Excuses are Easy, Resolve is Rewarding

Today started off a bit on the unexpected side. Well, not totally unexpected, but not what I was hoping for. After waking up, getting dressed in my gym wear, downing my pre-workout NO Xplode shake (which, for the record, works well but tastes nasty in lemonade flavor), and being pumped to keep rolling with my "better habits" motivation....found a sick, super congested, coughing baby girl in her crib when I went to get her up. *sigh* My poor girl!! She has been battling off and on congestion for a few weeks. Without fail, 2 days a week she is snotty and fussy. We do the humidifier, saline spray, sucking the junk out, juice/fluids bit and then she is fine and back to normal. Only for it to return a week later. Well. Hmmmm? What to do? I can tell you what I did would have done in the past few weeks - use it as an excuse to not be able to get in my workout and laze around and boredom snack all day. Easy, peasy, right???


NO!!!! Well, yes. It would be easy. No, I would not have been happy and would have felt disappointed in myself for taking the easy way out. Now, now, now. Don't fret. I did not pack up my sick baby and head to the gym anyways to pass germs to other innocent children. I snuggled and played with my happy, albeit sick, sweetheart. Then, when she went down for her nap, I headed down to the basement and did some cardio. I pulled out an old Cathe DVD I haven't done in quite some time - IMAX 2. This workout totally and completely kicked my butt....and sent my heart racing. It's 10 step intervals with lots of plyometric drills. It was fun, effective, and passed by super fast. See a clip and description of the workout HERE.

After that, Makenzie & I had lunch and put on some music to dance around the living room. That girl loves to shake her booty. She quite likes the Black Eyed Peas song "Boom Boom Boom" (not sure if that's the right name). During her afternoon nap, I did a bit more reading, chatted online with a good friend, and did my daily devotional Bible reading. You would think the day would die down there, huh?

NOPE! Once hubs got home, I was off to the gym. That's right. My workout plan was to do legs and some cardio today. I am a determined lady right now and had to get my leg session in dagnabit. Can I just say how happy I am that I did? WOW! I killed, I mean killed, my legs. I got my squat weight back up. I was shaking at the end. And all with a much shorter and effective workout. After that, it was home to gobble up some dinner (steamed chicken spring rolls, sugar snap peas) and type this up while chilling on the couch. Another rewarding day, thanks to my resolve. Here's to day 3!

RECAP - DAY 3
Training = Legs
*warm up first*
1) BB Squat - 95# x15, 115# x10, 125# x8 x2sets, 135# (!!!!) x7, 135# x5
2) Bulgarian Split Squat - 20's x 12 x 2sets, 25's x 10, 30's x 8
3A) Walking Lunge w/ Pulses @ Bottom - 20's x 10/leg x 3sets
3B) Leg Extension - 85# x 10 x 3sets

Cardio = Cathe IMAX 2 DVD

Diet = Healthy, balanced, and delicious
Water = 4 Liters + a cup of decaf peppermint tea I'm about to enjoy

Time with God = Prayer time and Bible time. I can definitely tell a difference in my approach to situations, happiness, life in general with more focused time spent with God. I would like to extend this part of my challenge to others as well. Even just 15 minutes of time spent with God is amazing and refreshing. And if that's not in your beliefs, then meditation or something similar could work for you :) Do you take time for daily prayer or meditation? Does it make a difference for YOU?

GOOOOD MORNING! Sorry I didnt get a chance to update last night.Instead I killed my workout. I am SO loving training in the afternoons! I came home just in time for dinner and to hang out with my sister and watch The Biggest Loser. Which, wow....what an ANNOYING episode that was. We have officially found the new Joelle of the season in Tracy. What a *$@#&!!!! She has totally screwed her chances of staying after backstabbing sooooo many people. I understand its a game and you want to play it to your advantage, but wow. That was a bit extreme though. I give serious credit to the trainers, the pink team, and a few others for telling her how awful what all she did was and even more credit to the red team for sacrificing themselves so that Shay could stay longer and then doing SUCH a GREAT job after going home. Anyways....

