Making_A_Change’s BodyBlog

Today’s workouts, legs in the morning and cardio in the evening, were on point. My form is steadily improving with the barbell squats and I enjoy supersetting triceps with them. I did: squats, tricep kickbacks, tricep overhead presses, leg extensions (unilateral), deadlifts, and ham curls (my favorite).

 We went back to work today, and my resolve and discipline remained strong as I stared at a table of banana nut bread, homemade brownies and chocolate chip cookies. It wasn’t even a matter of removing myself from the room because all of that goodness was in the same room that we had our professional development. So, I had to do some backwards planning. What do I want to accomplish at the end of the day? The answer, to eat only what I had prepared, stay within my macros, feel a sense of satisfaction as I complete another week of prep. How could I accomplish this? By not eating what was on the table, eating every two hours, drinking all of my water, and staying focused on my goals. It worked this time. Discipline is a muscle like any other, I suppose. It’s not like I don’t like those things and it’s not easy, sometimes. My period is coming and I would like to bathe in bread, cheese, and crackers, right about now.

Tommorow, I work chest, shoulders, and will be doing calves as my ‘rest’. Even though it is one of my least favorite parts to work, I usually get nice and sore. I do enjoy doing full push-ups though, because it wasn’t too long ago that I couldn’t do ANY. Now, I can do variations and even with one foot up or on top of the other.

I am off to bed…until tomorrow a 4 a.m…

Yesterday, I had a great back workout and I am so sore. I got in 3 sets of 3 narrow grip pull up, no assistance- Yay! I am sore today. This morning was primarily biceps and shoulders, but I did quite a bit of glute work. I got to get these buns headed north. Cardio is going to be 5-6 times per week, there is just no getting around it. I’ve just got to get it done.

Physically, I am still feeling pretty good. Lately, I’ve been called "hot", an "athlete", and have even been asked if I was a "track star" by strangers. I went to a wedding and the Maid of Honor, whom I’ve met a few times, said, "Wow. You are HOT. You were cute before, but your body is completely different!" My old boss, said I looked "buff". I had to laugh at that.

I’ve purchased a 2007 Jr. Nationals CD and have been watching the 2008 Europa replays. I am competely engrossed in this sport. I’ve never had a ‘favorite sport’ before. I don’t come from a sports-oriented family. No one played anything in school. But, they were plenty active, as I have agricultural roots. That is no small feat!

My eating has been on point over the passed few days–no peanut butter, slightly increased carbs, protein at every meal, drinking more water, taking my vitamins (flax seed oil is so, so, so gross). We will see what that gets me over the next few weeks. I am expecting my suit in a few weeks time, and it would be nice to not to be too surprised by the fit.

This morning, I had a great leg workout. I feel like I could have kept going. I focused on squats, kickbacks, and leg extensions. Tonight, it is 40 minutes of cardio on the upright bike. While doing posing practice, I noticed more loose skin around the abs. I really need to take a picture of it. It’s like I’m melting.

Man, I am hungry right now. I am 45 minutes out from my next meal–salmon and spinach. I am baking the salmon with the skin side up so it gets nice and crispy. In the meantime, it’s water, water, water. Buckling down… trying to be focused. And I have to clear out the cupboards of some temptations. I am going to clean to occupy myself, now.

I am back from vacation relatively unscathed. I had an allotted cheat of an ice cream cone while walking down Main Street. But I also had an unscheduled cheat at Goofy’s Kitchen in the form of two mini brownie squares. To be honest, I probably would have done more damage if the kid at the table next to us hadn’t thrown up her meal. Yes, I saw it go in as we were seated and I had the pleasure of watching it come out.

Overall, I kept to the plan BUT being a newbie to the world of family vacations, I had NO idea how completely and utterly draining it all is. The walking…the waiting…the lines…the pushing. I am certainly not complaining. It was a blessing to be able to go and spend several days in Anaheim, but it was definitely tiring. It almost made me break down and allow the Mr. to impregnate me. The Little One needs a road dog–badly!!! But it was such a joy, to see the look on Little Bit’s face–everything was new and exciting.

Like I said, I stuck to the diet, with ever so slight deviations, and my workouts were solid. I did miss a day because I was sweating and stuck in the fetal position for a minute. Maybe it was the lactose from the ice cream since I haven’t had dairy in a while. Maybe it was the extra brownie square. I just don’t know. But despite, my seemingly wise meal choices that included salmon, red potatoes, and green beans or assorted vegetables something didn’t agree with me. My food has been pretty bland and when you are out you can’t control everything that goes into your food. I don’t know but I was jacked up for a few hours. I was thankful to be feeling normal by morning. I did have to get up at 1 a.m. to eat, though.

Tomorrow, is a full leg day and I am looking forward to it. I came home to an evening weight of 138. I am also bloated because my cycle is about to start, so I could be looking a new weight of 136, which is my projected competition weight. But, we’ll see. I am just glad to be back to my home, my food, my schedule, and my life.

I had a really solid chest, shoulder, and ab workout in the hotel’s gym. I got a good sweat going and was really happy with the weight. I realize that my carbs may be a little too low and I am shying away from them. Tonight, we went to the ESPN Zone. Of course, the husband surveyed the menu to make sure that I wouldn’t be dining from my purse. I do what I have to do. This afternoon, I pulled out the canned tuna from my purse at the park and a handful of nuts.

