Girl Hero Cherie
Every girl has a story to tell and sharing those stories is by far my favorite part of blogging. So when Cherie wrote me telling me she was making her own figure competition suit, something only crazy people do, I had to know more about her. I’m glad I asked because I just love Cherie’s “can do” attitude and confidence! I think you will too!!
“If she can do it, why can’t I?”
One day I was browsing the web looking for motivation to start working out again, (I just didn’t have the drive or desire to get started), when I came across a transformation that totally inspired me!!!! Her name was Danielle Reutter and she had entered a figure contest coming in 1st place. She had also had a baby around the same time I gave birth to my little boy and she had done all this within a 4 month time period. At first, it seemed totally impossible but then I thought- if she can do it, why can’t I? So a year after having my baby, I decided to compete in a figure competition.
I must say it felt like everything was going against me. I was overweight, out of shape, had very little time or money to invest and did not know where to begin my figure competition research. I just knew that doing a competition would give me the motivation I needed to reach my goal of getting in the best shape possible after gaining over 70 pounds during my pregnancy.
The first thing I started to think about was a suit. I knew I needed one but, as I it turned out, I needed three suits for my particular competition. I started looking online and found out figure competition suits are priced anywhere from $100- $4000!!!! I was shocked. I looked for someone who made these suits in my area—-NO ONE!!! Since, I don’t use a credit card I knew ordering online wasn’t an option and I didn’t have near that much much to spend, anyway. Durnig my internet search I came across Girl-Heroes and read Jenn’s story. I found out Jenn had made her own figure competition suit and it turned out beautiful. (Thanks Cherie!) Again, I thought- if she can do it….why can’t I?
Once I decided I could make my own suit, I researched “the ideal figure competitor look” and decided which parts of my body I needed to concentrate on. I knew I needed to gain muscle and lose body fat but there was something missing from the equation….THE GYM!!! Recently, I had moved to a rural area without renewing my license so I had NO ACCESS to a gym (crazy eh?)! SO how the heck was I going to get the body of a figure competitor?? Well, a few months before, I had purchased p90x but hadn’t stuck with it. Now I knew I had to get my butt in gear and follow through with the program if I wanted to get up onstage. It seemed like the best choice for me to get some hard workouts in.
People always ask- How did you ever mange to make the time to workout when you have a new baby??? I MADE the time. I was very determined. I would get up at 6am (an hour before my baby wakes up) 6 days a week to do my morning cardio. When my baby went down for a nap, I would do my weight training in my living room. In the afternoon, I would take him on a 30 minute walk!
Now back to the suit. I found a suit pattern that was similar to the figure competition suits through Jenn’s how to make your own figure competition suit post. I was able to alter the pattern a bit to make the suit fit right for the stage. I bought 1 yard of black velvet swimsuit material, 6 meters of 1/4 inch black elastic, some thread, and I was off! Once I finished making the suit, I went to Michaels Crafts, Walmart, and Atlantic Fabrics to buy gemstones to make the suit look all “fancy”. I looked at many suit designs and finally based my design of of one I liked. It took MANY MANY hours to finish the suit, as I had thousands of stones to glue on by hand. (Which by the way I used Gemtac adhesive to glue the stones on.)
Once I completed my two piece suit, I needed to start on my one piece. I could NOT find a pattern for this, so I came up with my own design. This took many hours of trial and error but I eventually finished the suit and just needed to glue the stones on- which I worked on right up until the night of the competition. I also made my final suit. Just a plain black pre-judging suit (which was a breeze compared to the other suits), as I used the same pattern as my stoned 2 piece, but I did not need to glue any gemstones…THANK GOODNESS!!!
About 3 weeks before the competition, I met with a posing coach to make sure I had the poses correct. He critiqued me and it really helped just to meet with him for an hour. It was also helpful to look on YouTube, and anywhere else on the web to find out how to pose correctly. I then wrote Danielle and told her my story. She took the time to write up an individual diet for me to follow to maximize my results during my final week of training before the show.
I was so intimidated this entire time- even though I was training hard and had researched everything. I knew that my competitors were very experienced, had been doing this for years, and had an advantage- especially since most of them go to a gym…lol!! I was nervous also about being on stage or tripping in falling in my high heels!!! Actually, during the show I had an incident during pre-judging. I was putting on my suit and the hook snapped off !!!! Luckily, I had brought a needle, thread and an extra hook. I was able to sew the hook on in time but forgot to put my number back on before being called out again. It was embarrassing, but I was able to pull it all off. 
