coachcinziaWhen show day finally arrives, no matter how many times I have competed before, I feel the thrill, the tension, the excitement and the anticipation of stepping on stage. This time around, at the IFBB Titans Grand Prix Pro Women’s Physique Championships, after all, I felt a little different as any other time before.
It was my first time competing in Women’s Physique; the first time I didn’t feel the amount of preoccupation that I usually experience when I competing as a fitness athlete and having to perform a fitness routine during prejudging. Although, this time I was about to perform two routines, one 60 seconds long, and the other, 2 minutes long, the elements included in these routines were not nearly as difficult as the acrobatic, powerful elements I used to include in the fitness routines I performed as a fitness competitor.
Although, I loved and still love fitness, I know now, more than I ever knew before, that training as a fitness competitor is not what my body currently needs in order to continue to improve and get stronger. We all get injured wether we train or not, at work, around the house, doing the silly things, injuries are inevitable. My personal experience tought me that one gets injured more often doing a simple everyday movement than while specifically training the body. I train to maintain a healthy fit body and, most importantly, to improve my physique and to become stronger mentally and physically, no matter how old I am.
Over the past two years, the more I continued training for fitness, adding components such as gymnastics/tumbling to my weekly training, the more my body kept on getting injured. To put it simply, I feel if I continued to train for fitness I would have to put my body in situations in which I would have large chances of injuries. Of course, I could continue training while healing the injury and find ways to manage, repair the injury and continue improving as I did many times in the past, but the busy life I live now with so many people relying on me, my clients, team members, family, I can’t afford to put things on hold for a while, give my self some extra time to deal with my injuries. Why put my body at risk voluntarily when I can direct my passionate spirit into something a bit safer and ultimately more rewarding to me?
Me with a few of my amazing ladies, clients and friends and part of Team 907 Muscle Girls!
Women’s physique was the answer to my personal struggle these past two years. I have been silently seeking the passion and excitement of training all over again without sacrificing so much in all of the other aspects of my life, as training to compete in fitness demands more hours of training dedicated to gymnastics, strength, power and flexibility moves. I bow to fitness competitors as it is such a tough division! Fitness ladies rock! But, the women’s physique division opened up a whole new world of possibilities for me! The moment I stepped on stage at the Titans, I once and for all knew I was were I belong now.
Just where I belong! 🙂
The lessons I can take from the personal struggles of these past two years is that for sure, where there’s the will there’s the way! I will never be done reinventing myself! I will continue to improve my physique no matter how old I am. I will neve give up my dreams and my goals! I will continue to be in motion, always! Whether, at times, I may move backwards 🙁 , sometimes sideways :-/, sometimes within, and other times straight forward :-), I will always keep on moving!
Life is Movement!