New Year's Resolution: Dry-Run

At the gym yesterday, I did something out of character, and was called on it (I was nice and lacked my usual dry humor, totally outta character). My response was "I'm trying something new." My friend said it wasn't even New Year's yet, I had a few more week for my 'old ways.' I told him I wanted to try it out before I had to commit to a whole year! A dry-run so to speak.

I got to thinking: wouldn't that save a lot of failed resolutions? If we tried it out for a few weeks (or in my case once) maybe we would go into the new year a little more confident about the resolution we decided upon!

I know part of the whole new year resolution is a 'cold turkey' start, or stop, to a desired behavior, but isn't the cigarette industry still thriving because cold turkey doesn't work, for long anyway? You are thinking, but 'tobacco is addictive.' So is any habit.

Not going to the gym is a habit, not eating right is a habit just as spending money, drinking, and partying are habits. What ever joy you receive, or pain you avoid, is the addictive ingredient. Going to happy hour rather than doing cardio is a drug. The questions from your friends, the thought of what you are missing while slaving away at reaching a seemingly phantom goal are the withdrawal symptoms. It starts with 'I'll go earlier' or 'I'll just do half, at least I came,' or 'I'll do extra tomorrow,' and tomorrow turns into next week, which turns into after March Madness, which turns into after vacation, which turns back into after the holidays.

My solution? Start today! Do what ever new behavior you want to adopt, or stop what ever you want to quit, for two days this week. Do it two days next week. Can you do it two days a week? Start there, continue it, when it becomes the 'new habit' go to three days, until you have succeeded in your resolution...it may take a week, it may take a year, but you have succeeded.

Cold turkey is exciting in the beginning. It gives you power, it gives you hope, but it sets you up for failure. Make 2010 the year for success!

New Blog

We are close to the end of the year, and with that comes thoughts of the new year, new goals, new opportunities and new dreams. I am excited about my new "blogging" spot! A year ago I would have never thought I would have such an organized system. Five years ago, I never would have thought I would have a website. Time change, people grow and things evolve. I am one of the lucky ones.

This year has been full of excitement. Some happy and some life changing. I am two months out from my knee reconstruction. I have been off crutches two weeks and am regaining my strength and mobility. I still have a realignment to go on the opposite knee and then I am back to the IFBB drawing board. My dreams of the Olympia stage haven't changed, just the time line.

Holiday Hopes

The theme behind this time of year is no secret. It is a time we give thanks for all the blessings in our lives. But how thankful are we? Do we only give thanks for what we consider blessings? Do we by-pa$$ such blessings we feel are inadequate?

So often we are not able to objectively see all the blessings we are given. Some things seem anything but a blessing at the time, but bring us to a better future. Do we remember to “go back “ and “give thanks” for the very events we cursed as they happened?

Life is an imperfect, puzzle perfectly placed together.

We are not an accident. We are perfectly designed and placed in the only environment that could sustain life. What ever you believe, that can not be denied.

We are also a product of our choices and actions. And too often we chalk up good fortune to luck and misfortune to bad luck. But what is the good without the bad?  Not to say we deserve to go through tough times. I just hope that at some point during them, we will examine things.

I hope we will think back to other hard times and see what we learned and the life we have since making it through each of them. While you are gathered around the table this year, remember to be thankful for what was good and what you have yet to understand.

Remember that each moment is an opportunity to live and to love.

We only have one shot at today...let’s make it count, let’s make it memorable and let’s be thankful for every minute.

 

BodySport & Rx Muscle Coverage

Original Post: 11-05-2009

Hey there!

Wow, this has been a roller coaster of a month! My healing is going well, but I am still on crutches and am not allowed to bear any weight on my right leg for several MORE weeks! Physical therapy is going well, and I have begun to work this week. I have also written an article for bodysport.com about my injury and Terry Goodlad wrote a touching forward. You can read it here. I did a radio interview with bodysport as well that will be aired next week. You would think that it would get easier to tell and read my story, but every time, I get choaked up...

Muscle Girl Inc. also did a radio interview about my injury and that can be heard here. I am the second guest, and it was a blast.

 

Knee's out, Spirits up

Original Post: 10-13-2009

This past weekend, at the Ft. Lauderdale Cup, I had the misfortune of blowing out my knee at the beginning of my fitness routine. I have had my left one reconstructed before, and know the right one will go through the same treatment.

In a very short time, I have been reminded who I am, and who truly cares about me. I have found out how strong I am and how weak some friendships are. I have been reminded about the true essence of a strangers concern and the devastating result of a friends apathy.

My journey will be slow, but it will be over. I thank everyone for their thoughts, prayers and encouragement. I hope that this experience allows me to encourage and motivate others. I believe that one can not truly touch a broken spirit until they have been broken themselves. I have been through a lot and no doubt will go through more, but with each struggle I become stronger. With each fall, I find out further who I am and what matters. And at the end of the day, my story will touch someone, lift their spirits and re-charge their belief in themselves, and that will make it all worth it!

