8 Weeks to Go

Its just about 8 weeks to the GSO. I am getting excited. I have been taking a posing class for the last three weeks that has helped me perfect my posing. I still need to practice but Royce has been helping to make my posing even better. Thanks Royce.

My diet has been great for the last several weeks as well. I am down a few pounds with several more to go.

 Last week we went to the Country Fest at Gillette Stadium. We were able to tail gate before the show which allowed for healthy eating (and drinking. lol.) I did consume 2 skinny margaritas while tail gating. They were delicious. During the show, I ate a couple of chicken wings and that's it. I was very proud that I didn't eat anymore than that. The next day I went out for a run while everyone was sleeping. For lunch, we went to Red Robin. Looking at myfitnesspal.com, the average burger was 1000 calories. I was appalled. What could I eat? I didn't want a salad even though I knew that would be the best option. So, I decided to go with a turkey burger with jalapenos and no cheese with salsa. It was amazing. Real food tastes so GOOD. I just wish it wasn't so fattening. It took me three days to lose the weight from this meal.

Weight training has been excellent. I switched my routine to pyramid training. I needed to hit every rep range to completely exhaust the muscle group. I started a 4 day split training. With 5 sets for each exercise, my muscles were on fire at the end of the work out. It took me three days to recover. Its always fun changing up my routine. After a month on a routine, I am no longer sore, even if I increase weights. A new routine always hits different angles of the muscle which causes a different stress on them. This in turn causes the muscles to have to respond differently to further growth.

This week I also ran 10 miles which took me just under 2 hours. I have never run this long before. My furthest was 8 miles. I felt good that I could accomplish this goal. Of course I could barely walk after this. I was completely exhausted all day even though I was trying to eat carbohydrates to replenish my fuel. Fortunately, the Pumpkinman is next week and I have one more long run before the half marathon. It is hard not to train too much on cardio in order to retain my muscles for the show. I try to keep it to 30 minutes of cardio a day with a long training on the weekends. So far it has been working, however, I won't be my best at the triathlon but I will look better for it at the show.

Weekends are more challenging when it comes to diet. I wanted to go for dinner last night, but ended up having a snack and eating ground turkey at home. The Greek Festival is this weekend with great food, but I can't eat it. I am counting down the days till I can eat real food again. Of course, I will probably feel guilty about it. I am planning on not gaining much weight back after the show. I hope I can stay true to that. Only time will tell.

Spartan 2012

We have completed the Spartan Sprint 5K today at Amesbury Sports Park. It was a great race and obstacle course. The first leg was to run up the ski hill into the woods. When we came out, we had to jump into 5 moats. They were filled with mud and cold water. With each moat, the water was deeper and deeper. There was no easing into this race. The next obstacle was to climb over a wall, then under the next and through the last. This was repeated twice. I was able to use my upper body strength to climb over. After the last wall, we picked up the pace and jogged until we hit the mud pit and swamp. Scott went right through it and almost lost his shoe. I went on the side of the trail which wasn't as deep. After trudging through even more mud and having to bend down under trees in the mud, we came upon the monkey bars. Our hands were wet and muddy. I climbed onto the first rung and started to swing to one bar and then the next until I ended on the other side. I was in awe. Most people fell off because it was slippery. If you fall off any obstacles, you have to do 30 burpees. I was able to rest my arms while I watched Scott and the Adairs do burpees. (Yes, I did have to do burpees on a horizontal wall climb that I slipped off of and they didn't)  I was thrilled. I couldn't believe I conquered this challenge. Continuing on through more mud and hills, we made it to walls. Each wall we had to climb over was taller and taller. The first few, I was able to run and jump and muscle over it. Once the walls became over my head, Scott boosted me up. But it was a long drop on the other side. I slowly lowered myself down then jumped the rest of the way.
One of the other challenging obstables was the rope climb. Fortunately there were knots every few feet. Of course, it was muddy and we started in a muddy water pool. It was all upper body strength again to pull myself up the rope. I climbed and climbed until I reached the cow bell, rang it, and cheered for joy. I never thought I could do a rope climb.
Next came more moats and then we dragged a cement block around a circle. The hardest part of the challenge beside walking up and down hill with a 20 pound weight, was the barred wire. We had to crawl on "mud" covered gravel under the wire for at least 50 yards which then turned to uphill crawling. My knees and shoulders were killing me. Fortunately, none of us were injured. After that we ran through the woods and uphill again, jumped over fire conquered one final obstacle, followed by being hit by the Spartans themselves.

