Keke’s BodyBlog

I reached over when the alarm went off … and then woke up 15 minutes later. I was tired! I got seven hours of sleep, so I must really be tired. Other than cardio in the morning on Wednesday, it is my off day so I’ll be sure to rest up after work tomorrow. 

I really liked how my body was looking this morning. I woke up a few times during the night to go to the washroom … so I was not retaining water this morning. Hard to believe I’m fluctuating between 147.5 and 150 lbs and looking as lean as I do. I use a digital scale, and always wonder about that thing. I might just have to get an analog one as I believe those are most reliable. I hear there’s a good one at Canadian Tire that is reasonably priced and is fairly like the professional ones … I’ll have to check it out. 

Yesterday’s back training session was serious! I was feeling kind of weak, but I really pushed myself and felt very accomplished once I was done. 

I was telling Muscle’s that it was first day with the reduced calories, and I think I might have felt it. It wasn’t that I was starving, but I was definitely looking at the clock for my next meal. We cut down in both protein and carbs so I must feel it at some point. I’ll know better once I catch up on my sleep. Until I do, it’s hard to tell where this tiredness is coming from. 

So yesterday, I finalized my 1 piece suit order. I decided to go with the best! Al the Fitness and Figure greats order from this place so I know I am in good hands. I’m glad that I’ll still be able to use my 2 piece from my first competition, because that is when it would start getting pricey. I’d have been looking at over a ‘G’ for 2 suits. This one cost me just over 6 bills. I’ll be using the same 2 suits for all the competitions, so I’ll definitely get my money’s worth … at least in my opinion. I can’t wait to see the finished product. The design sounds absolutely stunning, and the color I went with was a recommendation from Jully and I know it’s going to look great on my skin. 

Well … I have to get going … I have a presentation I’ve got to get ready. Sorry, I can’t leave any tips and tricks today! Ooo … I have an awesome recipe I’ll share with you this week. Just have to write it up for you. Have you tried the Healthy Whole Grain Banana Bread yet? It’s a winner with my hubby, and he’s had one made every week since that first time!! Lucky guy huh! 

Have a great day, and see you back here tomorrow! 

Cheers, Nke

I am feeling so renewed today, it is unreal! One thing you may not know about me, is that it takes very little to get and keep me motivated. By Muscles making those small changes to my program, it’s like I have something new to tackle … It’s the excitement to see what these changes will do to my overall physique … I almost feel I should take a before pic today … I see some good physical changes on the horizon in the next little while! Very excited about that ….
Got on the treadmill this morning, bright and early … reached all goals I set out to meet and felt real good at the end of the 45 minute session.
On my way to work, I decided I want to see if I can do 50 ‘man’ pushups in a row, no stopping. This is now a short-term goal that I would like to achieve in the next couple of weeks. I pushed out 35 during my F.A.T, so I’m thinking 50 is attainable in a couple of weeks. So everyday, I’m going to work towards that … I’ll keep you posted on my progress.
Also, my glutes were a shortfall of mine in my last competition, so with 10 weeks out till my first one I am going to make sure I pt some added focus. Not much more I can develop, but so far as I continue to focus on them I’m sure they’ll look better … and better is always a good start!
It’s back day today and I believe I start with bending knew ‘deadlifts’ (my favorite), so I’ll be looking forward to my workout all day. I’ve also decided that I really don’t need to lift more than 225 lbs, so I’m going to just stay at this weight. It was a goal I set out to reach before the competition; I reached it much earlier than I imagined I would and just feel it’s best to stay here.
Well, off to start my day … I wish you a very good day, and I’ll see you back here tomorrow.
“The more I want to get something done, the less it feels like work.” – Richard Bach
Cheers,
Nke

