“After training and eating what I thought was “clean” for 3 years, I found myself yearning for something more challenging. Through a lot of research on fitness coaches I came across Shelli who seemed to have a no-B.S. attitude and seemed to really put her all into her client’s progress. I came to Shelli wanting to compete in a bikini competition, but had no idea what I was actually committing to. So after meeting in-person with her, I knew she was the perfect fit for me and my personality.
Through my first few weeks of competition prep I figured out quickly that I didn’t understand nutrition quite as well as I thought, lifting as heavy as possible everyday doesn’t create definition or balance in muscles, and you don’t need to work out your abs every single day if you are eating right.
During the 12 week competition prep Shelli gave me an endless amount of advice, information, education and compassion while training and dieting. She was realistic about my progress and my outcome so there weren’t any surprises. She didn’t sugarcoat the process and at the end of each day I knew what I had to do in order to take home hardware at my show; I had to trust her and the process she was putting me through.
Show day finally came and I felt prepared and ready to step on stage. Shelli had my diet prepared for post-show and talked me through everything I would feel and experience days after the show. I took 1st place in my class and 4th in Pure Novice.
After the show, when the tan faded, the make-up was off and I finally started smelling normal (from the tan and lack of D.O.) I was ready to eat but also ready to feel normal again. Without Shelli’s expertise with reverse dieting, I don’t think I would have been comfortable with handling my diet alone. I heard and read so many horror stories about competitors gaining 10-15 lbs in a week and I was truly scared of that happening. Shelli, though, like always had me set me up for success and watched my weight closely to make sure she was giving my body what it needed, when it needed it. It was exciting! More food, better training sessions and overall feeling fabulous in my body because it was getting more food in small doses which is what it needed in order to not crash! I literally couldn’t have done it without her. Here I am today, 4 lbs from my comp weight, getting 500/600 more calories than I was 7 weeks ago and having great lifts. I lost 17 lbs during the process and now I can’t imagine putting that weight back on (unless its muscle of course). I know with Shelli’s guidance I will safely build muscle, maintain a healthy weight and be at my very best for my next show.
The truth is fitness competitions take A LOT out of you and it was the biggest mental challenge I had ever experienced. You feel alone and isolated sometimes but knowing I could text or email Shelli in those times made life so much more bearable. She isn’t just a coach, she’s a friend. She really cares about my goals and progress. She is strict but realistic. If you want someone to hold you accountable and push you outside of your comfort zone, she is your women!!!”