Making_A_Change’s BodyBlog

My legs are so sore, and so stiff.  I just want to sit here and not move! EVERYTHING hurts–calves, quads, hamstrings, and glutes. Yesss. Crab walks are a keeper! If I go into the gym for just abs tonight, that still counts as an ‘off day’, right? I ended up doing legs on my chest/tricep day, so I am actually going to do chest tomorrow morning, followed by 30 minutes of cardio. I starting working with my friend and co-worker, today. She was ready. We met last week. She logged her foods (like I asked), we consulted, laid out our schedule, and made a plan. I took her through the workout that I did yesterday, modified. All I used were 2 1/2# plates and I whooped on her: crab squats, jumping jacks, iron crosses, shoulder presses/raises, abs (alternate toe touches), v-sits, decline bb chest/shoulder press, and bicep curls. We kept the reps high for fat burning and she really liked it. I definitely wanted to find that medium between challenging, feeling worked, and learning her body. I learned about old injuries, range of motion issues. It is a weird state that I got it–it was like she was there, but your mind is moving a mile of minute. I corrected form, reminded her about contracting her abs/head up/breathing, foot/hand position, asking questions, etc. It was a rush and alot of fun! And I think the amazing part is that this person trusts you with their body and all you can think about is making it better than when you started. Although, you can control what the other person does on their own time, I certainly feel a sense of obligation. I just ask for commitment.

We are going to meet bi-weekly. One of the things that I also being careful of is recognizing that I also have a full-time job and other obligations and have to be careful with my time and keep some balance. But I do like getting some practice! Afterall, she will be my first testimonial!

This morning was plyos for the legs: crab walking (10# plate)–great!, box jumps (3 variations); leg extensions, calf raises (3 variations); froggies, bicycles, toe-touches. I did 3 sets of 25 reps and 50 reps for abs. The ab work at the end burned like crazy! I was in and out in about an hour. I really liked the crab walk across the floor; I felt it directly in my glutes and even in that tie-in area. I’d like to use a 25# plate next time, now that I’ve done the movement. I have a couple more leg days planned this week.

Tomorrow, is my off day. I may just do abs. but I am going to meet with my friend and take her through what I did today. I am going to write it out and see how it goes in the morning! This is going to be fun!

I am on a mission, an ‘ab mission’. I hit them for a full hour–high reps, 3 sets.  This is a little bit different from what I have done. it you con’t try something different you can’t expect different results. There is a saying that goes something like that. I followed that with 20 minutes of running on the cardio. I am going to be running 1-2 times per week and just keep cardio at 20-30 minutes several times per week to keep my bodyfat in check. I had a morning weigh-in of 130. A few days ago it was 133, so I think everything is going back to normal in terms of swelling, bloating, etc. As long as I stay between 130-134 (this is a rough estimate, for now). I am going to have a nice slow cut. I have set up my calendar to chart my plan of action as far as maintenance and cutting.

Another quiet day…it doesn’t get much better.

I guess I have come out of the dungeon, so to speak. I workout alone. The thought of having a workout partner doesn’t sit well with me. I like to go into the gym, plug my ears, and get into that all familiar space of breathing, beats, burning. I like it. Yesterday, Billy invited me to his Saturday workout group at some stairs nearby. I was honest, and told him I wasn’t the best at ‘working with others’. In fact, even my work evaluation states that one of my ‘areas for growth’ is collaboration. So, do you see the theme? I’m a loner, which is probably why I took to prep so well. I don’t mind being in quiet spaces or not talking or being alone; I prefer it. I took Billy up on his invitation and I a glad that I did. I didn’t plan on working out, rather, merely observing. But I hit the stairs pretty hard. The group meets every week I may go on alternating Saturdays. But I did meet some very nice people including one woman that I’d love to workout with. And SoontobeEyeCandy was there. She has figure ambitions and I am really excited about watching her journey unfold. I have alot to share–more than I thought I did. Today, I’ll cook some chicken and do some laundry. It will be a quiet day. I may do abs, tonight. Billy has sworn that we are going to hit that stage with abs. I am willing to do the work and he has the tools.

This morning’s workout was terrific. Slow and easy cardio (4% incline, 3.8 mph). My body got nice and warm. I just focused on breath, stretching. The interesting things is that I was aware of my glutes the entire time. I even reached back and poked them. They feel alot firmer–even the tie-in. That is promising. After cardio, I did abs. I have increased the frequency and the volume. I have done one things consistently and while my abs have improved over the last two years, it’s time to try something different. This next 12 week period is the perfect opportunity to experiment with more volume. I may be one of those people who needs to do them more than 2x a week.

