Radioactive

Every time I hear the song “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons come on the radio I get super pumped for my next show. This is probably the most overused song for bodybuilding routines in 2013 but I’ve yet to get sick of it. I think it’s a combination of the instrumental portion which sounds totally different than the other songs so widely played these days in addition to the repeated lines; “I’m waking up, I feel it in my bones. Enough to make my system blow…I’m radioactive”. If I’m lucky and it comes on Pandora when I’m lifting, I definitely get in an extra few reps!

Right now I’m shooting for the Cape Cod Classic which is a pro-qualifier on October 12^th but I may do one other show depending on my progress over the next few weeks. I put myself on a super strict cleaner-than-usual diet starting this week which in combination with continued intense weight training sessions and increased cardio, I’m hoping gets me to where I need to be in time. Not that my diet was bad before or anything, I’m just taking it to the next level by eating more similarly to peak week (without the carb depletion) going forward. It’s going to be a very boring month or so of eating but I’m extremely focused and energized right now so it’s worth it to me!

As far as physique progress goes right now, I don’t quite have the end-of-August grapefruits for ass cheeks I was hoping for (more like those softish sand-filled medicine balls LOL) but I do see improvement and think that as I keep shedding the top layer of fat off I’ll be happy with the results. I’m going to keep doing the 2x leg days per week for the next month because it’s clearly helping! I have to be careful though because this in combination with the Stairmaster is causing mild shin splints which I know will seriously hinder my performance if they get any worse :/  I realize I could do a different, less stressful form of cardio but all the other machines just bore me to tears! I’ve recruited a new occasional lifting partner as well lately which definitely helps to get me to push harder than usual and gives me some good ideas for ways to alter my exercises for a different effect. Last week we did legs and I was honestly crippled for 4 days afterward. Refusing to skip my 2^nd leg workout that week when I wasn’t fully recovered is probably the main cause of my shin issues but oh well, I’ll work through it! After all, that’s what Ibuprophen is for LOL. Last night we did shoulders. I thought I got a great workout in but I’m still waiting to feel any DOMS L

Today is my mid-week leg day; total coincidence that it falls on hump day, I swear! I’ve been hitting new PRs a lot lately as far as how heavy I can go on basic exercises like squats and deadlifts and I think keeping these moves simple (no added stability aspect) so I can increase the weight is the primary reason for my glute and hamstring improvement. My goal over the next few months is to get to the point where I can walk by someone and hear them say; “Dude, she squats!” Hehehe ;)

Anyway, I suppose I should get back to work here. I’ve been slacking on the blog posts lately so I figured a nice mid-week check-in was in order. Today will luckily be an early exit out of here as I am meeting with a sports agent to discuss potential fitness modeling jobs. I have absolutely no idea if this will pan out or not as I got the contact from a random older guy who approached me in the gym a few weeks back but he appears to run a legit company so I figured it was worth looking into since I would kill to get some paying modeling gigs and have no clue how to break into the industry on my own. Wish me luck and keep training hard, gym rats! xo

What Fitness Means To Me

Hi Gym Rats! Today's confession was written for maXtreme Fitness and can be accessed via the following link:

http://www.maxtremefitness.com/what-fitness-means-to-me/

I hope everyone's week is going well. Please take a moment to comment either below or in the comments section on the maXtreme page and let me know what fitness means to you. There are so many ways to approach this question and I'd love to hear yours. Happy gymming! xo

Skinny Is A Swear Word

Bodybuilding is an individual art form. You go about your training with the goal of building your view of the ideal physique for you. When you are a competitive bodybuilder you take it a step further, using judge feedback from past competitions to help you focus on making improvements for your next competition. When you put so much effort into building yourself day-in and day-out, making diet, social, and lifestyle sacrifices as required to reach your goals, the last thing you want to be told is that you are "skinny".

Skinny is a swear word. Prior to my July show I was feeling pretty good about my progress and was confident that I had made serious improvements over the 3 months since my last competition. One day I asked someone close to me if they thought I had put on some muscle in the time that had passed. The response I got was; "well, you look skinnier". Now, this person not being very familiar with the world of bodybuilding undoubtedly thought they were giving me a compliment. After all, doesn't every girl want to be called skinny? However, I couldn't help but feel down about myself for the rest of the afternoon. Why did I bother asking them in the first place? I was certainly looking for validation in the wrong place!

Call me lean, toned, fit, strong, muscular, ripped, shredded, built, athletic,conditioned, hell, call me a fat fucking pig for all I care (I obviously know that isn't true), just please do not call me skinny! Unless of course you want to seriously piss me off in which case now you know how to do it. Now that I think of it, "thin" and "slender" kind of irk me too.

Another unrelated pet peeve of mine lately is people who just love to offer their nutrition and training advice without being asked for it. Specifically those who are not representative of the goals I am striving for. If you are not a mighty fine physical specimen living a healthy, balanced lifestyle then please keep your comments to yourself. Said differently, if I wouldn't want to look like you then why on earth would you think I would want to follow your advice? I wouldn't.

Okay, it's Saturday night and I realize I should be out on the town enjoying the Summer while it lasts but after spending my morning training my back and bi's with a few Team Maximum members and then soaking up the rays all afternoon at the beach, I am spent. Basically I talked bodybuilding all day long with a variety of people so I came home with a few things on my mind (hence this blog post).

Moving on here. When I look back at the pics from my shows I am always disappointed with how my back looks completely flat, void of all muscle. Somehow, building my back muscles has never been a topic the judges have recommended. Well, apparently I just need to improve on my back flexing while facing away from them because based on these pics I had one of my teammates takes today, my back is looking rock solid!

Lastly, I have now chosen my next (and possibly last) show this year! I'm not announcing it just yet but I've already planned out my new diet plan, returning to my more structured schedule 7 weeks out, and tapering it down further at the 5 week mark. I'm making a couple of minor changes this time around including eliminating all dairy a week earlier and not cutting my starchy carbs back so much during peak week. Like I always say; it's all just a game, and these small tweaks could be just what make the difference! I can't wait to get back on the plan. My month of relaxation is not as exciting as it once sounded LOL. Well, that's all for tonight. Enjoy the rest of your weekend and remember, a skinny comment is deserving of a serious beat down.