Volume 15, June 7, 2008

Welcome to another addition of the LBC newsletter. If you haven't received the previous issues of the newsletter and you'd like to, you can find the archives here
I just realized that the last newsletter only went out to about half of the subscribers so feel free to check out the most recent issue on the archives page. 

In this issue we've got an update on the 2008 NPC Junior USAs, a few new blogs, and a short article on figure competitors and suit selection by Noel Clark.

If you'd like to see a question or topic addressed in a future newsletter, feel free to drop me a line at erik@leanbodiesconsulting.com.

Well, the 2008 NPC Junior USAs has come and gone and I'd say overall it was a great show. The Junior USAs has one big advantage from a preparation stand point that a number of the other national shows don't have - it's a typical one day event; that is, the Prejudging is Saturday morning and the Finals are Saturday night. Contrast this to the next show coming up, the NPC Junior Nationals. This show has a Friday night Prejudging Round 1, a Saturday morning Prejudging Round 2 and a Saturday evening Finals. That makes timing things a bit trickier than for a one-day event.

Anyway, for anyone following the LBC blogs, you know that Noel Clark was competing at this contest after three national shows last year where she didn't place at all. This year, she competed 11lbs heavier than last year, which really completed and filled in her physique. Coupled with much better stage presentation, a new overall look and the great physique improvements, she got noticed. She was in the first call out in both one- and two-piece rounds scoring 6th in the one piece and 4th in the two piece. The final result was 6th place, missing out on 5th by one point and 4th by four points. For the upcoming Junior Nationals, we're planning on bringing her in a little smaller and a little tighter. Keep your fingers crossed and follow along here..

Laura Rose and Hollie Higdon both showed up in their best condition to date as well. Laura placed 14th in a competitive class and unfortunately Hollie didn't place. The problem with Hollie's class was that it contained almost 40 girls, and as you can imagine it's easy to get lost in a crowd that big. I am uncertain how it's even possible to judge a class that size. This would be my one big critique of the bigger shows is the inconsistency in the sizes of the various classes. For example, as I mentioned, Hollie's class had nearly 40 girls, whereas Class A had nine girls. The good news is that I heard that they're going to be determining the height classifications at the shows moving forward to ensure that the class sizes are more even. That's a big move in the right direction.

We had a group of about 12-15 people make the trip and we all had an awesome time. Friday night we all hit the Outback for dinner and the girls chowed down on steak, French fries and cheesecake - yes, the night before the show. Saturday night after the show we headed back to some local friend's place to celebrate with more and more food. Mind you, at that point, most of us were already stuffed. You can see more pictures of the weekend events, including pictures from Friday night and Saturday night as well as some shots of Noel in both her one and two piece suits on both Noel's and my blog.

I'd also like to make mention of two new blogs that are now up and running on the LBC site. The first is that of an extremely motivated lady that I've been working with who has dropped 45 lbs and 43 inches and counting since we've been working together. Her name is Meechel Munger and you can follow her progress here. Stayed tuned. There's no signs of her slowing down any time soon.

The other is another national-level figure competitor by the name of Lisa Peper. Lisa is highlighting her preparations for her first shot at the national stage - the 2008 North American Championships. You can follow along here.

And finally, I want to make mention of another competitor I am working with. I've teamed up with well known fitness competitor Allison Ethier in her efforts to turn pro at this year's Canadian Nationals. Check out her blog at http://allisonethier.blogspot.com.

As well the exercise database will be updated shortly. We shot 130 new exercise videos while I was down in Atlanta, which should bring our database to around 230 exercises.

Figure Competitors - How To Choose Your Suit
And Find A Suit Designer

You've made the commitment, you have invested in the training and the nutrition and you are ready to sign up for your first figure completion. Now, how in the world do you go about choosing a suit and, maybe more importantly, a suit designer?

This is a critical question. We spend months training harder than we ever have, dieting harder than we ever have and putting all our efforts into looking the absolute best we ever have for one day and our suits can make or break us on that stage. There are so many things that you need to consider when deciding on a suit. First and foremost, who is going to design your suit? I think this is really important because I have seen so many girls order their suits and either not be happy with the suit when it arrived or not even get their suit until the very last minute and then find that they don't really fit their body as well as they hoped - and now they don't even have time to make adjustments. I am not sure if you have ever seen a figure girl on stage with a suit that does not fit properly, but this can completely make or break your physique for the judges. I believe you need to research suit designers thoroughly and find one that is reputable and right for you. I can give you a very good example. Having gone through this process myself a couple times, I can say one of the best suit designers out there is Berns from Passion Fruit Designs. Now I know there are several other suit designers that are great, but here are some examples of what you should look for or expect from your suit designer based on my experience with Berns:

• Fit - Your suit should fit your body like a glove. It should show off all your hard work.
  
  Price point - Your designer should have the ability to meet a wide range of price points. This is usually reflected in the amount of stones on the suit.

• Reliability - This is one of the most important factors. Like I have said before, I have seen girls so stressed out the week of the show wondering if and when their suits would arrive and when they did, would they even fit? You need to know that your designer has a reputation of getting your suit(s) to you on time and as ordered. This may mean that you need to check with other girls about their experience with your designer of choice.

• Customer Service - This is so important. Will you be able to reach your designer if something is wrong with your order? How is the communication between you and the designer? Does it take forever to get in contact with her? Always check with other girls to gage their experiences with designers to discover how they treat their clients - before, during and after the sale.

Certainly, we all want to sport beautiful suits when we step on stage, but there is a lot more that goes into choosing your suit than how it looks online. The more you know about the reliability, responsiveness, quality and customer service of the designer you choose, the more likely you are to end up with a suit that arrives on time, fits well, AND looks beautiful. Don't allow the most important moment of your competitive experience to be ruined by a bad choice in suit design and suit designer.

If you know anyone you think would enjoy or benefit from this newsletter, please forward it on and pass on the newsletter sign up link LBCNewsletter. Remember, that when they sign up to receive the LBC newsletter they also get a copy of my report on the Top 10 Not-So-Obvious Fat-Loss Mistakes

Until next time, thanks for reading.

Erik Ledin, B.Kin, CSCS, CISSN, NSCA-CPT
http://www.leanbodiesconsulting.com
http://www.leanbodiesfitness.com
http://www.leanbodiesconsulting.com/blog
http://www.leanbodiesconsulting.com/noelc