Out of all the body parts there is to train, abs is my least favourite
The only time l enjoy training them is when I can
see them. 🙂
However, in preparing for the WBFF World Titles I’ve given them a priority. I also made any rehab, priority. I wasn't allowed to do the "fun" stuff 'til the foundation work was done or pre lifting activation work.
Funny enough, once I found my routine, I really enjoyed doing it because I could feel and see the results. In the past, if I was time poor, I would skip past the pre-lifting work and the abs (because they were always done at the end) and my excuse was that the other work was priority.
Incorrect!
This year I made time and effort to get it all
done.
The results?
Well, a much greater and better looking abdominal wall.
Not once this year have I had back pain of any kind during my training which used to be a recurring thing that would happen. I stuck to the basics: plank, side plank and dish work in, plus some flexion and extension work.
This is by far the best my body has moved and felt.
Who would have thought putting time and effort to the foundation work makes all the difference!
There is a big lesson here, you are never too advanced to be doing the basics really well, but sometimes you can get advanced and forget that. 😉
It’s crazy because I build foundational work in
for all of my girls in The Sports Model Project.
When I was little, my sister and I loved to transform into TLC.
Emma would be T-Boz and I would be Left-eye, dancing around the living room, singing into imaginary microphones.
So I love Crazy, Sexy, Cool it's my second favorite album (Aaliyah will always be #1)
I also recognise "crazy, sexy, cool" perfectly describes Julia, one of my amazing Sports Model Project girls.
Here is Julia's story.
Hi, my name is Julia, and this is my SMP story, a story that has changed me and my life.
This January 2019 marked 1 year of me being a part of a strong, powerful and loving tribe.
I have always been active, since I was a 4-year-old kid I was into dancing, swimming, and skiing. I never was overweight, but neither was I skinny.
At the age of 22, I started doing CrossFit and from skinny 47 kg I turned into a fit 55 kg girl and I absolutely loved that change.
But I exhausted myself with workouts and training that after 9 months of nonstop activities: CrossFit, running, gym and then my body crashed.
Then for the next 6 – 7 months, I didn’t do anything but cardio…. I got kind of obsessed with it. But looking back now I realize that even though I religiously did it every day I didn't get results…?
I had neither an amazing physique, no muscles…nor a good feeling of achieving and improving…
I started to do bodybuilding style training almost 3 years ago…. I competed 3 times in these 3 years.
The first two competitions and preps were totally different from my recent one with SMP in October 2018. Long story short, 8 months prior to joining SMP and after 2 of my comps I didn't look or feel good.
I trained, I tracked macros, I didn’t have any cheat meals and I was still obsessed with cardio but nothing was moving, and my body was always inflamed.
My coach at that time blamed it on the dairy!
I love dairy so much but I stopped eating it for 6 months. All I had was plant-based milk in my coffee. And nothing changed even after. Then he found something else to blame it on….
So in my head cardio was the only thing that could keep me more or less fit and I thought as soon as I stop I will get fat it's also worth mentioning that I was dancing on top of all the gym and cardio and I ate nowhere close to enough.
I was feeling depressed for the good 8 months.. hating my body….didn’t enjoy dressing up and always tried to cover it up.
Because of this wrong approach I was so hung up on cardio that for me in SMP this was the hardest challenge – to stop it and start eating more.
I love food but I was afraid to eat – how screwed up is that??? Suffering every day and being afraid to enjoy life and simply have a piece of cake?
Of course, sometimes it leads to me eating a chocolate bar and feeling so guilty about it. This feeling is also not a nice one…consumes you… I needed a change!!!
I was tired of being unhappy with my body…. I needed someone I can relate to, someone I can trust, someone who has been there, who can guide and teach me, that was the moment SMP came into my life which by the way was a miracle, thank you Universe and law of attraction)
The first thing Hattie told me was that I was not eating enough, and I was doing too much exercise.
That was a recurring theme by now and so I decided “I am trusting every word she says…I trust her and her team knowledge and I am going to do what she says…. Otherwise, what is the point.? I already did it the other way.
