Countdown to C-Bus with Erin Stern

Erin Stern made a name for herself in her rookie year of the IFBB Pro League. She went being a virtual unknown when she won the 2008 NPC Figure Nationals to placing in the top 6 at the 2009 Ms. Figure Olympia. Erin ended the year with a runner-up spot at the Ft. Lauderdale Cup and now she has her sights set on Columbus. Erin’s fast-track to success is no fluke. She has a physique that was shaped over the years with hard work and a positive mindset.

Many of you wanted to hear from Erin when we took our poll last month. Well, you voted and again we listened. Erin has graciously agreed to share her journey to the 2010 Figure International in Columbus, here on Hardbody.com. Follow along as we count down to C-Bus with Erin Stern.

ERIN STERN:
Five weeks remain until showtime. So many thoughts run through my head as the clock ticks…training splits, meals, progress pictures… this time last year I was six pounds heavier. I listened to everyone’s opinions but my own – I needed more mass to compete on the Pro stage. I shunned the track workouts in favor of cardio on the treadmill and elliptical. I tossed aside my bounding, plyometrics and stadiums. I trained like a bodybuilder…and I was beefy. I had transformed, alright.. into a blockier version of my former self. Fast-forward one year…

Today I find myself running barefoot on a dew-covered field, twelve sprints at 80% effort. I am gassed toward the end of the workout – a long-forgotten feeling that I welcome again! With the warm-up and cool-down, I’m in and out in about 45 minutes. I’m doing a lot less “cardio” these days, though I initially found it difficult to break away from the standard one hour of morning cardio on an empty stomach routine. I think a lot of competitors, especially those of us who do their own prep, get sucked into the notion that “more is better.” The shows, it seems, are not won by the girl who trains the hardest, but by the one who trains smartest.

For the most part, I am still training like a bodybuilder in the gym, but doing less sets and my second leg day is full of hang cleans, push press, box jumps, and other plyos. With my diet, I am still learning about what works for me and what doesn’t. I listened to a competitor preach the evils of wheat and gluten, and I cut it out of my diet. It took me months to realize that I shouldn’t eat dairy, but wheat is ok for me.

As I lift arms tonight, I start to see them take the shape I visualize them taking in my mind. Right now, the girl in the mirror doesn’t quite look like the one in my mind – but five weeks is plenty of time.