Muscles over Skinny!!

In honor of the Olymipic Winter Games that are currently on, I thought I would post this article. I actually came across it through HardBody.com/news (great site by Isaac Hinds to check out).

This is an article about Olympic ice skater Tanith Belbin and how going from super-skinny to muscular and eating correctly made her a better skater. She talks about the weight issues that she has experienced that a lot of us have and how she made the change to an "Athletic Body". It's amazing what some weight training and inteligent eating will do for ya!!

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/17/sports/olympics/17icedancers.html?ref=nutrition

Fitnes Universe, 2010 in Miami, Florida

Great Butt Workout by Zuzana

If you all haven't been to Zuzana's site (www.bodyrock.tv), you really should. She hosts a daily fitness show where she does some of the best workouts I've seen. She has a great way of coming up with new ideas that keep your cardio fresh and interesting. Another great thing about what she does is it is all "outside" of a gym setting so people who don't have gym memberships can do the workouts from home. So here is a really fantastic butt workout that is also a fat-blaster because she keeps the heart rate up. You can do this at home or at the gym and I am always telling everyone to work those butts!!! This is an easy one to do...well...maybe "easy" is the wrong word :) Go get it!!

Pepper Crazy!

I spotted this yummy find at my grocery store today (Hen House). Most familiar with competitor diets know that peppers are a "freebie" food. I get tired of cutting them up though. So...today I found these "mini peppers" and brought them home with me. Yumm-o!! I am really excited about these and how handy they are. They are very sweet too. Yes, I realize that it doesn't take much to get me excited (peppers, really??), but if you compete, you totally understand!! Hopefully you can find them too. If not, ask your grocery store, I bet they can get some for you.

I have also noticed that as I get closer to competition, the longer it takes me to get through the grocery store! I find myself lingering in the chip aisle, the cookie aisle, the candy aisle, etc. I just stand and stare. People probably think I'm crazy!! Love it!!

11 Weeks Out

I'm starting to feel the panic! 11 weeks out from my competition and worrying about the end result. Will I get lean enough? Will my shoulders have developed more than last time? How's my back? Quads? I have been working really hard in the "off season" to add more muscle. Will it be enough? I'm going up against some pretty tough competition in April. My carbs have been higher up until now, so I'm not feeling as lean as I would like either. This is the story of most figure girls during competition season. My friends and family roll their eyes. They don't understand. In their eyes, I am in amazing shape. Why do I need to lose more? Tone more? "Are you kidding?" I am sure you all get the same feedback, however we are pretty Type A in our sport. Runners too. We are very goal-oriented and perfectionists. Heck, when you put your rear end up on stage in a tiny little bikini and turn to the back, you MUST be a perfectionist! I do know in the end, it will all come together. It always does. This is a very tough sport that requires the highest level of self-control and discipline. Knowing that, I stay true to my diet and workouts. I trust my trainer. I know she will get me to "stage day" perfection.

My favorite workouts right now are ladders. You can do them for your back and chest and of course, legs/butt. If you have access to a cable machine, that is the best way, but of course you can improvise too. Be prepared to work hard and breathe heavy!

I'm beginning to feel the effects of the heavy training. I am more tired and sore these days and that is to be expected with the heavier weights and the high intensity. It is only going to get harder! So...I put my game face on and keep my eye on the prize and focus on the stage. It's all worth it to see the amazing changes that take place in our bodies.

Everyone hang in there. Focus. This is the time. Make the most of your workouts, get massages, eat right and take your supplements. Oh, and thank your loved ones for helping you get through it too. I have a great support system around me, which makes all the difference in the world. Thanks for reading, I love each and every one of you! We really are a Figure Sorority. Rock the Girl Power and Go Figure!

Some Days I Don't Want to Work Out Either!

