I traveled to Middletown, Ohio last week to help Middleweight Amy Sibcy with the last details of her North American preparation. The contest will be held Saturday, September 16th and is promising to be one of the best North Americans ever with top ranked amateurs Sherry Smith, Andrea Gahan, Debbie Bramwell, Michelle Brent, and Isabelle Turell all fighting it out for one pro card. I have high hopes for Amy and I think she will definitely be a stand out in a contest rumored to have 40 competitors. She has made remarkable improvements over the last few months and her conditioning is spot on.
Amy trains at Powerstation Gym owned by trainer extordinare Mike Ferguson. This gym may be the best I've ever seen. The equipment is top notch and the environment is hard core - definitely a dream environment for strength athletes, bodybuilders, mixed martial artists and wanna-be warriors of all ages and levels of condition.
Mike trains Rich Franklin who is the UFC Middleweight Champion and Jorge Gurgle, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist who appeared on season 2 of Ultimate Fighter. I watched them go through a one hour non-stop workout that would bury most people. Spike TV was there filming and it will show 10/14 on pay-per-view "UFC 64 - Rich Franklin vs. Anderson Silva". Rich and Jorge are fantastic ambassadors for the sport... down to earth, friendly and very cool. You can check out some video clips I shot of them on YouTube.
My favorite part of competition is the guilt free eating the first 3 or 4 days after. Days 5 and 6, the guilt of making a pig out of myself begins to set in. Day 7 (today), I'm sitting here with my belly distended and aching full of M&M's and pralines and I find myself swearing once again that enough is enough and it's back to my slightly amended contest diet tomorrow.
Barry and I had a fantastic time at the Europa Super Show and I'd really like to do it again next year if I can make the necessary improvements. I was so thrilled to be there as a Professional Bodybuilder. It was very cool to be among so many fantastic athletes. It's a small thing, but I really liked the fact that you are a name to the judges, rather than a number. The athletes have the option to choose their numbers or go on
in alphabetical order. It was decided by a vote to go in alphabetical order. Of course, the bodybuilders feel that bodybuilding should take place at the beginning of the prejudging and finals rather than come after figure and fitness. Betty stated that they like to save the best for last. Guess we just have to cultivate more patience if that's the case.
I want to say a special "Thank you" to Merry Christine who gave me her personal suit after my win at the 2005 Master's Nationals. We have known each other for years and her gift of this suit really helped me feel confident and glamorous. Merry makes the most gorgeous suits around through her company MC Bodywear.
I had lots of home team support this year. Dominique Durand is a young bodybuilder who helped with my posing routine and 
music. Her help was simply invaluable. I also want to thank Belinda Smith who did my hair and makeup. She is very talented and it was great to have her and her boyfriend Brady Becker there. Also lending support from Lafayette were Ozzy and his dad Doug - thanks, guys! Thank you as well to Lee Verni and everyone at Red's for all their encouragement and good wishes.
It was fantastic to have the chance to visit with Debbie Bramwell, Gina Davis, Colette Nelson (who I am so very happy for), GeneX, Scott Salberg and Leighsa Bailey and so many 
others. It was also great to get to know Tazzie Colomb a little better. She and I chose a Nina Simone song as our posing music which blew me away. The fact that she prepared for this show while dealing with the stress of Katrina is amazing. I enjoyed meeting Nathlie Abellan from France and Vicki Nixon - both are such sweethearts.Of course my deepest appreciation is for my wonderful husband Barry. He is my biggest supporter and seems to love his new role as "Professional Bag Handler". I love you, Dawg!
I was very happy that I was able to make improvements to my legs for this show. I think my symmetry was improved as a result and I think I achieved the "correct" conditioning that the officials say they are after although I think I can improve by dieting a little longer and doing more cardio next time. I know the areas that need work and I think I can make those corrections. If I am to do better, I must improve my stage presentation, polish my posing and put together a kick ass routine for next year.