Wowee …. I will have finished my first competition 10 weeks from yesterday. Hard to believe … Half way there!
It is now getting quite serious. Muscle’s has provided me with my revised nutrition and supplement plan. There are quite a few changes, so I am actually excited to get through this week and see what the results will be. I will stop and take some photos next week, so I will share that with you … for today, I’ll be adding a photo or two that I took during my 11^th week. I’m not too happy with them and pretty much follows the theme of how I felt all week.
It is 10:34 AM on Sunday morning, and all of my food is packed for the next 6 days!!! I love finishing up so early. To be quite honest, it’s really because I just pretty much had a quiet weekend at home. So, I took the various opportunities on Friday and Saturday to prep my protein and veggies, respectively.
I’ve also touched base with my video guy, and him, I and Muscles will start working on creating some video footage very shortly. I am also excited about that!
So, all in all … I am just excited and pumped.  Today is a sunny day, and I’m going to take advantage of that and get my car all cleaned up!
Have a blessed Sunday and see you back here tomorrow!
It’s going to be on and popping as of tomorrow!
Cheers,

Nke

This one will be brief and gonna talk fast …..   

Today marks pretty much the halfway mark … and I’ve have to say, looking back that this was a really tough week to get through. Not from a training perspective, but from an overall feel and perhaps even diet … I had cravings this week that I had to fight, and that sucked …. I think it’s passed and I’ll just have to make up for the lapse in motivation next week.   

I woke up on a mission this morning … something ‘on the not so positive spectrum’ happened and it had such a positive impact on me. It just made me want to push myself harder this morning. I did cardio at my place this morning, and just murdered that 60 minutes on my treadmill. I was drenched and completely spent when I got off. For first fifteen minutes, I was reading the latest special edition of Oxygen magazine and it got me so pumped that my original decision to skip glutes and calves today at the gym went completely out the window! I’ll be heading to the gym once I’m done at the hairdressers. While at the hairdressers, I put together this great glute circuit workout that consisted of 5 exercises; walking lunges, wide plie squats, walking lunges on treadmill, smith machine butt blasters, and abductors. When the treadmill was not available I replaced that exercise with stiff legged deadlifts. Following that circuit I did 3 sets of kneeling cable kickbacks. I’m not feeling any soreness now, but based on how much I pushed myself I’m thinking it will be a delayed soreness. I then did 2 sets of calf exercises.    

If you ever get a chance, try out that glute circuit. It was actually a good mixture of exercises and I’m going to add it to my weekly routine. All those exercises came out of the special Oxygen edition that I mentioned earlier.    

Now I am home, and have to get going. Busy busy day!!! Hope you are out and about enjoying the nice sun … at least it is sunny here, north of the t.Dot ….    

Cheers! 

So, yesterday I stripped down a lot more than I usually would at the gym. I was ‘attired’ in a bra top and short shorts (all courtesy of Lululemon). This is now ‘Muscles’ request so that he can look at my body each week going forth and see how we are progressing and what changes will need to be made. We did a couple of quarter-turns and he should be how to do some cool bodybuilding poses (that was fun). Man, it’s hard work for those bodybuilding people. Those poses are very hard to land properly. Complete KUDOS to that sport. It ain’t easy.
Anyhoo, Muscles was pleased with how I look with 10 weeks left to go. I on the other hand, wished I looked leaner, but as Shaun says, that will come and we will look leaner each week from here on forth. Based on my current state, he will be making some adjustments to my meal plan this week. I’m excited to see what it will look like, even though it will mean less food. I guess it’s just the fact that something will be changing.
Yesterday was a TOUGH leg day!!!! Man oh man, Muscles finished me off!!! I wasn’t feeling my normal strong self, so I really found I had to push my way through. The nice thing is that I did go up in weight in almost every exercise. On the full barbell squats, I peaked at 205 lbs for my 3 set for 8 reps. That was tough, but felt extremely fulfilling to be able to get through. We did a superset of leg extension and machine leg press, and I peaked on the leg press at 295 lbs for my last 2 sets for 12 reps. No way I could have done all that without Muscles! So, thanks Muscles for being there for me and encouraging me on … You’re simply the best!!!!
I woke up late this morning … I heard the alarm, but it did nothing to arouse me and get me out of bed. I work up 25 mins later and rushed to get on the treadmill. I was only able to get out 30 minutes, so I’ll get another session in tonight when I’m at the gym or Sunday.
Not every week is honky dory, and I’d have to say that this one was truly a tough week for me. I do not feel great this week about my progress, and I’m not quite sure why. I actually feel heavy and bloated and I’ve felt that way the whole entire week. I’m hoping that this does not continue and it was just a ‘this is how I feel this week’ kind of thing. Regardless, I vowed to not use this feeling as a de-motivator and pushed myself even harder this week than I normally would.
Anyhoo … such is life … my journey continues.
Here’s a quote I find that helps keeps me trudging along ….
“I do not try to be better or beat anyone else. I only try to be better and beat myself.” - Nkechi
Have a great day!
Cheers!

