LSU Bound!

I feel pretty good right now. I've lost about 3 pounds this week just from watching my diet closer and exercising. Seriously, it's really from staying away from salt. Grabbing fast food to eat is so bad! I've been eating Chick Fillet and Sonic! I can't even drink Diet Cokes with aspartame in them. They make me hold water so bad. Aspartame is back in the news again! It really is so bad for you. They now are making many supplements that say "No Aspartame" for good reason. I'm trying to stay away from it. One time, I changed from regular cokes to Diet and gained 8 pounds! My eyes had bags under them and I couldn't figure it out at first. Then I realized the only thing I was doing different was drinking Diet Coke so I changed back to regular Coke and lost 8 pounds. It was weird. When I'm preparing for competition, I only have maybe 8 ounces of coke on the weekend if at all. I'll tell you, my teeth were whiter! It really does stain your teeth! I'll get more specific with dieting later! Same plan for next week: light workouts . It's very important to pace yourself and get into it slowly!. I'm still going to the Chiropracter and it is helping alot. My lower back is not as tight and I feel like I have more range of motion. It's hard for many people to get back into working out slowly but it's important and I know it. PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD PRINCIPLE! .......... After this weekend, I'm sure my diet will need cleaning up again to! I'll try not to eat too bad. I don't want those 3 pounds coming back! .........Fight Your Fears With Action. -HJB

Busy Week Ahead!

Last weeks workouts left me sore. My forearms were sore from playing Badminton! It seems to take longer for me to recover after being sick. I bought a new weight scale last night made by Health Tech. It is supposed to be top-notch for "the serious weigher". HaHa! I weighed naked after taking a bath last night! So now I have an official starting weight to go by. It is not a good idea to weigh yourself often, especially women, cause our weight can fluctuate 5-10 pounds or more depending on salt, water retention and menstration. It's also not a good idea to weigh from many different scales. You should stick with one scale and try to weigh yourself the same time and day of week as last time you weighed to truly try to see a comparison. I usually weigh myself on the gym scales but those are tampered with so much, I don't think they are that accurate. I know you're probably wondering why I haven't told you how much I weigh right now. I'm not supposed to go over between 10-13 pounds from my competition weight. yeah, I'm in trouble right now. But, I know what to do. Gotta get started on watching my diet and training harder before the holidays come up. That's a really tough time for most people it seems. I'll let you know in a couple of weeks what I'm weighing. I competed at 115# last competition. I am 5'3". That weight will be my basis. I was told " Don't step on that stage unless you can be just as good as you were last time or better." Thanks Drew! I will not forget! The judges will remember you and if they know your potential is better than what you're presenting know, you definately will get a low score. So, my goal is to be better than I was last year! THOUGHT OF THE DAY!: Your mind can only hold one thought at a time-make it a positive and constructive one.

1998 Southern Classic Fitness Competition - Jackson, Mississippi 4th Place

I was working in Cardiac Rehab at a local hospital during this time. It was hard for me to train like I really needed to for competitions. I did some guest posing locally and decided to enter this competition one weekend after returning from vacation in Florida. I did well for not even dieting or really preparing. Due to stress from work, this was the only competition I did that year. I did not compete again until now, 2004 -6 years later, and switched from Fitness to Figure.

My Fitness Routine at Nationals!  

1997 NPC National Fitness Championships- Dallas, Texas (I competed blonde for a couple of years.......shoulda stayed a brunette....blonde and Itallion on me doesn't mix!)

Feeling Better!

Hey! I'm feeling much better now and am off the soup and Sprite diet! HAHa! I had a pretty good workout tonight! Did some cardio, lifted weights a little and worked abs. I was a little shakie and very weak but I felt good. This week's been rough! Next week, the plan is the same: Light cardio 3-4x, total body light workout 2-3 x, and I will try to keep my diet cleaner. I haven't been cooking lately! I get burned out on those protein drinks often but it's better than fast food. I also started taking my vitamins again. I quite for awhile. Don't really know why! That's prob one reason I got sick besides stress! My right shoulder has been bothering me lately and I haven't even been lifting heavy! Go figure! It's a wonder how much I have accomplished this year competing! There always seems to be something going on. Never a dull moment here! Well, it's getting late and we all know sleep is very important when it comes to exercising so I will leave you with this thought..........A WINNER NEVER STOPS TRYING. - Tom Landry

Thought of the Day!

To know where you are is a good thing; but it is as important and perhaps more so, to know where you are going.

Ms.NPC Fitness Louisiana 1997 

Being sick is not fun!

I have been under the weather for the past few days. I caught some virus going around. My whole weekend was spent watching Football on tv and sleeping! I'm going to take it easy today, I still feel weak. I've always tried to listen to my body! Your body can tell you alot if you just listen to it. I don't workout if I have body aches or fever. If I have a headache or a cold, I'll usually do some light training and it helps me feel better. Well, this will give me a chance to talk more about how I got into competing and show more pix of my past competitions. I started teaching Aerobic classes after graduating from High School. Bench or Step aerobics was very popular. People used to always ask me, "How much do you squat"? I would always laugh. At this time, I was not lifting weights yet and I guess from teaching so many step aerobic classes, my quads were big. I taught 18-24 classes a week until I started getting shin splints often. I had to cut back. Later, I started reading Muscle & Fitness and became interested in lifting weights. The comments started growing and growing. I became certified in Personal Training shortly after that. I enjoy helping educate others on becoming fit and healthy. I have taken many Nutrition courses in college and have a Bach of Science degree in Kinesiology and a M.Ed in Exercise Science. I started watching the Fitness America Pagents on ESPN and people would tell me I outa do that. I responded to weight training quickly. After a few years, of observing I finally decided to compete. I was on my own mostly. I started taking gymnastic lessons and put myself on a diet. I kept up with research on dieting and training and did what worked for me. I started a workout and eating journal. I choreographed my own routines. The first show I entered in fitness was the Louisiana state show in 1997. I won!

