Cardio and Pedi's

Today was a cardio day - double sessions on my favorites - the PreCore 100iT and treadmill. I woke up with my legs absolutely anihilated from training them the day before...SO sore. It took getting through my first 3 meals before they didn't feel sore anymore. But, I was a cardio queen today and KILLED it! Also thanks to my favorite burner - Lipo-6 Hers Black Ultra Concentrate, I had amazing energy for the whole day.

To treat my legs and feet for all of their hard work, I got a pedicure! This wasn't just any pedicure, this was an amazing pedicure. The massage was one of the longest and best I've ever had. It felt amazing on my sore shins and calves. Now my tiny lil toes are all dolled up with "Fiji Paradise" polish color and they feel amazing all soft and smooth and relaxed from their massage :)

Jacksonville Pro and Dallas Europa Pro Recap

Me and the girls - LOVE them!! L-R: Kristin Nunn, Terri Turner, Julie Ann Kulla, ME

Backstage at the Dallas Europa

Dallas Europa August 13-14

Back needs to come way up!! Love my glutes and lower half, esp the conditioning - never been this good! But, I know my glutes can still reduce in size a little. For whatever reason, I build muscle in my glutes SO easily!!

Jacksonville Figure Pro, August 6-7th

If I told you the sheer amounts of food it takes to fill out my muscles, you might not believe me. Day of the show alone, over 20 oz. of fillet steak, over 20 oz red potatoes, almost 300g of a fast digesting carb drink...I still had room to be fuller LOL But, this was by far my best year physique-wise yet!

It's been one week since the whirlwind of back-to-back shows and I am finally getting a chance to sit down, relax and blog on my mini vacation in Hilton Head Island, SC! First off, I had a blast at both shows, even though I did not place at either. I truly just enjoy competing, and I treasure the friendships I have made along the way because of it. There has been more business opportunities that have opened up for me over the past couple of years through competing and being at shows than if I had chosen to just stay at home. I also love and appreciate the journey of competing far more than the short amount of time I get to stand on stage (although if you choose to compete at shows with 30+ girls, then at least your time on stage is prolonged LOL). I love to train really hard and I love to shape and refine my body. The fun and satisfaction for me comes out of making positive changes to my physique, that I am happy with, every time I step on stage. It was incredibly special for me to receive so much positive feedback on the great improvements I made to my Figure physique this year. I was over 6lbs heavier and I was leaner this year on stage! But, I also took a full year off from contest prep to make these changes. It was just about exactly a year of an off-season before I started a full-on contest prep again. My goal for my next contest is to add 3 lbs of muscle to my upper body - primarily my back. I would like to keep my legs and lower half pretty much the same size and conditioning, but just bring up more width and thickness through my back and shoulders to match my lower half. And now the fun of making changes begins!! I most likely will not compete again until spring of 2011. In order for me to make more changes, I need a good several months outside of prep. I will continue to do photo and video shoots monthly, and I will also be working for bodybuilding.com at the Olympia. Make sure to check out my progress there: http://my.bodybuilding.com/photos/view/type/progress

Follow my training progress, along with my photo shoots on my YouTube Channel at: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Catherine+Holland&aq=f

Check back for more updates!

Big Updates for Catherinefitness.com!

Well into my off-season prep (taken September 16th)! Loving my training!

Lots of updates to make! The past few weeks, I have been making some updates to my website, www.catherinefitness.com. Make sure visit and enter in your email address for a FREE weekly picture! Also, it is now only $2.95 to join my website! I am bringing back the weekly chat feature to my website, now that I have a better internet provider! This will be a great opportunity to interact with me LIVE each week!

A little training update - it's going awesome! Stronger than ever and loving my diet and workouts. To see more of my training - videos and journal - become a member of my website for a low low price! You can also ask me any questions related to training, lifts/exericses, diet or whatever else you have on your mind, on the message board of my website. Another great place for personalized interaction!

I will be holding off on competing until 2010. The plan as of a month ago was to compete at the Sacramento Pro, November 7th. However, with my off-season training going so well, I have decided to continue reconstructing my physique in order to be at my best the next time I hit the stage. The first of January, the decision for which show I will start at will be determined.

Wednesday/Thursday: Can we just start now??

Wednesday: freakn' busy even though it was an off day from the gym...signed and faxed all of the closing documents (thank God that is done...36 hours on the market total...once again, thank God)...opening the LLC (!) business account opening...a few hours choosing and buying the right equipment...called advertising...so so excited, just want to get this going!! Perfect demographic, time to own and thrive in O-town :)

Thursday: back day...my low back is still sore...trained intensely 4 straight days in a row (Sat-Tues...I think there are still lingering effects of the plyos and giant sets and deadlifts) and I am still trying to recover! Lots of nice people at the gym, very complimentary, very encouraging and supportive of the fitness lifestyle. I've never seen so many fit and ripped people at a gym! It's awesome :)

Sunday: Final Destination Amazing

Sunny, beautiful, warm...oh and the happiest place on earth...I love the nostalgia I am experiencing...the gym, the people - I AM HOME!!

Sunday: Sore to the Touch

Woke up at 6 for one last beating...back and shoulders combo after 35 min morning cardio...fried, fried, fried, lightly touching any part of my body hurts so bad!...these campers have cracked me up all weekend and I LOVE them all, love their candidness and realness...good luck to these sweet girls in their upcoming shows...drove to my temporary home...long drive, longer than it was driving up to Ohio...putting together workout plans and diets for clients, watching the Olympics (I love the Olympics!) and relaxing....ahhhhh :)

Saturday: Fitness Camp

The extreme soreness is setting in...hams, glutes, chest, arms all anihilated...Friday afternoon was legs, arms...Saturday: chest and leg-shaping (one of the hardest workouts ever), then bootcamp...I am still in a caloric deficit (have to time meals perfectly to avoid throwing up in the middle of a workout), and tired as hell, loving EVERY MOMENT of it...love fitness camp, love being emersed in the fitness community,love these people, love nerding out about the fitness industry...I am in fitness heaven :)