Can’t believe that my back is still sore from Monday! Baby, you really worked me man … If that’s not enough, I am feeling my Tuesday Chest and Delt workout … and now to complete all this ‘soreness’, I’m training legs tonight with ‘Muscles’. He’s going to kick my butt tonight bwoy! I was checking out the session … we have full squats and 3 different sets of supersets!!!! Ugghhhh … this is going to be one great weight training week! 

This morning, I must admit … I had to struggle out of bed abit and force myself on the treadmill. Not sure what it was … I slept a good amount, 6 ½ hours … I was just drained and not feeling the umphhhh I normally feel to get through my morning cardio session … Regardless, it needed to get done, and I needed to meet my daily target so I put on some good music on my iPod and pushed my way through it. To be honest, the 45 minutes in the end, really felt like 30 mins. So it wasn’t that bad once I got going. First 5 mins were the hardest, then once I started doing my sprint intervals I got into the groove. 

So, yesterday I did my Fitness Assessment Test (F.A.T). It started with the guy taking my blood pressure, height, weight, measuring my bodyfat with calipers (back of arms, front of arms, upper shoulder, waist, and calf).Following that I had to do this cardio vascular test. The test consisted of climbing steps to a beat that changed at each 3 min interval. The goal was to see how many 3 minute intervals it took me to get my heart rate at 85% of my max heart rate. He said the average is 3 intervals, and some people make it to 4 intervals. I am very proud to announce that it took me 5 intervals to get there. 

After that, we moved on to a strength / grip test. There was this instrument that I had to grip with each hand, and it registered a certain measurement. It tests the strength of your forearms and biceps I guess. 

Then we did push-ups. He demonstrated by asking me to perform them the ‘woman way’, on the knees. I don’t like doing those and asked if I could stay on my toes. He said it’d be fine if I could do it. The idea was to go as many as you could before fatiguing. I did 33 before I started to slow down in pace and get tired. So, I stopped at 35. I wonder if I could have hit 50. I’ll have to work on that. 

Then we did sit-ups. He said he needed me to do anywhere from 1–25, with 25 being graded as excellent. I did 25. 

Lastly, he tested my vertical jump, which tests the strength in the legs. Based on where I reached on the ruler, I also apparently was graded excellent. 

He said that he was behind in prepping the results and that he’d have it done for me when he returned from vacation in a week. 

Well, he ended up calling me last night just before 7 PM saying that he managed to get my results. He said that he’s done about 11,500 tests to date, and he has me placing top 4. If that’s the case, I really have to wonder who has been doing these tests. Feels good to know, but scary I’d be in the top 4 in terms of fitness level out of 11.5K people. Anyhoo, those are the unofficially verbal results for now. I’ll pick up the written results next week. 

All in all, it was fun and I encourage you to give it a try at your gym or some place where they offer this service. 

Remember, weight loss and a good fitness regime is more about inspiration than perspiration. Find the hook that will keep you motivated, latch one, and get working on achieving your goals!  Have a great day!

