Interested in competing in the Figure Class?
- Do you want to take your training to the next level?
- Are you committed and hard working?
- Are you up for the challenge?
Competing in figure, for me was one of the most challenging goals I have ever set for myself. I have always enjoyed my training and I was reasonably happy with my figure.
I remember once training in a gym and was captivated by photographs of figure girls in glamorous bikinis, tanned and toned in all the right places. I thought to myself I would love to do that but was a little apprehensive, asking myself questions, could I do that, could I really be as good as those girls, have I got what it takes, could I stand on stage and be scrutinised by the audience and judges, pretty scary stuff I thought. Although I had doubts I was also intrigued, the not knowing if I could do it made me want to do it more. To cut a long story short I did it and achieved more than I ever expected to.
My goal is now to help other women achieve their goals, to pass on my knowledge and experience. It is an advantage for the competitor to have someone in their corner who has experience of working in this area. Competing in the figure class is about having the right combination of muscle mass, definition and of course outstanding stage presentation. I always give my clients 100% and in return I expect the same from them; 100% commitment and dedication.
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My clients will always get an honest opinion about their condition and presentation, if I don’t think they’re ready for a show I would much rather be honest and tell them, than let them go out on stage and be faced with a disappointing result time and time again! Of course there are always going to be winners and losers as with any competition but my advice is to go out looking the very best you can be and if you are not at your best wait a while longer till the required condition is there, go out on stage with your head held high knowing you have done all that you possibly can. I have seen all too many girls on stage not in great shape and come away disappointed and upset, it maybe that it was their first experience or they were wrongly advised, this has a major affect on the individuals confidence for future shows when their feed back from judges tells them that they weren’t lean enough or they didn’t have enough muscle mass or their presentation let them down. I do my best to help you be your best.
What's Involved?
The workouts are hard and you will probably be expected to train harder than you do at the moment. The programmes are designed for the individual and are constantly changing to keep the body off guard in order to make all those important changes. Everyone is different so the programmes will differ from person to person.
The workouts become progressively harder. When the body has made its adaptations and the training becomes less hard your programme will then be changed to trigger
a response.
When you have a show date to focus on you become switched on and just get on with it, motivation is high and in a funny sort of way you actually enjoy it.
Diet for me, and if you ask any competitor is the hardest of all!
Eating good clean basic foods, regular, day in day out, drinking your water to hype your metabolism and worst of all NO CHEATS!
The diet in my opinion has to be done slowly to avoid the loss of muscle tissue and can take months to achieve the look you need. The diet differs from person to person.
Out on stage - What's expected of you? |
You need to be able to show your figure to the best of your ability and most organisations usually focus on shape and symmetry. In the figure class you are expected to have a toned figure with just enough body fat to show roundness to the muscle groups and not to be overly lean. Some girls get this so very wrong and can come in too smooth or too lean, you have to have the right balance.
You are expected to have a good awareness of posing and displaying your figure correctly can make all the difference. The poses take time to master and they need to be right on the day.
The poses include quarter turns which are semi-relaxed and include front, back and side stances.
Followed by compulsory poses which are – front double biceps, front lat spread, side chest, back double biceps, back lat spread and front or side poses.
The routine - This is where you get the stage to yourself for a whole 1min and 30 secs. The routine
can be anything you feel comfortable with together with some compulsory poses in between to show yourself to the best of your ability. Some organisations will allow gymnastic moves and props etc but will depend on the rules.
The routine takes time to put together and practise to make it perfect, you have to know your routine inside out upside down.
These are the only three things you will be wearing on show day, they have to be perfect. The bikini has to be made to fit your figure in order to flatter your physique, get it wrong and it can make all the difference in your overall look.
Shoes – Again these have to be right for you, heel size has to be correct to suit your figure and they too have to be comfortable.
It is always best to do your posing practise in your shoes in order to be able to balance in them on stage. The posing on stage is very hard and you can be up there for quite some time, if the shoes are uncomfortable and you are wobbling around trying to get balance this will undoubtedly reflect in your posing.
