Super Girl Heidi Carey is one of many Super Girls who had great success in 06 with Go Figure. Heidi didn't have a great time on her first day at the gym on 13 Oct 05. She fainted after 10 mins cardio on no food at 5.30 am due to the combination of being unfit and low blood pressure, the ambulance even had to be called out to check that she was ok!
Despite that dramatic start to the gym scene, Heidi soldiered on for 6 months and continued to slowly shape her body at Contours gym in Tauranga. She challenged herself with the Body For Life programme and despite seeing some change she wanted to do something dramatic to her figure.
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So she thought she'd give the Super Body programme a go. Heidi had always thought about competing but wasn't sure if she could get into contest shape in time. When Heidi contact me in Aug 06 and showed me her pic, I thought this girl has potential and definitely she could get ready in 12 weeks. We just needed to change her eating plan around and rescheduled her training and cardio workouts. In that short time, Heidi's had a whirlwind ride in bodybuilding winning her first show and then finishing as open figure competitor in just 3 short weeks of competing. left: Heidi, 2nd Novice Figure at NZFBB Nationals 06 |
Go Mum!
What impressed me most about Heidi wasn't her meticulous dedication to her diet or even the passion she had for training - but the fact she's a Mother of 6! (find more about her hectic hoursehold at bottom of page) I'm sure there were plenty of kiddie snacks and 'bad' food to entice Heidi during her contest prep but she managed to be super disciplined all the while the family were enjoying the treats. She'd also have to workout around the family time so she'd had to put the family first training at unusual hours of early 5.30am or after dinner when the kids were in bed.
At 52kg, Heidi didn't actually have to lose too much weight but we did need to increase her muscle mass. She naturally has a good structure and her weight is evenly distributed throughout her body which means the fat loss should come off evenly too. She weight trained 4 days a weeks and did an hour cardio every morning. Plus there's all that running around after the family helped burned off a few calories too!
Winning Surprise. By the time the NZFBB CNI show came around on 15 Oct, we'd got Heidi to 47 kg and in great shape. My goal for Heidi - apart from looking awesome - was for her to have a great time and with the ever cruisy Monty by her side she was sure to have an enjoyable experience (thanks Monty). Heidi competed in the Novice Figure Short and she won! which was a nice surprise to us both.With that win, Heidi went on to compete at the NZFBB Nationals and placed 2nd in a big line up of 10 highly competitive girls. Truely caught by the bug, Heidi ventured to the NZFBB Taranaki Champs the following weekend and placed 2nd in the Open Figure Short which now qualifies her for next year's Nationals.
Heidi has come a long way in such a short time. Over the course of 3 shows, she's gone from Novice to an Open athlete. But such is Heidi's new found competitiveness that she's now even more driven to do well next year. It has been a pleasure watching Heidi's bodybuilding journey and seeing her transform not only physically but mentally. Her confidence has grown tenfold and that smile is coming a little more naturally now (eh Heidi?!). With more shows under her belt, they'll be no doubt Heidi will be beaming all the time on and off stage.. we hope!
Well done Heidi, you done good Super Girl!!
Lisa
| Heidi's thoughts Well, I could honestly scream this from the rooftops, Lisa is amazing!!! An on-to-it trainer, but more than that a nice very well-rounded smart lady. I think Lisa is very instinctive, she listens to your emails????, and gets a sense of what you are saying or not saying...and offers her advice which in my case has been spot on. How on earth she deciphers your weekly photo is beyond me...as week to week they look the same but she has hawk-eyes or something because she can spot so many things from a mere photo like water under the skin??? |
ok, I can't see it but she can!!! I've been consistently amazed by her ability on a personal level too, where her scope of advice doesn't just stop there. Lisa is SUPER POSITIVE and just makes you feel so tall. Just having such a nice person care about you and your development means alot in this harsh ole' world and just knowing she "believed" in me made me work harder. I was determined to make her proud. I like it when Lisa just says something so simple/obvious that it makes my mind shift gear and I get my act together...it's like, "yeah right, she's right!!!"...I personally can lose the plot and get a bit anxious and Lisa just chills me out...
Why did you want to compete in bodybuilding show? I joined the gym and found I just loved the atmosphere and achievement buzz I got, it was like breathing to me, so doing a show was a natural progression of that!!
What did you learn about yourself during pre contest training?. I actually funnily enough found out I didn't really know myself at all!! For instance I have really never had a sweet tooth throughout my life and wham, pre-contest I turned into a sugar craving fiend...dangerous and untrustworthy around sugary things. I learned the hard way to just not start on it, and steer away from fake sugar too...wish I'd listened to Sarah Fox's words...my poor family had to do without certain treats, because of me, and if they had treats it was stuff I didn't particularly like, or they were forced to eat the whole lot!!! I coped quite well this way and just leaving the room when they ate really helped. I also turned into an absolute pain in the neck as far as "having" to know what everything tasted like...bugging my family to tell me, "ohhhh, was that nice???". "Tell me all about it!!, mmmm, and did that marshmallow melt in your mouth or what????". I got to the point where they ate what I wanted and I would be so satisfied indeed if they just told me in detail what it was like...I would always be so pleased to hear if it was how I thought it would be!!!!
