Saturday October 1st, 2016 I competed in the MN Mayhem in Duluth, MN. This was by far the best run show I have ever competed in.

Leif and Stephanie Anderson really really do an amazing job with every detail of the show. Of the 6 shows I have been in, theirs was the only one where:

• I did a T-walk
• picked my own music for the T-walk
• could use props during my T-walk
• had a pose down in each class
• gave each competitor a giant swag bag of goodies
• had special effects: smoke, lights
• Had a huge “movie” screen on stage for effects
• the best MC around
•  huge payouts for the Pro competitors
• Serious organization and technology utilization

This show was all around entertaining and really showed a true appreciation for the hard work that the competitors have put in over a year (s) not to mention the $100’s or $1000’s of dollars (depending on your length in this “hobby”/ sport) we have all spent over time on our fitness and competitions. (see more on the Costs of Competing)

Also, the aforementioned list really gave me the opportunity to stand out with the pose downs and my T-walk as you will see below in my video.  The next show I will be doing, The Northern States Natural Classic (NANBF), I do a L walk which is basically walk out pose a few times and walk off. No chosen music, no props, no pose downs… snore!

I think Leif and Stephanie have ruined any future shows for me unless these other shows step up their game. Which BTW is seriously needed. Jus Sayin.

Leif and Stephanie currently do three shows per year:

• MN Mayhem – Fall/ Duluth, MN
• The Diva Classic – Spring/ Duluth, MN
• USA Championships- Summer/ St. Paul, MN

Each now affiliated with the NANBF. They were formerly affiliated with the DFAC.

Appreciation

Well of course I appreciate many muscly men standing on a stage in very little clothing but that is not what I will be getting at :D. Saturday mid show I sat in the auditorium off to the side watching the show. As I sat there watching everyone get up there, I had this deep appreciation for the hard work every single competitor put into this.

Every single competitor, some more than others but every one worked to get to the stage and give it their all overcoming what ever may have been going on in their life or past issues they have had to over come. Truly incredible people all coming together in one incredible show where we are allowed to shine and really show what we’ve got and what we have built.

It was such a blast and I had so much fun.

Coaches

All coaches need coaches. For the past year, John Gorman was my diet coach and mentor for my own biz ….

…and for the past few months Arron Sidner at REDLine HP pushed me hard in the gym. I have such a good time there. My day is not complete unless I get my ass to REDLine!

The Night Before

Friday night we packed up (see Show Day Packing List) and drove 2.5 hours to Duluth, MN. Checked into our hotel and then headed to check in for the show and get my stage number, t-shirt and swag bag. The swag bag was awesome! It was filled with samples and full size products for all things body building. Da bomb.

After that was the polygraph. You usually go to the hotel room you are assigned and wait outside the door. When they are ready for you, a person comes out, brings you into the hotel room and you sit down in the chair and they strap you in much like this:

It really was no big deal but you still get nervous. The polygrapher usually does his/her best to make conversation and tried to make sure you understand the process and how things work. I passed. yay.

Tan

This season, as I did for my last season competing, I DIY tanned.

See DIY Competition Tan- No Prob and Your Competition Tan- What to Expect.

The biggest thing for any competition tan is prepping your skin in the week leading up to your show. You need to make sure you exfoliate and if you are waxing, have that done 4-5 days prior to the first coat of tan.

You need to shave 8 hours before your first coat of tan which is usually the night before the show and you cannot apply any deodorant or lotion that day or the next.  That night, the hubby slathered the first layer of tan on me. I slept in my long pants and shirt on old sheets at the hotel. Then we put on a second coat around 6 AM giving my tan enough time to really set and dry before show time.

I used a combo of Jan Tana Ultra 1 and Pro Tan products. Both worked great. I actually liked the Pro tan better as it is a foam pump and not a spray.

As we were applying my tan I was getting nervous because it wasn’t looking even. What I had forgotten to do on Friday morning for my shower was use soap! I exfoliated with sugar only, no oil BUT I oil cleanse every other day as I don’t use soap on my body or face. That residual jojoba oil was still on my skin and caused some blotchy-ness on my back and bootay. We worked to blend it several times and it wasn’t noticeable on stage.

I don’t put competition tan on my face but I buy  matching foundation. I used a mix of Beauty Counter Tint Skin in Chesnut and the Make Up Forever Mat Velvet color number 75 from Sephora. I use a primer by Cover Fx Mattifying Primer with Acne Treatment and for my eyes the Urban Decay Primer. Then I use a very bright blush and lip stick and very dark eye shadow.

This year I did use false eye lashes and they look really great in the photos.

Show day diet

My show day diet was basically my off day diet with normal water intake. I don’t dehydrate as you can read more why in my last post Peak Week.

The reason I did rice cakes for my carbs was A) they fit my macros at 10-12 carbs per meal and B) they are not veggies which can make your stomach distended with the fiber and bulk.  But, I did add in 1 serving of psyllium husks in the morning and one at night to make sure I kept things moving along.

