In the Eye of the Storm!

Still on major GO…Woke with lots of incredible energy and feeling amazing!! Went to the gym on just my protein shake….and still Stormed through the workout!

First Cycle - 4 rounds with 1 minute breaks between rounds to catch breath and drink a little h2o….

2 minutes jumping rope (high intensity….like there is anything else! lmao)

Max push ups off bench

12 Jump Squats

30 Walking lunges with 15lb db’s

10 reps of bb upright row with 55lb bar

10 db military press with 15lb db’s

CYCLE 2: Took 2 minute break in between these and then did 3 rounds of:

2 minutes jumping rope

15 lateral pull downs with wide turn in grip - 80lbs

20 ball crunches weighted with 10lbs

10 C.C. Straight arm leg raises

Taking only 1 minute between these rounds as my recovery time gets better and better!!

CYCLE 3: Did 3 rounds of with 30 second recovery times of:

24 Side step ups on bench with hop in the middle (so very intense)

12 Seated leg curls @ 50lbs

20 Kneeling cable crunches 40lbs of weight

2 minutes jumping rope

I weighed in this morning and was down a full 2lbs!!! WHOOHOOO!! This is working!! When i get to the end of this…there is a veeerrry pretty Victoria Secret bikini that i want to get to take with me when i go overseas to see my bf!! (my little reward for the torture! lol)

The biggest reward, besides making my dream come true….will be being hugged by my two kiddo’s when i come off the stage!! Even just knowing they are there cheering me on!! I think i will cry! I may have to try to focus on something else until i get off the stage! lol. Being able to show them that anything is possible! And that (to quote an amazing actor that the world just lost) ‘A man can change his stars!’

Keep going hard everyone! Dare to Dream!

In the Eye of the Storm

Vanessa

O.k. in Canada when the weather dips to -37C with a -53C windchill we all bundle up, stay inside and only do what is necessary! But today the weather was back up to -27C and people were out walking, the ‘crazy’ joggers were outside jogging again! I keep telling my family and boyfriend that +18C is ‘Canadian Bikini’ weather! lmao.

I woke up this morning with very little energy. A little ‘touchy’ and feeling the effects of the carb deprivation. But i powered through the tuna fish and chicken meals. My workout got delayed until 6pm due to the traffic at the gym tonight. I am SO blessed that i get to workout while i work! lol. I literally am being paid while working out! Can life get any better??? Well…maybe a sponsor would be great too!!

So the workout went like this:

Cycle 1: 3 rounds with 1 minute breaks in between of:

3 minutes jumping rope (high intensity)

30 seconds seated ab twists with 6lb medicine ball

16 jumping lunges

12 reps Overhead tricep extensions 35lb db

30 GHD’s

Cycle 2: 3 rounds with 1 minute rests of:

12 reps Pushups with row OFF the bench with 15lb dbs (this rocked and had the guys staring! lol)

12 reps of Overhead squats with 45lb bb

12 Ball slams

12 Jump Squats

2 minutes jumping rope (high intensity)

Cycle 3: 3 rounds no breaks of:

30 lunges holding 15lb weights

10 Straight arm Captain chair leg raises

2 minutes jumping rope (high intensity until my shoelace came undone and the rope smacked my leg, and i could barely jump anymore and i had to die! lmao) But i did make it through all three rounds!!!

So its officially -37C and a windchill of -53C! CRAZY cold! So cold that 3/4 of the schools are closed for the day, and I kept my kids home from school! If anyone is curious…that is ‘frostbite in less that 2 minutes’ weather!

BUT….Nothing keeps me from workouts! Well…o.k a stomach flu will…but only for a day or two. lol

Todays workout:

5 rounds (90 second breaks between rounds) of:

12 one arm db split snatches

Step ups on bench 12 each leg

2 minutes jumping rope (high intensity)

12 pushups off bench

12 squat press with 45lb bar

Took a 4 minute cool down then 3 sets of:

10 leg raise on Roman chair - straight arm

20 GHD’s

20 Mountain climbers

2 minutes jumping rope (high intensity)

Took another 4 minute break at the end of three sets and then did 3 sets of:

12 Lat pulldowns with wide ‘turn in’ grip at 80lbs

30 seated ab twists with 6lb weight

21’s

This was intense but i have definatly improved my conditioning like 100% since being turned onto the Crossfit and hardbodyfigure workouts!! Now to see if it will take that last bit of bodyfat that i’m struggeling to eliminate before April 5th!

