Making_A_Change’s BodyBlog

I am tired. There isn’t much to report other than I am about to begin Peak Week and everything appears to be on schedule. My school is on alert and trying to santitize everything and everybody in response to swine flu concerns. All I can think about is that that would be the last thing I need. I have increased my fats a bit. Thank goodness for almond butter. All I can do is take each day as it comes–eat, train, rest, repeat.

These weeks are going by quickly. And I feel great! I am am dialed in and ready. I am doing more upper/lower workouts during this time and my eating has remained the same. I am working feverishly on my posing and think I have improved my lat spread. I have been doing it in front of a mirror and whenever I am standing for a period of time. This sport has given me so much to look forward to. I am so happy to have found something that I am passionate about! And it only took thirty years. I have even taken a liking to purchasing eyeshadow. I now own at least 20 different colors–a record for me. My daughter and I like to spend our Saturdays practicing in the mirror. I am becoming pretty good at the blending. The hardest part of learning how to use the brushes and creating a shape that looked good on my eye. There in an inexpensive line called NYX that is found is beauty supply stores. The colors are really rich and comporable, I think, to MAC. I also discovered that I prefer matte shadows to shimmery ones. I like gold but just use it as a highlight or to line my lid.

Thursday AM/PM: Off

I was going to workout this morning, but decided to sleep in because some co-workers and I have a job fair to go to. It turned out it was LAST week. I’ll be doing my chest workout this evening and some cardio. In addition to preparing for this competition I am trying to make some life altering decisions. Right now, it is just Phase 1-studying for my PT certification and applying to on-line teaching certification programs are just a few of the things that I am doing. Aside from training (which I love) my life has become a bit stagnant and I need to make more changes.

I have been low carbing it since Tuesday. My morning weight wa 134.8 and its still my TOM. Those are all of the logistics. I am a couple of weeks away from competition and  an super excited. I have switched to salmon a few times when I got tired of chicken. I am going to carb up on Friday in preparation for Billy’s session. This morning I worked legs. I’ll admit I didn’t want to get up, but eventually I did. I spend the bulk of my time on the leg press: leg press, narrow stance, one-legged presses. I can not press heavy weights, right now. I couldn’t do it if I tried, but the goal is to maintain. I supersetted with straight-legged deadlifts and squats. I finished with leg extensions. I spent about an hour at the gym. Later in the week I’ll do legs, again, but focus on glutes, hamstrings, and calves. This evening was an ‘easy’ ride on the upright bike at Level 7. I sent my NPC registration fee in last week. I hope it comes in the mail, soon. I am still playing with my posing and holding poses between sets. I just want to get on that stage and compete. I look forward to it. And I also look forward to eating and training, again. I miss lifting heavier and pushing the limits of what I can do. My appetite has been off for several reasons: it’s hot and my TOM. When it’s warmer, I want to drink, but not eat. And during my TOM I crave more complex carbs which keep me full and I don’t meet my protein requirements. Tomorrow, is an off day. I’ll probably just pose and stretch.

 Tonight, the goal is to be in bed by 10:30.

My quads are still extremely sore. Did you hear my feeble "Yay."? Most of today was spent cleaning and getting ready for the week. I am about the grill some chicken breasts and make my carrot/raisin loaf. I’ve had moderate carbs for the weekend and the plan is to low carb it for the bulk of the week. My TOM weight is 133-134. I should be at 130-131 by the end of the week. I feel so bloated. Yuck. I am pretty much going to focus on posing on my off days. I especially need to work on holding that rear pose. I am off to cook and get the little one to sleep.

My quads are super sore, I was on the verge of cramping up last night. I made sure to eat well for recovery and stretched well. Every time I step it’s a reminder of all of those leg presses. But I trust Billy and in about 4 days I am going to do it again. My body was nice and full today. I hadd nice swollen quads and hamstrings, then my shoulders and biceps were pumped from the workout. I looked in the mirror and my abs were flat and defined. I’m ready. I am ‘coasting’ for the next 20 days. Billy assured me and reminded me to keep eating well, keep my workout schedule (4 days of cardio and lifting, no more than 9 sessions per week). I am really been using my posing as a part of the workout by posing between sets and hold the contractions.

As far as size goes–either children’s clothes are getting bigger to accomodate bigger kids or I’m getting smaller. I am wearing my daughter’s t-shirt and I love the fit. I am going to make a few beef patties and get ready to do cardio later tonight.

"You are trying to kill me."

