Training for Team Universe 2009!

June 24th

BB Squats; deep below parallel

135 x 12  135 x 12  135 x 12

Bulgarian Split Squats; holding a 25 lb BB on opposing shoulder

3 sets 15 reps per side

Triceps Extensions; w/ EZ bar

75 x 12  85 x 10  90 x 9 90 x 7

Bodyweight Dips

1×12 1×10 1×8 1×4

Decline Crunches

3 sets 20

Hanging Leg Raises

3 sets 12

Post Work Out

45 minutes StepMill

level 4, 3min

level 8, 2min

repeat entire duration.

I am happy to share that I will be chronicling my training and prep, in its entirety via a weekly article series here on BodyBuilding.com’s main site!  I am excited to do this as I have been ‘prepped’ by a great Team for the last two years for posing, nutrition.  I have always done my own training and only relied on coaching for dietary and posing/presentation needs.  However, I will be doing my own prep in a manner of speaking with some private, outside "ghost" nutritional assistance.  The majority of my nutrition will be based off John Berardi’s Precision Nutrition System and it’s principals.  Those familiar with Dr. Berardi’s knowledge base, know that he is certainly worthy of the praise he gets.  I will however be utilizing a more severe version of his principals, which I will outline in my article.
This year I am going to Team Universe Figure Nationals in NYC on September 19th.  This is very daunting, I have never been to a national level show as a competitor.  I have worked pro shows with NPC shows attached to them, and I know even in Denver, it was a very big audience, just phenominal. So I cannot imagine the magnitude of NYC.  I am intimidated by the though for sure, but really excited.

I am going to be doing a complete series of articles on my prep from start to stage day; including my food prep, my gym/home training, and even the tidbits like training with my kids, down to tan/color application, suit preparation, and the big day onstage.  Some will have video updates, but all will have weekly and detailed progress pics.  I need to be held accountable and who better than the BodyBuilding.com loyal member base?

I will be taking my first set of pics specifically for Team Universe, tomorrow Saturday the 26th of June and writing up the article to submit to Will W..  Team Universe is 12 weeks from tomorrow!   So look for my article soon on the main site and follow along and please… comment! critique! help! I will take any and all genuine advice/reply.   I will post the links as soon as I get it

Incline DB Presses

30s x 12  30s x 12  30s x 12

Incline DB Flyes

20s x 12  20s x 12  20s x 12

Push Ups, standard

1×10  1×10  1×10 1×7

BB Shrugs

70 x 10 70 x 10

Face Pulls

70 x 10  80 x 10  90 x 9

Front DB Raises

20 x 9  20 x 9  20 x 9

No weight Calf Raises

Pigeon toes x 20

Heels together x 20

Standard x 20

Stretch x 10m

Posing x 20m ~ really need to work on this more often.  want to change my intro/sexy/model pose. whatever you happen to refer to it as…

Fasted cardio/stairmaster 40m, Level 4 SS (steady-state)

Romanian Barbell Deadlift

115 x 9  115 x 9  115 x 9 115 x 7 = F

Prone Leg Curl, feet close together

80 x 12  80 x 12  80 x 12  80 x 12

Reverse Hack Squat

90 x 15  90 x 15  90 x 15

Cable Curls

70 x 12  75 x 10  80 x 7  80 x 4 = F

Narrow Grip Barbell Curls

60 x 7  60 x 7  60 x 7

Bodyweight Tricep Dips

1 x 9  1 x 7  1 x 7

Straight LEgged Raises

3 x 25

Reverse Crunches w/ med ball (6lbs)

3 x 20

Power-Scissor Crunches (burst style)

3 x F (around 10)

