Making_A_Change’s BodyBlog

I didn’t get up this morning. I am going to do abs and calves for an hour this evening–probably more. My triceps are really sore, so I would call yesterday a success. I’ve noticed the skin in my lower abs getting loose again. So my body is going through some changes, again. Tomorrow marks the 18/19 week mark for me and I am passed the ‘cleaning up’ phase. It is clean. I have my supplement schedule and this is the point where I try to stay on the straight and narrow. My morning weight was 129 and I was a bit surprised. I am wondering if it is just from being consistent with the post-weight cardio. I think that has been the biggest change so far. I was also surprise because yesterday I had a carb-up with soup and pasta and typically that shows up on the scale the following morning. Who knows. I’ll just keep track and see what happens. That’s part of the fun of preparing. I knew that this time around would be different and that is certainly different.

The Little One watched some female bodybuilding posing with me last night. And I have to say she did those poses with accuracy and had her own little style! She is my Light. She always comments on ‘new muscles’ or a line here and there.

This is such a challenging split for me–the burning just doesn’t stop! I love it, but its tough. This Saturday is 20 weeks out. I have become more regular in my post-workout cardio. I do 15-20  minutes of running or stairmill. I can’t do long long durations of running–I lose what little muscle I have. So I still to the steady from for no more than 20 minutes. The stairmill was a staple for my last prep and I am starting early. I dont lean and make sure to push off using my entire foot. I really feel it in the glutes–they need all the help that they can get. I need to get to the gym no later than 4:30 to ensure that I finish everything. This morning I did:

bb curls (60#)–hard, could do 6-8 reps

bb tricep extension on a flat bench (2 stopping points) (30#)

seated bb curls

tricep kickbacks (ran the rack)

overhead cable extensions

cable curls

Ran for 10 minutes @6.5+mph.

 Everything was for 4 sets and 6-12 reps.

Tomorrow may be a back day–love training back and I throw in some calves. My goals have just been to clean up the diet further (goodbye crackers) and get all of my supplements in. I also am going to go back to writing out my workout plan to be more efficient. In a few weeks I’ll start 2 evening cardio sessions-probably Saturday and Sunday–because I have the time. So I’ll being doing 7 short sessions and two long sessions per week. I’m not to worried about he upper half. I believe that I willa ctually have abs this time! It’s the stubborn lower half.

I did not make it to the gym this morning. It is going to be that much harder during this colder months to get out of the apartment. At least now I know what is coming down the path and can be ready for it. It is going to take that much more discipline to stay on track. I have also noticed that my appetite is off–I’m not as hungry. I am not hungry when I should be. So, that is another thing that I need to be mindlful of.

But I did manage to make it to the gym tonight. It is fine to just do cardio in the evening. I just need one machine for about 30 minutes and then I am finished. But it is a little more difficult to do my supersets in a busy gym. But I think I have mastered the Don’t interrupt me and the Don’t even think about getting in my way face. I did:

one-legged leg presses/calf presses

leg extensions (drop sets)

good mornings

single-leg extensions

and I ‘rested’ with push-ups on dbs.

It was pretty simple and hopefully I’ll feel something over the next few days. This Friday I am 20 weeks out–it is about to get really, really serious.

I had a great workout this morning. I focused on shoulders and abs and tried to go as heavy as I could on shoulders. I just wanted to make it burn. I did a tone of calf raises with various foot placements.

Today, I am 21 weeks out from my second and third competitions. I’ve been reading some of my Prep Blogs and there were so many unanswered questions. So many ‘what ifs’, ‘hows’, ‘whats’ and ‘whys’. And I believed that I would be able to answer those questions easily the next time around. Well, here I am. I have a little more information. I’ve continued to read about competing, visit blogs, stay active on message boards. And most importantly, I’ve gone through it. Now, there are steps that I know I need to take like:

• Ordering the suit (January/February)
• Schedule waxing appointments (three days prior to the first May competition; should be good for the second one)
• Nail appointment (may do acrylic this time so it will last for two weeks)
• Tanning (have to make two appointments; each one day prior to competition)
• Make-up (have to learn how to apply make-up in the event that my friend can’t do one or both of the competitions; but at least I don’t have to purchase anything–just a couple of pairs of eyelashes!)
• Jewelry (got it!)
• Shoes (got them!)
• NPC Card (March to avoid the line during the athlete’s meeting)/ABA Card (need to find out)
• Registration (February/March/August)
• 2x/Day Cardio (starting long and steady at around 18 weeks; I can slow it down depending on what I look like)

That’s just a preliminary list.

I feel confident about the training aspect–I have Billy and I am motivated. And there are always going to be changes in my physique that I am going to want to make. But there are still questions about nutrition. What are the ‘proper’ macronutrients for my goals? What should I be eating? What about prep, now. My body is completely different what will change and what will stay the same. Even with all of the unknowns–I still love the sport. What is it I need to do to improve? There is no monotony, especially when you are working towards that date that starts out so far away and so illusive. It really is a competition against yourself for WEEKS. You choose when, where, and how hard you are going to work. How well are you going to stick to your diet? Are you going to go in for that second cardio session? Then you are placed against others who have been competing against themselves. It is a rush!

I focused on my back today. My legs and glutes are sore from yesterday. I did the usual: lat pull downs, reverse lat pull downs, bent over bb rows, one-armed cable rows, seated rows, seated db flyes. And I worked on my abs. They are actually pretty sore, now. I had two people approach me in the gym. The first man asked me if I was training for anything and we talked a bit about competing. Another woman asked if I worked with anyone and knew who Billy was. She asked me if he was ‘worth it’. Worth it? Don’t get me started. I gave her my Billy-talk and told her it by being consistent and eating clean his methods do work. I felt that I had to say that because there is this belief that if you work with a trainer you will automatically be successful. The truth of the matter is that good trainers give you the tools–but it is up to you to utilize them. There are two parties and each needs to do their part. When you are not at your scheduled session you need to work just as hard as when you are and you need to eat well. Whenever I meet with Billy, he can be confident that I have kept up my part of the deal. I have been in the gym, increased my weights or sets, I have pushed myself, I’ve done any specific moves that he has asked me to do, etc. On my end, I know that he is aware of my goals and is doing the research to get me there.
She has seen me change over the past year. I think she is going to get with him.

