From Ribs to….

As I previously mentioned Friday I took my progress photos Friday morning and emailed them off to the coach. We scheduled a 7pm phone chit chat to discuss the 3 week out thoughts/feelings/plan.

When I got up to take the photos since it was Friday and everyone else was you know… working… I had run of the house so I figured why not break out of my cave bedroom and get some natural light going.

Smart move on my part.

(… also pretty sure the two old men out for their morning walk liked the view in the sun porch… but that’s beside the point)

After my last set of progress photos two weeks ago I had discussed posing with the coach a fair amount. My back and side poses were looking very strong… but my front pose was leaving a bit to be desired.

A huge insecurity for me is my lower ab area. Having lost so much weight over the years I never feel like that area is tight enough. My upper ab area, NBD… the lower… ugh. And to compensate I was seemingly leaning back a little bit in my front pose, which was like BAM! Hello rib cage.

…. Not attractive.

So the suggestion I got was to focus on the front pose, stretching up and tall instead of leaning back and at the same time working on the legs, turning the kenes out and really flexing my quads hard.

The difference? Two weeks ago all I see is rib cage (…. and a petrified expression) and this week I see… ABS. (… and a petrified expression)

Even now several days later I look at the difference in two weeks and um… I just can’t believe it. I can’t believe that’s ME, that I’ve come so hard and made so many changes in only a year. It’s like I finally said enough of being just “enough” and decided to fully trust a new prep style, commit myself 100% and see where it took me.

And yeah… Crazy.

 

Speaking on the phone with Jody made me feel so much more comfortable. I had been worried about where I was sitting and how things are going. I never thought someone would say that my abs would be a strong point for me, I never thought I’d have someone say I was going to be ready, that I was right on track and doing everything right.

I still feel so relaxed about this show, I’m really not panicking or really even THINKING about the show… I think for once I’m not freaking out over how I look and how much work I have left to do in such a short time. It’s like… I’m ready, I’m on track, this is going to happen. Bring it on. Knowing backstage I’m not going to be alone this time huddled over my phone trying to get a signal to text the coach is kind of wicked. I’ll not only have my teammates backstage, but Jody has got himself a coach’s pass so he’ll be backstage with us too. Everything is lining up perfectly and I’m just… in shock at how things have gone.

I KNOW this is show number five… but in a way it feels like the first one all over again. Switching from the IDFA to CBBF stream, new team, new competitors, my parents are going to the show, I’ll know other people in the audience. It’s scary and exciting all rolled into one.

It’s like… Game on. 2 weeks, 5 days.