Making_A_Change’s BodyBlog

I gave my four year old those teeny, tiny stones that I wasn’t going to use, a paper plate, a pair of tweezers, and put her swimsuit on some cardboard. The result? She has quietly spent the last 20 minutes carefully putting stones on every flower center and flower petal on that suit. She is completely engrossed and it is hilarious. Her mouth is open and she is gluing each individual stone, just like I’ve been doing. She said she can’t wait for the glue to dry. I hope the stones stay on while she has the suit on, becuase I didn’t want her using the permanent adhesive that I was using.

I am so sore. I worked my abs and some glutes and quads today with some one-legged lunges. I meet with Billy tomorrow and can’t wait to see what he cooks up. This week I bump up my water and am going to wean myself off of the protein shakes because next week it’s all food!

I am feeling pretty good. I did a partial carb up this weekend, which made me look less defined in my newest progress pictures. I’ll be depleting Monday-Wednesday, then carb-up later in the week. I created a Peak Week calendar and now I have to start going by that. I also need to start playing with my hair, twisting it, styling it and seeing what I can do with it. I also need some costume jewelry–just some earrings and a bracelet.

Later this evening…

My evening cardio was breezy. I did 50 minutes on the stairmill and I was drenched. I came home and my daughter was wearing her stone adorned swimsuit and rubber rainboots. Now that’s style.

I’ve started eating asparagus and it’s a nice change from spinach and broccoli. And at $2 a bag, it’s a steal. I had Husband pick up 5 to start. I had a frozen bag of shrimp that I got from my favorite store–The Grocery Outlet. I ate that all day. Two minutes in the microwave and it was done. For my final meal I tossed a little sesame oil and vinegar in and it was good. Either that, or I could just be so desperate for a different taste that anything tastes good. Really, my pallete isn’t very reliable nowadays. Most of my food is pretty plain. So much so, that that point of removing sodium from my diet during my ‘peak week’ is a moot point. Most of my food is whole and I eat it as is.

I did 20 minutes of cardio on the upright bike at Level 2-sad I know. My legs were like lead and I was struggling. I did about 30 minutes of posing, too. That display was just as sad. I wonder if that is what it is really like on show day. It was difficult to flex and hold my poses. I was unsteady on my heels. My transitions were horrible.

Tomorrow morning I meet with Billy. Yesterday was our anniversary. Aaaaw. Here is how we met: http://blog.bodybuilding.com/Making_A_Change/2007/09/15/i-got-somethin-for-ya/

And now look at us. One year later and preparing for our first competition!

I am off to bed. I have a long day ahead.

I got to the gym at 5 a.m. a half an hour later than I would have liked. My session was going great, but I had to leave in order to get to work on time–shoot. Tonight, I did 50 minutes on the stair mill, followed by 30 minutes of posing. Today was a low carb day. The only carbs that I took in were from my pre-post workout oats. I am going to start eating asparagus as my veggies this week. Sasha explained that it is a natural dieuretic–so I am sure me and my stank pee will be very popular over the next few weeks. But, I’ve got a body to build. I felt really good during the morning workout. I was tired at first, but I quickly woke up and got a nice pump going. Some other observations:

• My belly button is turning into an outie
• My arms are becoming more vascular
• My right shoulder has an AWESOME vein running down it
• I have some new veins around the lower ab/ pubic area
• Got visible veins running down my left quad

I have already been shopping for my next suit–just another two piece to add to the collection.  It’s going to be brown for sure. Off to read to the Little One and get some sleep.

One of my firend’s mother is a seamstress and rigged my suits with some hooks. I no longer have to tie any strings! I just pull the neck straps over my head and hook up the backs and I am set. For some reason I am bloated, today. I am holding about 4 pounds of water. We’ll see what my morning weigh in says. But the advantage is that I am now less likely to begin my period on game day!