Since I was a small kid I always needed to be first. The best. I always tried to be the best for my mom and make her proud. Be the best for my teachers to make them proud and I always was competitive. So for me being a part of the team, representing someone as Hattie was an honor and I decided that I will make her proud and I won’t fail, because I cant. Failure wasn’t and isn’t an option.
Needless to say, 10 next month leading to my first wbff show was INCREDIBLE! Taking a leap of faith was the best decision in my life….. I stopped doing cardio!! At all. for 8 months…carbs came back into my life… I started to love my body because it was changing for the better and I loved it.
My goal was and still is – to have the body I love (not the other ppl or judges at the show) to have the body I have in my mind and body I feel comfortable in for me it is about being strong, fit and toned.
How did I change…?
I have experienced a 180 degrees turn in mindset, physique and in how I see the world, how I react to things how I accept challenges and hardships.
It might sound silly to someone but this is not just a Weight loss program for 99.99% it is alife changing opportunity …but! There is one big BUT: it will only work WHEN you stop making excuses, when you stop blaming someone else for problems in your life, when you start taking responsibility for your own actions, when you stop being a victim. OWN your life. Create your future (as cliché as it sounds)
Hattie and team can only do that much, they give us tools, help, support, knowledge but you have to put in work. A lot of work. And I did. I am very organized and disciplined and I was ready.
Of course, it is impossible to be full-on 365 days a year and only with Hattie and her team I learned how not to beat myself up for it, how to LEARN from it, how to use it for the better and how to move on!!!!
That realisation was incredibly enlightening!!!
I realized that I don’t have to be unhappy, or depressed or guilty…I only have to be compliant, honest to myself, consistent and most important coachable!
During this year my life went from good to better and so many things happened that I could have only dreamed of!!!!
And the biggest thing is now I know – I can have everything I want, and I can be who I want to be.
But you have to let go of the negativity and bitterness…. Accept your failures…. Do the work and move on…Hattie…what I can say… - SHE is the woman behind all these changes….. she is an angel… I don’t know what words I can use to describe her.
I don’t know where she gets the strength and the power to help all of us and be the light that she is…? I can't find words to describe how she makes me feel, when I speak to her on the phone…and especially when I saw her in Australia for the first time….She gives you this warm feeling …as you feel when you hug a mom.
She makes you feel calm and empowered… she makes you feel superhuman.
Hattie lights up the room!!!
I want to hug her all the time and I want her to know how I appreciate all she does, how grateful I am that she puts so much time in us…. It is unbelievable
But Hattie is not the only one I want to thank. There are Caterina and Nick. Nick is part of the brains behind it and I can honestly say that it won't be the same if he wasn’t there…He never sugar coats anything and this is so sweet!
He wakes you up and makes you face the reality which is not the best all the time. He makes you do the work and makes you realize what you doing wrong and step by step he helps you to free yourself up from all the excuses you been making all the time.
I can’t say anything more but that I love you with all my heart and I will be forever grateful for this experience, which I believe the Universe sent me to fulfill my potential and I know that each and every woman there is capable of this.
Don’t try, don’t see, just do it.
Thanks Julia! I'm so proud of you and how far you have come. I love the energy you put into dancing and training and your whole life!
Are you ready? Is it your turn to experience what Julia has?
Our girl Sophie just placed 3rd in the WORLD BIKINI DIVA in Las Vegas
… and she scored her pro card which she’s been working on for over a year.
Congrats Sophie - your hard work has paid off
2 hrs until we find out the results
Right now, I’m over in Las Vegas competing in the WBFF World Titles. This time around I think this is the calmest I’ve been. As could imagine there is a lot of tension and stress during the show - but like I always say - you can only bring your best and I really feel like I’ve done just that.
So I made you guys a little video on my thoughts so far - check it out here:
Final judging should be happening around 10am Melbourne time. If you’d like to show your support, jump on over to the WBFF official instagram page and check out all the action here:
Watching my girls grow, and grow and grow in confidence is the best part of being the leader of The Sports Model Project.
