Peak Week Re-Cap

It occurred to me that I never mentioned peak week in my last blog entry so I figured I’d give a little re-cap this morning since I don’t feel like doing any actual job-related work these days. When your employer takes away the one thing that keeps you functioning on a daily basis (my under-desk space heater) you lose all motivation to do anything other than intense daily job searching. But that’s a whole other story entirely…

Anyway, peak week actually breezed by with little difficulty this time around. Remembering how adding-in a few extra carbs for the last show actually seemed to help things for me, I decided to give myself a little extra slack this time around. Basically, if I was dying for something more after dinner, rather than going to bed starving and risking being up all night with cramps I allowed myself something small to hold me over. Monday I stuck to plan, Tuesday I had some celery sticks with PB2 post-dinner, Wednesday I increased my breakfast oats from ¼ to ½ cup, Thursday I had the increased oats plus the celery and PB2 dessert, and Friday I had my usual carb-load of the increased oats, extra serving of sweet potato with dinner, and banana with almond butter for dessert. This plan equated to 100 grams or less of carbs Monday through Thursday and 136 grams on Friday. Surprisingly, I think I actually could have increased them even more. Energy-wise I was able to function reasonably well all week but my abs didn’t seem to peak quite as nicely Saturday morning as they did back in July. I’m thinking maybe next week when I’m peaking again I’ll change things up slightly and increase carbs a bit more on both Thursday and Friday and see how it goes. I haven’t yet seen any of the professional stage pics but when I look at backstage pics of me and some of the other contestants, my abs look a little deflated. On the other hand, they came in quite nicely Sunday morning after my chicken pad thai and wine J

I think I said this last time but my non-dairy experiment has not seemed to do me any favors. I plan to continue with it for this next show but likely won’t bother next year. Also, I have been extra strict on myself for the past month cutting out foods like salmon, steak and whole eggs in an effort to cut back on fats. This probably did help my improved glute look but didn’t do anything to help my abs. On top of this, I had also reduced my fat servings from my typical 3 to 2. This week I’m sticking with the 2 fat servings but am allowing back in salmon and red meat. Clearly I have not yet found my glute-abs happy medium LOL!

Again, energy-wise I did okay this time around. My workout on Tuesday (legs) wasn’t very good but I think it was a combination of a) diet b) it being legs and still struggling with the shin splints and c) way too many people wanting to chat and thus interrupt what would have been a focused workout. On Wednesday I picked up an iced coffee on my way to the gym and despite the carb deprivation, pounded out a killer circuit routine. That’s totally what I will be doing next week since I always cut out my pre-workout drink for sodium purposes. I didn’t sleep well Wednesday night and it was likely a result of the coffee so late in the day but I actually slept really well every other night that week; even Friday when I am usually up several times due to pre-show nerves.

I think that about covers the week in general. It’s almost 11:00 … time for meal #3. The spinach salad with chicken, string beans, cukes and almonds just sounds soooooo appetizing, NOT! Haha Anyway, here’s to surviving the next two weeks without getting sick, further injured, or any more disgruntled about the Maine Event results. Every show is different in its own ways and at least I can say that I have placed in every class I’ve ever entered! ‘Til next time gym rats, happy gymming!

U Can't Touch This

Well, actually apparently you can touch this. That was the song that came on as I entered the stage for my T-walk yesterday afternoon at the Maine Event. I'm so glad I didn't choose my own song because I don't think any of my choices would have been more fitting than that one...in more aspects in life than just competing LOL! As I walked out there I felt super confident walking to the beat of the music but once I got to the right corner of my T the volume on the music seemed to die down and I lost that edge I needed to finish out confidently. I ended up forgetting to do my back pose on the right corner and making up for it on the left corner which totally threw off my mental game and I walked off feeling defeated. My friends and family who were watching said they couldn't tell  that I wasn't doing exactly what I had practiced but I'm a perfectionist to the extreme and there's nothing worse than letting yourself down.