How do you stay motivated? I am self-motivated and I want to mention the date I started at the gym is SUPER important, I chose the 10th of October for a reason...that being it was chosen as a "silent motivator" for me to know where I was heading. I joined the gym with the view to competing but hadn't told anyone, and the 10th of the 10th meant, 10 out of 10 or 100%, that I was going to win and I was going to train that way right from the beginning, whether Body For Life or a comp...I would have been laughed at if I said this to anyone...but my "private motivator" keep me going. I never felt alone in my training world as I also need to acknowledge my personal belief in God too, as without him beside me so to speak I would of crumbled. I've always trained alone and have yet never been alone...I view "Jesus" as my best friend and training partner!!! I have my plan and he says, start, stop, breath, go...drink...2 more...etc, etc...you can do it, good girl, you're doing it, well done"!!!. I love the gym also because I get an absolute mental rest from the daily rigors and training is like sweet therapy and is so soothing, I don't seem to notice the discomfort from weight training its just such a buzz. So training has been very fulfilling on so many levels. Physically, socially, mentally and spiritually.
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What challenges did you face during training? In my personal life I had many upheavals and many reasons not to train, and had to deal with some pretty serious negative opposition to bodybuilding!!!. On top of that my daughter was diagnosed and treated for a serious illness and I nearly walked away from the gym and BBing... but despite the very rocky and uncertain times I held onto Lisa and the "plan" and just plugged away... some days were shattering on an emotional level with what my child had to go through and I would get really down and not want to take care of myself and would lose sight of competition...from the beginning Lisa knew at any moment I might pull out so I didn't feel pressured at all. Living in a very structured lifestyle gave me signposts to get to, once I had breakfast, I'd have to get to morning tea...the meals and times were set and I think having the structure and routine and someone checking on me meant I didn't slip away into a depressive cycle of not looking after myself. So I just held on tight and put my head down and stuck with it. And the more opposition I got in my resolve to compete just pushed me to train harder!!! Thanks heaps!!!, and you know who you are!!!! I am very stubborn and determined when I put my mind to something!
With 6 children and running a household, how did you fit in your training? With such a big family and so many factors that come into play, life is a big changeable circus...never a dull moment with 9 people to consider. What I have learned is that I have no control over anyone or anything and all I have control over is me. I have control of my mind... my thoughts...and my body. No matter how bad things get I've got my mind and body and I have a choice, say in what happens. I choose to be fit and positive as much as I am able. I train around the peak times, and make sure I'm there...I won't/don't leave for the gym in the evening unless everything is done to make it smooth for my husband and kids. I train at the gym before my husband leaves for work in the morning and also after dinner. Occasionally I will put my little girl in the gym creche, but only if I have no other alternative in order to meet my targets. I'm also a second Mum to my Step-sons, and accomadate their needs where necessary even though they are no longer living at home, which might mean impromptu dinners and picking them up, and phone calls that take priority over training!!! Did you find it hard putting your needs first? Yes, at first I felt seriously guilty leaving, it was quite emotional having been Mum and in charge and letting go of the reins was hard...and very hard to leave the kids and miss out...
Are you happy with how you turned out at your first contest? winning a contest in your first outing is impressive. Um, of course!!! coming first was amazing, leading up to a first comp you just don't know how you stack, no matter what is said to you, its shaky ground. Martina Aumua said to me that the first comp is like a dress rehearsal and not to worry too much, but the second show was the real decider, I placed 2nd at Nationals and was so blown away. In the fortnight leading up to my first contest I had no butterflies, I wasn't worried at
all which surprised people, and me. For me philosophically it was like waiting at the airport to go on an exotic trip to return home forever changed, and the reason why I didn't have butterflies was because I just love to fly!!! I had trained and prepared as much as I was able and had given it my best shot and I had no concerns because If I placed I'd be ecstatic and if I didn't place I'd still be ecstatic because I'd given it a go.
So either way in my eyes I'd won.
What's your goal now? To prepare for the 2007 Nationals...I can't wait, it's not just the competing but also the fun of it all. I love the vibe...I love the athletes and just so enjoy being part of a sport I love...the people are so special and all seem to but cut from the same cloth. It's instant understanding and that in itself is rare and so cool in this world.
Your advice to other Mums who want to give competing a go? Well, just to make a decision firstly and to stick to it, its the whole consistency thing again. Anything is possible with a family.