This morning was a crazy surprise. I've hit a new low weight for prep - 116.6! Wow! From 12 to 8 weeks out I basically maintained around 120 due to the hospital stay, Mandy's visit, being sick, etc. Well, the last 2 weeks it wasnt going down much again (like 1.5 lbs total, which I was still ok with) because I was feeling bloated and backed up. Well - enter higher high day Saturday and WHOOSH....poopy issues GONE (sorry if TMI but deal with it haha), peeing like a racehorse after carbs were dropped back down the past 2-3 days, etc etc. So before my higher carb day again this morning I decided to check things and I had totally bypassed 117 completely. I'll take it! So, yes, body, you can say a big fat "I TOLD YOU SO!!!"

Today's plans are to go the grocery store (AGAIN!) for a couple of things this morning when M is done with bfast (which btw she is MUCH MUCH better! yay!), do a few things around the house during her nap, hope my suit arrives, enjoy a high day of eats (woot!), maybe take a walk in this gorgeous weather, train back & chest and do cardio this afternoon, watch So You Think You Can Dance tonight, and chill with a book in between. Perfection. I hope everyone else has fabulous days too!


Yesterday's Stuff -


Training: Legs & Shoulders with Plyo Fun
BB Squat - 12, 10, 3x8
Bosu PopSquats - 4x10/side
BB Overhead Press - 2x12, 2x8

BB Stationary Lunge - 4x10/side
Jumping Lunges - 4x10/side
Side Cable Raise - 10, 3x5dropset5

Hammerstrength VSquat - 12, 3x10
Lying Leg Curl - 4x8
Front DB Raise - 4x10

DB Bulgarian Split Squat - 4x10
Burpees - 4x10

Plie BB Squat - 12, 3x10
Rear Delt DB Raise - 4x10

Cardio: 60 min Spin Class

Extra Prep Stuff: Posing Practice & Tanning

Macros = 123 C / 30 F / 141 P
meal 1 = 1sc Dymatize Toffee PP, coffee, 4oz unsweet vanilla almond milk
meal 2 = oats/20g dried fruit/.5sc All the Whey cake batter PP, 100g "french toast" eggbeaters w/ 2T sf syrup, 100g strawberries
meal 3 = ground turkey/35g salsa/15g ff cheese, 100g cucumbers, 4oz greek yogurt/1T pb
meal 4 = 1sc All the Whey strawberry PP/8oz unsweet vanilla almond milk, 120g apple w/ 20g strawberry spread
meal 5 = 4oz grilled shrimp, 100g cauliflower/carrot mix with herbs

Rain, Rain Go Away

It has been raining like crazy here in the Atlanta area for the past week, and today has gotten even worse. There have been multiple cases of flooding, roads and schools being closed, and, sadly, even drownings because of the rain. It would be nice if it passed soon, but it doesn't appear to be so - or at least not for another couple of days. Fortunately the worst the rain has impacted me is it being a total pain to go out in twice for the gym and to the grocery store with Makenzie. I will really be praying for those it is hitting harder though. 


In other news for today, I have been asked to tutor a neighbor's son in Spanish 2x/week starting this Sunday. She asked how much I charged and I don't know! The only students I ever tutored before would have been my own that I couldn't ask money from. I am hoping this will be an easy way to help earn some extra cash for our family. Any ideas on what to ask for payment? It would be nice to get a couple hundred extra a month for our family :) Although it does stink that it will be on my only spare afternoons each week, at least until prep is over. Do what you gotta do though! 


Training = Legs & Shoulders (lighter for my back)
Cardio = 60 min Spin Class
Extra Prep = none
Macros = 125 C / 34 F / 135 P
meal 1 = oats, dried tropical fruit, All the Whey cake batter pp
meal 2 = omelet (eggbeaters & mushrooms), TJs apple chicken sasuage, apple, coffee w/ almond milk
meal 3 = ground turkey/salsa/ff cheese/taco season, cucumbers, strawberries
meal 4 = All the Whey strawberry pp, almond milk, larabar
meal 5 = chicken, broccoli, ketchup


Circuit 1
BB Squat
12x90# / 4sets 10x100#
Stationary BB Lunge
12x40# / 3sets 12x60#
Overhead Shoulder Press
4sets 10x25#,side

Circuit 2
V-Squat 
4sets 10x110#
Bulgarian Split Squat
4sets 10x25#,side
Side Cable Raise
3sets 8x20#,side