Post work out cardio

30 minutes on Elliptical; HIIT style

5m easy pace 1 minute super-fast pace; repeat for 30 minutes

June 20th

AM Cardio @ home Stairmaster4000PT, 40 minutes, L4-6

Work Out @ 12 noon

Incline DB Press

35s x 10  35s x 10  35s x 10

Decline DB Press

30s x 10  30s x 10  30s x 10

Cable Crossovers
50/side x 10  50 x 10  50 x 10

Standing Cable Face Pulls
90 x 12  100 x 10  110 x 10

Bent Over BB Row; overhand grip
75 x 9  75 x 9  75 x 9

Reverse Grip Lat Pull
100 x 9  100 x 9  110 x 7  110 x 7

Lateral DB Raises
22.5s x 7  22.5s x 7  22.5s x 7

Decline Crunch
4 x 20
Hanging Leg Raises
4 x 15

oh…switching to Fitness after 4 years of Figure; more to come later

Cheat meal tonight, Chinese Food Buffet; only two trips, nothing fried, not too bad…considering

SUPER congrats to all those that competed at JUNIOR NATS and 2 people I know of from Denver, Colorado placed first tonight, one earning her pro card! She was prepped by my former team, excellent job girl!

Current Nutrition is as follows

I am still technically ‘pre-prepping’, so this will likely change July 5th. Pre-prepping is no different, except once a week, on Saturdays normally, I have a cheat meal, dessert, and up to 2 cocktails or glasses of wine; I like beer, but intentionally don’t drink it.

Meal 1
2-4 cups coffee w/ stevia/splenda blend (80/20)
1 cup liquid egg whites (International Egg Whites)
1 whole egg (Omega-3, organic eggs)
2/3 cup chopped broccoli (the more chopped it already is, the less processing he body has to do on something thats nearly all fiber = a little less gasy )
1 super fishoil
1 R-ALA
1 Evening Primrose oil
1 BioBead
1 Udo’s Choice Enzymes
1 AST Multi
1 Carnatine

Meal 2
4 oz extra lean, ground, organic turkey breast
2/3 cup green beans, chopped
1 oz avocado
1 Udo’s Choice Enzymes

Meal 3
2 scoops WPI + 2 tsp Super Greens+ + 1 tsp Leucine + 1/2 TBS Flax meal
Coffee x 1 w/ stevia/splenda blend (80/20)
R-ALA
1 Fishoil
1 evening primrose oil
1 Udo’s Choice Enzyme
1 Carnatine

Meal 4
5 oz tilapia/halibut/shrimp
2/3 chopped broccoli
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp chinese chili paste
R-ALA
1 Fishoil
1 evening primrose oil
1 Udo’s Choice Enzyme
1 Carnatine

Meal 5
1.5 scoops casein/wpi blend + 1 tsp SuperGreens+ 1 tsp Leucine
1 R-ALA
1 AST Multi
1 Udo’s Choice Enzyme
5mg Melatonin

128 oz water/day

continued…

The current diet I am using is a very intricate blend of several different preps I have used in the past, in addition to just general common sense; but anyway, after reading through an entry in another forum members blog, on another board, I noticed a comment he had made about only taking fish oil in the off season due to eating so much fish during prep, the additional fish oil was not needed.
I take fish oils primarily for the neurological effect; and the long-term geriatric benefit/pre-cautionary medicine basically…
So will it hinder my prep/leaning process to take the additional fish oils, when they are 1g/fat/capsule.. and I take 3-4 per day? In addition to eating one fish meal per day? This seems so unlikely but now I wonder.
Now mind you this is a 200+ lb, I imagine <5′10 man that maintains this blog, so perhaps these rules don’t apply. Don’t know.
I am religious about my supplements, I am constantly searching for and seeking out anything new I can benefit from, or anything I am currently using that may not be optimal, or may counter-act other things.
Have to get the supps perfected Going to an endocrinologist next week, as I have tester HYPERthyroid; really wasn’t expecting that with the symptoms I have been having, more indicitive of HYPO.. but that’s why the endocrinologist; they will test for Graves Disease and other things. If the thyroid is truly HYPER, they can either destroy it with a rapid iodine uptake procedure, or remove it surgically. These both require lifetime use of synthetic thyroid medication, and I don’t like the sound of that.
There really isn’t any current, feasable way to naturally/homeopathically correct a hyperthyroid; one risks what’s called ‘Thyroid Storm’ that can kill you, suddenly. I am worried the endocrinologist will immediatly zero in on my training and dieting for the last 5 years, and essentially lay blame there, somehow, someway.
Back later to log training

