Balance by Heather Bear

Something you MUST have when competing and raising a family. There are so many competitors that do not know how to do this. I have seen top competitors and friends get divorced and lose their children because they think competing is more important than their own family. They simply didn't know how to achieve balance in their life.

I'm a mother of 2 young girls (4 years & 8 months) wife, personal assistant to Jen Hendershott, personal trainer and part time nail tech. I often travel all over the world on the weekends for Phat Camp. I have weeks where I leave on Thursday and return on Monday. During this time, I'm still a mom, wife and dieting for a show. I've been competing for 5 years. I was back on stage 6 months after my first baby and 4 months after my second.

I think every competitor needs to have a schedule. You have to plan your week. We all have things come up, but you have to be able to work around them. My husband works 2nd shift, so the afternoon & evenings are all up to me.

I do not belong to a gym. I have a full gym & tanning bed in my garage. I wake up before everyone and get in a hour of cardio. If I get up early enough, I'll jump in the tanning bed. After my morning cardio, I get everyone their breakfast. I also start my husband’s lunch and prepare my food for the day. After breakfast, I answer e-mail for an hour. At noon, I start training clients and continue to answer e-mail throughout the day. I also manage to get a workout in and a second cardio session. My girls play in the gym while I work out. After my appointments with clients are finished, it's dinner and bath time. I always manage to watch cartoons with my daughter, Izabella, for a little while. I'll be honest, I have some days when I am doing cardio at midnight, but it gets done. These are poorly planned days or days when I booked too many clients. In addition to all this, my daughter is in gymnastics and I work a few hours a week at a beauty salon. This is why I have to have a schedule. My family and clients come first. My family is my support system and my clients pay my bills. Without my clients and Phat Camp I wouldn't have any extra money to compete.

I have seen several friends compete once or twice because they could not schedule their time around their family. These could have been top girls, but they just couldn't balance the stage and family life. When my husband is home we all eat together. He eats "normal food" and I eat my "competition food." I try to tell women that you can't torture your family because you are competing/dieting. You have to have a good support system at home or you will not be the "best" on stage or off. My daughter gets all of the typical 4-year-old treats/cookies/snacks. I do not take that away from her just because I can't eat it.

I have to say that since I started traveling more, I learned to cherish my time at home with my husband and girls. In the summer, when I'm not at a Phat Camp, we go camping and boating as much as possible. While camping, I still get up and do cardio and pack my food (if I'm getting ready for a show). People don't understand that you can still do family things, diet, and HAVE FUN. All of this depends on HOW BAD YOU WANT IT. I want the best of both worlds, so that's why I make sure I have BALANCE.

You can read more about me at www.Heather-Bear.com or e-mail me at bearclaw@seidata.com.

If you are interested in Phat Camp or online training check out www.Getphatwithjen.com or www.getphatonline.com.

I also have a pregnancy DVD that shows how I gained 18 pounds w/ my 2nd baby vs 78 pounds with my first. You can purchase those on my web-site.

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