Circuit 3
Plie Squat
4sets 15x75#
Lying Hamstring Curl
4sets 8x55#  
Front Plate Raise
3sets 8x25# plate
Rear Delt DB Raise
3sets 12x12.5#,side

Just Another Manic Monday

Today has been a fairly busy, but great day. I am feeling strong and motivated and every day that I have that going for me is a good one. I woke up this morning to eat my breakfast and get things going with Makenzie before heading to the gym for my weight session. I really, really, really focused on form and making the absolute most of each movement today. And boy did I feel it. There were points where I didn't know how I was going to be able to push through another set or rep, but I did. Whew! This whole upper/lower split training with legs on a separate day is finally starting to grow on me. 


After that, we came home and I got Makenzie down for her nap so I could make my post workout big breakfast (utter deliciousness meal) and then shower, get dressed, play on the computer, do a few things around the house (like clean the kitchen), etc during her nap. And oh - I tried the new exfoliator I got and LOVED it. It's St. Ives Oatmeal Shea Butter In Shower Body Polish (find it here). Once Makenzie woke from her nap we headed out for some errands - the grocery store and the library. I had to return a book I just finished called The Wednesday Sisters. I enjoyed it. It was a very peaceful read, although slow-moving at parts. My next read was going to be the first House of Night vampire novel. Yes, I love the teeny-bopper vampire stories and like getting lost in them for pure enjoyment. Don't judge! BUT I accidentally picked up the 2nd book instead of the 1st. Once again, don't judge - I AM blonde. LOL So my next book will be Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella. I usually like the light-heartedness of her books and hope this will be the same. 


After errands it was home to devour my measly enjoyable lunch before playing with Makenzie before her next nap. She is just growing and growing and it amazes me every day. She still is afraid to walk though. She wants to, she tries to, but then decides crawling is easier and gives it up. LOL I'm not rushing it though. Later in the afternoon, after Peter got home (and told me M's hospital visit is going to cost us almost $2500), I ate my snack and then  headed back out to my old gym for a killer spin class. This instructor is insane and I love the torture she puts us through. *insert evil laugh here* Came home and gobbled up dinner and topped off the night with some relaxation and Bible study with Peter whilst enjoying a delicious Larabar. 

may not = but still dang good!

Macros - 128 Carb / 135 Protein / 34 Fat
meal 1 = oats, dried fruit, cake batter protein powder
meal 2 = southwestern eggbeaters & mushrooms, apple & strawberry spread, trader joes maple chicken sausage
meal 3 = ground turkey/taco season/salsa/ff cheese, cucumber, strawberries
meal 4 = strawberry protein powder & unsweet vanilla almond milk, pb
meal 5 = chicken, broccoli
meal 6 (dessert) = banana bread larabar


Training - Legs & Shoulders
Cardio - spin class (with the BEST instructor...finally back to her class)
Extra Stuff - really really good stretch!!!


Circuit 1
squat (really focused on form and going low)
15x90# / 10x100# / 2sets 10x110# / 8x110#
reverse db lunge (reps/leg - weight/hand)
2 sets 12x30# / 3 sets 12x35#
overhead db shoulder press (weight/hand)
2sets 10x25# / 8x30# / 6x30#


Circuit 2
v-squat
12x110# / 3sets 10x130#
bulgarian split squat (reps/leg - weight/hand)
4sets 10x25#
cable side raise (reps & weight/side)
4sets 10x20#


Circuit 3
bb plie squat 
12x80# / 3sets 10x90#
lying hamstring curl
4sets 8x60#
front raise (weigh/hand)
3sets 10x10#
rear delt db raise (weight/hand)
3sets 10x15#

2 More Days of Prep Fun

Thursday's Info
Training - Legs & Shoulders
Cardio - Spin Class (AWESOME class!!)
Stuff - did a quick 10 minutes of posing practice
Macros - 128 Carbs / 138 Protein / 31 Fat


Thursday's Training
Superset 1
Deadlift 
12x95# / 8x105# / 3sets 8x115#
Leg Press 
12x140# / 10x160# / 3sets 8x180#
Hammerstrength Overhead Press (weight/hand)
15x35# / 10x40# / 2sets 8x45#


