Figure Competition Update: How is it May?!

The last time I posted was Feb. and so much has changed since then. For starters, I had to readjust my goals since the May show is not in the cards. Now I'm shooting for Aug. 29. So I have 16 weeks to lose 15 pounds. Nothing like a little pressure to get things moving.

As my trainer says, my weight is an enigma. I'm up five pounds, down three pounds. It's frustrating to say the least. I haven't been completely focused so I'm taking on some new tactics:

Tactic #1 -- Food prep
Since moving to a macro-based diet where nothing is off limits, I've been very sloppy. Now I'm preparing all of my food ahead of time.

Tactic #2 -- Simple and same foods
While the beauty of counting macros is having the freedom to eat a variety, I think for my purposes eating the same several foods will keep me in line. I went back to my old trainer's food plan and will use the foods she outlined, but in the quantities that my current trainer has provided.

Tactic #3 -- Weigh and weigh again
Food that is. I'm weighing every single thing that goes into my mouth down to the gram. There's no room to be loosey goosey. I need to ensure every carb, protein and fat is accounted for and counted.

Here is my current status in terms of weight, macros and workouts:

Weight
 140.8

Macros
175g carbs
140g protein
35g fat

No high carb day

Cardio
3 HIIT (high intensity interval training)
Bike -- 20 secs all-out 8x with 1:40 recovery

Weights
5 days a week
Day 1 - Legs
Day 2 - Chest/delt/tri
Day 3 - Back/bi
Repeat
Abs - two exercises every day

Here's to making some progress this week. Stay tuned...

Figure Competition Prep: 13 Weeks Out

Last week (which I missed posting about - oops), I dropped down to 139.4lbs. There weren't any changes from this diet and workout. I finally broke 140!

This week I hit a few bumps in the road...

Bump #1
Last week I began physical therapy for an old injury that doesn't seem to want to go away. I have a slight tear in my rotator cuff with calcifying tendonitis. I had been getting cortisone shots for the past three or four years, but the pain is getting progressively worse. My orthopedist would like to do surgery, but that doesn't really jive with my competition plans...or working in general. That's how I arrived at physical therapy. It's been going great, but when I asked the physical therapist about lifting, he told me to omit all upper body workouts until I was done with therapy (3 weeks). UGH!

Bump #2
I woke up yesterday with a wicked head cold. It felt like my head was in a vice. I could barely get out of bed, let alone work out. I basically vegged out all day. Last night before I went to bed, I took Theraflu and slept from 9:30pm to 8:00am. I can't remember the last time I wasn't out of bed past 7am! Needless to say, I feel soooo much better.

My husband definitely felt this way.

Bump #3
I gained 0.6 pounds this week -- argh! After I broke 140 last week (139.4 to be exact), I'm back to 140.8 lbs. Back to the drawing board. Here are this week's changes:

Macros
For five consecutive days:
Protein: 145g
Carbs: 180g (reduced 10g from last week)
Fat: 40g
Calories: 1,600 (approx.)

6th day (high carb)
Protein: 145g
Carbs: 240g
Fat: 30g
Calories: 1,800 (approx.)

Workouts
3-day split, lifting 6 days per week (adding a day to burn some extra calories)
No chest/delt/tri's and back/bi's for 3 weeks
Glutes -- Abs -- Legs
Cardio: 4 sessions -- 30-minutes steady state + 1 HIIT workout on the bike (6 sprints of 20 seconds)

I'm hoping this coming week is more productive. I will be killing my lower body over these next few weeks.

Keep warm!

Figure Competition Prep: 15 Weeks Out

Is it me, or was January a blur? I can't believe it's February 1, which means I have just three and half months before I need to step on stage.

I've been having a few great weeks in regards to energy and workouts. I seem to have hit a sweet spot when it comes to my macros. With my carbs at 210g for the past three weeks, I've been able to lose 0.5 to 0.6 pounds. Currently, I'm at 141.0 lbs., down about two pounds.

