Monday Motivation

Good Morning Gym Rats! I hope all of you are off to a good start to your week by now. It’s a beautiful sunny day here in Portland, a little chillier than I would like, but I can’t complain seeing as I’m stuck here in the office all day anyway. It was a busy weekend for me and I think the stress of having a few too many items on my plate is starting to get to me as I’m battling a sore throat this morning. I always do this to myself, building lists upon lists of things to get done to the point where I become overwhelmed and give myself heart palpitations! Truthfully, not much of these tasks actually have to be done, at least not immediately, so I really stress myself out over nothing. Bring on the Airborne and green tea today (presently enjoying Yogi’s Green Tea Blueberry Slim Life)! I refuse to let a little unnecessary bug ruin my workout plants for the week.

Speaking of workouts, I spent some time on Saturday planning-out my workouts for the next four weeks as well as writing-out a schedule for when to make diet cuts assuming I do a show this summer. I’m still not committing (openly) to a summer show but there is one I am considering on July 20^th, the OCB Yankee Classic (another pro-qualifier). Since I’m already eating clean and in a good spot physique-wise, I am going to start cutting-back on May 20^th since that will be exactly 8 weeks out. I don’t want to peak too early like I did last time so I think the standard 12-week prep would be too much. As far as my workouts go, I wrote-out a weight training plan for 6 days/week with a strong focus on glutes since that is my #1 area to target. For now, I will keep cardio at 3 days/week in only 20 minutes segments and then ramp it up as necessary on May 20^th and then again four weeks later. Here is the new weight-training split for the next month:

Monday: Hamstrings, Quads, Glutes

Tuesday: Shoulders
Wednesday: Glutes

Thursday: Biceps & Triceps

Friday: Core

Saturday: Back & Chest

Sunday: Cardio only or a make-up day if I was unable to complete one of the prior days’ workouts

I have a couple random exercises, mostly additional core work, sprinkled among different days but that is the basic plan that I’ll stick to. It’s nice to plan it out myself as opposed to using the CSF plans since now I won’t have to modify anything to suit my needs. Customized workout plans are by far the best way to get a plan that a) you will enjoy, b) you will stick to and c) will work for your desired results….another reason you should sign-up for your own at www.fitfiercefun.com or at least share my website with anyone you know who may be interested J

On Saturday I also met with the maXtreme creator for a fitting for the next maXtreme app photo shoot that will be sometime in the next couple of months. There will be two new apps coming out, one concentrating on the business traveller looking for workouts to do when no gym is available, and the other focusing on kettle-bell routines. This time around we get to keep the clothing to wear to workout and use as free advertising – it’s a win-win for us all!

Well, I should at least pretend to do some work here for a bit. I’m giving it about 15 minutes before I’m ready to poke my eyes out with my pen. T- 7 hours ‘til I can skedaddle! I hope you all had a good weekend, didn’t drink too many Cinco de Mayo margaritas, and are ready to kick some serious fitness ass today! In case your thoughts are teetering back-and-forth on whether to hit-up the gym today, here’s a little kick-in-the-ass to help you decide. We’ll call it your Monday Motivation J

Portion Control

Happy Monday Gym Rats! The BEST time to start a new diet or workout plan is always NOW. Maybe you are feeling guilty for over-indulging this past weekend or skipping the gym because the warm weather is FINALLY here. Well, my advice is to not let yourself dwell on your past mistakes – you can’t change what is already done – but you can push forward in a better direction. That’s what I’m trying to remind myself this morning as I sit here thinking about some minor setbacks I experienced over the weekend and what I can do to offset them in the coming week.

On Saturday I arrived at the gym nice and early to embark on my scheduled run and “madness” workout. Well, three minutes into my run I felt something snap in my left quad and the damn thing was not taking any impact after that! In pain, I immediately got off and limped over to the stretching area where I rolled it out for a few minutes until the pain subsided. It’s odd since a) I hadn’t done a run in a while so it’s not like it’s been over-worked lately and b) I did my usual quad-stretching and walking warm-up before embarking on my run. Anyway, I guess it’s my body’s way of telling me I’ve been slacking on the stretching and need to get better about taking care of the muscles I spend so much time ripping-up! I proceeded to finish my cardio session with some light elliptical work as it didn’t seem to bother me any and then went on to complete my weight workout, eliminating all lower body exercises from the plan. All-in-all it was a reasonably good workout, just not the insanity I had planned.

Then on Sunday I woke up contemplating the idea of going to the 11:15 am yoga-lates class but opted for a last-minute fishing trip with my Dad instead. It was so nice out and I’m not quite sure what “yoga-lates” is (maybe a combination of yoga & pilates??) but I get very frustrated when I show up to a class that ends up sucking so it honestly wasn’t worth the chance to me when I had better options. My quad was still bothering me so I decided to skip a weight workout for the day and instead give my puppy some extra exercise which he’s been in dire need of. I think we walked nearly two hours yesterday (broken up into 3 separate walks) so at least one of us was a happy camper. Plus, I did get to dine on a delicious fresh brown trout for dinner!

