I find myself sad thinkin about this prep ending. As much as i'd like to eat and get back to being a little more normal, i can't help but be saddened to know that soon this journey will be over. You work sooo hard for so long and then bam all the sudden its over....the lean muscle u took so long to scalp out gets covered back up with carbs and food and your daily life no longer revolves around getting to that date. I'm sure alot of girls kina feel like that. I sense of loss, for somthing that was so much a part of your life for so long.
HAHAHA, but really i cant friggin wait to eat me some CHHESCAKE FOR REAL!!! That keeps me happy :).
I asked Gary Udit for the judges names also. He gave me these names, but didn't know exactly who was on the panel and didn't think the head judge (whoever it was) knew either. Not much help. Couldn't get e-mail addresses for most and the ones I e-mailed for feedback didn't reply. At the competitors meeting, it was stated that the e-mail addresses are on the website, but that isn't true.
Jim Rockell Matt Crane Linda Wood-Hoyt Steve Weinberger Debbie Albert Ernest Bea Quincy Roberts Lee Thompson
Note that only two -- Linda Wood-Hoyt and Debbie Albert -- are women.
Really though, is it the diet? The training? The individual? Or a combination of all three? That was the awesome question posted in the GeneX Forums last week.
If you're not already a member, the boards are a great place to learn anything and everything about the ever-growing sport of Women's Bodybuilding.
Some of the answers that peaked my interest are as follows:
"Annie" a trainer of both bodybuilders and figure competitors said:
It depends on the woman as to how they will respond to weight lifting and given that response where THEY personally want to take it. I looked like a bodybuilder the minute I started lifting years ago; I am a mesomorph. I train a woman, Rachael McMillan who is very similar in body type to myself and she responds just as well. She is a bodybuilder. I also train a woman who trains WITH Rachael and I and she trains just as hard as us. She does not build large amounts of muscle easily. She is a figure competitor.
The figure competitor (Sonya Garner) does the same exact workouts as Rachael and I but of course with lighter weights; however she is still lifting as heavy as she can personally lift. I adjust her workouts just weeks before contests, less sets...but that's just for a few weeks. She busts her ass with cardio...very high intensity...no low heartrates here. Rachael and I do the same. Sonya diets harder than us because she holds stubborn fat on the upper hamstrings.
In my opinion, it depends on the body type of the individual. Just because someone is 'smaller' does not mean that they do not train as hard to achieve their desired look. If some of the ladies do not train as hard because they will get 'too big' then maybe they should have chosen bodybuilding, who knows? If those 'figures' are easy for some women to attain and they do not have to train as hard, God bless them! I'll leave it at that.
"Babydoc" said her training has changed dramatically since she switched from figure to fitness:
For fitness, my workouts are specifically designed to help me with my routine; I need endurance and power to do quick, explosive movements as well as a very strong core to execute the strength moves/presses. In addition, I have on average 4-5 hours/week of gymnastics and routine practice per week.
With fitness, I also have to keep a very tight rein on my weight during the offseason--as I have to continue to tumble and work on new routine skills/elements. As you might imagine, it is very difficult to flip around and to hold your body weight up on your hands if you are carrying a lot of extra weight!
A competition diet for fitness requires more carbs and fats than a figure or bodybuilding diet since we need energy to perform a two minute routine. The weight loss must be very gradual in fitness since the routine practices get more intense as the weeks go by.
In fitness, our physiques are permitted to be a bit more muscular and harder than the figure girls. This is a result of the fitness routine training. It's darn near impossible to do a strong fitness routine and maintain the level of "softness" that the NPC/IFBB likes to see in figure.
Other folks said that the main differences for them, since switching, was diet. Most seemed to agree that other than a change in caloric-intake, they still lifted as much as they could year-round.
Generally known for size and definition, Sarah Dunlap presented an entirely different look for the Europa Pro Show. Here's she's certainly the thinest that I've ever seen her. If you look at her and Collete Nelson, to name two, it seems that some of the women most known for size and defintion were deliberately aiming for a look much more in the area of "figure" than "bodybuilding" -- a sign of things to come??
Here's totally ripped Kim Perez, who also was the focus of the controversy at the Europa Pro Show as some congradulated her on her overall muscularity and definition, yet she did not win, place, or show.
In a night of controversy, Heather Foster -- middle -- won the Europa Pro Show in Arlington, Texas. To the right is Colette Nelson and to the left is Dena Westerfield.
Even though the judging may have been questionable, a good look at the winners does reveal a consistent muscular style. Even though I think only women should judge the contest, the men were not as uneven as some claim in my view.
For all of those who think women's bodybuilding can't draw corporate sponsors...
from left to right: Lena Squarciafico-Sanchez, Colette Nelson, Elena Seiple, "emcee" Scott, Heather Foster and Lisa Aukland on the set of the Virgin Mobile ringtone commercial shoot. Photo: Tom Dellinger
It's all over the message boards from GeneX to Unrealmuscle. Observers are bashing the decisions of the judges at the Europa Pro Show.
The basic overall criticism is that the winning women, starting with Heather Foster, all lacked well-defined legs. As one poster put it:
"Originally Posted by Ally Taay
That said, if the lady bodybuilders had known that Heather Foster's thick midsection and smooth quads were going to take #1, perhaps none of them needed to diet at all. WHAT were the judges looking for? Collette has personality and beauty, but this is a BODYBUILDING contest - - not a beauty pageant.
All three of the winners lacked LEGS! I guess a top hat and cane or a slinky blue dress can overcome the lack of calves and quads (future competitors, take note!)"