I want share one of those stories today.
Luãna Carolina was a great person to have in my team and massive success because she worked hard on her mindset and then on her habits and then in the gym. She placed 3rd in the WBFF BIKINI DIVA 2017 in her first big show.
Like all my birds, she has flown away and is crushing it standing on her own two feet. Luãna is super independent and has just started her own business.
After all: The way you do one thing, is the way you do everything.
I wanted to share her story with you because she encapsulates exactly what The Sports Model Project is about!
This is my 11-month progress when I decided I wanted to compete vs Comp day! '14th Nov 2016 - 14th Oct 2017'
"My goal was to compete in a Bikini Fitness Competition."
"I achieved way more than what I expected!
Most of all I changed my mentality from
"I can't do this", "I am not enough"
to
"I can make any goal a reality",
"I am strong, fierce, powerful"
"I competed In Two Shows."
"ICN-where I entered Sports Model First Timer and I came 1st!"
"I also entered Ms Fitness Model First Timer (I placed 4th),Ms Fitness Model Novice, ) and Sports Model Novice."
"Then I entered The WBFF"
"- I came 3rd in Bikini Diva Tall!! "
"I also did 5 photo shoots and I improved my PB in a number of things at the gym such as being able to squat 97kg and doing 8 pull ups."
"I have come a long way with my mental health."
"My biggest challenge going through the process was believing in myself."
"I learned how to love myself, how to live a balanced life, how to deal with my inner bully and that there are people out there who support each other and truly care about others."
"I am more positive and truly believe I have the potential to do many great things if I work hard, am consistent and focused!"
I believe I am good enough and worthy, that is such a big thing for me to say!!
"I learned so many skills to keep me fit and healthy and how to progress at the gym as well."
I loved listening to webinars and learning more in depth about the psychological side of things and goal setting and positive thinking."
"My journey was life changing."
"It made me a different person, I still have some things to work on but I definitely would say I view life differently now and the way I think of many things has changed to positive."
"Everyone is so supportive and there for each other no matter what it is.
They share stories, tips, food recipes, motivational quotes, they are super friendly and I felt so comfortable sharing personal things I have never shared with others."
"The SMP girls are an amazing team! "
"You become like sisters!!"I would trust them with anything!"
"Hattie is honest, super-positive, energetic, hands on, happy, strong, inspiring and a super dedicated coach."
"She will go above and beyond to teach you and guide you."
"It is way more than just fitness with Hattie."
"It's the whole package, you gain a coach but also a friend."
"I am going to continue working on myself and have some goals I have set myself that I know I CAN achieve. I will definitely be competing again some time in the near future."
"I am so proud of myself but also feel so lucky to have had an amazing coach, team and support behind me."
"My life has literally changed, I never knew I could achieve everything that I have in such a short time.":
Thanks Luãna we miss you!
The Sports Model Project is for women who want to go to the next level or are ready to work really hard on the their mind and body. You also have to have been training, hard in a gym for the last two years.
It's your time to be the one who grow, grow, grows in confidence.
That's why I hate hearing that girls are still doing old school body-part splits, vampire programs that steal your results and your vitality from you.
You know,
Monday - Legs
Tuesday - Chest and back
Thursday - Shoulders and arms
Friday - Abs and calves
Or whatever vampire program that performance enhanced, male body builders have convinced the fitness industry you should do. Mindlessly "going heavy" or doing fasted cardio until your exhausted.
So I was so excited to see an message in our forum the other day from the awesome Leah Galbraith.
Leah has faced a whole lot of adversity at the exact time she has been in the team and has got amazing results and more importantly has kept going and inspired the rest of us, what she says means allot to me as her coach!
It's crazy: If you apply the science and use weights properly you can re-balance your body, become more mobile, radically transform your physique and develop rock solid confidence from the inside all the way out.
This can be your story if ...
You're ready to go to the next level
You can support other women and are prepared to be supported in return
You have already been training hard, at the gym for at least 12 months
Are prepared to always be the hardest worker in the room
You are coachable.