Front pose, stage right of T-walk

The reason I say you can touch this is because I did not do nearly as well as I had expected to overall and can't help but feel a bit disappointed in myself. It's hard to get someone to understand where I'm coming from with this point of view because I did place consistently in both of my categories, 3rd novice and 3rd open. However, in my mind that's like saying that after 5 months of competing I'm no better than I was at my first show, and I know that's not the case at all. I am not shocked with the top #5 placings at all. In fact, the two girls who I anticipated to be my strongest competition were in fact the two that beat me out for the 1st and 2nd spot in the open category. It was the novice category I am more confused about. I honestly don't even remember who got spot #2 so I'll have to wait to see when the placings get posted. When all is said and done though, I know that I brought a great package, easily my best yet, and there's absolutely nothing I can do about what else gets brought to the stage. Given that social media is an easy way to get yourself in trouble (i.e. I seem to always be digging myself a deeper hole with my broadcasted opinions and attempts at sarcasm) I will say only one final thing about the Maine Event: every single one of my competitors looked amazing and their hard work was beyond evident. It was easily my toughest competition yet. I know I can do better and look forward to coming back stronger and stronger each time. That being said, bikini is supposed to resemble an all-around package. A lean, toned physique, feminine and classy stage presence, appropriate color, jewelry and makeup, and confident but not cocky attitude. I didn't feel that this was necessarily the case in all of the placings. But that's just my opinion.

Group comparison, open class A (I'm second from right)

Moving on now. I refuse to beat myself up by over-thinking things anymore today. I have one thing on my mind now and that is the Cape Cod Classic in 2 weeks! After a delicious post-show cheat meal of chicken pad Thai and some pinot grigio, I woke up early this morning ready to get back on plan! I had a declicious egg sandwich for breakfast with a whole wheat Ezekiel english muffin, 1 whole egg, 4 egg whites, roasted red peppers, baby spinach, garlic and fresh mozzarella as well as a nice big mug of my favourite pumpkin spice coffee! After taking Mugsy for a short walk I then hit the gym for a bi's and tri's routine. Having stayed out pretty late last night I wasn't fully energized but I still managed to push out a great workout. My goal right now is to come in leaner for the next show. At this point its all about diet as it's unlikely I will gain any muscle during this time. I just need to keep up with the lifts to maintain my current level of muscle and keep following my diet plan. My no-dairy experiment hasn't seemed to make any difference in my physique whatsoever. I'm going to continue to follow it for this next and last show of the year but I probably won't bother next time around. Eating meat 6x a day is really quite boring. I never thought I could miss plain Greek yogurt so much LOL! 

Anyway, I need to get some chores done and take Mugsy for a long walk as my apology for having zero energy to give him much exercise over the past week. Poor pup! Here's a pic of me, my friend Amy who I helped pose over the past few weeks as it was her first show ever and a couple of new friends I made yesterday. These shows are such a great way to meet like-minded people! Now that the pre-game is over, time to clamp down for the real deal. T-13 days...

Cleaning House!

Hunger Games

Finally, after 5 weeks of cutting back down to stage readiness, peak week is almost here! That is, peak week #1 of course as I am now 1 week out from the Maine Event and 2 weeks out from the Cape Cod Classic. To be honest, I'm feeling great right now. Over the past few week's I've gotten a little worried as the # on the scale hasn't budged at all and my progress pics haven't looked that drastically different week-to-week. However, I think the scale issue isn't really an issue at all. In fact, I think I've truly improved (i.e. added muscle) to my booty while cutting and therefore it makes total sense that the scale wouldn't budge! This morning's weekly progress pic definitely shows an improvement in my opinion (despite the always weak lighting) so I'm going into Peak Week feeling more stage-ready than ever. Cannot wait to strut my stuff with many of the same girls I competed against last Spring!

This morning was my last back and chest workout pre-show and began with some great early morning posing practice as well! I got in a fantastic workout complete with the following exercises:

-Cable straight-bar pulldowns

-SB DB Chest Press

-Lat pulldowns

-Incline DB chest press

-Standing rows (this was a new machine I've never used before where you pull a long weighted bar up from the ground. It was really hard so I'll definitely be adding it into future workouts!)