The tan has to be applied to perfection and be dark enough to show definition under the lights.
You have worked hard and dieted hard for months, you did everything right, you cut no corners, you are the best you can be and now it’s all in the hands of the judges. This has to be the most nerve racking part and you have to be prepared for the result. If you win that ‘s just great, walk away with a big trophy and the sense of great satisfaction, but what if you placed lower than you expected, it’s like a punch in the stomach, you feel like you let yourself down in some way, confused at what the judges were looking for etc etc.
To be a good competitor you have to be prepared for this and put your feelings of disappointment behind you, forget it and move on!
Looking at a loss positively, taking a knock can make you stronger and more determined to improve for the next time and can add fuel to your fire so to speak if you put that negative energy to good use. Your training can become even more focused than before and your determination to improve and make changes and that’s what makes a great competitor. Someone who keeps
on getting up and giving it a go!
Win or lose you are a winner because you are the best you can be!
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This sport brings the best out in you and you don’t have to be an Olympic athlete to take part. All that is required is self motivation and self discipline. Anyone can do it!
There you have it!
Are you ready for the challenge? |
Competition Training Testimonial- Nina Ross Simone |
| When I first decided to compete this year I had to make a decision as to who I was going to turn to for help prepping as I was totally new to the sport and only had 3 weeks until I was going to get up on stage at the BNBF Northern Qualifier. I chose to use Jenny for posing and put together my routines as I felt she had the expertise and experience. I was not wrong; this was the best choice I had made as Jenny was amazing to say the least. She not only gave me excellent guidance with posing but she also gave me invaluable advice for my competition prepping from diet through to training. From the first competition August 2011 to November 2011 I have achieved NPA British Figure Champion, BNBF Figure Champion, IFPA Pro Card competing in Yorton Cup World Championships and UIBBN 3rd Place in World Championship. I would never have been able to achieve this without the support from Jenny. I plan to compete in 2012 however not decided which competitions I will be doing, one thing I do know is I will continue to utilise Jenny’s expert guidance. |
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I started training with jenny in June 2011 (i think), when I decided to compete in the bikini category for UKBBF. I chose Jenny to personal train me as she had a lot of experience in the industry and had competed herself. I was not disappointed. The training was hard but i enjoyed every minute of it. Jenny encouraged me all throughout the training and gave me the drive to keep pushing myself. This gave me the results i wanted and I could see physical changes. I couldn't have asked for a better personal trainer, not only did she help with the training but she also mentored me along the way so I knew what to expect. On the day of the competition Jenny stayed with me all throughout the day, and gave me the confidence to get on stage. I enjoyed every minute of it and will be doing it again next year. I highly recommend Jenny to anyone that is looking for a personal trainer, whether it's to lose weight or wanting to compete because she tailors each plan to you. I cannot thank Jenny enough, she went the extra mile to help me which i am so grateful for. xx
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My name is Caroline Birkinshaw, I am 37 years old and married with 2 children.
I was always a size 12, or there about, until I fell pregnant with my first child. I used the pregnancy as an excuse to sit on the sofa and eat whatever I wanted! 6 months after having my first child, I found out I was pregnant again, and because I hadn't had the time to lose the weight from my first pregnancy, the weight just piled on and before I knew it I was pushing 14 stones on the scales. I hated myself, hated having my photograph taken and even found it difficult to look in the mirror.
I tried many different ways of losing the weight, from weight watchers, to the cabbage diet and other fad diets.
I was no stranger to exercise, and had enjoyed regular sessions at the gym before I had children, and deep down I knew that this was the only way to lose the fat! Something had to be done, so I decided to get myself a personal trainer to help keep me focussed and motivated.
