scouter99 transformed

Ok- so I am in a bulk and am pretty happy with it, though also nervous.  I am not used to eating quite this much- and am not being as strict with myself as I have been which also has me freaking out a little.  I can easily see myself going overboard with it and gaining more fat than muscle- so I have to be very careful.  I think I am going to have to temper things and be strict 5 days and allow myself to eat more for 2 days.  I have kind of gone a little hog wild this last week…. not good.  I have about 4.5 weeks left of the meltdown transformation so I have to finish strong with that!  I can’t forget that I still have that to win!

My workouts have definitely increased in intensity since starting to work out at Gold’s.  Having the worlds greatest workout partner makes me one lucky girl!  I can’t wait to start seeing lots more muscle in the mirror!  I am super impatient, though!  Nothing is happening fast enough!  GRRRRR.  I am really feeling pressure because more and more people are finding out about my upcoming competition (due to my big mouth)- so I HAVE to do it!  I really don’t see how I can back out now…. not that I want to!  I’m just really afraid I won’t be ready.  This fear does not ever leave me for a second.  

Started a new workout schedule this week- lifting for strength and mass so HEAVY HEAVY!

Monday- Legs (HEAVY)
Tuesday- rest/cardio
Wednesday- Back
Thursday- Biceps/Triceps/Shoulders
Friday- Legs (fine tuning, moderate weight high reps, plyos)
Saturday- Chest
Sunday- rest

This along with more food will hopefully result in an increase in muscle in a few weeks.  I’m gonna have to start adding in more cardio at some point- not sure when yet.  We’ll see what happens over the next 4 weeks or so.

Today I set a new record on the bench!  I am so happy about this!!  My goal at the beginning of January was to bench 140lbs by the end of March.  I was at 130lbs and wanted to gain 10lbs on my bench by the end of the Meltdown Transformation.  I’d say I am a little ahead of schedule on that!  Maybe I will hit 145lbs or even 150 by then!

As for Gold’s- we have worked out there 3 times so far and have decided to join.  It has EVERYTHING we could possibly want- it’s a real gym!  I love that there are other people there lifting heavy weight- it makes such a difference to workout in a place where there are other serious lifters there…. huge!  Another really cool benefit of this is that Chad and I are actually working out more together now (rather than just side by side).  Because this gym is so much bigger than our old one- if we are on different body parts we don’t even really see each other much.  It became harder to spot each other on certain exercises so we decided to sync our workouts and that is going to be incredibly beneficial to me.  He pushes me so hard and I definitely work harder and lift heavier when he is there.  I think this is going to be a really good decision and am super excited to go to the next level!!

I get to work out at Gold’s gym tonight!!  I am so flippin’ excited!!  Not THE Gold’s…. but A Gold’s nonetheless.

I can’t even tell you how pumped I am- for MANY REASONS!  The biggest being that they have FREE childcare.  Over the last few weeks I have missed working out at the gym more often than not because the kids’ Dad is super undependable (good thing I have a pretty solid gym in my basement with lots of heavy weight- although working out alone is NOT even half the fun of working out with my favorite workout partner).  He is supposed to take them Monday night, Thursday night and either Friday or Saturday (we alternate every weekend).  He hardly EVER makes his Thursday nights- has missed quite a few Mondays and last Friday.  He drinks and just can’t stay sober.  I go to the gym on the nights he has them.  And because the gym I belong to is just one of those small 24 hour things with no amenities like childcare when he flakes out on me then I can’t go.  I am so tired of depending on an undependable person so it is time to find a place I can workout whether he decides to be a Dad or a drunk.

That and Golds is king shit for a bodybuilder- right?  I mean- there are TON’s of local bodybuilders that work out at this particular one.  They have EVERYTHING as far as equipment goes (and my little gym sadly, does not).  Maybe I won’t be quite the gym freak at Gold’s as I am at mine (though that really is OK with me- I like drawing wide eyed stares when I lift the weight that I lift).  

Anyway- I just had to share!  I’m bouncing around in my seat at work and can’t WAIT for the day to end so I can get there!  I just wish they were as cheap as my little gym

Sleep is something that I never ever get enough of.  Seriously.  If I get 6 hours of sleep in a night it is a miracle.  This bothers me SOOOOO much that I decided to blog about it.

See- everything, and I mean everything I read talks about how important getting enough sleep is in both losing body fat and gaining muscle.  If you get too little you produce too much cortisol which promotes fat gain.  If you get too little your body cannot fully recover or produce the HcG that your mucles need to grow to their full potential.  The magic number is 8 hours.  This information is everywhere and seems to be universally believed.

