First of all I just want to start by saying this past weekend was one of the most of amazing times of my life. I'm still on a high from it. Joshua and I are so proud of ourselves and so glad that we went through this experience together. It's only the beginning for us....
There is so much to share with you all that I'll just start with Friday and kind of hit the highlight's. So, on Friday morning we woke up, showered and then headed off to get our spray tans done by our friend Ashley Lowe. She did an amazing job. It didnt take very long at all and we laughed and giggled the whole time. Although the weather was terrible that morning. It rained and rained and rained some more. Which kind of concerned us because we COULD NOT get our tans wet, however by the time we got out of Ashley's office the rain had subsided enough for us to jump in the car and get back home.
Once we were home we started making all of our food for the day and Saturday. Let's just say it wasn't much, lol. Mostly fish, turkey, potato's, homemade almond butter and rice cakes. We were starving every hour after we ate but had to hold out till the next meal which was so hard. So after all the packing and preparing was done we left for Columbia, SC around 12:30. The whole way down Joshua and I talked about how excited we were, what we thought the experience of being on stage was going to be like and where we came from to this point. All the hard work and dedication we had put into this journey had been totally worth it no matter how we did on stage. That was our motto for the whole trip.
When we arrived at the
Sheraton we were immediately greeted by a bell hop and valet to take our car, which was so nice! The inside of the hotel was so beautiful. It was a very old building with loads of charm but had a very modern feel inside. I loved all the furniture! LOL. Our was room was just as nice as the rest of the hotel to. Which made me VERY happy. The view from our king size bed was great to! Once we were all settled in we took a short cat nap and then headed over to host hotel to register.
At registration there really weren't a lot of contestants there just yet. Just a few. The eager ones I would say. Registration went really quick so went to Walmart to pick up some last minute items. This was a funny experience because I needed some double sided tape so my suit would stay in place on the bottom. Well, we really couldn't find any and had to ask a Walmart employee in the DIY section. He showed me all kinds of tape and Joshua just kept telling him no that wont work for what we needed it for. Finally I just told him,"Listen I need it so my suit won't go up my butt when I'm on stage"... He started dying laughing and was like "TMI, Wow the things people use everyday items for, I learn something new everyday working here, lol". We then told him about using the preparation H on our stomachs and thighs to make everything a bit tighter and he got a kick out of that one, lol.
That night we practiced our posing, had some rice cakes and then went to bed fairly early. Joshua had a really hard time sleeping but I was out like a light. He said he was little pissed at me for falling asleep so fast and snoozing all night because he had a million things on his mind. My little worrier ;-)
The next morning he was up at 5am (maybe even earlier) and then I was up a few mins later. We rinsed off and started getting ready. I was having serious problems with my hair and make up though. The weather was humid from all the rain so my hair was not cooperating and my makeup was not looking the way I wanted it to. Next show someone else will be doing it for sure! OH and if you've never worn fake eyelashes before, I suggest you practice!! Let's just say they ended up in the garbage before we made it out the door....
We checked in at pre-judging and then waited and waited and waited a little more, lol. However while we waited we met a lot of other competitors who were really nice. They gave us some tips and told us mostly to just relax and have a great time! After all the waiting and the meetings were over it was time for the pre-judging to begin. This is probably the most important part of the contest for competitors. This is where the judges really make their final decision so you really have to give it your all! I went on stage before Joshua and then of course I was the first one in my class to go up first which made me soooooo nervous! I really didn't get to see class A figure girls do their posing so I really didn't know what to expect. The expediter was great and he told me exactly what to do and where to stand so that helped. Once I walked out on stage it was all she wrote.... The movie star in me just popped out and well, you can see for yourself.
So once I was on stage and found Joshua in the crowd (you really cant see past the first few rows its so bright on stage and dark in the audience), something inside me just clicked and I just turned it on. I could hear Matt, our trainer, yelling at me to "tighten those abs, squeeze those hams, show those glutes!!!" and so on. Let me say this was a TREMENDOUS help. It calmed me down and let me foucus and what I should be doing. At the first call out I was not in it and thought "oh well I tried"..Then they called me out, and called me out again and again. OMG what does that mean?
Once I walked off stage I found Matt and Z. They hugged me told me how great I did and that I was definitely in the Top 5. I was like what? really? how do you know? Matt told me that the last call out was your top five girls so get ready for a trophy!!! I didn't know what to think. I mean this is my first show and those girls have some banging bodies up there. I just felt like I needed a lot more work to compete with them....
Then it was my Joshua's turn. I was so nervous for him but I knew he was going to do great! And he did!!!! He looked amazing up there!
There we so many guys in his class and that really shocked all of us. Not to mention some of them were huge and shredded. Joshua entered the novice class which is supposed to be for 1st time bodybuilders. Guys that have never stepped on a stage, however, that just didn't seem to be this case. Matt said that sometimes it can happen but not to let that get to him or take away from how incredible he looked! When Joshua came off stage he was beaming with pride and was very proud of himself for meeting his goal. He never sises to amaze me.....
After pre-judging we went out for burgers! Five guys was ready and waiting for us, lol. Joshua and I both had burgers with no buns and shared some fries and a coke. We then went back to the room to wait for the night show.
The night show was just as fun and was bit more glammed up. The stage was decorated and it all looked really nice. This time Joshua went first and did his routine. Again, another great performance from him. He rocked his routine and got lots of claps! The top 3 guys in his class received trophies, so as of right now we're not sure where he fell in the placing. We should know by today though ;-)
Joshua's Pre-Judging Routine
Then it was my turn. I was so relaxed at this point and not nervous at all. Just ready. I was first again in my class and did my thang, then the rest of the girls did theirs. After we were all done it was time for the trophies. To my surprise they called my name...OMG my jaw hit the floor!!! I walked out so happy and the trophy girl placed it in front of my feet... WOW.... 5th place out of 8. All I wanted to do was look like I belong and well I guess I did a little more than that ;-)
After the show we all went out for pizza and beer! Joshua and I were so high from the experience all we could do was talk about how much fun we had and that we couldn't wait till next year!!!
This was the most challenging goal I have ever tried to tackle. If someone would have told me that last April that I would be losing 60 pounds and competing in a figure competition I would have laughed. But I can now say that yes, I am a figure competitor.
Some of you are wondering what now? What does Top 5 even mean? I asked the same questions and found this out:
Since it was a National Qualifying show, I have one year to compete in a National Show. There are two shows I can compete in next spring so till then that's what I'll be working towards. I need to put on more muscle in my upper body and work on my midsection. Next year I'll come in much leaner also. This week Matt will give me some feed back as well as the judges. Can't wait to hear what they have to say! I'll also meet with an IFBB Pro to work on my posing and overall presentation.
Joshua also knows what he wants to improve on for next year as well. We both have been bitten by the bodybuilding bug and LOVE IT!
Thank you to everyone who supported us the last 22 weeks. We truly couldn't have gotten this far with out our trainer
Matt Helton and he wonderful wife Z. They were a blessing to us. And a big thank you as well to our family for encouraging us to keep going and not give up! As well as our friends for supporting us and still being there at the end ;-). We both love you all!!!!
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Thank you to Taylor, Valerie (Joshua's Mom) and Granny Nelda (Joshua's Granny) for coming with us and supporting us this weekend. Also to Doug and Julie Wertz for coming to our show and supporting as well!
We love you guys so much! |
Britney and Joshua XOXO
Here's to finding your NorthStar......
