Getting Things Done...

In my "Final Decision" post, I shared with you some of my last season shit show drama events. I let y'all know that while I had started prepping for a fall show, a decision was made to end my prep and focus on an off-season.

My bedazzled suit and 5 inch clear heels were packed away and my focus shifted from getting show lean to other things.

I am now about three months into "Operation Physique Overhaul" and I have to tell you, off-season is not as horrible & squishy as I thought it would be! :)

My off-season body....

From my coach's Facebook page

At the beginning of my off-season, my coach explained to me what some of my goals were going to be. Some of these goals were about physical improvements like adding width to my back, working on my glute & hamstring tie-in, building my chicken legs (my words...not her's! lol). Others were focused on working on my mindset and helping me stop comparing myself to others & recognize my potential/strengths.

How I felt after my first official workout with my coach -
whose idea was this?!?!

Checkin' on my booty gains.... #cakecakecakecake

Working on improving my physique has been fun, challenging, and at times brutal. I love the workouts that I'm receiving. I love that I can drive up to Phoenix to train in person with my coach (even though I'm pretty sure she's trying to make me throw up, cry, die, or all of the above...lol). The in person training is a great time for me to ask questions, have my form corrected, learn about my body and what things I should be looking for/feeling as I'm doing a particular exercise, and more.

Am I growing??? :)

At the start of all of this, my metabolism was a bit sluggish so my body was not responding to the work I was putting in. I will be honest when I say I was feeling frustration about things not happening the way I felt they should be or as quickly as I wanted to. I was told to be patient and give my body time to get itself back in order. I made a conscious decision to throw out my timetable, focus on working my plan day in & day out, and let my body do the rest. I am very happy to say that I have received very positive feedback from my coach about the progress I'm making (a compliment or two may have been given....score!) - #happymeathead

The Mister caught me taking a selfie :)
Check out my cool lifting belt that he made me for Christmas!!

What I looked like after my first 2 hour spin & battle ropes class!

My daily schedule hasn't changed just because I'm not in contest prep. Most days I wake up between 3:45 - 4:00am and will be in the car heading to the gym no later than 4:15am. I work out until about 6:00 am, head back, put my mom & wife hats, and then head to work. In addition to my weekly lifting & cardio sessions, I have started attending a Saturday morning spin class at my local YMCA! It's from 8:15 am - 10:15 am and we do battle ropes at the end of class! I know the instructor from the library and he had been challenging taunting encouraging me to attend his class for quite some time. When I was told I needed to start spinning, his class was the first one I thought of and now, I can't live without it!

This has been an incredibly interesting time for me - signing with a new coach, officially being in off-season, setting lofty goals for 2015, trying new things, etc. I am thankful that my body continues to put up with my rigorous training and that I have remained healthy & injury-free. I am excited about the journey I am on and what is to come.

2015 is going to be the year of badass - I just know it!

Playlist of Power

If you have been reading my blog for awhile you know that I absolutely L-O-V-E music...especially new music! In 2013, I stumbled upon a new blog (thanks FitFluential!) called Pavement Runner. The writer of this blog would do a weekly post called "Playlist Thursday".

Playlist Thursday would feature a theme (example - Radio Jams) and three songs would be shared. However, there were some rules. The rules were one song had to be "Something Old" (songs that are at least 5 years old), one song had to be "Something Current" (songs that have been released within the past year) and one song had to be "Something to Consider" (this was the wild card category. Could be current, guilty pleasure, underground, really anything). I loved this weekly post and while it's not happening as frequently as it had been, you can still see the various posts by visiting the Music page of the Pavement Runner website!

Since getting an iPhone last April (yes...I took that long to get with times...lol!), I have been listening to the various stations on iTunes Radio which is a great way to discover new songs. I've even created personal radio stations like Iggy Radio, Sam Smith Radio, and Slow Jams Radio and I always love when I hear something that makes me say "OOOOHHHHH!!! What's this?!? I need to add this to my iTunes!".

Anyway, there are a few songs that I just had to have on my Playlist of Power aka my cardio/lifting playlist. They are......

Two songs from Jessie J's new album.

Masterpiece

Burnin' Up featuring 2 Chainz

Bounce by Iggy Azalea

Real Love by Clean Bandit

Centuries by Fall Out Boy

Can't Stop Dancing by Becky G

Flawless Remix - Beyonce feat. Nicki Minaj

Touchin', Lovin' - Trey Songz feat. Nicki Minaj

I Don't F@&k With You - Big Sean

*lots of profanity in this one so you might want to 

skip it if you have sensitive ears

What songs have you recently added to your cardio/lifting playlist? 

Shame on Me!!

It's been over a month since the last time I posted something! That's a damn shame. I offer no excuses. I go from feeling like I don't have much to say to feeling like I have so much to share but can't manage to form a coherent sentence.

