Crystal’s Rants

Typically I don’t do the two together but today I decided to pair back and chest and wow!!  I didn’t feel up to the challenge of cardio after a long day so instead I doubled up the bodyparts and OMG… by the time I was finished I was feeling that feeling you get when you have worked so hard you can barely move… but it was the best feeling ever!

My back is starting to come together a little more every day, i caught a glimpse out the side of my eye in the mirror during lat pulls and I can see the individual muscles moving back there now and shaping up well so excited!!

Another accomplishment for the day was progressing on my dumbbell press and incline dumbbell presses adding 5 more pounds on each side now doing so with 30s.. i am not the most coordinated when it comes to my right and left wanting to work together when I get to the failure part so this is a big deal to hold in there for 4 sets of 10 successfully!!

Today was a great day not only did I get my headshots back pleasantly surprised by them but I also put in a great day at the gym.  I have been having to change up my times a lot lately to fit my schedule but still hammering away at my goals step by step.  This entire week has been about adding weight for me, never more felt than yesterday’s backworkout, to which I also added an additional row to the mix.  But it is paying off I am getting better and better results.  Today as I went in I must say I was still feeling the soreness from back but I put together shoulders and triceps in just over an hour and felt like I had really accomplished something by the end of the workout!

Ok you know how sometime things get a little out of hand at work.. well each year about this time that happens… it is only a twice a year kinda thing.. but seriously between trying to get out my football paper this week and get set for the first week of the season I have only had like 3 hours sleep since Monday… still for some weird reason I have energy… hmmmm???

thoughts??

I haven’t been able to blog for the last week and I feel like a part of me has been missing, I really have enjoyed keeping my progress posted through this thing, and believe it or not what they say is true, if you write it you will achieve it and it keeps you honest!

The past week along with this week are extremely busy in my world of newspaper, always as football begins it gets hectic around my small office trying to keep up with all the local news that seems to start pouring in.  Because of that same reason I tend to have to shuffle my workout and diet around to work within my bounds which totally throws me off for a week at least.  But this week as I face the second week of the madness I think I have adjusted some of that to work around the busy hours so I am BAAACK!!

Last week amidst all the crazy times I am extremely happy to report that I have two big announcements the first being I finally after 4 years of waiting have become official with my second freebie job, blogging for a pro sports team, earning my credentials for all the games and gaining my press and parking pass!!  yippee!!!  i nearly did cartwheels when I found out!!  Then the second, I was able to use all the things I have been doing and make a connection with someone special to help out a local family which found their son was diagnosed with leukemia last week.  Our community had banded together but I managed to put together a special project above and beyond that to really help motivate him, a visit from a nfl player… so excited about that…!!!  It will make his life.

I think those reasons along with my overwhelming job responsibilities really justify my blogging absence but like I said before I am back!!

During my absence I also found time to go to the Europa!!  It was awesome!  Lots of fun stuff going on at the show, and I took a friend who is yet to jump on the fitness wagon and I think it motivated her a little seeing all the foods and drinks that are available all in flavors that she could enjoy.

One of the stops that really turned her head was the Kay’s Naturals booth! I carry around the cereal as a pick me up when I need something with a little carb in it if I feel weak, not to mention the protein in a single serving is awesome pick me up anytime!  She was astounded by how good the cereal and chips actually were and made the statement on the way home that had she have known healthy food would have been that good she would have been ordering it a long time!  That made me so happy, she has struggled with her weight as long as I have known her coupled with a smoking and drinking habit it makes more than a few of us worry about her.  She later asked me for the info as to where my hubby and I order our supplements and said she was interested in possibly getting information from us about some other things.

It really motivates me when I can see a friend who has seen my transformation and is inspired and then asks for help especially when I know how it feels to be the person on that side of the table not knowing what to do and being afraid to ask for help.  Makes me happy to know I might be able to help her by doing the little things such as introducing her to new things which will help her change her eating and put her one step closer to the right direction!!

Also at the Europa we saw the the incredible hulk himself manning the Europa booth, WOW…. all I can say is my hubby and his workout partner were both jealous of not being there!!  hehe…

Lots of free supplements including a different flavor of SuperPump 250 to try now so I am excited to this week get to start in on that and see how I like it so by the time I make my next order I might have something new to put on my list!

I have noticed over some time that I have gone from having slumped shoulders with no definition to having nice shoulders!!  They in fact are now one of my favorite parts of me not only with the way they look but because I LOOOVE working them out!  I always get a great workout when I have shoulder day and I attribute that in large part to changing up my workout and adding weight, no little girly weights here on shoulder days, I lift as hard and heavy as I can and really have seen this go a long way!!

The front part of my shoulder really started coming first, but looking at the back view for the first time I was sooo happy at the gym yesterday!

My fav exercise which I think has really pushed me over the edge with creating a better looking shoulder is the Arnold Press!  The key I have found has to be go extremely slow in the motion and gut through those last 2 reps no matter how tough it is!  A lot of people do them on a flat bench but I like to do them on a bench that has the straight back to support me through the motion and make sure I am not using the wrong muscles to press it up.  I usually follow that up with the front arm raises and the side arm raises then go straight into the standard shoulder press with dumbbells, it is more concentrated for me if I use dumbbells. I do a series of other things as well but that combination in itself is the ticket I believe!!  Before I was doing it in that manner I wasn’t seeing or feeling results, but by starting each shoulder workout with this I am feeling the burn quickly!!

