11 weeks out again

Figure Competition Prep Update!!

OK first.. I need to get a better way to take my progress pictures.. I'll work on that this week :)

No, you are not experiencing Deja Vu.  We are 11 weeks out.. (Actually 10 weeks 5 days or something.. but yes.. we have more time). Originally my trainer and I discussed doing a show in April.  That was our goal. Well as time progressed and my body is slowly losing fat we have reevaluated our plan and decided that the April show is not ideal for my first show. For a couple reasons. 1. It's a HUGE show and upon discussion with another coach/competitor it was recommended that it's not an ideal first show. 

I definitely want to enjoy this experience and that means feeling prepared and not being overwhelmed during the show. We decided what had been our "back up" show would be a better first show for me. 

The other reason 2. Since I am progressing a bit slower than we would like the April show was more stress on us both.

Again we want to enjoy this and perhaps continue competing for a while to come so killing myself trying to drip 10-15 pounds in 7 weeks was just not the game plan either of us thought would be the best. 

So we are now focused on the Heartland Classic May 23rd. That's goal 1.  In addition to that show. We also will be competing at Muscle Mayhem June 6th.  These are 2 different organizations so we can get a feel for each one and determine where we want to go from there.  

One thing I want to stress is that it's hard to plan weight loss. Believe me.. I am a planner.. I have spreadsheets and charts outlined with how I thought this process should go.  Sometimes your body has other plans. When you ask your body to do something it's never done before.. well, it doesn't always comply. As much as I really hate to report to all my supporters that I just wasn't going to be ready to compete when I originally wanted to, I know this is a temporary setback.

I will keep going. I will still compete and I will look amazing on stage.  I'm far from perfect. (And still will be when I compete) But, I will look the best I have ever looked.  I will be leaner than I have ever been. I will enjoy the experience and hopefully inspire you to do something outside of your comfort zone. Go for something you've always wanted to do.  Nothing is off limits. It's never too late to chase your dreams. Things don't always go according to plan.. so change the plan. 

 Keep moving forward! 

Still at it..

Yikes. Where have I been? It's been weeks since I posted! I've been hard at work. (Literally) I am in public accounting and it's busy season. I've still been hitting the gym, counting macros, meal prepping. All that fun stuff! So let's see. Here's we are, closing in on 9 weeks out from my target. We just did progress measurements and well.. There wasn't much progress. *heavy sigh*. This isn't easy. For anyone. I consider myself a pretty hardworking and dedicated person. I'm not going to say I've never cheated or missed my macros but I follow that 90/10 rule. I lift heavy. And yet my body fat seems like it really wants to stick around. I'm frustrated. I'm even a little pissed off. (Can you be pissed off at your own body fat??) 

We are making some adjustments to my diet and training. If we don't see some major change in the next 4 weeks.. Well my first planned show will no longer be an option. It's painful to admit that. In part I feel like I am failing. But you never really fail until you give up. And that's just not happening. This is important to me and I will compete this year. I'll also be a little better at posting in here. I wanted to document this journey.. So I better do that! The good the bad and the ugly. If it happens, it shall be written. I'm going to post up some of my recent pictures. I've still been taking progress shots weekly. I've selected a bikini to use so it will make them more easily comparable now. I've dated the pictures instead of using weeks since my show date is a big uncertain. If you have things you want to know or see during this process leave a comment. I'll be doing some short videos and recipes on my Instagram (and maybe longer videos if I can post here). I may eventually get a youtube.. We will see

Will post again on Saturday after I take my next set of pictures and talk about my new diet and training. If not sooner. I'm going to try to get in here more often and jot down my thoughts as I go through this process. 

 

Q&A Sexy Arm workouts

I get a lot of questions on Instagram about my arms.

 I think every woman wants to feel comfortable showing off lean sexy arms. But a lot of us suffer from the dreaded arm "wing."  I have good news and bad news related to ridding yourself of the wing. The bad news is, you can't spot reduce fat. I can't choose to focus on my arms and lose fat JUST from there. To reduce fat you need to have good nutrition and reduce overall body fat and it should get to your trouble area (eventually). 

The good news is, weight lifting and targeting your shoulders, biceps and triceps will give your arms a sexy shape and they are much less likely to be flabby weak spaghetti arms. 

So what types of exercises should you do to get lean sexy arms?  Here's some examples of some exercises I do for my arms. 

If you have any questions on these you can check out bodybuilding.com or even YouTube for examples. Form is important when lifting to avoid injury, so take care to make sure you're lifting properly. 

Biceps:

1. Cable curl - I use a straight bar to do mine. 

2. Alternating Dumb Bell curl - I prefer alternating as I feel I am more controlled

3. Dumb bell hammer curls - can be done on the cable machine using the rope too. 

4. Dumb bell incline curls - great stretch and range of motion on these!! 

Triceps:

1. Barbell skull crusher - keep your elbows in close 

2. Rope push down - push your arms all the way straight with each rep 

3. Lying dumb bell extension - I do these each arm individually for better control

4. Dips - can be modified for any fitness level.

Shoulders: 

1. Dumb bell shoulder press - basic but effective. This is one I do almost every shoulder day. 

2. Rear delt fly - controlled movements, no swinging weights 

3. Lateral raise - again don't swing the weights 

4. Cable high row - pull toward your face which targets the back part of the shoulder

For ALL of these exercises you should choose a weight where the last few weights burn and you are close to failure with the last rep. You want to change your body, you must challenge yourself.  And of course follow a good nutrition plan to lose that layer of fat and show off those sexy sculpted arms. 

Happy lifting.