I’d like to point out that Cat’s still 6 lbs from her contest weight, which at this level of leanness is HUGE! Expect her abs (not actually flexed in this shot) to be seriously chiseled out for her June show!
S
Those DELTS!!
Well, you were lookin’ pretty. 
Sorry to hear there weren’t more women at your competition, and the posing routine was strange and unexpected. That would just feel like a nightmare to me. Being on stage in front a bunch of strangers, scary enough. Not knowing what I’m supposed to do up there, would be the worst. I saw some video of some competitors here at the Muscle Beach show doing some free form dance-type moves. I couldn’t figure out what division it was, but I thought "There is No WAY. "
Looking great Cat, especially for a practice show.
I’ve always thought it risky to do these… I get the point of them (practice for the show that really matters) but on the other hand, since you are still technically weeks out from the “real show,” you are really setting yourself up for a mental roller coaster unless you can remain completely objective to the fact that this show doesn’t really matter, which is tough to do.
And yeah, delts are crazy.
Wow, I was dead on with the boulders on the shoulders. My gosh!!
I think you look great , and can only bring it up that much more with the next show.
Thanks so much for the compliments everyone!! I’m totally ok with the results of the contest now, two weeks later 
@Lonnie - you are dead on about a warm up show. I went into it knowing I wasn’t at my best, however when I saw there was only one other competitor (who had about 10 pounds to lose), at first I was disappointed there wasn’t more competition, then I though - “I got this.” When I didn’t win, I was sooooo upset. What made it worse was that I knew the reason I didn’t win was my stage presence. Granted, they called all these non-figure poses, so I’m not sure what they were judging us on, but I know my stage presence, walk and transitions into the quarter turns needed work. I really didn’t practice posing at all, and although you don’t see it in the stage pics, it was noticeable in my walk & non-smile while transitioning into poses. As my sister said quietly to Stu, “this may be the kick in the ass” I need to start posing and quit whining about no time. Unfortunately, contests are won on more than the physique you bring to the stage, it’s also what you show the judges and how well you show it - lesson learned!
The people & competitors at my gym are so supportive. There’s a national level competitor who started going to the gym we go to, she and Stu are friends. She has been helpful, offering to practice posing with me and giving advice on what she does for her glutes. Oh, by the way, I’ve added a new glute exercise to my routine. Rather than continue doing walking lunges, I started doing step back lunges in the smith machine - I feel this soooo much more in my glutes, I wish I started doing it sooner.
For work, I chaperoned a field trip to Great Adventure with the kids last week. In an effort to explain my (quite dark) tan, I’ve started telling my work colleagues that I compete in fitness competitions. They are pretty supportive as well, asking questions, and complimenting my dedication to diet and training. After riding “Kingda Ka” roller coaster, I started walking back to the other teacher chaperones. Once I got there, my friend Rachel goes - “Catherine, so Bob your muscle, he doesn’t believe you work out.” With that, I lifted the sleeve of my superhero t-shirt and flexed my delt & tricept. Eveyone, was like “wow, nice shoulders” LOL
So, at this point there are four weeks left to go, I’m working hard and giving all I got at the gym, I can do this. I’ve realized that the only thing I can do and control, is being better than last time. So if I get on stage, knowing I gave my best and did everything I possibly could, I’ll be happy.
I’ll post some of the professional pics from the show in a minute.
A clip from prejudging.
S
A lot of the better photos were taken in mid movement, so I threw the above video up. Also, thought this was a nice shot I took backstage
S
Just a quick update. My contest is three weeks away, weight is down to 107, if all goes according to plan I should be about the same weight as my first show. Started posing a little bit in the morning or before bed, but need to do a lot more. Last night in the gym I needed some inspiration, so I put on the Rocky Soundtrack, I forgot how great that is to train to! I really need to start bringing my iPod with me all the time. Especially now, since I’m doing way more cardio - it gets boring. Rocky would never half ass it!
In the words from the Rocky soundtrack - “there’s no easy way out, there’s no short cut home” … I casually mentioned that to Stu as we were walking out of the gym, he immediately caught the reference! LOL
A number of people have told me they are going to the show (some are just people I casually talk with at the gym)… which is really nice… I do however feel some pressure, don’t want to let anyone down. Now more than ever I really need to find the motivation for a strong finish!
Being on track to hit that weight likely means you have gained a small bit of mass, and will be a little leaner than last year. That sounds like a winning combo to me, Cat.
The last few weeks have been hectic, as usual, but school is out for summer and life has slowed down (at last). I must admit, I’m proud of a number of things that have happened, it’s amazing when you actually see your hard work and effort pay off. I ended the school year on a very high note! As the co-advisor of the National Honor Society, I helped the students organize our first ever Relay for Life at the high school track (to raise money for the American Cancer Society).
Relay for Life is a community walk, where teams of people camp out around the track and walk. Although there were times I complained and dreaded going back to school for 8:00pm meetings, and figuring out logistics for the event were taxing - it was worth it! We raised over $30,000 for charity, and created a fun event yet moving event that brought the school and community together.
