Charles Lowthian Shoot - October 2010

On the Monday following the IFBB Nationals show I had the absolute privelidge of working and shooting with Charles Lowthian. Charles and I had chatted over the few months after the Australasia's and decided to get together in Sydney for a shoot after the Nationals. Over a number of phone chats and emails we had come up with a concept of a really feminine sort of look with a grungy background and after contemplating lighting , height ceilings and general feels of a number of different gyms we decided Hardcore Gym at Rockdale was just the place for the shoot!
Charles started with some really natural shots and then we went into some slightly more racey , shots. The shoot was lots of fun , and I was so pleased with the end result and how the pics turned out. I am currently in the process of sending them out and am looking forward to gaining some editiorial opportunites and/or fitness modelling work from the shoot. Here is a sneak preview of how it all turned out on the Day!! More pics will be uploaded this week in to the Website Gallery.

Upcoming Figure show - IFBB Nationals!!

So the countdown is on and to say that I am extremely excited would be an understatement! For anyone who is unaware I made a decision earlier this year to move across to IFBB and began with Australasia's. I placed second in the Open Figure Division against the very seasoned figure athlete Sara Picken Brown , and will be competing in the same division in just a few more weeks and I will be shooting for the National Title. There is also something else very prestigous and exciting on offer to the stand out competitors of this show , which is an opportunity to secure an invite to one of the International Shows next year. The first one is the 2011 Arnold Classic , and the second is the 2011 World Championships.
My goal all of this year has been to secure and invite to one of these shows , so I have my work cut out for me , and there has been no time to get complacent. The Nationals Figure Line up is going to be a tough one to win. So , the bar is high and the challenge has been set and with just three short weeks to go , I must say I am feeling good!
So , for anyone who wants to come and watch the show , it will be held at South Sydney Juniors Kingsford and tickets can be bought at www.musclefitness.com.au It's going to be an Awesome day and an opportunity to see the best bodybuilders and figure athletes in the country on Stage.

Hope to see you all there!!

Katie x

2010 IFBB NSW & Australian Championships

On the 23rd October I competed in the IFBB NSW and Australian Championships at South Sydney Juniors and What a day it was!! The preparation had been gruelling to say the least and the ay had finally come!! The alarm goes off at 4:30am and it time to start eating!! Then a light pump up and of to Menage a Trois for Hair and Make up!! After settling into the auditorium at 9am it was almost time to head backstage to start prepping for stage. Backtage was full of atmosphere. There were double the amwith jam and chocol,ate barsount of competitors there had ever been on Day 1 of the show and the atmosphere was incredible. Pablo had me eating rice cakes with jam and chocolate bars , Jo Rogers was gluing me into my bikini and it was very soon time to hit the Stage! The open Figure Line up was 21 girls strong and was the biggest open figure line up in IFBB History!! Even in international shows I had previously competed in , I had never seen anything like it.
We were taken through a number of callouts and the tension was high. We were curtain to curtain and all stood very close together and all I was thinking was damn I am glad I am not judging this!!
I was called out about 5 times which was exciting but the girls that were in most callouts were really standing out by this stage and I very quickly realised that I was not being considered for Top 3. Continuing to the end of the pre judging was hard work. The stage lights were hot , the comparisons were taking a bit of ime , and I think we ended up in a line up at the back of the stage for about 25 minutes. Smiles on ,tanding in poses , stomach in, up tall , squeezing our muscles from head to toe! It was tough...
The finals continued in the afternoon , and by this stage it was a little more relaxed ; as I had a good idea of where I was at in comparison to the other girls.
I was then called back out for placings and ended up with 2nd place in NSW. After a few days of reflection I was able to put the effort and achievements I had made throughout the year into persective realising that as a newcomber to both the traditional IFBB Figure Division and IFBB as a federation , second place in both shows was not bad at all!
I am now enjoying a bit of time relaxing over Christmas and then back to it January 2nd to prepare for the Melbourne All States show March 2011. It has been wonderful competing in a federation with such a high standard of figure athletes and I am most excited to turn things up a notch for the 2011 season to see what I can achieve next year!!

Pose like a Pro Workshop - Sat 21st August

On Saturday 21st August a posing workshop was run by the beautiful Rosa Marie Romero at City Gym , which proved to be such an inspirational day for all the figure competitors who attended!
As most budding competitors are aware , Rosa is just abut to fly out to compete at the very prestigious Figure Olympia , and so we were all so honoured and excited to have some time with her in her last 4 weeks of prep.
In the workshop we had an awesome opportunity to meet first time figure competitors as well as those from other federations and girls who were experienced in both Australian and International shows sharing their inspiration to become Pro just like Rose!
We covered diet , off season and in season , all different types of trainng methods specific to our sport , the things you need to be getting organised in each week of your preparation phase and of course lots and lots of Quarter Turns , and compulsory poses!!! (I am pretty sure I do these in my sleep now...lol)
We were also fortunate enough to have GMV PRODUCTIONS filming the entire thing and were able to also do interviews talking about our competition history , and a little bit about what we were getting from our time with Rose , and the workshop. That was lots of fun!
On Saturday night we all went to dinner at the very famous Ribs and Rump Restaurant in Bondi , and ordered all our nice healthy steak meals with lots of salad and veges!! It was really lovely t have an opportunity to hang out with such like minded people , and share our experiences and journeys to the stage for our upcoming shows. There were a number of reslly seasoned competitors who will be getting on stage to compete for National Titles so to chaty with them about their training , diet and everything inbetween was so Awesome:-)
A huge Thankyou to Rose for organising the day and also the dinner. It was such an absoulte pleasure being with such an inspirational group of girls who are truly working their asses off to make their dreams become a reality x

Chicken and Sweet Potato Patties

Makes 4 Patties

Ingredients

640gms Boiled Sweet Potato
500gms Chicken Breast Mince
2 Egg Whites
Half a Diced Onion
1/2 Tbspn Curry Powder
1/2 tspn Chilli Flakes
Small Handful of Chopped Coriander
S & P to taste

1. Boil Sweet Potato then mash in a Large Pot , then mash.
2. Add chicken breast mince , egg whites , onion , herbs and spices and mix.
3. Shape into 4 large patties
4. Oven bake at 180 degrees celcius on a lightly sprayed baking tray , for 20 minutes each side or until golden brown and cooked through.
5. Let them cool , wrap individually in alfoil or glad wrap zip lock bags and freeze.

