The I Love Carbs Blog

Vegas was a blast!  I ate the buffets six days in a row.  HOLY MOLY!  It was a good thing my coach let me off my diet.  It would have been very hard to stay on track.  We ate at the best burger place called the Burger Bar in the Mandolin Bay hotel.  It was unbelievable!  After eating out for every meal, I was ready to get back on track.  We went to Gold’s in Vegas to train.  GROSS…the dirtiest gym I’ve ever been into.  I certainly got in enough cardio, which was good.  I needed to walk off all the food I ate.  I must have walked about 3-4 hours non stop on the Strip every other day.  It must have helped because my weight is still holding at 140, even with all that junk.  Hubby and I saw the Criss Angel show.  It was entertaining.  It’s nothing like his show Mind Freak.  Unfortunately, I didn’t make any big wins playing the slots.  We pretty much kept to one slot machine. My hubby got up and apparently, this lady sits down and plays the machine and wins $3,000.  I’ve got to say my favorite thing there was the water orchestra in front of the Bellagio Hotel.  I know, cheesy… but I was mesmerised by it. 

I got back home and I got my new training/diet program from my coach.  The diet isn’t that much different from before.  Although, I get 2 cheat days, in which, I get to cheat for 1-1/2 hours now!  WOO-HOO!  I’ve switched from my 10, 8, 6 rep range to about 14, 12, 10, depending on which muscle group.  I’m not able to go as heavy, but the pumps are fantastic.  I am sore all over.  I train my body in 6 days, but train 5 days straight, and rest for 2.  I finally get my 2 days rest this weekend.  I certainly can use it. 

It’s good to be home now. 

Here are some photos I took.  The first two are of the surrounding hotels off the Vegas Strip.  The third is the MGM Grande Hotel’s lion eating a bone.  And the last one are blown glass flowers hanging on the Caesar’s Place lobby ceiling.

A quick post before I’m off to Vegas!  Hubby and I went to the gym tonight after a little shopping at the mall.  We had a great chest workout.  He trained with his buddies, but came over to spot me when I needed it.  I got a couple of PR’s tonight.  One of them I’m pretty certain I didn’t get any spot on, and that was on the DB Pullovers.  I do a 10, 8, 6 rep range.  It allows me to lift heavy and build those muscles.  On my final set of Pullovers, I did 50lbs, 6 reps.  Then for my Incline DB Presses, my final set I used 40lb DB.  I did feel the assist on the final rep, but I’ll take it.  To end the training I did calves.  3 sets each of Standing Calf Raises on the Smith Machine, Leg Press Calf Presses, and then Seated Calf Raises.  I was supposed to do abs, but ran out of time.  The gym closed.  But, I did extra abs and core on Saturday with the team.  I’ll make up the abs this week on another training day. 

I plan on training while in Vegas, but I am off the diet.  Isn’t my trainer the coolest!  I’ll maintain the diet but add the extra cheats here and there. 

Train Hard, Lift Heavy!

I had my first Team Body Tech meeting yesterday.  I am so excited about being about of this awesome team!  My trainer is awesome.  He brings such a wonderful, positive, energy to the Team.  His dedication to his members is incredible.  I don’t know if the guy ever sleeps! 
Before the meeting, we had our assessment.  My diet and training will be stepped up, and changed again.  I was happy to hear him tell me he though since the last time we met, (about 1 month ago) my shoulders and squads look like they put on some size.  Niiiice!  I plan on doing a show perhaps in August.  This will give me plenty of time to make the gains I need.  I’m looking to qualify for Nationals this year.  That’s the goal.  Hubby and I fly out for Vegas this week, so coach gave me time off from my diet!  Woo-Hoo!  I said…”are you crazy?!”  But, since I’m in my off season, and my weight has been steady, along with my body fat, he said I can go ahead and just enjoy myself.  I think I’ll pretty much stay on the diet plan and have some cheats.  That way I don’t totally come back looking like Jabba the Hut.  I will also continue with my training. 
So…back to the Team meeting.  We started out by everyone introducing themselves.  We must have had about 100 members present.  That’s not even half of the team!  He introduced the newbies.  (Which I was one of them) and then the veterans.  Out of about 20 ladies, there were only 3 bodybuilders.   The great thing about this team I noticed is that even though you may be competing in different categories, bodybuilding, figure, fitness, and now bikini, everyone was so supportive of each other.  We had a surprise guest speaker and poser.  As introductions were still going on, Mr. Olympia, Mr. Dexter Jackson and Marcus Haley walk in.  Dexter talked a bit about reaching your dreams and what he went through to get him where he is today.  Then, Marcus Haley striped off his clothes and did the mandatories for us.  He’s competing in the Ironman.  He looked spot on!  Also another person to watch out for at the Ironman is trainer JPhillips17. 
After the nice surprise visit, the team was split up.  The guys did their platoon training, and the ladies did the Agility training.  Let me tell you, I was totally not prepared to do this!  I thought we would be training with weights.  Oh no!  We totally did some conditioning to start off.  Then the fun began.  I’m not sure what football players call it when they do their training on the field, like running in place while in the wide stance squat position.  We did some abs and core conditioning.  And we were then broken up into teams, 3 groups of 5.  We did team drills.  We took the training out to the parking lot and finished off with team relay sprints.  Starting from one end of the parking lot to the end, we sprinted up and back and tapped the next teammate.  After finishing the rotation, we switched the relay sprints to other things like side stepping in a squat position, backwards running and sprinting forward, front squats all the way front and back.  Oh man…it was a lot of fun!  After the team training, we all headed out for lunch. 
Today I’ll finish up my training week and train my back and do my cardio. 

