COMPETITIONS: MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

Ever since my days in the Army, I have always been interested in fitness. After leaving the Army I went on to open my own fitness centre. Despite fitness always playing an important role in my life, I still didn’t have a goal to work on, both physically and mentally. In the army I always had a goal which I would be working towards. Having a goal and working towards it is what gives us motivation, and that is exactly what I felt I was lacking.Back in 2014, while surfing the internet I came across the Miami Pro Fitness Model Competition for the very first time.

I looked into this competition and learnt more about what it involved and what it would take in order to take part. I decided I would give it a try. I spent the next 6 months training for the competition and traveled to London to compete against other worldwide competitors in my category. In this competition I placed 11th. Although it was a very valuable experience for me I was not satisfied with my result. I could have let it be the reason I gave up but instead it motivated me to work even harder!

This time I decided to take the time needed in order to be better prepared. I spent the next 2 years training in order to develop a better physique and therefore be able to present an improved package on stage. In 2016, I found out there were other categories in the Miami Pro competition; the Fitness Model category and the Model category. I entered both categories and this is where my hard work paid off. I placed 2nd in the Model category and 3rd in the Fitness Model category. These results earned me two Pro Cards, but taking part in this competition taught me a lot more.

I learnt a lot about training in particular aspects such as conditioning and effective training programmes. It is not about how often you train or go on a diet but HOW you train and what food you eat. Now that I have experienced first-hand what it means to prepare yourself for a competition like this, I feel I am in a much better position to guide someone who is also interested in taking part in a physique competition. Today, guiding clients who are preparing for a competition is one of the most satisfying parts of my job, whether it be in the form of preparation advice, fat loss training or nutrition guidance.