Felicia places fifth at the Olympia

We posted a Q&A with Felicia Romero when we were at the Olympia last week. Guess what? She finished fifth in figure!! We caught up with her again...

First of all, how do you feel? What does this placing mean to you?
I was on cloud nine and I'm definitely happy with my placing! I feel so happy that I set a goal of placing top five and I did it!! This placing makes me hungrier for the next shows and my goal for next year's Olympia is to be in the top three! Every year I have been able to improve and make changes to my physique allowing me to place better and better every year! It is such a great feeling to know that all my hard work in the gym is paying off!

Did you expect such a great result this year? What were your expectations and goals going into this event this weekend?
I don't expect anything from my shows as far as placing but I know that if I put full effort into my three months of training and keep a positive mindset that I can achieve anything. My goal going into the weekend was to be a first callout and place top five...and I did! Woo hoo!

Did you do anything different with your training and nutrition going into this event? If so, what did you switch up?
Going into the show, my training was a bit different with a major focus on my lower half. My biggest obstacle throughout my career has been my legs, so we really focused this past year on bringing them up to match my upper body. Also, I ate more carbs to fill me out as opposed to fats.

What were three things that led to your success this weekend?
1) NEVER GIVING UP
2) BEING CONSISTENT
3) POSITIVE MINDSET

What's next for you?
Next for me is Border States Pro Figure competition is San Diego...I won that show last year so I want to try to reclaim my title. If I do, this would be my fiffiveh Pro win of my career. Then after that, hopefully the Arnold...where I placed top 5 the last two years.

And the Winner Is...

Last night marked the final of the Olympia, crowning Jay Cutler the title of Mr. O while one of my favorites, July 2010 Oxygen cover model, Erin Stern ousted reigning champ Nicole Wilkins Lee to take the title of Ms. Figure Olympia. Way to go Erin!

The top 6 were:

1. Erin Stern

2. Nicole Wilkins Lee

3. Heather Mae French

4. Kristal Richardson

5. Felicia Romero

6. Alicia Harris

For photos of the girls in action click here!

Stern takes the Olympia gold in figure!

Erin Stern took the Olympia stage by storm and grabbed her first Olympia title! Top six were as follows – we'll be posting some photos soon...Stay tuned!

1. Erin Stern
2. Nicole Wilkins-Lee
3. Heather Mae French

4. Kristal Richardson
5. Felicia Romero
6. Alicia Harris

Out in the desert!

We set off on a real adventure at our latest photo shoot in Las Vegas! We left the strip to head out to film some awesome training exercises with photographer Paul Buceta and fitness models Melissa Pittman and Heather Clay in the desert. Watch out for more videos coming soon!

What a Day in Vegas!

We had a jam-packed day yesterday shooting cover tries and training exercises with one of my favorite photographers, Stewart Volland. We had Ava Cowan, Felicia Romero, Jessica Putnam and Natalie Waples on set with us for all the fun! Check out a few snippets of what we got up to yesterday and of course, MORE TO COME!

IFBB Pro Felicia Romero shares with Oxygen!

Felicia Romero joined us in Las Vegas for our cover tries only two days out from the big competition. We got the scoop on how she prepares for the event of the year...

What did you eat for breakfast two days out from the competition:
Today I ate 4 oz tilapia, 1/4 cup oats and 1 tbsp almond butter. I know it sounds yummy (haha!) but I don’t mix it all together!

For the day of the show I will eat a 4 oz piece of steak, 1/4 cup dry oats and 1 tbsp almond butter.

How do you prepare mentally for your events?
To prepare for the show I do a lot of visualization. I imagine myself on stage. I also listen to music that’s going to help me through my cardio – Kanye West’s “Stronger” for example!

Strangest thing you’ve seen backstage?
Strangest thing I’ve seen is girls taking shots of vodka before going up on stage. Wow I’m not a drinker and if I did that I would be stumbling on the stage, LOL!

Most embarrassing moment on stage?
Most embarrassing moment on stage is when I won my pro card at the NPC USA’s. I had a huge piece of hair sticking up from too much hairspray and it’s in all the pictures!

Proudest Moments:
My proudest moment was placing top 5 at the Arnold two years in a row.

What are you goals going into the 2010 Olympia this year?
My goal is to be as confident as I can and I know that I gave my 110% going in. The rest is out of my hands!!!

Ava's in Vegas!