-Incline DB flies

-Straight leg deadlifts (I struggled with these today; I think the diet is starting to decrease my strength already)

I was more tired when I was done than usual so I decided to move today's scheduled cardio to tomorrow instead. It's supposed to be my StairMaster day but we'll see how the shins are feeling. Yesterday I went to the doctor's office and got x-rays on both of my shins. I just have an awful feeling that the pain is more than just shin splints and would like to know for sure before I go injuring myself any further. I told the doc I was going to push through the pain for the next 3 weeks, because nothing is going to stop me from bringing my best to both stages, but that if it's more serious than splints then I will be taking a rest for a while come mid-October in order to heal properly and come back stronger than ever next season. I should hopefully hear my results on Monday. For now though; no pain, no gain right?!

After my workout I went for a tan as I am still trying to get rid of my pesky summertime booty tan lines and then filled-up my shaker with my favorite mint cookie whey. It's my last whey shake for the next week and I'm actually happy about that. I think I've finally reached whey consumption overload LOL! Today began peak week meal prep with chicken and turkey burger cooking. This is what too lazy to go outside and grill looks like:

Makeshift grill hahaha! I'm thinking the rest of the day will just be a veg-out day as I know pushing myself at this point is not a good idea and yesterday I felt like a mild head cold was coming on. Time to load-up on emergen-C and Airborne! Nothing like feeling under the weather and not being able to eat any of your favorite comfort foods. Anyway, you probably won't hear from me again until after the Maine Event. Crossing my fingers that it goes well as I know I'll really need the confidence to push myself even further the following two weeks for the CCC. I know I already look better than I have all year so all I can say is bring it on ladies! In the words of Suzanne Collins; "May the odds be ever in MY favor!" 

 

Carb-Fucked

I hereby recommend a new term be added to the Urban Dictionary: carb-fucked. This has nothing to do with the good kind of fucking but rather should be used to describe when one's level of carbohydrates have been kept too low for a prolonged period of time to function normally. Side effects include loss of memory, dizziness, paranoia, body weakness, intolerance, and irritability to name just a few. I am currently carb-fucked.

Only two weeks left until I return to the stage at the Maine Event and I have to say, I am more scared of the competition this time than in any other show previously. I know the judges are always looking for something different but the girl who I consider to be my strongest competitor won first place in a regional show in Massachusetts today so now I'm even more worried. I just gotta keep telling myself to focus and not allow myself to become a nervous wreck thinking about the other girls. After all, you never know what will happen once you are up on stage!

I decided to cut my starchy carbs back to 3 servings/day this past week as an experiment to see if I'd come in any leaner. Well, I do think I look leaner in the mirror but I'm not sure if it's all in my head or not as the scale didn't read any different at my weekly weigh-in this morning than it did a week ago. Of course this could also mean that I've managed to gain muscle while losing fat this week but at this late in the game I highly doubt that is the case. I was fine Monday-Wednesday but on Thursday I felt dizzy all day and finally toward the end of the day connected that it was likely a result of my diet change. Yesterday (Friday) I increased my servings back up to 4 which I will continue with for the next 9 days until the following Monday when I start peak week. Unfortunately, it usually takes 2-3 days for my body to adjust to a re-feed so today has been the worst energy-wise. I went shopping with some friends this afternoon and literally had to sit down while they tried clothes on because I had no energy or patience to stand around waiting. Luckily there was a Starbucks nearby and I soon got a coffee that recharged me for a while!

Once I came home I did a couple household chores and now I'm just sitting here on the coach where I'll probably remain for the rest of the night. Once positive thing about lowering my carbs this week is that the lack of energy combined with continued intense training makes for great sleeps! I actually slept through to my alarm several nights this week, haven't had to take any melatonin, and didn't even want to get out of bed this morning! I hope tonight brings the same. I plan to have a yummy tilapia-veggie stir-fry for dinner, take the dog for a short walk, put on some comfy clothes, make some hot tea and get into bed to read until I fall alseep. Tomorrow is my combined legs and core day and I want to be have plenty of energy to hit my glutes hard.

