Reflections of the Week

We are officially 5 WEEKS out until peak week! I have a million emotions going through me at all times ranging from excitement, anxiety, frustration, and even sadness. For most of this week I would say that I have mostly been anxious and frustrated. With the shift in workouts and not keeping track of my diet, I actually went up to 112 but have since then come back down to 110.6. Although I did not hit my weight goal this week (109 lbs), I am still happy because I finally broke through 111 (phew). This tells me that my metabolism is picking back up and my body is finally responding to our new workouts (higher reps/ drop sets/ and 2 cardio sessions per day). And of course the whole diet thing makes a big difference :) Besides the weight on the scale, I'm noticing a lot of changes in my body. My abs are more visible without flexing, the lines are starting to come out more in my legs, and my veins are showing more often. My body is getting leaner even though it hasn't shown much on the scale and I need to embrace this and move on.

I'm not sure what my body fat percentage is at this point, although it feels like it's gone from a high 14 to maybe between 13 and 12. I will find out for sure next weekend when we visit with our posing coach. Other changes in our workout have included a 30 minute cardio session in the morning (low intensity) before eating or drinking anything. This is done to help burn more fat. We have also added a 30 minute cardio session (moderate intensity) in the evening after our last meal, before bed, and no eating afterward! This is done to burn up any excess carbs so they aren't hanging around while we sleep. We are still weight training 6 days a week with a rest day after leg workouts, but have increased the rep range from 8 up to anywhere from 10-20 reps depending on the muscle group and have added in drop sets, super sets, and shorter rest periods. It is exhausting to say the least, and the muscles are constantly on fire!

Besides the workouts we are also posing every night, or trying to anyways. We are getting more comfortable with our mandatory poses (done in the pre-judging phase) and are discovering our best poses. This part is starting to get really fun because we can actually see our hard work paying off. Next weekend I will start practicing my night routine and will have to add that to our nightly posing regimen.

At this point in the game, changes will begin to happen more rapidly as we lower our carbohydrate intake and up the cardio and workout intensity. It will be exhausting and painful but we are so close!

There's no turning back now! The only thing left to do is keep eating, sleeping, training, practicing, and staying consistent. BRING IT ON!