise anything. Sometimes, no matter what we say, toes will be stepped on.

There is so much I want to say, and I believe there are people who need to hear it. Eventually, I will open up this blog to the public again. But for now, I'll keep it simple, with this tight group of friends. :)

Thanks so much!!

Kim

Off-Season....a lil bit early

I'm officially calling the 2009 figure comp season complete. It's time to move into the off-season, enjoy my family, enjoy some good food, and make some good changes for next year.

You might be wondering why I've gone private on my blog, and why I've removed some of the content. Well, it comes down to this: people will read my blog and hear my words and somehow miscontrue what I'm saying. Words get twisted. This has happened recently. I guess honesty is NOT always the best policy.

So for a while, I'm closing shop. Please forgive me. I'm burned out with comps, tired of dieting for a show, tired of all the hurtful words that are part of it all. Those who need me most are my family, my true friends, and my clients.

And I'm going to give them ALL of me. :)

Thanks for listening. And thanks for your prayers and love.

Pittsburgh: Day 1

After a slight 5-hour detour in Richmond, we arrived in Pittsburgh at 10:00 p.m. last night. The detour is a result of my co-competitors' car losing oil pressure and dieing on the 295 interchange. Waited for 1 hour for the tow truck...waited 4 hours at the Ford dealership to hear it wasn't fixable...waited 30 minutes to rent a car. Ugh....but we made it.


Started off the morning with a shower, shave, and exfoliation, followed by coat 1 of JanTana. After that dried, I went to the host hotel to check in, get my badge, and scope out the competition. #262 is my contestant number....and how cool is this? Psalm 26:2 says, "Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; Try my mind and my heart." (Thanks to an amazing friend for this affirmation). :D

I'll talk more about my photoshoot later....because it is worth spending time describing. I will say that I felt like the most beautiful woman in the world. Jeff Binns was the photographer, and he got some tremendous pics. Can't wait to post them!! After the shoot, I met 3 more photographers, and I have 2 more shoots set for Sunday morning. COOL!!!

I'm about to get my 2nd and 3rd coats of JanTana in a few minutes...just returned from watching my friend compete in the Men's Masters prejudging. Never in my life have I seen so many bodybuilders in one place!! The classes were HUGE!! Not sure what that means for figure, but it doesn't matter. It's my dream, darnit. lol

Speaking of dreams, I have to say a word to my good friend and client, Suzie. She is competing in her first figure comp tomorrow morning. I started working with her about 4 weeks ago to help her prepare for this amazing first-time experience on stage. Over the last 6 months, she has lost a good deal of weight and has made tremendous changes. But I know she's scared right now. It is frightening, doing this thing we do. There are girls who will blow her away, and there are girls that SHE will blow away. One never knows...but I'm so freakin' proud of her. This is her dream....and I want her to show the world exactly how far she has come. Placing or no placing...trophy or no trophy...she is a winner!! GO...SUZIE!!

And now, it's time for me to prepare for myself. I'm excited, nervous, anxious, and oh so tired. But I feel good about tomorrow. The venue is interesting: a ballroom with a stage. Much different than the auditoriums I'm used to competing in. And there are high-rise stairs for me to climb...IN HEELS. Oh, gee-wiz. lol

Day 1 is complete. Day 2 is yet to come.

For His glory....always, for His glory.

Ready to Go! (Well...almost....)

Here it is, Thursday, July 16th, 12:52 a.m. I'm leaving the house in about 6 hours, and I still have stuff to do. Geez...nothing like waiting until the last minute!

Right now, I'm cooking up my chicken and waiting for a load of laundry to finish. Everything else is packed...pretty much...but I'm sure I'll forget something. As long as I don't forget the biggies -- suit, heels, makeup, hair stuff, tanning agent, and jewelry -- I should be OK. I can always buy deodorant and toothpaste when I get there (people use deodorant and toothpaste in Pittsburgh, right?) lol

We've got a long drive tomorrow, but I'm glad we are leaving early. We can get checked into the hotel and relax. Nothing to do tomorrow but prepare for my photoshoot friday morning and my show on Saturday.

OMG!! My photoshoot! I have a photoshoot on Friday!!