Brutal Honesty ~ June 15, 2009

June 15, 2009

June 15th - Monday

It’s been awhile since my last post; my main household desktop pc took a giant sh*t and went into sleep mode, never to return.  I have now had to rely on  my laptop that is so slow, and glitchy in comparison ~ it will be awhile before a new one can be purchased.  I will make due

I have been in clean eating mode since January 2nd, but my cheat meals went from initially 2 per week, to 4, then more.  Since May I have been "pre-prepping", preparing my foods in advance, weighing them, adhering strictly to the 90% adherance rule ( Out of 35 meals per week, no more than around 3 of those meals can break my nutritional/prep rules.) These rules are things like missing a meal, eating forbidden items, or overindulging.  It’s a known fact and has  been preached by Dr. John Berardi over and over, that when one is strict with their diet, the difference in effect between 90% and 100% perfection is negligible on the result.  This doesn’t mean that you should intentionally ‘cheat’ on your diet 3 times because it ‘doesn’t  matter’ this just reinforces poor self dicsipline.

Since I have been ’serious’ about my pre-prep, I have lost over 20 lbs ~ I have 6 more to lose to be at my preffered weight and bodyfat percentage, and  I have 16 to lose before I step on the Team Universe NYC stage in September.

I refer to this as my pre-pre intil July 5th when I am officially 12 weeks from Team Universe.  This is a bitter sweet prep for me.  This is the second time I will attempt a prep for this show, I did so last year, dillagantly saving on a very average 2 person income; In August, about 4 weeks from the show, I was 9 lbs from my pre-water dropping goal; and we had an awful family disaster, and financial crisis that  not only wiped out the meager amount I managed to save, but we had to seek outside funds as well.  Then, on September 11th, I lost my job of five years, as a Personal Trainer/BodyPump/Women on Weights Instructor at a large inner city non-profit facility in Metropolitan Denver. ~ I had a bit of a breakdown, and so needless to say I was in no condition to compete for the first time on a nationals stage in NYC.  I had not ever and still have  not ever visited New York at all.  My husband, and my son (w/ his Father’s family) have visited even,  but I have yet to see it all.

So now I am ‘pre-prepping’ for Team Universe again.  I have to compete this year at the show, or I will have to requalify at a state level show; I don’t know, but I have competed six times, and in front of the same judges essentially.  All are very complimentary and honest and stand up people, I know several in ‘real life’ in at least an aqauintance-type of way.  I just dont want to compete at the state level, yet again, without bringing something dramatically different to the stage this year.  If I compete at Team U, and even place very low, I will then have another ticket to Team Universe for the following year ~ another reason I really want to get there.

In July I will be in full prep mode, hard core, I rarely cheat then, maybe 2x in the whole prep.  I become obsessive about the diet, the time, the amounts, what chemicals, my supplements, the money its all costing and that I have to every day still cook for, but am unable to partake of or enjoy food with my kids who are 16 and 9 years old and know more about body building, figure, and prep than any kid ever should.

Currently I am just starting to save for the trip to NYC with one husband, 2 kids, and 2 German Sheperds.  I won’t go into why I cannot go alone, and why on Earth we would take the dogs ~ but really, in the end it is cheaper, safer and more convenient.  The trip, at a very strict budget is $2000.  This is not at all in any way money that my family has; not in cash, nor credit.  I feel tremendously selfish wanting to save this money, knowing all the other things we could use as a family.  They want me to do it, all of them, extraordinarily supportive.

That’s it, the big reason I didn’t go, and the reason I am afraid to even mention trying to prep for it, prepping is hard, and it’s not something I want my body to go through needlessly.  Nonetheless my family, friends and self. I did and I think all will be fine, the public support is greatly helpful, people don’t realize how much people are in the pits when prepping and need all the positivity they can get.

Back soon