Final Week

Original Post: 10-5-2009

On the last leg of show prep for the Ft. Lauderdale Cup...I am finally experiencing something Jen Hendershott said all of her shows were: It is just another Saturday....

I always wondered what in the d#$@ens that would be like ...not changing anything the last week...no carb depleting or loading (although I love that part)

So here I am, the last week, right where I want to be and eating the same thing I have been for the past few months! Hopefully it will present the 'right' package come Saturday...

__________________
May your day bring light to your smile, hope to your heart and joy to your soul…

~LeslieRae Newton

Looking Forward

Original Post: 9-9-2009

Life is so interesting and full of so many unforeseen twists and turns. I guess that is the point and without them we would perhaps be bored. Never-the-less I am continually learning that how we respond to these occurrences are what determines our character.

Character, at the end of the day is all we really have. It determines who we are, and why we are. Our character is bound to be flawed and within those flaws we grow or we fester.

I am reading a book a friend gave me, The Dip, about "knowing when to quit and when to stick." It urges the reader to take inventory and find the one thing he/she focus on to be the best. If your direction in life looks through a kaleidescope, you will never have a focus and you will be come a jack of trades and a master of none, which isn't a bad thing so long as your dream is not to become a master of anything. I think this applies to me in so many ways...

First, I pushed and focused so hard on my fitness career that I had to (for the time being) give up a lot of my other 'quests' (like going back to school) because to be the 'best' in fitness it required my up most attention. It is not that I am more talented than the girls I competed against. It is that my determination was relentless. I believed in my ability to make it. With my belief, and the support of so many, like you, I made my dream a reality. You can too. You just have to want it more than you can stand to give it up. You have to want it more than it is hard. You have to, in the most discouraging moments, see it, and work until those moments are shadowed by victory!

Second, I have had to reflect on my character. I have had to understand that I can not, and never will succeed at pleasing everyone, even though I am a 'people pleaser.' My strive to not create ripples has cost me in several points of my life. This book has further driven home the point that I, YOU, need to be true to yourself, to your heart and your dreams. Go after the most important things. Fix the most important things, one at a time.

I know that this speaks to some of you more than others. I hope you will take it at face value and take from it something positive...life should be positive and will be if you allow it.

2009 Dallas Europa

Original Post: 8-18-2009

Well another show has come and gone. The Dallas Europa was a blast. It always is!! I was surrounded off stage by friends and loved ones, and I was honored to compete on stage with Olympia champions! My physique is coming up in placings, but I still have routine work to do before I am the package the judges want to see.

However, I had more compliments on my progression than a girl could ask for from top figures in the industry. I am moving in the right direction, I just wish it were with more horsepower :) Haha, but I am back and ready to work even harder. I want to be better so I will train to be better. It is my second year in the Pro ranks and I have so many to go! My dream was not to become a Pro. My dream is to become an Olympian!

Thank you for taking the journey with me! Your support is so important and gets me out there even when I am having an 'off' day!

Superbowl 2009

Original Post: 1-31-2009

Happy Superbowl weekend! This is one of my FAVORITE holidays (yes I think Superbowl is a holiday). It is one of my favorites because it revolves around spending time with friends and family. It isn’t a forced holiday to invite or be with people you may clash with; it doesn’t require you to spend money on presents or worry about if the event will be perfect (ok so there are some of you out there that worry about that regardless of the event!) AND, not to mention it is one of the biggest games of the YEAR (I don’t know which would win in a BCS Championship or Superbowl importance poll; I know I would be split). I may live in AZ now but I am a huge STEELER fan and look forward to BOTH of my teams (FL Gators and PA Steelers winning the Championship this year, the second in the 2000 decade!)

Anyway, along with that excitement, I am diligently getting ready for my next two shows, both in April. I am preparing a new routine that I am sooo excited about; I have begun a new and thus far successful newsletter: Move The Chains; AZ H.E.A.T. Camps are in full swing and a blast to be a part of! The year is already amazing and I hope this finds you in a positive place too...even if the economy isn't what we would like it to be, we are in control of our state of mind. We have the option to be grateful for what we have, even if it is simply our loved ones, and continue to work for what we want and where we want to go!

 

Time Out

Original Post: 11-5-2008

Hey friends!!! It has come to me that my "off season" has fed into a lack of communication. Even my mom has been disappointed by my lack of correspondence. So after a long talk with her, I decided there were many people who I wanted to share what my life has been like the past few months. I finished Atlantic City Pro by tieing for 10th place, which I will claim as breaking the top ten!!  Since then, I have been enjoying football season and my Fla Gators in there SEC domination (who's counting a fluke loss to KU, other than the BCS?). My training has continued, but is focused differently. I am spending the majority of my time and energy on my strength move training at North Valley Gymnastics. I hope to have some very impressive skills in 2009, and if not maybe ya'll could pretend to be impressed hahahaha. I am ALWAYS sore and have a new affinity for the training of gymnasts! No wonder they are so lean and amazing!!! 

