online edition - PRO Sports Club

esults in actionElise HornerMiss Evergreen 2006Miss Washington 20062nd Runner Up &Swimsuit Winner“And the newMiss Evergreen2006 is…Elise Horner!”I couldn’t believe it! I had won!A feeling of excitement and pure joyrushed over me as I basked in thegood news. The Miss Evergreen titlewas the very last local pageant of theyear that I could win to be eligibleto compete in the Miss Washingtonpageant in July, an official preliminary to the Miss America Pageant. At 24years old, this would be my fifth and final year of competing in the MissAmerica Organization because of age restrictions. It was more importantthan ever to make sure that I was in the best shape possible for all areasof competition including Swimwear, Evening Wear, Talent, and Interview.The PRO Sports Club stepped in to help sponsor my fitness training andI couldn’t be more grateful. The club and its staff have been a continuedsource of support and encouragement throughout my preparation process.I know that I could not have achieved the results that I did without all ofthe services that the PRO Sports Club offers including dietetics, personaltraining, group fitness classes, and physical therapy.Geoff Tripp at the Seattle PRO Sports Club became my personal trainer anddesigned a workout program that included three strength-training days,three cardio days, and one day of recovery/rest. He really stressed theimportance of balance including resistance and cardiovascular training.My fitness goals included slimming my thighs, defining my abs, and allover toning, while significantly reducing my body fat percentage. Geoff’sweight-training routine included moderate weights and high repetitionswith a lot of core exercises. We also emphasized variation in working all themajor muscle groups to train my body more completely and develop overallmuscle strength. To keep my workout intensity up, Geoff would setup minicircuits for various body parts – a lower body circuit consisting of squats,stability ball hamstring curls and traveling lunges. My cardio workout daysranged from 45-60 minutes and rotated using the treadmill, crossrobics,stepmill, and the dual elliptical. I also attended Circuit Conditioning withVictoria Hunt every Saturday morning followed by a dance class at a localstudio. In addition, I began physical therapy with Lea Stralka to work onmy posture. I naturally have a sway back and rounded shoulders, so Leahelped me work on strengthening my core and shoulder blades so that I’dhave the perfect posture onstage.To assist in my muscle maintenance and body fat loss, I incorporated anutrition plan based on the 20/20 Lifestyles principles. I had met withRegistered Dietitian Sarah Buckner at the Bellevue PRO Sports Club lastyear and incorporated her recommendations for balanced carb/protein/fatsnacks and meals. The nutrition component of my program was the mostdifficult part of preparing for the pageant. I had to say good-bye to someof my favorite foods like brownies, chocolate chip cookies, and ice cream,and embrace healthier foods with less refined sugar. Fortunately, I was ableto find a number of new foods that I fell in love with, like Cascade yogurtwith granola and spoonfuls of all natural peanut butter. After two monthsof incredibly hard work— days that I did not want to set foot into the gym,moments where I literally thought I couldn’t do another lunge, and variousaches and pains from pushing my body to the limit—the time had come tocompete in the Miss Washington pageant.Geoff conducted my final testing session to measure the results of mytraining. I was pleased to have dropped 6 pounds, lost 2 inches in eachthigh, 1.5 inches in my waist, 3 inches in my hips and reduced my bodyfat percentage from 20% to 17%. The best part of all was knowing thatthe training, physical therapy, and nutrition paid off. I won the preliminaryPhysical Fitness in Swimsuit Award, The Washington State CommunityService Award, and was 2nd Runner Up to the title of Miss Washington2006. Even better, I walked away with $6,000 in scholarship money to helppay off some of my MBA student loans.For those reading this article, I hope my story inspires you. If there issomething that you want to accomplish in regard to your health and fitness,you can do it! It takes a lot of hard work and dedication, but you canachieve a healthy lifestyle if you put your mind to it. This year’s pageantexperience has been an incredible journey that I will cherish for a lifetime.I owe a large part of my success to PRO Sports Club and its endearingsupport of my pageant ambitions. I am eternally grateful. Thank you!56 PRO PULSE SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2006