I haven't blogged about this, but I'm SOOOO EXCITED!! My very first opportunity to get some really good figure/bodybuilding photos from a professional photographer. Can't wait to post the pics here for my friends to see....WHOOPEE!! :)






Before I get back to packin', I must show the pics of last weekend. I met IFBB Pro Bodybuilder Phil Heath at Discount Supplement Direct (a great store owned by my good friend and fellow bodybuilder, John Carr). The first pic is John and me; the second is Phil and me. I wish I could have talked with Phil longer, but honestly, I was star-struck. Didn't know what to say to save my life! All I know is he was beautiful and a totally wonderful person. He is a fantastic example of what bodybuilding is all about.


I'll try to blog tomorrow when I arrive in Pittsburgh. Thanks for your support everyone!! Let's do this thing!!

Remind me: Why Do I Do This Again?

6 days out of 2009 NPC Masters Figure Nationals...

I've sat down to this blog box at least 10 times, trying to write something. Writers block is a terrible thing. So please, be kind with your critiques of the below text. It's not my best work. ;)








After being completely overwhelmed by my first national figure competition back in May, one might assume that I would never set foot on a national stage again.

You work and work and work and work.....for what? Only to be completely taken aback by the competition. Here's my life during contest prep:

1. Diet for 12+ weeks. I'm not talking about dieting in the sense of cutting back on fastfood and limiting your icecream consumption. I mean DIET. The same thing, everyday...chicken, fish, oats, yams, greens, egg whites, protein powder...repeat. And that means there are cravings that are out of this world. Every hour of the day, I find myself craving something: peanut butter, nuts, a cookie, a pancake, some ketchup, or a potato chip. But I don't cave...because athletes don't cave.


2. Train HARD. I'm not talking about a quick, moderate intensity trip to the gym a few times a week. Yes, this method worked for me way back when I first started losing weight. But now, my body needs more. 4-5 times a week of strength training...heavy strength training...split into muscle specific routines. 3-4 days of short but majorly intense HIIT cardio sessions. And if I miss a workout? It will show on stage....I guarantee it.

3. Irritability. This paragraph should be written by my husband and my children. They know how I get when I'm dieting and training for a show. But somehow, they love me through it. They know how much I want this, and they are incredibly supportive. But it doesn't change the fact that I can get down right ugly sometimes--I mean, wouldn't you? If you were eating this way, and your body's metabolism is on fire 24-hours a day, and you can't sleep because all you want to do is raid the refrigerator, and you can't go out with friends because they just want to eat food and drink beverages that are a "no-no" for you....all that adds up to a not-so-nice-lady.


4. Keeping up with the rest of life. You know what I'm talking about: a house needs to be cleaned, kids need to be fed and shuffled from function to function, laundry needs to be washed, a dog needs to be fed, groceries need to be purchased (that's another story), doctors' appointments need to be kept, lawns need to be mowed, etc. And then there's work: clients need to be trained and motivated. And I admit, it's tough to motivate others when I don't feel motivated myself! How do you tell someone to "stick with the plan!" and "be consistent" when all you want to do is crawl in bed, throw the covers over your head and hibernate for the weekend?


Thankfully, I have an amazing group of clients. They have hired me because they know I'm a real person who struggles. I get frustrated and angry and need to be encouraged, too. They know I'm not going to blow sunshine by telling them everything in their life should be happy and carefree. IT ISN'T! Life gets crappy sometimes...but God is bigger than all that.



So why did I even decide to continue with another National level show? Ahhh...that's a good question.


I'm doing it because I love to be challenged. I love to push myself beyond what I think I'm capable of. Maybe I'm a little bit of a risk taker, too. And believe me....it's risky putting yourself through all that work for just a few seconds on stage, not knowing what the judges are looking for that particular day. Do they want hard? Do they want soft? Do they want quad separation? Do they want a lat spread? Do they want a model look today or something a bit more muscular?

Heck if I know...and heck if I care. I am doing this for me. And I will walk on that Pittsburgh stage in 6 days and give them what I've got. Because I LOVE what I've got.

Now, that doesn't mean I haven't tweaked a few things. My training plan hasn't changed one bit. I still lift heavy, although right now I'm staying in the 12-15 rep range. But my diet has included a few more carbs, and my cardio has increased just slightly: 3, 30-minute stepmill sessions per week. I've added 3 days of ham/glute work (walking lunges, booty blasters, prone leg curls), and I've lightened up just a bit on my quad work. And I have softened up my poses, too, which should make a difference.

Oh, and I changed my hair. Which I LOVE, btw. :)


It comes down to this: I love this sport. And I want to learn everything about it. I also want to continue to challenge my mind and my body to be the very best. And if figure competing provides that challenge and motivation, I will continue with it.

But if not, well...there's always bodybuilding. ;)