What I want to know is who gets enough sleep at night?  I really try.  Really- I do!  I tell myself each morning that tonight I am going to bed by 10pm.  This- is a pipe dream, my friends.  By the time the kids are down for the night and I’ve finished my misc things I need to do and spent time with Chad it is often midnight.  I just can’t figure out a way to get everything done before midnight.  I don’t want to give up alone time with Chad….. that is way too important to me.  I don’t want to spend all the time I have with the kids doing other things and not giving them any attention (which I end up doing a lot anyway).  What’s the solution?  I have already cut my computer time WAYYYY back.  I have stopped reading at night all together.  Still I can’t seem to carve out enough time to add more sleep in.  I’ve even stopped my AM workouts and started working out at night with the kids (which results in much less intense workouts a lot of the time because of the constant interruptions) just to get that extra hour of sleep in the morning.  I’m gonna have to add those AM workouts back in once I start my cut for the October contest and then I’m gonna be in worse straits about this.  BTW- 10pm isn’t even early enough if I work out in the AM.  I would have to be up by about 5am to be able to get in 45 minutes of cardio in the morning and that’s if I haul ass.  

I’m not really looking for a solution here.  I know that I am gonna have to really sacrifice if I want more sleep.  Pure and simple.  Like I said before- I am a solutions girl.  A problem solver.  I can solve this problem- not HAPPILY- but I know that if I want more sleep SOMETHING is gonna have to get less.  Period.  The reason I wrote this is because I just want to vent about it for one.  For two- I just want to hear from people how they feel about this.  Does anyone really get 8 hours of sleep most nights?  If so- how do YOU do it?  If not- how do YOU feel about it?  Do you believe 8 hours is that important?  Because I was doing semi-ok prior to reading about this everywhere.  I wasn’t really all that rested- but I was pretty happy with 5 or 6 hours.  Ignorant or oblivious I would get up at 4:45am to work out in the morning.  I would have my caffeine pills by the bed and swallow one the minute my alarm went off.  15 or 20 minutes later I was raring to go.  Then I read about this sleep thing and started wondering if I was actually UNDERMINING myself by doing this.  I mean- I sure wasn’t seeing the progress I wanted to see even though I was working my ass off.  Could sleep (well, lack thereof) have been the coup de grace?  

And most importantly to me.  Those of you who have either acheived your fitness goals or are close- ESPECIALLY YOU COMPETITORS!!!  DO you get 7 or 8 hours of sleep?  Or have you been able to do all this with less?  Because honestly- that is what is making me freak out a little here.  I just want to know that I can still do this if I am only getting 6 hours.  Or 5 (which is often a more realistic number for me).

PS: I am so obsessed with this bodybuilding thing I guess I was talking about it in my sleep last night.  Seriously.  I DO eat, breathe and SLEEP it!

Please let me know your thoughts on this.

I was reading some new blogs tonight trying to keep my motivation high and learn a few new things and what someone wrote struck this thought in me.  How do you decide if what you are reading is fact or fiction?  When someone puts some information out there, do you question it or if the person "seems" sincere and legitimate do you just take it for gospel?  What about something that you’ve read somewhere before?  Because you’ve seen it in print more than once does that make it truth?  Or at least truer?  More plausible?

There is so much information out there- about everything, really- but especially in this industry.  Whether it be about how to lose weight, what supplements to use, how to put on muscle, when the best time to work out is, what are the best things to eat or the best macro nutrient ratios, or the best food for your "body type"…. I could seriously go on and on for pages here.  How in the world do you filter through all of this?  Who has the time to "trial and error" everything in every area?  

This to me is the ULTIMATE question- at least for where I am in my life right now.  See,  I am a solutions oriented/problem solving type of girl.  If I have a question I like to find the answer or fix the problem PRONTO!  I want to have a plan, an itinerary, an outline.  But this has me scratching my head with the most educated and ignorant of them.  What burden of proof do I place on the author before I will take his/her advice?  What about you?  How many times have I tried something because someone suggested it and I just wanted a quick, simple fix or answer (more times than I really want to admit)?  How many hard earned $$ have I spent on supplements over the years- with no real proof that they were gonna work (or WORSE- that they wouldn’t harm me?)?  Just because the supplement company had billions to spend on clever advertising (MuscleTech’s of the world).

Anyway- just something I was pondering tonight.

Ok- I’ve been crazy busy at work but am finally all caught up and have some time to screw around.  I’ve been neglecting my reading on here and want to find some new good stuff.  I find when I read a lot I am better focused on my training- and seeing as though I have a bodybuilding competition to win in about 8.5 months being focused is a VERY VERY good thing.

So- who has some favorite articles or forum topics they can share with me?  It can be on ANYTHING.  If you read it and got something from it- please share it!!  You will be doing a good deed/public service.  

Thank you!

Today I had what was probably the best shoulder workout I’ve ever had!!  I really rocked it and feel so awesome I can hardly sit in my chair to type this!!  First of all- my strength is through the roof on EVERYTHING all of a sudden.  The last few workouts I’ve pulled out exercises I haven’t done in awhile (like cable pulldowns and deadlifts) and when I went to do the last weight I did it was EASY!!  That is an incredible feeling!  

A couple of days ago I did barbell deadlifts and could do 165lbs with NO wrist straps or belt for 10 reps!  I remember when I thought my shoulders were going to pull completely OFF my body when I did that weight for just a couple reps- and definitely needed straps!!!  So I put on some straps and the belt and knocked out 2 sets of 185lbs for 8 reps.  It was an awesome feeling!  And that was some heavy MF weight!!