I’m so very proud of my students for all the work they did, and although it was a lot of work I can’t wait to do it again next year! Organizing for Relay was quite stressful for most of May and June, it was one more thing on my plate.
After being at Relay for 15 hours, my right knee was pretty sore for the next few days and as a result we adjusted my leg workout so not to put more stress knee - I stuck to the machines (leg curl, extension, and press). I was actually a little scared I injured myself, but it was just soreness. I feel ready to compete, this last week we noticed a few veins in my lower stomach, yay! So although my weight right now is 106, I know I’ve reached the level of leanness I was going for.
My hamstrings and glutes have improved, and are better than my first show. However, they are something I will continue to focus on after the contest is over. My friends and family have been so supportive, a lot of people will be coming to the show… I feel good about where I am at this point, which is a good mind set to go into the show with - I know I worked hard and I am proud of what I accomplished, regardless of the contest results.
Looking forward to the finished product, Cat.
So, on the 8th you posted that your contest was 3 weeks away. It is now past three weeks, what’s up? You’ve built yourself a devoted following who want to know how you did!
–Me
Great smile.
The pointing fingers when you pose look unnatural and draw the eye away from the physique IMO.
The Hercules contest was this past Saturday and I unfortunately did not place in the top 6, I did however learn a couple of life lessons.
I’ll start off by saying - the competition was STACKED! I’ve been to the Hercules for the past three years (in 2011 & 2013 as a competitor and in 2012 as a spectator), this year was by far the most intense figure competition I have seen. Actually, there were a lot of great competitors all around.
The last few days leading up to the show I was seeing veins in my lower stomach and I felt good - I achieved the level of leaness I was going for, my conditioning was great (thanks to Stu), and I made progress in some of my weaker areas. This entire contest prep I kept thinking - “I want to win… I want a pro card… Stu did it, so can I…” The night before the show, and completely on my own, I came to the realization that whatever happens at the contest, I’m proud of what I accomplished, I gave it 110% both physically and mentally and did the best with what I have. Stu reiterated that he has been telling me this all along - the Hercules is a tough competition and you can’t train sporadically for a year then decide “I want a pro card,” the one and only goal you should have is to make yourself proud. I can honestly say, I am proud of myself and what I brought to the Hercules.
The morning of the show, after check in and seeing some of the figure contestants I though - “they are completely out of my league”.
I’m glad I had my little “life lesson” the night before, if I hadn’t, dealing with the contest results would have been much more difficult to swallow. I also realized that these competitors “live this” - they don’t just train and diet hard core for a show, they do it year round, year after year. I must admit - earlier today I looked up the first, second, and third place winners on the internet - all of them have entered mulitple contests and been training for quite some time. Which brings me to my other “life lesson” - Stu made getting a pro card seem easy, he won the Hercules his first time there… and I thought if I work just as hard, I can too… What I failed to take into account (until seeing the level of competition show day), was that Stu had been training and eating to build muscle for 20 years (just a slight oversight on my part)! I only started training with weights the past 4 years (since I met Stu) - and during that time I broke my arm (so I took off from the gym for at least six months), planned a wedding (only trained sporadically for almost an entire year), then went back to grad school (and slacked off for another 4 months). So when I really think about, how much quality training and eating did I really do? Not nearly enough get a pro card at the Hercules.
I’ll say it again, I truly am proud of my hard work and what I accomplished. In the end I think that’s all you realistically can hope for, to be better then you were and strive to continually improve. Also, I have to give Stu most of the credit here, he really got me to a place where I can be proud to be on stage and look like I belong, my conditioning was one of my strong points thanks to Stu - he molded me into a figure competitor LOL.
What’s next? I’m more motivated than ever to keep a regimented gym schedule and eat relatively clean. I still want to have a life, and go wine tasting and out to eat with friends, however, Monday thru Friday I will be very conscience of my food choices, and I will get to the gym (no matter how busy I am, even if just for 40 minutes). My weight for the show was 104 (exactly what Stu predicted) and I decided I’m not going to go above 112 lbs for the off season. Right now, I have no plans of competing anytime soon, but I never ever want to diet for 6 months (it really was difficult). If I do compete in the future I want to always be within striking distance (meaning dieting for no more than 4 months), plus I’m only 5’2" (with kind of a small frame), so going up to 126 lbs was kind of gluttonous, but it was happy weight
I’ll post up pics from the contest, the first and second place winners were really amazing competitors! I emailed the show promoter for feedback from the judges - 2 judges had me in the top 6 (there were only 8 competitors). In my opinion, there were 2 people in the top 6 who really shouldn’t have been there (one had no muscle, the other was extremely smooth). I am a little bummed that I didn’t make the top 6, but I think it has lit a little fire, I’m still hungry - although I don’t even want to think about competing again right now… after I make the improvements I need to and stay focused (really make nutrition & training a part of my lifestyle), who knows… maybe in the fall or winter if I make enough gains I’ll think about competing…
Pics