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.