Training for Team Universe 2009!

I haven’t been here since last week, way too busy.  I popped in to check e-mail, order some supps and JanTana and submit an article and that was about it.  I am training constantly (cardio 12x per week; weights x 5; Track/Plyo x 2 + life) and this is in addition to my two kids, studying and considering a degree swap from but figuring out how many credits I will lose, (considering nursing, MBA, and Psychology each with differing reasons) maintaining the four clients that "followed" me (I did not steal them lol) when I lost my job of several years at the same facility as a trainer and group ex leader, 2 very active and training German Shepherds, and my incredible husband who is gone 70% of the time.  He is part of the maintenance as well, but I also write for three different websites in three different genres and that doesn’t count the music my husband and I are trying forever to make, one metal and another rockabilly with a "crunch"… but gets put on the back burner to all it is the most expensive yet passionate venture; our living room is cluttered with instruments, hardware for instruments, amps, cords, a stair master, my husbands gigantic drum cage and double bass set.  We don’t have family here at all, we don’t have a list of babysitters so our kids are always, always with us.  If we go out my son watches my daughter, but he isn’t always here either.  We go to a lot of concerts, local shows, and DJ and burlesque/comedy events, we like the wierdos and the underground folks that’s for sure but are in no way "bar people" I grew up that way and ate tacos every Tuesday while my Mom played pool (ahem…hustled..she’s very good) and we go places to see live music or an act or something, but… I guess that makes us boring not to hit the bar every damned weekend   I had the third interview for a more administrative/information systems position and it looks very good, will know by tomorrow or Wednesday;  After 11 months I am done I cant stand it and we’re broke most of the time which I also cannot stand.  If all goes well I will make very decent monies, finish with these root canals and then buy tits; yes tits and yes big ones, I’m not shy, I breastfed two babies for a LONG time, the girl over a year, I want my boobs back.  Then likely lots and lots of tattoos, all over, and if my hubby would let me a corset piercing, but alas, it is still too weird for even him.
I had a root canal today and that is one of oh, so many, Now mind you, I have beautiful teeth, but… they seem to be turning to glass in the back and root canal after root canal it gets very pricey to keep them healthy let alone looking nice.  I am so lucky I never needed braces, I wouldn’t have ever gotten them.  I did get percocet prescribed and once I research and find out if I can take one and not F**k up my physique chemically, then I will.
I just did all that "soapbox" bitching because it was inspired by a very long conversation I had with a wonderful person I know, more of a friend of a friend kind of thing.  She spent the entire time complaining and whining and didn’t realize it apparently as it was so out of character.   We all have issues, I dont cry all the time about how I grew up in and ran away from many foster homes in colorado, and had no friends and no family and toted my baby around since I was 16 1/2 and I was a "thick girl" until I was 20 and then just a fat, lazy girl until after my daughter when I was 23. I have spent time with this woman before and shes fit and lifts heavy and eats clean and so I was really fine with my other good friend bringing her to work out with us.  Each time she came to lift, a little tid bit of a bitch would escape and then more and more until every time I saw her she just bitched about something, money, time, kids, her abs (please), sex, whatever.  This is why I get along with men much easier, I have several female friends but we are all one in the same brash, unique personalities; generally most women, are just too… whatever it is that I guess I am not.
I just try to make myself better every day.  I have so many more issues than many people on this site, I’ve been made fun of and praised, had to tattle to a mod to have a mean statement taken down when I picked a fight in the forum, hell it was my ass cheeks that started the whole BodySpace stink years ago about most viewed and what you could wear, I fought it out with I don’t know who for nearly a week ~ and that was my pre-contest ass too, never been on stage.  Despite anything and everything you say and do some will always hate what they see in you or want in you, some will always look up to you, although this is wasted effort to look up to anyone but yourself and your higher power, mine being God.  I  read books constantly as a means of distraction, to the point of being a bibliophile I think; and force myself not to think of negative or self defeating things, its behavior modification that has to be done to function and again no matter what I may do, some people will just be ****ty to you.  No matter what I do to modify my reactions, my words, my facial expressions, tone or timber or voice, some people just have to be takers, some will always be *******s, some women will always be catty.  I refuse to allow these people to suck the life out of me and generally avoid them at all costs.  I am the least fake person, and likely much to honest about what goes on in my head than I should be, but if we were all like that it would be a lot better.  You know that fake, phoney nice that people are sometimes?  I just want to call them on it, in a blunt and direct way, but most people cant handle that and I have learned to modify… see?  Still, it continues. Needless to say I will not be asking my friend to invite her friend to a work out again.  Geez.

