Go Time!!

This is it. We are officially packed in the car heading to Vancouver, WA. This week has been the toughest of all. On top of having little to no carbs, and grueling workouts, its been stressful at work and on top of it all i found out last night that my uncle is dying:( So, we missed our workout last night and spent a few hours visiting with my uncle in the hospital. His spirits are high and it was wonderful to visit with him. It made everything we are going through seem so small.

In light of all this, I reached my goal of 103 lbs and our depletion phase went very well! Im looking very "dry" and tight. Today we start bringing back some carbs (oatmeal and yams) and tomorrow we will bring in even more (rice cakes with honey). This will help plump up our muscles without looking bloated. The best part of all is that we get to eat every 2 hours! At this point we are also drinking tons of water and taking natural diuretics to flush everything out of our system. This means potty breaks every few hours.

We are done with workouts, besides a light walk tonight. Tomorrow we get our tan painted on and then relax until the big show!!

More updates to come!

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This is it!

Alright my friends. We have officially made it to "peak week." As you have probably noticed, it has been weeks since my last update. This month has definitely been a test of strength and will power. I have really had to dig deep within myself to keep working out and keep dieting. But we are on the home stretch!! Here are my current body stats!

Weight: 104.8 (new record for me! I havent seen this number since my freshman year in highschool)
Body fat: to be determined this evening; my guess is between 9 and 10 but still shooting for 8!

Today is our last leg workout! (Thank the sweet lord). After today we will NOT be doing anymore leg work as the muscles in your legs need atleast 5 days of recovery to really stand out on stage. Monday through Wednesday we will being doing upper body circuits at 80% effort for 15 reps and 3 sets along with interval cardio. Pair this up with little to no carbs and tons of water and our bodies should be mostly rid of glucose. On Thursday we will start to add carbs back in and only do 30 minutes of walking. Friday there will be no working out. Only rest, relaxation, and mental prep for the showdown Saturday!

I will post more details and photos this evening and hopefully before the show! We have worked so hard for this and I am beyond excited to show off my hard work and celebrate with family and friends after the show!!

P.S. big thanks to all those who have supported/encouraged,advised us on this crazy journey. It means so much more than I can even describe!

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Coming out of the darkness...

As I have mentioned in my last few posts, bodybuilding is an intense journey; physically and mentally. You can find thousands of resources to prep you physically for a competition but nothing can prepare you for the grueling challenges of the mind.

I have been sinking lower and lower into my own little black hole and although I can see the light, it still seems so far away. Yesterday I reached an all time low. I went completely backwards with my diet and didn't even workout. Needless to say, after stepping on the scale this morning and receiving a call from my suit designer to set up a second suit fitting, I had an "oh crap" moment. I needed to get my mind straight!

After having such a rough day yesterday, I finally sat down for a good hour and just thought about why I really wanted to do this competition. I wrote down every reason why I was doing this. After establishing that I still want to compete despite the struggles, I wrote down everything I am struggling with. Then I wrote down ways I can overcome these issues. Here they are....

1) PRAY. I have found that God can help you with anything. Even a bodybuilding competition. I pray for strength to get out of bed in the morning. I pray for peace and happiness. I pray for productive workouts and I pray especially hard for the strength to resist temptation. Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through him who strengthens me. 

2) FIND YOUR INSPIRATION. This can come in so many different forms, whether it be images, bible verses, or quotes. You need to find what inspires you and keep it with you at all times. I have my "inspiration board" on my fridge. I keep it here because the kitchen is where I face the most challenges (eating what I shouldn't). I wrote down a few of my favorite quotes that really get me going and make me want to keep fighting. The first one reads, "YOUR COMPETITION IS TRAINING RIGHT NOW." But the one that really speaks to me, is this: " THE SUREST WAY NOT TO FAIL IS TO DETERMINE TO SUCCEED." One thing I understand very clearly about myself is that I hate giving up. Therefore, I am determined to succeed. I also wrote these quotes on a piece of paper and put them in my car so each time I am driving anywhere I will see this.

"PUT ON YOUR BIG GIRL PANTS AND JUST DO IT" resides on my nightstand so when the alarm goes off at 6:30 AM I will read that and get out of bed and do my cardio. 

Another source of inspiration for me is music. When I am feeling really low and ready to give in, I listen to religious music. It picks me right up and reminds me I can do all things through Christ. I choose upbeat tunes for my cardio sessions and some good rock music for weight training. 

Lesson Learned: This is not a journey that should be taken lightly. It tests so much more than your physical strength. It tests your faith, your will power, and your mind. Find ways to fight back! Keep your inspirational items close and God even closer. Mind over matter!

One of those weeks....

Well, I definitely had "one of those weeks." The type of week where I felt like I just couldn't keep up or get back on track. I struggled this week with just about everything. I struggled with drinking water, sticking to my diet, getting my cardio done and just daily tasks in general. I felt myself slipping away this week and I am sad to say that I started to give up a little.

