Good Morning gym rats and happy Sunday Funday! It's been a week since the Spirit of America bodybuilding competition and I've spent these past 7 days trying to get myself back on a more normal daily routine. This includes reducing my cardio and getting back into the gym for some really great focused and adequately fueled lifts, re-introducing dairy and many of my other favourite clean foods into my diet (steak, whole eggs, high-carb fruits, nuts, etc), and trying to return to a less stressed-out mindset day-to-day. There are of course the usual post-show dealings with fucktards who welcome you back to their assumption of normal life which includes not going to the gym (you must be sick of it right?!), eating greasy sugar-laden foods, and binge drinking your weekends away, but I try my best to avoid these people and ignore the somewhat fucktard comments from people who should really know better by now. Yes, fucktard is my new favourite word.
I gave myself the week off from diet tracking so I could just eat what I wanted without the added stress of staying within a calorie or macro goal which I think helped a lot. I generally eat the same things anyway so it's not like I went all-out food crazy but I did have a few extra "treats" here and there which I think was completely necessary in order to hit the mental re-set button after my 14 long weeks of cutting. This morning I weighed-in for the first time since before the show and I was up about 4 lbs. I honestly don't even care though as I am feeling so much better both mentally and physically. Plus, a little extra fat around my muscles makes them look so much bigger LOL! Okay, so my abs aren't as defined anymore but I'm still pretty tight so if I were to plateau here for a while I'd be okay with that.
Being Sunday Funday, I got to start the day with my favourite yoga class! I also got to the gym extra early so I could get in 30 mins of core work beforehand. Not an intense workout by any means but certainly a great stretch after a week of heavy lifting and a day full of quad flexing on show-day. That brings me to the competition. Not my best showing. I didn't even place and while saying that for the gagillionth time this week (I am so fucking sick of people asking me at this point) does make me feel a little bit like a failure, I can honestly say it was by far the toughest competition I've even been in. I was up against 75 other bikini girls and honestly looking back at pictures, while I did feel very confident going in that I was bringing a great package, I just wasn't competition for most of these girls. In one word, JACKED. I feel like I was background scenery, washed away and unnoticeable amongst many of these stand-out physiques. One one hand, it was nice to feel like I was up against a solid crew of girls who really worked hard for that day as opposed to last year at the same show where I felt exactly the opposite. However, I am also a bit disgruntled as I can confidently say that over the past year the OCB had done a complete shift in what they are looking for in bikini. Basically I feel like you need to come in as big and as lean as you would for figure, but show up in a bikini. Perhaps it's going that way for all divisions (ie maybe the figure ladies are needing to come in with what the OCB wanted last year for bodybuilding) but I really only payed attention to bikini as that's what concerns me. That being said, my only goal right now is to get as big as possible! Easier said that done for this hard-gainer. Bring on the clean calories and heavy HEAVY weights...
I honestly don't even know if I will compete again this year as it all depends on my progress, how I'm feeling, and where my budget and life is at. I am so beyond sick of people asking me when my next show is. I just want to be like; "Are you fucking kidding me? I just spent the past 3.5 months with only one focus in life. Give me a chance to take a fucking breath before you bombard me with your stressful expectations again!" One know-it-all ass-fuck literally high-tailed it over to me the moment after I came off the stage from my T-walk having just found out that I did not place and trying to internalize my feelings amongst the sympathetic on-lookers, asking me what my go-forward plan was and trying to get me to hand-over my diet plan so his genius ass could "fix" it for me. Gee, I'm sorry (you fat obnoxious fucktard) that I haven't spent the past 30 seconds developing my post-show diet and fitness plan for the next 6-12 months and already chosen my next competition date. What the fuck is wrong with people?!!!
I don't regret doing the show by any means though. 1) It was nice to see people I wouldn't normally see and forge new friendships, 2) I got nice and lean in time for bathing suit and mini-skirt weather, and 3) I got a much clearer view of what my physique goal needs to be in order to step on stage again. Plus, I really needed a goal to focus on and get me through a ridiculously long and depressing winter here in Maine!
