I've always been active, love being outside, and
also love challenges. My friend proposed that we have a running and
pushup challenge: run 300 miles and do 1200 pushups between December 22 -
March 20. I was on a roll, but all of a sudden started having serious knee
pain which prevented me from running and, eventually, even stopped my morning
beach walks. I felt like an old woman and didn't understand what the
problem was. I had never felt this time of pain - even when I played rugby for
a season. I'd go to yoga and my back would hurt, my foot would cramp, my knees
would kill. It worried me because exercise and staying active is important for: 1.
my overall life balance and sanity 2. the fact that I really like eating
food.
Basically, I'm trying to figure out how to strength
train with out PAIN and have a better understanding of nutrition. I also know
that I am more successful when someone is holding me accountable to my goals.
I can't be an expert at everything (who can?) so when I need help, I look
for experts. It made sense that I connect with Stacey because, let's be
serious, she's THE expert at fitness and nutrition. Her clients raved about her
to me, I love reading her blog, and I liked her I DON'T GIVE A FUCK attitude.
It's empowering.
The eating piece came second to my reason for
connecting with Stacey. Moving into my own apartment, I started making pretty
conscious food choices. I started cooking kale, eating brussel sprouts, and
really focused on fruits and veggies. I discovered the Paleo diet and started
following that. Between November - January, I lost 10 pounds and felt awesome.
Then I gained it all back. This is the story of my life. Not so much yo-yo
dieting as it is yo-yo snacking/frozen-yogurting/binge drinking. It isn't about
being skinny or fat to me, it's about feeling comfortable, having high self-
esteem, and being healthy. I know that I have pretty a serious family history of
disease - high cholesterol, diabetes, cancers, high blood pressure and am also
conscious of the fact that I need to take preventative measures now - before I
have way more responsibilities than I already have. Now that I have been
working with Stacey I feel huge changes in my body - no more knee pain, I'm
getting better at kettlebell exercises, and my IT band doesn't feel like it's
going to snap when I go on long walks. It's the eating piece that needs
some extra help. Stacey and I thought it'd be helpful to blog about my journey.
After all, this is a journey. It's not easy to break habits and start new
habits. It's also proven that when you are held accountable, your rate of
succeeding is higher....
Cheers to the journey to my fit, happy, healthy
(ass-kicking) life. My goals: lose 20 pounds by August and, ultimately, 30
by September. Do 10 pull-ups in a row (I've never done a real pull-up in my
life). Be at a fitness level to play a competitive sport (probably soccer).
Master the turkish get-up.
As you can see, nothing happens overnight. People have asked me time and time again why I chose to do a Figure Competition...
I LOVE LIFTING HEAVY and being challenged.
I wanted a concrete goal with a specific date.
I have a lot of food allergies (thus a restricted diet) so I felt I might as well dabble in restricting it further and see some results.
I put clients on nutrition plans all the time, never having actually been on a hardcore one myself...how can I pretend to know what they are going through?
Confidence has never been my strong suit, being able to get up in front of strangers half naked...well I think you have to be somewhat confident to do that ;)
I love dressing up on occasion, so why not dress up in a suit that costs as much as a wedding dress and pretend to be Barbie for the day!
In November of last year I was strong and in good shape. I could do sets of 6 body weight pull ups, clean and press a 24 KG kettlebell and Turkish Get Up a 36 KG (yes I mean KG) bell. I weighed in at 131 lbs. The first 3 1/2 months of training I did not diet. I was trying to put on mass so that when I leaned out there would actually be muscle there :) For females, this in itself can be challenging. I admit, I didn't love putting on weight but I had to have faith in the process. As a personal trainer myself I loved reading Coach Nick Tumminello's work and decided to give him a call to see if he would take me on as a long distance client. I loved how he kept his Figure Girls functional and trained them like the athletes they are. For the first time in my life I was establishing a REAL STRENGTH TRAINING FOUNDATION :) I trained 5-6 days a week Upper Body Lower Body Splits and NO CARDIO. My weight went up by about 5 lbs due to Nick's program design alone! Next time around I will definitely start my nutrition earlier to aid in putting on good mass.
It was not the smoothest of sailing when I started my nutrition. To make a long story short, it turned out that meat was not going to work for me. BONNIE LEFRAK worked tirelessly to create a plan that would work for me! We played around with legumes and beans and fish until finally we found a solution. Bonnie is a PRO, she f*cking knows what she is doing and once you have gone through her program there's no denying it :))))
I have never met Coach Nick Tumminello and I have met Bonnie once before my training started...pretty crazy eh! Anything is possible!
I kept the fact that I was doing a second show this past weekend a little on the DL. But I wanted to let you all know that thanks to my team of supporters I placed first in OPEN FIGURE MEDIUM and went on to be the INBF OVERALL FIGURE WINNER at Fulton's Fitness Pro Qualifier.
Most girls who compete in Figure Shows possess an athletic build and create the allusion of curves via posing or some with a little help from implants ;)
Now I completely understand why it's so prevalent in this SPORT. It is pretty much impossible to have breasts when you get competition lean!
I have been blessed (note the sarcasm here) with a swimmer's build, AKA I'm nice and straight, like a rectangle. Therefore my FRONT STANCE is my weakest pose.
With more of a strength training base to get my shoulders STACKED and my legs BIGGER I would be ok, but for this first show, I'm outta luck.