What can I say?? I'm a hot damn mess :)

Let's talk competitions! I promise at some point to provide a proper recap post but right now, I'll just give you the Cliff's Notes version. I competed in Figure at the Dennis James Classic in Phoenix on May 31st. While my prep for the show was full of craziness, I arrived in Phoenix feeling pretty solid about the physique I would be presenting. In the end, I walked away with 3rd place. As I always do after each show, I emailed the head judge for feedback so I'm intrigued to find out what he has to say.

Here are some pictures to hold you over until I get an actual recap done!

Brandi (fellow #IronGal) and I met Dennis James after athlete check-ins!

Officially checked in - Figure Class D! 

Originally I had planned to do two July competitions following the Dennis James Classic but that plan has been completely revamped :)

My next show will be the NPC Terminator and it's in a little less than 3 weeks! The really awesome thing about this show is that it's here in Tucson! The Princess will be able to attend the show (I've been instructed that "you better win it, Mom!") as well as other family members, some of my friends, and my #IronFamily. It will also be fun to hang out with everyone after the show - bring on the food, booze, and shenanigans!

I've also handed the reins over to someone else in order to be more competitive (would love to win an overall title one day!), make the necessary changes to my physique, and get my nutrition on point. Past coach/athlete relationships did not work out as well as I had anticipated so I was hesitant to hire a new coach. I really figured Tom & I could continue to do this competition thing on our own for the remainder of this year and then when it was time, we would have a serious conversation about whether or not I should continue to compete.

While at the Dennis James Classic, I ran into a coach/trainer that I've come to know over the past few years. His fiancee and I have competed together at some of the same shows and as recently as a month ago, one of his clients rented one of my competition suits for her national debut. He and I politely chit-chatted like we usually do and then I heard myself saying something about me feeling like it was time for us to talk seriously about becoming one of his athletes. About a week after the show, I called him and we had a great conversation (complete with "AHA" moments for me) about my goals, my training, nutrition, etc. I didn't want to make any decisions without Tom's input so he & Tom spoke to one another the next night. In the end, Tom told me the decision was mine to make and he would support me no matter what I chose to do. He added that he appreciated that this particular coach was willing to not only answer questions from me but my husband as well. Tom told me he liked what he heard and thought it would be smart of me to work with him. What could I say after that!?! :)

Two weeks ago, I officially hired Mason of Team MFit AZ as my coach/trainer and from the moment I put myself in his hands, he has been whoopin' my ass!

The last couple of weeks have been an adjustment, not only because of my new training & meal plans but work as well. Mason asked me how I was feeling during my check in over the weekend and I told him, "Like shit" (I was being slightly dramatic) but he explained to me what changes he saw taking place and then  sent me this photo:

Of course I could pick this apart but bottom line, I look better 2 weeks out than I did one day out from my last show. It's been tough and I've felt weak at times but I know, to my core, that there's some good stuff on the other side (maybe a set of Dwight Howard shoulders??!?! lol). Both Mason & I have high expectations (no pressure!) and I don't want to let my new coach & team down - so I will do what needs to be done, even if that means wanting to knock over a StairMill!!

I Got Nada....

My brain feels like mush!

I had all of these witty things I wanted to share 

with you guys and when I sat down to type them up,

NADA!!

So.....

You'll just have to settle for some random pictures....

#sorryimnotsorry

#illdobettertomorrow

Planting fun at my library branch!

Ignore my sweaty butt...lol...

Posing practice between sets :)

Is it cocky to say I love everything about this picture??

The song on repeat these days --> Nico & Vinz - Am I Wrong

Yep...I wore leather booty shorts out on Saturday night... ;)

Sunday morning breakfast at the track!

The eye candy pictures I send to Tom post-workouts...lol...

My momma is too cute. My spot at the dinner table :)

Don't get between me & my Peeps!

My view this Monday morning!

Week At A Glance!

I'm pretty sure at this point everyone in the city of Tucson, possibly the world, knows that I'm prepping for the NPC Dennis James Classic on May 31. If you didn't know, ya do now! Bamo! (as Tom would say..lol)

I have gotten some questions about what my training looks like now that I'm getting ready for a competition and the truth is, it looks pretty much the same way it did during my "improvement season". The only real difference is I am not lifting as heavy now as I was a couple of months ago.

Here's my training week at a glance: 

SUNDAY aka Leg Day!

20 minutes - StarMill - Thigh Toner program, level 6

Box jumps

10 (5 sets)

supersetted with

plie squats (using a dumbbell)

55 x 8 (5 sets)

Leg press

90/90 x 15 (2 sets )    180/180 x 12 (2 sets)

Barbell split squat 

*this variation is a bit different than the one I did*

115 x 8 (4 sets)

Leg extension

65 x 10 (5 sets)

supersetted with

Squats (using the Smith machine)

35/35 x 8 (5 sets)

MONDAY aka I Wanna Be Like Dwight Day!

