Monday, September 30, 2013

Two Weeks Out

I can't believe the competition is seriously just under two weeks away. I'm feeling more excited than nervous at this point, which obviously makes me very happy. I feel that in the past nine months, even with a three week break in June, I've come a really long way and built up a lot of muscle.

There is a small voice in my head that worries me that I will be too big for this competition, previous winners have been about 95 pounds, yes they had muscle but they were so super tiny, that just isn't my build. Then I see the beautiful Nicole Wilkins who won Figure Olympia and know THAT is a true figure competitor body and what I want to work for:


She is beyond amazing and the years of training and hard work she has had to put in, I can't imagine. It just made me feel good to see a woman with truly symmetrical muscle tone winning the biggest competition there is!

I keep reminding myself that all judges are different, every show is different, which might sound strange being it is the same type of competition but I may not come in lean enough. My weight is staying the same, hopefully we will do body fat tomorrow.  Glutes could still be better, we are our toughest critics. But over all I have to say this was the best weekend I had with posing and t-walk practice. I truly feel pretty damn good with where I am at, I feel awesome in my suit and have my t-walk DOWN :)

Bella did some posing with me, she is preparing for the kids pose down they will have at the competition and is super excited. I have some photos to share posing with Bella, again I feel the need to be tighter and that should come in the next week and a half. The toughest part of my journey begins on Wednesday when I start the 10 day shred, really not looking forward to it but I am super excited to see the results of it!




Friday, September 27, 2013

15 Days

15 days to go, just think two weeks from today I will hopefully be nearly peaked, baking a cake for Bella's birthday and using all the will power I have to not try the frosting or anything, getting ready for David to paint on my first coat of tanner, doing my nails and just trying to enjoy myself :)

Last night I lifted legs and I did a lot, on the back extensions I knew I have should have stopped but pushed through two more reps and now have a tweaked muscle in my lower back. SO FRUSTRATING!!!  I iced it last night and have taken ibuprofen, hopefully it feels better tonight because I'm lifting chest and back (not lower back) and then I really want to do about 30 minutes on the step mill.

I'm looking forward to a three day weekend and hopefully getting the house super deep cleaned, working out, posing practice, Bella's Nutcracker rehearsal, dinner for my cousin's birthday (my real final cheat meal), last Sunday of volleyball, keeping myself busy so I don't think about food :)

We've decided to do a 10 day shred for my final prep, that will begin on Wednesday.  I'm a little nervous, the first seven days will be tough, low carbs and on the seventh day zero carbs, eeck!!!!!  But then I get to carb load and the protein is lower, you would not believe how hard it was for me to come up with meal plans to get enough carbs but way lower protein.  I did it though, just got the macro numbers from Kyle and picked what I want to eat.  Mostly chicken and fish still, carb load days will include protein pancakes, sweet potato, brown rice, peppers, it will be nice :)

My ankle is feeling better, now if my back would just be better I'd be perfect!  My parents have been gone camping in South Dakota since the beginning of the month, they get back this weekend.  I've kept them up to date on my progress, my mom is excited to see me, she thinks I will look a lot different and hopefully to her I do!

Mentally preparing myself for these next two weeks, I think it is going to be a roller coaster, but I guess it's good I'm heading into it thinking this way, maybe that will make it a bit easier.

I got a phonecall from a friend that is coming to finals, she let me know she would be making a sign for me :)  I have the best family and friends ever, having everyone's support is what is helping me push through even in those tough moments when I really want to just grab a bag of chips and devour the entire thing or when I'm grocery shopping get a candy bar or two or three and eat them all ;)

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Shoulders & Arms - Sneaky Vein

Last night was shoulders and arms with David.  I didn't do cardio yesterday, my legs really needed a rest, they are still sore today!  I'll lift legs tonight and do 15 minutes of a fast walk on the treadmill with a good incline.

When I was doing overhand barbell curls last night the vein in my right bicep was totally popped out, but then when I get done it hides again :(  Who would have thought I'd ever be so crazy about wanting a vein to stay popped out!  I know I will pump up before I step on stage and being even more lean hopefully that vein pops out and stays out because it looks pretty cool for one of my poses in my t-walk when it is out :)

My mind is everywhere right now, thinking about my abs and legs, hoping they will be where I want them but also realizing they may not be.  I've learned one big thing from this experience, never ever think that because you have a very dominant body part, for me my legs, that you don't need to train them as hard and as long as everything else.  We didn't start training my legs until about 3 months before the competition, Kyle and I both agree we should have been training them right away.  Being scared of size with my legs was a silly thing, they won't be as defined as they could be, but for the next competition they will be!  I kind of feel like I'm frantically trying to get them built up but then again realizing they won't get built up much more in the next week and a half, trying to focus more on shaping them with sprints.

I had my first crazy competition dream last night, with my mind the way it has been I'm surprised I hadn't had one yet.  The competition was at a campground and my sisters Jenn, Laura and Mindy were with me.  Jenn noticed a bunch of girls in line dressed in their suits with their dogs with them.  Mindy went to find out what was going on and I was supposed to be ready to go to meet the judges and bring Tybalt to tell them how he helped me with my training.  Laura was helping me find my suit but we forgot it and could only find bottoms, then we got locked in a camper and didn't make it to meet the judges.