I was so happy to have leg day today. Billy wants me to focus on my squats in addition to working on calves three times per week–I’m on it! We did lots of squats to warm up, plie squats (going as high as 160#), hamstring curls supersetted with leg curls and deadlifts. By the time I left, I was done. I had wobbly legs, but it felt good. I am going to feel it tomorrow. Tomorrow I am going to do back and abs, I think. Depends on what isn’t sore. I workout from about 6-8 a.m., I want to devote 20 minutes to some cardio. I am probably going to run to help with the soreness.

I told some of my students that I have competed and they think it’s pretty fascinating. So much so that I got a report that students have been putting apples in the arms of their shirts. Hilarious!

I didn’t train so that meant an evening workout for me. I am not a fan of the evening workout, but on a positive note my daughter could come with me. I did about 1 hour 15 minutes of biceps and triceps. The interesting this is today was the first time in almost a week I was really able to work them–although I could still feel some fatigue. Again, I lost count of sets and reps and just tried to go for the ‘pump’ and fatigue.

bb curls (60#)

db curls (25#)

seated bb curls (60#, 30#)

bb curls-overhand grip (30#)

tricep kickbacks (25#, 15#, 10#)

skullcrushers (30# bb)

overhead tricep press-rope attachment (50#, 60#)

unassisted dips

romanian chair (legs straight, maxed @ 12 reps, 4 sets)

jumping rope

abs (ball touch)

It was a very productive session. Tomorrow I meet with Billy. I think we are going to do legs!–crossing fingers. I can’t do back, chest, or arms so that leaves biceps and abs.

Daughter has taken to pointing out new muscles. While I was getting dressed she said, "Mommy stop. Look at that. Look at that line–that’s a new muscle!" That makes me proud and she takes pride is saying that her mommy is ‘fit’. She is quite into the competition lifestyle. She ‘reads’ Oxygen while using the potty. She likes looking at the diagrams of muscles and has always had an interest in the human body. Maybe she’ll be a trainer. Who knows!

I know I wrote a blog about my leg workout, yesterday, but it’s gone. I did the leg press supersetted with calf presses (90#, 180#, 270#) and db deadlifts (40#). I also did one-legged leg presses with 50#. I am seeing more definition in my glutes and hamstrings. I had to stop early, though. I kept getting a cramp in my left foot. I did at least 8 sets of leg extensions (drop sets from 150# to single leg), leg extensions (I prefer the one that uses one leg at a time but it wasn’t available), and calf raises. I finished off my workout with abs.

This morning I focused on chest on the incline and flat bench: chest press, chest fly, front bb lat raise (standing and seated to a stand for quads). I threw some shoulder presses in there (30#, 25#, 15#). I lost track of sets and reps. I just tried to go to fatigue–I don’t think I am quite there, yet. I do think I can push a bit more. This March marks two years of solid training and 12 weeks left in my contest. Those two personal milestones are pretty exciting!

I focused on back this morning 3-4 sets, 8-10 reps:

Lat pull down (drop sets from 110#); Reverse lat pull downs (drop sets from 80#)

db one-armed row (40#); close-grip push-up w/ db row (10#)

weight assisted pull up (wide and close grip); bent over row (60#)

I need to get up earlier. I’ve been slacking a bit and getting to the gym at 4:45, sometimes 5 a.m. I need to be there by 4:30 to get a full workout and my short cardio in. I feel like the workout was strong, but I wanted to keep going. Tomorrow is a leg day with a focus on quads and calves. I really enjoy doing the single leg presses–I like the burn that is produced. Creating glutes is incredibly hard work. My diet was off today–I hardly ate. I was a long, hard day; but I will do better tomorrow–that is a promise.

Today, I thought I would be writing about my great back workout, instead it ended up being an off day. I ran errands with my daughter and went to breakfast with a friend. Then I cleaned out my car and cleaned up a bit, to get ready to put up the tree. I let it be a loose day diet-wise, as well. I had a sirloin burger on a roll and some potatoes. It was a great meal. And a few bowls of cereal and almond milk. I high carb day, indeed. So, It’s low carb until Wednesday or Thursday. It seems easier to have the low carb days during the week. My work days is so predictable that you have very little choice but to eat your prepared foods at a certain time. I am noticing alot of ’spill over’ in the ab section, again. The flap is fairly big, about 1/4" inch. So, I my body is about to go through some changes. It should be interesting to see what will happens next.

On the competition side, I’ve decided to add one more show for the 2009 season. There is an ABA/INBA show on May 2 and week before The Contras. As a challenge, I am going to do both shows. This particular organization still has the one-piece suit, so it will be great to get another use out of it. This organization also has a T-walk. That should be fun. I have to think about music and posing.  And it should also be interesting to see how I orchestrate two Peak Weeks–depletion, water, tanning, waxing, etc.

Next month I also need to put in my order for my two piece. Originally, I had planned to get the most inexpensive suit and add on to it. But I think I want to spend an additional $100, because after factoring in the purchase of more stones and the time that it takes to put them on it is worth the additional expense and reduced headache.

Tomorrow morning is back and shoulders. With the high carbs from today and my morning oatmeal, I should be able to go pretty heavy.

23 weeks out.