O.k. I officially HATE winter! Its -30C with a -47C windchill and blizzard warnings in the province i live in today! My poor little car will have to be started every hour on the hour while i’m at work tonight or it will never run when its time to go home! CRAZY! I want to be in Texas again!!

 So enough of the whining….my workout today was VERY intense! I did a combination of two workouts…in 40 minutes i did:

3 rounds of:

20 overhead bb squats 45lb bar

20 GHD’s

30 Front Bb squats - 15 on each round i did shoulder raises as well! 45lb bar

30 Captain Chair leg raises

40 Back bb squats

40 Vsits off the bench

AND 3 minutes jumping rope!

Taking 90 second breaks in between the three rounds! Then i took a 4 minute cool off and went back for 2 rounds of

2 minutes jumping rope

Max pushups off the bench

15 ball slams

30 walking lunges with 15lb db

10 Lateral bb raises 35lb bar

10 db shoulder press (with 10lbs lmfao..that was all i could manage by the end of all of this!)

I’m officially wiped and cant wait for American Gladiators to come on at 7!!! Whooohoooo!! GO CRUSH!! I’m lucky that in my job at the gym i can actually turn the tv’s to that channel and inspire other gym members!! lol

O.k. this one is for M.J. who has been making me laugh my a** off since i discovered her quirky sense of humor in her blogs! This is the magical brownie to stick with your diet, not get the ’sugar high’ of real brownies and to keep you on track. BUT…caution: These brownies take about 40 minutes to eat as they are thick and you definatly need coffee or tea to get them down! GOD what we do to get to that ‘Figure competition!’ lol

 4 scoops of low carb Protein Powder

 1 Banana

 1 cup Quick oats

 1/2 - 3/4 c of water

 6 egg whites

 Cinnamon to taste

 4 packets of sweetener

Mix all ingredients in a blender until the mixture is the consistency of pancake or cake mix. Pour the mixture into two medium-sized square tupperware/glad containers and microwave on high for approx 4 and a half minutes. The mixture should rise (approx double) and bake into the consistency of a cake. Recipe makes 4 servings. 1/2 of one cake = one serving!

I actually dont mind eating these! BUT…i did have visions of spreading some Betty Crocker on the top! lmfao! Hope you enjoy!!

O.k. WOW! One day off and back at it hard again today! My body was rested and ready as I was able to push through another intense workout! 40 minutes - 5 rounds of:

12 reps of Pushups with Row - 12lb db

12 Overhead Squats - 45lb bar

20 Ball Slams - 12lb medicine ball (we dont have any heavier ones at the gym…gotta get on the owner to get some!!)

12 Jump Squats

2 minutes jumping rope!

2 minute breaks in between sets! Holy wanna sweat! Try this workout! A hot soak in epson salt and essential oils is gonna feel soooooo good tonight!

My family is full of dancers! From ballet, jazz to tap, belly dancing and even two exotic dancers, everyone can dance! My son is no exception…he was at the gym with me and the song, ‘Soldier Boy’ came on….i was in the weight room cleaning and when i came out to the front of the gym, there he was entertaining all the people on the cardio equipment with his ‘Soldier Boy’ dance! lMAO!! He was SO hilarious!! Everyone was smiling and cheering him! (did i mention there is a real ‘entertainment streak’ in my family too…my grandfather was in the Riverboat Jazz band). We got home and i decided i needed to learn this dance! After all, when i was in Texas they were doing this in the clubs (Canada is slow to catch onto new trends).

