Toronto Pro Supershow

A solid last two week ends have taken place in the land of BGB.

Last week end (June 17th), I headed down to the T-dot-O for the first annual Toronto Pro Supershow and WOW, was it a ridiculously amazing weekend!

After a long workday in Woodstock meeting with the Southwestern Ontario Reproductive and Prenatal Working Group, I was ready to get down to the big city to see some big muscles ;). Pro bodybuilders, fitness, figure and bikini competitors from around the globe gathered at the John Basset Theatre in the Metro Toronto Convention Centre for a grande showcasing of the-best-of-the-best. The top three finishers in each of the pro categories were lucky enough to nab Olympia invites, so the stakes were HIGH!

I travelled down to the T.O on Friday evening with my good friend and training buddy, Jeff. Jeff is getting ready for his first ever bodybuilding show. He is 18 weeks out from the KW Oktoberfest Natural Classic being held on October 29th. While everyone else will be downing pints and pretzels for the German festival, Jeff will be up on stage showing weeks and weeks of hard work, determination and willpower. Jeff, we can celebrate with a cold one post-show. Don’t worry! 😉

It was great to travel to the show with a like-minded competitor; we both had packed larger cooler bags than overnight bags!! Jeff made sure to book a room with a fridge so we could keep our produce and protein cool and fresh.

When we got to the hotel, we were pleasantly surprised to find our room was equipped with an ENTIRE kitchen!! We had a full-size fridge, oven, stove top, microwave, and dishwasher. We even had a full-size coffee maker! No single-serving brewer in THIS room 😉 Needless to say, it was PHENOMENAL. With accomodations like this, you really have NO EXCUSE for falling off the bandwagon with the diet!

Once we had settled in to our hotel suite, we grabbed our tickets and headed around the block to the Convention Centre. All around us, passing by on the street, were tons of chocolate brown, lean and shredded bodies. Welcome to a physique show!! As the competitors passed by on the street, the smell of nectarines flooded into my nose. Ahhhh, Jantana!! It’s this smell that gives me  the ‘competitor’s high’– ‘MUST. COMPETE. SOON. TIME!!!!’ I actually found I got a little jealous of all the competitors walking by me; there’s nothing I love more than show day. The show day high is addictive and intoxicating. If this is what addicts feels, I empathize.

Friday night showcased the Bikini Pros. I was rooting for my fellow teammates, Missy Coles and Justine Munroe, both Bombshell superstars. Team Bombshell did not disappoint either; both girls delivered lean, toned, perfectly balanced physiques and graced the stage with sass and class, as all Bombshells do 😉 They earned second and third, respectively. Shelsea Montes took a deserving top-spot.

After an exciting start to the weekend with the Friday night show, we were even more stoked to see the Saturday night Men’s Bodybuilding finals. But first it was EXPO TIME!!!!!!

The Expo was BOOMING with IFBB and WBFF Pros from past and present. I was most excited to meet Ben Pakulski, an IFBB Bodybuilder, and Julie Bonnett, a WBFF Pro Fitness Diva. I was soooo nervous while meeting both of them, but their down-to-earth personalities made it super easy to open up and enjoy some great convesation with them.

Ben Pakulski.... ahhhhh so dreamy.... 🙂

Julie was fantastic to talk to as she highlighted what helped her make her way to the top in one of the most competitive professional physique streams in the world. Her advice for women who compete? PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE YOUR STAGE WALK!!! She explained that in prepping for her pro debut, she spent HOURS in her gym studio going over and over her walk and poses, to the point that other gym-goers thought she was CRAZY! Julie proceeded to come away with a 2nd place finish in September 2010 at the WBFF Worlds. Now THAT’S CRAZY for a pro debut!!! All of her hard work in the gym, the kitchen and the posing studio has obviously paid off!

With Julie at the Fusion booth during the Expo.

We were also fortunate enough to catch the Oxygen Fitness Model search while perusing the expo. There were some amazing competitors in this show as well and the four beautiful ladies who took the top spots were well-deserved.

I came away from the expo with tons of free samples, a box of peanut butter and jelly protein bars (which I’m eager to try post-show!), some new Better Bodies hot shorts, and a renewed motivation for my remaining few weeks until competition. Seeing all the chiseled, lean physiques made me want to track down a local gym right then and there and hop to it!! I’m STILL buzzing off the expo vibe!

Saturday was topped off with the Pro Bodybuilding Finals. Jeff and I have become pros ourselves– as IFBB judging pros! We were predicting the top 3 finishers for all the classes like it was our JOB!

Pro Bodybuilding Final 3

Pro Fitness Final 3

Pro Figure Final 3

Vying for the top spots in the Pro Bodybuilder's 202 Finals

I must admit, I’m a HUGE SUCKER for a solid bodybuilding ‘posedown,’ so when the MC called Ronnie Coleman and Dorian Yates up on stage to go at one another in a posedown, I was literally on the edge of my seat!!! Ronnie was game and actually proceeded to the stage for the posedown, but Dorian balked and wouldn’t give in 😦 I was TRES disappointed, but settled for the 202 posedown instead…

Overall, the weekend was absolutely inspiring and motivating. I hope the T.O Supershow becomes an annual event because I’ll be there each and every year with bells on! Or maybe even some day, up on stage with my bikini on competing with the PROS!!! Ahhhh, a girl can dream……

Question: What motivates you to train to your ultimate potential? Do you have an idol or someone that you look up to or look to for advice to ‘press on’ and reach for your dreams?

Good night, all! Train hard!! 🙂

L.