Gosh, I woke up this morning so anxious. I ran into a girl I know, Lorraine, who is another fierce Figure competitor. She’s done it all, Bodybuilding, Fitness and now she’s focused on Figure. She’s up in the IFBB ranks and looks wicked on stage! Anyways, talking to her about the upcoming shows just made me realize how ‘not so far away’ they are. They’re really just around the corner. I started training 20 weeks out … and now, I only have 11 weeks left. She reminded me to get cracking on my posing suit, the one piece as I already have a 2 piece. It’s getting busy so the orders need to get in now. So, I’m going to make sure I make contact and place my order today or tomorrow … definitely by end of week.
Now, I’m just full of anxiety. I have to get myself organized. I need to write a to-do list and start checking off the items. That’s my goal for today … get that to do list written and share it with those experienced in this sport to make sure I have everything.
As I mentioned yesterday, back training day was a real killer. Training with E was seriously intense. I loved every moment of it! He really got me working!! I even pulled a couple of more sets on certain exercises, a shoulder shrug superset and an extra shoulder exercise … plus while he ran the treadmill I did 20 mins on the stepmill. It was a great 20 mins ‘extra’ cardio for the day. Thanks babes!!!
E and I went to bed fairly early last night. Guess we were both beat. For us to leave the show ‘24’ to record and watch for another night means that we were really really tired. I heard that yesterday’s episode was off the chain! I can hardly wait to watch it tonight.
Okay, I need to get going and get focused as I have a busy day ahead of me.
“The secret of all victories lies in the organization of the non-obvious.” – Marcus Aurelius
My goal for the day, is to get myself organized with the whole contest prep stuff. I have got to jot down the obvious … and non-obvious items.
Have yourself a great day, and see you back here tomorrow.
Cheers,
Nke

Yesterday was a cheat day, and I feel I cheated within reason …. At least within my reason!! Ha-ha. I started off the day with my meal #1, and then 3 hours later, had meal #2 and an Almond Crunch Haagen Daz bar … It tasted SOOOOO good … that I had another. Would have had all 3 that were in the box, but the last one was for E. Actually, two originally were for E and one for me …. But I felt I deserved a real cheat day! Three hours later, we were in Swiss Chalet and I vowed to have a good experience this time … remember by blog on Jan 20^th??? BTW, that was my last visit to Swiss (my fave restaurant). So, at Swiss we started with the yummy spring rolls, and then I had my fave fresh cut fries w/ no added salt and 8 mild wings. I’d have to say I enjoyed the meal. I felt real full after which I did not really enjoy … but all in all it was a good experience and I had a great time there with E. 

I thought about it … but I am not even going to check the nutritional content of what I ate. It’s done … it’s in my tummy … it tasted great going down … and I’m gonna call it a day at that …. 

Following our meal, we went to a Salsa class … that was my surprise to E. It was loads of fun and we are going to register for their Beginner I class. It’s 8 sessions for $99 per person. Not bad! We learnt the Mambo, the side step, the back step, the salsa, and the Mambo turns. I loved dancing with E, and the connection was great! 

So, to my subject, I got on the treadmill this morning determined to compete against myself. I guess I felt inspired by the bloated feeling of post cheat meal …. Anyhoo … I just challenged myself … I do this by making sure to hit certain ‘calories burned’ (only a guide – no accurate count there by any means) by various intervals. Well this morning, the numbers were racking up quick. My treadmill is wack, and normally the calories be going up real slow!! Well, not this morning … I hit my goal with 2 ½ minutes left to go … I call those bonus minutes coz’ I can do what the heck I want to with them … I opted today to really go the extra mile and go for a last 1 minute full out sprint! I killed my calorie goal and it felt great!! 

Today is back training day. I’m going to be working out with E at Strictly Fitness so got to get mentally prepared for that. He trains real hard … remember I told you about his Saturday ol’ school routine?? So, I just know he’ll kick my ass today!! My session today has the wide grip pull-ups included, so I’ll be bringing the Shaun ‘Muscles’ Campbell special there today. 

For my next back workout, I’ll hopefully be hooking up with my girl Camille. She can train! She’s got some good strength. Just wait till you see her in form and up on stage!! She’s beautiful, with great stage presence. She’ll be giving dem girls a run for their money. 

