Nicki’s BodyBlog

Ah yes…Cardio…to some degree and context, we all love to hate it!

Performing cardiovascular exercise can be fun and is mentally and physically rewarding in many ways.

However, most people find it a challenge to perform it regularly. Let’s be honest…the main reason is because it can be boring, not as mentally stimulating as, say, lifting weights and to some, feel like a complete waste of time. This leads to a lack of motivation and total abandonment of one of the keys to achieving and maintaining a lean body. In addition, when you are dieting to lose weight or to prepare for a competition, it can be very difficult to pull that extra energy to get that cardio session going.

Sure, not everyone needs to perform cardiovascular exercise to stay lean. Some people are born with the "lean gene" and everyone’s body composition (proportion of fat to muscle) is different, which reflects their metabolism as well. It is important to remember that every body is different, and no two people will require the same amount and type of cardio to sculpt their body the way they desire.

Nonetheless, no matter how much you can "get away with" little or no cardio exercise to have that lean, rock solid physique, everyone should do it not just for their appearance, but for their heart and overall health.

Below are four basic tips that can really make a difference in your efforts to sticking to that cardio! These are concepts that I live by, and have helped me get through many grueling hours of training.

1. TIMING

Try to separate your cardio sessions from your lifting sessions. If you cannot, always make
sure you perform your cardio AFTER LIFTING. Cardio before lifting can hinder your
strength and therefore, negatively affect your strength training.

*Remember…the first 15-20 minutes of cardio is the hardest because your body is  working to generate ample oxygen flow. Once you get past those 15-20, expect a surge of  energy and from there, smooth sailing!

2. DIVERSIFY

Always seek to change up your cardio program as much as possible to keep your body
from getting too acclimated — this can lead to plateauing, just like with a lifting program.
You can do this by changing your cardio modality (treadmill, elliptical, stair climber, bike,
cross country running, sprint training, swimming…), the intensity, duration or the program  setting (if on a machine).

3. MUSIC

Having tunes that naturally motivate you and get your blood pumping can really do
wonders for exercise, especially cardio. Some people cannot afford to constantly update
their music, but it can be a great tool and investment in your performance…especially if
it is a challenge for you to get motivated.

*A good trick that I do is that I try to match my pace with the songs I am listening to. This
can help burn extra calories as some songs will have a faster pace than others, which means
you will be performing a sort of interval-style training. In addition, time will seem to go
by faster because of the mental work required to match your body’s pace with the beat of
the song.

4. JUST DO IT!

When it comes down to it, you have to quit analyzing the fact that you absolutely HATE
cardio and accept that it just has to get done. There is a quote I came up with years ago in
regards to doing cardio that goes a little something like this…
"If you did it when you first thought about doing it, you’d be done by now."
Don’t think about it, just get up, do it and get it over with! You’ll feel much better after,
and in the grand scheme of things, it is only a tiny percentage of your entire day.

I hope these tips help you as much as they help me!

NickiC

So here I am, officially out of pre-pre contest and now officially in pre-contest. Okay, so I have been on track with my different phases since literally the Monday after my competition in May but now I am in the countdown phase based on the calendar!

I am finishing up my first week since I cut my carbs again and boy oh boy, the first week is always the most challenging, feeling run down and lethargic. I know by next week it will level out to that point of functional starvation (lol). I thank my Redline for giving me energy and increased mood!!

I tell ya, after 4 weeks of double daily lifting sessions I can really see a noticeable difference in my upper body. Granted, this is based on the fact that it is very difficult for us women to gain muscle period, and especially when done *naturally*. I found that in order for me to really make my upper body grow in the time restraints I have until my next show, I need to double up and go bodybuilder style. So what that means is, I am doing a total of 2 hours of lifting per day, split up into two sessions, as well as 1 hour of cardio, split up into two sessions, about 5 times per week. Needless to say, by the end of the week I feel like I was hit by a semi! But its great…I am taking the appropriate supplements and find I am recuperating well considering my strict diet and the workload on my muscles. I make sure to take extra B-vitamins and drink an extra 1-2 servings of my Scivation Xtend (BCAA + Glutamine drink mix) and it helps a great deal. This week I totally demolished my lower body, doing hams/calves in the AM and then quads/glutes in the PM PLUS 20 minutes of HIIT on the stairclimber!! THis was on Wednesday, and I still can’t walk right! Maybe that is why my friend has officially labeled me as "the beast". hahaha…

