Went on an eight month hiatus, but I think it’s time for me to come back to the forum and start fresh. I’m still Brwnsgr (always will be, baby!), but I’m starting fresh on my logs. Signing off of my old log -Bring on the Pain - (Hmmm…? Do I have to do something official when I no longer use an old post?) and beginning this one.
I’m doing this to be accountable, but I think that is very pompous of me. There are a gazillion posts out there, yet I feel that my posts are going to be read by the masses, in order to keep me on my goal. Humor me. Let me keep holding on to that dream and send a ‘hi’ every now then.
The goal, you ask?
Embrace the love/hate relationship I have with exercise, clean up my eating and get my butt into a local figure/bodybuilding competition.
Today is Day One of the rest of my life…because exercise and being healthy is a “lifestyle” change, right? As for the competition, there is one in April, so I’ve got about eight months of training to do. Oh joy!
Three Weeks of Heavy Lifting – One exercise (different each week), 6-8 sets, 8-10 reps
***Abs every other day*** ***Cardio every day – 30 minutes, break a sweat***
I’m not sure if I will post every day, but I will definitely summarize by the end of the week. Most likely my posts will be a place for me to vent and question my sanity. And they won’t always be about my workouts and eating habits. I can definitely gab about random things.
__________________
"Time and patience are the 2 elements that most people don't include in their plans."
-Alan Aragon
"The scale simply tells you how much the earth loves you on a particular day."
-Ogedei (Keith)
So far, so good! But it takes, what? 21 days for a habit to form? Oh boy.
I REALLY need to start planning my meals at the beginning of the week. I've decided to eliminate my carbs 4-5 hours before I go to bed. Crazy hard to come up with a decent meal when I don't have it planned and I can't have carbs. Yesterday and tonight I feasted on a salad with strips of deli chicken. That's gonna get old way quick.
Doing legs tomorrow...I think I will grow to hate Wednesdays.
I get the bulk packs of chicken breasts, bake them up all at once and have them throughout the week. Frozen fish works well too, provided you remember to take it out in time.
__________________
Tom
No "happy hours" makes for a lot of miserable days. - Mahler
I am FREAKING OUT!!! I can't find my USB flash drive. I've checked my laptop bag at least six times, I've driven to the last place I was at last night (Personal Training site) and NOTHING!! My last hope is that it's at home, in the pockets of either my shirt, or pants. Problem is, I've had to sit all day at work fretting over this and all I want to do is go home and look for this thing! It's right up there with my Franklin Planner in importance. So much is loaded on that thing!! Budget, Exercise/Eating logs, Spanish...my LIFE!!!
WHEWWWW. I just need to breathe and realize it's out of my hands until I get home, right?
Okay. Got home on Thursday and found my precious flash drive (Insert happy dance here). In the pocket of the pants I was wearing. I cradled that thing like it was a newborn fresh from the womb.
As for my first week of the rest of my life? Glad that I have the rest of my life to get this thing down. Started out pretty solid, but then work issues cropped up and a friend had a birthday and another friend is moving... Glasses of wine, a night at the Melting Pot (heavenly) and a few more fattening appetizers ... This week isn't going to go down pretty. Oh well...brush the crumbs from my face and get right back to it, right?
Then there's the Vegas 1/2 marathon in December. Just found out a friend is trying to get me to join that madness. Lord have mercy.
__________________
"Time and patience are the 2 elements that most people don't include in their plans."
-Alan Aragon
"The scale simply tells you how much the earth loves you on a particular day."
-Ogedei (Keith)
You'd think I had zero down time for as little as I chime in on this forum. Shame on me!!
Oh where, oh where have I been?
Got out of doing the 1/2 Marathon in Vegas, but I will be going to cheer my friend on. Training for a marathon sort of conflicts with my goal to get in the shape I need to compete, so that will have to go on hold for now. I might do a 5k in November, though. Might, schmight...I WILL do a 5k in November!!
