My Last Ms. Olympia

It's been since August that I blogged. I've been very busy though and have news for you!

First I have to thank all of my dear fans for the marvelous support, words of encouragement and well wishes over the last months and years. It means more to me than I can explain in a few words here.

I spent this past August and September at home in Maribor preparing for the September 27 Ms. Olympia competiton held in Las Vegas, Nevada. That contest was the culmination of dreams that started when I first entered a gym as a teenage girl and began to lift weights. I was immediately hooked and began to pursue the goal of becoming a professional. With the likes of Lenda Murray and Cory Everson as my role models, I knew the right direction to go. The ultimate achievement in the sport then and still is to step on the holy Ms. Olympia stage. The subsequent years were filled with hard work, diet and training, with 8 years competing as an amateur and winning titles in all body building federations. And then it happened ...

My 2010 has to be one of the most extraordinary and incredible years anyone has ever had. I entered my first PRO show (IFBB Tampa Pro PWB Championship Tampa, Florida) and won! I did my best to hold my shape and just a week later I competed in my second PRO show (IFBB Pro Europa Battle of Champions Hartford, Connecticut) and won there too!  Those two wins were just too much to believe in such a short time, but they were also enough to qualify me for my very first Ms. Olympia! I was on my way to the biggest stage in the sport, and so very excited!

I have been very fortunate to have had the opportunity to compete in four Ms. Olympia shows now.  This most recent Ms. Olympia was special for a couple reasons. First, as with anything, if you do it long enough, you learn what works and what doesn't work and you improve. I brought my best shape ever to the 2013 Ms. Olympia stage, and that shape is an existence proof that supports my hypothesis regarding diet and training. Together with Zmago Karner (Coach With Approach) we managed to put everything together without a starvation diet and endless cardio, but rather an approach with a more healthy diet and lots of listening to what your body needs. I am not the only example of our training strategy though, as our team of competitors proved it works as well -- they all did very well in a show just a week after the Ms. Olympia. The second reason this Ms. Olympia is special is that after having spent the past 20 years realizing my dreams, I believe I have reached my potential as a competitor.  I will call this my last Ms. Olympia and my last competition.

I am very happy and content with this decision.  I have so many plans for the future, so much knowledge and experience that I would love to share, I know this is the right time to turn the page and start the next chapter of my life.  I will definitely stay in the sport of body building (and just trade my posing suit for a judge's suit :) ).  I love my muscles, too, and won't ever stop lifting ... ever!

P.S. And stay tuned for photo book from Vegas and CA :)