Anywho, still trying to see if there are any last minute spots to work a booth at the Olympia. A friend of mine works in the NPC circuit and is trying to pass on my shots to companies to see if they need/want me. FINGERS CROSSED!*

I am really excited about some great changes to come for my website. I took over rights to my site from my web designer and have a lot more control now…so I am planning on making it more interactive with my clients. THe goal is to create a whole section just for them, where they register with a login and password, and will have their own profile, everything private, and will be able to enter their daily food intake, training when they do so on their own, as well as leave me messages. I am very anxious for this to get up and running so I have better access to my clients through my website, and where they will be accountable for entering their data and keeping themselves on track. I am also working to become an affiliate with several companies to offer sales of products through my site too. It is all a work in progress and will take some time, but I am excited for new changes! I always have really complicated ideas, and they always come with a lot of stress and time, lol, but it will all be worth it!!

Until next time…

NickiC

I can feel and see it…leaning and shaping those muscles and it feels great. I am really taking a much more technical approach to contest prep this time and am finding better methods for shaping my muscles, improving proportion, leaning out and still having just enough carbs to be making gains and improvements. I am proud to say that as a professional in my own right, I still believe that I have a lot more to learn, which I am constantly trying to do not only with overall knowledge but particularly with my own physique.

I am really getting to the nitty gritty of little tricks at challenging myself in my lifting. For one, I find that rep ranges of 10-12 are best for me, in terms of shaping AND leaning, as well as strength. For a while I was sticking to 8-10, but I find 10-12 at failure works best. Here and there I will throw in an extra set of either 8 or 15, just to mix it up. I have been adding ultra concentrated moves as well, to really get that PUMP, as well as drops sets…though I’ve added drop sets here and there for a while now. I give myself a little more rest between sets to be able to get the most out of my lifting, and it has made the world of a difference in my physical results. I stick to 60-90 minutes now instead of keeping it at 30 seconds like before. Also, I try to do double lifting sessions per day at least 3 times per week, to add in extra work on trouble spots. As for cardio, I have switched over to staying in my fat burning zone (about 130 bpm) instead of more intense cardio. Man, let me tell you, it is boring as hell (lol) but it really works when you are trying to hold onto and build that muscle and lean out…at least with myself (and a big population of bodybuilders). I add in HIIT not for the sake of fat burning per se, but I do sprints for lower body shaping.

In other news, I am trying to set up a photoshoot date, since I cancelled the last one. I didn’t feel like I had the "package" I wanted for my next shoot. When prepping, it can be expensive for hair, some wardrobe options, nails, tan, etc. I don’t want to invest in photoshoot prep if I don’t feel 100% with my physique. I think in about a month I should be close to spot on. Hopefully …

I finally found the perfect place to relocate to and I am excited to be moving! I am going to an area that I absolutely love, which is about 30 minutes from where I am now, but GORGEOUS. It is a lot more active of a community, and the property I will be living on has the biking/running trail that runs along the river and lake, literally like 4 steps away! I feel it will be a better place for my spirit. Not to mention it is a lot safer and more ritsy, which means more work opportunities. I am moving in less than 30 days, 2 days after my birthday actually, so time to start packing! Shouldn’t be too bad anyway, I am not a pack rat and everything is organized as it is.

I am really trying to get work at one of the Olympia booths this year, but it doesn’t look to optimistic right now. Either I’m not what some companies are looking for, they have they’re staff, or both…not sure but I am still trying. I just want to be in the action and experience it for the first time. Even better if I can get paid for it!

I know I haven’t posted any pics, and have been mentioning positive changes. I don’t have anyone to take good full body shots of me, since I live alone (boyfriend lives far). BUT, hopefully I will soon enough.

Until next time…

NickiC

PHEW* Well I’m so pleased to report I just broke my plateau and went from 130 to 126 in about a 1.5 weeks. I started doing double lifting sessions AND double cardio sessions. I feel like my arms are definitely taking shape, though my body is flippin BEAT at the end of the day. It’s a good thing though…I need my rest and at least now I am able to fully sleep, now the only problem is I never feel like I sleep enough! You can never win ey?