What can I say...fake it til ya make it ;)
I'll play on my strengths :)
Not gonna lie, this week has been rough. Rough for sleep, rough for work, rough for my workouts. I'M TIRED!
The past two days I LEGIT only went to the gym so that I could eat 16 rice crackers when I was done. YIKES I think its a little early in this game for that nonsense.
My strength is constant its just taking more out of me to stay there. But I can't take the heavy volume so that has definitely gone down. I am very lucky that the diet is working for me now and I have no real "show weight" to get to, and there are no double sessions yet :)
Nope I stayed away from the CHOCOLATE bunnies, peeps, jelly bellies and the cadbury cream eggs unlike somebody ;)
In fact I didn't eat a single piece of candy...total shocker I know.
In fact I didn't eat ENOUGH this weekend. And when you are on a Figure Competition diet and didn't do your food prep you are ****ed!
I did however have a few drinks in light of this awesome weather and thus I slept less. I just don't feel like myself.
When you eat clean and take care of your body the skies the limit :) You never know how good you can feel until you try!
If you haven't spoken to me then you wouldn't know that week #1 went horribly.
Week #2 much the same.
With a few tweaks, week #3 is getting better.
Just as no training regime will work for all people, neither will nutrition plans.
Every BODY is unique INSIDE and OUT.
Due to my recent experiences I have come to know my body better than ever.
The RTN protein powder ( tho it TASTES AMAZING) was just not working for me on a daily basis. That in addition to MEAT ever 3 hrs... my body just wasn't able to process animal protein in such high doses.
For those of you who are smart...you can guess where this got me
So I have switched to a VEGAN protein powder. I have also cut ALL MEAT out of my diet. I have replaced it with a variety of fish and legumes. This is virtually unheard of in traditional body building and figure competing. But hey a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.
Having to make this major change and not even knowing for sure whether it will work, is scary and a bit discouraging.
I know for a fact that when it comes to show day, I will be a bit softer than the other girls, simply because CARB CYCLING is a little difficult when some days all you are eating is CARBS!
I can't get over what great people I have established relationships with in my time in the fitness industry :)
Jess was so friggen helpful and cute, I know she won't mind me sharing her helpful hints!
OK – bring out the BOOKS! (hahah, nerd)
So the obvious q’s… drinking enough water? Taking a multi-vitamin with iron it it? On any medications that have side effects that cause constipation? Getting enough INSOLUBLE fiber?
My books say:
· Eat plenty of foods high in pectin (apples, carrots, okra, beets, bananas, cabbage, cirtrus, dried peas.
· Avoid foods that stimulate secretions by the mucous membranes, such as dairy products, fats and spicy foods.
· Do not eat dairy, soft drinks, meat, white flour, sugar – hard to digest and have little to no fiber
· Eat dried prunes or figs
· Consume barley juice, wheatgrass, or any cholorophyll heavy drink
· Flaxseed oil or fresh ground seeds may help soften stool
· Psyllium seed (take with a whole glass of water!)
· Go to the toilet at the same time each day – even if the urge doesn’t exist to go, and relax. (meditate on the Potty, Stace!)
· Take acidophilus –especially if you’re using laxatives
Basically do what you can to alkalize your body as much as possible while still eating animal proteins. That is supposed to help. Go get a ph stick from Whole Foods and pee on it – see what your acidic levels are.
Bonnie reminded me that even when this is a "Natural" Competition, many things that you will do to yourself in order to get stage ready aren't exactly natural or healthy :(
Colette gave me a ton of great advice as well, if you live near the South End and have any digestive issues, she's your gal!
As you can see I have a great support system :)
Just as an injury or getting the FLU would set you back in competition prep, so to does my little digestive issue. I would NEVER NOT do this competition, I am just not willing to make myself SICK AND MISERABLE over it. I can deal with low carb miserable :)
Pictures are such an amazing way to track progress. Clothes and measurements are good, but nothing can track progress like pictures. You can weigh yourself, track body composition, but its the photos that tie it all together. They allow you to pinpoint exactly what is changing!
Preparing for your first show is complicated. You have to gain muscle + weight and have faith in the process. There is an end goal in mind. It is all preparation for that day on stage. THAT ONE DAY. It is not like you go through each and everyday thinking that your body looks great...BECAUSE IT DOESN'T. It's changing and growing and shifting.
As my boobs get smaller and my arms get bigger, sometimes I ask myself "why am I doing this again?" Because its a CHALLENGE, a goal, an experience, a process.
I LOVE BEING STRONG, its just something that I have always taken pride in. Seeing my strength gains helps me get through tough training days.
Pics from November and then from February, see anything different?!?!?
This morning Emily's parents were in town (GRADY my fav baby stayed at home with them) so I got to really get down to business ;) We started of with band walks, and a full body versus circuit (included overhead flutter, deep squat to row, lunge with chest opener, glut bridge and plank)
We did some med ball drills as well as Gray Cook Chop work to prepare for SNATCHES ;)
She did awesome with her 5 sets, getting more and more power each set.
Assisted pull up along with an upside down version of the bird dog followed for several sets
We finished with the mini circuit you watched above!
This week I have been unveiling some photos of the ladies who took part in the Unlimited Strength program we ran last month. The following is yet another Gina who saw phenomenal results. Check out her arms and ripped back.... I LOVE IT :)
Her body composition was at an all time low and she looked smokin hot walking down the isle she was clearly happy and her husband to be was too ;)
