The I Love Carbs Blog

Okay…so this Tropical Storm Fay is REALLY starting to become annoying!  It’s been none stop torrential down pours for the past 3 days.  Streets are becoming flooded, and the winds are running about 25mph to 50mph.  Luckily, we don’t live in a flood zone.

I did make it to the gym…a little rain won’t keep me at home.  I had awesome workouts this week.  I started with chest/ abs/ and cardio on Tuesday…still sore from it.  And then yesterday I trained back and calves.  Both are sore, which is great because it takes a lot for my calves to feel it.  What I’ve been doing differently with it is I hold it in the contracted position for a few seconds each time I do a rep.  Instead of pushing it through quickly.  I got to 135lbs on my Cable Lat Pull downs for 5 reps.  I think that’s a new PR, I can’t remember. Today I worked out shoulders/traps/and cardio.  I have a bad habit of wanting to do extra cardio, not because I enjoy it, but in fear of not coming in lean enough for the show.  But, my coach ended up doing his cardio on the machine right next to me…so, no extra cardio today. lol.  My weight is dropping and I’m 11 weeks out this Saturday.  I got myself up to 143lbs this time around, and now I’m down to 136.  I’m wanting to come in at 115lbs for this show since they have 3 weight classes.  I want to make the light weights. 

I have some cool news to share.  A few of my girlfriends are thinking about opening up a business together.  The business is something that’s right up my alley, and I’m quite talented and passionate about it.  *patting myself on the back*  Each one of us brings a talent to the table and I think this could really go far.  Right now we’re just brainstorming and collecting ideas and researching small business licenses, and loans.  Realistically, this will take some time to bring it all together, but I’m so extremely excited about it.  (I know…I’m being very aloof about the information)The other news is I was contacted yesterday by a photographer about a photo shoot this weekend.  There’s a BB show this Saturday, (which I’ll be going to see…yay!) and this photographer took some photos of me at my last show asked if I wanted to do a shoot at a hotel.  I unfortunately had to decline.  I’m not at all close to contest form.  I’m flattered for the invitation.  I do have a shoot lined up for the November show.  It’ll be on the beach.  That will be interesting.

Well, to all of you guys who live on the southern east coast, stay safe from the storm!  Until later…keep training hard, and lift heavy!

Leg day…gotta love it.  Got to get those wheels growing! I went to bed late last night and woke up feeling the lazy Sunday afternoon.  My daughter and hubby got home from Jr. Cycling Nat’s late last night and we stayed up and watched some of the Olympic coverage.  Plus, they’re still on California time   Anyhoo, hubby and I made it to the gym.  He’s a great motivator.  I started with a couple warm up squat sets with the bar.  I did 4 sets of close squats, final 2 sets at 125lbs, 8 reps.  I don’t usually do close squats and it felt really good on my knees, no pressure at all.  I moved onto the leg press.  I did a PR of 450lbs.  After 4 sets of close stance leg press, I quickly moved to 2 sets of wide leg presses, high reps using 180lbs.  By this time, my quads are burning.  Next was high reps with the leg extensions.  I keep a lighter weight and really get a good pump going.  After that I did 4 sets of Stiff Legged Dead Lifts to give the hammies some love.  I kept it at 135lbs, 8 reps each.  My legs were shacking so bad, I hobbled over to leg press to work my calves.  I ended the training with seated calf raises.  I had to, but did not to do cardio.  I ended up doing 45 minutes on the elliptical. 

My awesome daughter raced this past week and got 7th in the Time Trial, 6th in the Criterium, and 5th in the Road Race.  She’s the top 15 year old in the Nation racing up against the Nation’s best 15-16 year old girls.  I’m very proud of her.  Instead of taking an off season, she’ll be keeping the race mode and do some fall races.  Next season we plan on traveling more around the country for her races. 

Train Hard, and Lift Heavy!  Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend!

This week I’ve been on a time limit.  Hubby and teen daughter are at Jr. Cycling Nat’s and me and my youngest daughter are at home.  She’s a gymnast and trains 3 days a week, 2-1/2 hours a time.  It’s pretty impressive watching those girls train.  It’s mostly body weight.  How can that be difficult when the girls weigh about 50-60lbs you ask?  They’ll do super sets of V-ups and sit ups.  They do pull ups and these things where they hang from the bar like doing bent arm hangs but they lift their legs almost entirely over the bar.  Right before they go completely over, they stop and then go back to the starting position.  Hardcore indeed!  They also climb a rope from the floor up to ceiling height, about 30-35 feet high.  Anyways, I digress.  Since I have my youngest and no hubby to tag team babysit, I go to the gym while she’s at her gym.  Since time is limited, I’ve super setted my workouts this week.  Back day was yesterday and I was so sore, I had to take some Advil because I just couldn’t get comfortable enough to fall asleep.  Today was shoulders/traps/cardio.  I felt a bit off at first, but once I got warmed up, whoa baby!  On my Cable Up-Right Rows, I finished at 130lbs for 6 reps.  I ended shoulders with doing the Reverse Pec Dec.  My shoulders were fried!  This actually works out great because I’m having to go during peak hours *YUCK* so getting my workouts over with is good.  I like my space in the gym and I can’t stand having to wait for equipment!  I’m officially leaning out now.  (I’m 13 weeks out!) I’ve reached a peak of 143lbs, 19% BF and starting last Saturday, my carbs are cycled with 2 High carb days, 2 Medium carb days, and 1 low carb day.  Since then my weight has dropped to 139lbs in a week.  Not bad.  If history repeats itself, I’ll drop the first 10-14lbs quickly, and the rest is SLOW stubborn weight.  I talked to my coach about the crazy cardio I did to lean out before, and I don’t want to visit that place again!  I’m going to have him adjust my carbs lower, earlier this time around because I just hold onto it in in my lower body.  My upper body came in very conditioned, and lean.  Now if I can have my lower half match it.  I’ll get some progress shots up once my hubby gets back to take photos. 

I’m still working on gaining size in the quads, hammies, calves, abs, and a thicker lower back.  I’m pretty happy with my back and arms right now and want to make sure the lower half catches up to give me a more symmetrical shape.  Oh, and my chest could be thicker   Aren’t we all our own worst enemies?! lol.

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.