Nicole Snell

Female

29

California, United States

Producer & Pilates Instructor

Jun, 2006

I got into fitness more than ever in May 06 when I went to Lake Havasu with my big brother. I looked at all the skinny people and decided I was tired of being unhappy with my body and my lack of taut, firm, slender muscle. So he put me on a basic weight loss/toning program. (He's a personal trainer with a degree in Kineisiology. He's also a Body Building competitor. So I started doing 1200cals a day and lifting 3x a week and cardio 5x a week. Soon enough the lbs came off and the muscle showed up! Now I am 120 (by my home scale, 128 by the doc's scale) with 13.4% BF. I couldn't be happier with my body! Then I went to a Body Building competition with my brother on May 26, 2007 and I saw the women's figures competitors. I admired their muscle, their physiques while at the same time they maintained their feminine look. I asked my bro if he thought I could do that and he said definitely. I already had a good base to start with and I just needed to up the weights and the cals to start bulking. I just completed my first Figures show in which I placed 13th out of 21 ladies in the F category. There were 75 Figures ladies total...the largest show of the year! What a way to enter my first show! I had a great time and got great feedback from the judges. I was on my journey to the 08 Excalibur show and have spent the last 9 months building but it hasn't been enough. I've been fighting my metabolism and just found out that I have been undereating. If I was to cut now, I'd look the same as last year. So instead of doing Excalibur in December I'm going to do a short cut and then continue to build up for a show next year and I have a date! March 28,2009- Max Muscle Naturals- Here I come! Finding out just how your body works after taxing it so much in a cut is a learning process that takes a few months to figure out. I'm trying to make my body work with me instead of against me!

I love seeing the transformation in my body when you put different demands on it. Seeing your body change and grow and lifting heavier than you did the week before or seeing cuts you didn't have last month is a fantastic feeling. The rush of beating your previous PR, or having to stack more weight on the machine than the guy before me keeps me loving every minute of my training.

Knowing that I have control over my body and what it looks like and having role models to aspire towards keeps me motivated. I enjoy looking and feeling strong and knowing that being healthy is more important than a number on the scale.

Finishing my first Figures show in 2007, coming in ripped and dry and hard and getting my body into the best shape possible in the time I had. I was conditioned, cut, and mentally ready. There is nothing that I could have done to be more prepared and come in more ready. Regardless of what I placed, knowing my body was at it's BEST is the greatest achievement I could aspire to. Placing 5th in the 2009 Max Muscle Naturals show.

What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail? Motivate yourself, or be miserable. Either way, it's your choice. My strength comes not from my physical ability, but by my incredible will. Don't hate me because I'm stronger than you.