We had a great time and even signed up again for next year. I don't think I could have completed this last year. I would have been doing quite a few more burpees instead of completing the obstacles. Because I have been weight lifting, my upper body strength has improved tremendously. It was a great accomplishment to get over those walls by myself, or rope climb, or monkey bars. I am pretty sure I wouldn't have done this last year.
Since September when I started to weight train, my trainer really pushed me to do pull-ups. She had me doing this at every workout. When I first started, I could not even do half of one. Now I am up to eight. Being able to do pull-ups is very empowering for a women. It shows my strength that I don't need to rely on anyone else, that I am powerful and I can accomplish anything. That's what the Spartan did for me as well. All the training led to this use of my running and strength abilities. I have conquered my fears and prove that "I AM WOMAN".
What are you afraid of? What do you want to do that you can't do now? How would it feel to be able to do pull-ups? Don't let that little devil on your shoulder get the better of you. If you want to accomplish something, then work hard to do it. No one can do the work for you. Transform your body, mind, and soul to be a better and empowered you.

Competition Season

I officially started training for another show. As I mentioned before, the first one is in October. I have cleaned up my diet and increased my weight training and cardio. I will be ready for this show.

Competition season is hard. It seems to be the only thing that I can focus on. I am constantly thinking about what my next meal is or when I can get to the gym. I know it is probably taking a tole on my husband. He is probably sick of hearing me talk about it. But that is my life right now. If I want to be competitive, I need to focus on me. This has been hard because I am a mother of four who homeschools, works, and is starting a new business as well as trying to get certified in personal training. So to find the time is important. Fortunately I have a great support system that helps me to reach my goal.

It is important as a mom and wife to focus on yourself. We are constantly doing things for others, and it's important to take time for ourselves. If we don't take the time to be healthy, we sure will have to take the time to be sick. Focus this week on changing something in your life that is not working. Is it your diet? Should you cut out that soda or alcohol? How about those sweets? What about those bad carbs?

Eating the right carbohydrates are important in your diet. Eat plenty of vegetables and some potatoes, rice, or oatmeal. Try to stay away from the fatty carbs and gluten. Some people have a misconception about carbs. Some think they make you gain weight. They will is eaten in the wrong combination or consumed to excess. However, they are needed in our diet. They give us the energy we need to fuel our day. Carbohydrates cause the release of insulin in your body. This insulin causes the cells to open up to absorb either fat or protein.  If you are consuming carbohydrates with fat, then the fat will get absorbed in the cells. If you are eating protein, then the protein will becomes absorbed. What do you want to fill up your cells? I know I want bigger muscles not fat, so I choose protein. What do you choose? Start making those changes that are right for your body.

12 Weeks till GSO

The last two weeks have being going great. I have stayed on my diet and increased my training. Last Thursday I started my German Volume Training to increase my muscle mass. This includes lifting 10 sets of 10 reps for the major body parts. This will help to keep my heart rate up and give my muscles  a great pump.  I should gain muscle size with this type of training.

Also, I bought the new Tapout Video Workout. This includes a mixture of Insanity and P90X but for Mixed Martial Arts.  This work out focuses on building strength and cardio through martial arts. It is a great work out. I have been performing this exercise in the morning and weight training at night. If I don't use the DVD, I have been running or biking. I have increased my running to 7 miles in 1 hour and 13 minutes. I still have a long way to go before the half marathon.

Today I did brick work with biking and running. I really pushed my bike routine which left me spent for the running. I definitely need to practice the transition or brick work more.A brick work out is when you finished bike riding and have to run after and your legs feel like "bricks". You know your legs are moving but they are so heavy that it hurts.  I have been completing a 12 mile bike ride, however I need to challenge myself on Great Hill. If you seen it, you would know why its called Great Hill. This hill is very intimidating for me. The incline is extreme and long. To conquer this task, I am on the lowest gear and pedaling maybe 5mph. I am pedaling so slow that I am afraid of falling over because I am clipped in. There is about six weeks left before the Pumkiman Triathlon, so eventually I need to ride that route. Maybe in a couple of weeks I will be ready.

So in the mean time, I am training for the half marathon. triathlon. and 3 Figure competitions. It's going to be a great fall. I will be in the best shape of my life or die trying.

Onward

After the last month and a half of not being able to get into the gym for weight training and eating unclean, I rededicated myself yesterday to the clean lifestyle.  I started to rechart on myfitnesspal.com to count my calories and keep track of my fat. I think or I know that I have been eating to much fat. Fat, even healthy fat like avacodos, does not do well with me. My husband can eat fatty food as long as its low carb. I have to eat low fat but are allowed some carbs. Each person has to figure out what your body can handle. Every person responds to food differently. Make sure that you are tracking your food to keep count of your calories. Drinks count for calories as well. I know for me, I can drink my calories in coffee. It is not exciting drinking water all day, but it is healthier. I started to cut down on the cream in my coffee. In a large ice coffee, I now do 2 creams instead of the four that they put in. I also made my protein muffins again and just recieved my PB2 in the mail. I will have cheat days on Fridays basicly because I have some kind of party every Friday. I will really try to keep my eating and drinking under control.