I'm taking a nutrition class through a community college right now. The focus is Exercise and Sports. Nothing mind boggling, as the basics are what I've already known, but it's great learning about how to put it all together to benefit my exercise routines. I'm taking the class with the girl that had the nerve to ask me to do the 1/2 marathon with her.
I finally found some resources to help with my competition prep. I met with a girl that has done competitions before and is currently preparing for one that is happening in November. And she lives in Tucson!! She's doing another competition in March, and I will be joining her. This time I will actually sign up for the competition! This weekend I will meet with a nutritionist to help me with a competition diet.
No more dickin' around for me. Time to face cardio in the face and make it a part of my workouts. I even bought a heartrate monitor and a hydra pack!
My husband grilled a feast of chicken breasts for me last night, so I'm set for the week (and next, by the looks of the pile).
I know I have the ability to do this, so it's frustrating that I can't seem to keep the fire lit. I'm hoping to get my husband excited about being healthy and getting in shape, as I know that would really help keep me motivated.
Figure for me. Are you into bbing? I need to check out your log!
I checked you out. Looks like you are into bodybuilding. Hope we can still be friends. I decided to start at the beginning of your journey. Did the ol' copy and paste into word. I am on page 146 of 976! I've got some reading to do! All enjoyable so far.
I officially have my very own human match. J.K. (the girl I found that will be doing a competition in November) has re-ignited the fire under me. We met up this morning to do a leg workout and finished up with some ab work.
I loved it! Let me rephrase that, in case you mistake me for loving leg day. I loved having a workout buddy! I fed off of her vibe and wanted to push through each squat and each nasty ass lunge to match what she did. J.K. gave me some good pointers, as well, and we talked a little bit about posing. Apparently, I can't start soon enough on getting that down.
I'm making some changes in what I've been eating, too. Ritz crackers have been replaced with peppers, celery and hummus. And I make sure to get my food for the day ready before I go to bed the night before. A pain (I just want to go to bed!!), but I know I won't make good decisions if I have to throw my food together in the morning.
Speaking of bedtime...I really need to find time for cardio. I love, love, LOVE to sleep and I don't always get enough of it during the week (I normally range from 6-7, generally 6). So, should I sacrifice sleep, just to get my cardio in? Or, if it prevents me from getting at least 7 hours of sleep, should I just skip it? I prefer to do cardio in the morning, but maybe that's another adjustment I will have to make. Pick up cardio in the afternoon... Cardio, schmardio.
Ditto on the sleep answer. Much more important than cardio.
And don't worry, we can still be friends. I will give you the cliff notes of my log. Started working towards the stage, did a wildly succesful bulk and a nice clean cut to about 12% then determined that I was too small still to hit the stage. (I got injured in there too btw) I am thinking it will take me several more years of training to get enough mass to get on the stage. I am playing football now to occupy my time as I build up.
__________________
The BIGGER I get the smaller you look
I am thinking it will take me several more years of training to get enough mass to get on the stage. I am playing football now to occupy my time as I build up.
Have you thought about doing figure until you gain enough mass to step on the stage as a bodybuilder?
That's awesome that you're playing football!! I would so dig doing something like that. Not quite the same, but I'm trying to get a bunch of us to do dodgeball this winter.
Thanks for the cliff notes..I'm still diggin' in, though
I don't have the body for figure and I don't really like the concept of figure as much. (no offense please) It is more of a judging of the women and how God made ya. In order to do well in figure you really have to come to the stage with a pretty nice package to begin with because you are not really altering the body as much as in bbing. You are adding some muscle and then getting to 12-15% bf.
In bbing there is an element of this as well but it is more based on body sculpting and adding as much mass as you can to that which God has given you and then getting siq lean (10% or less bf). So you can have more flaws in your base and still do well by adding mass and then coming in more shredded than the next girl. I have too many flaws in my base to do well in figure plus I really like the concept of bbing more. I like the posing and I like the bigger muscles. Oh yeah and big one... I HATE heels. LOL!
