"TOP 10 FINALIST" at my very first "Fitness America Competition" // LAS VEGAS - Nov 2011

"THAT WAS THE BEST THING I'VE EVER DONE!!!" I get choked up just thinking about the final rounds of Fitness Division at Fitness America in Vegas. I came out from backstage to greet my friends and said those very words with tears in my eyes. The love and support that I had from my friends who were there and watching me back home made it all the more AMAZING!

{TOP 10 FITNESS FINALISTS}

Myself and 9 others had just been called out for TOP 10! 



The whole "Vegas Experience"... ...started a couple of days before the competition. I flew out with my coach Tara and some of the other Perfectly Prepared competitors. We all got settled in at the Golden Nugget in Downtown "Old" Vegas (I highly recommend this hotel if you don't plan on staying on the Strip). The next morning we had an early wake-up call of 5:00 am for tanning, hair and makeup to get ready for our photo shoot with Eva Simon. Before heading out to our shoot location we made it through the line of over 300 competitors to register for the Fitness America Competition.



(click on any photo to view larger)

getting settled in at the Golden Nugget hotel

beauty PREP and van TRAVELING for our EVA shoot

The photo shoot...

..was held at a fun, old-fashioned styled tourist location in Nelson, NV about 40 minutes from Vegas. We were styled in a sexy western look to collaborate with the breathtaking backdrop of the dessert and sandy surroundings. We were even warned about the rattle snakes and dangerous cacti!!! Eva and her assistant got to work right away and began short 15 minute shoot segments with each girl. The weather was perfect at a warm 70 degrees and it felt even warmer in the sun!

All of us felt very comfortable with the photographer Eva and had the support of our coach Tara as well. The shoot was so much fun and all of us ladies were taking each moment in. We were so thankful for the opportunity and knew how big of a deal this shoot could be for each of us!

 {SHOOT EXPERIENCE}

with the amazing Eva Simon!

on the road in VEGAS!

feelin' FRISKY!

gorgeous day for a photoSHOOT!

the one and only Miss TARA ANDREWS

We wrapped things up at the location to continue shooting back at the Golden Nugget in Eva's hotel room. We had one more look to create with a white-screen backdrop! You could do either "swimwear" or a "fitness" look. As I got started, Eva adjusted the fan so it could blow in my hair and I was immediately hit with chills. Not literal chills, but emotional chills. The moment was something I will never forget. I thought to myself, "how did I get here?" My girlfriends were standing in the background, all cheering me on and saying wonderful things.



But the best moment... of all was seeing my proud Coach T's Tara Annemarie Haertzen (Tara Annemarie Thatcher) face with tears in her eyes as she watched me pose away! As she peaked at Eva's camera and then looked up at me, I could just see her excitement which gave me the perfect amount of confidence and ease as I hit each pose. I give all of the credit to Tara for pushing me to get where I am today and for always seeking great new opportunities for me. I would not have gone to Vegas, had a life-changing photo shoot and competed in Fitness America if it were not for her. I am proud to call Tara my Coach and Fitness Manager. She is one of the best in the business and always has MY best interest at heart. She's honest, trustworthy, dedicated, giving and has become one of my closest friends. I believe that Tara has been put in my life for such a specific reason and I couldn't be more grateful.

Now onto the competition! Being in Vegas for such a big show was exciting and overwhelming. Keep in mind that this was only my SECOND time competing in both Figure and Fitness. On Friday I felt lean and mean with butterflies in my stomach.Walking and Posing for the Open Figure Short prelims got my nerves out of the way and I felt more comfortable with the larger scaled stage. Now onto FITNESS! Friday evening we started in our performance costumes and the Open Fitness class had 35 women. After the Men's class and Classic Women's class finished, we got ready to hit the stage one-by-one. As I hit my beginning pose and danced through the first 2 eight counts of my routine I felt the crowd's energy and knew the GAME WAS ON!

First time on a Fitness America stage!!!

Perfectly Prepared crew having a nice meal!

Performing my own choreography and feeling stronger than ever on the stage for Fitness America was THE COOLEST thing I have ever done and fulfilled a dream that I never even knew that I had! Before I knew it, I was up on stage with all of the Open Fitness Competitors after dancing the opening number (see YouTube video below this post). We all lined up in anticipation as the announce the TOP 10 ladies who were able to move on to the FINALS round. I'll admit that I had this sudden "good luck" feeling before they called my name since I somehow ended up smack in the middle of the line. I tried to keep myself composed after hearing my number and name called out. That was it, the dream had just happened. I made TOP 10!

