Cassie Gose places 2nd in her 2nd figure show

In Sync Fitness congratulates Cassie Gose on her placement at her 2nd figure show!!

Check her out center stage in the attached picture - looking good Cassie!!

Cassie shares her experience below:

This past October I fulfilled my long time dream of competing in a figure competition. I had wanted to compete for years; however with college, work commitments, and the many other inconveniences of life, this past summer was the first time in my life that I actually had the spare time and energy to commit to a competition.

When I started training for the competition I weighed 154 lbs and was very unhappy with my figure. I have always worked out and maintained a healthy diet; however between finishing up my bachelors degree and finishing off one too many bags of peanut butter m&ms over the previous winter, my weight had somehow crept up without me noticing (or perhaps I chose not to notice so I wouldn't have to give up my chocolate).

I decided to compete in the Washington Ironman on October 3^rd and enlisted the help of Susie Hoverson to help with my posing and many other details of the show. Susie was a great help and a huge inspiration! Even with my history of running track, cross country, half marathons, and a couple century bike rides, I have to admit that training for a figure competition was harder than all of my past athletic experiences combined. Bodybuilding is definitely the most challenging sport I've participated in, and it is also the most rewarding and exciting.

I ended up dieting and training for the Ironman for 6 long months and lost 30 pounds in the process. When I stepped on stage for the prejudging show I can honestly say that I have never been so nervous in my life. Unfortunately the judges were also able to see how nervous I was as my posing on stage was absolutely terrible. When I stepped off stage for the Ironman I knew I had done poorly and was pretty discouraged with myself for getting so nervous and letting my nerves affect my stage presence.

The day of the Ironman was probably one of the most emotionally and physically draining days of my life. By noon we were done with the prejudging show and had 7 hours until we had to be back for the night show. I was beyond discouraged with my morning performance and was honestly contemplating not even going back for the night show. I was so discouraged that sometime between the morning show and the night show I decided that I was never again going to compete in another figure competition. I was done… I'd had enough… I wanted to go home.

That night we arrived back at the venue exhausted, thirsty, and beyond ready to eat some real food. I was still contemplating skipping the show when we arrived, however my mind changed as soon as I stepped back stage. The excitement was contagious and the camaraderie was unlike anything I've ever experienced; I realized that I was hooked and I would be doing many more shows in the future. Getting on stage that night was much less nerve-wracking then the morning experience. I already knew that I hadn't placed well and knew that there was really nothing that I could do but go out, have fun, and enjoy the experience. In the end I ended up placing 8^th in my class. I didn't get last, however I wasn't even close to first place. I was later told that my class was the toughest class in entire show.

After the Ironman I decided to compete in the Northwest Championships being held five weeks later on November 7^th. My experience at the Ironman was great, yet I was disappointed with my performance and knew that I could do better. Competing in the Northwest Championships meant five more weeks of dieting and tedious training and it meant enduring another peak week. However it also meant another shot at one of those shiny trophies.

The five weeks between shows flew by and I came into the second show in even better shape than I had been for the first. I was happy with my physique considering how far I'd come in the past seven months of dieting and training and I was eager to get back on stage. For the second show I was absolutely amazed at how calm and confident I felt compared to the first show. The pre-show jitters were replaced by excitement and confidence and I felt like my poses (while still not perfect) were immensely better than they had been for the first show. I ended up getting 2^nd place and a shiny new trophy at the Northwest Championships and had the time of my life! If I wasn't hooked by the first competition, I certainly was by the second one!

Since participating in the last show I've decided to take a small break from the contest diet to regain some sanity and muscle that was lost with 7 months of contest dieting. I'm currently looking into the spring season and trying to decide which shows I'll be participating in. I'm hoping to participate in the Bill Pearle show in Bend Oregon as well as the Empire Classic in Spokane if all goes well. We'll see what else the future has to hold!