Remember Kelsey Aquiline? We met her in a previous interview and she was just preparing for a Fitness Competition. So we got back in touch and asked her to tell us all about this experience!
1. Hey Kelsey! It's great to have you back! I'm sure everyone is anxious to know, so tell us: have you won the competition?
I did not win the competition, although I feel like I have won!
2. No problem because we still want to hear all about it! And you can start by telling us more about the competition itself.
I competed in the Sandra Wickham Fall Classic within the BCABBA (British Columbia Amateur Body Building Association). It was the largest bodybuilding competition in BC in history and it was held in New Westminster, BC. I competed in the “Figure” category, in the tall class. I was up against a lot of amazing women, who have been doing this for a long time. I unfortunately did not manage to make top 5, but I did made second call out, which was still a win for me! That means if the placing went past 5, I would have placed between 6 and 9.
I was 100% happy with the body I brought to the stage! Of course, I plan to grow and make more improvements on my body, but my symmetry and size were there. I was pleasantly surprised by the way my body looked on stage. I believe my downfall was my stage presence. Being my first competition ever, I really didn't know how to handle myself well on stage.
3. Tell us more about how the contest went!
In competitions there are two parts: prejudging in the morning (where majority of the judging is made) and the evening show (where the awards are issued). Due to the large amount of competitors in the show, the final decisions were made during prejudging with absolutely no room for any changes. I watched a video of myself on stage during the prejudging round, and saw where the improvements needed to be made. I feel I did correct a lot of what needed correcting by the night show. Still, there was no room for any judging changes, but that didn't mean I shouldn't do my best to make those corrections and present myself the best I possibly could.
4. Well, congratulations Kelsey! Simply to be on stage is a great achievement and requires A LOT of hard work and dedication. And speaking of that, tell us how you prepared for this competition?
Competition Prep...where do I begin!! That saying "If it was easy, everyone would do it!" definitely comes into play during preparation for a competition. And I heard it A LOT during the last two weeks leading up to the show. Physically, the last two weeks are extremely draining. Mentally, that is a whole other ball game. I expected to have to push myself to the limits. In fact, that is what I was looking forward to! I love being challenged and finding out what I am truly capable of. I looked at myself as a strong individual, body and mind. But I would be lying if I said I didn't want to give up many times.
My training really didn’t change much. A few hours of cardio a week were added. Everyone is different, personally I was only doing 5 hours a week. It was intimidating to me though. Cardio and I are not good friends. I struggled a lot with getting those 5 hours in on top of the regular amount of weight training I had been doing. That added a lot of mental stress. I was always worrying about getting to the gym and making sure I got everything done. At times I was so exhausted, just walking into the gym made me angry and miserable. I felt like I had nothing left to give! No rest days for the last little while gave me no down time, no time to recuperate.
5. And how your diet changed?