Can you say INSANE?  I woke up thinking, what the hell was that????  It gave me a good laugh though, thankfully the competition isn't at a campground and I will have my bag packed with EVERYTHING the night before along with two or three alarms set to make sure I'm up and ready to get pretty at 5am :)

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Killer Legs & Glutes - Body Fat

Last night it was just Kyle and I at the gym and he KILLED my legs and glutes.  On the leg curls and leg extensions I did two sets normal, then the last two he had me hold the extension or curl for five seconds and slowly release, HOLY CRAP.  

I also used this machine where you stand to the side of it, with one leg over a roller and kick back with your leg, really uses your hamstrings and glutes, that was a good one.  Then he had me do a bunch of single leg glute presses and glute bridges.

Before that even I did an awesome HIIT workout on my lunch hour that he gave me, so my legs were pretty tired anyway.  He had me jog in place for 2 minutes then do jumping jacks, burpees, steam engines, t-rotations, dreya rolls, airborne heisman, deep squats and mountain climbers, do them all for one minute each with no break and repeat 3 times.  HOLY CRAP.  Did I mention that my butt and legs are extremely sore???  

Last night even though I was exhausted I couldn't sleep again.  I took a couple Target brand sleeping pills, I don't know why, I already know they don't work.  I kept waking up in the middle of the night feeling itchy everywhere, no clue if it was from the pills or what but it sucked.  I did not make it to the gym this morning so now I have to hurry to the gym right after work because I have to be to my sister Mindy's house by 6pm to watch my beautiful niece Evey, but I can do it!

For lunch today I get to do a 20 minute sprint workout, I have a feeling that my legs will feel tighter by the weekend, that will make me very happy.  We took my body fat last night, I'm down to 11.5%!!!!  When Kyle trained our friend Mary her body fat was about 11% at competition time and I still have 18 days to go, I think I could possibly get below 10% :)  It actually makes me kind of excited for peak week, even though I know it will be really tough, but to see the drastic changes that week as I lose the rest of the body fat and my skin shrink wraps around my muscles (if all goes well), I can't wait.

I plan on utilizing some of my time wisely tonight while Evey sleeps, I'll take my heels along and practice holding my poses, I haven't been doing that enough lately and I don't want to be trembling and dropping my form on stage!

Monday, September 23, 2013

Ankle Issues - Pushing Through

Well after posing in my suit I am even more determined to get my glutes and legs in better shape.  I did sprints yesterday afternoon for 25 minutes, my ankle felt good, I really had to push through at the end on the hill.  It is so tiring and my glutes were burning, but I knew that only meant good things were happening :)

I had volleyball last night, that is when my ankle really started giving out.  By the time we were playing fours I really couldn't run on it, we lost our games :(  But next weekend is the last weekend of volleyball and we will be playing for 3rd.  Sucks, we were playing for 1st or 2nd place and last night ruined that for us, at least the games were close, we always have next year!

Today I plan on doing a hard cardio plyo workout that Kyle made up for me on my lunch hour, then it I will be lifting legs tonight.  I only have two weeks left of the harder lifting, it seems so crazy to be saying that!

I am certain that my ankle issue is a tendon, which is good because the muscles around it feel fine, the bone feels fine but tendons just take a long time to heal.  I can get around on it and still walk in my heels.  

It just SUCKS, no matter what, I was extremely frustrated when I got home last night.  I hobbled down the stairs, Kyle said "uh oh", I sat on the floor and just felt defeated.  Sweet, sweet, loving Bella gave me a kiss and went upstairs, she came back down with a bag of ice for my ankle.  Randy gave me words of encouragement about not getting too down on myself and that I'm doing amazing and I'm even stronger than anyone could imagine because I'm not giving up.

We forgot to set out tilapia so Kyle made me a thin, lean piece of pork, a can of tuna with avocado and 1/4 cup of sweet potato, Bella went upstairs to get her jammies on, Randy headed off to bed and I broke down crying.  My first real tears in this process, I just felt so defeated, for some reason I felt bloated and then to have my ankle like it was, I just had to cry it out.

Kyle felt bad and tried to build me up with his positive words, but it just wasn't working for me.  I felt bad because I knew I was frustrating him but I really needed to have my moment of frustration, sadness and anger.  I took a nice hot bath with epsom salts, which felt amazing.  Bella came in and sat with me for a little bit, asking if the bath was helping my ankle and telling me how strong I am and how proud of me she is and that she is praying for my ankle to feel better.

We seriously have the sweetest, most kind hearted little girl in the world.  Her sweet words helped me feel better, so did the bath and I actually feel asleep right away last night and slept through the night.

I woke up today feeling better, ankle still sore but that was to be expected.  19 days to go, I can do this, I will do this and I will be proud of myself no matter what and enjoy celebrating all that I have accomplished.

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Dat, Dat, Da, Dah.......My Suit!

I was so surprised when we got home last night from celebrating David's birthday and I had a package in the mail, it was my suit!!!!  Talk about NERVOUS trying it on, it is more beautiful than I imagined, so, so sparkly and pretty!  I LOVE it and yes it fits, I need to lose a bit more body fat and really bust my butt on working up my legs and glutes these last couple of weeks, but I feel beautiful in it :)

Today was my first posing practice in the suit, holy crap, felt so vulnerable and awkward at first.  I knew it would be a smaller version of any swim suit I owned and not cover much, but holy crap, there's no hiding anything in this sucker!

