Although I pulled the plug and didn't compete for my show this season, I did realize in the process that I need to do one of two things...either train differently to compete in WPD or kick it up in the off season and go for BB. As a result, I am kicking it up and going for BB in the spring. Or at least that is the plan for now...and plans are always subject to change.
The judging for WPD was all over the map early on, but in the last year it appears that they have worked hard to make it more consistent. And they consistently reward women who are figure + - sometimes even awarding top places to women who have very little muscle over women who are more muscular (at least as far as I can see). And although I did not get down anywhere near where I needed to be to compete during my 18 weeks of prep (I did have a really unrealistic idea of how that was going to turn out...lol), I did realize I carry a lot of muscle. Likely a lot more muscle than would be rewarded in WPD.
Add in that I have to have a goal in the gym to stay on task...
Otherwise I bounce around, doing whatever, basically allowing myself to do everything half-assed - or not at all (truth be told! LMAO!)...
And I finally settled on going through a full mass building cycle. Here is how the training split goes:
Weeks 1-3
Monday:
Back - 2 exercises, 4 sets each with 10, 8, 6, 10 reps
Chest - 1 exercise, 4 sets with 10, 8, 6, 10 reps
Biceps - 2 exercises, 4 sets each with 10, 8, 6, 10 reps
Tri - 1 exercise, 4 sets with 10, 8, 6, 10 reps
Calves - 3 sets of 12-15 reps
Tuesday: Off/Cardio
Wednesday:
Chest - 2 exercise, 4 sets each with 10, 8, 6, 10 reps
Back - 1 exercises, 4 sets with 10, 8, 6, 10 reps
Tri - 2 exercise, 4 sets each with 10, 8, 6, 10 reps
Biceps - 1 exercises, 4 sets with 10, 8, 6, 10 reps
Abs - 3 sets of 30 reps
Thursday: Off/Cardio
Friday:
Quads - 4 exercises, 4 sets each with 10, 8, 6, 10 reps
Abs - Abs - 3 sets of 30 reps
Saturday: Off/Cardio
Sunday:
Shoulders: 3 exercises, 4 sets each with 10, 8, 6, 10 reps
Hamstrings: 2 exercises, 4 sets each with 10, 8, 6, 10 reps
So, for this week thus far, my workouts looked like this:
Monday:
Cable Lat Pulldown:
120x10
130x8
140x6
120x10
T Bar Row:
115x10
135x8
160x4 (a bit ambitious...lol)
135x2
115x10
Barbell Bench Press:
115x10
125x8
135x5 (burned out on that last one)
115x10
EZ Bar Curls:
55x10
60x8
60x6
55x10
Concentration Curls:
25x10
30x8
30x6
25x10
Hammer Strength Calf Machine (press - plated):
180x15
230x15
230x12
20 minutes on elyptical
Tuesday: Off
Wednesday:
Incline Dumbbell Press:
35x10
45x8
50x6
40x10
Incline Dumbbell Flyes:
20x10
25x8
30x6
20x10
Pendlay Rows (Smith Machine):
55x10
65x8
75x6
55x10
Tricep Dips (assisted machine):
-80lbx10
-65lbx8
-50lbx6
-80lbx10
V Bar Cable Pressdowns:
35x10
50x8
57.5x6
42.5x10
Dumbbell Curls (standing):
20x10
25x8
30x6
20x10
Abs:
Crunch machine (upright): 30 reps + 10lb
Ceiling Stompers (decline bench): 10 reps x 3
25 minutes on elyptical
Feel good so far. I haven't done barbell flat bench press in a while, as no matter how I change my form, I manage to tweak my shoulder. I felt good on it this week, although a bit weaker than I would like to be (mostly because I don't have a spot - or that's what I am telling myself). I am happy to be back on task and feel a sense of direction again. :)