I also kept the workout light because I am meeting with Billy. I am going to recommend that we do a circuit and light weights. My strength isn’t all there and I don’t want to risk injury. I hope by next week, I’ll be back to abuot 80%. It’s an ego-buster not to be able to lift like I know I can.

I’ll be working with a co-worker for the next few weeks. She is getting married and my gift to her is to help her with her diet and training. So, we are meeting today to go over some parameters–like duration, parameters, schedule, etc. It should be good experience for me. I do wonder sometimes if I’d make a good trainer. Because I think my patience would be tried. I’d want everyone to love this as I do and, of course, this wouldn’t be the case. Iwant to a ssure that everyone is successful, but whoever I am working with has to want it, too. I am looking forward to dabbling n training and I’ll definitely blog about it. I anticipate another struggle for me will be understanding that not all of my ‘clients’ want to be ‘hard’. I like that and think vascularity and striations on a woman is beautiful. But, many people don’t share this opinion and want to be ‘toned’. I realize I’ll have to refrain from saying, "Why don’t you want capped delts and separated quads?!!!", and listen to what their goals are. Afterall, I didn’t start off wanting those things, either. Looking, back my version of a ‘150 pound-Size 10 Me’ was actually a softer one. I have to keep my own journey in mind, my own trepidations, challenges, and notions about bodybuilding. That’s what I have to remember and stay in touch with.

Tonight’s workout with Billy felt great. Even though my lifts aren’t quite where they were I still got a great pump. We did 3-4 sets and high reps (15-20): lat pull downs-90 degree variation/bicep curls (under and over)/cable shoulder presses; pull ups/lat pull downs; radial seated shoulder press/db curl/ seated bb curl. My lats and traps were on fire! He has we are really going to be giving my abs, calves, and biceps some extra attention in preparation for October’s show. It felt good to train, again. Tomorrow, I am going to do light legs and then meet Billy and his other clients to run stairs.

I haven’t hit my legs in over a week. It is going to feel good to get them pumped. I didn’t get to them the other day. I’ve eaten my chicken and spinach and I have about 32 more ounces to drink before bed.

I did abs this morning. It was short and sweet. The little one and I have enjoyed getting up late. But that ends (somewhat) next week. For the next two weeks, we need to get back on schedule. The baby starts kindergarten and I would like to mentally extend my vacation by giving myself more hours in the day and getting up early, again. It makes sense to me! Tomorrow will be my first session with Billy in over a week. I would say my strength is at about 60%. My evening weight is 133. I must have been really, really light last week. I took my 12.5 week out pictures for the SF Championships and I find it so amazing that even with increased calories and carbs, my obliques are clearly visible and my back has more definition. Maybe I need to include sushi and (Trader) Joe’s Oh’s in my prep! I’ve noticed that my appetite isn’t particularly strong, right now. My energy is also fluctuating throughout the day. I ate a few more carbs, today. And, I just don’t want chicken. I’ll eat it. But I don’t want it.

I am going to get to bed so I can get to the gym early–just 30 minutes on the stairmill. Or maybe I’ll try out the new elliptical!

It’s funny how things come together. You can call it fate, The Universe, a blessing, or luck. It has been great to hear from people saying that they actually were at the San Jose show. What I didn’t count on was that a local female bodybuilder would be at the show and her husband would be one of the judges. On another message board, she left me some positive feedback about my presentation and overall ‘package’. I was really flattered because she does what I want to do and her eye is probably more critical than your average spectator. I began to do some research on her. I read her bios, went to her website, looked at her videos, listened to interviews, and looked at photo and after photo. She’s the real deal. At a good friend’s suggestion, I contacted her about working with me. I had nothing to lose. She responded the same day.  As it turns out, she is taking the season off because of injuries and is a posing coach. We have exchanged a couple of e-mails and I am looking forward to connecting with her at the San Francisco Championships–she’s going to be there. And I have complete faith in this. Every step of the way, there has been someone or something that I has propelled forward me in some way. Whether it be a boost in my confidence, a conversation, a meeting, some advice. For example, when I was preparing for my first competition and wondering where and how to get a ‘competition tan’ I end up meeting my tanner who was looking for begin spraying competitors and asks if I’d like to test a new color! The color turned out to be Liquid Sunrayz, an increasingly popular competition color. It is the only color I have tried and the only one I will use.  

This experience is no different. I expressed to her that bodybuilding is my next personal endeavor and I even told her the date that I wanted to make my debut. I understand that the amount of muscle that I can gain is minimal, but I do think I can get ripped and have a balanced physique. And I do believe that, with proper coaching, I can pose. I already have a concept that I would like to develop over the next 8 months! So, we will see how this unfolds.

