Let me begin with a bit of advice, “If you have the courage and strength, you can achieve anything you want. Everyone may not understand your goal, but remember, it’s for you.”
My First Bodybuilding Show
I first became involved in bodybuilding as a spectator, cheering for my friends and boyfriend as I watched them compete. Now I decided to give it a try. The first thing I did was ask the best competitors at my gym for advice. I was surprised that each had followed the Beverly system. Well, Beverly did their part in responding, but I didn’t do my part in following through. Before I knew it another year had passed and I’d still had not competed in my first show.
I finally decided to give it another try after attending the 2002 Arnold Classic. What motivation! I started once again to make plans to enter my first competition. I picked the WV State & Mid Atlantic Grand Prix, a national qualifier. My goal was to place top 3 in my class. I logged on to the Beverly International web site and completed the client profile questionnaire for a second time. Before I knew it, I had everything I needed to get started – diet plan, supplement info, and Jeremiah, my Beverly advisor, whom let me add was fantastic.
I weighed 151 pounds at 22.88 percent bodyfat. My diet plan is 2 carb up days, 3 moderate carb/moderate calorie days and 2 low carb/low cal days. I have to admit I’m miserable on those 2 low carb/low cal days. But, to succeed I’ll have to do my best and roll with the changes, physical and mental.
I started dieting for this show 19 weeks out.
I absolutely exceeded my goal. I weighed 130 pounds at 7 percent bodyfat for my first contest.
16 Weeks Out
I’m off to a pretty good start. I dropped to 20.06 percent bodyfat at 146 pounds. I know I still have a lot of work in front of me to achieve my goal. And to make it all worse, it’s now summer. Dieting through the summer will be the true test of my determination. I LOVE summertime cookouts.
Note: We had a number of them with must attend parties left and right. Two weddings, two baby showers, two bridal showers, two baby’s 1st birthday bashes and the list goes on. To make things even more hectic I started a new job (a party there too) and moved. Stressed, yes, a little, but I stick to my guns and bring my food with me EVERYWHERE! I’m on a mission, bound and determined not to let anything stray me from my path. It’s often pretty funny to see me all dressed up carting around my pretty green cooler. Now that’s an attention grabber.
12 Weeks Out
My next 4-week follow-up is pretty impressive. I lost just four pounds, but my bodyfat dropped to 14.84 percent, a HUGE drop with an increase in lean mass of nearly 4 pounds. Talk about feeling good. Definitely a motivator.
8 Weeks Out
I’m still making great progress, 138 pounds at 11.68 percent bodyfat. To date, I’ve lost 18 pounds of fat and gained 6 pounds of muscle on Beverly’s diet and supplement plan. Jeremiah has already gone the extra mile for me but now the Beverly staff went one step farther. I e-mailed my information to Jeremiah and waited for his input. Instead of my usual response from him, I received an e-mail from Roger. Jeremiah was out for a few days and instead of my e-mail sitting out there in limbo somewhere, Roger promptly answered my questions. I am B-I-G on customer service and believe me, BI is top notch the whole way around.
I achieved more energy, more strength, a better physique, became much leaner, and developed more muscle.
Now we change two of my moderate carb days to two additional low carb/low cal days. Ouch! That was like trying to pry chocolate from a chocolate lover’s hands. Speaking of chocolate, my only salvation is my Muscle Provider and Ultra Size protein drinks. I’ve tasted many protein powders, I’m sure everyone reading this has too, but I can honestly say I have NEVER tasted protein powders quite as good as Beverly’s. The Chocolate Muscle Provider tastes just like a milkshake, even more so when you add a tablespoon of heavy whipping cream, cut up the peaches and mix. It’s like heaven. The Vanilla Muscle Provider is just as good. And I usually HATE the taste of Vanilla proteins so I still can’t believe how good Muscle Provider tastes. I add strawberries for my own homemade strawberry smoothie. Believe me this far into the diet; you are looking for ways to trick yourself into thinking you are getting something yummy!
Trying to find time to get everything in isn’t always easy. I work a full-time job as well as part-time as a personal trainer, sometimes training clients before starting my day job, sometimes after and sometimes both. I’m always looking for ways to make things a little easier. To save time I pick one day out of the week, usually Sunday, and prepare all my meals for the upcoming week. I boil and shell enough eggs for my breakfast meals, along with weighing and cooking my meats and storing them in zip-lock baggies. I mark the bags – breakfast – lunch and dinner. This really makes things a lot easier.
4 Weeks Out My numbers are still dropping, but not quite as quickly as they did in the beginning. This is common as you reach lower and lower bodyfat levels. I am now down to 135 pounds at 10.32 percent bodyfat. Jeremiah now incorporates Ultra 40 and Energy Reserve with each meal as well as Muscle Mass tablets during my workouts. I get my 5th meal back. Yes! My energy levels are back up and my overall disposition has really improved. I’m sure my friends are grateful for that diet change.
2 Weeks Out I follow up again at 2 ½ weeks out – 134 pounds, 9.5 percent bodyfat and still building lean mass. Jeremiah and I discuss final week contest prep. He tells me that I’m ready and suggests I compete next week at the Northern USA where he’ll be manning the Beverly booth. I may be ready physically, but I still need to work on my posing and I have the whole mental mind set that October 12th is my first date, so I decide to wait.