I think I see shoulders!! 

Front raises (using plates)

45 x 10 (5 sets)

supersetted with

Pushups

10 (5 sets)

Sky Pulls (using kettlebells)

26.4 x 10 (6 sets)

Seated lateral raises

20/20 x 10 (6 sets)

supersetted with

Upright row

20 x 8  25 x 8   30 x 8   35 x 8   40 x 6   40 x 5

Clean and press

35 x 8   40 x 8   45 x 8  50 x 6  50 x 5

TUESDAY aka Quest to Be 
Jimmy's #FairyQuadMother Day!

30 minutes - Treadmill - sprints - jog at 5.5 for 45 seconds, sprint at 9.0 for 30 seconds

TRX Reverse Lunge

12 per side  (8 sets)

Leg extension

70 x 15  (5 sets)

supersetted with

Leg curl

65 x 15 (5 sets)

Single leg press

90/90 x 8 per side (6 sets)

Smith Machine reverse lunge kick ups

35/35 x 8 per side (5 sets)

THURSDAY aka Operation Build-a-Back Day!

I need a Ninja Turtle back!

Seated row (wide grip)

105 x 12 (2 sets)   120 x 12  (2 sets)  135 x 10 (2 sets)

Humansport lat pulldown

14 x 10  16 x 10  18 x 10  20 x 10  22 x 10  24 x 8 (2 sets)

Kneeling lat pulldown

80 x 12 (2 sets)  90 x 12 (2 sets)  100 x 12 (2 sets)  110 x 10  110 x 7

Bent over row

95 x 8 (3 sets)  135 x 8 (3 sets)  155 x 5 (2 sets)

supersetted with

Deadlifts

95 x 8 (2 sets)  135 x 8 (2 sets)  155 x 5 (2 sets)

Friday and Saturday are typically rest days for me. But there have been weeks when I have switched my first rest day earlier in the week, say on Wednesday, and kept Saturday as the second. It really depends on what I have going on and how the body is feeling.

Tomorrow marks 7 weeks out and I know there are some diet and possible training changes up ahead. I'm still taking those baby steps towards the finish line...

You Might Be In Off-Season If....

You might be in off-season if.....

1. You insist on calling it an "improvement season" versus "off-season"
2. When gorging on cookies, candy, tamales, pancakes, and carne asada fries, you calmly inform people that you are "eating to grow"

   

   photo credit

3. A daily check of your abs is necessary....just to ensure that you're not "growing" too much
4. You want to roll your eyes & scream every time someone asks when your next show is
5. You only want to roll your eyes & scream because you don't know when your next show is due to number 2 on this list
6. You pee your pants a little bit each time your coach tells you to bring your competition suit & heels to your next training session so he can "see where you're at"

   

   
   

7. Your favorite hashtags are #getallthegains, #eattogrow, #beastmode, #2014istheyear, and #fatkidstatus

   

   
   

8. You will get up before the sun rises to go to the gym but getting up early for any other reason is just crazy talk

Movin' in Slow Mo'

Welcome to another week of Black and Yellow's Excellent Adventure! We are now 7 weeks away from taking Chicago by storm! Can you believe it?!?!? 7 WEEKS!!!!

My "Oh hell naw" face

At my 8 week check in, The Boss made some changes to my diet and cardio schedule. While no competitor loves to add more cardio to the rotation, the amount of cardio I have been doing is relatively minimal so I didn't freak out about having to do more. What I did freak out about was the removal of green olives from my daily food selection! Now, my current diet doesn't really make me do my happy wiggle but there were pieces of my meals that helped me keep my diet sanity (see my Out of Whack Tastebuds post). Green olives were one of those pieces. I anticipated that I would have to say goodbye to them at some point but I thought it wasn't going to happen for another 2, possibly three weeks. With that said, The Boss did send a follow-up email saying I could have ONE serving of green olives and I almost wept like a baby ;)

One of the things I find myself over-thinking is posing. I feel relatively confident in most of my poses but my relaxed or "model" poses cause me to have a bit of heartburn. I am currently leaning toward a bent leg pose (see the 7 weeks pic above) but I have done the straight leg pose (see the 9 weeks pose above) in past shows. Hopefully, I'll pick one soon and practice it until it feels perfect!

My stress levels have decreased over the past couple of weeks and I have been sleeping a lot better. These are things I know affect me physically so I am happy to have them "under control" :) I, by no means, feel ready to step on stage but I feel like I'm moving in slow motion towards the finish line. I would rather be moving in slow motion than not at all!

photo credit

Before I go, I would like to wish a "Happy Peak Week" to Melissa, Kari, and any other ladies who will be stepping on stage next weekend! Wishing you ladies the best of luck!