Gaspari Nutrition's Ava Cowan was our last model of the day on Thursday and what an inspiration she was! She'll be at the Gaspari booth Friday and Saturday. We had the chance to ask her a few questions about her fit lifestyle.

How do you stay on track with fitness, especially when you’re not competing?
I think about just how easy it is to gain extra body fat and how hard it is to lose. That keeps me from going crazy with the treats.

Who inspires you the most?
Pauline Nordin – she is always in shape.

What is your most memorable moment on stage?
At my first show when I won the Overall at the 2005 Southern States. That was one of the best moments of my life.

What is your greatest strength in and out of the gym?
I never give up, no matter what.

This year, you’re not competing but you have commitments with your sponsor – what does that involve?
I go to local stores to educate others about Gasapri Nutrition. I shoot information content for the website. Along with video for GaspariTV. I make appearances at the large shows as well as photo shoots for Gaspari’s products and magazines.

You can find out more about Ava on her website here:
http://www.avacowan.com/

5 questions with Natalie Waples

We had an amazing day so far in Las Vegas. Our plan today was executed and we shot four models throughout the day, each of them giving their best during their cover tries. Canadian Natalie Waples is in town this weekend to work the Nutrabolics booth at the Olympia Expo and is five weeks out from her next competition. She took some time out during the shoot to answer these five quick questions:

Favorite thing about competing:
I love to compete against myself. Improving every show and evolving every show and evolving as an athlete is very fulfilling. I have met so many friends while competing and consider myself so fortunate to be in such an exciting, health-minded industry.



Proudest moment:
Winning my IFBB Pro Card in figure. As a Canadian there are only 2 shows a year where accomplishing this is possible and I love competing so much that turning pro was my next step/goal.

Who is your role model and why?
My mother. She is the editor of a newspaper and is raising my two adopted brothers at the same time. She is the hardest working and most supportive person I know.

What three things led to your success in fitness?
1. I really worked hard to promote myself as a fitness model, ambassador and athlete.
2. Not being afraid to approach industry people and sponsors and the like.
3. I love to work out, take care of myself, and spread the word that this is the best industry in the world! Enthusiasm is contagious!

Favorite thing to do when not training and why:
I love to hang out with my two adorable dogs – they have so much energy and so much love to give.

What are five things we may not know about you?
1. I can sneeze like Donald Duck
2. My new workout goal is perfecting handstand push-ups
3. I am a grammar fanatic…funner is a new word!
4. My day job is a team leader/senior advisor in HR
5. I can take down a large pizza all by myself.

You can find out more about Natalie Waples on her personal website here:
http://www.nataliewaplesfitness.com/

Laughing with Natalie...Natalie Waples that is!

We're working our butts off in Las Vegas – shooting four cover tries today. Canadian Natalie Waples is one of the models that has been working hard today with us but we still have time to laugh and have fun! In between takes she took the time to answer a few questions for us which we'll post a little later today...stay tuned for her answers and behind-the-scenes galleries from the shoot today.

Off to the Olympia!

We're off to the Olympia and have been busy getting ready for it! Hope to see you there!

How glam is this?

It's pretty funny when we're on set at any photo shoot – it always sounds way more glamorous than what actually occurs. But it's always fun and we have a great crew! At a recent photo shoot, photographer Stewart Volland encouraged model Pauline Nordin to ham it up a little – and she did!

Info isn't enough!

Just got off the air with Mike Schikman, radio host at WSVA in Harrisonburg, VA, who made a point about information overload when it comes to trying to eat well. He mentioned that years ago we didn't know nutritional content – no labels at all and yet now labels are everywhere. And I pointed out that, although he was correct about the proliferation of labels on food, a recent study revealed the majority of consumers don't bother to look at them. (I on the other hand, am an avid reader of labels – I look like a crazy lady in aisles, reading, comparing, constantly figuring out sodium, fats levels etc.) So I'm curious – do you read nutrition labels? Or are you too busy? Too stressed?
Let me know!

Have a great – and fit – weekend! We'll talk next week.

Hey, look at us!!!!!

So here we are, Stacy Kennedy and me taking a break during a photo shoot – sometimes you just have to lighten up!!!!! And research shows that the happier you are, the healthier you are! This weekend, the last real one of the summer, try to take a break now and then and have some fun! You deserve it, you really do! I'll chat to you after the long weekend....talk soon!