I decided to contact Simon exactly 12 weeks out from competing in Fame UK. At this point I had lost 8lbs of fat (between January and the beginning of March), but I knew I needed help to get the last bit of fat off, and I knew Simon was the coach to get me in the best shape of my life in time for the show. I had a long way to go to get me ready for any show and I needed some support.

I entered the Fitness category, which involves a 2 minute high energy routine, which I was really excited about, having done gymnastics for around 12 years when I was younger. However, I found that being a grown-up, gymnastics wasn’t as easy as it was as a youngster! The strain it put on my body was almost unbearable! The pain afterwards lasted for days, and I got frustrated that I couldn’t do the moves I could 15 years earlier (quite naïve really!!) I decided, around 9 weeks out from competing, that something had to give – I changed category to Fitness Model, which didn’t require the 2 minute routine. This way I could concentrate on the diet and training without trying to fit in the gymnastics as well – it all felt instantly more achievable.

Simon changed my diet from eating 6 meals a day, to 4 meals every 4 hours, to help stabilize my blood sugar levels. All meals were protein with veg/salad and good fats, with the only carbs in the form of a small amount of bio yoghurt and blueberries at meal 1 – this was my daily saviour!!

Training wise, I was taken off morning cardio and ordered to lie in and concentrate on quality sleep. I definitely underestimated the importance of sleep when trying to drop body fat! After work I was doing 4 weights sessions a week followed by 45 mins of cardio.

These first few weeks felt good. I saw weekly changes (monitored by photos and measurements – waist, hips and thighs – rather than scales) and had great energy levels from the variety of proteins and all the good fats in my diet, as well as the better quality sleep. I won’t lie – there were days where I craved chips, chocolate or sweets so much I thought I would go crazy – but then I told myself I had a goal to reach, reminded myself how proud I would be when I got there, and I stuck to the diet – when you want something bad enough, and really focus on the end goal, you’ll do whatever it takes to get there!

A few weeks in, Simon was happy with my progress, so we introduced the morning cardio – 45 mins of hill walking on an empty stomach. It’s not much fun, but it works really well, but only if all variables are in place. I was lucky there was a guy at the gym also in training for a show, so we would always be the first people at the gym motivating each other to keep going, commenting on changes we noticed in each other, and usually discussing what foods we missed!!!

Over the next few weeks the cardio increased so that I was doing 45 mins pre-breakfast and an hour post-weights in the afternoon. Soon after this, food changed so that almost all the protein I was having was very lean – no beef, mackerel, etc, reducing my overall calorie and fat intake. This made the training feel harder, but I just got on with it, knowing the goal was getting closer. I was now finding it easier to visualize myself on the stage – using visualization can be a very powerful tool of motivation.

With only a few weeks to go, supplements changed to help shift fat from my lower body, and the cardio changed, introducing some high intensity interval training, while still doing some LSD training as well. If you keep doing the same thing for too long, your body will stop reacting.

Coming into the final week, I was feeling pretty good about how I was looking, I had my posing suit, hair, tan, make-up etc all sorted, and I was getting excited. BUT the final week is the toughest! My diet lost pretty much all fat for 5 days, so I was just eating lean white protein and greens 4 times a day. Now, I like strong flavours, so this was very hard for me! I also had to train upper body twice a day on these days (no cardio, thank God!), and my energy levels were so low, these workouts used up anything I had! I was pretty horrible to be around, but luckily had warned my boss, and had a very supportive boyfriend (a good support network is so important when you do something like this). I didn’t see much of my friends during these 12 weeks, because it was easier to keep myself to myself, and get on with things, but the good friends are still there at the end, to see the show and congratulate you.

Having fat-depleted for 5 days, the last 2 days before the show I fat loaded to fill my muscles – these 2 days were great! Whole eggs, mackerel, steak – it all tasted sooooo good! And I had loads of energy!

On the day before the show I did a photoshoot, so I had some great shots of me in the best shape of my life! I had steak, chips, cheesecake and wine in the eve before the show! (talk to SJ!) Unfortunately I spent a lot of this evening on the toilet!!!! I assume this was a combination of nerves, and the body’s reaction to the fat-load! Luckily, this stopped in time for me to go to bed and have a great nights sleep (thanks to the extra calories!)

The day of the show came, and despite being an appallingly organized show, I had a great day. I was nervous as hell, but all the other girls were really friendly and we all supported each other. The top 3 girls were in incredible shape!!

I really enjoyed my first experience competing, and found a lot of inspiration from the other competitors, wanting me to get in even better shape, and compete again next year!

Taz did an amazing job in a very short time, and is a real life example of what you can with focus and hard work. When she first contacted me she was miles from being show ready, miles. But I knew her character, and I knew shed be receptive to coaching, so she had a chance.

Taz is in the category of very hard worker, sometimes too hard. Getting her to sleep better was the key, to improve her digestion and stabilize her blood sugar. Then adding in foods that fit with her metabolic type and taking out foods that were irritating her digestive tract were part of the stage 1 plan.

Moving forward, using LSD cardio at the right times, to maximize its efficiency, was a crucial part of her plan. Plus mixing in the interval work at the right time to prevent some negative hormonal and metabolic rate changes. Taz actually did a lot more LSD cardio than I would normally have a client of mine do, simply because I didn’t have the time I wanted to get her metabolic rate up and balance some of the hormonal issues. So, I had to drive her body a lot harder than I wanted to, which was something we discussed. I don’t believe in “robbing Peter to pay Paul”, in effect weakening someone’s health severely during a contest prep. It just isn’t worth it in the long run.

I think the biggest pre contest mistake most people make is the use of LSD cardio, mainly too much, at the wrong times. As a natural, it is way over used during pre contest in my opinion. If you want to maximize your cortisol levels, sure, carry on, just what you need to get that extra fat storage on your abs!!!

In clients with whom I work and have longer to prepare, I focus far more on maximizing the metabolic rate and taking care of the endocrine system, which are the 2 key components for natural athletes who want to be lean. Not hours of endless cardio.

Pre-contest dieting is not the science some claim it to be. And because one thing works for one person, it doesn’t mean it works for the next, that is a common mistake of the so called experts. In addition, there is a huge difference between natural athletes, like the ones I coach, and steroid assisted trainers. Using steroids really takes away the need to consider the endocrine system, and how the training and diet stimulus affect cortisol, thyroid, testosterone and growth hormone production.

I know so many people who diet for contests by simply cutting carbs, loads of cardio, then chucking in some T5 and clenbuterol, and claim they have this great approach to dieting!!! Forget the fact they have no muscle at all when they come to the show, plus have pissed off everyone around them in the process and are ill for about 2 years afterwards. Crazy.

Moving forward, the long term aim with Taz is to do some work on health work that we had to put on the back burner during the pre contest phase. Pre contest work is a stress, right now Taz is going to really work on building perfect health. That is the goal I set with all my clients, so they can maintain a great physique and athletic performance all year around. My own personal believe is that looking great is just one part of the process. Feeling great, being productive in every area of your life, and having a body that works to its best, are the targets I set for anyone I work with.

Congratulations to a great hard worker who deserves all the success she achieved.

Simon