The IFBB Dutch National Championships 2006

Ahhh.. The National Championships. How long I have waited to write this report about you. How would I say it, what would I say? Place me 1st, place me 10th, it doesn’t matter if I place how I deserve. I am not saying I didn’t, I am not saying I did. Last year I became 2nd, lost on one point because I hadn’t mastered posing yet, as I had just started competing. To not win the National title by one point, because of posing! That had put me in fire for the entire year that followed. There was not going to be a question mark next year, I wanted straight 1’s. I trained by myself for the first season, now it was time for a trainer. I got IFBB pro bodybuilder Alison ‘the Magician’ Maria to train me for my show next year and travelled 2,5 hours 3 times a week to train with him. Little did I know about him, that this is the best trainer in Holland. I started training with him in May 2005, right after my show on April 30th, the next National Championship I was training for was in April 2006. He had me eating clean right away and put me on a diet 6 months before the show. Not an extreme diet, but I had to eat clean and have the right food sources for my training and for my gains. We were going to do the contest diet very spread out over time in order to have the best results. There was no fooling around with this guy. We trained hard, he pushed me beyond my limits and really concentrated on the muscle during each exercise. We’d rather train with heavy, but lower weights than my absolute maximum, so I could focus on squeezing the muscle than to train with my heaviest weights with which I couldn’t do that. Besides the great training and diet techniques, he is my friend and truly wanted me to win this show as badly as I did. He felt my motivation and my ‘pain’, almost as if it concerned himself. So with him on my side and pushing me forward, I was as motivated as I could be and got in a state of mind that this was my one and only mission for this year. And it was.

In one year, with training hard and consistently and eating right, I gained 15 pounds of muscle (7 kilo). And improved muscle roundness and fullness while keeping the symmetry I have been given genetically.

I had taken my stage presence very seriously aswell. I was the only one with a professionally designed posing suit and who brought one make-up artist and one hairstylist with me do help me present myself in the most beautiful and professional way. I changed make-up and hairdo in every round. I had practised posing with my trainer in America, Ms Olympia 2005 Yaxeni Oriquen, with who I trained the 2nd part of the year as I travel to the US frequently to stay for a while. She and I train in the same gym in Miami, Ironworks, and she is the one who motivated me to start competing when I first came here to the US two years ago. I had lost the National title by one point because of posing last year, so Yaxeni tought me the professional way of how to do the quarterturns, mandatory poses and posedown. Yes, in Holland all the fitness, figure and bodybuilding athletes have to do a fitness routine, quarterturns, mandatory poses and a posedown.

I told my trainer Ali this was the best I had ever seen myself and many others agreed. From judges who came backstage to tell me that, my own competitors who congratulated me with my win before the show was over, to the trainer of the girl who eventually won (the girl also trained with two of the judges) who said ‘my girl wasn’t ready by far, she did have cellulite on her legs and I was fully surprised to see her win over you’. That’s the girl in the black bikini. Yes, you heard it right, I got 2nd place again, by a difference of 3 points. When my trainer asked one of the judges what made them choose her over me, he replied: ‘She had a round butt’. I seams that’s what they wanted. I was the only one with lines on my legs and no cellulite on the back of my legs, of which I am very proud of. I actually feel good about it. I was very satisfied with my progressions and my presentation that day, as was my trainer amongst many others, and that’s what really matters. I will compete again, as I know you have to keep going. Ronnie Coleman, Yaxeni Oriquen and many of the other top athletes, all the great ones had lost many, many shows until they got where they are now. I know I can be on THE main stage some day, whatever that will be for me, and that’s what I work hard for. Where there is a will there is a way.

The IFBB European Championships in Viterbo, Italy - May 26-27, 2006

This show was 3 weeks after the National Championships. It was too short after the Nationals to take a rest with the diet and refuel, and too long after the Nationals to continue on 100% strict with the diet. Especially as so shortly after the Nationals I was still, I have to admit, devastated from the results of the last show. For this show I was off. I was still very emotional and had become weaker with my motivation to diet. I thought if I would not do this show, just 3 weeks after the last, I would regret not doing it. So I did. I pushed myself through, trying to ignore my emotions. Together with the team of Holland, consisting of the IFBB judges and coaches and fitness, figure and female bodybuilding athletes we went to Italy. There were many great girls competing from all over Europe. If you’re not in your best shape you won’t place well, as the other girls will be in their best shape. I didn’t place and I agree with that. The other fitness and figure girls of Holland didn’t place well either, our two bodybuilding women did well.

IFBB Europese Kampioenschappen 2005 (European Championships, international) - Yalta, The Ukraine

On May 19, 2005 I flew to Yalta, The Ukraine, together with the Dutch team of other female figure and bodybuilding athletes and ofcourse the IFBB coaches and judges. It was a 5 day trip, we would be back on May 24th and the competition was May 21st and 22nd. This was my first time to compete on international level in the European Championships so you can understand this was a whole new and exciting experience for me. I feel truly honored to be competing on this level so soon, it was only 2 months after my first competition ever. I competed in figure (a.k.a. body-fitness) and I finished with a 13th place. Since competing on this level was new to me, I learned so much from this trip and I learned what competing on this level is all about so that now I can prepare myself to be ready next year. This was my last competition for this season, I can happily say it was a very succesful first season for me and I am very grateful for all the succes that has come on my way so far. Hard work really does pay off in the end.. I'm sure of it.

IFBB Nederlandse Kampioenschappen 2005 (Dutch Championships, national) - Rotterdam, The Netherlands

This was my second competition, it took place on April 24 2005, shortly after my first competition. It was an honour for me to compete in the national championships so soon already, some athletes had to work hard for several years to stand on the stage where I was standing now, after competing for less than one month. I won 2nd place in the Dutch Championships and I got invited for the IFBB European Championships in Yalta, the Ukraine! I was so proud.

NBBF/IFBB Open Eemsmond Cup 2005 (Emerald) - Delfzijl, The Netherlands

This was my first competition ever. It took place on March 27 2005. I competed in fitness, there was a line-up of 11 girls. National competitions in Holland have slightly different rules than the international competitions. In every catagory (fitness, figure, bodybuilding) we had to do quarterturns, the mandatory poses and a routine. So there was a lot for me to practise for my first show. But I had been very strict with my diet and training, so on the day of the competition I was very sure of myself, my body had transformed in a way I had never seen it before and I felt fearless.

The competition turned out to be great! I won 1st place Miss Fitness 2005 and qualified for the IFBB Dutch Championships (the nationals)! I won with a difference of 5 points, so it was a big win. In my first competition I won 1st place, what a victory! You can understand that I was totally happy for this great achievement and truly grateful for this succes coming on my way.