It felt good to get into the gym yesterday. I worked out back and shoulders. I started with the pull-ups. I could barely squeeze out four pull-ups. I normally do eight. I can't beleive how fast I lost my strength. Hopefully it will come back quick. I plan to start German Volume Training again next week to try to bulk up for the next competition. If I can keep my head on straight, I will do Granite State in October and Monster Mash in November as well as the Challenge in November. That will be three more competitions under my belt. In the mean time, I am training for the Pumkiman and Hampton Half. Even though I haven't hit the gym, I have been running up to six miles and biking 11 miles and swimmming. It will feel good to get back in the gym and in my old routine starting next week. We are taking a staycation this week, so working out will be altered. All I can do is try and try again and never give up. I take one day at a time because this lifestyle is all a mind game.

To Eat or Not To Eat

This is more of a ranting and raving blog, so pardon the casual chatter.

Since the competition ended, I can not get out of my way anymore. I have seemed to lost all motivation to eat clean and lift heavy. I have barely made it to the gym in three weeks. Part of that is due to July holiday and now my nanny is on vacation. Fortunately,  I have continued to run, bike, and swim several days a week. However, I feel like I haven't worked out because I have not hit the gym. I miss my weight routine. I believe that since I am off of my routine, I am having a hard time staying on a routine for my diet as well. I go through fazes where I am on track in the morning. I decide that this is it and I am going to eat clean. Then the afternoon and night cravings start.
 I have been addicted to salted nuts with chocolate. I can easily eat a days full of calories just on nuts. Then I feel guilty about eating it. Then I eat it again. I know I shouldn't, but I can't stop myself. I want to eat healthy but I let my cravings take over. I am losing all sense of self control. I can't stop the insanity. I decided that I need to run an hour everyday to make up for the nuts that I eat. Then I swim at night to balance the rest of the calories. I have managed to maintain my weight but if I keep this up, I will blow up. I cannot afford to gain weight. In August is the Physique Challenge followed by the Granite State. If I can reign myself in, I will have a chance.
My husbands says that I should enjoy myself and not work out so hard because in four weeks I will have to be strict again. I agree to a certain extent but I want this to be a lifestyle and not a phase. I go through so many "phases" in my life that I want to make a permanant change. I am consistnetly "into" something for a while and then slowly "get out" of it. I stop not caring about that phase and move onto something else. I am tired of doing that. I want to do the best that I can with what I have.

July 15

Its been a while since my last post. I have struggled with my diet over this time. I planned on competing July 21 at the Yankee Classic but I couldn't get my diet right. I was burnt out. I was tired of watching everything that I ate and worrying about losing weight. I just couldn't do it any more. Also, there were many parties before the competition that I wanted to enjoy my summer and not diet it away. So I took it a little to far over the Fourth of July Holiday. I pretty much ate for a week straight. It started Friday at my Pampered Chef party and ended the Sunday after July 4th. So for nine days it was pretty much a free for all. I felt guilty every time I ate "bad" food, but I couldn't control it. I ate just to eat. I was so full and looked at Marcia and asked why was I still eating. I couldn't answer, just that the food was so good. So on Monday July 8th, I got my head back on straight and dieted down. I had an unbelievable 7 pounds to lose. I felt gross and "fat'. Even though I was still way down in weight, I could feel that I was very bloated. I needed to do something drastically. I have been eating perfectly clean since Monday and have lost all the weight plus some. I feel great. My energy is higher and I am staying awake longer at night and sleeping in to 7 which I usually get up at 5:30. Finally, I am not so fatigued anymore.

After reading many blogs of Figure competitors, I decided that I shouldn't rush competing. I don't think I am ready. It took them years to get on stage. Why am I rushing it? I know it is my personality to "get things done", but I don't just want to check it off my list. I want to do well. I want to do my best. At this point, I don't think I have enough muscle on me to compete. Fortunately, there will be another Physique Challenge in August with the stage performance in November. That will give me enough time to continue to bulk up. I had such an enjoyment at the last competition that I wanted to do it again. The camaraderie of the group was encouraging. It didn't matter how you looked. It was the transformation that counted. There was far less stress and more excitement at the Works than I think there will be at the Pro competition. Fortunately, the Granite State Challenge is at the end of October. Since doing the Physique Challenge again, it will get me ready for the Granite State which is what a initially intended to do. And if I am not ready for that, then there is another one in April. I WILL get on a professional stage to compete. I just want to make sure I am ready physically and emotionally. Until then, I will do the Physique Challenge again and pose in November.

In the mean time, it is triathlon time. I am training for the Pumpkinman in September and the Hampton Half Marathon in September. I have been in the water twice and the bike once. I haven't been off to a good start. Unfortunately, my weight training will have to take a back seat to running, biking, and, swimming. I hope to continue to do both so I don't lose my hard earned muscle. But all I can do is take it one day at a time.

On the side, I am working at earning my personal training certificate. I plan to set up space in my chiropractic office to start training there. I will work with nutrition and exercise to help you reach your goals. If you are interested in training with me, feel free to email me and we can get started toward you goal.