Speak it, believe it, achieve it!

Heading out the door for cardio and abs. It’s a non workout day, but I want to hit 157 lbs. for this Wednesday’s a.m. weigh-in and that’s apparently going to require an unscheduled workout!

Did you exercise today?

Do you need an uplifting story to brighten your day? If so, read this.

So I’m looking for 157 to stare up at me from the digital scale’s LED readout on Wednesday. I think I’m looking at a plateau however and so I’m playing a game or a trick on myself. Maybe. Not sure if that’s what it should be called, but it’s definitely maintaining my interest in counting those calories.

Oct. 3 Update        :
Hit 157 this morning. Barely. Actually spit like a high school wrestler cutting weight for a match, clipped my fingernails, and took my glasses off (they gotta weigh at least an ounce, right?), but I hit it. This morning I’m “eating like a king” with a full cup of oatmeal and a full cup of nonfat strawberry yogurt. I had ramped down from 1405 to 905 calories during the week and did about an hour of cardio last night in anticipation of this morning’s Wednesday Weigh-in. It really is like a game, but I think I’m about at my limit. Not sure if 155’s a possibility or if I even want to reach that weight. Otoh, my abs are not where I want them.

Wednesday, October 3 marks the end of the sixth week of my current eating plan and what I’m doing as I approach that date is reducing my calorie count by 100 calories each day, so 9/27’s count was 1405, yesterday’s was 1305, and I just ended today with a bowl of broccoli topped with chili powder and three teaspoons of salsa for a total of 1205 calories. Sunday’s target will be 1105, Monday I’ll shoot for 1005 and then Tuesday will be 905.

I’m motivated to maintain the food intake so I can hit my goal number of 157 lbs. on Wednesday morning. The overall goal is to reduce my bodyfat percentage thus achieving a more ChickenTuna-like midsection. Or in the spirit of the Ms. Olympia competition an equally impressive junior Iris Kyle or Dayana Cadeau set of abs.

And with that set of abs in mind, I’ll state that I’m not only following a specific and controlled eating plan, but also lifting three days a week as well as completing cardio five days a week. Ever hear of a fire triangle? Maybe this is the fitness triangle. Instead of air, heat, and fuel, it’s food, exercise, and cardio. I’d like that better if I had fit the word consistency in there somehow. ;)

What has gone before:

8/22: 1329 (Wednesday a.m. bodyweight: 172 lbs.)
8/23: 1078
8/24: 1027
8/25: 1029
8/26: 1492
8/27: 1275
8/28: 1317
8/29: 1369 (Wednesday a.m. bodyweight: 170 lbs.) Week 1
8/30: 1224
8/31: 1473
9/01: 1428
9/02: 1263
9/03: 1349
9/04: 1400
9/05: 1139 (Wednesday a.m. bodyweight: 168 lbs.) Week 2
9/06: 1233
9/07: 1452
9/08: 1047
9/09: 1136
9/10: 1298
9/11: 1332
9/12: 1480 (Wednesday a.m. bodyweight: 163 lbs.) Week 3
9/13: 1499
9/14: 1360
9/15: 1184
9/16: 1453
9/17: 1105
9/18: 827
9/19: 1434 (Wednesday a.m. bodyweight: 161 lbs.) Week 4
9/20: 1219
9/21: 1497
9/22: 1467
9/23: 1600
9/24: 1233
9/25: 1137
9/26: 1456 (Wednesday a.m. bodyweight: 159 lbs.) Week 5
9/27: 1405
9/28: 1305
9/29: 1205
9/30: 1105
10/1: 1005
10/2: 905
10/3: 1500 (Wednesday a.m. bodyweight: 157 lbs.) Week 6
10/4: 1440
10/5: 1495
10/6: 1490
10/7: 1315
10/8: 1023
10/9:
10/10: x (Wednesday a.m. bodyweight: x lbs.) Week 7

Do you have a weight loss or weight gain goal?

I’m watching MDTV (the hat cam wasn’t cuttin’ it) and saw an interview Flex Wheeler gave with MD publisher/owner Steve Blechman.

link

Maaaaan, isn’t there some feud between the IFBB (okay, Flex magazine) and Blechman and crew? If bodybuilding is at all political then the high praise that Blechman heaped on Victor Martinez might just put the kibosh on his chances at placing ahead of Ronnie Coleman (apparently improved over last year’s condition) and Jay Cutler (allegedly in far worse shape than his Olympia-winning condition in 2006).

Looking forward to the announcement tonight, of course. Many have put Jay in 3rd or 4th behind Big Ron, Victor, and maybe Dexter Jackson. The Blade said Jay and Ronnie were both off. Ron finally showing his age and Jay perhaps suffering from his year-long schedule of appearances as Mr. Olympia.

Giant kudos to Bob Cicherillo and Dan Solomon on their handling of the men’s press conference. Quincy Taylor shot his mouth off big time, but apparently he backed it up on stage with his best condition ever. If you haven’t scoped out the press conferences courtesy of bb.com video then you might want to give them a look.

