Making_A_Change’s BodyBlog

I decided to cash in my ‘off day’ a few days early. I was pretty tired and tonight is a school night for me. I may workout this evening. I got to redeem my $50 bb.com store credit what fun! I was just running out of Muscle Milk, so this was perfect timing. I also got a jump rope and an ab wheel to keep in my car. I am been entertaining the idea of getting an ACE certification. Billy planted the seed and I could do it if for no other reason than to get a better understanding of nutrition and the body. Besides, I still have a Master’s program to complete and a teaching credential to obtain. That doesn’t include the exams that I need to take just to apply. So, there is a lot ot think about. But the thing that doesn’t change is getting to train–it is such a rush and I look forward to that everyday. It doesn’t matter what is happening around me, everything stops for that hour to an hour in a half. Just heavenly.

I felt really strong today. I did chest presses and flyes on the flat bench and incline bench. I also did push ups on a set of dbs. I lost count of how many sets I did. I was just trying to go for complete failure, today. And as for abs. I  supersetted two moves, but moves that are difficult for me: hanging knee raises and weighted v-sits with 15# dbs. The problem that I was having with the hanging knee raises was that I couldn’t control the swing and my grip would slip. Today, I managed to do 4 sets of 8 with minimal swinging. I am going to keep working at it. I could really feel my abs working, it was great. My glutes weren’t sore so, I went to get the 20# dbs for some walking lunges. I could only find one. So, I had to use 25#ers. Whoa, they were heavy and I really felt that. I couldn’t do as many passes, but now that I have done it, I am going to keep working with the 25# dbs. I have to do what it takes to get these glutes lifted.

This morning I cut the workout short so I could watch my daughter play soccer. She has two more sessions. And she has made it clear that she does not want to play anymore. We told her that she has to fulfill her obligations and finish her ’season’. She wants to go back to gymnastics, which we’ve tried before. Great gym. Good program. But the classes are slow. In the younger classes, students learn foundational skills, but typically practice them one at a time. So, I took my daughter to a Tae Kwon Do class–and she watched with such intensity. She was hooked once we left. It’s a small studio and she would get alot of practice and personal instruction.

Today, I focused on quads. I spend a bunch of time on the leg extenstion, banging out sets until I was sick. I warmed-up with squats in the cage. I used light weights and focused on going deep. I didn’t get to abs, so I’m doing that tomorrow. I’ll be working chest, shoulders, and abs tomorrow. And I will definitely try to take some progress pictures.

Yesterday’s workout was great. I really hit my triceps hard. I was going to do chest and triceps but instinctively stuck with biceps since they had been secondary in my other workouts. I did bb skill crushers with a 30 and 40# bb, tricep kickbacks, cable press downs, and unassisted dips. I could only do a few, but I did them. The triceps are extremely sore today. I finished the workout with walking lunges using a 20# weight. My entire butt is sore, which is great. As soon as it feels normal, I wll be doing more.

This morning I met with Billy–the workout was intense. We worked back and biceps. sitting biceps curls, shoulder presses, bent-over rows, bent over lat raises (is this right), db rows. I think there was more, I just can’t remember. I am having the best time preparing for this upcoming show. I am going to take progress photos soon. I really took advantage of the 30 days post competition–a prime time for buiding muscle as I understand it. My diet was good and my workouts were consistent. I am up to about 134, now, and have a little more size. Some of it is bodyfat, but I would like to think that there is some new muscle under there.

I am going to clean up a bit and get to bed early. I am going to get to the gym by 6. Then take Little Bit to soccer practice, afterwards.

I have the day off today, so I got plenty of sleep. I have designated Wednesdays as a ‘off day’, but I felt so rested that I went into the gym for an hour of abs. I have increased the weights that I been using for weighted ab work because I am trying to build them up. I would like for my abs to be more pronounced and not just ’smooth’. I want to ‘all terrain abs’. Yesterday, I ate over 2100 calories, much more than I usually eat. I don’t like the way that it felt–at all–even though it was clean. I am going stay with my 1800-1900 calorie plan, with an occasional 2100 calorie day to keep the body guessing. I have been keeping my food/activity log on fitday for 3 consecutive days–woo!. I am still cycling and I think now I can be more precise.The NO is still working and I may increase it to 3/4 of the recommended dose for leg and back days–baby steps.