Mr. Olympia, Dexter Jackson, my coach Tim Gardner, and Marcus Haley.

Marcus Haley

One of my favorite body parts to train are the hammies.  If you want your legs to have those beautiful lines, then give some love to them!  I did a combo of hammies, bi’s, then lower back. 
HAMSTRINGS:
Lying leg curls:
1- 50lb x10
2- 60lb x 8
3- 60 lb x 6
Stiff Leg Dead Lifts:
1- 135 lb x 10
2- 145 lb x 8
3- 155 lb x 6
Seated Leg Curls:
1- 90 lb x 10
2- 105 lb x 8
3- 120 lb x 6
Butt Blaster:
1- 40 lb x 10
2- 50 lb x 8
3- 60 lb x 6
BI’s:
BB Curls:
1- 35lb x 10
2- 40lbs x 8
3- 45lbs x 6
Hammer Strength Preacher Curls:
1- 45lb x 10
2- 50lbs x 8
3- 50lbs x 6
Lying cable Curls:
1- 60lbs x 10
2- 70lbs x 8
3- 80lbs x 6
High Cable Dbl. Bi Curls:
1- 30lbs x 10
2- 35lbs x 8
3- 40lbs x 6
LOWER BACK:
Rack Deads:
1- 135lbs x 10
2- 185lbs x 8
3- 225lbs x 6
Weighted Hyper Extensions:
3 sets, 10, 8, 6 reps x 25lb plate

As I make my way to the gym, I have about 15 minutes of driving to contemplate on my training.  Today was going to be a brutal chest workout, plus calves, middle abs, and cardio.  I find it’s better for me to start my training with a mental image and get myself prepared.  It gets me in the right mindset.  With my new program, I find myself strong in the first 2-3 exercises.  Then, muscle fatigue sets and my weight slowly starts to drop.  The weight drop doesn’t bother me, as long as I know I’m keeping good form and focusing on the muscle group, it’s all good!  I have to admit though, when I’m lifting that heavy weight when my muscles are fresh, it feels fantastic, a nice ego boast.  I was able to go up in weight for my final DB Pull Overs, 45lb DB for 6 reps.   
It was awkwardly dead in the gym today.  Did anyone make New Year’s resolutions this year?  It seems like last year, people were on this health kick, as if it were some fad.  I expected my gym to be buzzing with new comers.  That hasn’t happened.  I hope that being healthy and training wasn’t “just a fad”.   It’s sad to see people so out of shape.  I wish they could peer into their future, maybe 10 years later, and see their health status.  I bet that will certainly open their eyes and help change their habits.  No one’s perfect and even the best of us cheat from time to time.  The saying “all in moderation” is a misunderstanding to some.  I have a friend that tried to eat clean.  But when those sweets, or junk passes by, they will eat it and think since it’s been awhile that they ate chocolate cake, or had ice cream, etc. it’s okay since it’s in moderation.  Well, if you consume a different “moderation” everyday just because you haven’t eaten it in a while doesn’t make it okay.  Remember in elementary school when they taught the basic food groups?  The saying you are what you eat?  It’s time we all go back to those basics.  Every athlete has a different kind of food group they need to consume to meet their goals.   High endurance athletes need a higher carb consumption to give them that energy.  Bodybuilders need higher protein to help build muscles.  So what about those every day, normal people who aren’t involved in a sport?  A balance between proteins and carbs are needed.  It’s amazing the difference you see when you cut out those processed foods and sugars, and keep to clean whole foods.  Our society is so influenced by super sizing, that people don’t even know what a normal sized meal portion is.  Even our coffee houses get into the action…tall, grande, or a venti?  And half of those drinks are made with heavy cream and loaded with flavored syrups and sugar!  I guess what fired me up about this topic is when I noticed the empty gym today even after the New Year.  Then sitting there at my daughter’s gymnastics listening to the mom’s yell at their children to go out there and train harder.  All the while, they sit in their seats, munching on their 7-11 snacks and drinking soda or frappachinos. 
*Sorry for venting.*
So….Make a change today…start out small if you have to.  If that means you’ll pass on that coffee house drink and have a plain coffee, or skip the soda and go with water.  Instead of getting chips out of the office vending machine, pack some fruit.  Make a difference for yourself.  The real fountain of youth is all in your diet and training program.