My trainer is changing things up this week. In his words, we're going to get a "little more aggressive." Here's what this week looks like:

Macros
For five consecutive days:
Protein: 145g
Carbs: 190g
Fat: 40g
Calories: 1,650 (approx.)

6th day (high carb)
Protein: 145g
Carbs: 240g
Fat: 30g
Calories: 1,800 (approx.)

Workouts
3-day split, lifting 6 days per week (adding a day to burn some extra calories)
Chest/delt/tri's -- Back/bi's -- Legs
Cardio: 3 sessions -- 30-minutes steady state (one additional session was added)

I'm also starting to do more meal prep (cooking in advance and measuring it all out) and measuring every single thing that goes into my mouth. This includes all vegetables and otherwise free food (cucumbers, salsa, etc.) Hopefully all of these changes will show up in my next set of progress pics.

Figure Competition Prep: 18 Weeks Out

This week begins my official countdown to May 16, 2015 -- my contest goal. I've been working with my trainer, Joe Franco, for exactly a year now, and I can definitely see progress. If anyone tells you that the off-season doesn't matter, they're dead wrong. Here is a comparison from last year to this year.

Dec. 26, 2013
138 lbs

Jan. 11, 2015
143 lbs.

Excuse the mess in the mess in the background. LOL! I can definitely see a difference in my waist and legs. Here's the crazy part: in the left pic I'm 138 lbs. and in the right I'm 143 lbs. Who knew an extra five pounds could look like this?!

Below is the diet and workout that I'm currently following:

Macros 
Protein = 145g
Carbs = 210g (I got a 10g bump this week)
Fat = 40g
I try to keep my calories at around 1,700 and track everything on the My Fitness Pal app.

Workouts 
3-day split, lifting 5 days per week
Chest/delt/tri's -- Back/bi's -- Legs
Cardio is two 30-minute sessions of steady state (keeping my heart rate around 120-130)

I'm excited to see how things progress. Stay tuned for more updates.

Happy New Year

Talk about fast forward to 2015! Happy New Year! I just looked at my last post and realized it was in Nov. Yikes! I am royally slacking in the blog department. Needless to say, writing at least one a week is one of my New Year's resolutions.

I'm still focused on a May 16 show. There are also two NJ NPC shows in April and June. I may use those as back-ups...although I wasn't particularly impressed with the NPC show I did last year. Scratch that -- I flipping hated it and swore I would never do it again. LOL! It was so unorganized, expensive and poorly run.

So what have I been up to for the past few weeks? Like everyone else, I was consumed by the holidays...preparations, shopping, decorating, undecorating...and poof, it's Jan. 4, 2015!

Nonetheless, I've still been plugging along on my diet and workouts. Here is where I'm at:

Weight: 142.4 lbs. (how funny it's exactly the same as my last post)
 Bodyfat: I'm guessing 18-20%...I should probably invest in calipers

Macros
Carbs: 200g (I just got bumped up this week -- woohoo!)
Fat: 40g
Protein: 145g
Calories: 1,700 (I try to keep it closer to 1,650)


Workouts
I;m still lifting 5 times per week, one bodypart per day. I do legs one day, chest/delt/tris, and then back/bis. As I get closer to my competition, I'll add another day to burn some extra calories.

Supplements
I'm slowly decreasing my supplements. Aside from being too many pills, it's expensive! I'm currently taking:
- Pre-workout (trying a new one -- F.E.A.R. by Clinical Labs)
- Multivitamin (Optimum Nutrition or a store brand)
- ECGC
- Fish Oil
- Aspirin (to help prevent blood clots)
- Clinical Labs BCAAs


Next Steps
I send pictures to my trainer next week, so I will also post them here. I'll also post some pictures from last year to see how things have progressed over one year.

Stay tuned for next week's post!