In the end, I competed against 14 other competitors and ended up coming 3rd place in my class!!! I was thrilled, especially knowing I had done this ALL on my own without a trainer, made all my own suits, and without a gym membership. It just goes to show you that if you are determined enough, you can always find a way to reach your goals! Don’t let anything stop you.
Thank you Cheri for sharing your story!! You are an inspiration and have motivated me to kick up my own workouts a notch!!! Congratulations on your accomplishment. You are a Girl- Hero!!
What’s your story? If you would like to be featured as Girl Hero email me at jenn (at) girl-heroes (dot) com or don’t be surprised if you hear from me. 😉
Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn
This is my (almost) sane quest for insane health. Let's 
Your comp figure suits are so pretty!! What an inspiration!!
What an inspiration! The making time really hit home for me. I have found out the last couple of weeks that if I don’t make time to get my work outs in, I won’t do it. Babies keep you busy but I know that if I get up an hour earlier or use nap times as a work out time there is no excuse.
Thanks for sharing Cherie and Jen!
Wow, girl. You are AMAZING!!! What drive! What determination! You have left all of us without excuse when it comes to rationalizations “I don’t have the time” “I don’t belong to a gym, so I could never expect to get serious results” etc, etc, etc..Thanks for showing us all that it is possible when you put your mind and body to it!. Way to go!
I hope you receive many opportunities to share your inspiring story. It may just give some of us the kick in the butt we need to put some ACTION to our dreams!!!
Does Cherie have a website?
wow! 4 months after a baby?! now thats some inspiration!
Crazy inspiring that Cherie did that all at her house!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope P90X knows about her
Congrats Cherie – you look AMAZING (and your suits rock too)!
I love when people have a can-do attitude- it is so inspiring! I try to live that way myself
You look great, girl!
xo
K
Wow, that is amazing! What an inspiration – I love it when people take their life into their own hands and run with it. And it certainly paid off, check out those abs!!
wow love this story and love the suit!!! what dedication to the competition and to the suit making!
great stories Jenn
This website is SO INSPIRING! I can’t even begin to tell you how much I want to do a transformation on myself… I want to do a figure comp now! And I have P90X which I have done twice… but WTF?! My body doesn’t look like hers! Good lord, you both look AMAZING… PLEASE TELL ME HOW!
Anyway, because you’re all so freakin’ inspirational… please accept this Sunshine Award!
http://www.whatrunslori.com/2010/04/busy-living-life/
Congrats Cherie! With a baby and without a gym… that’s awesome.
Wow how inspiring! I am on week 5 of P90X!! I hope to someday acheive the level of fitness that you have! I have to get up at 5am to work out because I have work , nursing school and a 2 year old so I know how tough it is! I could never make my own suit though!! That is quite an accomplishment!
Those are some amazing stories. And wow, what a swim suit, bling bling! Loving the inspiration here.
Wow, I am so inspired! I have always dreamed of doing a figure competition but just have never committed and signed up. Did you use P90x exclusively? I am wondering because I am an avid exerciser and currently lift weights and diet pretty strictly. But I am a coach for Beachbody and I am getting ready to start P90x myself. Do you think it’s possible to get ready for a show using P90x exclusively? Did you add in extra cardio? Did you follow the meal plans? Thanks! And again, you rock!
Cherie, you MUST know how to use a sewing machine? Your suits are beautiful! I could do the stoning with patience but I don’t know how to sew :(. Yours definately don’t look hand sewn.
You should be so proud of your accomplishment. I understand your workout dedication, as I’ve trained/finished 3 Ironman triathlons. I’d LOVE to do a comp one day. Not sure why I say one day. Usually I say “if you want to do smething just do it.” I just don’t know where to begin. Did you begin with a nutrition plan? Did you use supplements? I get Oxygen mag and the ads are overwhelming for which ones to use. I’d love any advice you’d have.
Congratulations again. Your a rockstar!!
Thank you for your inspiration. you look great! you mentioned getting help with your diet. are there any tips that you can give on how one should eat throughout the training process? are there different plans that you used? thank you for taking the time to share your success story.
what a lady with such determianation you have wish I had thwe same love your mum