Oh, just finished reading The NEW Psychcybernetics (excellent albeit preachy), You, Inc. (meh), and  The Talent Code (VERY thought provoking)

now working on The Case for a Creator, and  still working on (4 months now) Physics of the Impossible

Well I am editing a leg day home video I shot, well my hubby did for me, thank you and I notice a huge bruise lining the underside of my right calf muscle in .  Today its worse!  I haven’t a clue where it came from but its a bad one, you’ll see it in my 5 weeks out update… my husband is such a kick ass amateur video-grapher… much easier than hauling a little tripod in and looking all conspicuous while you lift.  I think he has ulterior motives though, as he seems to really "like" watching me lift… hmm. No he’s not a gym guy, he goes whenever I ask, and he is in excellent condition, but he is a martial arts plays drums and says its exercise guy.

I saw Heather Mae French working out at the Armbrust PRO Gym last night, she was training someone who looked 100% dialed in and ready for a show ~ and she too looked incredible of course just recently off her 1st place showing   anyway… back later

I was tweeting last night and noticed a tweet about Chuck Liddel being on the next dancing with the stars… holy crap.  I thought surely they jest, could this be true?  Then this morning in the UFC BodyBlog here on BodySpace, I saw it announced again.  I once saw Chuck take part in an experiment, where the measured the sheer force of his punch, through a side of beef, literally; I believe he was somehwhere at 1000 psi… just to note a football player, his name eludes me, went busting through a standard, thick, door and frame, to measure his total output of force, and his entire body full force was the same 1000 psi… but in a small, condensed package located in his fist.  I just cannot see him on dancing with the stars.  I am aware of the sheer athleticism required to dance with perfect technique and impeccable grace… but no matter how manly the man, it just seems to feminize somehow, sorry its just my opinion.  I really like Chuck Liddel and dont know what to think of this.

Anyway enough of that,  I spent hours yesterday editing videos of training and a couple of work outs for this article I am working on for the training section, not my prep.  My eyes are all gummy feeling from wearing contacts and staring at the hi res screen on this laptop for almost 5 hours very late at night.

Five weeks left and I feel pretty good, especially for it being my very first national show.  I have also, as I mentioned before never visited NYC and am really excited about that!  My hubby and I get time with eachother several times a month, at a concert, or a local show.  We are not at all bar people, I think I have been to "the bar" a total of five times in the last five years or so.  We love to play pool, but thats at Dave & Busters or at a friend’s place.  We have never, in 10 years of marriage, and 12 years together been without our kids, and alone, in a far off distant land.  I cannot wait.  I wont be able to eat thie first two days I am there, but after the show on Saturday, and in NYC, I have the tiniest, itty bitty dress and plan on frolicking about NYC and eating and drinking my brains out with my very tolerant and supportive man

We are visiting BodyBuilding.com headquarters next week, on the 29th and I am going to stop by and visit JTV! to chat about my nationals prep for Team Universe, all the great things BodyBuilding.com has done for me and anything else that may come up! If you are in the dark, JTV! is  BodyBuilding.com’s very own weekly web show that hosts different interesting people; for example the heavy metal band Chimaira visited recently on the 13th, and chatted with a lot of people, they can all be rewatched and found in the archive on the main page found here >>> 

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/justintv.htm

BiologyBabe Jaime Girard!
Thursday, Aug. 27, 2009
1:00-2:00 p.m. MDT (-0600)

so you should check out my prep in the PRO/AM BLOG here on BodySpace and just search through as it is interspersed with many other great posts about PRO/AM competiions and athletes! 

