Happy 2014! It’s been a little bit since I’ve updated here, but that’s mostly because I’ve been super busy! I have a lot of new updates – here we go:

I did not end up competing in the Fall for 2 reasons. 1. My husband and I went to Italy at the end of August (right when I would have been starting prep) and instead of saying no to gelato and pasta, I decided to fully experience the culture… for 13 days 🙂 Although I still hit the gym while in Europe and walked everywhere – I knew that this big of a break was going to take a hit on my overall performance. 2. After I competed in May, some of the feedback that I received was that I needed to really focus on putting muscle on my legs. To this day, I am STILL focusing on that mission – spending 3 days a week in the gym focusing on some sort of glute/quad/hamstring split. For you girls with a naturally bigger bottom – I will forever be envious of you!! I didn’t want to hit the stage again and not feel confident that all of my hard work was going to pay off. I also knew that if I was going to take this seriously, I needed help.

During my show in Rockford at Kevin Noble, I had met a few girls backstage that not only looked amazing but exuded confidence. They all hung out the whole day, practiced posing together and when they were on stage – cheered one another on. Come to find out – they were all part of a competition team. If you are anything like me – I had no idea competition teams even existed. I was a “solo” competitor – using outside resources like a personal trainer, finding someone to do my hair, makeup, tan and teach me a few tips/tricks for posing. Competition teams are lead by coaches who do all of that for you – helping you with everything from what bikini you should wear to posing.

When I came back from Italy, I decided that I was going to track down some of the girls that I met in Rockford and figure out what team they were a part of and learn how I could be a part of this group. After some digging around – I found Staci Boyer and her team – Team F.A.B., now known as Team Maxum. Team Maxum is a sponsored competition team (by Pride Nutrition) – and led by Staci and her partner Sandi Wiedmeyer. From our first phone call – to every meeting and text in between, Staci and the girls on my team have made me feel nothing short of family. Honestly, this was the best decision I could have made as I approach my 2nd competition (March 29th). The girls range from national qualifiers to those who are stepping foot on the stage for the first time.

I think that’s all for now! I’ll keep this updated a little more frequently as the next 8 weeks progress – it’s time to crunch!

Heather

P.S. I cut all my hair off – trying the pixie out for a bit 🙂