This week is my last week of my April lifting plan which I have modified slightly post-show. Here's the new breakdown:
Sunday: Yoga & Core
Monday: Shoulders
Tuesday: Legs
Wednesday: Chest & Triceps
Thursday: Cardio
Friday: Back & Biceps
Saturday: Off
Starting the following week I am actually going to be revamping my entire lifting regimin in hopes to really confuse my muscles and shock them into new growth. A friend recently introduced me to a program his trainer developed called the Power / Rep Range / Shock program (P/RR/S). Each week you change the tempo of your lifts from a power range where you employ a fast and powerful tempo of 4/0/X, to a rep range where you utilize isometric contractions in between the eccentric and concentric contractions with a tempo of 2/1/2/1 and finally a shock range where you utilize dropsets and supersets with very little rest in between sets. I am going to do this for at least 6 weeks (so that I run through the program twice) and then reevaluate at that time. I might stick with it just changing some of the lifts or I might go back to my regular lifting regimen depending on my results. Either way, it's always fun to try something new! If you are interested in learning more about this program you can find a great article on it here: http://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/power-rep-range-shock-time-to-grow-without-plateau.html
Finally, here are a few pics from show-day:
This is the free backstage shot we always get. I don't really care for it to be honest. I hope it's been seriously touched-up because I had some rocking abs going on the day before that seemed to disappear by the time I got on stage despite the rice cakes and almond butter (dry carbs & sugar!) I consumed beforehand.
Butt & back shot! I thought it showed improvement over last year but still nothing compared to what I was up against.
Group shot...and these weren't even the toughest competitors though as they were all lumped together at center stage. That was the other thing; HUGE classes. I think my novice class had 17 girls in it! Not so easy to stand-out in a pack that size. I didn't really care for any of the professionally taken shots but if you are curious what the other competitors looked like you can visit http://www.jjsphotodesign.com/soa2014. I was #31 so once they are all uploaded hopefully later this week there should be a page with just my individual shots as well as the prejudging ones that are already up there. As far as judge feedback goes, I have only heard back from one judge so far who didn't tell me anything I didn't already know. Build more muscle all-around and come in a tad leaner. "Do this and you will place better next time. You are a beautiful girl though, good luck!" Lady, this ain't no beauty competition, I don't need the sugar-coating as a means to lessen the blow...
Okay it's lunch time now so that's all you get. Lots to update you all on today so thanks if you made it this far! Going to go make myself a delicious baby spinach salad with chicken breast, balsamic beets, carrots, cuke, feta, almonds, and Annie's asian sesame dressing. Did I mention I love being able to eat my favorite clean foods again?
I gave myself the week off from diet tracking so I could just eat what I wanted without the added stress of staying within a calorie or macro goal which I think helped a lot. I generally eat the same things anyway so it's not like I went all-out food crazy but I did have a few extra "treats" here and there which I think was completely necessary in order to hit the mental re-set button after my 14 long weeks of cutting. This morning I weighed-in for the first time since before the show and I was up about 4 lbs. I honestly don't even care though as I am feeling so much better both mentally and physically. Plus, a little extra fat around my muscles makes them look so much bigger LOL! Okay, so my abs aren't as defined anymore but I'm still pretty tight so if I were to plateau here for a while I'd be okay with that.
Being Sunday Funday, I got to start the day with my favourite yoga class! I also got to the gym extra early so I could get in 30 mins of core work beforehand. Not an intense workout by any means but certainly a great stretch after a week of heavy lifting and a day full of quad flexing on show-day. That brings me to the competition. Not my best showing. I didn't even place and while saying that for the gagillionth time this week (I am so fucking sick of people asking me at this point) does make me feel a little bit like a failure, I can honestly say it was by far the toughest competition I've even been in. I was up against 75 other bikini girls and honestly looking back at pictures, while I did feel very confident going in that I was bringing a great package, I just wasn't competition for most of these girls. In one word, JACKED. I feel like I was background scenery, washed away and unnoticeable amongst many of these stand-out physiques. One one hand, it was nice to feel like I was up against a solid crew of girls who really worked hard for that day as opposed to last year at the same show where I felt exactly the opposite. However, I am also a bit disgruntled as I can confidently say that over the past year the OCB had done a complete shift in what they are looking for in bikini. Basically I feel like you need to come in as big and as lean as you would for figure, but show up in a bikini. Perhaps it's going that way for all divisions (ie maybe the figure ladies are needing to come in with what the OCB wanted last year for bodybuilding) but I really only payed attention to bikini as that's what concerns me. That being said, my only goal right now is to get as big as possible! Easier said that done for this hard-gainer. Bring on the clean calories and heavy HEAVY weights...
