Sure we all have to put a lot of things on the line in order to compete.  Our jobs, our friends and relationships ...but are you willing to put your life on the line?  Vini Rangihaeata did exactly that and lived to tell the tale. 

Vini had been training for 2 years to compete in a bodybuilding contest in 2005 when suddenly her dreams were shattered when she was in an accident at home which caused a brain swell and left her paralysed. 

left: Vini, Operations Manager Harbour Fitness Feb 10 
Check out our Harbour Fitness story here 

Seasoned Figure competitor Lisa Bellingham is featuring in the NZ corner in an upcoming issue of the Australian MuscleMag. Since we have plenty of material from our interview with her that wasn't included in the article, we thought we'd share them with you here.

Lisa has competed for over 10 years and won numerous figure titles but currently Lisa is at a crossroads in her bodybuliding career and not sure if/when she'll compete again.  But Lisa being Lisa, will probably pop up somewhere along the line.

In the meantime she did share some of her thoughts on her career and tips for those wanting to give bodybuliding a go.

Any regrets?
No, although I wish I had perhaps taken more advantage of when I qualified for overseas comp to Greece in 08.  Aprt from the Sth Pacific Champs in Samoa, I wish I'd done more overseas comps in my time.  11 years is a long time to have limited your travel in the sport.  But as far as regrets, I have no regrets.  Lots of things that took me a long time to work out like diet and training, that sort of thing.  But without going through the highs and lows of trying everything out yourself you would never know what was going to work. That was actually half the fun of competing and going through the journey in the past 10 years is going through the experience. Achieving and not achieving, winning and losing, highs and lows is part of the big picture.

Changes in figure class over the years?
At end of day you can sit and watch bbing comps and you can usually pick who's going to win. Sure in some years girls are bigger, some muscular, smaller some years, some leaner but generally you can select in top 3.

Everyone's getting bigger and harder, muscular and that's probably true and in fact its coming very much like bodybuilding comps.  Nothing's changed since I first started.  Its not modeling comp, its bbing comp.  Still think that it depends who you're up there against.  You could come in looking beautiful and how a figure competitor should look but there's always someone who could turn up on day looking more learner, harder, ripped, little more vascular.  Hard to say what's going to appeal on the day.

Self doubt?
I Used to.  Like all novices I think you do initially but as you do more and more and experienced with it.  You go with the flow abit more and you know you're going to hit the wall.  More prepared and only time where I think I'm not going to get there, was really no big deal anyway.  If you really want to do it, you'll do it.  I might just do it for status and keep my name out there this yet. I'm not going to do it. Got to question if you want why are you doing it.  I might do it for status, chances are you won't do it it doesn't matter anyway.