I jokingly told Billy that tonight. We didn’t get to shoulders, but I don’t know if I could have made it. Let me go back to the beginning. I was dragging. Normally, I am hyped about training, ready to go, ready to lift. I wanted to train, but the body was questioning my intentions. I did abs this morning and some triceps. I kept my weights moderate and my reps high. I go into the gym tonight and I hop on the bike for my warm-up. It was there that I put my head down and started pedalling and self-talking. This is when it matters. This is mind over matter. I am going to be strong. I am going to finish. No excuses. I must have been talking for a while because when I looked up I was at around 7 minutes into my 10 minutes warm-up.

The plan for the evening was a few excercises, 4-5 sets, 20 reps. We spent alot of time on the leg press. The press is an older model. It isn’t smooth like my regular gym–you have to PUSH. We did leg extensions supersetted with squats and squats on tip toes. We did regular presses, shoulder-width stance, narrow stance, and single-leg presses. I swear, it went on forever. I couldn’t escape the discomfort and the burning. I just tried to keep breathing and pressing.  As long as I was breathing I wouldn’t get nauseous or pass out. I made sure to eat well, so I knew that that wasn’t the issue. I had to get that out of my mind and not pysch myself out. We finished everything off with 5 sets of hamstring curls. The exciting thing was that when I pulled the weight up I bumped something hard–it was my glute/hamstring tie-in! There is something there, I felt it. I actually reached back and poked it. That was a very exciting moment. I have 3 more sessions with Billy–2 Fridays and then hopefully we can meet by Wednesday of show week. The focuse is going to be on the glutes, hamstrings, and hams. I feel good about the delts and quads. The calves have even put on some size.  

As soon as I got home, I ate well–salmon, chicken, and salad. I want to work on shoulders and calves tomorrow and do about 20 minutes of cardio and another 20 minutes of posing.

Today was one of those workouts that leave you feeling good. You wonder if you are going to make it–and then you do.

I did abs and triceps this morning and felt good. I am bloated. But instead of my abs being somewhat distended, the skin flap is looser and hangs over the sides of my shorts. And my abs don’t have any definition, even though I know it’s there. Billy said we are doing HEAVY SHOULDERS AND LEGS. And he wrote it in all capital letters, so he’s serious. Given that piece of information, I decided to ingest a few more carbs and calories today to avoid injury and really be able to push through the workout. We have two more workouts, three if we are able to meet by Wednesday during show week. My goals have been to avoid injury this week by increasing my reps and really squeezing out the contractions. We are going to get sushi today. I was going to get a few rolls, instead I am going to have the teriyaki chicken and salmon, no rice, and veggies.

Tomorrow is go time with Billy. My a.m. workout is going to be abs, calves, cardio, and posing. I believe Billy and I are due for legs, but I am going to send him an e-mail to see what he has planned. I’d like to do some abs in the morning. Today’s eats have been great. I’ve been eating kale for my veggies. It’s filling and pretty. My morning weight is still sitting at 129-130 pounds. It feels like my period is coming and I know it’s time, but it’s not here. I am wondering if it’s going to come, at all this month. Next week, I am going to start incorporating more asparagus to help drop water naturally. Unfortunately, I don’t have access to my first Peak Week calendar printout. My personal laptop has decided to go haywire and I’ve been using my work laptop. But Peak Week is going to begin May 2nd!

I did legs, today. I had to lower my weight significantly.

• Leg press (180#), calf press; push ups, lateral raises
• Narrow stance leg press (90#); calf press
• split squats; straight deadlifts
• back extensions

3 sets of 15-20 reps.  

I am finding that I am ready and I am trying to balance staying fed and able to workout with remaining lean enough to make muscles pop. It is a fine line, but I would much rather be here than trying to drop weight. I still have parts that are under construction, but I feel very good about where I am physically and mentally. I partially packed, the suit is being adjusted. I am registered. I am sending off my NPC registration today. I just need to schedule my waxing and tanning. They wouldn’t let me schedule weeks in advance like I wanted to. But that’s fine. I’ll try again in a week. I did posing practed today. A man came into the studio and asked me if I was competing is a fitness contest. I explained what I was doing. He said he watched competitions on ESPN with his 20 year old daughter. He also informed me that I had an audience. Some people who never do cardio decided to do cardio and others were working abs and triceps and doing many sets on the same machine. That sort of made me nervous. But it was good to work through and get that feeling, again. I had to gain control of my body and really focus on the poses, the flexing, and the shapes I was making with my body. This is the point where posing in a swimsuit is best for me. The skin on my lower abs is really loose, so I can see how pushing my hips back helps smooth things out. I can also see if my posing is symmetrical and if certain poses look better on certain sides.

I have an optometry appointment today. I am getting contacts. Let’s see how it goes.