__________________
The BIGGER I get the smaller you look
I don't have the body for figure and I don't really like the concept of figure as much. (no offense please) It is more of a judging of the women and how God made ya. In order to do well in figure you really have to come to the stage with a pretty nice package to begin with because you are not really altering the body as much as in bbing. You are adding some muscle and then getting to 12-15% bf.
In bbing there is an element of this as well but it is more based on body sculpting and adding as much mass as you can to that which God has given you and then getting siq lean (10% or less bf). So you can have more flaws in your base and still do well by adding mass and then coming in more shredded than the next girl. I have too many flaws in my base to do well in figure plus I really like the concept of bbing more. I like the posing and I like the bigger muscles. Oh yeah and big one... I HATE heels. LOL!
No offense taken, as I'm not sure I'm geeked on bodybuilding, although I like the concept of seeing how far one can alter the body naturally. I just don't think I'm mentally there. I don't know...it could be my next step after getting figure out of my system! And, don't get me started on the heels...don't get me wrong, I'm all over them in my "civilian" life, but seems all kinds of silly to wear them with a suit! UGH!!
I'm thinking that I should have purchased a donut for my bum. I'm still feeling the workout from yesterday. Lordy! And my legs...have any of you ever experienced growing pains? Was not pleasant when I was growing up and the aches in my legs brought those memories back with a vengeance.
Met up with some friends last night and was very good. Veggie burger w/ just the bottom bun, garden salad and water. The margaritas were looking DAMN good.
Met with the lady that can help me with my competition diet. That was on Saturday, the 17th and she wanted me to give her a week of my typical eating habits. Not the best week to start with as I had my Halloween party that night, a business trip the following Tuesday-Thursday and a weekend trip to Colorado for a best friend's baby shower. So, you see what I mean about it not being the best week, right?
I started keeping track, but then it just got so ridiculous. I mean, I knew I wasn't eating right, did I really need it glaring at me from a piece of paper?!
Needless to say, I felt like a bloated beach whale the whole time. Couldn't wait to get back home and back to a more controlled way of eating. I decided to use this week as my typical week. But, apparently I need to learn how to incorporate clean eating when I'm not at home. I can't keep hopping off the wagon when I go out of town.
I started keeping track, but then it just got so ridiculous. I mean, I knew I wasn't eating right, did I really need it glaring at me from a piece of paper?!
Exactly. That's why journaling works and why I can't diet successfully.
Needless to say, I felt like a bloated beach whale the whole time. Couldn't wait to get back home and back to a more controlled way of eating. I decided to use this week as my typical week. But, apparently I need to learn how to incorporate clean eating when I'm not at home. I can't keep hopping off the wagon when I go out of town.
Yes being out of town makes it a lot easier to stray... BUT, as Leigh Peele said in one of her podcasts, you CAN find a grocery store in those far flung places and get yourself some healthy food.
__________________
Tom
No "happy hours" makes for a lot of miserable days. - Mahler
I've decided that 2010 is my year. Screw all of this on and off again like I'm in a bad relationship. Taking the rest of the year to get focused on what it is that I want out of myself and hitting it hard come the new year.
I'm still going to stop in and check on the progress of others, but not much to add on me.
Ah.. that's why I'd not seen much of you.. your new journal just popped up and my you have a way with words.
Too bad life got in the way! But.. why choose January as a start-over-again time? That's so boring.. why not start now but don't push yourself too much over it.
BTW, 'clean eating' can be done when you're prepared & determined.. ask Karla, she's the Queen of determination when travelling.
Even without prepping in advance there's always that great thing called beef jerkey (hopefully you like that stuff, I do now!) and when eating out, you can always go for the grilled chicken or burger w salad instead of a bun or just tell them to hold the bun.
Trouble is that travel = stress & food is a great destressor.. that's what is more of a stumbling block than actually following a decent food plan.
Certified Bean Counter by day...
Linear Mode