30-Day Experiment Update

Well, I was on a roll for a good 14 days and then I'm not sure what happened. I know what happened -- Halloween. The allure of chocolate and miniature candy bars was just too much for me. LOL!

I need to take a step back and start focusing on my macros and diet. I'm the heaviest I've been in two years, yet it doesn't feel like it. I'm definitely gaining muscle...but also feeling a little mushy.

Some old injuries have also been acting up, which have been making my workouts a struggle. The calcifying tendonitis in my left shoulder and bursitis in my ankles definitely keep things interesting. I head back to the dr. this week for both, so we'll see if they have any remedies. I've been getting cortisone shots in my shoulder for years, but I should really get arthroscopic surgery to permanently cure the pain. Who's got time for that?? LOL!

Here's an update in terms of my diet and workouts:

Weight: 142.4 (I usually like to stay closer to 137-138)
Bodyfat: I'm guessing 18-20% but haven't had it measured with calipers for well over a year

Macros
Carbs: 160g
Fat: 40g
Protein: 140g
Calories: 1,600 (My trainer doesn't give me a calorie allotment, but I'm imposing this on myself. I need parameters to help prevent me from over-eating.

Workouts
Currently 5 times per week, one bodypart per day. I do legs and shoulders twice per week, one day heavy and one day light. I also focus on quads one day and butt another. I consider those areas my weak points, so I try to hit them harder and more frequently

Supplements
I just started taking Bium-D (adipose thermagenic) this week. I'm actually trying to wean off the ridiculous number of vitamins and supplements I'm currently taking, which include:
- Pre-workout (usually Jackd, Assault or Champion Performance Amino Shooters)
- Multivitamin (Optimum Nutrition or a store brand)
- Vitamin C, D
- CLA, ECGC, Fish Oil
- Aspirin (to help prevent blood clots)
- Glucosamin Chondrotin (for joints...I don't really feel any difference on this)
- Bium-D BCAAs

Needless to say, swallowing 10+ horse pills each morning is not my idea of fun. So I'm going to finish what I have and stick with a multivitamin and aspirin. It would definitely save me some money to say the least!

I was going to try some more 30-day experiments. But with the holidays right around the corner, I don't want to set myself up for failure. The goal is to stick with my macros, get stronger, gain muscle and hopefully kick ass when I compete in May 2015. :)

Any tips for sticking with your diet during the holidays?

Nine Weeks to Go!

I feel like time is flying by!! How did I go from 12 weeks to 9?? I feel like time is running out quickly and I need to get my butt in gear...literally!


I'm struggling with not having my body fat measured and relying solely on the scale and my measurements. I'm down to 137 pounds. I need to lose at least 12 pounds of fat. Eeek!

Workouts
It's funny how you never stop learning when it comes to working out. I joined Retro last year and never took advantage of the free personal training session. I finally had the chance last week. Here's what I learned:

• 1/2 reps -- I always thought full reps were the key, but maintaining muscle tension by only completing a rep halfway had me sore and really feeling the muscle I was working.
  
• Hold & squeeze at the end of each rep -- instead of flying through my reps, I had to consciously hold and squeeze the muscle at the end of each rep. Wow!
  
• Negative reps -- In all the years I've been working out, I've never really done negative reps. We did this using a preacher curl. I was forced to try to keep the weight from going down. My biceps were crying two days later.

Diet
My macros have been modified to 145 grams of carbs, 140 grams of protein and 35 grams of fat. In terms of cardio, I'm doing 20 minutes of intervals three times a week and steady state for 30 minutes two times a week.

To crank up the intensity, I'm working my abs in between sets. I'm also doing walking lunges, step-ups and deadlifts every day (except for rest days and leg day).

I also went from 5 days on/ 2 days off to 3 days on, one day off. Now I'm trying 6 days on, 1 day off. It's all about burning calories at this point!

Now I just need to get a new bikini, start practice posing and get my tan on. Stay tuned...