This event is for those of you who really want to see how far you can take your body to look like a ‘superstar’! For the men it’s about getting ‘ripped’ and for the ladies it’s about getting super lean and sexy in the fitness model class.

I believe this would have to be the most disciplined sport in the world as bodybuilders and physique athletes not only have to do the training but in addition have to be disciplined enough to follow strict dieting.  This goes beyond the measures of most other athletes. It’s super disciplined and super tough. Just imagine being at your son’s birthday, your own birthday, numerous weekend barbecue’s as well as catch up’s with girlfriends and family and not being able to have even one alcoholic beverage, a piece of cake or not much else for that matter… Well that was my wife Kristy, who decided that after giving birth to our second son on April 15 this year, would compete only 5 months and two weeks after this. Your probably thinking she is crazy and so did I. Honestly, even I did not agree with her doing this at first but then I realised why it was so important for her to get her body back. It was about taking control of those post pregnancy emotions that were going wild through her body and doing something positive for herself so she would feel like a woman again.

Imagine being the husband of this ‘hormonally pepped up dieting nazy’. Imagine that you see her reach for something at a function and naturally, in doing what I believe to be the right thing, and remind her of her goal… Well let’s just say that I have been learning to keep my mouth shut the hard way of late… She was not very appreciative to say the least.

I found myself at the event, extremely proud as I sat with my son, cheering for my wife and see her come second in the ‘bikini momma’ division against other mums. Most of which, who had toddlers and there she was, only 5 months after giving birth, on stage with her womanly physique back. Great Job honey!

My part in all of this is coach and giving the guidelines for others to follow, as well as being the bouncing board for Jamie to discuss his approach to training. Jamie is very well resourced for bodybuilding and I just generally take a back step with his training and we chat about ideas and training methods to ensure he has picked the best for him.  For my wife, given we are both ‘Leo’s, I don’t train her as it generally gets fiery. I am the program author and find someone else to carry out the training with her. This also worked for us in 2008 when we won Miss Australia!

It’s very satisfying, making the adjustments to programs.  Changing the exercise selection, training days and diet is just some of what we look at and seeing the results that follow can be very rewarding and informative. It really is trial and error with every athlete as everyone has different needs and responses to both diet and training. Being objective and specific is paramount if you want to be accurate in your preparation and that is why all of these participants who want to get lean, healthy and sexy use a trainer to design programs and measure progress. It just makes sense!

Viva had another 4 competitors being head Trainer Jamie, Body combat instructor Meghan, long term PUSH_ member Susan and PUSH_ member Sasha.

They had been following a strict regime and most were working with Jamie to prepare for the event and they all did an outstanding job. This was Susan’s third event and she looked absolutely ‘majestic’ on stage. At age 53 she should feel like it too!  Susan changed her plan this time and came in really lean and narrowly missed out on first place in what can only be stated as a controversial decision…

For Jamie it was his second event and his legs were in a league of their own on stage with his bulging quads and thick gluts standing out amongst the crowd.  Coming in equal fourth Jamie, at first wasn’t too happy with the result but on reflection has addressed where he could have improved and I know that he will come back and learn from this next time. He had great size in his legs but was probably 2 weeks off with his dieting, so he was a bit softer than what he wanted on stage against the winner, who had striations in his muscles from head to toe and looked incredible.

To the other two girls Meghan and Sasha, well done on such a terrific accomplishment and achieving a milestone in your life that could be compared to very little else.

Make It happen