After the first three weeks, this is what my splits will look like. When I was in competition mode, I was cycling between weeks 1-3 and 4-6, but never did weeks 7-9 because I was on too much of a caloric deficit. As a result, I am super excited to get to weeks 7-9! :)
Weeks 4-6
Monday:
Back - 2 exercises, 4 sets each with 8, 6, 4, 8 reps
Chest - 1 exercise, 4 sets with 8,6,4,8 reps
Biceps - 2 exercises, 4 sets each with 10,8,6,10 reps
Tri - 1 exercise, 4 sets with 10, 8, 6, 10 reps
Calves - 3 sets of 12-15 reps
Tuesday: Off/Cardio
Wednesday:
Chest - 2 exercise, 4 sets each with 8,6,4,8 reps
Back - 1 exercises, 4 sets with 8,6,4,8 reps
Tri - 2 exercise, 4 sets each with 10, 8, 6, 10 reps
Biceps - 1 exercises, 4 sets with 10, 8, 6, 10 reps
Abs - 3 sets of 30 reps
Thursday: Off/Cardio
Friday:
Quads - 4 exercises, 4 sets each with 8,6,4,8 reps
Abs - Abs - 3 sets of 30 reps
Saturday: Off/Cardio
Sunday:
Shoulders: 3 exercises, 4 sets each with 10, 8, 6, 10 reps (I'll do a press with a 8,6,4,8 split for one exercise)
Hamstrings: 2 exercises, 4 sets each with 8,6,4,8 reps
Weeks 7-9
Monday:
Back - 2 exercises, 5 sets each with 6,4,4,4,6 reps
Chest - 1 exercise, 5 sets with 6,4,4,4,6 reps
Biceps - 2 exercises, 4 sets each with 10, 8, 6, 10 reps
Tri - 1 exercise, 4 sets with 10, 8, 6, 10 reps
Calves - 3 sets of 12-15 reps
Tuesday: Off/Cardio
Wednesday:
Chest - 2 exercise, 5 sets each with 6,4,4,4,6 reps
Back - 1 exercises, 5 sets with 6,4,4,4,6 reps
Tri - 2 exercise, 4 sets each with 10, 8, 6, 10 reps
Biceps - 1 exercises, 4 sets with 10, 8, 6, 10 reps
Abs - 3 sets of 30 reps
Thursday: Off/Cardio
Friday:
Quads - 4 exercises, 5 sets each with 6,4,4,4,6 reps
Abs - Abs - 3 sets of 30 reps
Saturday: Off/Cardio
Sunday:
Shoulders: 3 exercises, 4 sets each with 10, 8, 6, 10 reps (I'll do a press with a 6,4,4,4,6 split for one exercise)
Hamstrings: 2 exercises, 5 sets each with 6,4,4,4,6 reps
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Thursday, October 18, 2012
4 years smoke free!
I started smoking when I was 12. Yes, 12. Craziness, I know. By the time I was 16 I was smoking a pack a day. That frequency went up deramatically during my drinking and drugging years, and settled back to about a pack a day when I got sober. It stayed that way until October 13, 2008 - my quit date.
Was it steelish self-will? A desire to be healthy for myself, for my loved ones? Was I just sick and tired of it all? Yes, yes and yes. But this, in and of itself, was not enough. But let me back up for a moment...and tell the story of how this all came about...
It was October 11, 2008. JP and I were in Edisto. We were riding down the road and I lit a cigarette and mused out loud that I thought I might set a quit date. He sarcastically replied, "When, in 2011?" I had my own sarcastic reply..."How about when I finish this pack, a$$hole!?" It sounds so contentious, but it was joking, ribbing sarcasm, as JP and I aren't mean to one another. And anyone who knows us, who knows our banter, can probably imagine how that conversation went. This was a Saturday and we were heading back from picking up a pack at the store, so I had a pack to finish. I was joking, but the statement planted a seed that grew. What IF? What if I did quit after that pack?
Let's back up a little more...
