SixZebra’s Workouts

I did my first "real" leg workout yesterday!   On the way to the gym I got butterflies in my stomach thinking about it!  Ok, is that weird or what? 

So I started out with some very light leg extensions.  Here’s my first WO:

Leg Extensions - #70 x 15 (2 sets)
Leg Press - #135 x 20  (4 sets w/45 sec rest)
Hack Squat - Sled x 15 ( 4 sets w/45 sec rest)
Seated Leg curls - #45 x 15 (4sets w/45 sec rest)

When you are used to Leg pressing anywhere from #600 and up, this was a very humbling workout.  But who freakin’ cares cause I was back to doing Legs!!  I can’t remember doing just the sled on the hack squat, not even for warmups.   But I felt so good after I was done.  topped it off with 20 mins on the recumbant bike. 

On a related topic, I’m very pleased with my weightloss/bf loss progress.  I was going to just diet through April 7.  the reason for this is because I’ll be juding a local show here in cincy and I was informed about a month ago that I would have to get on stage for a trophy presentation.  Weeellllllll, not in the shape I was in!    If I’m going to have to get onstage representing me, my business, my trainer and women’s bodybuilding, well darnit i’m going to be in almost contest shape!
Well, anyway, I’m having a surprisingly easy time dieting so I’m just going to extend it through April 21st.  April 22nd I leave for a little dive trip to Honduras so what the heck - I’ll try and look better in a 2-piece.

Funny little story, last year, after a contest, I took a trip to Punta Cana.  I was in pretty good shape having just done a show.  Anyway, the guys down there working at the bar thought I was a pro bodybuilder!  HAHAHAHA!!  In my broken spanglish I explained I was anything but that and showed them some pics of female pro bb’rs.  Yes - I travel with my fitness mags!   That was pretty funny though.  It got bothersome after awhile as they constantly were asking me about working out, how to do this or that.  Amazing the attention some capped delts will get ya!

Wheew, just got back from pre-judging at the Northern.  I left there at 4 and there were still two more figure classes to go!  Long, long pre-judging.  In fact, almost torturous.   Just the length of the show, not the competitors.  There were some pretty tough classes for the judges.  Ran into a couple of people I met on here, JT and Simpy.  Saw a couple of other guys on here that were competing although I didn’t get to talk to them.  Now I have just enough time to enter this, get something to eat, shower and head back down for the evening show which starts at 6:30.  Can’t wait to see how everyone placed!

Well, another 1.4% bf lost!! This diet is just working wonders for me.  So far, i’ve only lost 7 lbs but gone down from a high of 17.5% bf down to 12.8% in three weeks.  So I have two more weeks to reach my goal of losing 10-15 lbs and down to around 10%bf.  I might not make the weight, but who cares, right?  My plan is to reach 10% or little less and work on maintaining between 10-11% until its time to go into pre-contest mode. 

My knee is almost back to 100%.  Had my last Pt appt today and passed everything with flying colors.  Although it will be quite some time before, if ever, I squat again.  I don’t wish to go through this again!

The Northern Ky Show is this weekend!!  I"ve been helping a girl prep for this show and I’m very excited to see the final product.  She is currently suffering through her first contest prep;  sodium/water/carb depleting as we speak.  She’s been a trooper through this whole thing and I’m just so excited for her.  If everyone had her discipline, well, that would be something!  We have our last posing practice get-together tomorrow and i’m excited to see how she’s looking. 

I hope to meet some of the people I’ve met on here AT  the Ky Show.  There are several.  For those who have not been to the show, its HUGE!!  Holy Crap!  My first show was this show and I thought it was great then; now, its even better.   They put up a huge screen on either side of the stage so those in back have a good view of the competitors during pre-judge and the night show.  Its very helpful as the show is held in a convention center and its packed!

Being it was St Patrick’s Day, and I live down the street from a very popular Irish Pub, my weekend was very quiet.   A few friends decided to hang out at OUR pub.  My hubby and I got inspired to build an Irish themed pub in our basement about two years ago.  We basically copied a lot of our design from an old favorite, the Dubliner Pub in Pleasant ridge,  which is in cincinnati.  Right down to the color of the bathroom walls.  although we decided against putting in a tap,  we got our Irish Pub, from the floor up!

It just so happens that my gym is caddy-corner to the first pub I mentioned.  It took a lot of willpower not to stop after working out for a "little" drink.  Darnit!! 