Things in my personal life are getting better. Day by day, I’m focusing on the most important thing — my overall health, inside and out. Part of this is having faith and giving in to the good and the bad that will occur regardless of my decisions. Just accepting all that comes my way and trying to stay on top of the game. I am fixing to go to the Laguna Seca races this weekend, and will drive up tomorrow. I am really excited, it will be lots of fun and a nice change. I don’t get out much as it is, and I don’t think I have truly done anything for the 4rth of July in years. Not to mention I get to see my honey   He doesn’t live near me…

So, have to pack up all my food and supplements, and I’m going to make sure to bring my running shoes so I can hopefully take an early morning run while I’m there. We are camping out at the camp site at the raceway and will be there from Thursday through Sunday. I will take care of my Thursday  AM workout so that means I just have to do some cardio later that day and then Friday I might just go oldschool and do a bajillion pushups, lunges/squats and dips. Maybe if there is a sturdy branch from a tree I can do some pullups too. I will naturally be the only person trying to workout at the campsite amongst beer drinking biker fanatics, but I don’t mind. Gotta do what I gotta do

I’m in the process of getting another cert, so I’ve been hitting it hard to get it done. It will be as a Specialist in Performance Nutrition. I finished reading the 300 page book (less than half the length of my CFT text) and now I just have to complete the workbook, research studies and then exam. My goal is to finish in 2 weeks max.

So that is my update for now. Progress is under way, building and leaning and I am thankful

In terms of physique progress, I have seem some great changes.

My arms are building and cutting, which is great. I have been putting in extra work on my weak areas (shoulders, calves especially) and after one week I can see a big difference. As far as diet goes, I am doing more of a carb cycle, having 1-2 high days (~100 g) and non lifting days I only have carbs in my first meal (20-30 g). The other days I stay at about 60 g carbs daily. Really helping with metabolism and giving myself a day or two to glycogen store since I’m lifting so much. Keeping my cardio intense, I can see a big change in my efforts to lean out as well as feeling a general cardiovascular benefit. I feel I am on a good track being 20 weeks out from the Sac show, so long as I keep on track with training and diet, changing things up every couple weeks.

My personal life has been very rough. I find every day to be an emotional struggle, and it seems all of my mental AND physical energy is used up in my training, leaving me drained. Sometimes I feel that the true test in personal strength and power with regard to training is being able to accomplish your fitness goals even when your personal life seems to be crumbling at the bit. In essence, I am depressed. I wish I wasn’t here again, but I have come to realize some major mistakes I’ve made and things I need to face, so my healing is not in vain. We are responsible for the repercussions of our choices, and I have always been one to want to grow and learn from my mistakes to be a better person. So, I am working really hard to stay on top of my game, even though I am depressed and stressed out. It’s unfortunate because when you feel in such a way, training hard and losing fat becomes much harder in many ways.

I know many people do not like to post any blogs regarding anything else but fitness related topics, but I feel it is necessary to incorporate the other parts of my life, to show that fitness is not just an exclusive part of your life but rather, a part of your life that intertwines with everything else.

I will keep updated on progress in all aspects…

I officially started training on Monday. I still had a little discomfort in my throat, but the strep virus was pretty much gone and I think what was left over was some good old northern Cali allergies! I told myself I would get back in the gym once my antibiotic pack was done…okay, so I trained on the last official day I took it but can you blame me??? After almost an entire week without lifting a dumbbell or cardio I was about to go crazy. Thankfully I actually lost some fat during my sickness, which gave me a little jump start (hehe).

Last night I slept more than 5 hours so I am SO relieved about that. I also started this new fat burner on Monday and my Lord this stuff is really working after only a couple days. It does wonders for my appetite — I actually have to force myself to eat and it reduces my sugar and salty cravings like nothing I’ve ever tried. That and I feel like it is actually helping me burn fat, not just eat less. It is also helping me get rid of water (without dehydrating of course). It usually takes a lot for me to lose water. We’ll see if it continues to help…

I have my photoshoot in 2 weeks so I am officially in Ketosis mode! Exciting huh? lol. I cut salt, egg whites and whey protein, am water loading and today will start going to the sauna. That and my dandelion root So my training/nutrition plan looks like this:

3:30 am — Phenterfein (fat burner), L-Arginine (powder form mixed with water)

4 am — 5 oz. chicken , 1/3 c oats, multivitamin, EFAs, Vitamin C, Vitamin E

5 am — BCAAs + L-Carnitine

~~ 5:30 am Lift + cardio + sauna~~

7 am — BCAAs, L-Carnitine, 5 oz. chicken, 1 small banana + 1 c berries

10 am — 5 oz. chicken, veggies

12:30 pm — Phenterfein #2

1pm — 5 oz. chicken, veggies

4pm — 5 oz. chicken,  veggies

6pm — 5 oz. chicken, veggies, multivitamin, EFAs, Vitamin C

7pm — ZMA + Alri Lean Dreams

And for everyone who asks, I cut out all protein sources except chicken because chicken has the least amount of sodium and on top of that, I buy the Foster Farms no sodium added chicken breasts. My body responds best to that in terms of water and leanness. I could maybe have some white fish but I’m more partial to the feathered animal

Off to the gym!