Last night I trained back.  It’s my last training day for the week.  I do love back days, but lately I love working those wheels.  I feel like they’re looking thicker, but sometimes it’s hard to tell in the off season with the extra layer of body fat. They are getting stronger.  I did front squats for the first time, and those are awesome!  I got my leg press up to 450. Niiiice!   Anyways, I digress from back day.  I started with Bent BB rows, pulling 105.  I moved onto DB Rows, ending with 50lbs.  Then, I did Seated Cable Rows ending at 120lbs.  Afterwards I did Lat. Pull Downs at 120lbs. and to end my weight training I did Reverse Grip Pull Downs.  Those are a bit awkward on my wrists, but 110lbs felt comfortable.  I wasn’t able to finish my ab workout.  I was training side abs, and got half of it done before the gym closed. 
Today I took it off from training.  Hubby and I have been remodeling our kitchen.  We gutted the entire thing.  He patched the drywall and sanded it, and after training last night, we painted the whole thing.  Today the carpenter came out and put in the new cabinets and will finish putting in a bar.  In a few days the counter tops will be installed.  I can’t wait.  The kitchen is my favorite part of the house, and I’m gitty just thinking about having it all finished. 
Other than being busy remodeling and training stuff, life has been good.  I have gotten people lately asking me how much I bench press.  Why is it that that’s the first question a guy will ask you?  I’ll take it as a compliment because obviously they think you look strong and fit to ask that question.   I think my new diet plan is really working well with my body.  I’m feeling strong during my lifts, I seeing some gains, and I’m not looking puffy.  That’s a BONUS!  I meet with my coach on Saturday so we’ll see what he thinks after looking at me.  I haven’t seen him since I had my initial interview.   I’m anxious to hear what his plans are for the year, and what he has to say about my physique.
Hubby and I went out to celebrate our 16^th anniversary with our good friends.  It happens to be their 16^th anniversary as well.  They have the same anniversary date, and time as ours.  Dinner was fantastic.

My wonderful hubby and I celebrated our 16 year anniversary today!  I can’t imagine where the time went.  We started our marriage at a very young age, and have gone through so much together.  He is my love of my life, my best friend, my everything…love you honey! 
Okay, mushy stuff over.  I had a brutal workout tonight.  I went with my hubby and he was there when I needed someone to talk me into going that extra mile.  My trainer has me doing a ton of quad work to help define them.  Actually, all of my workouts have a high volume of exercises, 3 sets each, and a 10, 8, 6 rep.  I love it.  Tonight I did squats, leg presses, hack squats, smith machine front squats, leg extensions, 3 sets toes pointed in, 3 sets toes out.  I finished the training with Suzanne Summer’s favorite, the abductor/adductor machine.  I had a little time left while waiting for hubby to finish his training, so I ended up doing 18 minutes on the elliptical.
My diet has been good.  I’m eating 8 meals a day.  The food I’m consuming isn’t hard to keep up with, it’s the meals that I have trouble with.  I think I need to set my alarm to remind myself when it’s meal time.  It’s a super clean diet, with a cheat HOUR every Wednesday and Saturday.  Yeah, a whole freaking hour!  I had to ask my coach about it to define what a cheat meal would be.  Anything I want for an hour.  I’ve been pretty good, and not going crazy with it.  I know if I do, it’ll be more work for me later on when it’s time to lean out.  My cheat meals so far have been a burger with fries.  Tomorrow is going to be a dozzie of a cheat meal!  Hubby and I have a double date and I am going to not care about it.  Our good friends are also celebrating their 16^th anniversary as well.  I meet with my coach and meet the team crew on the 17^th, so I’m super excited about that.  We’ll have my evaluation before the team training.  Afterwards we have a social at a restaurant.  Maybe he’ll be nice and be a bit lenient on my diet while in Vegas. 
I’m not sure if I’ll train tomorrow or Sunday.  My training schedule is 5 days on, 2 days off.   It’ll depend on if I have time to fit it in.  Either way, my last training day this week will be back, traps, forearms, and side abs. 
 

