Holly is back and she's talking about her latest competition.

I’m back!!! The 2011 North American Championships is one of my favorite NPC National Competitions, and I think this is my 4^th year in a row competing in this event.  For those of you who don’t know, this is the only National show open to Canada and Mexico, so the quality of competition is top notch!  Not to mention Gary Udit is one of my favorite promoters!! The past 6 weeks were all about getting my physique tight after placing 1^st at Masters Nationals in Pittsburgh.  Now that I’m no longer a figure competitor, my focus in bikini is…you guessed it…glutes!  Fortunately, I’ve always been blessed with a good butt, but if you live eat and breathe the sport like myself, there’s always room for improvement.  Always! I felt great heading into the competition and after 6 years of competing in the NPC, this was the first time people have said to me “you’re gonna go pro in Cleveland”.  I can’t tell you how many times I heard that over the past few weeks heading into the competition.  I came so close in Pittsburgh and felt with a little more “fine tuning” maybe it would be my time to shine! But, to be honest, hearing people in the sport, like Mike Davies say those words...”you’re going pro”….felt surreal and I had a tough time digesting it all.  I do believe one day I will be a pro, but yet I didn’t want to hear people breathing those words because I knew if it didn’t happen, I would fall….hard.  So here I sit, still an amateur in the NPC because I lost in the Masters Bikini overall comparison.  And just as I imagined, the fall was much harder than I’ve ever experienced with any other competition.  And yes, I cried.  I always tell myself, I’m not going to cry, because it’s “just a sport” and “it’s subjective” and “I should be proud of what I brought”, but, when you come this close, it’s all that more devastating.  However, if you know me, you know that I don’t stay down for long and I’m already thinking about my 2012 season! On a high note, I was very happy with my placing in the Bikini Open!  Many Master Bikini Competitors do not cross over into the Open for many reasons.  Unlike Figure or Bodybuilding, Open Bikini has the “implication” that it’s all about the young, 20-something year old competitor.  Muscle maturity is not an advantage in this division, therefore many master competitors stick to the masters class, end of story.  But I wanted to do both classes because I know I can hang with girls HALF my age.  And wow am I glad I did!  First call out baby!!!  Yeah yeah yeah!  I placed 4^th in a class stacked with 20 beautiful, young girls and that is the most amazing feeling! Now I’m qualified for all National shows in 2012 and you better believe the best is yet to come!!!!! Cheers, Holly Holly Powell joined her first gym in 1992 and after that it was love at first sight.  She entered her first NPC Figure competition in May of 2003 and has been successfully competing ever since. Outside of figure competition she is a mother, wife, and works outside of the home.