Kyle and David kept reassuring me that I look amazing, I picked myself apart like crazy, hopefully after doing lots of sprint and serious HIIT cardio Kyle made up for me this week I will feel better.  I know I have been working my butt off for these past nine months and I do know that I don't look bad, it is hard to explain, this process is proving to be very difficult for me mentally.  I know it is hard for Kyle when he hears me pick myself apart like I do, I am striving for my idea of "perfection" and I need to stop it.

There are so many pro figure competitors that talk about their stretch marks, flabby skin, cellulite, they pick themselves apart but remind themselves and those of us that follow them that it is part of who they are, part of their body that will never go away.  Competition week you don't see that, peak week stretches everything so tight and the competition tan hides it all, for that moment you are your own idea of "perfection".  I'm trying to mentally prepare myself for the judges comments and what they will tell me I need to work on and not take it in a negative light, just remind myself I've worked so hard for this, no one, besides my family and awesome friends that follow my blog know how hard I've been working for this.  I won't know all the other competitors stories on that stage, just that we've all worked our asses off to be able to compete against each other and no matter what each of us have made an amazing accomplishment and no matter the outcome we are all amazing, beautiful, strong women who should be extremely proud of ourselves.

Ok, off my soap box now ;)  Who wants to see my suit????  I did a couple comparison photos, the first photos are from June and the others are from today, my first day in my suit.  I also wore my pretty jewelry, still need to find a sparkly ring though and maybe one more bracelet.



Friday, September 20, 2013

Registered - Beginner AND Open

I got my registration mailed in, I decided to compete in the Beginner and Open categories.  Beginner I will be competing against first timers like myself and Open will be against every class of the figure competitors.  I will have more time on the stage, which will be good with this being a fairly small competition and more chance to possibly win some hardware :)

A gal that is competing for her first time as well reached out to me on Facebook yesterday.  Her best friend that is doing her make up happens to be one of David's best friends, small world :)  She looks amazing, said she is down to 7% body fat, which is INSANE, there is no way I could get that low.  She is really petite, we are built very different, she said she has really had to work hard to put on any muscle mass.  She is super nice and I'm glad to know someone I will be competing with, we'll just stick with each other the whole day :)

I changed my mind about doing a trial run of peak week this coming week, I just got scared.  During peak week my nutrition will change a lot and I'll be cutting most sodium, decreasing and increasing carbs.  With two weeks still to go to cut more body fat and continue with my workouts I don't want to mess with my nutrition and not be able to get through my workouts this week.

Last night I lifted chest and back, felt good through the entire workout and am looking forward to really pushing my legs tonight with the help of David!  i order a new supplement last night, all my tanning supplies, hair removal, bikini bite came in yesterday from bodybuilding.com and they gave me 50% off Cellucor BCAA, Kyle has wanted me to take BCAA for a while so I ordered some.  It should just help me recover better from workouts and will be a good addition for these last couple of weeks, it already shipped and I should have it Monday :)

Chest and Back
Incline Bench Press
65lbs x 10 reps - 4 sets

Bent Over Barbell Row
50lbs - 13 reps - 4 sets

Incline Chest Fly
20lbs x 15 reps - 4 sets

Assisted Pull Ups
13 reps - 4 sets

Flat Bench Dumbbell Chest Press
25lbs x 13 reps - 4 sets

Single Arm Dumbbell Row
35lbs x 26 reps - 4 sets

Cable Cross Over
20lbs x 13 reps - 4 sets

Bent Over Two Dumbbell Row with Palms In
50lbs x 15 reps - 4 sets

Bench Push Ups
13 reps - 4 sets

ABS
Pike on Ball
13 reps - 3 sets

Weighted Crunchy Frogs
13 reps - 3 sets

"Walking" Planks
50 sec - 3 sets

Windshield Wipers with Pulse Up
13 reps - 3 sets

Holy crap that ab routine, I was sweating profusely, and I felt like I had cramps afterwards.  It was so INTENSE and such a deep workout, seriously crazy my abs are still so sore today, we'll see how they are tomorrow!

I'm still having pain in my ankle but I plan on doing sprints tomorrow, hopefully it will feel ok and I can get through them, need to burn off this last bit of body fat! 

Thursday, September 19, 2013

LEGSSSS

I was TIRED yesterday afternoon, no clue why, but I just felt so worn out.  It was leg day with Kyle and I hate feeling so tired before we even get to the gym.

I did good, my legs were still a bit sore from Mondays workout, it's good though, the soreness just means they are getting a good workout and I'm building up the muscle!

We focused on my glutes too, damn those glutes, I would love them to be lifted more and rounder.  They are better than they were when we started, but trying to get them better and better!

My ankle is still sore, so no sprints today, grrrrrr!!!!  But I will be doing the Tabata HIIT workout on my lunch hour, my legs are SORE today so we'll see how that goes.  I will push through and enjoy that sore feeling and just picture my glutes lifting, hamstrings becoming more prominent and my quads popping :)

I woke up this morning feeling very lean, I know I keep saying it but it is beyond crazy to have the daily changes that are going on right now.  I'm anxious for Sunday when we start my trial run of the competition week for nutrition.  It will be a tough week, lots of water in the beginning of the week, low carbs, less water towards the end of the week and more carbs.  Hopefully the plan works, but then again if we don't get the results we want at least we will know we need to tweak the plan the week of the competition.