If I hadn’t mentioned it before, one of the things I hate the most in life is when I get sick. I hate being sick more than anything, feeling so useless and yet in pain…but even more is the fact that I have to put my training on hold when I was on such a roll. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does it hits real hard.

HOWEVER…I know I need to suck it up, DEAL and HEAL. I finally got some antibiotics yesterday afternoon and I hope to be better come Monday. It is a 5 day pack.

On the bright side, I don’t have a fever anymore which is a VERY very good sign.

Now, about the next figure comp business…

After speaking with a bodybuilder friend of mine, I decided not to do the August show in Anaheim and just do either the San Fran or Sacramento show in October/November. Not only will both of them be local, whichever I plan to do, but he said they are both pretty big shows. I am following the "Go BIG or Go HOME" concept with competing—either I’m going to have some real competition at a  big show or I won’t bother. I am not concerned with placing at this point, but I found from the last one, you learn a lot more when you have experienced competitors next to you. I know a lot of women who pick the smaller shows because they want security knowing they will get top 3 when there are only 2 other women competing against them! I think it is just a waste. Unless you are going pro, why are you concerned with winning or placing if you are not really up against good competition? All in all you should be trying to look as good and ready as possible, YOUR absolute best, not your competition. Like I said, that is, unless you are trying to go Pro…

So, that leaves me at around 20+ weeks out which is nice. I am still going to lean down as planned right now and try to maintain for a while and possibly add a little mass in the mix (though I’m not expecting massive gains).

One thing to shoot for is for the fourth of July weekend. I’m going to go to the Laguna Seca motorcycle races which falls on that weekend, and I will be with the love of my life and his friends. I’ll be honest, I want to look HOTT!!! I want to walk around the filled with soft, skinny fat (and some all around flabby) booth girls showing them what real women should look like! hehehe…I know, not totally like me to be trying to show up anyone, but it still feels good to know these makeup plastered double-D augmented soft girls don’t even compare to the hard work required to get a lean, muscular body. That and I want to drive my honey crazy! He doesn’t live local to me, and we might not be able to see each other until the races. I figure its a nice healthy motivation!! lol

So, that’s about 4 weeks away and I already put together my diet and training schedule for those 4 weeks (NOT to exceed 4 weeks! lol) once I am healed up from this strep throat crap…

*TRAINING SCHEDULE*

~Phenterfein #1 (fat burner)~

4AM — 1 1/4 c egg whites, 1/3 c oats (dry)

~Lift + 30 min Cardio~

7AM — 1.5 scoops protein powder, 1 banana (shake)

9AM — 5 oz. chicken, veggies

~Phenterfein #2~

12PM — 5 oz. chicken, 100 g sweet potato

~30 min Cardio~

3PM — 5 oz. chicken, veggies

6PM — 5 oz. chicken, veggies

I will do my 5 days lifting split, cardio 60 min every day. On the days I do not lift (Sat/Sun) I will cut out the sweet potato at 12 pm.

Many people ask me why I don’t add in other sources of lean, healthy protein like fish instead of just chicken (aside from AM egg whites). Well, while there are several reasons, the main one is that I actually do love chicken above any animal protein! I always have, even as a kid. When we’d go out to dinner, even when I was a fatty fat, I would always get chicken over a burger or steak any day. Granted, back in those days it was FRIED or BBQ chicken, but you get my point Also, I get Foster Farms no sodium added chicken, and when comparing that to other sources of protein, it has the lowest sodium content per ounce. I noticed during my last contest prep, I cut out even my egg whites the last 2 weeks and was having straight boiled chicken no sodium, and I totally noticed the difference. It just works for my body and I follow that. Also, I don’t know about the rest of you who eat a lot of fish, but when I am out and about going to train clients and such, packaged fish is not a pleasant smell, especially on your breath! Yes I have a little toothbrush with me, but there’s just something about fish in tupperware that not only smells up my car but makes me feel like I smell like fish too! Chicken isn’t the best either with odor, but not like fish.

