What You're Probably Missing - Belief & Grit

This post isn't just about rocking the competition stage. This post is also about rocking the stage of life.

Katrina came to me for posing coaching 8 weeks ago. Just by looking at her photos below you can see Katrina has the "total package" > she's beautiful & her physique is (hard-earned) on-point. However, pretty & fit isn't enough to get to hoist that trophy over your head. But Katrina did win. Katrina, a complete rookie took home the 1st place trophy in a huge show - but it took more than just a pretty face and fit physique. There is a lot that goes into rocking the stage and in my experience there are few willing to respect the process & put in the time (practicing and mental preparation).

95% of competitors work hard on their physique (diet/exercise) but seem to throw on their heels and bikini & awkwardly rush out onto the stage as if to say "Eeek, here I am!" or teeter around on their heels in the middle of the stage as if surprised that it might be tricky to stand in a bikini in front of about 1000 people and feel confident.

I will always applaud & cheer on anyone who walks out onto the stage. It is incredibly nerve-wracking experience and the work they put in to get there is worthy of a big cheer. However, this is a competition and to hoist that trophy over your head the stage performance aspect shouldn't be an after-thought.

So when I met Katrina 8 weeks ago, I could tell after our first session that this young women was "serious" about learning the stage performance aspect.

How could I tell?

• She started practicing 8 weeks before her show date. Not 2 weeks before her show, 8 weeks.

• She sought out someone who has actually placed/won. As a complete newbie to the stage, she knew what she didn't know & got the help from a posing coach who's proven to know how to perform on stage.

• She was open to the learning. I could tell she absorbed everything that I shared with her & clarified anything that wasn't clear to her.

• She followed the practicing & mental preparation process. I had specific items each week I asked her to spend 10-15 minutes daily on. Each session she came back & it was obvious she had put in the work - both physical practice & mental practice.

Hmmm...re-read those 4 bullet points. See any connections to rocking at life in those points? Pause. Ok, back to the stage story.

I broke down the stage performance process into two key aspects for Katrina (over 3 sessions & 8 weeks):

1. The physcial part - how to walk, how to pose, how to transition, how to add "flare".

2. The mental part - seeing yourself confident on stage, visualizing the lights/audience/judges/yourself as you rock the stage, getting out of your head & into your heart, understanding the ART of the performance. Whoa...there's THAT much involved in making heels & a bikini look good?!?!

You bet - Respect the stage performance. Respect the art of bodybuilding (yes, Bikini is bodybuilding). "Give your soul" to the stage & audience. It's beautiful & magical. And it's how you win (or how you SHOULD win....)

First...a few key notes on the physical part.

• Learn how to walk in your heels!! Practice for a solid week minimum on just that part. To see what a solid stage walk actually looks like, below is a video of me in a 2013 UFE Halloween show (hence the costume...lol).

• Select poses that flatter YOUR unique body. What works for some one else may not show off your best physique. Have your coach take photos of you trying out some pose options & then review them to see what actually looks best for YOU.

• Angle your body towards the middle of the stage (the judges) in your walk & poses. A back pose is not a back pose to the judges at the far sides of the stage unless you angle your body towards the judges.

Second...there's a mental part. What?! Yes. Yes there is.

Here are two photos I sent Katrina over text at different times in the process. I sent her these when I felt she was ready to absorb them into her training....the goal was to start to shift her mind from the technical stage walk/pose to the ART of the performance. Before I "went" there with this concept, she had to show me she was first nailing the physical part (which few even do that) to be able to leverage this aspect of the training.

The first photo is me in a 2013 Bikini Pro Show & the second is an old photo from the 1980s. These photos are two of my favorites in expression of "art" of the stage performance. The movement of the body is beautiful - bodybuilding shouldn't be a T&A show (and I'm working hard to counteract that unfortunate trend in the industry).

Giving the audience a beautiful stage performance is a gift to them & an amazing personal experience if you can elevate your mental game to that level. Your stage performance is no longer about you - it becomes about being something greater than yourself.

And Sister, let me tell you this mental aspect...is the HARDEST. Think of the head games each of us have going on. Lack of confidence, poor self image, doubts, fears. I don't wake up every morning thinking "Oh yeah, I'm a gift to others. My body is art. I can rock a stage in a teeny-tiny swimsuit. Just watch me!".

Quite the opposite. The stories I tell myself in my head about "who I am" are the ones that keep me back from being the great. It's a daily battle, but I fight it (most days) & each time I throw myself into the ring to fight those stories - I give myself a chance to win. And that's all we should really be after...just the chance to win. Because the reality is, you win some and you lose some. That's life. That's the stage.

All this? It takes GRIT and it takes BELIEF. You have these two things & you will win. Maybe not a trophy, that's simply someone else's perspective on the criteria, but you will win in the way that matters.

Katrina sent me a message after her win and gave me some of the credit - she thanked me for believing in her. I reminded her that it was all her...it always was. All I did was show her the greatness she already had - it always was there, I just woke it up. xoxo Your Sister In Shape

PS...Can you tell I LOVE this sport? Check out our online show prep program & coaching...

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