Judges' Feedback (and a new approach)

So I was finally able to get a little feedback about my Jr. USA showing. What they said is that my "quads are too thick and muscular." They didn't remember the glutes being an issue (probably because they aren't an issue anymore! Yeah!) They recommend I go lighter on the weights and higher on the reps for my quad workouts.

That's like punishment for me, since I adore lifting heavy, but I'll do it. For now.

But I am a little confused by the quad thing. Because a few of the girls in my class who placed higher than me had some mean looking quads. Yeah, mine were a tad meaner, but I feel it's a few other things that brought my number down.

1. My waist is nonexistent. Work on building up the upper body, and slightly toning down the lower body to create a more symmetrical shape.

2. My boobies are nonexistent. Get a boob job. (I'll discuss this later...that's a whole other blog post, my friends.) But in all honesty, having a larger chest area does create a nice balance between the upper and lower body. I agree. It's not so much a sexy thing as a balance thing. But I'm sure the appealing look has something to do with it.

3. My presence/face has been nonexistent, in the national spotlight at least. Simply put: this panel of judges has never seen me before. They like to see familiar faces, look for improvements from show to show, and reward progress. That's the truth. Hopefully, when they see me again in Pittsburgh in July, they will notice some improvements and reward me, too. :)

My coaches, friends, and I discussed the feedback greatly this week. As I've said before, I love my legs. I love the lines. I love the cuts. I love the size! And it's sad that I have to basically hide all the work I've done. At least in figure. If I were a lightweight bodybuilder, well, I could continue training the way I do and show it off. And have fun doing it.

Female bodybuilding is sorta a dieing sport, unfortunately. Figure is the NEW female bodybuilding. Not sure I agree with that. But there is a stigma associated with bodybuilding. Some women have chosen to take it to the extreme and make it a masculine sport, while others remain feminine and sleek while showing off the size and cuts they've created. My friend, Lisa, is one of the latter. She maintains her feminity and performs the most beautiful poses I've ever seen in female bodybuilding. She fixes her hair and face, wears beautiful posing suits for both prejuding and finals. And she looks absolutely fantastic!

You might be wondering where I'm going with this. "Oh, boy! Is Kim making the switch to bodybuilding?" No. I'm not switching. I don't believe we have to do one or the other. Why not do both? In figure, don't flex so much. In bodybuilding, flex the heck out of your muscles. The difference between the two isn't necessarily in the size and hardness of the physique. The difference lies in the posing....and the lack of heels. :)

When I first started this figure journey, I had a few goals in mind. First, I needed to do this. After losing 40+ pounds over the last several years, I needed to prove to myself that I could do this. Once I did that, my goals changed. I wanted to see what my body could do, so I started training heavier and eating to support my workouts. The result? Muscle grew and fat burned. Then, I wanted to end up in a fitness magazine, such as Oxygen or Muscle and Fitness Hers. That's very hard to do, even if you are 1st in your class in a national figure show. It takes alot of promoting and photoshoots and agents getting busy. It takes work, work, work to get your face out there.

So the question is: Would I be ruining my chances of landing a magazine gig if I chose to compete in both divisions? Because if the only reason I am competing is to get my face on a magazine, well, that's not a reason. For some women, it is. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that goal. Please don't hear me putting down women in fitness mags!! If it happens to me, I would be very incredibly happy!! Wow! More opportunities to tell my story and help others!

But I've seen the way some of the magazines are posing figure gals. Not Oxygen and M&F Hers, but a few bodybuilding mags. And honestly, I couldn't do it. It's nothing but sex. If I have to pose like that to get a gig, then I'll let those ladies have the job. As a mother and a Christian, I feel I need to maintain a testimony; and how I display my body is important to me.

To wrap up my sermon for today....lol...

I love this sport: both figure and bodybuilding. I believe figure can go either way: Muscular or soft. Each year it seems the look changes. You really never know what they want. So do I make changes just to satisfy judges or do I rebel and do my thing and say, "screw it! If they like me, fine. If they don't, I don't care!"

I believe I can do both. I want to change my physique. I will make the changes they suggested, but not because I want to win in figure. I will make the changes because I love to see my body change. If I win, awesome. If not, well, it's about the journey for me. Always has been.


New Approach to Workouts

Here is my new workout schedule for the next 6 weeks, leading up to Masters Nationals.

Chest/Back: Focus on building the lats to give the appearance of a smaller waist. (you know physique contests are all an illusion, don't you? It's the appearance of strength). Lift moderate to heavy. Twice a week.

Delts/bis/tris: Focus on building up my delts even more. Arms are fine, but I like to train arms, so I'll probably lift heavy here too. Twice a week.

Hams/glutes: Slightly lighter weight and higher reps but same moves: deadlifts, hamstring leg presses, plie squats, walking lunges, glute kickbacks, prone leg curls and standing leg curls. Once a week. Still wanting to lift glutes and round them. Start with stepmill or stair stepper as warm up.

Quads/Calves: Circuit training for now. Very high reps and lighter weight. Moves includes full squats, step ups, and leg presses. Calves remain high reps with moderate weight. Once a week. The quad circuit looks like this:

20 min step mill or stair stepper
25-50 reps of each exercise, performed back-to-back
10 min step mill or incline walking
25-50 reps of each exercise
10 min step mill or incline walking
25-50 reps again

Cardio: 3 X per week, 30 minutes in a.m., 30 minutes in p.m., usually stepmill or stairmaster. Moderate to HIIT intensity, depending on my mood.


The Future?

Who knows with me! I'm just loving this life, and I love doing new things. So keep your eyes peeled and let's see where this journey takes me. For my next figure shows, I will not flex my legs as much so the lines won't show. Pretty simple. As far as taking a bodybuilding approach? Well, I'll keep you posted. :)