My body is feeling "flat" yet bloated at the same time. "I'm tired, I'm sore, I don't feel good, and I'm sad." I must have said this string of words a million times this week. My energy is little to none and I feel like crap on our low carb days. My first instinct in this case is to eat something to get the energy back up, but this isn't an option and it kills me! I need to get my heart rate up higher when doing my evening cardio but I can't seem to get my legs to move. I need to be doing 2 cardio sessions a day but can't seem to get out of bed in the morning.

THIS IS SO HARD

Thankfully, I have an amazing support system to pull me out of this hole I keep digging myself into. My husband gives me the motivation I need to "stay the course" as he says. Always assuring me that if I stick to the plan there is no way I can fail, even if my body doesn't feel like it should at this very moment. He keeps reminding me not to give up and that we are in this together!

I am also so thankful for my family and co-workers who are backing me up on this journey 100%. It's those "you can do it" phrases and hugs that mean the most to me. I just have to BELIEVE I can do it. BELIEVE I can get up in the morning and do cardio even when I'm tired and depleted. BELIEVE I can do those last 5 reps on leg extensions even when I'm shaking so bad I can barely move. BELIEVE I can stay true to the diet even when faced with everyday foods like peanut butter. And BELIEVE THAT I CAN ACCOMPLISH WHAT I SET OUT TO DO!

Thanks to God, and my family/friends/co-workers, my motivation today is higher then it's been for weeks. I can and WILL come out of this slump. As my co-worker/female bodybuilder told me today, "just think about what your competition is doing." Is my competition eating out of a cereal box? NO. Is my competition still in bed when they should be doing cardio? NO. Then I need to step up my game!

I want to BE the competition. Therefore I need to dig deep, find my inner strength, and JUST DO IT!

Ice Packs and Heating Pads

It looks like my most recent leg workout did a little more damage then I thought.

I felt a twinge in my hamstring while doing lunges on Saturday but thought nothing of it at the time and kept going. I didnt feel anything too unusual after the fact or the next day until I was doing my 60min cardio session. My leg felt tighter than usual but again, I thought nothing of it. I didnt even notice the bruise until posing practice that evening. And thats when it started to hurt!

Not a terrible hurt, but enough to make cardio uncomfortable and icing neccessary. I have caused a very minor strain on my hamstring. I was laughing to myself last night as I lay in bed with an ice pack on my leg and a heating pad on my back (tight/sore back from posing).

The closer we get to the show the more risk we run for injury, due to lack of energy. This makes "focusing" a top priority. We really have to focus on doing every exercise with precision and control.

Lesson learned: focus in and dont rush exercises!

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Down Goes Frazier!

Just 20 minutes ago, I felt like Joe Frazier in his fight against George Foreman, only my opponent was "the leg workout."

I was doing great at first. I did all my sets of squats and had even made it through the brutal superset of walking lunges and leg extensions... or so I thought. After completing my last set of lunges and preparing to do deadlifts, a gentleman at the gym started talking to me. We got to talking about weight lifting and gaining muscle and the fact that he still had 13 personal training sessions to use up! Through my leg workout I picked up another client, sweet! And then it hit me. The cold sweat, eyes crossing, seeing stars and then everything was starting to go black. I've fainted before and I knew that's what was going to happen if I didn't lay down soon. Mid sentence I informed the man that I needed to "use the restroom." I ran around the corner (where he couldn't see me of course) and laid down immediately and brought my knees up to "stretch" but mostly to get the blood back to my head. Phew, situation "pass out" averted. So I caught back up with the gentleman and got him scheduled for next week (I should make him do this workout haha). Directly after putting him in my schedule I started seeing stars again. Great. I tell him I can't wait to start working with him and shout "See you Tuesday!" as I race into the fitness room to lay down for the second time. Situation averted yet again.

After the second close call, I decided to call it a day and head home before I actually passed out. So what  did I do in my workout differently that would make me feel this way? Nothing. I did everything the same. The culprit? LOW CARBS. That's why experts recommend eating complex carbs before exercise. Bodybuilding is not easy my friends. As you can see, it's hard enough to make you pass out, and many people actually do. So I listened to my body and decided that that was enough for today.

On a good note, I am down to 107.8 today! YEHAAAAA

So close....

After some hard work the last few days and getting back on track, I am down to 108.6. I can start to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Im hoping to hit 107 by Sunday when I get my body fat tested again and do some more posing. Im really interested to see where my body fat is. Ive stopped having my menstral cycle which probably means my body fat is around 12%.

The past few days have been a struggle. My energy levels are dwindeling and its getting harder to push through the workouts. But tomorrow marks 4 weeks until peak week and we are definitely at crunch time now. Knowing this gives me the motivation to get pushing hard and really zone into my diet. My goal for the next 4 weeks is not to cheat, AT ALL! This is going to be a huge challenge for me but it needs to be done. The more our carbs are dropping the more my body reacts (negatively) to anything outside of our diet.

Time to buckle down and get it done!!

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