Friday, May 25, 2012

Are you a HATER?


If you have been reading my blog for any length of time you are very aware I write from my own experiences. Today's blog is meant to cause a reaction within your soul. You will either completely "empathize" not sympathize, with me or you will feel as if you have been CALLED OUT. That's right! Be prepared to feel something. If you are honest with yourself you will find out if you are "that" HATER!

As an NPC competitor I endure all sorts of reactions for what I do. Some are encouraging while others are not. Your first thought is that this will be about the girls I meet at the competitions. Quite the opposite. Those girls are usually very nice and supportive of one another. We understand the hard work we have put into these shows and that respect shows in most cases. I decided to write this when I had had enough. When I recently uploaded a video to youtube lifting my max weight on dumbbell chest press, I did so mainly for my friends to see. I had no idea it would bring out the haters. Accusations that I wasn’t lifting the weight and that my workout partner was helping too much became a big issue to someone. Ugly comments and banter continued before I finally had to block him from my site. What was the point in that? I meant this for fun and someone was missing that. Why? Probably because hating on others made him feel better about HIM. I, being a bit naive I suppose, was a bit taken back by how quickly someone was willing to say something that would insult me instead of build me up. But then again, as I got to thinking, this has been going on in different forms my whole life.

Most of my criticism comes from females. Jealousy amongst us females is and always will be present. I think it's very hard for females to truly be happy for those of the same sex. I remember being that way myself. I think with age and doing these shows I have gained the confidence I never had and learned to be happy with me. Now I can truly say I enjoy seeing other women succeed. It actually empowers me. If she can do it, then so can I.

One example of being "hated" on occurred last year. After my show, my workout partner hung some pictures of me from my competition at the gym. Boy, the uproar that caused. They were up less than a week. I am sure some insecure woman was threatened by my pictures being up for her husband to see. She probably buys magazines with photo-shopped movies stars on the front of them, but heaven forbid you put up a picture of a "real" woman. You are a HATER! You just disguise it as "morals" "values" or some other name that makes you feel better. Get over yourself.

Don't forget about the "silent hater". Let me tell you what they look like. They are one of your 350 + friends on facebook who won't even "like" you winning a show or tell you congrats. Don't want to do that. If you "like" it, one of your friends will see it (probably a male) and how will that make YOU feel? You are a silent HATER. Get over yourself.

That's not the worse silent hater. How about that person (usually a woman) who knows and is aware of your success or training for a show but offers no Good Luck or Congrats! She will look you square in the eyes and think about it, but nothing. Sorry to say it, but you too are a HATER.

These HATERS will preach love and kindness, but when your success forces them to look at themselves and face their own insecurities, then you become the bad guy. Let's face it. I am an easy target to hate. I am young (ok maybe not so young), attractive, and having some success. What is there to like about me. I am everything you want to be...at least that's what you think.

Don't forget that I am human just like you. I have had and continue to have my own insecurities and struggles. Naturally I want people to like me.........just like you do. So the next time you whisper something negative about me because of what I do as a competitor, STOP and think, am I being a HATER? Instead perhaps, offer me some encouragement. Don't assume I get enough, because as my first example shows, there is always someone willing to HATE. Don't be "that" HATER.




Thursday, May 17, 2012

And the Winner Is........

We all want to hear our name being called out as the winner....no matter what it is. Whether you are a seven year old hoping you won a coloring contest or you are 38 and competing in a NPC bikini competition.
" CANDACE HARMON!" Whooh! First place in master's, now I just have to wait and see how I did in the open (all ages) division in my height class. "And the 1st place trophy goes to, with her second win of the night, CANDACE HARMON." Wow! I am feeling good. I won the Optimum Classic back in 2010 and here I am again repeating in 2012. At this point I am excited, but no time to celebrate. I have only a few minutes then I go back on stage to compete against the Class B winner. A lot of things are going thru my head at this point. I have never competed for overall and really want to sweep this show. I am motioned to join the class B winner on stage at which point the head judge takes over and tells us to do our front pose, back pose, walk 5 steps, then walk back. "Swagger" I think, "I have to bring my swagger". I have no idea what this chic brings to the table so I have to leave everything on the stage. After a very brief minute of posing, the judges make their decision and the results are announced. " the  winner of the overall trophy and title of Optimum Classic's 2012 Bikini Champion goes to CANDACE HARMON".
 I am thrilled! My first overall win could not have come at a better time. Jr. Nationals is only 5 weeks away and this will just boost my confidence. Granted the show was small, but the competiton was good. My trainer and I did so many things different with this show and it was either going to fail miserably or hit the mark. Well, it hit the mark. I could not be more satisfied with the way I looked regardless of the competition. I received some good feedback from the judges and will hopefully take this version of me to Chicago. I would love nothing more than to have a top five finish there, but I am going in to WIN!

Here are some pictures from this weekends show.










Tuesday, May 1, 2012

How much weight can you move?


You have probably heard the saying; Big things come in small packages, or Don’t judge a book by its cover. That could not apply to anything more than weight training. We all assume the biggest guy in the gym can lift the most weight. Or perhaps the guy who is in the best shape (ripped abs ect.) is surely stronger than the other guys. Not always so...and I am living proof of that. At 113 lbs I recently did my max of 65lb DBs in each hand for chest press. Yep that's right. I can push some weight around.

So the question I get a lot is "Do I have to lift heavy?" My answer to that is...only if you want to see some physical changes. What's the point in going in to lift weights if the weight you are doing does nothing to challenge the muscles to grow? "I just want to tone" I hear some of you saying. Well you get the tone look from decreasing your body fat not by lifting light. Now don't misconstrue what I am saying. Rotating in higher reps is a great way to challenge your muscle endurance from time to time. But higher reps means you go as heavy as you can to get 12-15 reps and getting number 15 took all you had. Doing a weight where you are pushing out 20 reps is not going to initiate any major physical changes in your physique.

When all else fails, as I like to say, LOAD IT UP!

To check out my weight lifting go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApPEqw_I6Cc

Below is a picture from 2 weeks out.