LEGS
Front Barbell Squats
40lb x 10 reps - 4 sets

Back Extensions
25lb plate x 15 reps - 4 sets

Barbell Lunges
30lb x 20 reps - 4 sets

Seated Leg Curls
45lb x 12 reps - 4 sets

Single Leg Glute Bridge
13 reps each leg - 4 sets

Glute Bridge with Legs on Ball
15 reps - 4 sets

That doesn't seem like very much to me and didn't last night, but Kyle reminded me I am now doing legs every other day.  I'll be adding in different squats on Friday, I'm actually looking forward to that.  David has been on vacation and he gets back today, that means I get my workout partner back tomorrow, WOO HOO!!!!  I think he will notice the changes in me in just the week and a half since he has seen me :)

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Woo Hoo!!!!!

Last night it was time for a weigh in and to measure my body fat.  I was a bit nervous, haven't done much cardio in the past week, but man was I happy with the results!  I'm down to 138.2 pounds and 12.8% body fat, I am bound and determined to get down to 10% body fat, with 3.5 weeks to go I should be able to do it!

I had a great arm/shoulder workout last night, abs after that and 30 minutes on the step mill.  After the step mill my ankle was pretty sore, dang it!  I was going to lift legs twice today but I didn't go this morning, I'll go after work with Kyle.  No cardio today, letting the ankle rest and will get some cardio in tomorrow.  I will be tanning on my lunch hour, just wanting a bit of a base tan in case I only get one coat out of the tanning product I ordered for the competition.

When I was lifting last night and going between different areas for three of my exercises there was a guy using one of the cable machines so we were taking turns.  He told me he just had to say that I'm looking really cut and he was wondering if I was training for something.  It was so nice to hear that, someone that has seen me at the gym constantly and is noticing my progress :)

Shoulders/Arms
Upright Row to Shoulder Press
30lb x 12 reps - 4 sets

Straight Bar Tricep Extension
50lb x 13 reps - 4 sets

Reverse Barbell Curls
20lb x 15 reps - 4 sets

Arnold Press
15lb x 12 reps - 4 sets

Rope Tricep Extensions
30lb x 13 reps - 4 sets

Close Grip Barbell Curls
30lb x 12 reps - 4 sets

Shoulder Flyes
15lb x 15 reps - 4 sets

Wide Dumbbell Curls
15lb x 12 reps - 4 sets

Rope Tricep Extension
25lb x 13 reps - 4 sets

Barbell Shoulder Shrugs
115lb x 12 reps - 4 sets

5 Angle Shoulder Flyes
6lb x 50 reps - 4 sets

Hammer Curls
12lb x 13 reps - 4 sets

Overhead Rope Tricep Extensions
25lb x 13 reps - 4 sets

Then like I said before I did abs and then the step mill.  When I got home I iced my ankle, took a nice long bath with some epsom salts and iced my ankle again.  I have no idea why it is taking so long to heal up and still have no idea exactly what is wrong with it, just wish it would be better already!

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Legs - Ankle Healing

Last night Kyle went with me, he wanted to switch up my leg routine, that proved difficult with my injured ankle.  We took it kind of easy, lifted heavier with the machines and only did one type of squats.  I couldn't do cardio again yesterday :(

It may sound silly but these few days of no HIIT workouts make me feel like I'm now behind.  I hope tonight when I do the step mill and tomorrow morning after sprints that Thursday I will be feeling better about everything.

Kyle decided that for the next 2.5 weeks I will be lifting twice a day, a bit lighter in the morning and he will be going with me in the evenings to push me harder.  I plan on doing sprints on my lunch hour if it is cool out and doing the step mill once a week.  Sticking to my nutrition plan, no big changes at this point, taking my body fat tonight to see where I'm at and will take it again on Sunday.

I ordered my tanning supplies and bikini bite from bodybuilding.com today, they already shipped it so I should have all of that by the weekend.  I got Jan Tana products, including their body wash and lotion to use up until the competition.  I also ordered some hair removal product, I think I'll try that this weekend on my arms and see how it does.  I'm thinking I will probably like not having hair on my arms and might just keep it that way!

I know I'm still leaning out daily, my veins are more prominent each day, they are protruding further up my arm, progress!  Next week we will be doing a "test" week for the final week before the competition, not sure exactly what Kyle will have me doing but it will involve carb depletion and loading to see how my body responds.  Hopefully I will lose water and my skin will wrap tighter around my muscles and I can manage to get through the week with no issues.

I can't believe I am this close to the competition, eeck!!!!!!  And only 2.5 weeks until my mock show, so, so nervous.

As David said, when you are a performer if you have NO nerves, something isn't right.  I know my nerves won't completely go away, hopefully they get a bit less though :)

Monday, September 16, 2013

4 Weeks - Injury - Progress Photos

Just under four weeks to go today, I can't believe it.  I will say I am happy with my progress so far, I do wish my hamstrings and glutes were further along than what they are.  It just means I need to add in more sprints during the week, not so much the elliptical and thankfully it has really cooled off so sprints are something I can do on my lunch hour.

Although it would be so much easier to do sprints if I didn't have an injured ankle!  Friday night was the 4's fall classic tournament at Volley's, I played in it with my brothers Larry and John and John's girlfriend Liz.  Last year we ended up in the lower tier and won.  This year we played really well, got in the upper tier but lost :(  Oh well, we had a blast and played some really amazing teams!  It was about five hours of volleyball, I felt great, although from hill sprints on Friday my legs and glutes were really feeling tired.