It took about 3 attempts and i had it down!! So there we were…my 11 year old son, my 14 year old daughter (she is an incredible dancer and choreographs school projects!) and I, dancing around our living room in sync with each other!! Laughing, cheering each other and having a blast!! They remind me its the little things….the smiles, the laughs, the ability to try new things and be able to laugh at yourself; that matters most in life!! It will be awesome to know in 10 weeks as i stand on stage that they are out there cheering me on!! (tears as i write this).

Yesterday i had the day off from workouts! Which was much needed, my calves were cramping and i was exhausted! I still worked, and because i work at a gym, its VERY hard not to workout on ‘Day’s off’ lmao. But i knew my body needed it! I did manage to have the energy to practice posing last night. Gman was right there encouraging me and telling me that ‘Mom, you have gotten small!’ lol. I’m truly blessed with two strong, amazing and talented little people!! (when i can write through tears i will write about my daughter…who i know i could not have done life without!)

O.k….off to the gym now!! Time to bust a** and keep pushing toward the goal! Have a wonderful weekend all! And remember the little things!!

Today was day five of training on this intense cardio from hardbodyfigure.com! Another figure lady on the site turned me onto this site…and as i was already trying some of Crossfits workouts (my boyfriend turned me onto those workouts) I was able to incorporate this style of training into my routine! The theory behind this style of cardio just made sense to me as a wanna be figure competitor and as a trainer! I love that my body can do this!! I love that i did 5 days straight!! I LOVE THAT TOMORROW IS MY DAY OFF!! lmao! Whooohooo…the only thing i am doing tomorrow is practicing posing!

I am officially wiped after todays workout! Which went like this:

40 minutes - 5 rounds of:

DB 1 arm split snatches 24 reps with a 10lb weight

Step-ups on the bench 12 reps each leg

Jumping rope for 2 minutes

Plyometric pushups 12 reps

Squat Press with 45lb bar

I’m definalty sore and tired now! But…the changes i’m seeing in my body are awesome!! And i’m super happy with dropping 5lbs in 10 days! If this keeps up i will definatly be ’stage ready’ in 10 weeks!!

Back on GO HARD today!! Dispite a week of moodiness and wondering if i’m crazy thinking i will be ready for stage in 10 weeks, i weighed in this morning and discovered another 5lb drop in 10 days!!! Maybe i will make it!! lol That was just the boost i needed to see to jump start my workout this morning!!

35 minutes -  5 rounds of:

3 minutes jumping rope

30 seconds seated ab twists with 5lb weight

16 jump lunges

12 reps Overhead tricep extensions with 25lb db

30 GHD’s

This was CRAZY this morning!! But i was feeling it and loving it!! I pushed through with the thought of being able to kick my boyfriends butt in the gym!! (o.k. ok, i maybe only able to keep up to him…but i would TOTALLY settle for that!!)

At the end of the crazy cardio i did a small back workout consisting of 3 sets of 15 reps of Lat Pulldowns/deadlifts/Dumbbell rows!

As my workouts intensify and my carb intake goes down…the excitement of competiton drives me….but my nerves are definatly starting to get to me! Will i be ready?? Will i get that last bodyfat covering my abs to disappear to a place where i will be a competitor on stage?? My mood has been all over the map this week and i’m feeling for my family and boyfriend as they try to be supportive!! Is the stage worth all this?? Stay tuned for my answer…lol. Do all competitors go through this mental crazy game in the last 12 weeks?? I would love to hear from anyone who has been through this last phase of this crazy sport!!

Todays workout was no less intense than yesterdays!! I’m still super excited and impressed that i am capable of such intense cardio!

In 35 minutes i did 5 rounds of:

12 reps Squat Press with 45lb bar

Lat Pulldowns to failure

DB Bicep Curls 12 reps

3 minutes of jumping rope

3 minutes of a modest run on a 4% incline at 8km/hr

After 5 rounds i then cooled off a little and did my arm workout (which i have posted in past blogs)!

I’m wiped out and definatly emotional!! But push on…posing practice will also happen tonight yet!! Thank you everyone for your words of encouragement!! It really does help!!