{OPEN FITNESS DIVISION - 35 competitors}

(click on photo to view larger)

{Beyonce Girls Run The World" FA Routine}

To view a better taping of my Fitness Performance check out this
VIDEO CLIP recorded from the Fitness America live webcast.


Finals Comparison Round

The next couple of hours was a BLUR! The Top 10 girls had to perform their routine again in front of a whole new batch of judges. After our routines were finished we had a quick wardrobe change in to our swimwear. Each competitor had a highlight walk and posing to impress the judges with their physique and personality.We were also split into two groups of 5 for comparison rounds in our costumes and swimwear.



Finals Swimwear Round

Check out the YouTube video below this post to see my Finals Question Round. After it was all said and done, we were brought out one last time to have the winners announced. Seeing the TOP 5 winners step forward and the Fitness America champion be awarded right in front of me with the best seat in the house was a wonderful experience. To be that close to a goal of mine that I'm working towards was the best teaser a competitor could get. That moment only made me more excited to keep working harder and perfect my skills. Someday I would like to see myself standing there with the TOP 5 and then mastering the fitness scene with an overall 1st place title. My destiny is only what I make of it!



{ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS}

Dear Tara (my Coach T), Thank you for providing me with the opportunity to travel with your team of women to have one of the best experiences of my life! The trip would not have been the same if I would not have had your knowledge to rely on. I would not have gone to Fitness America without having met you. Your coaching, prep advice, and resources are absolutely PRICELESS! I love recommending your services to female competitors or women thinking of getting into the fitness scene. I am proud to be Perfectly Prepared!

Dear Al (my Trainer) and Tracy Norby, Thank you for your never-ending support and guidance. Whether it was personal training sessions, life coaching, gluten-free meals, or just fun nights out, you both were great friends to have around. Even with the weeks of encouragement leading up to my show, you gave me the best gift ever by traveling all of the way out to Vegas to see me compete and cheer me on. "You were meant to be on the stage!" - Al Norby   

Dear Tarah (my "competitor-in-crime"), Thank you for always loving me for who I am and where I'm at in my life. You've been incredibly giving to me from the beginning of our friendship with advice, resources and opportunities. You and I want very similar things for ourselves and I had no idea that I would become so close with another model/competitor with no desire to be jealousor spiteful. I am glad that my muscles and moves won you over from the moment we met. Love you, wifey

{World Physique's} 

Female Modeling Contest @ worldphysique.com

You might be wondering what I would gain for winning a contest like this. I would get the chance to work with a well-known Chicago photographer, a free-subscription to World Physique's Magazine, and the title "Ms. World Physique" for the month of January. It would also help me gain some great exposure, networking and credibility in the fitness industry.

"My goal is too bring a sense of charm, character and class to any opportunity that I might have in the Fitness industry!" - Bethany JN

The voting starts JANUARY 3RD 
and closes at the end of the month.

Please show your love and support for a

fun Fitness Personality like me!!!

Click here to VOTE!

THANK YOU
BethanyJN (Peanut)

From "Love-HANDLES" to "Love-MUSCLES" // Photos of my Changes over the last Decade!

A picture can SAY IT ALL sometimes. What stage you were in life, were you happy then, were you stressed then, experiencing new things, meeting a lot of new people, developing meaningful relationships. We love taking pictures because we want something to help us remember that exact moment. What we're doing, eating, seeing, you name it! People document events for a reason. Why do you think Facebook has become so popluar over the last 3 years? When you actually take the time to sit and revisit these photos and memories, you can assess quite a bit of your life's journey. Check out this BEFORE and AFTER comparison! There is only a year and 1/2 time-frame between the 2 snapshots.

For me, I have been in a constant transformation mode, both internally and externally, since I hit my early 20's. That's what growing up is all about, right? Over the 10 years from graduating high school to approaching my 30th birthday I can say that I have experienced plenty of "adult-life-changing-moments". There have been challenges, opportunities and blessings. I have had different jobs, living situations, health struggles, seasons with depression and counseling, changing relationships, and more.