Thank you BodySpace and Bodybuilding.com for the experience!

Yesterday I completed leg presses of 335 for 3 sets of 10 reps, okay, 2 sets of 10 and a set of 6 and then was doing deads after that.

I’ve done 365 for a single as a 20something, round-backed and generally sloppy as hell form, but still. And I’ve done 295 for 3 sets of 5 reps in the past year or so. Pulled 315 for a single around that same time, but after losing a sizable chunk of bodyweight and completing those leg presses, well, deadlifting 205 for 8 reps was just about it for me.

I’m pleased with my weight loss and associated loss of waist inches, but I’m less than happy about the strength decrease. Whatever. I’m sticking to the eating plan and working towards an additional reduction in weight in order strip my waist down to a much leaner look. For me, myself, and skinny ol’ I.

What’s your goal?

The ladies line up at the Ms. Olympia!

L to R: Heather, Lisa, Dayana, Betty, Yaxeni, and Iris

I’d say Iris has it sewn up if I had to judge from one photo. Thankfully, the judges have more to go on.

Posedown action! Check out Iris’ calf (far right). Aukland equals Kyle’s conditioning, but Iris has the trimmer waist structure. Armbrust (far left) has an awesome structure. I’m really looking forward to seeing how the judges sort the ladies out!

I was really hoping for Yaxeni (second from Right) to win this year’s contest.

Iris Kyle and Lisa Aukland toe to toe! Heather Armbrust is DIESEL! Yaxeni’s glutes on far Right.

Duh. I thought they announced the winner tonight! Those are medals, aren’t they?!

(checks bb.com’s Olympia Blog)

The Crush posted the results! Thank you.

1. Iris Kyle
2. Dayana Cadeau
3. Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia
4. Lisa Aukland
5. Heather Policky
6. Betty Pariso

Watching the men’s Olympia press conference as Quincy Taylor was not letting Silvio Samuel get a word in edgewise, however when it came to Gustavo Badell, Quincy got slam dunked. Quince had been hammering away at Silvio about height and how it’s much more difficult for a tall man to build muscle or fill out his physique than it is for the short man, the ankle biter as Quincy is famous for calling shorter bodybuilders. At 6′4", though, ALL BODYBUILDERS are ankle biters to the Big Q.

On PBW, Quince called Gustavo a block of cheese. It got a bit heated as Bob Chick asked Gustavo, "If you were a block of cheese, what kind of cheese would you be?"" Gustavo quickly replied, "American." and the crowd cheered. Gustavo followed that with a suggestion re Quincy’s height complaint: "If you don’t like it then go play basketball!" which broke up the crowd with laughter and applause.

Currently watching the hat cam!

Ha! The hat cam was a bust, but I visited chat and got to spend some time with some pretty funny guys. Including Lee Priest, apparently.

Let the Games begin!

Today’s the day, right? The various Olympia competitions kick off with the pre-Olympia interviews as the ball gets rolling towards the crowning of the new (or perhaps repeat) Olympians! Best wishes for a interesting, exciting, and popular contest!

Who are your favorites?

9/27 Edit: Duh. Okay, the Olympia is almost here.

Currently watching the hat cam!

Ha! The hat cam was a bust, but I visited chat and got to spend some time with some pretty funny guys. Including Lee Priest, apparently.

Otherwise it wouldn’t be consistency, right?

8/22: 1329 (Wednesday a.m. bodyweight: 172 lbs.)
8/23: 1078
8/24: 1027
8/25: 1029
8/26: 1492
8/27: 1275
8/28: 1317
8/29: 1369 (Wednesday a.m. bodyweight: 170 lbs.) Week 1
8/30: 1224
8/31: 1473
9/01: 1428
9/02: 1263
9/03: 1349
9/04: 1400
9/05: 1139 (Wednesday a.m. bodyweight: 168 lbs.) Week 2
9/06: 1233
9/07: 1452
9/08: 1047
9/09: 1136
9/10: 1298
9/11: 1332
9/12: 1480 (Wednesday a.m. bodyweight: 163 lbs.) Week 3
9/13: 1499
9/14: 1360
9/15: 1184
9/16: 1453
9/17: 1105
9/18: 827
9/19: 1434 (Wednesday a.m. bodyweight: 161 lbs.) Week 4
9/20: 1219
9/21: 1497
9/22: 1467
9/23: 1600
9/24: 1233
9/25: 1137
9/26: 1456 (Wednesday a.m. bodyweight: 159 lbs.) Week 5
9/27: 1405
9/28: 1305
9/29: 1205
9/30:
10/1:
10/2:
10/3: x (Wednesday a.m. bodyweight: x lbs.) Week 6

Edit 9/26: Hit 159 this a.m. Took MuscleTech Hyrdazide before retiring last night, fwiw. Not sure if that helped at all, but the digital scale showed another two pound loss over the past week. New goal is 157 lbs. for next Wednesday morning as I continue to attempt to strip my bodyfat down to single digits.