I made it through the day without working out. I was very tempted to go and just do 30 minutes of cardio, despite yesterday’s issues. But I stayed away and managed to get 7.5 hours of sleep last night. I am going to sleep early tonight and waking up early to do a full body circuit followed by 30-40 minutes of cardio. That means I am going to have to eat 1/2 cup of oats to make it through.

I am waiting for my extra stones and need to start gluing them on. There is so much to do and so little time.

I had my session with Billy this morning. He is training me twice per week until showtime and I am really excited about it! And I have been full throttle. While my strength vascillates, I have been doing my evening cardio sessions and have increased their length and intensity.

We focused on shoulders, upper back, and triceps. Everything was going swimmingly until I had to stop and eat a banana. It’s been happening alot lately. I can no longer wait one hour and then workout, I can only wait about 30 minutes. I have to make sure that I have a protein shake or something with me while I workout because the more intense the workout, the more likely I will have that ’swimmy’ feeling. Billy tells me that I need to ‘recover, repair…’ and there was another ‘r’ that I missed because I was tearing up that banana. Once I got my bearings we finished off the workout. I told him that I would take the evening off and I meant it at the time.

This evening, I decide to just do 30 minutes of incline walking on the treadmill. Who do I run into? Billy.I seriously thought about turning around. I felt like I had been caught. I thought we were going to take the night off? I assure him I am there to do 30 minutes and that is all. While on the treadmill I am feeling a bit ‘off’. I take the incline down a bit. I do 20 minutes of walking and stretch for about 15 minutes. Tomorrow, I rest. No partial resting. No cheating–as in sneaking in a workout. No posing. No flexing–nah, can’t promise that. Then back at it on Wednesday.

I am continuing to get leaner, but not stronger. The young ladies at the front desk commented on my guns–that made me proud! I feel like a competitor.

I did a fullbody curcuit, 30 minutes of posing, following by 45 minutes on the stairmill with a focus on my glutes. Tonight, I do an hour on the stairmill and 30 minutes of posing. I am upping the cardio and seeing what that will do for theses legs. I like my quads, it’s just the butt that is stubborn. I know it won’t be that rock-hard figure but in three weeks, I am just trying to make it look the best that I can in the time that I have. Just three more weeks–I can’t wait.

Posing in a bathing suit at the gym hasn’t been bad. A couple of days ago the aerobics studio was locked and I had to pose on the gym floor. Today the studio was open. Whenever I strip down to the suit, I get butterflies. My hands shake and my stomach turns. But I imagine that is what it is going to feel like–times ten–in a few weeks! So, I harness that feeling and just pose.

This weekend is low, low carbs–just my pre-post workout oatmeal. I have to get my water in, too.

I think I might have lucked up on my pre-conest carb loading plan. Yesterday, I had two small meals of tortellini and carrots because it was what was being served at school. I had a whole wheat roll with one of those meals. I had chicken but I don’t think it was cooked completely and I didn’t have time to heat it up. That evening I had my bowl of oatmeal (2/3 of a cup) and was going to work out within the hour. There was a change in my husband’s schedule and I had to wait longer than expected. About 1 1/2 hours later I was really hungry and had another 1/2 of oatmeal. By the time I got to the gym my muscles looked so FULL. And today, I am veiny and still full looking, my abs are even still visible and it’s my TOM. That may be a go–I have nothing to lose. It worked out with my carb cycle, so this weekend is low, low carbs. Proteins and veggies.

I have three mnore weeks and so much to do. My friends mother is putting hooks in my suit for easy access. I have a ‘make-up play date’ on Sunday. More stones for my suit are on the way. I have begun to pack. It’s early but I am trying to be prepared. This week I start doing a fullbody curcuit 4 times per week and cardio twice per day. I am going to do see how long the fullbody workout takes in the morning and add about 30-40 minutes of cardio. And I am going to do an hour of cardio in the evening (snore.) We’ll see what that does. I have my ‘peak week plan ready to go. My Xpel is on the way! I am feeling good!