Anywho, that’s it for now. I appreciate those who take the time to read my nonsense

I have no idea what I have right now, possibly strep throat or the flu, but I feel absolutely miserable. I never get sick, but when I do, it is usually when my immune system is down right before that lovely time of the month. A couple days ago I started to feel sock-head-like and my throat hurt, but I thought it was because I slept with my mouth open. Then yesterday I took some of Cellucor’s M5, which in the past has always pumped me up a lot for my training, and I was stumbling through my workout. That should have been my indicator that it was more than allergies going on, but I thought it was because I was under-rested and comp dieting. Last night I woke with an insane fever, sweating profusely and chills beyond belief. I took some aspirin and went back to bed. I trained one client once I felt I could drive, but on the way home I felt very woozy. I went straight to bed shivering and slept several hours. I feel slightly better now, no chills anymore so I’m assuming the fever broke. On top of all that, my stomach has been upset all day, but I think I know why.

I hate being sick, but I try to look at getting sick as an indicator that I need to reevaluate what I am doing. Sometimes I find that I am sick when I am stressing too much, not resting enough or training just a tad too hard without proper recuperation. Maybe I look too far into simply catching an illness going around, but I always try to take responsibility for the things that happen to me and my body, because then I feel I am in control of my body — not the other way around. It’s mostly a mental thing.

In my signature, I say that in order to be in control of your body, you must listen to it. While you cannot completely control all the processes, you can control many of the outcomes when you listen to it, nurture it and understand it. No one’s body is the same, no one diet leans everyone out, bulks everyone up or agrees with one’s digestive system the same. Just because something is healthy doesn’t mean everyone should eat it. The same goes for training.

So for me, I know that for one I’m training a lot and not resting enough lately. That didn’t single handedly make me sick, but it predisposed my body to fall short to the virus in the environment. As for my stomach, I KNOW for a fact that my body does not like a high fat diet, even if I am on a low carb cycle. For me to lean out, I need to eat low carbs and low fat to really drop the body fat AND not have tummy issues. Honestly, I would rather feel more hungry than be having an upset stomach all day and for that, I need to just honor what my system tells me is best.

I hope to be feeling better tomorrow, but I won’t push the training until I feel 100% again. Can’t give up, just have to push through and not let it get to me

I have officially started waking up super early with hunger again…yep, that’s my indication that my body is eating away at the fat

I am excited for the next show, and just hope I come in a lot leaner than my last one. Haven’t measured bodyfat, but I have dropped 5 lbs in less than 2 weeks, so I’m happy about that. Let’s keep the progress coming!! I have a better handle on things this time, knowing exactly what will work for me at the different phases of contest prep.

Training has been awesome! I have kept up with my cardio every day and find that lifting 5-6 days per week really makes a difference — especially since I am doing lunges and jump squats between every superset, not resting more than 20 seconds between sets. Last time, I was only doing 3-4 days of lifting and didn’t do all the extra lower body heart rate jumpers like I am this time. I find this to be the best for my body, and hopefully my glutes will lean out the way I want them to…or at least more than last time — that’s really all I can shoot for: Improvement!

Luckily my abs are my strong point and are the first thing to lean and pop when I’m cutting, which is motivating.

I am really curious how things are going to come together the second time around. I am trying not to think about it 24/7 like I did for the last show, but I just can’t help it! I am so impatient and I hate it. Like my mom always said, "Nicki wants everything done yesterday, not tomorrow!" It is so true. Here I am feeling like I started comp dieting again for a while and it’s only been less than 2 weeks! lol.

I just hope more opportunities arise in time…I would love to be able to work at a booth at the Olympia this year, though I don’t think it’s going to happen. If anything, I wish I could just go and be present there, experience the Olympia in all its glory, but I don’t have the finances to get myself down there. I was told I should advertise myself as the makeup artist I am for the show which could pay my way there, but I have no idea where to go and who to contact. Who knows, anything can happen

Business is alright, wish it were better but there just isn’t much going on in Sacramento these days. I have been contacted a lot in Southern California for training and know that had I stayed, I would have so many more clients than I do here. BUT, I wanted to be closer to family and who knows, maybe in time I will end up in SoCal again. It’s alright, I’m surviving! I’m looking into condo’s in a more upper class neighborhood which might be a better place to relocate (for business) once my apartment lease is up in August.