Light and loving kindness,
Hattie xoxox
(Super proud coach of the best team in the world.)
APPLY FOR THE SPORTS MODEL PROJECT BY CLICKING ON THE IMAGE BELOW.
Morgan's Story
It was a goal on my bucket list, something I aspired to do but didn’t really know if I had in me to accomplish.
My goal initially was simply to get up on stage and compete. I’ve done that now and love the feeling of achievement; all the hard work, sweat and tears that go into comp prep and being able to stand up and express that sense of achievement with pride and confidence.
What result did you achieve?
I placed 2nd and 3rd in my divisions in ICN and top 10 for my divisions in WBFF. I hope to place top 5 for my next WBFF comp.
“The biggest challenge for me was being organized and tracking my food. I love training so that has been the easiest aspect of the journey, what challenging is being totally accountable for what goes in my mouth.”
"This journey has been incredibly healing, grueling, scary, necessary, and so much fun! It started when I was at a low coming out of a breakup and still mourning the passing of my mum."
"To start with the biggest challenge was training but having a routine to stick to gave me focus and started to build my drive.
With the drive and routine, I started to progress in strength which built my confidence."
Fitting in training, meal prepping and tracking my food as well as running my business has been a big challenge. I’m not going to lie, comp prep is time-consuming; physically, mentally and emotionally so finding a balance between my fitness goals and my work has been challenging.
"Setting the intention to compete was scary at first because there was no hiding in my doubts and fears around being good enough to get up on stagebut I look back and have no regrets and I actually feel so motivated to keep pushing, experimenting and setting new health and fitness goals to work towards."
I have now more confidence and trust in myself.
I now know I’m capable of achieving anything I set my mind to and understand the value of consistent, hard work if you want a result or to change your mind set and body. I value and love myself more.
I have learned so many things!
Firstly, what you put in you get out.
If I train half-assed I’ll get half-assed results. If I don’t track my food; I’ll risk an unwanted number on the scales. At the end of the day, I am totally accountable for my results. That’s very empowering but annoying at times when I know I’ve slackened off and have no one else to blame but myself.
To connect with an army of like-minded women and a power couple Hattie and Nick, supporting you, all working towards a similar goal is inspiring! I have had so much fun catching up with the SMP girls during comp prep at the posing workshops and shoots we’ve done.
There have been lots of laughs!
Hattie’s full of energy, inspiring and no bull shit!
She expects the best from you, motivates you to train hard and push through your excuses. There have been times when I’ve fallen off track and I’ve looked for her to validate my bull shit but she has pulled me up every time! If you want to work to become the best version of yourself, to get training and personal development coaching by a world number one then I would highly recommend Hattie to coach you.
"I would highly recommend this experience if you feel like you’re in a rut and want to change for the better."
Morgan is a really amazing Osteopath. If you need some body work and you live In North Sydney check her out at www.balancedbods.com.au.
Right now I'm under two weeks from the WBFF World Tittles so there is no entry into The Sports Model Project.
There will be 10 spots available in September but they will go to girls who are on my waiting list and have been vetted and confirmed by my team.
Click this link and you can apply.
https://ben499.typeform.com/to/P1Ftiu
Love and Light
Hattie xoxoxo
#1 Miss World WBFF Fitness Diva
That link again
https://ben499.typeform.com/to/P1Ftiu
Bec Lost 10kg And Nailed It On Stage
I had managed to lose about 16 kilos on my own but hadn't seen the change in body composition I wanted.
My primary physical goal when I joined SMP was to lose body fat and gain muscle and strength.
My mental goal was to gain back the self-confidence and self-love I had lost. I first learned of Hattie when she was on the cover of Oxygen and I found her to be really inspirational yet relatable.
Everything was a challenge at the start!
I'd never counted a macro in my life nor had I trained in Hattie's style. I'd never done a front squat or tempo work or anything like that. I remember it taking me up to half an hour to pre-plan my food for the next day at the beginning, now I can do it in 5 minutes flat.
I really wanted to lose body fat and see visible muscle.