The most noticeable change that has been easiest to keep track of has been my "outward appearance". I started to grow out my "pixie haircut", stop wearing my glasses, and searched for a new life of eating healthier and being active in the gym. My weight has always been up and down especially when my body was overcome with chronic pain. But after realizing that I had a severe GLUTEN/WHEAT allergy my appearance has taken a major overhaul. Not only did my chronic pain go away, I felt better, had more energy and felt like I could conquer anything! That's how I got into fitness competitions this year. Now here's a look at my photos over the last 10 years.

 10 YEARS of PHOTOS (2000 - 2011)

Senior Prom  - High School (May 2000)

That's me on the left in the red dress and short hair!

I was never considered the skinny or athletic girl growing up or even in

high school. I was thought as the "cute-curvy" girl who knew how

 to "bust a move" on the dance floor with the dance team.

Moved to MN - Age 22 (Summer 2002)

I struggled with gaining weight during the 2 years I attended college,
but it became even more difficult when I moved to MN in 2002. I was starting
fresh in a new city all over again which was a lot to deal with.
I hit my heaviest weight at about 145 lbs at the age of 22.

Sister's NYC Wedding - Age 24 (Summer 05)

By 23, I decided to make some changes with my diet and joined a local gym.
I started lifting for the 1st time and enjoyed feeling strong and seeing changes.
Within a years time I lost about 25 lbs and felt great!

25th Birthday (May 2006)

26th Birthday (May 2007)



Colorado Girls Road Trip (Summer 08)



27th Birthday (May 2009)



(Summer 09)



New Years Eve (December 2010)

 Here I was probably at one of my heaviest points and the scale
didn't really show it, so I had no idea! My body fat had just increased
from the lack of working out without adding any more pounds. Crazy huh!

28th Birthday (May 2010)

These photos from my birthday were a real shocker to me and I knew

something had to change. I signed up with my trainer Al Norby for strength training

sessions and changed my diet. My body fat was at 24% the summer of 2010.



(Summer 2010)



Halloween - Katy Perry (Fall 2010)

 This was right around the time that I discovered my gluten allergy so I had

completed the Master Cleanse (10 days of liquids) and I dropped at least 5 lbs and

felt amazing! This was a kick-start to my "eating clean" lifestyle.

Pin Up Photo Shoot for Business  (Feb 2011)

I really felt great at the beginning of this year and decided to start training

for my 1st competition. I was at 15% body fat at this time.

Beginner Figure Overall Winner (May 2011)

By May, I won two 1st place titles in Figure and 2nd place in Fitness at the

Mr. and Mrs. Natural MN competition. I had the time of my life

and was a little under 9% body fat.

Modeling Shoot the week before Fitness America (Nov 2011)

I started training again in late July to compete with Tara Thatcher's Perfectly Prepared

team at the Fitness America Competition in Las Vegas. I gained more muscle

and leaned out even more! The transformation has been the most amazing journey!

Thank you for taking a look and hopefully

you were motivated and inspired!

Click here to read my recent post

about how I did at Fitness America!

Love Your Figure/Fitness girl,

BethanyJN (Peanut)

(please leave me a comment/message below!)

"Best Night of my Life!" - My 1st {FITNESS} Competition

Pictures I took along the way!

Earlier this year I decided to enter my first "Figure/Fitness Competition". I started my diet and training about 13 weeks before May 20th (the day of the show). Check out this post to read about {My Transformation Story} and how I got things started.

Everything was done in week intervals. My carb-cycling diet plan, my weigh-ins, the weight training, and the amount of cardio sessions I needed to do in order to stay on track. Before I knew it, the weeks were just flying right by. I had things to get in order like my posing suit, clear high heels, jewelry, tanning/nails/hair appointments, dance sneakers, costume and so much more! This part was just as fun as the training because I love the "girly-side" of the presentation. It was like getting ready for a Beauty Pageant made for Fit & Muscular Women.

Read this blog post

"What's Your {HOT HOBBY}? Scrapbooking, Photography, what about FITNESS?"

from my Fizzy Blog to see all of the fun things I ordered from

Etsy Sellers (like me) in preparation for the competition.

I truthfully had so much fun with my training during the whole 13 weeks. Go to "My Workouts" page to get an idea of what my training schedule looked like. I guarantee it's not what you would expect! About half-way through my training, my posing suit came in the mail and I was excited to see what it would look like. I put it on and tried not to panic. I already knew that I had started to get leaner (which I had) but with the suit on I had to fight those negative fears that I was too far behind and wasn't going to be able to pull this thing off. Instead of listening to those thoughts I just ignored them. I decided to have faith that if I kept forging ahead... everything will come together eventually.

