The I Love Carbs Blog

I felt out-of-sorts with my workouts for a couple weeks, only because my strength was wacky and energy levels were up and down.  I’ve been sticking with a training program my hubby wrote out for me for about 4 weeks now.  Finally, I’m feeling the love from the workouts.  I’ve been sore, my body is getting plenty of rest, and I’m feeling strong!  This time around, I can definitely see a difference in my body at 142lbs AFTER my show, than 142lbs PRE-SHOW.  I’m still in the teens for my BF% and I don’t plan on getting up to 24% again!  *gasp*

Today I did shoulders/traps/calves/abs/cardio.  I know…it is a lot for one session, but I was feeling good, and had spare time today, so why not?  Now, if I was training legs or back…forget about it! I started with warming up with 15lb DB Arnold Presses, 2 sets,12 reps.  I moved onto DB Presses.  My right shoulder, my problem shoulder, was feeling stressed, so I kept the weight at 25lbs.  Next I super setted DB side laterals and Front raises.  BURN BABY BURN! Shoulders were feeling the pain.  The last exercise was Cable Upright Rows.  I was able to go up to 120lbs for 8 reps.  I could have done 130lbs, but I’ve already finished 4 sets.  I moved to DB Shrugs then Standing Shrugs.   I did  seated calves,  calf presses, sit ups, weighted ab machine, stability ball crunches.  THEN, 45 minutes of cardio.

Here’s something interesting…Monday nights, my daughters LOVE watching the show American Gladiators.  As they were watching, I was cooking dinner.  They brought out the new Gladiator, The BEAST.  My youngest was shocked at his stats…Height:7′0" Weight: 310lbs.  I had to check out this new Gladiator!  I sit down, and I do a double take.  Thank goodness for the DVR.  I rewind it, and yes!  The Beast works out at my gym.  We chit-chat once in awhile.  And he never mentioned anything about landing this gig.  How cool.  My little one is so excited.  I talked to him today, and told him about how she really enjoyed seeing his debut on the show.  He’s going to give her an autographed picture.  I’ll probably take her into the gym so she can meet him.  He’s a really nice, down to earth guy.  I’ll be like the paparazzi and post pictures once I get some  

I’ve had tons of positive comments since I started training for my first show.  And while all those comments mean a lot to me, why is it that the few negative comments really bother me.  Don’t get me wrong…I LOVE training.  I couldn’t imagine if I wasn’t blessed with a healthy body/life to be able to train the way I do.  I thank God all the time for that.  But those handful of negatives are replayed in my mind over and over again, and leaves me questioning myself sometimes…Why do I choose to train?  Why is female bodybuilding frowned upon.  I’m not huge, I don’t look intimidating.  And really, bodybuilding is a healthy way of life!  Yes, I put myself to the test with dieting down for a show, lifting heavy, and feeling the pain from an intense workout.  My daughters will grow up learning that food isn’t about just the pleasure of taste, but it’s about fuel for your body.  And exercising to have your body in shape so you can work and not be winded every time you have to exert yourself physically.   Recently, I had a person ask me, in a concerned manner, that she heard I competed and I was starving myself for it.  That ticked me off!  I worked my butt off for a year to get into the best shape of my life!  Come train and diet the way I do for a year and see what kind of results you’ll get!  (that’s what I wanted to say to her)  I don’t like confrontation, and usually I would just be polite and walk away.  But I decided not this time.  She ended up saying sorry a million times and told me some excuses.  I didn’t necessarily want an apology, I just wanted her to know that I am passionate about what I do, it’s WHO I AM, and she turned around and belittled me for my hard work.  It felt good to let someone know how I felt.  I was polite and it was a good conversation.  Does she understand why I train?…I doubt it, but she certainly knows where I stand.

I’m feeling on fire the past week.  Training has been awesome and I’m feeling super pumped and strong.  I did arms last week and my bi’s and tri’s couldn’t moved any longer after my workout.  I was able to use the 45 plates for my preacher curls, 5 reps.  Today I did legs.  I was supposed to do it on Sunday, but I was wiped out!  Today was a catch up day.  Anyhow, I was able to slap on 45’s on the BB to do squats.  By the time I finished with working my quads, they were so pumped, I could hardly walk over to the rack to do Stiff Legged Dead Lifts.  Which after the second set, my quads loosen up a bit.  I did 5 sets of weighted sit ups with the 25lb plate.  I finished with 45 minutes on the elliptical. 