I woke up today very tired and very sore. All-over sore. Between traveling with 4 kids to the Bahamas and back, working legs super-heavy on Monday and then my trainer giving me an incredible back/bi work-out on Tuesday, I woke up today feeling really tired and every inch of my body aching. I have those days too, where I am just not "feeling" the excitement of going and pushing myself AND doing cardio. Guess what? I went anyway and I worked really hard and I was really glad I did afterward. Oh sure, I could have made the easy excuse of feeling over-trained and needing to take a day off but let's face it; excuses suck and you end up feeling worse afterward for not going. It would be different if I was injured, but I'm not. I'm 12 weeks out from my competition and I pretty much have to live in the excuse-free zone for the next 12 weeks. There's something about the idea of having to wear that tiny little suit on stage that keeps you honest to your workouts!

For those that are following, today's workout was legs. Legs, legs, legs. That includes the butt. I am pretty focused on getting more definition in my quads and building my butt. I finished with abs and then 30 minutes of steady-state cardio. I then took my BCAA's and Glutamine and made sure to have my protein shake right after. My protein shake, post-workout is water, ice, 1 scoop protein powder, 1/2 cup of oats, 1 banana and some coconut flavoring. No fats in my post workout meal. I want everything to absorb into my muscles quickly and fats slow that process down.

So now I am off to bed. Sleep/recovery is critical right now since I am training so hard. It will help me to wake up feeling more rested and less sore.

Hang in there on your workouts and training! It's all worth it afterward! Rock the Girl Power & Go Figure!

Walden Farms Products

I did a previous post about how in love I was with the Walden Farms BBQ sauce. Yum! I recently ordered the "sweets" products in hopes that it would be a saving grace for any sweet tooth attacks that I have in the next 12 weeks. I ordered the marshmallow whip, caramel dip and chocolate dip. I would say that all three are "eh". They will do in a pinch, but none of them are the same as a cookie!! I did find that putting a little bit of one of the flavors in my protein shake was really good. I also put a little bit of the marshmallow in my sugar-free jell-o and that was good too. I will continue to experiment. Much love!

Today's Workout, 2/2/10

Today's workout with my trainer was working back and biceps. We did ladders for a large portion of the workout. For those of you not familiar with ladders it is an extremely effective way to hit different angles in your muscle you are working For example, back. We started with 40 lbs on the cable machine. We used the handle that is in the shape of a W. My hand position going down was overhand. We started with the angle up high and did 12 reps. After each set, we dropped the angle a notch until we finally hit the bottom notch. I felt this in each muscle set within my back. I was working! Once we hit the bottom, we worked our way back up, this time my hand position was underhand. We also did pull-up plyos in-between my other exercises. Other exercises consisted of bicep curls, hammer curls, rope extensions, etc. It was a great workout!

Post-workout, I took my BCAA's and glutamine to help repair and build and followed with a protein shake that consisted of water, ice, 1 scoop vanilla protein powder, 1/4 cup of light orange juice and 1/2 c oats. Yum!

12 Weeks Out!

Hi Everyone! I've returned from the Bahamas (ahhhh...yes, it was SO warm!!!)and now 12 weeks out from my competition. I packed all my food and took it with me and amazingly, I stayed true to my competition diet while down there! I even came home a pound lighter on the scale. Yippee!

So right now I am doing 20-25 minutes of HIT cardio about 5-6 days/week. I'm not wanting to do too much more than that for fear of dropping weight too soon and losing precious muscle. I meet with my trainer today, so we will see if she starts tweaking my diet and my cardio. In her opinion, I can be "show ready" in 6 weeks, so hopefully I get to continue on my current calorie plan.

My treadmill workout this morning was 5 minutes warm-up then 20 minutes of 1 minute fast, 30 seconds rest. My speed on the treadmill is set at 8.0. Each treadmill is different, so do what works for you. I was breathing heavy at the end! Pump the music and get into a groove and you might actually enjoy it!

Yesterday I lifted heavy legs and they are sore and tired today. I'm also obsessed with pull-ups (starting position from the lowest hanging position) as I can see a big difference in my back and my biceps from doing them. They are tough to do, but try to get better at your pull-ups every/other/day. Even if you can only do 1 right now, that is still great! Hang and pull yourself up as opposed to jumping up and only going down part of the way. You gain more from the pull at the very top. Make a goal to master 1, then 3, then 5, so on. You can do it and your back will be beautiful by summer!!

Love you ladies! Rock the Girl Power and Go Figure!!!