Australasia's 2010

On Sunday 18th April , I took to the stage for my IFBB Debut to compete in the Open Figure Division. The journey to the stage was nothing less than an absolutely amazing experience , and being on the stage was the absolute highlight of that journey. The two things I had set my sights on in the lead up to the show were to get in to the best physical condition that I had ever been in and to be invited to represent Australia at the 2011 Arnold Classic in the Amatuer Figure Division.
I most defnitely achieved my first goal and am yet to find out if I will recieve an invite to the Arnold , but know that I have been nominated by a couple of the judges , so at this stage..I am just keeping my fingers crossed!!
Pre Judging was the first part of our day , and went well. I was feeling good and knew that I had done the work , so was happy to finally be on stage presenting the finished product to the judges.
In the afternoon , we came back on for the Finals and I felt even better. I was super relaxed and feeling focussed and ready to go and give my best! There was a lot of competition in this line up for me in the current Australasia's Figure Champion , Sara Picken Brown. Sara is a conditioned competitor who not only is the leading short class figure competitor , she had just placed 6th at the very prestigious Arnold Classic in the Amateur Figure Division in a line up of 35 girls.
After we came off stage , the judges had Sara and I back for a third callout to try and make their final decisions on First and Second place. Then , 5 long minutes later we were called back for presentation , and Sara ended up taking 1st place by one point , and I took second.
I have to say , it was such an adrenalin fuelled experience having a final callout with Sara , as we are both very competitive and she is at the top of her game so she had me really working. It was real competing , what we train for and turn up in our best condition to do!! I loved it!
All in all , I was absolutely ecstatic with my result , and how I did on the day. I wanted to be my best and I was , and it felt great!
On the Monday , I spent the day doing photo shoots with three photographers that I had not
worked with before , which was so much fun. See Australasia's Photo shoots for pics!!

Latest Sponsorship News!!

6 weeks ago I was offered full sponsorship with Menage a Trois Hair Salon. The partners of the salon decided that they wanted to get me behind me and support me as much as possible in my quest for World Domination! lol I was very humbled and extremely overwhelmed by this offer and am still very excited and looking forward to working together!
Menage a Trois first became involved in my competing while I was a client at the salon. They knew that I was doing a show in April and after discussing different looks I might take to the stage , offered to look after my hair styling for the entire week. So , we started with a practise style and then worked together preparing for media shoots , the Australasia's show and the following photo shoots the day after the show. I was lucky enough to have the salon manager with me on location all day for Australasia's so it was great to be backstage with someone that I knew was going to take care of all the presentation side of things.
A few weeks after the show , the sponsorship was in place and we began discussing a possible new look for the next show! So , I eventually gave complete control to the Salon Owner to chop my hair off!! This was a HUGE deal for me as I had my long hair all of my life but , I trusted her so much and allowed her to just do her thing!!
I am excited about my new style and I am also really looking forward to enjoying a fresh look and representing the great team of professionals that they are. You can find Menage a Trois Hair Salon on Facebook and there will be a link connected taking you to the site directly from my links page over the next few days:-) I will also be posting some pics of my new "Do" very soon , so stay tuned!!!!
I would like to extend a very warm Thankyou to everbody at the Salon , especially Franc ; for giving me this Amazing opportunity:-)

Arnold Classic 2010

Arnold Classic 2010

Where do I start?? On the 1st of March I flew to the States to watch the very prestigious Arnold Classic. To say it was inspiring would be an understatement! The main reason I went over was to watch and support 3 of the Pro Figure competitors. They are all competitors and people who I look up to in different ways , but at the same time there is definately a parallel. The parallel is that they are three super ambitious girls who are making their dreams become a reality , and inspiring girls all over the world along the way! Monica Brant , is an icon in the world of Figure competing , and has the most amazing physique I think I have ever seen. Angela Mraz is the 4 times Figure World Champ , and inspired me all the way to the World Stage myself in 2007 , and last but not least is the beautiful Rosa-Marie Romero. Rosa is our Aussie Pro Figure competitor who I am sure you all know of , doing huge things on the Pro Figure Circuit ; and is without a doubt the one to watch. She is rising to the top and is such an inspiration to us all!
The funny thing is there were 19 competitors in the International Figure Division , and I wasn’t even sure if all the girls I went to watch had made it through to the Finals until I got there on the Friday night. When they all walked out , the three of them were there and I was so excited! I just knew they would make it.

The elegance , grace and beauty of these girls and the condition in which they presented themselves on stage was truly amazing. They are at the top of their field and are the best in the world. I came back from the show so inspired and wanting nothing more than to be up on that stage next year in the Amateur Figure Division. The Pro Show will be my long term goal , and something I will be striving to achieve over the next two years. Truly , the highlight of 2010 for me. So happy that I was fortunate to go over to watch , and even more exciting was spending time and having pictures with them all the following day at the Expo. What an amazing experience!!