So, nothing really exciting going on here. Just trying to stay positive and look forward to showing off all the hard work I've done over the past year in two week's time.  I can't believe I literally have come full circle. The Cape Code Classic, my last show this year, will mark one year since I took my training and diet to the next level and started working toward my stage debut. No matter what happens, I know I have accomplished so much and can say that I'm so much happier with where I'm at than I was a year ago. Sure, there's been ups and downs of various kinds but taking this route has shown me just what you can accomplish when you find something you love and have a goal to focus on. The journey is definitely the best part. 

Give Me Somethin' To Break

You could have made a motivational fitness video of my workout this morning. Curiosity got the best of me and I decided to try out a sample of a fat burner I had laying around the house. The package said to take on an empty stomach, pre-breakfast and to take a second one if didn't feel any results. Harmless I thought. Good way to get a little extra energy for my workout since I've had about 10 hours of sleep in the past 3 days thanks to my stupid offer to watch my parent's puppy this weekend who can't seem to sleep more than an hour without needing to pee.

I popped the pill, let the dogs out, and began to make breakfast. About 20 minutes later I'm sitting at my kitchen counter struggling to eat as I became overwhelmed with nausea and uncontrollable shakes. I don't mean jitters like when you've had too much coffee. I mean seriously shaking to the point of wondering if I needed to get myself to the emergency room to get my stomach pumped! I forced myself to finish eating, praying that it wasn't going to come back up (thank god it didn't!), and decided to go lie down for a while. Then I started crying for no apparent reason while my body temperature rose about 30 degrees so I thought maybe some fresh air would do me some good...especially since both dogs were looking at me begging to go for their walks. Eventually I got my act together enough where I felt like driving wouldn't be a hazard and made my way to the gym.

Today was my half-leg and half-core day and I have to say, despite feeling like shit and knowing I looked even worse with my red face and bags under my eyes, I had the best workout I've had in a long ass time! This week I've been listening to Pandora's Hard Rock Strength Training station and it's been the most motivating one yet! I turn it up way too loud for my poor ear drums, tune everyone and everything out and bust some serious ass. My favourite lifting song, Limp Bizkit's "Break Stuff", came on this morning and it totally made my day. Wish I could put Pandora on repeat LOL. This was today's routine:

-Cable deadlifts
-Cable side & back glute squeezes
-DB step-ups
-Cable 1-arm side crunches
-SB Tee Pees
-Hanging loop leg raises
-SB planks w/side toe touches

New PRs in EVERY exercise! I think the fat burner partially numbed me to pain as I didn't seem to be remotely bothered by upping both my weight and reps. Going to be seriously sore tomorrow. Despite this amazing effect though, I will most definitely not be trying out a fat burner again in the future. Maybe a 300 lb. male could handle it but the package should have at least suggested cutting it in half to start-out. I'm just glad there wasn't a second one in there. Imagine what would have happened if I had taken two?!! I'm not sure I'd be alive to type this out right now. As I lay here on my couch I still feel shaky and my heart is racing but at least I'm not nauseous anymore. I've been chugging the water all day in hopes to flush it out of my system before I try to sleep tonight. Lesson learned.

Aside from my lack of sleep and apparent drug overdose, the weekend has been great! One of the girls doing the Maine Event came down from her home in Calais and we spent Friday night and Saturday morning getting in tons of posing practice. Despite feeling like my physique is shredding-up on schedule and feeling pretty good about my walk, I've been psyching myself out thinking about the competition. Oh...did I mention I am doing the Maine Event as well?!! I actually decided to do it a while ago but didn't want to publicly commit until I felt ready and was positive I would not have to back out. Shortest prep yet, having decided to take it on only 6 weeks out. I know all I can do is train as hard and smart as possible and bring my A-game but knowing how great the other girls look is really messing with my head...and these are just the girls who I know are competing. There's always unknowns who show up unexpectedly. Must came myself down here. Three weeks to go. GAME. IS. ON.

I've been managing my shin splints fairly effectively by doing only low-impact cardio these past few days. Yesterday I tried out a new machine. I don't know what it's called but basically it's an elliptical stair master. I actually really liked it as I felt like I was getting an ass burn without too much stress being put on my injuries. I don't have to do cardio again until Tuesday so right now I'm a happy camper :)

It's time to take the doggies for a midday walk now so that's all for today. Gotta take advantage of this motivational high I seem to be on while I can! I found the picture below online the other day and it pretty much sums up how I feel about this show. Someday my back will look like that LOL. 'Til next time, happy gymming...and stay away from fat burners!