I will be applying for the 2009 Arnold Cla$$ic, to be held in Ohio the first weekend in March, but we will see if I get accepted this year. After that, I plan on competing in NYC, Orlando, Houston, and Dallas...I know it is a full schedule and damage will be done! Also Fit Camps are beginning in Dec/Jan, so that is quickly receiving a lot of my attention and is generating so much excitement!

I appoligize for the bright pink, but I couldn't help myself!!

LeslieRae

One more to go...

Original Post: 9-2-2008

September? Already? Less than 2weeks until Atlantic City Pro/Am.  The Europa (Dallas, Aug 15-16) had me leaving with mixed feelings. I felt great; I was in the best shape to date and my routines are coming back to speed. But, the judges did not share in my self critique. They thought I was too lean (your eyes are reading correctly too lean) and need more taper. Translation: less cardio and dieting to look softer.  Never thought I would have to train less, but I would rather have to train less than more!  So for the next show we have increased my diet and reduced my cardio.  My body has really taken to the extra calories (up to 1700+) and I do look fuller. However, now we are concerned that even though I am just a little softer that I may now look to muscular. It is such a fine line because I among, if not the tallest girl there. So 5'9" standing next to a 5'2" girl is so hard to compare. If I'm around her size I look too lean, but if I'm around her body fat I'm afraid I will look too muscular...ahh well, we will see!!! The plan is to always feed to the critiques from the judges and try to pin point what they want from me, because it will be different from the next girl.  

This summer has been a whirlwind of training, dieting, cardio, ch$%#ography, posing, sleeping, healing, traveling, tanning, meeting up with old friends and making new ones. It is hard to believe that in 2weeks life will return to 'normal.'  Weekends will revolve around Florida football, cause what else is there, and NFL Sundays, instead of workouts. So, in a few months when the SEC and specifically Flordia, is sweeping college football worry not. I will be among the few SEC fans in PAC 10 country screaming joyfully at the BCS standings!

 

 

Dinner bell

Original Post: 7-29-2008

Going out to eat with a competitor is never much fun for the easily guilted.  I personally don’t mind if my friends or family eat a juicy, perfectly seasoned, char-grilled steak paired with cheesy potatoes and green bean ca$$erole...(hold on my mouth is watering)....in front of me. I really don't. In fact, I live vicariously through them. I often try and influence them to order what I would if calories didn't count. But, I can see where ordering the alfrado, when I am ordering grilled chicken salad no this, no that, hold that, take off ANYTHING that tastes good (I have, in fact, told a server only half joking "if it tastes good, I'm sending it back") could make you feel gluttonish. Some of my friends like going to eat with me when I am dieting. They say it helps them to stick to their ‘I’m always trying to loose 5lbs diet.’ So salads it is for everyone. And we are forced to live through other tables menu choices (which is embarrassing getting caught boldly staring at a neighbors bacon swiss cheeseburger.)  

There was a time when I didn't want to be around people eating and drinking things that were not on my diet. It was too hard to remain disciplined. But, that was selfish of me. I am in a sport that I CHOSE, which requires me to make sacrifices to reach the goals I WANT. The 'sacrifices' I have to make are voluntary, and that is the clincher. I can eat whatever I want, but I choose not to; each competitor chooses not to. Another choice I have made is not to superimpose my self-imposed restrictions.  Moral of the story: eat, drink, and be merry (if you want).

 