My trainer, Jamie Ibone, is competing at Master’s Nationals today.  He is one hardcore guy when it comes to training and dieting down for a show.  Good Luck Jamie!!!

(He’s the one with dark hair)

http://www.musculardevelopment.com/index.php?set_albumName=album245&option=com_gallery&Itemid=166&include=view_album.php&page=16

A friend of mine found these photos and emailed them to me.  I thought I would share.  Oh how I miss being lean…but as Ms. Pixi said, "absence makes the heart grow fonder".  Very wise words. Speaking of food, this weekend the hubby and I are going out to eat.  Yup…I’m going to get my bulk on!

I’m taking tomorrow off from lifting…dead lifts are just killing me!  I love it!  I’l do some cardio, but my muscles are screaming, so, they will have a break. 

Train hard, Lift heavy!

I really have no choice.  But, I really miss being lean.  This time around, I won’t be gaining for months at a time.  I have just a few weeks, then I’ll lean out again.  The only difference is, I’m already in the 140’s!  I’ve got to watch my sodium intake.  I can tell I’m retaining water since the show.  My BF% has gone up a bit, but not too much.  I look different at 140lbs now, than I did prior to the contest.  Not so chubby.  I keep telling myself, if I want to put on lean muscle, I’ve got to sacrifice being lean for a short amount of time.  There will be time later to look jacked!

My training has been leaving me crazy sore and tired.  It takes me a whole week to recover.  My muscles feel so pumped and tight.  Weight training is going great.  My coach told me that after depleting my muscles, and once I incorporate carbs and heavy training again, I would get super pumped. It’s a perfect time for maximum muscle growth.  So, right on for that… but not so excited about seeing the scale moving up. 

I trained back today.  I love back day!  I started with a couple of warm up sets on the Cable pull down using the parallel bar.  Close grip pull downs, Bent Over BB Rows, DB Rows, then Dead Lifts.  I finished off with abs.  Weighted sit ups (using 25lb plate) and crunches on the stability ball super setted with Hyper Extensions. 

After that, I called it quits and didn’t have time for cardio. 

Hopefully this weekend there will be a live pod cast of the Master’s Nationals.  My coach will be competing in it.  If anyone knows anything about it, PLEASE let me know.  I don’t think I can wait until Monday to find out the details!

Today was one of those days that I felt completely spent and exhausted.  I already took 2 days off this week and I needed to get into the gym and finish off with legs.  With the afternoon Florida showers, I sat for a brief moment on the recliner, and the moment turned into 35 minutes of snoozing.  I finally got my lazy self up and headed out the door to the gym.  Still not really feeling up to the task.  I met up with my hubby, already half way into his workout.  I started with squats.  Those felt great, I suddenly found some energy, and cranked out 6 sets.  2 of them were warm up sets.  I had a couple of young boys next to me doing BB Shrugs.  The worst form ever!  Nothing is worst than watching someone about to hurt themselves in the gym.  Okay..I take that back.  Not only did they have the worst form, they were dropping the F-Bomb like crazy.  So, I asked them to stop.  He said, "would freakin’ be a better word to use?"  Sure.  So, the condescending, inconsiderate dork keeps saying "freakin" really loud for me to hear.  What happened to guys being polite in front of the ladies?  Hmmm.  I have to place the blame onto the fathers that haven’t taught their sons how to treat a women.

okay…enough ranting…

The leg workout went great.  After BB Squats, I did super sets on the leg press, close and wide stance.  Then leg extensions, legs curls, and stiff legged dead lifts. I’m already feeling the muscles tightening up.  OH YEAH!  Usually it takes a lot for my calves to become sore, but I’m feeling them already.  Tomorrow will be a much needed day off.  I finished with 45 minutes of cardio on the treadmill.  Kept my HR at 135-140, and the incline was at 10% at 2.8mph. 

I hope everyone had a great weekend! 

Train HARD! Lift HEAVY!

The fam and I went to an island and met up with our good friends.  It was a much needed break.  The weather was gorgeous, the water was perfect, the company was excellent.  We set off on the boat to a place called Charlie’s Pass.  A few years ago, Hurricane Charlie came through there with a vengeance and took out trees and made a clearing, given the name Charlie’s Pass.  We tried to anchor there, but the water was becoming a bit choppy to set the anchor in the sand.  So, we headed back.  We saw some dolphins playing, and a manatee, and otters.  The kids shuffled around the beach floor for sand dollars, and sea urchins.  It was very relaxing.  We loved it so much, we have decided to go back for our Christmas break.