It is a quarter to five and I am preparing to meet with Billy. He is has thrown some additional training sessions in over the last few weeks until the competition. I was so overwhelmed with gratitude. He said that I’ve worked really hard and it was a pleasure to do it. It is a wonderful feeling to have such great people around during this time. Billy’s been an awesome trainer, whose helped me become an athlete. My husband has has gone beyond the call of duty financially and has picked up the slack when I have been, quite literally, laid up on my face and tired. He has never once made me feel guilty about wanting to pursue this goal. I have a friend that wants to make me look ‘purty’ and cheered me on since the beginning. And let’s not forget my co-worker who had a shirt made with my body image on it–she’s wearing it to the show! Her crazy enthusiasm is contagious. My boss has been ‘you go’-ing it from the beginning, but still checking in and making sure that I am feeling healthy.I am also thankful to my parents for coming out of their comfort zone and seeing the show. I am sure they wonder why, but I think my mom gets a kick out of telling people that I am in a ‘fitness contest’.  And the host of others who have just been there. I think it’s hard for some to understand this ‘need’. I can’t completely explain why this need to compete has become so strong. Even when training and dieting became unconfortable and I felt like crying while working out this ‘nagging need’ was still there. I do feel some relief that the finish line is so near. It means some normalcy is coming soon–a single workout, fruit, dairy (well maybe cheese, I haven’t really missed the milk so much).  This is almost like getting married–all of the preparation and then the Big Day.

Oh, and I didn’t mention what I considered to be great news from my meeting with Mikiko. I thought I was going to have to cut my calories. By she said, and I have to agree–if what I was doing was working stay with it and see how my body responds. You can always go back and change things next time. Stick to the plan from beginning to end. That is what I am going to do. My workouts are pretty consistent. My bodyfat has continued to get lower. So, I guess in this sport, if it ain’t broke…

I am off to get ‘tortured’. I’ll write about my workout later on.

I am 26 days away from being on stage for the first time. I got the opportunity to meet with Mikiko, again, and let her critique me and my posing. And I walked away more knowledgeable and more confident. She called my physique ’sleek’! She made me feel really good about the work I have put in and let me know what I need to work on. After this October show, I am going to be on my glutes, calves and hamstrings like white on rice! It’s on! She even explained how to minimize that rebound effect after the show. I am going to be really intentional about how I eat afterwards, especially for the first 30 days she recommended. I am going to treat that as part of the prep. Because after that, the things that were ‘off limits’ can be integrated in ‘controlled moderation’. It’s not like you can never have an ice cream cone, again. I’ll gain some muscle in the following months. Then at about 16 weeks out, I’ll start prepping for the May show with a new butt and some hardcore abs.
All of the posing practice has paid off! We met at a 24 Hour in SF and I was in the suit, I was somewhat nervous, but it was nice having her and another women there who was also preparing for her first show. Now, I have to do the same at my own gym–THAT is going to seem weird. It’s like I ‘know’ those people–sort of. I already get the odd looks when I practice in my heels and sports bra, I can just imagine the looks that will come with wearing a sparkly two-piece. But, like she said, I am about to get up in front of 800 people so I can’t look like I have doubt. I have to look confident. Soooo, that being said, this week I break out the two piece. But I think I’ll do it in the morning, it’s a ‘gentler, older, more respectful crowd’. Also, I think I’ll be getting to the gym earlier to accomodate that practice.

I also have to get more stones for my suit and get some clasps put in. Also, I completely misunderstood what ‘NQ’ meant for my competition. I thought it meant ‘non-qualifying’; it means national qualifier. Hm. That puts a different spin on it.  It means my thinking that there will be a bunch of neophytes like me, may be off a bit.

I have been developing my contest day list and it gets longer by the day. I am going to start practing with my hair this week. And my friend and I are practicing with the make-up next week.

I have butterflies.

I am going in for 45 minutes of cardio tonight–it is going to be all about the stairmill and incline walking for me.

1 1/2 hours until my next meal. And it’s oatmeal!