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Ask Misty Green by Misty Green
I just want to thank everyone for the huge response and mounds of questions I have received. If I didn’t get to your question in the article, I will respond to your emails individually and I promise, if I don’t know the answer I will research to find one for you. And if anyone has any suggestions other than the ones I share please feel free to respond and I will share them with everyone. This is our fitness family and everyone is here to help each other. I usually choose the questions that I get repeatedly to share with everyone here at Hardfitness. The following are two that came up the majority of time this past month. Enjoy and continue to train hard and have fun!
Suit Help!
There are so many options for suits out there and they are so expensive. I can’t afford to pick suits by trial and error. I have to pick two suits that will last me for a year or two. You seem to always have a color that compliments your skin and hair. How do you go about picking the right color, the right amount of stones, the right cut and the right designer?
Soni B., Al
You’re right Soni, there are tons of options out there. My motto is to not make it any more complicated than it has to be, keep it simple. To start, I will typically try to find a color. Everyone has a grouping of colors that they love to wear and that look good on them. Narrow that down to 3 and start looking on the internet at pictures from various shows of gals with your same hair color and see which of your 3 suit colors stands out to you. You can also go to a fabric store and play around with the different types of fabrics in the colors you want to help you narrow it down. Now that you have your color, it’s time to pick a designer. I personally work with crystal, from cryscorner.com. I love the cut of her suits and stone work, not to mention she has great prices for great work. You can refer to, issue # 1“Helpful Hints” by Merry Christine and also issue # 10 “Search for the Perfect Suit” by Jane Awad, for lists of other suit designers. The bottom line is to view the suits that various designers offer and see who fits your budget and produces the style that you like. Also, you want to make sure that the designer will also send your suits to you to try on before they start the stone work. It’s much easier to make changes to a suit before it is stoned. Remember, you are the one who has to be happy with the color and style of your suit, so go with your heart and choose something you will feel like a princess in!
Gaining Weight
Last year I did my first show and I was so proud of myself and all the hard work I put into it. Apparently, I was so proud that I celebrated for 2 weeks straight and gained all of my weight back plus a whole lot more. Not to mention that I was so swollen my fingers and toes hurt. Now that I am getting ready for my next show, I wanted your advice on how to prevent the post contest BLOW UP. Or is this just something that everyone goes through and it will happen no matter what?
Maria, Fl (*Editor Note: If using estrogen blockers discontinuing them right after the show will have a harsh effect and thus cause you to rebound very hard. Tapering them off to smaller doses for 2 weeks after the show will help keep the incoming surge of estrogen a bit down. jc@hardfitness.com)
You are not alone Maria, I’m pretty sure every girl and guy out there goes through something similar. It seems like everyone wants to feed you when you are done with your show and you’ve denied yourself long enough, that it is hard to resist. Everyone may have different views on what to do but here is what has worked for me. First and foremost, you will gain the water weight back immediately (6-8lbs), it is only natural. The depletion is so hard on the body that I try to get back to drinking my normal 1 ½ to 2 gallons of water ASAP. I definitely go out and have a celebration dinner but for me it’s usually a hot juicy steak or sushi and yes, I have dessert (which is usually ice cream). For others it might be pizza, Mexican food or countless other things but I think that if you can try to limit your salt intake it will help with the swollen feeling. I think it’s important to ease back into what we call somewhat of a normal life. I continue to do my cardio twice a day plus my weight workout for a couple of weeks to help with the extra calorie intake. After that I drop down to cardio 4 days a week but I still try to eat my meals every 2 ½ to 3 hrs and keep it semi clean and if I crave something, I have it, but in moderation. I also allow myself to have one day a week to enjoy whatever I want. By easing back into a so called normal life it should help you slowly gain the weight back versus feeling like you blew up in a matter of days. I try to stay within 10-15 lbs of my contest weight because I feel that for me, it is more realistic. It is inevitable that we gain weight after a show and you feel thicker but remember you are still in great shape and treats are great, just try to keep it in moderation. For more info, check out issue # 9 “Post Contest Blues” by Traci Redding, it’s a great article and proves you are not alone!
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About the Author...
Being a competitive track star, Misty decided
to compete and is very close to obtaining her pro card. She impressed
many at the 2005 Emerald Cup and Jr. Nationals in Chicago. Next
year she will be looking to get her pro card. Misty's track background
and strong plyometric techniques have made her legs stand out
from all other competitors. The article here is a classic HardFitness
read so enjoy and learn.
Email Misty here:
mistygreen@hotmail.com |
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