I had salmon without the garlic butter sauce, green beans, and the mashed red potatoes plain (sans bacon, cheese, and some other sporty toppings). I immediately split my meal. The other half will be my breakfast. By the time that we got home, about a hour later, I had a fullness in my legs that I hadn’t seen in a while. That is something to remember–RED POTATOES! Tomorrow morning is back and biceps. Cardio has pretty much been walking for hours and hours….and hours.

We are in Anaheim! After a 5 hour drive and a couple of restroom breaks we are here and ready to take Disneyland by storm. We ’swam’ after we got settled in our room. I say ’swim’ becuase none of us can swim–sad I know. The glutes are throbbing from  yesterday’s squat/kicks and evening run to the point of having several near butt cramping episodes while driving here. My alarm is set for 5 a.m. in the morning for a chest and tricep workout. The fitness facilities are basic and not bad–modern cardio equipment, a full free weight area, and a corner cable apparatus that is pretty nice. I’m all set.

There is no microwave here, so we bought one at the nearby Target. My father in law laughed, but hey, it works for us. Most of my meals are microwaveable. We split meals and this allows us to heat them up. We brought several cans of my daughter’s favorite Trader Joe’s soups for lunch. We aren’t going to get got too many times out here. I probably popped to many peanuts on the car ride here, but other than that I am determined to stay on track while vacationing.

I taped my posing practice tonight. I look aight, I’ve got to get it tighter.  I am about to stretch and go to sleep.

This morning, I went to the 24 Hour out here and did shoulders and abs. I felt so good! I had my usual oatmeal with protein powder and blueberries. I waited for about 20 minutes then went to the gym. I did heavy shoulder presses supersetted with plate lat raises, and bent over flyes. I also did front/side raises, front and rear bb shoulder presses (40#), cable crunches, romain chair leg lifts, and oblique crunches on the back extension apparatus. Everything was just smooth. I ended the session with a 15 minute run that could have gone on, but at that point it was clear that I needed to eat. Maybe being in another environment was just what I needed. Tonight, I’ll go for a 30 minute run for my cardio.  

The diet has been squeaky, so far. I am really being concious of getting that water in. When I am doing ‘nothing’ I grab the water and drink. My dad is grilling steaks and I can’t wait to get my hands on one of those with a side of brocolli.

Tomorrow, there is no morning workout because we are heading out early. We should be in Anaheim around 3 or 4 and just plan to explore the hotel and get dinner. I’ll be cutting out to the gym to check out their facilities while the husband and little hit the arcade. I’ll get a good workout in that evening. Then, we meet up to swim.

Update: I got my 30 minutes of running in–but barely. Out here in the valley, where I’m from, it’s HOT. And if you wait for it to ‘cool down’ well, that’s just nighttime. And I’m not running in the dark. But I am happy that I stuck with the plan and got it done. This is going to be a STRONG Week 9.

The family and I are currently visiting my parents on our way to  Disneyland. I have begun the process of ‘preparing’ my parents for what they are going to see and what they are going to see me in. I started with the stripper shoes. Then, I took my mom to my bodyspace site to see the updates. She was talking about how my cousin was going on about it and has even lost some weight (Yay, K!). Next, I took her to one of my favorite athlete’s site, Gina Alioti. We went through the photos. I told her it would be a while until I even reached that level, but it was where I was trying to be body-wise. "Oh." She replied. "Hmmm. You’re going to have to shave down there." All I could do was laugh. She’s funny.

I also had to remind her of my eating schedule and habits. No, I couldn’t have dad’s spaghetti tonight. BUT she was very cool about it. Now, I am going to print the show’s schedule for them and I have to prepare my dad a bit–just so the shock isn’t too great.

After the October show, I want to do one 7 months afterwards and have decided for that one to get some professional guidance, so I’ll be working with Gina Alioti for 12 weeks. We have exchanged some e-mails on FigureAthlete and while I have never done on-line training, there are so many people on this site who are a testament to it’s effectiveness–especially if you are self-motivated and are going to put in the work.

After several loo-oooong low carb days tonight was my refeed as well as a bit of an experiment. My carbs came from 4 pieces of sushi. The rest of my meal was chicken and beef teriyaki and miso soup. I was full after just the soup! It’s been about an hour and a half since the meal. I am trying to gauge whether or not I am a bit fuller or still flat. I noticed, especially in my quads, that they were very flat and shapeless. I do plan on doing some cardio tonight to maybe that and the rice will work. If not, it’s good to know and off to try something else like brown rice or yams.

As I sat eeking out a few more seated shoulder  a man walks up to me and Billy and starts complimenting Billy on his ‘work’–that would be me. Billy quickly corrects the man and adds, "Thank you, man. But SHE does the work." To which the man replies, "Is she training for something. She really wants it." And I did. The man kept talking and wowing–I kept lifting.

 Today, was a excellent bicep and back workout. I was actually still a bit fatigued by my bicep and back workouts earlier this week, but I got through it. Billy said to hit the legs HARD twice this week with a focus on my hipflexors, glutes, and calves on one day. But still focusing on quads. Then on the other day quads and hamstrings. Yesterday, I worked my chest. I did alot of pushups, which was great. In the evening I did 50 minutes of cardio (30 minutes or stairmill and 20 on the upright. Between the two, my quads and hamstrings were burning. It’s a nice combination! Tonight, the goal is 30 minutes of running @ 6.2-6.5 mph and abs. I feel like I am ‘dialing in’ and buckling down. I can’t believe the weekly changes.

I forget to add, that yesterday I did the butt blaster and got up to 80#. That is going to become a new favorite. I am going to make it a new favorite!