Another Great Transfomation

Another great experience with an amazing woman!
Choosing to work with Noel for my contest preparation was really a no brainer. I have known Noel for quite some time and have followed her figure contest experiences as well.  I have had the pleasure of watching her compete on the national stage twice.   I knew she was knowledgeable, experienced and capable of leading me into my show.
Competing has been a goal of mine for quite some time.  My life until Fall of 2010 had never really afforded me the opportunity to actually achieve that goal.  I have had some serious health and metabolic struggles over the past several years and it took some time and patience to figure those out.  In the summer of 2010, I finally realized a solution to many of my challenges and found myself back on track.  In August I decided that a November show could be a reality.  I started seriously dieting on my own in August and then about 6 weeks out from the show enlisted Noel’s expertise to take me the rest of the way.  I had steadily been dropping weight and fat since June and was concerned about stalling in my progress.  I received my first plan the first week of October and never looked back.  My body responded incredibly well to everything Noel prescribed for me.  My losses never stalled and in the six weeks from starting with her into my show, I lost over 13lbs and inches in all the right places.  She knew exactly what my body needed.  I am not built like most women but she was able to minimize my losses in my lower body, which is naturally leaner then the rest of me, while I continued to make progress up top.
Even beyond the physical expertise, a valuable component of this experience for me was Noel’s support.  There were:  constant e-mails!  constant checking-in on me!  Quick turn around time for biweeklies and all of my crazy rookie questions.  I never felt alone in this process.  The support and communication the last week of prep and the day of my show was incredible.  We communicated everyday, multiple times a day, that last week.  The day of my show felt like she was there.  I just counted, 50 texts between us that day.  50!  This is on a Saturday, in the midst of family commitments and a life, and she communicates with me 50 times!  I could not have asked for a more professional experience that felt completely personal!
I continued to work with her for the three months post competition.  There was NO rebound after the show.  Three months later, my weight is only 2-3lbs more than the day of my show.  My body still looks great and continued to respond to the training.  I set some recomposition goals for my trouble spots and those have improved in that since the show.  Every training plan placed me squarely out of my comfort zone.  When you consider your self a veteran in the weight room, it is refreshing to be challenged in ways that you never imagined.
I leave this experience much more knowledgeable about training and diet in relationship to my body.  At 44, I love my body more than  ever have in my life.  Noel is a large part of that, and I can never thank her enough!  As I consider my future goals, working with Noel again will be a must.  I cannot think of a better person to guide me towards my goals!
Thanks so much Mel!!  Here are before and afters of Mel and some pictures of her competition.


And I love this shot because you KNOW Mel is having a blast up there:

National Level Figure Competitor - Lisa Peper

I began working with Noel in 2009 to prepare for my second national-level figure competition. I was looking for someone I could trust to hold me accountable and dial me in for the show. Little did I know just how much I was going to depend on Noel!

My competition prep was a tough one. My body did not want to respond as it had in the past, and I was working much harder than I had before. Noel was a constant support throughout it all, adapting to meet my needs, adjusting when things weren’t quite working and most importantly, keeping my head in the game. When I would get discouraged, she was right there, helping me to look at the positive, focus on what I needed to do and grit my teeth and make it through. Despite all my doubts, she never doubted me. And together, we made my goal a reality.

Noel also pushed me to get additional blood work done when my annual work physical showed my thyroid hormones to be out of the normal range. Had she not encouraged me to get the full battery of tests done, I most likely would have written it off as a fluke. Instead, I was able to have my hypothyroidism diagnosed and seek appropriate treatment. And it certainly helped explain why my competition training was so difficult!

Noel certainly has the knowledge and experience to provide clients with top-notch fitness training and nutritional guidance. What distinguishes Noel from most other trainers is her ability to counsel and work with clients regarding the psychological aspects that go along with weight loss. It’s easy for trainers to say “suck it up” and just follow the plan, but Noel understands that life is dynamic, and that each individual is dealing with a different set of personal circumstances and emotional issues. She listens to her client’s needs, shows genuine concern, and tries to find solutions. Noel doesn’t make you feel embarrassed for your failures; she helps you learn from where you’ve gone wrong in the past and guides you to where you need to be, both mentally and physically. She is certainly a rare find in the training world, and I would recommend her to anyone.

Noel - I am deeply appreciative for all the guidance and support you have given me. As I have said so many times before - you’re the best!

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.

Georgia's Eastern Seaboard Bodybuilding Figure and Bikini Championships

I went to this National Qualifier today to help support the Georgia NPC. I was able to help out a bit backstage and at the door. Overall this show brought out some good competition. I even thought, from what I could see, the bikini division looked good.

I will say that being around that atmosphere brought back the 'want' to compete again in Figure. I was able to talk for a few minutes with Figure Pro Teresa Anthony about upcoming shows for her. I am very excited to see her back up on stage again.