I honestly don't even know if I will compete again this year as it all depends on my progress, how I'm feeling, and where my budget and life is at. I am so beyond sick of people asking me when my next show is. I just want to be like; "Are you fucking kidding me? I just spent the past 3.5 months with only one focus in life. Give me a chance to take a fucking breath before you bombard me with your stressful expectations again!" One know-it-all ass-fuck literally high-tailed it over to me the moment after I came off the stage from my T-walk having just found out that I did not place and trying to internalize my feelings amongst the sympathetic on-lookers, asking me what my go-forward plan was and trying to get me to hand-over my diet plan so his genius ass could "fix" it for me. Gee, I'm sorry (you fat obnoxious fucktard) that I haven't spent the past 30 seconds developing my post-show diet and fitness plan for the next 6-12 months and already chosen my next competition date. What the fuck is wrong with people?!!!
I don't regret doing the show by any means though. 1) It was nice to see people I wouldn't normally see and forge new friendships, 2) I got nice and lean in time for bathing suit and mini-skirt weather, and 3) I got a much clearer view of what my physique goal needs to be in order to step on stage again. Plus, I really needed a goal to focus on and get me through a ridiculously long and depressing winter here in Maine!
This week is my last week of my April lifting plan which I have modified slightly post-show. Here's the new breakdown:
Sunday: Yoga & Core
Monday: Shoulders
Tuesday: Legs
Wednesday: Chest & Triceps
Thursday: Cardio
Friday: Back & Biceps
Saturday: Off
Starting the following week I am actually going to be revamping my entire lifting regimin in hopes to really confuse my muscles and shock them into new growth. A friend recently introduced me to a program his trainer developed called the Power / Rep Range / Shock program (P/RR/S). Each week you change the tempo of your lifts from a power range where you employ a fast and powerful tempo of 4/0/X, to a rep range where you utilize isometric contractions in between the eccentric and concentric contractions with a tempo of 2/1/2/1 and finally a shock range where you utilize dropsets and supersets with very little rest in between sets. I am going to do this for at least 6 weeks (so that I run through the program twice) and then reevaluate at that time. I might stick with it just changing some of the lifts or I might go back to my regular lifting regimen depending on my results. Either way, it's always fun to try something new! If you are interested in learning more about this program you can find a great article on it here: http://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/power-rep-range-shock-time-to-grow-without-plateau.html
Finally, here are a few pics from show-day:
This is the free backstage shot we always get. I don't really care for it to be honest. I hope it's been seriously touched-up because I had some rocking abs going on the day before that seemed to disappear by the time I got on stage despite the rice cakes and almond butter (dry carbs & sugar!) I consumed beforehand.
Butt & back shot! I thought it showed improvement over last year but still nothing compared to what I was up against.
Group shot...and these weren't even the toughest competitors though as they were all lumped together at center stage. That was the other thing; HUGE classes. I think my novice class had 17 girls in it! Not so easy to stand-out in a pack that size. I didn't really care for any of the professionally taken shots but if you are curious what the other competitors looked like you can visit http://www.jjsphotodesign.com/soa2014. I was #31 so once they are all uploaded hopefully later this week there should be a page with just my individual shots as well as the prejudging ones that are already up there. As far as judge feedback goes, I have only heard back from one judge so far who didn't tell me anything I didn't already know. Build more muscle all-around and come in a tad leaner. "Do this and you will place better next time. You are a beautiful girl though, good luck!" Lady, this ain't no beauty competition, I don't need the sugar-coating as a means to lessen the blow...
Okay it's lunch time now so that's all you get. Lots to update you all on today so thanks if you made it this far! Going to go make myself a delicious baby spinach salad with chicken breast, balsamic beets, carrots, cuke, feta, almonds, and Annie's asian sesame dressing. Did I mention I love being able to eat my favorite clean foods again?
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