Melatonin

Sounds like the name of a 90's rock song, kind of like "Glycerin" or "Lithium". Melatonin is my new best friend. Well, that and green tea which has been my secret dieting trick in the weeks leading up to all of my shows. As a show gets closer and closer, my sleep pattern gets seriously disrupted. Paranoid thoughts of other competitors or not being stage-ready creep into my head, keeping me from entering into deep sleep mode or from going back to sleep if I get up in the middle of the night. Well, about a month ago the vet recommended I start giving my dog melatonin with his dinner as a means to help improve his coat. The only side effect was that it would likely knock him out. After a few days of having a dog that slept through the night (and in turn did not wake me up) I did a little research and decided to try it out myself. THE STUFF WORKS WONDERS! As soon as I'm ready to hit the sack I pop a little 3 mg pill and I'm out like a light. Better yet, I can make it through to my alarm so long as I don't drink a bundle of water before bed! This is the stuff we've been taking. Cheapest kind sold at CVS and I highly recommend it!

As far as the green tea goes - MAJOR METABOLISM BOOSTER! I swear after I drink a cup I am suddenly starving which you would think would not be good when you are trying to eat less but I just re-fill my cup and eventually I'm full of fluid LOL. This is the kind of I've been drinking during the day. It's a little pricey but quite delish. Plus, the bags all have inspirational quotes on the labels which sometimes turns a lousy work day around for me. I have one hanging at my desk from last spring that says; "Happiness comes when you overcome the most impossible challenge".

At night I sometimes drink the Sleepytime Green Tea made my Celestial Seasonings. I'm not sure what's in it but it seems to have the same effect (but on a lesser scale) as the melatonin, plus the metabolism-boosting aspect from the green tea. The only problem of course is waking up having to pee LOL

I can happily say that show progress is going extremely well right now. The cutting diet has become second nature and over the past few weeks of going cold turkey I've noticed significant results. Here's a comparison pic I took two days ago. Keep in mind that the lighting where I take all of my weekly progress pics is pretty lousy but I swear there is visible change as not only do I feel and see it myself but I've gotten comments lately in the gym so I know it's not all in my head :P

I started my September lifting plan today and so far so good! Today was bi's and tri's, then it's just cardio tomorrow before a leg smasher on Wednesday. I've been able to work through my shin issues thus far by taking Ibuprophen pre-workout and making more of an effort to stretch and roll-out post-workout. It's not perfect but as long as it doesn't get any worse it's manageable. I'm starting to feel a bit of the pre-show exhaustion set in already so I'm hoping that my reduction in lifting from 6 to 5 days/week makes a bit of a difference for the next few weeks before the carb depletion gets serious. Of course my cardio has been increased from 2 to 3 days/week but at least that takes less time and can be easily done pre-work when I have the most energy. 

I haven't yet committed 100% to which show(s) I will be doing but I do have a clear time frame in mind and I'm confident I'll be ready. Nothing feels better and keeps you on track than seeing improvement and seeing it this far out is just icing on the (protein) cake! I'm looking forward to this coming weekend as a fellow competitor (first-timer) is coming to visit and we are going to get in a ton of posing practice and talk through all of the details that one needs to know about getting on the stage. Both a good learning sesh for her and a good refresher for me! It's so nice to meet people with the same interests, who speak your "language"! Plus, it's extremely gratifying after only having done a few shows to have a stranger reach out to you for advice. Hmmmm now how can I make a career out of this? By winning I'm guessing! I met an NPC pro bodybuilder in the gym this morning who was without a doubt the most jacked guy I've ever seen in my life. He walked in and the whole gym turned to stare! He mentioned that he recently did a show out west and didn't even place...mere coincidence that the top 5 finalists were all endorsed by big-name companies? I think not! Gave me a sour taste in my mouth as he also said that the female finalists all seemed to have opened their drawers for at least one of the judges at the table. I'd like to think that this is not always the case, that the best physique will eventually win, so that's the plan. Can't ignore a rock solid package forever, right?! Winners never quit.