This is when I met Jenny. After our first meeting I knew that this was the best decision I had ever made. Straight away, she made me feel at ease, and not at all self conscious. In march 2009 at my first weigh in with Jenny I tipped the scales at just over 13 stones. I signed up for a 12 week transformation program and worked out with Jenny twice a week. The workouts were pretty gruelling, but I enjoyed every single one of them and really looked forward to going. Jenny always made me feel good about myself, and gave me tons of encouragement and support. After about 6 or 7 weeks of training and the many conversations about the figure competitions that Jenny had done (and won!!), I decided that this was something that I really wanted to do, and HAD to do, (I believe that everyone should do something that scares the hell out of them at some point in their life!) and I knew that with Jenny's help and guidance I would reach my goal.
It hasn't been easy. The workouts have been tough, and the dieting even tougher, but Jenny's expertise and more importantly, her belief in me have been paramount in helping me achieve my dream of stepping on stage, in a bikini, as a size 8, and taking 1st place in my first ever show!
I would definitely recommend Jenny to anyone who has aspirations to get on stage, or just to lose weight and feel good about yourself again.
I am now wanting to work in the fitness industry myself, and hope to get back on stage again very soon. Jenny has been a true inspiration and I am very proud to call her my friend!
Thanks Jen.
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I have been training with Jenny for a good few years now, not only is she my trainer,
she is my sister also. Jenny introduced me to a healthier lifestyle some years ago now
and I haven’t looked back since.
I had my two children and like most mums didn’t lose my baby weight, I was
unhappy with myself; overweight, unfit and had no desire to exercise as I didn’t think
I would like it too much, how wrong was I! To cut a long story short Jenny helped
me to regain my figure and a better one at that! The training was and continues to be
hard but I love it, I always feel so good after the workout is done!
I decided to take my training to the next level and asked Jenny if she would train me
to compete in a figure competition, she was gob smacked by my request, as she knew
this was way out of my comfort zone, she said’ yes I will get you where you need to
be, but it wont be easy ‘. Jenny was right it wasn’t easy, the training became harder,
then there was the diet and the routine and posing to learn, she had the patience of a
saint!
The thrill of getting up on stage is just amazing, I didn’t do it to break any records
but to be the best I can be, it was a challenge for me and I am so proud of myself for
achieving what I have and it goes without saying I’m proud of my sister for getting
me there.
Thanks Jen x |
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Working hard to achieve a place in the NPA British finlas this year has included dedication to my training and diet. However, I lacked confidence in my ability to pose well. I began to understand that attention to improve my posing was needed so that all my hard work would not go unnoticed on stage. Jenny has the skills and experience to guide and help with your every need. After seeing Jenny my posing has improved immensely and so has my confidence. Jenny also helped me back stage at the British finlas to tan up- this has been one area that needed improving and jenny was their to help. Furthermore, Jenny encouraged me to practice some posing backstage before the show began. I came 3rd place in the finals and thank Jenny for her great work which has without a doubt improved my overall performane and pressentation . |
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As a keen distance runner and at that time, a powerlifter I was looking to try my hand at something new and exciting. Looking and feeling good is something I thrive on and so the idea of competing in a figure competition was great. However, getting on stage in a bikini in all honesty freaked me out, so I looked for help and found the champion herself, Jenny Garside.
Jenny is a true inspiration, she gave me the correct nutrition and training ideas to help me get to the shape I needed to compete. The nutrition side of things was hard going, but you can't really expect it to be easy.
I train hard and when I set my mind to something I really try to achieve it. I could not have done this without Jenny's guidance and knowledge. It was great having Jenny by my side.
I started with Jenny in the May of 2010 and competed in my first competition in the October. After months of dieting, training and posing I was ready to go. I placed 3rd out of 15 girls and won a ticket to the British Finals!! Brilliant!! It was well worth all the hard work. The finals were at the end of October and so it wasn't long to wait. The experience was amazing and I finished 6th in Britain. Not bad at all for a first year!! Bring on 2011!!
Jenny you are a star!
Jane Whitley 29 |
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