Brooke Tuatao's Figure Example, October 2012

Thank you Lisa for asking me to share my story ... this is a special one and one that is close to my heart. Competing alongside my little girl was the most exciting and special day ... one that I definitely won’t forget!!

After watching little Millie competing in the NZIFBB Children’s Fitness class at the Auckland Champs, Taleia was dead set on competing!! For the next few weeks following this comp she begged and begged to start a routine as she had her heart was set on going to Nationals! So, a month out from the Waikato show, we began the routine!

      

Taleia is coached by Bronte who is a trained and qualified coach since the age of 14. Bronte obtains the highest qualification attainable in NZ as a judge and has competed internationally in aerobic gymnastics for over 5 years!! Bronte has also just won the National Miss Fitness title for NABBA New Zealand!! We have been sooo blessed to have her work with us as Taleia absolutely adores her and would beg to have more sessions as they had so much fun together.

Taleia had chosen to compete in the Children’s Fitness and due to her other sports been so competitive and demanding, I wanted to keep this one fun for her! Bronte is a young but very mature 19 yr old, she is the most beautiful natured, kind hearted, respectful, giving and talented young girl!! I felt sooo thankful it was her who would be working alongside and influencing my little girl!!

Taleia started baby gym when she was 1 and was selected to be part of an International gymnastics training squad at the age of 4 ... this requires 3x 3hr training sessions a week focusing on strength, flexibility and conditioning and is extremely disciplined!! Her number one sport is Tennis which she has played since she was 3yrs old. Tennis training happens daily with coach daddy, she plays club nights and has a private lesson with her Auckland coach once a week to work on specifics.
 
Taleia has played in tournaments since she was 5 often playing against 8-12 yr olds and mainly boys!! This kid has a love for sports always giving 150% in everything! Other sports she takes part in on a weekly basis and loves is Hip Hop (her fave) swimming, touch rugby and athletics! Within a week Taleia probably trains about 15-17hrs ... all of which is encouraged but none is forced!!

   

Taleia is my most favourite little friend and buddy, we have always done everything together and she has been brought up coming everywhere with us. She came to work with me as a baby as I personally couldn’t do the daycare thing. I would even exercise with her if I couldn’t get to the gym. I would run with her in the pram when she was young and then she began riding her bike or running beside me as she grew older (Im a slow runner lol).

These things are priceless to me and times I wouldn’t swap for all the money in the world!! I definitely haven’t been the perfect mummy but have tried with all my heart to be there for her always. When she needed a hug, I wanted to be there, when she was hurting I wanted it to be me who comforted her! I always wanted to be at her school assemblies, her tournaments, her sports games, her school talent shows, and witness every special moment I could as her mum!! Those times I will never have back and I’m so thankful I sacrificed what I did to be there, the relationship it builds is precious and irreplaceable!!

We never forced Taleia into sports but have given her every opportunity to take part in everything. She has grown up amongst it, in her eyes exercise, sport and eating healthy is just part of life. Same with her education! Being a qualified and trained teacher I wanted her to have every opportunity to succeed academically!! We encourage excellence in everything but reward effort, regardless of achievement!!

This is why I believe it’s so important how we eat in our home and everyday life. How we portray health and fitness to our kids is crucial. Ever since Taleia was a baby I was very cautious of even the words I chose to use regarding weight, food and training. I would never use the word fat, ugly, skinny etc to Taleia or when speaking about others.

She knew I was eating the way I did because I wanted to be healthy, I trained because I wanted to be fit and strong and I was always thankful for the way I looked as we were created absolutely perfectly by someone who never made mistakes. We didn’t need to look like anybody else or change anything about our image as we were perfect just the way we were!! In saying this, humility is something so important in our family and we remind each other of it daily!!!

This past year has been an amazing one but also a very testing and challenging one. I have personally made mistakes that I would take back in a heartbeat if I could ... it hurts to even think about them and brings tears and heartache writing about them.

Through these times I have been supported by the most amazing family, sincere friends and incredible church. No matter what was going on, I knew I was always completely loved, not judged but totally supported and cared for. I am soooo incredibly grateful! The support network I have around me is something I value with all my heart, I wouldn’t be where I am or have achieved what I have if I didn’t have the constant love and support that I do!!! I’m not perfect (not even close) but I’m so thankful for what I have been blessed with and the chance to always, get back up, be better and try again!!

 
Brooke in fitness 2011

I am sincerely grateful to my nutritionist Tarren McCall for the complete love and support I have had continuously from her and her husband Tony. They treat me as their own and always have time for me regardless of what is going on. Tarren, you two are amazing and thank you so much for ALWAYS believing in me and driving me to be better when I just wanted to give up!! Tarren you aren’t just the person who slaps my hand when I stuff up but instead the loving ‘Team Mum’ that encourages me daily to achieve my best in every aspect of my life.

I appreciate so much that when doing my eating plans you take into consideration my love of whole, raw, organic, foods and you design my plans accordingly. This means so much to me as I place such an importance on health! For me, it’s not all about achieving a certain look (even tho I want to look my best) but also to have a fit, healthy and well balanced lifestyle, on and off season. You support us all 100% regardless of our achievements and are so amazing ... we couldn’t have a better ‘Mumma Champ’ Thank you for creating the family atmosphere you have ... we all help and support each other and I am so proud to be a part of such an incredible team!

Balancing a family, full time job, sports, competing and being up every weekday morning at 415am is the most amazing challenge. We are never short of craziness in our home ;)

 

Competing in figure this year was such an amazing experience, a totally unexpected one. A change in circumstances that turned out to be a blessing in disguise was one that has lead me in a direction i’m sooo excited for. I had planned to compete in Fitness this year but pulled my hammie 4 weeks out from Auck champs. A week out from my show I decided I still wasn’t capable of performing my routine. Still wanting to get on stage I decided to jump up in Figure. I loved it and went on to win the Overalls, a totally unexpected surprise!


Placing 5th the week before in the Raechelle Chase Fitness Model comp also totally blew me away. 45 beautiful fit girls from all over Australia and New Zealand came together and had a blast! I felt so honored to even be in the top 10!! To place in the top 5 was incredible!! I have plenty to improve on and I know I can be so much better, am looking forward to a year of intense training and making as many improvements as possible. This is the part I love tho ... I would train the way I do regardless of competing, I love it so much and I can’t go a day without it!! Weight training is my fave and cardio is essential due to my daily immense love of food haha

I do 5-6 resistance training sessions per week and cardio a minimum of 45mins per day. I add in track and stair sessions where possible, and love doing hundreds of treadmill walking lunges daily!! I have recently started working with Mike Kingsnorth, one of NZs own IFBB pros and getting some structure into my training. It has been nothing short of amazing, this guy knows his stuff!! Thank you Mike, you have no idea what you have got yourself into haha

To all those out there who send me messages of love and support, you are amazing and I am totally grateful for every single message ... they inspire me every day to be better and stronger and push that little bit harder. Because, just like everybody else I have those days where Im like ... screw this, Im over it lol so thank you beautiful people, they mean alot!!

I believe this sport should be one of support and one where we help each other achieve our goals and be the best we possibly can. We are all so different but each of us have such amazing, individual gifts and talents that can help and inspire others around us!!