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!!