Last June, Kayla McColl overcame a major case of nerves at the Northern Classic fitness challenge to earn a first-place finish and qualify for the provincial fitness challenge, July 16, in Burnaby.
“It was exciting,” McColl said of her win.
The competition was divided into a morning show and an evening show, during which competitors performed their poses and then their fitness and agility routines.
The evening show is more for show and includes the awarding of trophies.
Although a little apprehensive about posing in her specially-made bikini bathing suit, McColl felt good about that portion of the competition.
“I think I could have done better, but I liked the way my suit fit and my tan and how the esthetics came together,” she said.
In the routines round the competitors have 1.5 minutes to show off their strength and flexibility in a series of well-choreographed moves designed specifically to entertain and highlight both their strength and their fitness.
“You have to have both strength and flexibility,” McColl stressed.
The routine also has to be entertaining and that part comes from the originality of the routine and the accompanying music selected by the competitors.
McColl, 23, pieced together songs from Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Justin Timberlake to support her routine which included strength moves such as regular pushups, tricep pushups, crossover pushups and one-arm pushups.
McColl said she was more than pleased with her fitness routine, especially given she had been feeling a little stiff from all of the training in the months prior to the competition.
“I had been having trouble doing the splits,” she explained.
“But on stage they just came.
“I did them perfect, so I was really happy about that.”
McColl also nailed the most difficult element of her fitness routine, a one-handed push-up.
She even used the moment to ham it up with judges.
“It went great and I winked at the judges when I did it,” she said with a laugh.
The wink aside, the judges were impressed by McColl’s posing and fitness to award her first place.
McColl’s first-place finish is impressive considering it was McColl’s first crack at a fitness competition
McColl’s first-place finish is all the more impressive considering she experienced what can only be described as big-league jitters the night before the competition.
“I was so nervous that my stomach swelled out,” McColl said to describe just how nervous she was.
“It looked like I was pregnant.”
Fortunately, plenty of water and a good night sleep did the trick and McColl was able to compete.
The first-place finish culminated months of dedicated training for McColl.
In March, McColl ramped up her training to six days a week, including 1.5 hours of weight training, in addition to cardiovascular training, in addition to practicing her fitness routine and finding time to practice her posing.
Looking back at the regional competition, McColl said she enjoyed the experience and was excited about taking part in the provincial championships.
Given it was her first fitness competition, McColl said she gained valuable experience.
With that experience, and looking ahead to the provincial championships, McColl is going to change the emphasis of her training.
“Posing is a big part of the competition,” she said.
“For this competition I focused more on my fitness routine.
“For the provincials I am going to pay more attention to the posing.
“You are judged 50 per cent on your routine and 50 per cent on your posing.”
McColl acknowledged the provincial competition will be much stiffer at the provincial championships, but she is not deterred.
“I am going for the experience,” she said.
“And will try to do my best.”