When you are dieting, everyone around you looks at you like you are crazy??  Today at work was a classic example, given I realize eating the same thing day in and day out multiple times a day doesn’t appeal to most, but when I bust out scrambled eggs and a small portion of cottage cheese I had the look of OMG what are you doing…hehe…

People simply do not understand that with great sacrifice comes great reward, and thus if I must eat this way to meet my goals it is well worth it!  I realize most people can’t or won’t eat the way I am because it isn’t the most appetizing way to consume food, but it kinda cracks me up that they have to react in such a way.

Today was a sleepy sunday.  It is typically my day off anyway because it is the only day that my gym is closed throughout the week so today I took it in and relaxed.  I needed the rest too apparently because my body was dragging.  I slept a ton and really pulled my head together a little for the coming week.

This week is going to be a deal breaker for me.  I would like to begin 2 a days, so kicking it into high gear will be a HUGE deal this week for me if I have any intentions of competing.  I would like to talk to my gym owner as well this week, she has competed before and would possibly be able to share much needed advice for my first show goal in 15 weeks.  I know it will be a tough one should I choose to explore this further so I want to speak to her and be realistic about my expectations.

All in all I am excited about the coming week so the day off today was nice, I stayed with my diet although I did have a small amount of multigrain bread which I haven’t been adding in my diet much as I have focused on getting my carbs through veggies and such instead.

I have toyed with the idea for a while, I know my weaknesses, but I still think I can do it.  So the question now is how to get there?  when will I do it?

Looking at schedules for NPC events, there is one which is 15 weeks away, I don’t have a clue if it would be realistic to set my time line for that date knowing I hate my cellulite on my upper thighs and hips and still have my little tina the talking tummy which isn’t quite as small as i would like it to be.

I need tips, pointers and more so a realistic opinion on if this can be done… please advise!!!  especially if you have competed before.

Today I began my workout with cardio, usually I alternate out between doing it at the beginning and doing it at the end more than anything to keep it fresh.  Today I hopped up on the PRECOR machine with the intention of only doing 30 minutes… I got so ingulfed in what I was doing that 30 minutes turned into just under an hour and 4.5 miles uphill on the highest hill setting with a resistance of 10.  It was great, really targeting my thighs and butt, the problem areas I want to go away the most!!

I followed up with back feeling the burn even more than usual and part of my leg workout, only part though because due to the time I was in the gym, I forgot my snack along the way so I was getting weak fast!!!  I didn’t want to risk injury or passing out from low blood sugar levels so when it started getting sketchy I stopped.  I know my limits and it was very close to that point of breaking so it was a wise decision.

Following workout I had a small meal which made me feel a world better then finished up my work and did grocery shopping with a cart filled with more chicken and tuna.. GO FIGURE!!

Tomorrow workout is early so I am hoping to get in just as effective of a cardio workout in addition to weight training.

Last night by the time I finally got home I was entirely to tired to blog, so I wanted to drop in a few short lines this morning on behalf of yesterday and one of the biggest test of my diet thus far!!

As anyone knows the first week of a new diet is the worst, temptations to sway from what you know is the thing to do lurk at every corner and so you have to learn to adapt your diet to all real life situations.  I have learned it is really easy to stick to your diet when you control your meals and are at home or work, but when people want to go out to eat or when they invite you to a birthday party it is another story, then it turns to sheer WILL POWER!!

Yesterday was a key example of this for me.  All week I have pre-prepared foods specifically for my dieting needs, followed a strict schedule and not surrounded myself with any temptations.  But yesterday I was first invited to eat at a local restaurant with my parents.  TEST 1 then had to attend my nephews birthday party where no one else would be eating the same way I do and on top of that they had delicious homemade cake, if you knew my mother and sister in law’s cakes you would realize even more how much of a big deal that is!! TEST 2

For lunch we went to the local mexican food restaurant, my parents who both are attempting a cleaner eating lifestyle after recent health problems (part of what has motivated me to stay on track in fact) knew there was more of a variety of grilled items there that would comply with my diet. Still I worried when I walked in the doors.  By the time I found my seat I knew that while they didn’t have a variety of veggies I could eat due to the fact they grill them with heaps of butter, I could have fire grilled chicken with is moderately seasoned but not coated in butter or other fatty terrors.  So much to the confusion of my waitress I ordered a plate of grilled chicken alone.  I guess she was afraid I would starve on that alone so the plate came to the table heaping, enough for 2 meals, which I must say was a pleasant upgrade from my tuna for my third meal of the day so it worked two fold with the take out.

TEST 1 ACCOMPLISHED!!!

The birthday party came as the night advanced and fried chicken and mashed potatoes was on the menu alongside that birthday cake, it helped that we arrived after the main meal so it wasn’t as much temptation.  I took one look at the cake and in the back of my mind told myself, NO this would work against everything you have been working toward and walked away.  Then my mother in law not aware of the limitation of the diet brought a plate of heaping ice cream and cake over offered it to me, and with the same will power I turned it away.  I was so proud, everyone else was digging in and I knew that to accomplish great things there are sacrifices in your day to day life, this was just one of those.  I was so proud of me!!

TEST 2 ACCOMPLISHED

Now it is day 5 of my strict diet, a protein shake down and I am feeling amazing, a little tired but amazing!!