I was very surprised to wake up Saturday morning with an extremely sore right ankle.  It wasn't swollen but I couldn't even tough the ankle bone on the inside of my ankle, no bruise, so strange.  Myself and Mindy, Bella and Evey went to a 15 year reunion with our cross country team from high school, it was so awesome to see everyone and reminisce!  Walking the course and watching the runners was awesome and brought back some great memories.  My ankle got worse throughout the day and I could barely walk on it by the time we headed home.

I got home Kyle saw me limping along and it was no gym for me on Saturday.  I iced it off an on throughout the day, took some ibuprofen and prayed I would wake up Sunday with it feeling better.  I woke up Sunday in more pain, but I HAD to go to the gym, just no cardio.  Kyle is switching things up again, from here on out I will be lifting chest/back, shoulders/arms, legs/glutes, that way I'm getting everything in twice a week.  Changing up the leg workout adding in some different squats and changing up the ab routine.

Yesterday was chest and back, it felt good to lift a little lighter with higher reps.  After that we worked on posing and my twalk, this was the first time Kyle has seen my twalk since David and I finalized my poses.  He was very happy with it, gave me tips on tweaking some poses a little bit to make my muscles pop more, promised me that the walk is awesome, smooth and I don't look awkward at all :)  I was proud of myself for doing as well as I did with my ankle killing me.

The photos are a bit dark, but I feel like I've made some great progress.  Wishing my shoulders were a bit more prominent, but they should be by the time the show gets here, legs need to come along a bit more as well.  I'm very happy with my back and my arms, so easy to pick myself apart right now.  I'm not doing it in a negative way, promise, just seeing what I need to focus on a bit more up until the competition :)

 



 

We are keeping my diet pretty much the same right now, I may cut down to 1200 calories.  Didn't do my body fat this weekend, hoping to get it done tonight after work, I'm staying at 141 for my weight right now hoping to see that drop a couple pounds by the end of the week.  My suit should be here by the weekend, can't wait to get it and try it on :)

Friday, September 13, 2013

Got Abs?


Last night was a difficult night, it was dance night for Bella which meant being at the studio from 5:45pm until 8:00pm.  It makes for a long night and I was craving some sweets hardcore.  Between classes Bella and I ran to the gas station so I could get some dessert flavored gum, that is what it has come down to me chewing dessert flavored gum to hopefully help my cravings!

It didn't help all that much, a little bit, but I got home and was wanting something so, so bad.  I complained to Kyle and he told me to just stay strong.  You know this is my choice entirely to be taking this very difficult journey, I know that, I do.  But I can be a big bratty baby at times, guess I'm glad I can admit to that so that I can apologize for it later ;)

Kyle told me I could have a protein shake, I got mad, stomped my feet and told him I didn't want something to drink I wanted something to EAT.  I then proceeded to just go to bed, why not try to just go to sleep rather than think about food?  Because sleep won't come when your mind is thinking about cake, cookies and your tummy is loudly growling at you.

I decided to just get up and have a protein shake, it helped, Kyle was right as usual.  I apologized for being a big bratty baby, he told me it was ok, he is just trying to help me be strong.  He knows this has to be extremely hard, especially for someone like me who has the personality of wanting something so I'm going to HAVE it.  My will power has never been tested like this, NEVER.  I think giving birth to Bella was easier than going through this process, I knew I was going to have the most amazing little girl in the end of that process.  With this process I'm hoping all goes well and I get the outcome I'm hoping for.

I think one thing that makes this so hard is that its the first time I'm doing it, I hope in the future when I compete again (and yes I've already picked out my next competition) I will know more what to expect, it won't be such a guessing game and I will know what will be happening in the last few weeks.

My body changes really keep me going, actually seeing my abs now, it is amazing.  I've always wanted to have abs and here they are, I will continue to get better as I stick with the plan and trust in Kyle and the process.

My beautiful niece Carley was wanting to know my ab routines, so here we go, enjoy them Carley :)

I do these Mon, Wed, Fri:

Crunchy Frogs or Bicycles - 25 reps
Pulse Ups - 25 reps
Oblique crunches - 25 reps each side
Crunches on stability ball, my lower back is in the middle of the ball so my upper body goes really low when I lay back - 25 reps
Leg lifts - 25 reps
Oblique bridge - 25 reps each side
Cross legged sit ups, lay with legs crossed, go straight up then touch the floor on the right side, straight up then touch the floor on the left side - 26 reps
Russian Twist - 50 reps
Plank - 1 minute
REPEAT one more time :)

Saturdays I do a HARD ab day.
Decline leg lift with pulse up - 25 reps
Stability ball crunches holding a 10lb medicine ball over my head - 25 reps
Pulse ups with 8lb stability ball between my feet - 25 reps
Plank - 1 minute
Leg lifts with 10lb stability ball between my feet - 25 reps
Windshield wipers with pulse up in the middle.
REPEAT one more time :)

And there you have it, my fun ab workouts.  Also the HIIT workouts and especially hill sprints really help with the abs, looking forward to my hill sprints today because it is finally cool out and then about 5 hours of sand volleyball tonight, woo hoo!!! :)

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Migraine, Lifting, HIIT, Binge

It feels like the past two days have been "eventful".  Tuesday I was just plain exhausted, barely got a workout in, I feel like it's not even worth recording.  Wednesday I woke up with a horrible migraine, I feel like the lack of sleep, heavy lifting and adjusting just all hit me at once.  I slept almost the entire day on Wednesday, made myself get up to eat a little chicken quesadilla, but other than that I seriously slept.

