Well, hello there!
I have finally been able to sit down, relax a little and get back into my little blogging mind frame (you’re going to be sick of me in a week). My mind is seriously racing! I have SO many things I want to share so be prepared to see a lot of posts in the next coming weeks including some delicious recipes and my plans now that my first comp season is well and truly over!
Firstly though I wanted to do a little recap of my first comp which was with the WBFF and then do the same for my second comp which was ANB in Canberra. I’m going to keep it short because lets be real, nobody has time (wants to) read an hour by hour detailed essay on how I smothered my rice cake in peanut butter and jam and graciously dropped it on my face at 9am… but if you do, email me (pictures will be provided). I’ll give me 100% honest opinion of how I found the two federations, how the day ran, how many times I heard the saying “OMG, babe, can you still see my abs?” backstage, etc… Ya feel me? Ya feeling me… Cool!
So, WBFF. As some of you know (have probably seen my throwback photos of the beach on Instagram) this comp was smack bang in the middle of the Gold Coast. I was lucky enough that my Aunty (Hi Nadia, love you) actually lives that way so it was pretty cool that we had the opportunity to spend some time with her as we ended up staying at her apartment on Main Beach. We arrived on the Thursday, tan and athletes meet/check in’s were on the Friday and then the competition was on the Saturday so it was a crazy couple of days. The day of the comp I had a tan touch up in the morning and then moved all my stuff backstage in the ‘athletes chill out room’ and just kind of hung there until stage time which was around a 5 hour wait. This part sucked honestly… we were one of the last categories on and to wait that long backstage is actually pretty tiring because the adrenalin wears off a little after the first couple of hours. But nevertheless, they were super organised with telling us estimates of how long till we stepped on stage.
Backstage selfies
This was my first time ever competing so once we were called to line up I was definitely feeling a little bit nervous. But then after I got up there, did my thang and stepped off stage, it was a super amazing feeling that you honestly can’t really describe! I had SO much fun and felt super confident with how I presented myself and started counting down the hours till I could go back on for theme wear.
Photos from bikini round
We had a 2 hour break for an ‘intermission’ type deal and I ended up going back to my aunties house to just hang out and eat some food before we went back to the venue. In my opinion it really could have done with an hour tops because it just ended up dragging the day out a little. Once we were back it was our theme wear round which was super fun and then the placings commenced shortly after that. I came away with a 6th place and was pretty damn stoked. Sometimes I literally just have to pinch myself to remember that at 20 years old, I stepped on the WBFF stage (which has forever been my goal) for my first ever comp and came away with a top 10 placing. Kinda coooool in my opinion.
In terms of the federation overall, WBFF put on a super AMAZING show. The competitors were treated with such respect and everyone who was hired to work there was really well informed and willing to help when they could. The tanning people were there on the day to help fix up all the little things like my bum lines (tough gig, huh?) and the show was just everything it cracked up to be and more. When you look back at stage photos you can really tell the amount of effort that went into the day and it was evident in how smoothly it all ran. Highly recommend to anyone looking to compete but please keep in mind that this show is untested… that for me is the biggest downfall as I have no plans in the future to run a cycle of well… anything!
Fast forward to ANB…
So, ANB was two weeks after WBFF and honestly it was real hard to find my mojo some days! I think because it was a smaller show and I was only really doing it because it was so close to home and my family could come was just not enough for me to get my head in the game. Come show day though it was still just as exciting and I had an absolute blast being able to look into the crowd and see my favourite people waving at me and yelling like mad people (Lyndsay, this is totally you). The show was super small competitor wise which meant it finished a whole lot earlier than I expected which was nice (…I got to Yoghurtland sooner). All in all it ran super smooth backstage and was a cool little set up with lots of space which is always a plus! But from what I heard from my parents, the music was so damn loud that you couldn’t even hear the presenter doing her job. They also played the same music every single time we got on stage and I definitely got sick of hearing the Pussycat Dolls telling me to ‘Loosen up my buttons, babe’. I came away with a 2nd place in Fitness Novice and a 2nd place in Fitness under 30’s and was a whole lot happier with the package I bought to the stage in comparison to WBFF. I was a lot fuller physique wise and overall just loved my hair and makeup more which made me super happy to stroll onto stage!
Big shout out to Asha from Comptan who gave me an amazingly flawless tan and to Emily from Blissfit Bikinis for the perfect stage bikini. AND an even bigger thank you to the wonderful Alyssa Kirk for making me feel absolutely beautiful on the day with my hair and makeup. You guys all made this show what it was for me!
To wrap it up in regards to this federation, ANB season A is definitely a worthwhile competition for those newbies like me that wanted to get a taste of competing. I wish I had done ANB then WBFF but the dates didn’t work out that way (of course) as I felt so much more comfortable stepping on stage this time round compared to my first show. Everyone back stage was really helpful and the judges were also really nice from what I gathered at the check in’s. I also was able to contact the head judge about feedback and he contacted me back within 2 days with some worthwhile information to take on board. The feedback was in regards to my mid-section (which I already knew haha) and that the other girl was just leaner in this area. I will add in here something unrelated to the federation and more personal. I am well aware that my mid section is where I lack… Unfortunately I am not gifted with the ligaments of the gods and don’t have chocolate block thick lines! Instead, I have stronger obliques which is something I tried to work with more on stage. By no means am I disheartened by this feedback and I encourage you to remember that not one body is built the same. Work with what you have, improve what you can and most of all, appreciate your body for all that it is and can do.
Okay… rant over… SPAM TIME!
For ANB I wanted to bring a fuller package to the stage so we tweaked my peak week and that’s what I did! Will touch on this in my next blog post!
Worlds best cheer squad
Stage shot from Xavier Pixels
With the beautiful Bron who I met for the first time on Sunday after being Instagram acquaintances for a LONG time
Back shots courtesy of the AIS
Yep… just yep… you betcha bottom dollar that’s cheesecake pieces
Makeup by the amazing Alyssa Kirk (you ma girl)
Had to do my butt pose
Post Yoghurtland face
Now as for what you can expect from me in the blogging world… 1: A weekly check in of my reverse diet is going to be my number one priority… if you are unaware of what reverse dieting is, see you monday pal. 2: 10 things you should know about competing 3: Recipes, simply and delicious recipes 4: probably more about my process of competing lets be real and 5. YOU decide, email me, what do you want me to blog about ya’ll? Also thinking about doing a Q&A post because I get so many random questions on my pictures on Instagram SO send me your questions, lovers! > schae_zarew@hotmail.com <
So much love from this now borderline albino,
Schae X
my life in balance 