I went to the gym with the little one this mornign and I was going to do abs and legs. The gym is set up so that I can look down into the children’s play area during my warm-up. I watch my baby jumping in the jumper and running around. Then, I notice her sitting off to the side. My gut tells me to go down and she is on the verge of tears. She says she is having difficult breathing. She’s asthmatic, sometimes, intense play  triggers an attack or just alot of phlegm. Either way, she gets shaken up when she begins to cough. I calm her down and we come home.

So, I am going to go back to the gym tonight, after she goes to sleep. It happens–you make adjustments and move on. Again, it’ll be light weights and high reps, this week. Ultimately, my goal is to maintain and refine. That is what I have to remember. I love this!

I’ve had my cake and ate it, too. I’ve had fruit and enjoyed the fruits of my labor. I’ve eaten without weighing my food or calculating calories. I am drinking water and looking healthy, again. I went to the gym tonight for a quick upper body workout using light weights and high reps. The amount of strength that you lose during prep is significant. But I did get a really nice pump, especially in my delts. Tomorrow, I will be getting up early for some leg work, again, I’ll be doing light weights and high reps. I have also decided to structure my eating, again. I just don’t feel comfortable going commando with the food. I needed it to recover, but I also want to make sure that I am back on schedule and ready for October. I am also noticing that I am always hungry or looking to eat. Before that gets out of hand, I’m going to reign it in.

I am going to put myself at 1600 calories, for now. I’ll make adjustments over the next week or so depending on my workouts. I don’t want to go too high. I also considered that I am not doing double cardio and burning as many calories. Another consideration, is that I am refining what I have. But I do need to increase calories and carbs, otherwise I will have nothing to cut. I am going to be doing abs more frequently and going heavier on hamstrings and glutes. I am estimating that I will cut at around 8-9 weeks out.

I know that the following worked for me:

• water loading (2 gallons on Monday and decreasing my 1/2 gallon)
• double cardio (around 30-45 minutes in the morning post-weights, 45+ minutes in the evening)–>may not need to do as much if weight doesn’t increase significantly–>will not be doing this until around 8 weeks out; 3-4x week
• slowly increased cardio to 6 times/week at around 5 weeks
• lowered cals to around 1300, carbs lowered, increased protein
• running on an incline was effective for me
• I used Expel at 7 days out, may try 8-9 days.

I want to try eliminating fruits and using extracts as I get closer to competition.

While at the gym, a man walks over to me while I am doing bicep curls and says, "Congratulations!" I looked perplexed, and then I say, "You were there?" He says, "Yeah, and I saw you bring home the hardware!". I smiled. That was a really neat moment!

I am feeling pumped, focused, and ready for the next challenge. I can’t wait to see what lessons this prep holds.

It doesn’t get much better than reading the latest Muscle and Fitness and soaking my feet in preparation for a manicure. Yes, I could go to someone, but they are never aggressive enough. And really, this is like one of those situations where someone would clean their house before having someone clean it. I had my spraytanning appointment this afternoon. So far, I have been to Derrick three times: October 2008, May 2009, and now July 2009. He has had an interesting perspective, to say the least. He has seen me between shows–7 months between the first two and about 8 weeks between the second and third show. He comes into the room and starts spraying "Wow! You have definitely leaned out for this show! I’m not doing as many passes is some areas." I am thrilled! It is amazing to see the difference a few coats of tanner makes. Everything is so even and brown–it’s beautfiul!

I said I was going to play it by ear as far as the ‘carb up’. I had my usual oats this morning, so that is hardly a variable. I had 1/4 cup of yams with my second meal. I decided to just watch how my body fills out because I just started my period. There was a thread on Siouxcountry.com that address nutrition and prep. Someone asked about what do to for prep weak. The answers and reponses were varied. But the moderator of the thread asks something to the effect of: Do you like how you look? If so, why make drastic changes. So, that is where I am, today. I looked in the mirror and appeared to be lean–good lines, quads showing, delts separated. My period came today, which means I could be holding extra water today or even tomorrow. Either way, extra carbs may not be a good idea. This is what happened to me in May! Ha!–I’m learning!

Contest prep has general guidelines–that is all they are. There is no set way to prepare. There are things that are proven most effective, but the combinations are different: double cardio/no carbs, carb loading/drop sodium, water depletion/no carbs, etc. This time water depletion, double cardio, and low carbs, and running worked for me. I know I need to work on safely lowering calories. Now, I’ll probably try those things in October. It’s fascinating.

I am going to glue on my nails and watch a movie. When I wake up it’ll be show day!