Bodybuilding 1997: Looking back at this I laugh now! I always wanted to be a bodybuilder before Fitness and Figure came about. I felt awkward up there flexing my muscles on stage. I'm so glad that now I can stay feminine looking with Figure competitions. I only did bodybuilding for 1 year. I won my competition and the overall. It was a very small show here in Monroe, Louisiana. 

Monica Brant Seminar 7/04: I enjoyed meeting Monica. She was everything I thought she was! I was so impressed by her. We have soo much in common. It was almost scary sitting their listening to her was like talking to myself in the mirror! Good luck to her at this year's Olympia!  

Battle of Biloxi 7/04: I went to Jay Cutler's seminar. He is amazing! Very nice guy! I hope he does well in this years Mr. Olympia. GO JAY!!

Chiropractor

I went to the Chiropractor this morning. This is my 5th visit. Dr. Coleman has been trying to get me in here for years! We always have these Health fairs at the gym where I teach Group Exercise (Aerobics) class and personal train. I get these free screenings and found out I have a pinched nerve in L5 and a few other probs. Anyway, I'm feeling much better physically since I've been going. I feel it is best to get treatment NATURALLY first before more invasive treatments like medication. It was suggested to me not to workout following treatment so I'll workout this afternoon. Gotta go teach PE to 3 year-olds now!

Just Do It!

I am soo tired! I have had such a long day. I joined the sunbed again. I have not been since August. I believe in moderation and trying to maintain balance in ones life physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Sometimes that seems so hard to do. I have not been in the weight room working out consistently since July. I have been active but needed to give my body a break. This week I will perform 2 total body workouts, 1 set of 12 reps per exercise to wake my muscles up and will get into it slowly. Statistics show that over 80% of people drop out of their exercise programs because they started out too fast too soon. Exercise is a stress on the body also besides a destressor so it is important to start back slowly. I don't care if your an elite athlete or in the best shape of your life, if you take time off, you gotta start all over. This is why exercise is a LIFESTYLE! It's not a quick fix, it must be done consistently to produce results in ones health status and physiological adaptations to the body:lowered blood pressure, cholesterol, weight, increased energy level and sense of well being. It also helps you sleep good, control anxiety and depression. I believe in the Progressive Overload Principle. If you want results, you gotta be patient and not change a lot of things all at once. For example, you should never increase your duration of cardio and frequency in one week. Do one or the other. You shouldn't go from lifting 90# to 135#. Add no more to 2-5 pounds of weight per exercise. Little things mean alot! There is so much to tell you! There is no MAGIC PILL! It takes hard work, dedication, persistency and PASSION to reach ones goals. Without all of these, you will not benefit at your optimal level. Well, it is past my bed time so I will get off my soap box for tonight. It is extremly important to get adequate rest and eat healthfully also to reach your goals. More on this later. Please feel free to ask questions or add comments to my site. I hope to increase the knowledge of health and fitness to people and be a role model to my community, my state and my country! God Bless Us All and Goodnight!

Boot Camp 6/04: Look at the determination on my face! STAY FOCUSED! Consistency, determination and passion about what you are doing is what it takes to be successful!

Posting Pix!

Ok, I have posted several pictures this morning of my competitions and a little of me working out. I'm so glad I had those. It's very interesting to see how your physique changes with training. Thanks so much Scott for taking those pix! I will post more pix later of competitions in the past. I am still learning how to use this Blogger! It's pretty cool! I am on what we call "the off season" now and will work on improving muscle tone and maintaining a pretty healthy diet! If I could just stay away from those darn DING DONGS!! I don't know how I got started on those! Anyway, I better get to work, got lots to do today, talk to yah later!

Ms. Shreveport-Bossier Figure 5/22/04 My first competition back after 6 years of not competing!

Scott Caldwell, My Boot Camp Instructor, Paige Ross and I after a great workout at ULM's Malone Stadium 

Running stadiums with Paige Ross!  

Boot Camp 3/04: Working on my abs with Rico Boyer, Personal Trainer, M.Ed. 

Ms. Bayou State Figure Overall 5/29/04 

NPC New Orleans Figure Champion Overall 

Getting Started....Again!

WOW!! This past summer has been very exciting for me! Winning 6 competitions in Figure and meeting all kinds of wonderful people has been very overwhelming for me. I have learned alot about myself the past few months. I am eager to get back into training mode after taking some time off to let my body rest and do some soul searching. Consistency, dedication and moderation is the key to success! I look forward to keeping my fans posted on my training. Thank you for your support!

Ms. Figure New Orleans 2004