My diet wasn’t good.  I tried to eat sensibly, but I screwed it up.  We went out to eat on night and I got a grilled grouper sandwich, with fries.  And had some browines, cookies, chips and salsa, and I drank a bit.  All of that combined, I gained 3lbs.  So, today, I’m back on the diet, and did a little extra cardio to help with the junk I ate.  I’ll keep doing the extra cardio the rest of this week. 

My back training was great.  I can see my strength coming back, and I LOVE IT!  I still kept to the 10 rep range, at a moderate weight.  Next week I think I’m back onto the 6-8 reps heavy weights!  Yea BABY!  I’ve started doing Dead Lifts on back day.  Last week I went light to make sure I really perect the form.  I don’t want any injuries.  Today, I went a bit heavier.  It felt great!  Next week I think I can take it heavier and really get into it.  I want to put some thickness in the lower back and focus on development.  After that, I did some abs.  Legs raises and weighted sit ups.  I want those abs to pop next time.

I thought I’d share some island photos with you all.  Can’t wait to go back there!  Darn…were did my abs go?!!! lol.

Here is the Pre-judging video from my first show. I placed 2nd to the FBB in the blue and learned alot from the experience to take with me to my next show.

This Monday the fam and I are heading out to an island off the Gulf Coast.  We’re staying with good friends of ours and I can’t wait!  Honestly, my diet hasn’t been too bad, but not very clean.  *Got to get back with it.*  I’m starting my food journal  again to help me have a visual look at the meals.  It helps me stop myself from eating more carbs than allowed.  But, back to my subject matter…I will indulge some while on vacation.  What is a vacation without a splurge?  a boring one!  You can only get to the island by ferry, boat, or small aircraft.  There’s no supermarket, only 2 restaurants, and no streets.  The it has white sand the water is aquamarine.  We’ll be soaking up the sun right on the beach.  I love the beach.  I just want to sip a margarita with a tiny umbrella.  There is a fish market on the island, which is fab because I can eat my weight in seafood  

My training this week was fantastic!  Every workout left me sore.  I just finished up my entire body this week. I train each body part once a week.  I ended it with legs today.  Oh baby…I was sweating so bad.  It’s it funny how you judge your workouts?  Love the soreness, sweating is a good indicator of a hard training session, and of course needing to throw up after training.  In my gym, you have to go down three flights of stairs to exit the building.  My legs were shaking so bad, the guy walking up was chuckling, and said, “must have been a good leg day.”  I skipped cardio today, but will pick up the slack tomorrow. 

Train HARD, Lift HEAVY!

Finally, I met with my coach today.  He’s been gearing up to do Master’s Nationals in P.A.  At 12 weeks out he looked ridiculous! abs popping, and very lean. Now at 2 weeks out, he just looks ridiculously insane!  Can’t wait to the pics from the show.  Anyhoo…I’m back on a diet schedule, thank goodness.  I felt all out of sorts and ate anyhthing and EVERYTHING!  I have 9 weeks to bulk up and get some size on…and 9 weeks to lean out for a November show.  I’m pretty happy with my back and arms.  I feel like my legs , abs, chest and calves need size.  I know…this sport is a long term sport.  NOTHING happens over night.  But, as I continue to train, and compete, I’ll just get a better feel for my body, and know what works and what doesn’t.  I’ll continue to do cardio 3 days a week for 30 minutes to help keep the BF% low.  Last time I started at 124lb/19% BF.  Finished bulking at 147lbs/24% BF%.  Leaned out to 119lbs/14-15% BF.  I won’t get my BF up to that again. 

I have a mini vacation coming up next week, plus the Forth of July this weekend. I’ll keep to my diet, but am able to splurge a little.  YEAH!

I trained my back with my hubby last night.  I haven’t trained with him a awhile, and it was fun.  He helps me keep good form and encourages me.  I didn’t go heavy.   I used moderate weight but focused on higher reps to get the blood pumped in the muscles.  My first week back into the gym, I didn’t want to strain anything.  We ended the workout with deadlifts and I was about dead after that.  I still had abs to throw in.  I’ve started using weights in with abs…feels good.  These past several workout after the show have been awesome!  I hasn’t taken much to get a good pump in the muscles.  And boy am I sore!  I love it and am taking advantage of the growth I’ll get from it. 

TRAIN HARD, LIFT HEAVY!