Pre-Judging

Many bodybuilding shows are split up into the morning judging show and then the evening awards show. It makes for a long ass day.

During pre-judging, you come out on stage with your height class of girls the bikini girls (see tall class above) and you are directed to do quarter or half turns for comparison as well as a walk in line to the back curtain to check out your physique in motion.

 

T-Walk

Also during pre-juding at this how, bikini girls did their T-walk. Most of the time all T-walks / individual presentations happen in the evening awards show.

For those of you that don’t know what a T-walk is, it is a time when you are the only competitor on stage walking in a certain pattern with various stops posing in poses that highlight your physique. Mayhems T walk pattern was this:

The MN Mayhem is a unique show in that Leif, the promoter allows us to pick our own music (which never happens!) and use props (unheard of at other shows unless you are a bodybuilder!).  This really made it fun!

 

My T-walk was the best of the night and was raved about (you can hear some of that raving by the head judge in the next section “MN Mayhem Review”) Anyhoo, during my T-walk, I had missed my que because I couldn’t hear the music clearly. I wanted to walk out on the third beat of my song.. but oh well. I went out late and had to rush my t-walk… I felt like I was a little frantic but the video looks pretty good. I messed up the last posing stop a little bit due to rushing but no one noticed and who would have known! 🙂

And the video by Liquid Spectrum!

The birth of my routine: I first came up with something in my head and walked through that a few times. I then saw IFPA Pro and NANBF judge Lenore Theobald  who gave me some ideas and cleaned it up a bit. I also had a session with  Alison MacArthur of Elite Presentation who put some feminine icing on the cake. After that, I decided to add props and come up with the MJ stuff.

I was super nervous about the prop usage and I didn’t tell anyone I was even going to do that just in case I backed out. But,  I knew I wanted to stand out and I knew no one else would take Lief up on using props because, no other bodybuilding show traditionally does that. Being it a new thing I decided to run with it and I had to keep telling myself that people who get noticed take risks so, I felt like I was taking a risk by incorporating a hat and glove! Sounds silly but its true 😀 I did also work on the moon walk in heels and got pretty good at it but my shoes didn’t slide at all and I had to use paper towels under them. That was one thing I didn’t want to mess with at a show. Maybe next year!

Awards & Placings

I took 2nd in Novice and Open Bikini Tall + BEST OVERALL FEMALE PRESENTATION AWARD! The head judge had me in 1st place for a while but thought I had too much muscle for bikini and knocked my back down to second. BUT, he did rave about me in a big way!! See the next section.

Mayhem analysis

“Heather Owen was a stand out” and “Heather Owen had, I felt, had one if the best, if not the best physique in the entire show”… And “Heather Owen is the ultimate ultimate competitor”

The above all said by the Head judge in the Mayhem Review  about 50 minutes into the podcast the day after the show.  He had stated that I was the ultimate ultimate competitor due to my  stage presence, confidence, posing and physique.  He had me in first place for a while but decided I had too much muscle and I could have given some of the figure girls a run for their money if entered their class leaner.  Over all I am happy with it. This is the best package I have ever brought to the stage.

You can listen to the review below. If you want to hear the segment regarding the bikini classes, jump to 49 minutes in.

 

 

This was a GREAT podcast to listen to post show. It was so awesome to hear why the judges had made their decisions for every single class that day. It was SUPER helpful .

What are they looking for in bikini girls:

Most of the girls all have a good body so stage presence and posing will really count. Presentation is a big deal.

According the Mike, the Mayhem head judge, you must have your bikini walk down because that could also bring you up or down in placings. very important.

Make sure you make a great first impression when you walk out and hit that first pose.

I also feel that girls with longer torso’s genetically do well because they have room for a tiny waist.. unlike myself with a short torso.

The Day After

The day after my hair extensions have been washed, we hit up a local restaurant for a giant plate of french toast and a side of hash browns and then we traveled home and unpacked.  Aside from the french toast, I also had a good half a jar of Nutella with pretzel sticks and 1 1/2 cupcakes. Felt totally bleh the next day!

 

Reconsidering Figure

People have been asking me if I want to reconsider figure after comments of being too muscular for bikini but I find right now in  my life, bikini  is way more fun. The bottoms are not going up my ass like a figure suit so I find that far more comfortable and the posing isn’t as stressful nor is the whole muscle building preparation.

I don’t have to be as lean and anyone with small children can attest to the challenge in trying to diet down to super lean levels while making a grilled cheese sandwich that you cannot be eating.

I would love to do figure in the future but when my kids are older and they can make their own shit. 🙂

The Mayhem Crew

 

 The day of Mayhem I had two clients also compete, one in the short class and the other in medium bikini. These girls worked SO hard to hit the stage and I couldn’t have been more proud!!!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Heather Owen – Coach (@getfitgofigure)