I woke up feeling great, I think my body (and my mind) really needed that day of rest.  I had a little snack, kissed my Bella and headed off to the gym.  I had a really great workout, it was shoulder day and I was ready for it.  Chatted with a couple of guys at the gym I've never seen there before, they asked me if I worked out at The Anvil too.  The Anvil is this awesome gym I've heard a lot about, gals I know that are competing in the competition work out there.  It's just a really hardcore gym, maybe someday I will venture over there to check it out.  I explained to these guys that I signed a long contract with the current gym and they said, well you could always work out at both!  Ah, if I had the money I probably would :)

Back to my workout, it was truly wonderful, besides the crazy lady that wears way too much perfume.  Seriously whenever I go late in the afternoon she is always there, another reason to enjoy going early in the morning!

Shoulders
Barbell Military Press
65lb x 10 reps - 5 sets

Lateral Raises
12lb x 12 reps - 5 sets
Upped my reps here but I wasn't comfortable going up to 15lbs yet.

Shoulder Shrugs
115lb x 10 reps - 5 sets

Shoulder Press
20lb x 10 reps - 5 sets

Barbell Row
40lb x 12 reps - 5 sets

Single Arm Cable Front Raise
10lb x 12 reps - 5 sets

5 Angle Shoulder Flyes
6lb x 50 reps - 3 sets

Back Extensions
25lb plate x 17 reps - 3 sets

After that I planned on doing 30 minutes on the stepmill, but someone was actually on it!  So instead I did the insane tabata HIIT workout on the elliptical, it was wonderful :)

I went home, ate some dinner and worked on cleaning out our office that has been a disaster for almost a year.  Bella helped out and then she wanted a snack, she wanted these mini pancakes her Papa bought her.  Super easy, frozen in individual bags that you heat up in the microwave (I know not the healthiest) but she loves them and her Papa knows how much she loves them :)  The smell of them were incredible, I had a bad moment, I heated up a bag for myself and I ate them, AHHHH!!!!!  For some reason I had an insane carb craving and I couldn't stop myself.  It didn't stop there, I also ate small ice cream cone, raspberry sherbet in a small sugar cone.

I've read so much about people having binges and really thought I wouldn't do it.  I'm not too mad at myself though, it was one time and it won't happen again.  It was yummy, didn't affect my body too much thankfully and I'm back on track today!

This morning was arm day and I did 35 minutes of posing on my lunch hour.  The toughest one for me to hold is the back pose, amazing how much it takes out of you to hold the poses.  I also worked on my t walk, I'm really looking forward to showing it to Kyle this weekend.  I feel extremely comfortable with it, we need to take some video, I don't feel awkward at all so hopefully I don't look awkward at all :)

Arms
Wide Grip Barbell Curls
30lb x 10 reps - 5 sets

Incline Skull Crushers
30lb x 12 reps - 5 sets

Close Grip Preacher Curl
45lb - 10 reps - 5 sets

Rope Tricep Extensions
35lb x 10 reps - 5 sets

Hammer Curls
15lb x 10 reps - 5 sets

Straight Bar Tricep Extensions
30lb x 10 reps - 5 sets

Stability Ball Concentration Curls
12lb x 10 reps each arm - 5 sets

Split Handle Cable Tricep Press Down
10lb x 10 reps - 5 sets

Static Plate Hold
35lb x 45 sec - 3 reps

Tricep Bench Dips with Stability Ball
35lb plate on lap x 15 reps - 3 sets

I'm looking forward to tomorrow, it is finally supposed to cool off and feel like fall!  I plan on doing some serious hills on my lunch hour, body fat will get done this weekend, hoping it has gone down and my one night binge didn't affect me too much!

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

1,023,151 Pounds Lifted

I logged all my workouts from Friday through today and realized I hit the 1 million mark for weight lifted on bodybuilding.com!  That is crazy to me, woo hoo!!!! :)

I'm only three days into my new nutrition plan and my energy level is definitely affected by it, especially with continuing to lift heavy this week.  I knew I would feel tired, but it has been hard to get through the lifting.  For some reason I can't fall asleep at night now, so two to three hours of sleep isn't helping at all.  Hopefully my body will adjust soon, I'm feeling really, really tired today, maybe I will be able to go to bed early and actually just fall asleep!

I had my annual exam with my cardiologist yesterday and it went extremely well, he released me!  No more annual exams, woo hoo!  He was thrilled with my health, my heart is very strong, no symptoms at all since December.  Changing my eating habits and all this exercise really has made a huge difference.  I did talk to him about the competition and he said to just keep an eye on myself the week of the competition and make sure if I start having any symptoms from water depletion to correct it, gave me some tips and wished me luck :)  Proper diet and exercise really can make all the difference in your health, I didn't need medications, I just needed to be a bit healthier!

I got my bracelet and earrings ordered yesterday for the competition.  The sites that sell suits all sell jewelry as well but it is ridiculous how much they charge.  I wanted a rhinestone bracelet, earrings and rings, my bracelet and earrings with shipping were less than one bracelet from competition suit sites.  I was very, very happy, hopefully I really like them when they come in :)

I should have my suit next week, eeck, I just hope it fits and needs no adjustments.

This is all getting very, very real!

Friday, September 6, 2013

Week Five Nutrition

It's time to really focus on leaning out, I've been doing well with my nutrition but I have to really buckle down.  Kyle is putting my calories at 1300, 60% protein, 20% carbs, 20% fat.

Everyone is different, every body is different, this is not a nutrition plan that would work for everyone and we are hoping that it will work for me and that these macros help me lean out more and keep the muscle.