Superset 2
Front Squat
4sets 10x70#
Kneeling Hamstring Curl
4sets/leg 8x30#/side
Machine Rear Delt
3sets 10x50#


Superset 3
High Stepups (weight/hand)
4sets/leg 12x20#
Quad Extensions
4 sets 10x90#
Cable Side Raise
3sets 10x20#/side


Friday's Info
Training - Arms
Cardio - Turbojam Cardio Party 1
Stuff - none
Macros - 126 Carbs / 134 Protein / 32 Fat


Friday's Training
warm up of pushups & pullups
7, 5, 5 unassisted pullups
20, 20, 15 pushups


Superset 1
BB bicep curl
4sets 10x40# 
tricep kickbacks (weight/hand)
2sets 12x15# / 2sets 8x20#


Superset 2
Hammerstrength preacher curl
12x50# / 2sets 8x55#
Hammerstrength tricep dip
15x70# / 12x80# / 10x90#


Superset 3 
seated incline hammer curl (wt/hand)
12x15# / 6x20# / 6x20#dropset8x10#
1 arm cable pushdown
10x20# / 8x30# / 8x30#dropset6x20#


Superset 4
concentration curl 
3sets 8x15#/hand
overhead extension
3sets 10x15#/hand


Some notes/thoughts of the previous prep week - I need to get more organized with my posing practice and ab work. Those are two things that are very easy for me to neglect and that I need to incorporate more now that I am 8 weeks out. So, this upcoming week, it will be a goal of mine to make those 2 things a regular part of my plan. I am feeling great as far as the training, cardio, and diet all go. I really really enjoy my workouts and like pushing hard on the weights. Well, as hard as I can with dieting since my strength is already dropping a little on various things (especially legs!). My cardio isn't killing me either since I am doing things I enjoy, like spin. And I am enjoying my spin even more now. I have recently switched to a closer gym that does not have near as good spin classes as my old gym which was bumming me out because I NEED the hard core spin cardio during prep more than ever. So, my old gym was very nice after I spoke to them and they are allowing me to be a "member" until mid November so I can still go there the few times a week I want to spin. Yippee!!!!  


Last, but certainly not least, I heard from my suit designer that she is hoping to send out my suit by Wednesday of next week. I cannot wait to see it! Too bad I won't have it in time for my 8 weeks out progress pictures coming to a post near you tomorrow ;) 

Daily Prep Update - 60 Days Out

First off, I have to say WOW! Only 60 days?!?! And really, not even that, since that count included today. EEK! It's nerve wracking and super exciting at the same time. I am so pumped to give 100% and work very hard these last 8.5 weeks. I plan to kill those workouts, stick my macros (dieting numbers for those new to competition lingo) perfectly, and just make every single day the absolute best I can with full focus and determination. With that being said - here is an update of what I've been up to yesterday and today to accomplish those goals.


Yesterday's Workout - Legs & Shoulders
grouped exercises = supersets done one right after the other
sets x reps x weight listed for each set


bb squat - 15x95# / 10x115# / 3sets 8x125#
reverse db lunge (weight/hand) - 12x25# / 2 sets 12x30# / 2sets 10x35#
overhead press (weight/hand) - 15x20# / 3 sets 8x25#

hacksquat (weight=total) - 4 sets 12x110#
bulgarian split squat (weight/hand) - 4 sets 10x25#
rear delt raise (weight/hand) - 3 sets 8x15#

bb plie squat - 15x70# / 12x90# / 2 sets 10x100#
lying hamstring curl - 12x50# / 8x60# / 2 sets 8x65#
front raise (weight/hand) - 3 sets 10x12.5#


Yesterday's Cardio - 60 min spin class


Yesterday's Macros (protein, fat, carbohydrate breakdown) -123g Carbs / 135g Protein / 37g Fat - ended up a little over in fat...oops! 


Today's Workout - Off Day besides some abs
Today's Cardio - 50 min Turbokick 
Today's Macros - 123 Carbs / 131 Protein / 31 Fat


So I have definitely been on my game the past couple of days and am ready to keep it going! My motivation probably won't always be so high, so be prepared to offer a helping hand throughout this process ;)