One Down, A Career To Go

Original Post: 7-10-2008

We did it! My 1st pro show is in the books! It was wonderful. I had over come so much to even get there. So many years of stumbling blocks on a foundation I built as I went. So many shows wondering if I was chasing a pipe dream and then getting just enough to tell myself it was a 'sign' to keep going. Rather they were 'signs' or just the fuel I needed to drive on, I made it pro, only to blow out my knee and maybe 'never be the same.' Well, that was ok; I didn't want to be the same. I wanted to be a competitive IFBB Pro Fitness Competitor. And on July 5th, in Houston, Tx. I was just that. I didn't place, but what did happen that day was wonderful. Surprisingly, I wasn't nervous; I was excited. I felt like I was among my own. I remember telling my family after my first national show that I felt like a kindergardener in a high school, well this time I felt like a 9th grader in a high school. The show wasn't without incident (is it really ever?). Standing back stage, we were in line getting ready to be introduced, and because of the way the curtains were I couldn't see the stage. I asked the girl behind me "what are we supposed to do out there?" She told me, "what ever you want. Have fun with it!" Haha, I hadn't practiced 'what ever I wanted' which meant I surely was not going to 'have fun with it!' I managed some model turns and thought it was amusing that I had gotten this far and was so ready and prepared on so many levels, but my introduction (the judges first look at me) wasn't one of them. Then (there always seems to be a then with me) we had gotten warmed up for our 45sec routine (consisting of 6 mandatory moves which have to be executed in a specific order) and were back stage awaiting our turn to perform. Watching the first girl go I noticed a MAJOR difference between our two routines: the last mandatory move. I asked another girl from Phoenix what our last move was supposed to be, and it wasn't the one in my routine. I had 12girls, 45sec a piece (they were going back to back) to re-choreograph the end of my routine. I was no where near flawless, but it was 'legal.' Even though my stumbles, I did really well. I don't just think I did well. I did well. The promoter of the show came up to me and complimented me and my 2min routine. An IFBB judge found me in the lobby and told me "you had better not quit. You are going to do really well. You looked really good." Stop? Ya, no. I have barely gotten started.

On Deck....

Original Post: 7-3-2008

Hi ya friends! Technology has allowed me to write while waiting for my plane to take me to Houston for my show.  Fascinating!  I feel ready, heart and soul. My cla$$ has 25 girls. 25 huafrican americany, beautiful, fit, accomplished girls. I am among my own; I am so happy. My dress rehearsal went well but not with out fault. Mid dance we had a major wardrobe malfunction. Actually, it was quite funny. We had an audience of little kiddo summer campers, and not that there is much left to the imagination in a routine costume, BUT they nearly got more than their lil eyes, (or their parents money) bargained for! Needless to say, that’s why we do dress rehearsal, and the hitch is out of my giddy-up :) (a.k.a. problem is fixed for ya'll not fluent in southern lingo!) I will be sure to let you all know how the show goes on Saturday. Until then, keep me in your thoughts and know that I LOVE YOU ALL!!!

Little bit of cardio soul searching

Original Post: 6-17-2008

While doing cardio, this morning (anyone who knows me is fully aware of this significance, but for my new friends: I HATE mornings) before I ate (another obstacle) I tried to think about all the things I have learned since I began competiting. My mind was blank. I choose to attribute this minor detail to my dieting and not my relentless aging. However, with some effort I began to remember just who I was before years of dieting and training. And because of the lifestyle changes I experience year to year and month to month, I have learned about myself, and life for that matter, faster than most. Perhaps the two most influential lessons have been 1) the world is NOT out to get me (I’m just not that important); 2) how I choose to respond to a situation is a direct reflection of me and not the situation I am in. Learning these lessons, and more importantly implementing them into my day to day living, has saved some relationships and broken others. Having learned this about myself, I have learned it about others.  And as a result my ‘victim’ friends are no longer people I choose to surround myself with. I learned if I am going to live a positive life I must surround myself with positive people. Learning these has changed (not to be confused with entirely fixed) my potential to respond negatively to situations. Dieting has a tendency to make one notice a lot of negative and seemingly annoying things. My friends and family, bless them all, can testify that in the beginning I was not pleasant to be around when focusing on the negative and annoying. However, much to their and my relief, I have begun to focus instead on my reaction.  This little shift in attention has not only made it easier to be around me but it makes it easer to be around myself. I have begun to welcome the dieting cycle into my life and have stopped using it as a crutch for unhappiness.  The one area I have not been successful in applying these two principles is morning cardio. I think that may just be the exception! Haha, anyway, I digress…I hope that these lessons will be something I can pass on to my friends and loved ones and that your life too will benefit from these lessons.

1 month out from first pro show!!

Original Post: 6-8-2008

Time, such a finite measurable thing, has so many meanings. A month waiting to see a loved one seems like forever, yet a month leave from deployment is so very short. The same is true for competitors. A month is so brief in relation to getting a routine and physique perfect, but the same month drags on forever when talking about dieting or number of cardio sessions yet to endure. This is my month out mark, and like anyone else, I struggle with the dichotomy. My ch$%#ographer Mario, who is amazing, and knows of my struggle, had a surprise for me this week. My favorite show, well one of them, is So You Think You Can Dance, and my favorite dancer Lauren (from season I) is friends with Mario and surprised me this week at my practice. I was star struck. I was star struck by girl 8 years younger, 6” shorter and 50 lbs lighter. I felt silly but elated. How motivating it is to be inspired and then to meet your inspiration...it was a good week and a turning point in my training. This is my first pro show and the beginning of a whole set of new dreams. But, meeting Lauren, a regular girl, reminded me people who achieve their dreams are regular people who have extraordinary dreams and don’t accept that they are regular. I do not accept where I have landed. I want more. I can be more. I can do more. I will achieve more. And then, I will have new hopes and dreams.