I worked hard on figuring up my meals for next week, Saturdays will be a higher calorie day, only up to about 1600.  Not sure yet what I will have to add to my calories, but I'm not too worried, I was more focused on getting my week of meals set out :)  I did such a good job that when I was done and added up the calories it came to exactly 1300, I was impressed with myself!

Here is my meal plan:

Post-Workout: 1 scoop Syngex Protein with water.
Breakfast: 4 egg whites, 4 oz. tilapia, 1/2 grapefruit
Snack: 1 can tuna with 1/4 avacado
Lunch: 4 oz chicken breast, oatmeal with flax and blueberries, 1/2 avacado
Snack: 1 can tuna with 1/4 avacado
Dinner: 4 oz tilapia, 1/2 cup sweet potato, 2 oz. chicken breast, spinach
Supplements: NO Xplode pre workout, CellMass, Fish Oil, Multi Vitamin
Water: I get in just over a gallon a day right now, sucks waking up in the middle of the night to pee!

If we could afford it right now I would be on a couple more supplements.  Not that I HAVE to be on them obviously, but they would help with certain things.  But when it is the month that we have to register, get tanning supplies (I'm going with Jan Tana thanks to some advice from a pro bodybuilder I know), get jewerly, you know the stuff I actually HAVE to have to compete, obviously it is more important :)

We will take my body fat at the end of next week and see if we need to tweak the macros or lower the calories, hopefully I won't need to really lower my calories much more.  I'm glad I have a good trainer, anyone out there that has a trainer telling them to eat about 800 calories a day and do cardio twice a day four to five times a week.......find a new trainer.  There are too many horror stories about girls out there destroying their bodies because of trainers like that.

What a journey this has been, I know I'm in the final stretch now, I'm getting more excited and less nervous as it gets closer thankfully.  I know I will be proud of what I present on that stage, no matter what and I'm really looking forward to meeting a lot of awesome people and standing on that stage with some amazing women!

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Legs & Shoulders

Last night was a leg night with David.  I was feeling pretty exhausted, it was not a good choice of mine to do the HIIT workout I did on my lunch hour and then lift legs, oops.  I did increase the weight on my squats though, surprisingly my legs still aren't sore today, I don't know what I have to do to get them feeling sore!

LEGS
Seated Calf Raise
115lb x 10 reps - 5 sets

Seated Leg Curl
70lb x 10 reps - 5 sets

Front Squats
50lb x 8 reps - 5 sets

Back Extensions
25lb x 12 reps - 5 sets

Barbell Lunges
40lb x 20 - 5 sets

Seated Leg Extensions
77lb x 10 reps - 5 sets

Barbell Dead Lift
70lb x 10 reps - 5 sets

Dumbbell Step Ups
50lb x 12 reps - 5 sets

Single Leg Glute Bridge
15 each side - 3 sets

I was pretty tired this morning but Bella has dance tonight so I HAD to get to the gym and I made it.  I was feeling tired again, it was shoulder day and I swear they were worn out after one set of exercises.  It was nice and quiet at the gym, one of my favorite things about going so early :)

SHOULDERS
Seated Barbell Military Press
65lb x 10 reps - 5 sets

Lateral Raise
12lb x 10 reps - 5 sets

Inverted Row
10 reps - 5 sets

Barbell Shrug
95lb x 10 reps - 5 sets

Dumbbell Shoulder Press
15lb x 10 reps - 5 sets

Upright Row
40lb x 10 reps - 5 sets

Five Angle Shoulder Flyes
6lb x 50 reps - 3 sets

Back Extensions
25lb x 15 reps - 3 sets

Nutrition change, no more meals after my dinner, I'll be adding in a small amount of chicken to my tilapia dinner, trying to get in more protein even without an evening shake.  

Last night I got some more protein and I got the cookies and cream flavor, super yummy and a nice change from vanilla :)

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Arms with Kyle

It has been a little while since Kyle has actually trained me at the gym.  He had a good time making me lift HEAVY weights for my arm day :)

I do really like it when Kyle is with me, I work my butt off every time I lift but he pushes me extra hard, past my limits.  He is really happy with my progress after changing up the workouts to having me lift heavier, so happy that he is having me lift heavy for one more week.  My body seems to be responding really well to it.

ARMS
Wide Angle Dumbbell Curls
20lb x 10 reps - 3 sets
20lb x 8 reps - 2 sets

Incline Dumbbell Tricep Extension
15lb x 10 reps - 5 sets

One Arm Dumbbell Preacher Curl
15lb x 10 reps - 3 sets
15lb x 8 reps - 2 sets
This one my left arm gave out, really went until I couldn't do anymore!

Rope Tricep Extensions
40lb x 10 reps - 5 sets
Funny thing, when I lift I super set, like in this workout I do one set of bicep exercises then do one set of tricep exercises, continual lifting hardly any break.  So we were using one cable machine and then I would walk about 5 feet away and do my curls, we had a pad at the cable machine for me to kneel on for the tricep extensions.  I do one set, go to do my curls and some girl comes over, takes the mat I have rolled up, unrolls it sits in the middle of the cable machine area and starts stretching.

We had to laugh, gym etiquette, always ask if someone is using a machine, especially when there is a rolled up mat strategically placed, seriously.  Kyle grabbed a different mat and we just asked her if she could move and stretch somewhere other than in the weight area.  She was like, oh I'm so sorry I didn't realize someone was using this.