I first started quitting smoking in 2003. A previous relationship with someone who hated my smoking. Every two weeks we would make a deal that I would quit smoking if he would quit dipping. Neither one of us ever stuck to our end of the bargain. I tried gum. I tried patches. From the time I would put the cigarettes down I would obsess. I couldn't think about anything else but trying not to smoke, wanting to have just one, or obsess over watching other people smoke. The most I lasted then was 2 weeks and picking up a cigarette was a relief every time. I had a genuine desire to not smoke. But my genuine desire wasn't enough. Neither was the criticism and dislike of my then-partner. I knew I could lose my relationship over being a smoker (although, in my defense, he did know I was a smoker from the first date and thought he could change me...my first real sign that the relationship was doomed before it began). The obsession won out. I didn't want to be a smoker. But the obsession won out. An obsession is a thought that crowds out all other thoughts. And the obsession won every single time.
Fast forward to 2008. I am back in the gym (after a hiatus from about 2004 on). Lumbering through workouts because I can't breathe. JP was very supportive. He expressed that he didn't like my smoking, but knew that I was a smoker when he started dating me and wasn't going to try to change me. I had thought about quitting but had no real desire to, although I was motivated to think about it when I was working out. My mom was a smoker, so no pressure there. My dad was a smoker, so no pressure there. Most of my friends were smokers, so no pressure there (save for my roommate, who hated it when I smoked in the car). I guess I am saying all of this to say that the thought I mused out loud on October 11, 2008, did not come from a place of outside pressure - or even a place of more than passing internal reflection. That one thought became an obsession of it's own. Instead of wanting to quit and obsessing over smoking...the thought of quitting fleetingly crossed my mind and grew to take hold over the desire to continue smoking. We were on a weekend trip with some friends and would be staying through Sunday night. I had one pack left and I stretched it through the rest of the time we were in Edisto. I had my last cigarette at around 11pm on Octotber 12, 2011.
I had moments where I struggled in the beginning. I called JP a lot for support. I had a comparison point, though, and this time was WAY different than when I had tried to quit before. Even from the first day, the obsession would hit periodically, but it would often pass quickly. I stated above that I have steelish self-will. Anyone who has been locked in a debate with me can attest to this. Lol. Seriously, though...self-will holds no power when the brain is hijacked the way it is in the case of addictions, especially with nicotine. If you are confused by this statement, then go back and read the paragraph that starts with me talking about first starting to quit in 2003. The self will is powerless in in the face of an obsession that crowds out all other thoughts. But there was peace. Despite the fact that I had no pressure, no real desire, no circumstances that made wanting or needing to quit an imminent thought...
I give credit to my Higher Power. The one thing that always gave me perfect peace and set my mind at ease during the month or two following my last cigarette was something JP shared with me about when he quit smoking. He said that he saw quitting as a contract between him and God. He knew God would honor his desire to quit by removing the obsession, but He could only do this if he didn't put the substance in his body. Of course, I had experience with this...seeing as I was 10 years sober when I quit smoking...but having JP say it to me and remind me of it gave me such peace and comfort. It wasn't a replacement thought. There was no struggle. There was just peace.
And today, I can't even remember what it was like to be a smoker. I can't recall what it was like to hold a cigarette, to light it, to draw that first drag off of it. It's funny...there is a little anxiety that happens when I write it out that graphically. There is something in my brain that remembers, but it's nothing like the euphoric recall that happens when I describe what a drink or what cocaine felt like. I literally can't remember what it was like to smoke, even though I smoked for 20 years (yup....started at 12, quit at 32...scary isn't it?). That is grace, plain and simple. And I am grateful for it.
Was it steelish self-will? A desire to be healthy for myself, for my loved ones? Was I just sick and tired of it all? Yes, yes and yes. But this, in and of itself, was not enough. But let me back up for a moment...and tell the story of how this all came about...
It was October 11, 2008. JP and I were in Edisto. We were riding down the road and I lit a cigarette and mused out loud that I thought I might set a quit date. He sarcastically replied, "When, in 2011?" I had my own sarcastic reply..."How about when I finish this pack, a$$hole!?" It sounds so contentious, but it was joking, ribbing sarcasm, as JP and I aren't mean to one another. And anyone who knows us, who knows our banter, can probably imagine how that conversation went. This was a Saturday and we were heading back from picking up a pack at the store, so I had a pack to finish. I was joking, but the statement planted a seed that grew. What IF? What if I did quit after that pack?