3 coats of Spray-Tan!

 The week of the competition, I had my last weight training session and cardio class to keep things light and lean. In my free time, I would practice my posing and Fitness routine so I could to get things down and gain more confidence. I had an appointment set up by the show promoter to take a "polygraph test" to clear that I had been drug-free in the preparation for this show. The day before the show I had my very first couple of "spray-tanning" sessions which was interesting and sticky to say the least. I took it easy the night before. I ate light, watched a movie and tried to go to bed early.

I'll admit that the day of the show I was excited, nervous and anxious. I had no idea what to expect! It was like training for a marathon without ever have competing in a race before. When the competition started and I simply went with the flow. There were women in posing suits and heels EVERYWHERE! You could tell that the majority of the competitors had done a show before, so I tried to follow their lead. It was a little crazy at first because I had to go out on stage and pose without heels for the "X-treme Fit" category. Then run off-stage to get my clear high heels on as fast as I could because the "Beginner Short" category followed right after. My trainer, Al Norby would keep me focused and pumped up back stage with bicep curls, tricep dips and push-ups.

Competition Weigh-In: 108.9 lbs. (8-9% Body Fat)

I would have to say the most nerve-wrecking part of the night was presenting my "T-Walk" which is a solo performance of walking and posing on stage. This was my opportunity to strut my stuff and stand out from the crowd. I stayed calm and smooth once I started my walk. Hearing my friends and the rest of the crowd cheer made it even more exciting. I also made sure to focus my attention on the judges. I wanted them to feel like I was performing for them! I had no idea how my body ranked up against the rest of the women so I just did my thing!

After the "T-Walk" I quickly changed into my "Army Soldier" costume and got ready to perform my Fitness Routine. My choreography was a complete reflection of who I am: Sassy, Strong, Funky, Flirty and FUN! When I got to the 1-armed push-ups in the routine the crowd went crazy. It was so amazing to highlight my love for dance with the showcasing of strength. A combination that is the perfect fit for me!

The night went by like a blur even though the show lasted over 3 hours! Before I knew it, it was after intermission and we had the "awards section" to complete. They called out the Beginner Figure Short Class (myself and 3 other women). The swiftly named out the titles and awarded me with the 1st place trophy!!! What a feeling! I smiled as they took my picture, but in the back of my mind I knew that this meant I had another round of posing to do in front of the judges to compete for the Beginner Figure "Overall" title. Thankfully my posing coach, Lenore Theobald, prepped me for this possibility. I quickly went back stage with such a rush of excitement and grabbed my dumbbells and bands to get pumped up for more posing.

Eventually, they called us out, the Beginner Medium Winner, the Beginner Tall Winner and myself. We went through our quarter-turn poses twice which was intense and adrenaline pumping! The judges did their last minute notes and sent a note to the MC with the winner's name on it. After a dramatic pause, the MC announced the 3rd place title and then said "#24 Bethany Nelson" takes 1st Place for Beginner Figure Overall". My friends said they also heard the MC say "I'm sure we'll be seeing more of this competitor in the future!" as I walked off stage with my trophy. It officially was the "Best night of my life" and I hadn't even found out how I placed for the X-teme Fit category yet. It honestly didn't even matter that much anymore because I had accomplished so much already. I ended up with 2nd place for the X-treme Fit class and was proud to pack up 3 trophies for the night! What a great feeling and I CAN'T WAIT to compete again and see where things will take me!

{POSING DURING MY "T-WALK" PRESENTATION}

photography by OCB Productions

(see more photos here)



{X-TREME FIT DANCE ROUTINE}

photography by OCB Productions

(see more photos here)


Best Benefit:

Seeing where I could take my body physically

and learning how to COOK more!

Best Investment:

"30 minute" Personal Training Sessions

2-3 times a week with Al Norby.

New Guilty Pleasure:

A SHELLAC manicure at Salon Intrigue with Lisa

Hardest Hurdle:

Having allergic reactions to certain foods

even ones that are already Gluten Free.

Favorite Find:

BeautiControl Skin Care products.

Best Moment:

Seeing my "Family of Friends" during intermission

and then hearing my number called for the

Overall Figure Beginner Title.

Special Mentions to my Trainers,
Fitness Instructors and Coaches!

al norby
curt dahlen
aaron callister
lenore theobald
katie haggerty
nick bez