And it goes from there.
The one voice no one's heard from is that of the judges themselves. As for me, I didn't attend the event, and totally object to the domination of the male in the judging ranks. Indeed, it may be time to have all women judges for female bodybuilding. More and more, we're seeing a group of men as judges that seem to be threatened by a really well-defined and muscular woman. It's almost as if there's a kind of culture war underway.
As for Colelte, I think she may have known what the judges were looking for, as her legs -- especially her thighs -- have been bigger in the past. Perhaps she did her homework, but still only got third place.
I'm going to congradulate Heather Foster on her victory. She's certainly and arguably balanced in her build, but Tazzie's a hard one to pass up in my view.
Medium Class: 1) Karen Patten* 2) Susan Groshek* 3) Amy Nelson 4) Angie English 5) Regan York 6) Sara Flom 7) Colleen Baldwin 8) Viko Newman 9) Safiya Johnson 10) Amy Johnston 11) Lori Smith
Tall Class: 1) Laticia Jackson* 2) Leslie Rae Newton* 3) Michelle Mayberry 4) Sandi Stuart 5) Liza Hughes 6) Sheri Vucick 7) Kristin Marie Acherson 8) Alissa Carpio 9) Lena Sanchez 10) Dawn Parker 8) Evette Wigfall
* eligible for IFBB pro card
Pro Figure 1) Amanda Savell* 2) Michellle Adams* 3) DJ Wallis*
Figure
Overall: Sonia Adcock*
Class A (5'2" and under) 1) Sonia Adcock* 2) Shelby Right* 3) Melissa Froio 4) Kristin Gomes 5) Jennifer DeJoya 6) Tivisay Briceno 7) Sherlyn Roy 8) Selena Zinno-Radzai 9) Jennifer Gates 10) Jessica Nabinger 11) Tiffany Procopio 12) Jodi Miller 13) Carmen Chavez 14) Jean Jitomir 15) Heather Whitworth-King tied for 16th: Toni L. Hatcher Tonya Burkhardt Kelli A. Correa Angela Komis Mary Acoury Karen M. Bock Fredericia J. Brant Audrey Burk Christine Camacho Jill Knight Cindy F. Martinez Yves Nunez Kathryn Payton Julie Schoft Lori Steele Misty M. Tidmore Vicki Counts Jillian Wolf
Class B 1) Kristi Tauti* 2) Tessa Wood* 3) Andrea Ferry 4) Allison Jones 5) Melody Clere 6) Karen Mullarkey 7) Gale Elie 8) Denise Rose 9) Stacy Cannady 10) Stacy Adams 11) Katrina Robinson 12) Sarah Hoy 13) Halcyon Duarte 14) Elissa Schlichter 15) Viko Newman tied for 16th: Michelle Woodward Eydie Anderson Amber Black Danielle Colgan Edith Driver Michele Pome
Class C 1) Corry Matthews* 2) Amber Steinmetz* 3) Michele Naylon 4) Becky Clawson 5) Angie Picarello 6) Ginger Redeker 7) Lynn Widdowson 8) Grace Rivera 9) Gina Ostarly 10) Amy Nelson 11) Jennifer Cowan 12) Heather Green 13) Jana Stewart 14) Teresa Ruybal 15) Christine Ritchie tied for 16th: Tanya Pennington Debra Dunn Sheron Falcon Dr. Angel Allison Heidi Hanson Sarah Pawlicki Toya Smith Camille Westhoff
Class D 1) Nina DeTommaso* 2) Jelena Abbou* 3) Tracy Guarino 4) Christine Ranking 5) Kristy Stone 6) Yashanda Stafford 7) Danielle Kifer 8) Kiersten Weber 9) Dawn Parker 10) Abby Eyre 11) Natalie Verges 12) Michelle Bishop 13) Carol Ruiz 14) Kimmy Addiego 15) Amy Burkins tied for 16th: Karen Sherman Heather Miller Danielle Carrington
Class E 1) Elisha Archibald* 2) Stephanie Collins* 3) Stacey Boles 4) Paola Almerico 5) Nola Trimble 6) Stacy Clary 7) Catherine O'Guin 8) Jennifer Schumm 9) Shari Yates 10) Suzanne Barlas 11) Ginger Hutchinson 12) Vicky Ann Crouse 13) Dorothy Trojanowicz 14) Rebecca Ibbs 15) Kimberly Schaefer tied for 16th: Joan Totaro Guiliana Casalan Ginger D. Hutchinson Aimee Palinkas Dena Anne Weiner
Class F 1) Cheri Lewis* 2) Amy Fry* 3) Simona Douglas 4) Misty Green 5) Alicia Marie 6) Avis Ware 7) Melissa Montanaro 8) Christine Holland Morrow 9) Michelle Troll 10) Stephanie McDonald 11) Caity Hunt 12) Jessica Wright 13) Teresa Anthony 14) Traci Redding 15) Shawni DeSalvo tied for 16th: Danielle Rouleau Jessica Steffens Jamie Justin Amy Bates Felicia Bruno Tatianna Butler Tycie N. Coppett Maria Corsaro Heather Foster Martha Lepe Tamee Marie Violet Mundy Amy Odle Francesca Okoye Elise Prucha Sonia Razo Jamie Reed
Your host Kate Troescher and me, Zennie Abraham, have created a new video blog show called "Kate On Sports" at www.kateonsports.com The first show's September 5th 2006.
Here's the promo for the show, which was made using Blip.tv