Anywho, that is my update for now, and I am going to go get at my cardio soon.

Ta Ta For Now!

NickiC

Alrighty…

After my show, I originally said I wanted to take some time to bulk, take things month to month and see how I develop. I sat down and really thought about it, and if I am going to bulk, I need to REALLY plan out 4-5 months to truly build. I already purchased my NPC card and at $85 for the year, I really should just take advantage of it and do as many shows as I can before the year is up — not for the sake of placing or winning per se, but just for practice. Granted, it would be nice to win, but I’m being realistic here…I really do need to build up my arms more (though I have tried like you wouldn’t believe) to even think about a win in women’s open figure class A — a really hard class to be in. That and I seriously need to improve my posing! Practice, practice, practice. THEN, I will start bulking in the winter time, probably about November - March/April and then start leaning out again.

SO…I decided on two shows (at most) to complete this year — August 15 in Anaheim, CA and October 10 in Hayward, CA (same exact location as my first show). The good thing about the August show is that not only is it a week and a half after my bday (Happy Birthday!! Chicken and spinach anyone??? lol) but it is also before I begin the fall semester of school. The entire spring semester this year was spent in contest prep…which only caused additional stress on top of the normal contest prep anxiety.

The Anaheim show is 11 weeks away, and I started dieting 2 weeks ago. I learned a lot about contest dieting and training last time and what works for my body. I am definitely going to do things different this time around. Here is my workout and diet plan for the next 11 weeks:

*Training*

I am lifting 6 days per week, super high intensity with lunges, jump squats and mountain climbers between sets of everything to keep my heart rate up, and no resting longer than 15-20 seconds.

Monday - CHEST
Tuesday - BACK
Wednesday - SHOULDERS
Thursday - BIs/TRIs
Friday - GLUTES/HAMS/CALVES/ABS
Saturday - Off
Sunday - FULL BODY

CARDIO

I usually stick to the ButtBlaster (stair climber) because it keeps my heart rate up, but on the lower intensity days I will sometimes get on the elliptical. Monday through Friday and Sunday I always do cardio right after I lift.

Monday - 30 min
Tuesday - 20 min HIIT
Wednesday - 30 min
Thursday - 20 min HIIT
Friday - 30 min
Saturday - 45 min
Sunday - 45 min

*Diet*

NOW - 8 weeks out:

Meal 1: 1/2 c oats, 1 1/4 c egg whites
–Train–
Meal 2: 1.5 scoops protein, 1 c strawberries, 1 small banana
Meal 3: 5 oz. chicken, 100 g sweet potato
Meal 4: 5 oz. chicken, 100 g sweet potato
Meal 5: 5 oz. chicken, 1 Tbsp Almond butter, veggies
Meal 6: 5 oz. chicken, veggies

Total Cals: 1,480

WEEKS 8 - 4 Out:

Meal 1: 1/2 c oats, 1 1/4 c egg whites
–Train–
Meal 2: 1.5 scoops protein powder, 1 c strawberries, 1 small banana
Meal 3: 5 oz. chicken, 1 Tbsp Almond butter, veggies
Meal 4: 4 oz. chicken, 100 g sweet potato
Meal 5: 5 oz chicken, veggies
Meal 6: 4 oz. chicken

**At this point, I will do 4 days 30 min cardio (both moderate and HIIT) and 3 days 60 min (split in two sessions)**

Total Cals: 1,330

WEEKS 4-1 Out:

Meal 1: 1/2 c oats, 1 c egg whites
–Train–
Meal 2: 1 scoop protein powder, 1 c strawberries, 1 small banana
Meal 3: 4 oz. chicken, veggies
Meal 4: 4 oz. chicken, veggies
Meal 5: 4 oz. chicken, veggies
Meal 6: 4 oz. chicken, veggies

Total Cals: 1,000

**At this point, I will do 5 days 60 min cardio (split in two sessions) and 2 days 30 min**

I find that my body is responding a lot faster since I started dieting down again, after my 2 weeks post comp (very clean eating, just A LOT). I do feel like I gained some muscle in the past 3ish weeks, especially my legs (but that is normal for me). My arms a a little more full, but I’m not expecting much. My goal is to lean my glutes out as much as possible to balance me out. If I’m going to small and lean, at least I need to be balanced!

I will try to keep an update of progress. As for now…off to train!