Another First Time Competitor: Shelley Cook

This is Shelley when she started with me:

This is Shelley At her show- Sandra Wickam Classic

I signed up with Noel Clark after making the oddest decision of my life. At 36 years old, two kids, husband, dog, new home, and a very busy company in tow, I decided that I wanted to compete in a figure competition. Why, I still don’t know exactly, just that I wanted to do something big and challenging at this exact moment in my life and this seemed to fit the bill.

After years of fitting in training and sports here and there but without huge commitment, I was in good shape but my figure looked a lot most Mom’s do… a lot more down there than up here and I knew that even with a decent background in weight training and knowledge of sports and nutrition I needed help. A good friend of mine suggested Noel as an on-line trainer for me because of my remote location. At first I really doubted how it could work, a faceless person over email did not sound like it had a lot of potential to me but I looked her up anyways.

To say the least, the woman is stunning! The power, strength, and confidence that she projected in her photos alone were enough to encourage me to reach out. I had honestly never seen a woman that looked like this before in my life, so much muscle, so fit and lean but still so feminine and beautiful. I was mesmerized and wanted a little bit of that for myself.

So after a few introductory emails that explained she was starting her own business I signed on as one of her new clients. Within days Noel’s website was up and running and on it were my new workout and nutrition plans. I was in love with the new workouts immediately, so different, so much easier than what I was doing before and still much more effective. The nutrition plan, well I’ll be honest here was a huge shock. I was very defensive and rebellious in the beginning because I really thought I knew a lot about nutrition and that I was eating just fine. Over time and begrudgingly sticking to the plan I realized that I was wrong. Noel has the winning formula. Yes it takes time effort and adjustment to change your long set habits but it IS SO worth it.

The changes in my body started immediately and kept me going because the rewards were so evident. My weight didn’t fluctuate much at all but I gained plenty of muscle and lost all of my fat while eating 5 times a day. I felt better than I ever have in life and after 6 months of doing exactly what Noel told me to do I had my reward. I was ready for competition. Really ready!

The tools that really counted were all there for me, the support I received from Noel’s forums was incredible, I journaled every day and was always greeted with positive responses, suggestions and support from people all trying to make the same good choices and live a healthy lifestyle. The meal tracking system that Noel uses helped keep me on track because I knew I had to account for every single meal and if I felt like cheating or eating off plan I knew I had to report that and didn’t want to. (still did, of course, many times…. no one’s perfect LOL).

What really cinched the whole thing is that Noel believed in me, right from the start. Even when I questioned her, rebelled against her, cried, complained and tried to quit she would be there for me. She changed my plans when they needed to be changed, she held my hand when it needed holding, kicked my butt when it needed kicking and from the first day that I set my goal, quitting never became an option. I feel like Noel has a pretty amazing gift, she understood me and everything I went through, justified or not, and never made me feel bad or weak for struggling or breaking down. She always told me I am stronger than I think I am. She was right.

My goal had been to get to the Sandra Wickham Fall Classic and feel like I belonged on that stage. What I ended up going home with was so much more valuable than that, the sense of accomplishment I felt for finishing, the sense of pride in my husband and children watching me make it and the fact that I didn’t quit even when I really wanted to are the most amazing feelings I’ve ever experienced. Add that to a 2^nd place trophy in Figure Short and a 1^st place trophy for Master A figure in my very first competition and you have an experience that cannot be beat.

Will I compete again… probably not but my life, and my family’s lives are forever changed thanks to Noel Clark and I wonder if I will ever be able to give her up. I'm already looking forward to opening my next set of plans.

Sincerely,

Shelley Cook

You can see more photos of the competition on my blog

First time NPC Competitor Brandy Hanson

Brandy's Befores above

Here are Brandy's photos of her at the Las Vegas Classic



I decide I wanted to compete in January of 2009. I did my homework and talked to as many figure girls and try to do things on my own. Being a certified personal training I understood the basic foundation of weight loss and training, but training and dieting for a figure show is just not the same. I tried to do things on my own, but just wasn’t getting anywhere. After my injury, my weight was up to 126 the most I have weighted in a long time. I had been doing long cardio sessions and low calorie diet to drop my weight but no change. I had worked with other online figure trainers and it just didn’t work for me. Then I ran across Noel’s youtube videos and contacted her. They were amazing. She showed me how to eat and train the right way for figure.

All I had to do was exactly what she had written out for me and within the first few weeks I could see the change in my body. I became more define and dropped body fat fast. The best part was I wasn’t doing hours of cardio. The meal plans were very easy to follow and she communicated with me on a regular basis. It was the best I have every looked in my life.

Thanks to Noel’s training and diet program I made the top 5 in my first NPC figure show at the Las Vegas Classic. I plan to keep training with Noel for my next NPC show on March 20th 2010. She showed me the right way to train and diet and I would absolutely recommend her to anyone who is looking to compete in figure or fitness.