And muscles.  Let’s talk about muscles.  My arms are popping all of a sudden.  I’ve got to get some updated pictures.  I was impressing myself in the mirror today (ha ha).  I was also attracting a LOT of gawking by both girls and girly-boys at the gym.  Just call me the gym-freak.  It’s ok.  I don’t mind.  

Boy I feel good!!  I’m not gonna lie…. these last few weeks have been rough.  I felt like I was stalled or something.  I think I know the problem.  See- when I started this Meltdown Transformation all I could think about was losing body fat.  So I stopped lifting really heavy and started doing more endurance based workouts and a LOT more cardio.  I am not a cardio girl.  I am a balls to the wall, heavy-ass weight until you die kind of girl.  I was totally homesick for my heavy weights- that was it!!  Now- let me lift heavy AND make me do cardio- can handle that.  It’s the cardio till you puke and high rep weights that had me reaching for the "365 Ways to Off Yourself Volume 1".   So what has changed?  I’ll tell ya!

Yesterday I had a really kick ass conversation with NANBF Ms. Natural Minnesota, Bodybuilding about my upcoming competition..  She won last year and was offered WNBF Pro Status which is SOOOOO cool!  Anyway- she and I are going to meet next week and she is going to give me some advice and take a look at where I am right now…. and then, depending on what she thinks and how much she charges and stuff I may have myself a trainer!  OMG I am so excited I can’t stand it!  A little nervous, too.  What if she takes one look at me and says that this is all a huge pipe dream?  Or- what if she says it would take a miracle for me to be ready by October?  Or what if she thinks I should do figure instead of bodybuilding?  Ok- that wouldn’t be the end of the world- but for some reason I really have my heart set on bodybuilding.  I don’t want to have to mess with the figure stuff- just let me pack on as much muscle as is humanly possible, please!  Anyway- after my conversation with her I realized that I need to just keep lifting heavy.  I still want to win the meltdown transformation- don’t get me wrong.  BUT- I am just gonna have to do it while continuing to lift heavy and pack on muscle.  That’s all.  

Did I mention I feel AWESOME!!??   I’m back, people!!

I was driving my son to school this morning and I was thinking about bb.com.  Part of the reason was that I weighed myself this morning and it was down unexpectedly (well- unexpectedly for someone who clearly doesn’t understand the chemistry of it all) and I was thinking about how I needed to get on and update my stats (YIPPPEE- positive stat update- ROCK ON!).  That led me to thinking about my blog and how neglected it is (which led me to thinking about Stryka’s comment regarding how the LAST time I posted I commented on how it had been a week since I posted and then I let ANOTHER week go back with no post).  And round and round I went in my head about how I wish I had more hours in the day and that there just is never ever enough time to get everything done, blah blah blah.  Then- a blog post occurred to me and this blog was born!

Over the last month or so Chad and I have had many conversations about how there are so many people here on bb.com that are clearly not here for what many of us deem the "right" reasons.  I’m sure you know what I am talking about.  Those girls who post nothing but tits and ass and nothing of substance or content related to bodybuilding or even fitness.  Sure many of them are "fit" looking- but when all you get are scantily clad pictures and nothing more….. well….. good thing there are plenty of us on here who are interested in the actual bodybuilding and exercise part of things or there would be nothing here for me.  I can ignore the "other ones" as long as I can find the real deal people who are actually working hard to be fit and healthy.

But- here is my question.  How the hell do they have time to CONSTANTLY update their profile and/or progress pics?  I mean- seriously!  200 progress pics?  Most of them posted in the last month?  Posting pics every single day?  Really?  I imagine them with a tiny little room set up to do nothing but take pics.  There is a tripod and a camera that is constantly plugged in so it never runs out of charge (probably on a backup generator).  They set their alarm in the morning so they have time to fully wake up (can’t have a groggy sleepy look for those pictures, no way!), then they spend an hour or more putting on full make-up and touching up their tan.  They spend hours shopping for the perfect bikini or stip of cloth, knowing they can only wear it once or their "fans" will be disappointed to see them in the same piece of fabric twice (as if those fans are even LOOKING at the piece of cotton covering tiny portions of skin).  They lose their job, their house goes into foreclosure, significant others and friends feel neglected and move on, all for those stupid "progress" pictures.  And then a few of them even complain in their "blog" that they are sooooo tired of getting hit on all the time and why can’t guys just leave them alone (insert annoying high pitched whine in here)???

I don’t know.  That’s just what occurred to me this morning driving in my car.  While I struggle to find time to post in my blog once a week between training 6 days a week, preparing and eating clean meals, taking care of three kids, going to a day job and everything else I have going on there are many many women on here who seem to have nothing but time.  Hey- if you’ve got some spare cash OR time please send it my way.  I’ll put it to good use (which will NOT involve posting hundreds of "progress" pics of myself in a strip of cloth so you have no worried about added competition for the "hundreds" of guys you "don’t" want hitting on you all the time.

Hell- aside from money and time all I really want is interesting ideas for blog posts- so I guess you all gave me that.  So thanks!