So over the weekend I went from being a platinum blonde back to a redhead.  My natural hair color is strawberry blonde, so while waiting for it to grow out my client (who is also a colorist)  gave me back my red hair.  Its darker than my natural but at least I won’t look like cheap white trash while my hair grows out.  Nothing worse than blonde hair with 2" long dark red roots!

Well, for the past two days my weight has been 150 so I’m going to edit my weight chart to reflect that!!  So I’ve lost #7 and 3.5% bf in two weeks!  To say I’m ecstatic would be an understatement.  YAY!!! 

Its Saint Patricks Day, no green beer here, but I will definitely have a coffee with a shot of Tullamore or other fine irish whiskey to celebrate. 

Cheers!

Went for my weekly visit to my trainer, dropped another 1.5% bf since last thursday.  Darn I love my diet.  No, really, my diet totally rocks!  I get to eat chili twice a day, an oriental chicken dish that my trainer made up, and of course egg whites.   its great!  and i still lose bodyfat all without any cardio and no leg workouts other than the rehab stuff I do.  so since two weeks ago i already lost 3.5% bf.  yeah!

And the weird thing is, I never get tired of eating the same stuff day in and day out.  Its a beautiful thing.
Since I’m on sick leave, still, until the 26th, I’ve had plenty of time to put into my knee/adductor workouts. 
I need one of those big ice paks the PT’s use on you after they have kicked the every loving crap out of you.
Those ice paks are awesome; they are the kind that are wide and long so they wrap around your whole leg.  I need to find one of those.  I notice little tiny improvement every day.  Now I just have to break my limping habit.  Its not necessary but I find myself still doing it.  Weird.  If anyone knows where to pick up one of those ice paks let me know.  It beats filling up a ziploc bag with ice and wrapping a towel around it.

I’m loving that little rehab program I’m doing for my knee.  It seems to get stronger every day and hurt less.  Although, one wrong move and i’m reminded why I went to the doctor in the first place.  Now i just have to remember how to walk normally as I got used to limping.  Weird how much you body adapts to something like that. 

In the meantime, I’ve taken on the task of helping a guy at the gym put on some size to his legs.  He’s young, just turned 20.  Has dreams of being a pro bodybuilder.  I remember the first time I talked to him a couple of years ago.  He was working out like a maniac at the gym.  I asked him why he was working out so hard and he replied, "I’m going to be a pro-bb’r".  Then he ignored me and went back to working out like a maniac.

So anyway, about two months ago he asks me if I’ll train him.  Well, he’s in college full-time and  works at a funeral home so I didn’t bother asking about his finances.  After some discussion we agreed that I would train him, and in payback when he got his pro card, he’d have to not only get me tickets to all his shows, but provide transportation and hotel.  I think that’s a pretty good deal.  Plus he’s from Puerto Rico so part of the deal is he has to help me out with my spanish.

I could not have asked for a better student!  I train a few clients and they all work like dogs  for me, but this guy is different.  He’s driven, passionate and dedicated almost to a fault ( that’s another story).  We had some changes we made initially, like dropping from 40 sets per muscle group down to 8-12.  The first time I worked him, we were done after 25mins.  He couldn’t believe that was all the workout I was going to have him do.  I told him to just have a little blind faith and his legs will tell him the story tomorrow (snicker, snicker).

So its been eight weeks now.  His legs are phenomenal.    We are going to start working on bringing up his delts, arms and traps next.   I’m hoping that he’ll be ready in time to compete in novice division the fall.

Well around my gym, its in hi-gear for upcoming shows on March 24th and April 7.  There are numerous girls competing ;not sure about any guys though.  I have a client coming in today to work on her posing.  I love watching the girls when they first start out and then seeing how they progress.  So I have the great honor of coaching a girl who is a firelady and this is her first show.  Unbelievable how much she improved in her presentation from one week to the next.

For those who know very little about figure comps, let me tell you, don’t knock ‘em!   I’ve competed in bb’ing and figure, both in the same year and I can tell you, figure is just as difficult to prep for as a bb’ing comp!  Anyone that says any different is full of crap!  I trained and dieted just as hard for each; learning to pose for figure was just as involved as bb’ing, it was almost like having to learn to pose all over again!  Figure was even more involved; yeah I didn’t have to put together a 90-sec routine, but I did have to worry about every freaking hair on my head, my nails, heck even my toenails for crying out loud!   Its like anything,  you only get out of it what you put into it!