I started late this morning, so I have to get going and get my day started. 

Enjoy ur day and see ya tomorrow! 

Cheers, Nke

Last night, we checked out this club called Kamasutra. It’s on Eglington, just east of Yonge on the South Side near the Swiss Chalet (which by the way, I will be eating later today … wish me luck!). It was a lot of fun. More so because of the group I was with than the overall vibe itself. Man, the girl searched me more than they do going through Customs. I actually felt it was abit evasive and said so. She even smelled people’s cigarette packs. She commented to E that nothing gets by her. Well the joke it, midway through, the deejay announced that smoking weed is prohibited and that those partaking in that activity should stop … so much for nothing getting past her!

Today, I have a fun surprise for E. At least I think he’ll like it and have some fun doing it. I’m excited and will let you know all about it tomorrow.

My gosh, I don’t think my calves have ever been this sore! I actually almost thought I might have strained them. Yesterday, I decided to work my calves with a superset. Now that I think back, I don’t think I’ve ever trained my calves with supersets.
 

I picked two calf exercises that I feel give me maximum performance anytime I do them. They were the seated and standing calf raises. I started on the seated and since my focus today was to fatigue the calf, I only placed a plate on the plate loader. I did a quick and controlled set of 20 reps and then immediately jumped on the standing calf machine and completed 25 reps for 155 lbs. I always stretch my calves after each set. I feel it helps me get out the kinks and get ready for my next set as if it were my first. Even after completing those sets, I was like ‘hmmm, this feels kind of good’. By the 4^th set, I was definitely thinking that supersets for me is the way to work my calves from here on in. Not sure if it was the combo of machines or the fact that I really fatigued the calves for each set, but I really liked how pumped I felt …. And how pumped they looked.
 

The aftermath … I’m feeling it today, and it feels great!!!! Super-setting calves is a winner with me!!
 

I was reading an article yesterday, about how little people train their backs. I’m actually surprised as I would think that is one of the favorite muscles part for most folks, especially guys. The article was saying that because we don’t see our backs, it’s often the muscle group that gets forgotten and that the majority of people focus more on that which they see.
 

I love working my back. It’s definitely one of my favorite training days, after legs (which is my 1^st). For those that don’t know, the back is the largest muscle group in the upper body. If you happen to train it right, it should be one of the toughest workouts for the week. Make sure to get at least one good session in a week. Training your back is so important to the overall aesthetic look of your body. Also has many good benefits for your overall well-being as well (ie: posture, strength, balance etc.).
 

Remember to focus on the 3 major areas when training your back; trapezius (located in the shoulder), latissimus dorsi (posterior to the arm – side of back) and spinal erectors (support the spinal column)
 

Some of my favorite back exercises that help to target these areas are: Deadlifts, Close-grip pulldowns, Wide-grip front pulldowns, One-arm dumbbell rows, Seated Cable Rows, Chin-ups (wide and close), Bent-over barbell or dumbbell rows, and Rear-Delts.
 

So, get cracking and work that back! Work it … work it …
 

Have a blessed Sunday!
 

Cheers, Nke

I am pleased with today’s weigh in. I came in at 147.5 lbs. Which means I made some progress over the past 7 days … progress is always good!!!!  Can’t blog much today and I have to really get out and going.  I just got back from the gym. Did my hour cardio on the step mill and really pushed myself through that hour today. Along with good music, I have a great book that I am reading that made the hour feel like 20 minutes. When the machine stopped and I looked around, I was like, “where’d all these people come from?”. There was like 5 people in the gym when I got on …. It was unreal how focused I was today.  Well, I am off to get my eyebrows waxed and then to the hairdressers. Gonna change up my look this week. I’m excited about that …  Gonna try and hit Lululemon today as well. Need to get some short and bra top. Shaun wants me to start posing pre-workout on leg day, so I need something more revealing that will enable him to see more of my body. Means we are getting closer to crunch time!!! Woweeee….  Have a great day, and see you back here tomorrow.  Cheers!  Nke