1 Week Out I go to the Northern USA as a spectator and have the opportunity to meet Jeremiah. What a pleasure it was to meet him in person. You too Tim! Both guys from Beverly took time away from their busy day to go over final week instructions, do a complete bodyfat analysis and fine-tune my posing.
My bodyfat is now in the 7 percent’s. I’m starting to feel a little more comfortable with my posing and we got some really great pictures. I left the show on an incredible high, with much more drive and determination.
This whole experience has been amazing, even with a few minor speed bumps encountered along the way. My mind’s racing with a million things that need to be done.
Now it’s the day of the show. I made it! I feel incredible. Enjoy the moment, the preparation takes time and discipline but your moment to shine passes quickly so have fun with it. One last speed bump: I have to compete in the women’s open class (they didn’t have a novice class). I reach my goal anyway – 2nd in my class, not bad for a first-timer in a national qualifier. Now I have the competition bug! (So get ready Jeremiah, I’m setting my sights on an overall trophy come springtime).
My journey was challenging and my craving for peanut butter never-ending, mixed with honey & Muscle Provider, the end result was worth it. See Shelli Jones MP Peanut Butter Pump) This experience has been rewarding, in more ways than one. I’ve learned quite a few things about myself, and what a strong, dedicated woman I really am.
I would recommend Beverly products and services to anyone that has a goal in mind. The knowledge, professionalism and courtesy of the staff far exceeded any of my expectations.
Thanks to my friends and family who have been there to support me along the way, even when you couldn’t fully understand why I needed to do this. And, Michael, you guided me to constantly strive to do better. I learned to never let anything step in the path of reaching something I hold important, including you.
Meal 3: 6 ounces can water packed tuna over 2 cups of salad with 2 tbsp Newman’s own Oil and Vinegar dressing
Meal 4: same as meal 2
Meal 5: 1 cup cooked brown rice or 1 cup uncooked oatmeal (I alternated between the 2 for variety), 1 tbsp Butter, 1 cup green beans or broccoli, 6oz. sweet potato, small banana.
2 Lean Out and 2 GH Factor 20 minutes prior to each meal
3 Muscularity with each meal (Speaking of Muscularity, what a great Beverly product. I’ve been using Muscularity (a lean muscle preserver) since day one of my diet. It’s been hard putting on that muscle and I didn’t want to take the chance of losing any in the diet process after working so hard to get it.
At 4 weeks out I added: 4 Ultra 40 with each meal.
2 Lean Out, 2 GH Factor and 1 Energy Reserve 30 minutes prior to each meal and 15 Muscle Mass during each workout.
Here’s what I like most about Beverly International:
Quality of the products
Good staff to back the products
Tastes great
Excellent customer service
Knowledge
My advice: Have a goal and constantly strive to reach that goal. What you experience along the way will help you grow and open your mind to new opportunities. Always strive to be the best you can be. Remember to thank God for the blessings in your life and pray for His strength to guide you through the not so good times.
Tessa’s Training:
Monday – Legs
Squats – 1 warm up set,
4 working sets / 10–12 reps
Single Leg Press or Hack Squat
– 3–4 working sets / 10–12 reps
Walking Lunges
– 3 sets up and back / floor length of gym
Single Hamstring Curls (Prone) or Stiff Leg Deadlifts
– 4 sets / 10–12 reps
Seated Hamstring Curl
– 3 sets / 12 reps
Tuesday – Chest & Tri’s
Incline DB Press – 1 warm up set,
4 working sets / 10–12 reps
Flat DB Press or Bench
– 4 sets / 10–12 reps
Decline Fly
– 3 sets / 12 reps
Cable Cross Over
– 2–3 sets / 10–12 reps
Reverse Tri Eextension
– 4 sets / 12 reps
Overhead Tri Extension
– 3 sets / 12 reps
Wednesday – REST
Thursday – Shoulders & Calves
Seated DB Press – 1 warm up set,
4 working sets / 10–12 reps
Side Raises
– 4 sets / 10–12 reps
Upright Row
– 3 sets / 10–12 reps
Seated Calve Raises
– 4 sets / 20 – 25 reps
Calve Raises (Leg Press Machine)
– 3 sets / 12–15 reps
Friday – Back & Bi’s
Pullovers – 1 warm up set,
3 working sets / 12 reps
Seated Row (Med. Bar)
– 4 sets / 12 reps
Close Grip Pull Down
– 4 sets / 12 reps
Bent Over Row
– 2–3 sets / 10–12 reps
EZ Bar Curl – 1 warm up set,
4 working sets / 10–12 reps
Preacher or Hammer Curl
– 4 sets / 12 reps
Cardio and last 2 weeks
Cardio was just two or three days a week for 30 minutes or so on the Elliptical trainer. At five weeks out I increased it to 4 – 5 days trying to burn 2500 calories a week. The last 2 weeks I increased again to 2700–3000 calories a week. At times I would split it up between mornings and evenings or try to make up my time on the weekends as long as I got in enough to burn what I was supposed to.
› Shelli Jones Bodybuilding Goal winning NPC KY Overall Winner