Is it just me, or would you guys pay a Personal Trainer that looks, well…nothing like a personal trainer?  I’ve been at my gym for about 2 years now.  And within that time period, I’ve seen PTs come and go.  I’ve watched them train their clients.  A couple of them have been there way before I started.  They walk to the walk.  I see them squeezing in their own training time, because it’s important as well.  Then, there are the others that I feel almost afraid for their clients.  There’s one PT there that was with her client.  He was pretty over weight, and maybe in his 50’s?  It was difficult to tell how old he was, but mainly, he was certainly out of shape.  He clearly needed to start out at the very basics.  She has him doing walking lunges.  The guy looks like he’s about to have a heart attack.  Then later I notice she has him doing some funky shoulder exercise on the cables.  He goes to do his first rep, and immediately grabs his shoulder and has this look of pain on his face.  NO GOOD.  I’ve thought about someday being a PT.  The joy to motivate others in something that I’m passionate about.  But I feel that I first have to really understand it inside and out.  Like with any business, you have to have that passion and understanding of your work.  If not, it shows.  To me, I would do research on the PT that I hire before having them train me.  And the first thing on their resume you should look at is their own body.  Let’s face it, if they’re going to train you to be in shape, and live a healthier life, shouldn’t your trainer live that way too?

The new plan is really feeling great!  My new trainer was very nice and let me start AFTER the holidays.  The training is pretty similar to what I’m used to doing, lifting heavy.  The difference is mainly the order and the body parts that are paired together.  My diet on the other hand is quite different than my other “bulk” diet.  It’s more of a high protein, moderate carbs.  I love it because not only do I feel that my trainer is on top of it all, I do not have to guess about anything!  The training is written out, the diet is put into a menu, and even though he’s about 2 hours away, I’m scheduled in advance for update meetings.  There’s absolutely no guessing or confusion.  Right now I have 2 days of high protein and fibrous carbs, but on those 2 days, I get a cheat meal.  I love it!  I’m excited about this diet because I’ve always thought when my previous trainer had me eating a ton of carbs to bulk me up, I got so fat and puffy looking.  I know it helped get me to where I am today from the stick figure that I was a year and a half ago, but during those off season months, it got frustration to always have to buy new clothes because I would out grow the others.  I plan on taking progress pictures to keep track of this new journey.  It’s like starting all over again, but I’m ready for it.
Starting this journey, I weighed in at 140lbs, and my body fat is around 19%.  I gained about 3 lbs over the holidays. That’s including Thanksgiving.  Not bad considering I was not thinking twice about what I shoveled into my mouth!  Cookies, cupcakes, Cheezits.  What the heck is it about Cheezits?  Every time I’m on a plan, I crave those.   Today was a cheat meal day.  I went to this hamburger joint call Five Guys.  Oh man…was that the best burger ever!  I also got all my supplements in today.   I’ll start on those tomorrow.  The other thing I like about this diet is that I get to have fruit with 2 of my 8 meals.  I love fruit, and that was one of the things I was deprived of in my last diet plan. 
Leg days are split.  Hammies on one day paired with Bi’s and Lower back.  Quads have a day to themselves.  I like that.  I feel if I can bring up my legs just a bit, it I’ll be happy with my symmetry.  Of course there are other detail parts to bring up, but as far as a big muscle group, having the legs should help my physique.