I wanted to look strong and fit but I never wanted to compete - I actually told Hattie that the very first time I spoke to her! Truth was I didn't believe I'd ever be able to get in shape enough to compete so that as a goal was never on my radar.
I got results beyond my wildest imagination.
I never, ever, thought I would look and feel the way I do now. I thought my body would always be the same shape because those were my genetics and how I'd always looked... right? Even my mum says she can't believe how much my shape has changed. While with SMP I've lost well over 10kg of body fat, gained a crazy amount of muscle and immeasurable self confidence and knowledge. I haven't had a DEXA scan for a while but the last one I had 5 months before my comp I was sitting at 14% body fat. I would have been much leaner on comp day. I've also learned skills in not only diet and training, but in mindset, that I will have for life.
In terms of my comp results, I entered two Bikini divisions at the Queensland AWNBS titles and placed in both taking away a 2nd and 4th place.
I genuinely believe I'm not the same person I was a year ago - physically or mentally.
My mindset is totally different. Before, I always saw the obstacles and the problems that would stop me from achieving the things I wanted. The victim mentality... poor me! Now, I've learned to back myself and know I can achieve anything I work hard for and believe in. Not only in terms of how I look but in all aspects of my life. A lot of people who are really close to me have said they still cannot believe I actually competed - "YOU... stood on a stage... in a bikini... in front of hundreds of people?!" You're damn right I did, and I loved it! It's my mental transformation that I am most proud of.
Self-doubt and a fear of the unknown... were my biggest challenges
I had no self-confidence whatsoever when I joined and I wasn't sure I was up to the task. I'm a very process-driven person and I trusted Hattie immediately, so I just told myself to follow the process she had given me one day at a time. Slowly but surely the results started showing and still now, I take things one day at a time... just following the process.
What I've learned is that there is no fun or growth to be had inside one's comfort zone.
I lived in my comfort zone for 27 years and I didn't achieve or have near as much fun as I have since I took the leap to join SMP and decided it was time to back myself to do and be MORE.
I've learned the valuable difference between motivation and discipline.
A lot of people ask me how I stay motivated. The truth is, no one feels motivated every single day. Motivation gets you started, but discipline keeps you going. I've learned a level of self-discipline that is stronger than the "I don't feel like it today" thoughts we all have from time to time. As Hattie says - if you only travel on sunny days, you'll never reach your destination.
This was life changing. Hands down, the best thing I have ever done for myself.
I've never been amongst such a supportive, loving, uplifting and understanding group of people in my life.
You can ask or say ANYTHING in the group, and so many people will offer support and help. We all truly want to see each other achieve greatness. It's so refreshing. If only you could see the love-fest that is check in day in the forum! The feed is flooded with compliments, praise, and support. It's really amazing.
Hattie is the world champion for a reason.
She knows her stuff and all of us girls follow the same processes she uses for herself. Nothing is too much to ask, and there is nothing you can throw at her that she can't work around to get you an amazing result. Not many people know that I was on an injury management training plan for the entire 5 months leading up to my first competition. I was really limited in what I could do at the gym due to 2 bad injuries but Hattie made it work and got me into the best shape of my life in a healthy way. Hattie genuinely cares about every single girl she coaches and goes out of her way to provide us with opportunities we want. She's funny and approachable and an open book... she shares her personal perspectives and stuggles. She invests a lot of her own time and effort into continual learning and always shares her knowledge back to the group. What I believe sets her apart from other coaches is the work she puts into our mindsets. It's not all about body fat percentages and muscle mass... in fact, I'd say the mindset coaching is more important to her and to us. And also the fact that no two girls' plans are the same. Everything is completely customised to you and your goals. There are no cookie-cutter macro plans or training programs here.
I will compete again, probably in Season B this year. Follow my journey on Instagram - @bec.bea
If you're looking for a place where you will be welcomed with open arms, challenged and supported to grow to your true potential, SMP is for you.
Back yourself. Come prepared to show up every single day and put in the hard work, and you will get the results you want and more.
YOU can apply to join The Sports Model Project here