Tomorrow is back and biceps. I’ll sneak some shoulders in there if there is time.

I had about an hour to do my thing and spent most of it on the leg press. I did the leg press (90#x2 for 15, 180#x2 for 15, 250#x1 for 10) and Good Mornings (40# for 20 reps) for 5 sets. I lowered the weight on the Good Mornings from 50# because I wanted to reassess my form. Last time my lower back was sore and that was not the area that I was trying to target. At the end, I did leg presses with my feet close together to target my glutes more. I did the leg extension and performed drop sets from 135# all the way down to 30 pounds and then I started to single-legged extensions. After I finished this my legs were quivering. It was almost time to go so I did 2 sets of thos lying (on the back)-one legged glute press-those burn so badly. There was so much more  I wanted to do, BUT this is just one of the 3 leg workouts that I get over the next 7-8 days. It feels like it is easier to engage my glutes, now. I don’t necessarily have to thrust my hips forward with every rep to feel them. I will take that as a sign that something is happening.

IFBB Pro, Natalie Benson

I first came across this woman on this site. She has THE most awesome set of shoulders. The more that I learn about this sport, the more that I am in awe of the athletes and the possibilities for myself! With years of discipline, training and clean eating, and believe me I am in this for the long haul, I too can become an elite athlete. This is what motivates me–the vision and the possibilities.

This morning’s workout was solid. My weights weren’t as high as I know they could be, because my shoulders were taxed from Friday’s training session. But the intensity was there. I still have my eye on the prize. You know, I can honestly see myself competing for years to come. I love the planning, training, and just the sport that much. I have been having so much fun learning about the athletes, the shows, suits, etc. I kept add little sets in between my supersets but this gives an idea of what I did:

incline bb chest press

incline flye

lateral shoulder raise

front raise

..and other shoulder stuff. It was just getting good to me.
shoulder raise (in front, ‘around the body’, elbows touching the back of the seat)

bb push-ups/squat/stand upright (love these!)

chest press

tricep extension

I did 4-5 sets and kept reps at around 8-12 with some forced reps.
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I am bodybuilding.com’s Transformation of the Week!: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/kassandre_harper_cotton.htm

Today was a back day. I did the following:

Superset 1 (4 sets/8-10 reps, 2 forced/partial)
lat pull dows  (90#, 105#, 120#)

reversed lat pull downs (65#)

push ups on bb with bb row (20#)

Superset 2

medicine ball taps (1 minute intervals)

upright row (45# plate)

one-armed cable row (80#, drop sets to 40#, increased reps to 20)

Superset 3

one-armed bb row (40#)

seated bb front raise + ham stretch (30#)

lat pull over crunch/v-sit (15#)

The finisher was 20 squat jumps over a step (no risers). I did one set of 2 jumps. I want to work up to 4-5 sets of 20.
My vascularity was amazing! I just had to stop to go watch Baby Girl play soccer–she’s a force! But she’s over soccer and wants to go back to gymnastics. I’m gently pushing for martial arts.  Overall, it was a strong workout. I had my post workout shake of Muscle Milk and creatine. And now, I am cooking chicken and brocolli at Baby’s request.

Billy and I workout at a family gym with limited hours. Unfortunately, the gym opens a little later than we’d like. 5 a.m. would be ideal, but it doesn’t open until 5:30 a.m. This morning, the lady who opens the gym was over 20 minutes late–cutting into our time in a big way. After my 10 minute warm-up, we only had 30 minutes. Billy had me work: triceps, chest, shoulders, glutes, and quads. Then, I had to get to work. Tomorrow morning, is definitely a back day: lat pull downs, reverse lat pull downs, plank rows, bb rows, bb upright rows, one-armed rows. I also need to throw in some calves, to. I still practice my posing, too–can’t get to lax on that.

The diet was poor today. I didn’t get nearly the amount of protein or calories that I was supposed get in. My appetite just wasn’t there. I am going to just eat smaller meals tomorrow and wait it out–I know it’s hormonal.