A new update every week! Then the trip to NYC, the athletes meeting, and onstage!  Should be fun…!

I have been out of this particular blog for awhile.  I have been nudged to get back in here.  HOWEVER… About every ten days I submit my entire prior week’s diet, training, and tid-bits of my current Team Universe prep to the lovely editorial team here at BodyBuilding.com, and they feature it in the official PRO/AM Blog on the main BodyBlogs/BodySpace page!  It’s certainly a huge motivation to be accountable to the viewing audience!  To my chagrin I think, I was actually approached at a new gym and at my old and asked if I was the pro in the blog on bodybuilding… I said well, wow, not a pro, but maybe that’s me yes?  LOL I always get recognized at shows when I compete by two or three BodyBuilding.com regulars.  At my previous job, that I miss horribly, I had a small pack of mentally deficient teenagers that e-stalked me, seriously, and came to the gym for two years.  One was actually revoked of his membership for a thread he started right here that pissed off my then boss, the executive director.  It’s really strange to be an absolute nobody, and have a teeny part of the world recognize you in public.

Please visit my progress articles and YouTube videos (they will be embedded with this week’s update) and help me stay in the game with most of my brain intact!  People are so nice about helping you out, its refreshing.  Lots of cool stuff is happening lately and its about damned time! After a year of torment and hell (thats all I will elaborate) its so great to finally be back on track and headed in new and unbelievable directions and people out there taking notice and being cool enough to help out!  I will go into more about all the new ventures and good things happening in the next few weeks… promise.  I will say that I will be visiting BodyBuilding.com headquarters in Boise, ID the last week in August but you’ll have to wait and see why!

Doing well on my prep, I had secured a partial tanning sponsor, until they likened it to arsenic and mustard gas!  Now I am planning to use the ever-wonderful airbrush spray tan the last 3 weeks and before the show, I dont want to age any faster let alone cancer, and the painting that is done pre-show is so freaking dark, no need for the pre-tanning.  I never tan my face or neck before anyway, I cover it, slather it daily with moisturizers and SPF 25 and little eye creams, and pre-anti fine line creams, all that stuff to keep my face looking just like this for the next 30 years or so!  I dont believe in any kind of facial procedures to make one look younger, no botox, collagen, etc… I am only 33 but damn, a friend of mine is 27 and just had Juvederm put into her face!!  YUCK.

I plan to blog here daily again, but the training and diet and contest stuff, for the most part will be in the articles located in the PRO/AM BLOG; I will let a few things through here in this blog, but I am using this one to complain and vent and showcase the more normal things in life while prepping for a HUGE show…. thanks and hope I can share something of worth to you all!  Seems all anyone does nowadays in these things is bitch about how wronged they have been, or BS bragging which is the same idiocy… so I will try to keep it interesting and whine free!

…change in an upcoming article series on the riggors of prepping for a national level show; easy? No way; watch and see!

**COMING SOON! My full prep/training/competition for Team Universe Figure Nationals in NYC this September in an article series..pics, video, work outs!Right here on BodyBuilding.com! Links to come!

Anyway doing this all on my old sony vaio while I wait for my new apparently ginormous computer from Dell, I just ordered a huge gaming machine my Dell account, they have zero payments and zero interest for a year right now; anyway its a 17 inch laptop with more power and speed than I will ever use; and I am freakishly excited about it. I will be able to post and write and blog my brains out. I will be able to edit video effortlessly and email it off easily to my editor(s) I can make and mix music play blu ray… I just cant wait.  None of that is training related other than it being my liason between my life and everyone out there.

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