When Jena asked me if I would like her to write something up for the blog I was more then excited. I had no idea what she was going to send me, but when I opened my email yesterday afternoon I pretty much cried……
My Journey With The Condiment Queen
Well, most of you Bohemian Coconut followers may already know of me, but just in case you’re new to the wonderful world of Brooke, I’m Jena, her personal trainer. What do I do? Well…. as Jarod joked this past weekend “Oh no, you don’t run her life, just what she eats, when she eats it, her supplements, when she workouts, what she does for a workout…. but that’s it”. So I guess that’s what I do, I don’t run her life.….but I think I might have changed it.
I’ve known Brooke for probably 8 or 9 years now, since our husbands are good friends, but have had the pleasure of getting to know her much better in the last 5 or so. We were in my bedroom at my house warming party and she picked up a picture of me from a photo shoot I had done before one of my competitions, and started asking a bunch of questions. I think that was the moment this little spark was originally lit. That little spark ignited this past Saturday at the OCB Cape Cod all natural figure competition, and it was a sight to be seen!
Brooke started training with me back in May. She had trained with me in the past for her wedding, and from knowing her habits so well, I knew she was slacking in the weights and dieting department, so I was determined to get her back into shape, and make sure she stayed there this time. Fortunately for me, she was also determined, so determined that she asked me if I thought she could do a figure competition.
Although she was determined to lose the weight once and for all, the idea of her doing a figure show in October was borderline unrealistic. I don’t like to starve people, and force them to hours of cardio a day, it’s much healthier and less risky to lose the weight a little slower, but I knew this meant a lot to her, so I agreed. With one condition, that if October came and she wasn’t ready, she wouldn’t do it. I didn’t want her to get up on stage if she wasn’t ready. I didn’t want her to look at pictures or see the other girls, and feel bad about herself. This is supposed to be about feeling better about yourself, not worse. There’s nothing like a bad show experience to cause someone to go into a deep depression and gain all their weight back. So with that agreement, the diet, the supplements, and her first workout split routine in place, the journey began.
Brooke, aka, the condiment queen, did great. She worked out hard everyday, sometimes twice, regardless of her 2 jobs and schoolwork, and also found time to practice posing. When she was with me, I would do my best to push her beyond what she’s ever done, and what she ever thought she was capable of, and she never, ever complained, it was unreal! She also did great with the diet. She brought her cooler, and gallons of water everywhere she went, and she never missed her vitamins or supplements. We tweaked her diet and cardio regimen when necessary, trying to figure out what works best for her, and every time we made changes she just rolled with the punches. Brooke’s only obstacle was her little friend, sodium, which is found in most condiments. This girl could put on 2 pounds of water weight over night!! When I finally put my foot down on the whole condiment issue, you would have thought her dog died. But within days the weight was flying off again, she started losing all the water she was retaining, and she was her normal, happy, positive self….the sight of abs I’m sure helped her get over it.
The week of the show was so exciting and nerve racking, there’s so much to do, and everything has to be perfect, the suit, make-up, hair, skin color, posing, etc.…..never mind the dehydration process and carb depletion/loading. Again, Brooke just rolled with it, as positive as ever. The day of the show I knew she was feeling a little nervous, but I also knew she was going to rock the stage. Brooke has a smile you can’t ignore, that and the amazing transformation she did with her body is a beautiful combination. As her family and our husbands arrived, I felt more and more proud of her. I was so happy I didn’t let the short amount of prep time we had stop us from going for this show. I could tell how proud her parents were of her, and I knew we made the right decision. When she finally got up on stage, after the backstage prepping and pumping up, her big smile lit up the auditorium. People were literally talking about #12’s smile! She was so happy to be there, and it showed. Her family had equally big smiles on their faces, and so did I, although I was also sweating bullets.
The next morning I went to Brookes house for breakfast. She made me pumpkin oatmeal (condiments are back) and vanilla whey protein. We sat on her couch re-capping the weekend and the show, and chatting about things to work on before the next one. Then she looked at me and said “Jena, I feel like I could do anything”. That to me is what its all about, although Brooke placed 2nd in her class, knowing what she’s capable of is far more important, there’s nothing like that sense of empowerment, and that’s what I’m most proud of. It has been a great journey, and I’m already looking forward to Brooke’s next show!
Thank You for everything Jena! xoxo
What a GREAT JOB you both did!