That brings me to my next topic and primary reason for writing this blog entry; portion control. As each day goes on post-show I feel the need more and more to jump back on a show-prepping diet as I feel like my portion sizes are increasingly out of control. According to my weekly weight-in Saturday morning, I only gained 1 lb post-SOA. However, my bloated abs tell a different story. I also went out to eat Saturday night and while the Salmon dinner wasn’t exactly my worst menu option, the bread basket and glass of wine probably didn’t help matters. Plus, this exceeded my rule of one cheat meal / alcoholic beverage per week since I had already dined out 4 days prior. In general I’m still measuring and tracking my meals and eating clean but I think it’s time to set some stricter guidelines before I blow up like a hippopotamus.

Anyway, this is why I say that the best time to change is the present time. Forget what happened yesterday or last week and move on. So far so good today – I’m striving to keep my carbs sub-200 grams per day this week and we’ll see how I feel come next weekend. My quad is feeling much better today but I think I’m still going to give it one more day of rest and do some light elliptical again tonight, followed by a back and chest workout and then some serious foam-rolling! I hope all of you gym rats got in some good fitness activities and stayed on track with your goals this weekend. Feel free to share below how you plan to stay motivated as the weather gets warmer, the gym becomes less appealing, and the idea of a margarita on a patio is seriously calling your name! ‘Til next time gym rats, happy gymming!

Clean Bulking

Well, it’s been nearly a week of being off the competition diet and I haven’t noticed any changes yet physique or energy-wise. My calorie intake has been averaging about 300 additional daily calories due to an increase in carbs and healthy fats and this seems to be sustainable for my energy needs. My macros are about 42% carb / 32% protein / 26% fat compared to last week’s (peak week) ratios of 36% carb / 41% protein / 23% fat and the week prior’s (general competition prep diet) ratios of 40% carb / 37% protein / 23% fat.   I have to say, I am so happy to be able to indulge in my post-workout Syntrax Mint Cookie whey again! It may cause mild bloat but not enough to bother me; especially when it tastes so heavenly hehehe J

I can also happily say that I’m back to sleeping through the night! The week before a competition is just so stressful mentally that I was constantly waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to get back to sleep because of all the random thoughts running through my head. Not to mention needing to pee 24x7 due to trying to reach my suggested fluid intake of at least a gallon a day. Competing is a full-time job and while I am eager to jump back on the band-wagon and start prepping for my next show, my body is very thanking for a break!

Workouts this week have been great. I’ve cut-back significantly on cardio, doing it only twice this week and for only 20 minute segments. Oddly, despite not having run in a while, my shins have been bothering me again so I’d prefer to save my legs for weight sessions for the time being. Here was the breakdown of this week’s workouts:

Monday: elliptical, back & chest

Tuesday: legs

Wednesday: core

Thursday: stairmaster & shoulders

Friday: bi’s & tri’s

Tomorrow I think I’ll do another cardio session, maybe a run, and then embark on that “madness in the gym” workout I mentioned previously. It’s a long one but since its Saturday I won’t be so pressed for time. Then I’m contemplating using Sunday as an “off day” and may do a yoga class instead of my usual routine. My body is just in need of some serious TLC and I think a little yoga will help to stretch out tight muscles and maybe even help my mind to relax!  I’m wrapping-up the April CSF workouts right now and then I’m going to design my own plan for May. I’m finally done with the CSF program. The more people I meet in the bodybuilding community, the happier I am with my decision to leave. Unless you “drink the CSF water” (or Isagenix to be more precise!), they have no interest in helping you succeed. Additionally, as someone who already has a solid basis of knowledge when it comes to both training and nutrition, they really had nothing to offer me. If ever you are debating trying out this company, please contact me and I will give you the low-down in detail!

Also, doing a little marketing here, don’t forget that FitFierceFun.com is now up and running and now that I have a little more free time I can take on some new clients! I have a few people I’ve developed monthly workout plans for lately but it’s all been for friends/colleagues as I haven’t had any time, energy, or money to spend on marketing. Word-of-mouth is probably the best way to build a good reputation so please share my website with anyone you know who may be interested in starting a new workout plan but who maybe doesn’t know what to do or where to even begin. I seriously love designing workout plans and coming up with exercises specific to what an individual’s goals or needs are makes it even more fun for me!

I’m writing this entry on a tiny little window that I keep switching to when no one is looking as I’m sitting here wasting away at my desk on this beautiful sunny day LOL. It’s Friday and I so don’t want to be here! In a few minutes I’m stepping out to enjoy some sushi lunch with the maXtreme creator to talk business. Mmmm my tummy is growling thinking about it! I’ve allowed myself a few clean treats this week (and one very un-clean treat Wednesday night when my parents took me out for a celebration dinner of Truffled Lobster Mac & a glass of Pinot Grigio) Yummy!!! All-in-all though week one of “clean bulking” is off to a good start and I’m ready to keep rolling!