Always pay attention and be polite, she moved two feet away still in the weight area stretching and then left, leaving the mat lay in the middle of the floor.  Another thing, always pick up your mats and weights and put them away, someone has to do it :)

Ok, back to the workout which had no other interruptions.

Incline Hammer Curls
15lb x 10 reps - 2 sets
15lb x 8 reps - 1 set
12lb x 10 reps - 2 sets
My arms were dying!

Angle Bar Tricep Extensions
30lb x 10 reps - 5 sets

Static Dumbbell Hold
12lb x 1min - 3 sets
Holy crap, not only was I just standing there holding the dumbbells in a curl position Kyle had me do little pulse ups at the end.  I'm seriously surprised my biceps didn't bust through my skin, or that my vein which is right at the surface didn't finally start sticking out!  Funny I'm actually excited about getting more vascular and it always makes me think of the following and giggle :)


Bench Dips on Stability Ball
25lb plate x 15 - 2 sets
35lb plate x 17 - 1 set

When we left and got in the car I could barely buckle my seat belt, now that is how you know you had a great workout! ;)

Today on my lunch hour I tried a new Tabata HIIT workout, it was a good one, I still think I like the elliptical ones a bit better, I just feel like I get more out of them, but it was a nice change!

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Labor Day Weekend, Full of Exercise!

I hope everyone enjoyed their Labor Day weekend, I certainly enjoyed mine!  Friday night I had my final real cheat meal, it was pizza, my favorite!  I did feel bad for a minute after I ate it but I knew I would burn it off over the weekend.

I can't believe we are under six weeks already, 39 days to go, holy crap!!!  I'm feeling nervous, just wanting to really make sure my body is where I want it and I'm questioning certain areas of my body a lot.  I'm adding in more cardio, Kyle doesn't think I need it, it won't hurt as long as I don't start losing size if I do I will cut back.  I'm just a bit terrified, with this being my first time getting ready for a figure competition I have no idea how quickly my body will shed the last bit of body fat with nutrition changes and I would rather be ahead of the game than behind and trying to do hours of cardio a couple of weeks before the competition.

Instead of doing my regular abs I've added in another set, so that puts me up to 450 ab moves on ab day, not too bad!  But again, I've got the muscles it's that little layer of fat over them that I still have to get rid of, cardio, cardio, cardio and nutrition, nutrition, nutrition!

All three days this weekend David worked out with me, we really pushed each other, lifted heavy and kicked some butt when it came to cardio.  We worked on my t-walk, I showed Kyle my poses and he hated the first pose, so we changed that.  Now I've got it down, we did it so many times yesterday and I'm right at about 1min 10 sec, I think that is about right for how long it should be.  I'm feeling a lot more confident with it, the first transition into the second pose is a bit tough, but I will be practicing daily and I will get it down :)

Here were our workouts:

Saturday - Legs
Seated Leg Curl
70lb x 10 reps - 5 sets

Seated Calf Raise
115lb x 10 reps - 5 sets

Front Barbell Squat
40lb x 10 reps - 5 sets

Back Extensions
25lb plate x 12 reps - 5 sets

Barbell Deadlift
60lb x 10 reps - 5 sets

Plate Step Ups
50lb x 10 reps - 5 sets

Step Mill
25 minutes on the step mill, I did level 14 of the fat burner workout, holy crap!

I can brag about my squats, Kyle hadn't been to the gym on leg day with me for a while and I was so excited to show him how low I can get on my squats now!  He was very impressed, I can touch the ground with my butt, I don't do that, but hey I know that I can :)  Adding more weight tomorrow for leg day on the squats!

Sunday - Shoulders
Seated Barbell Military Press
70lb x 10 reps - 5 sets

Inverted Row
10 - 12 reps - 5 sets

Side Lateral Raise
12lb x 10 reps - 5 sets

Barbell Shrug
110lb x 10 reps - 5 sets

Dumbbell Shoulder Press
20lb x 10 reps - 5 sets

Upright Barbell Row
40lb x 10 reps - 5 sets

Five Angle Shoulder Flyes
6lb x 50 reps - 3 sets

Push Ups
15 - 20 - 3 sets

Elliptical
20 min Tabata HIIT routine, had David about dying on that one ;)

Monday - Chest & Back
Incline Dumbbell Press
30lb x 10 reps - 5 sets

Wide Grip Assisted Pull Ups
10 reps - 5 sets

Incline Dumbbell Flyes
25lb x 10 reps - 5 sets

Dumbbell Inline Row - Single Arm
35lb x 20 reps - 5 sets

Dumbbell Bench Press
30lb x 10 reps - 5 sets

Barbell Shrug
115lb x 10 reps - 5 sets

Flat Bench Dumbbell Flyes
25lb x 10 reps - 5 sets

Bent Over Barbell Row
50lb x 10 reps - 5 sets

Hammer Strength Decline Chest Press
90lb x 10 reps - 5 sets

Hammer Strength High Row
135lb x 10 reps - 5 sets

Push Ups
15 - 20 x 3 sets

Sunday David took a couple photos of me.  I still have it in my head that I look the same as I did when I started this journey, I'm sure it is hard for anyone that does this their first time to really realize the amazing changes occurring with their body.

Please forgive the scary sweaty look, I just worked out and practiced my t-walk for about 35 minutes :)


My biceps are growing and finally getting some definition!


I'm so proud of my back progress, now time to really get my body fat cut down to see even more muscle tone :)