Tips for Preparing for the Fitness Competition

Fitness is a complete Mind.Heart.Body. approach. It is not about being a certain number or the skinniest girl in the room. The judges are looking for someone who takes care of themselves and someone who exudes a healthy lifestyle. Someone who is physically fit, energetic and healthy. 

Practice a healthy mind

Find that inner Beyoncé and let her shine. Look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself you’re beautiful, worthy, and confident. You have made it this far and you should be so proud of yourself! No more negative thoughts starting now. The more confidence you instill in yourself the more comfortable you will become in your body and walking on stage. Learn to love your body and allow yourself to shine. This may very well be a daily practice each morning when you wake up or each night before bed.

 

Treat your heart right

Exercise, but have fun while doing so! Is there a sport you used to love playing when you were growing up? Find leagues to join that will hold you accountable for weekly exercise. Develop a workout plan and stick to it. (I’ll share some of my favorite workouts in another blog). Aim to workout at least five days a week for 30 minutes or more. Some choose to hire a personal trainer to really target specific needs. If you’re strapped for cash there are many fitness accounts on social media and videos you can watch for free. 

Plan out your workouts, write them down, or schedule in a calendar to help hold yourself accountable. Alternate body weight/weight days with cardio days. Monday/Wednesday = weights or bodyweight exercises, Tuesday/Thursday = cardio, Friday = HIIT (high intensity interval training), Tabata, circuits, etc.  

Care for your body

Self care, recovery, and nutrition! Self care has become one of my favorite things over the past two years. After a long hard workout, fill up a hot bath and sprinkle epsom salt. Epsom salt helps to improve your body’s natural detoxification process and also promotes healing. It is especially soothing to soak and reflect on how your body feels while helping to reduce workout soreness and pains. Self care can also come in the form of massages and spa days. Whatever you fancy, dedicate some time each week toward YOU. 

Recovery is important for your body. When planning your workout schedule, be sure to add in rest or recovery days or plan for an active recovery. A rest day can be as simple as it sounds, taking a day off of physical activities. Rest days can also mean doing a very low impact workout such as yoga. Active recovery is a low impact workout; typically cardio, something you can sustain for 30-60 minutes without ever becoming breathless during the workout.

Eating right is probably the most important part of your overall well being. You’re not going to get there just by working out and keeping bad eating habits. Everyone’s body is different and every body needs different things. Do your research to figure out what will work best for your body. As a general rule, most people will need more protein (chicken, fish, ground turkey), less carbs, and more green vegetables. Meal prepping is a great tool to use especially if you’re always on the go (like me :)). Spend an hour or two on Sunday afternoon prepping your meals for the week, pack them up and then all you have to do is grab them and go. 

Don’t forget to practice your energetic fitness walk! This is actually a little embarrassing, but I will share anyways. Every morning I would go for a run/walk. I had the perfect route planned out where I would get about a two mile run in, then a half mile walk. However, once I turned on a certain block, that was my “fitness walk” block. I would practice my fitness walk this entire block, even stopping posing and practicing pivot turns. Get a playlist together that makes you feel confident and just walk in your sneakers. Practice putting your hips and body language into it. Remember fitness is about being confident in your body. Show some personality!

Thanks for reading. I’d love to hear from you: missintl2020@gmail.com Stay happy, healthy, and grounded Mind. Heart. Body.

Megan Vladic

Miss International 2020