Monthly Adventures: July 2022
Have you ever seen someone who has the body of a super hero, like the ones in the comic books? What about dozens and dozens of people who look like that all in a single room? I had the chance to experience that earlier this month when I went to the IFBB Pro & NPC Republic of Texas Championship. No, I did not compete –– I am not in shape for that! I simply attended the competition. In this third installment of my Monthly Adventures Series, my family friends were in town for a body building competition and I decided go because it would be a new experience and a chance to catch up.
Background
Originally, it was supposed be my parents and grandmother also joining in on being in attendance for the competition. However, an emergency came up that caused them to cancel their plans. Since I still wanted something fun to do on a very hot Saturday in Austin, I kept the body building competition in my schedule and met up there my group of family friends. My mom's friend's sister was in the competition and we were there to support her!
Attending the IFBB Pro & NPC Republic of Texas Championship
The competition was in very large ballroom on the 5th floor of the Fairmont Hotel. Once I checked in and picked up my wristband, I made my way inside the ballroom to check out the action. The portion of the competition I was primarily there to watch didn't start until 1pm, but I arrived around 11:45am so I could get a feel for all the event had to offer and settle in.
Once inside, I was surprised by how much they were able to fit into the ballroom! There were vendors in the back where the entrance was located and lined the walls around the audience which consisted of general admission and VIP sections in front of a stage with a backstage setup behind it. Some of the vendors had athletic clothing for sale while others had discounts on vitamins and supplements. The vendor that felt somewhat out of place but also perfectly placed was Top Secret Cookie Co. from Houston, TX. They have giant cookies that are sweet and having a filling in the middle that corresponds with their flavor. At first, I thought they were protein cookies, but they are in just regular cookies that are sweet and gooey. I imagine that one of those cookies (even half of one) makes a nice treat after the amount of work that goes into making your body competition ready. My attention was on the stage where the pros and the novice women athletes had been competing since I arrived, but a shoutout to Top Secret Cookie Co. from the emcee as the pros finished up shift my gaze. I was sitting in the general admission section right next to the cookie vendor and stopped by the vendor to purchase a couple of cookies (dulce de leche and cinnamon roll) before joining my family friends who had just arrived as the novice women athletes were getting started with their competitions for prejudging.
My pictures of the stage are blurry because I was in general admission seating towards the back. I promise that you could very clearly see the muscle definition better in person without a camera!
Post-Competition Attendance Thoughts
I had never attended a bodybuilding competition before and everything was very new and slightly confusing to all of us. While watching the pros earlier, someone in front of me asked one of the competitors just a few chairs over from me how everything works in the prejudging portion of the day. Basically, prejudging is where you try to rack up points before moving on to the final. This competition included competitions for both professional men and women and novices. I only stayed for the afternoon to catch which was about half of the total time for prejudging because I needed to go home after the competition to write a paper for grad school.
It was honestly amazing to see how incredible each athlete's body looked with muscles so defined that I could see them very clearly from the back of the audience! Too bad my iPhone could capture what I could see as well as my eyes could. People traveled from across the globe to compete and were all different ages. There was even a woman who was 70 years old competing! This goes to show that age is not an indicator of what level of fitness someone can maintain. Being a spectator at a bodybuilding competition has inspired me to be more serious about keeping up with a workout routine. After all, I need to start early if I want any chance at developing enough motivation to make exercise a habit. I know myself thought, and I need to find a personal trainer first to help me with exercising correctly and staying motivated. In the meantime, I'm going to keep my exercise routine simple and effective as I plan my next Monthly Adventure!
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