Let's back up a little more...
I first started quitting smoking in 2003. A previous relationship with someone who hated my smoking. Every two weeks we would make a deal that I would quit smoking if he would quit dipping. Neither one of us ever stuck to our end of the bargain. I tried gum. I tried patches. From the time I would put the cigarettes down I would obsess. I couldn't think about anything else but trying not to smoke, wanting to have just one, or obsess over watching other people smoke. The most I lasted then was 2 weeks and picking up a cigarette was a relief every time. I had a genuine desire to not smoke. But my genuine desire wasn't enough. Neither was the criticism and dislike of my then-partner. I knew I could lose my relationship over being a smoker (although, in my defense, he did know I was a smoker from the first date and thought he could change me...my first real sign that the relationship was doomed before it began). The obsession won out. I didn't want to be a smoker. But the obsession won out. An obsession is a thought that crowds out all other thoughts. And the obsession won every single time.
Fast forward to 2008. I am back in the gym (after a hiatus from about 2004 on). Lumbering through workouts because I can't breathe. JP was very supportive. He expressed that he didn't like my smoking, but knew that I was a smoker when he started dating me and wasn't going to try to change me. I had thought about quitting but had no real desire to, although I was motivated to think about it when I was working out. My mom was a smoker, so no pressure there. My dad was a smoker, so no pressure there. Most of my friends were smokers, so no pressure there (save for my roommate, who hated it when I smoked in the car). I guess I am saying all of this to say that the thought I mused out loud on October 11, 2008, did not come from a place of outside pressure - or even a place of more than passing internal reflection. That one thought became an obsession of it's own. Instead of wanting to quit and obsessing over smoking...the thought of quitting fleetingly crossed my mind and grew to take hold over the desire to continue smoking. We were on a weekend trip with some friends and would be staying through Sunday night. I had one pack left and I stretched it through the rest of the time we were in Edisto. I had my last cigarette at around 11pm on Octotber 12, 2011.
I had moments where I struggled in the beginning. I called JP a lot for support. I had a comparison point, though, and this time was WAY different than when I had tried to quit before. Even from the first day, the obsession would hit periodically, but it would often pass quickly. I stated above that I have steelish self-will. Anyone who has been locked in a debate with me can attest to this. Lol. Seriously, though...self-will holds no power when the brain is hijacked the way it is in the case of addictions, especially with nicotine. If you are confused by this statement, then go back and read the paragraph that starts with me talking about first starting to quit in 2003. The self will is powerless in in the face of an obsession that crowds out all other thoughts. But there was peace. Despite the fact that I had no pressure, no real desire, no circumstances that made wanting or needing to quit an imminent thought...
I give credit to my Higher Power. The one thing that always gave me perfect peace and set my mind at ease during the month or two following my last cigarette was something JP shared with me about when he quit smoking. He said that he saw quitting as a contract between him and God. He knew God would honor his desire to quit by removing the obsession, but He could only do this if he didn't put the substance in his body. Of course, I had experience with this...seeing as I was 10 years sober when I quit smoking...but having JP say it to me and remind me of it gave me such peace and comfort. It wasn't a replacement thought. There was no struggle. There was just peace.
And today, I can't even remember what it was like to be a smoker. I can't recall what it was like to hold a cigarette, to light it, to draw that first drag off of it. It's funny...there is a little anxiety that happens when I write it out that graphically. There is something in my brain that remembers, but it's nothing like the euphoric recall that happens when I describe what a drink or what cocaine felt like. I literally can't remember what it was like to smoke, even though I smoked for 20 years (yup....started at 12, quit at 32...scary isn't it?). That is grace, plain and simple. And I am grateful for it.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Ahhhhh....the comfort of Paleo...
When not in prep mode, our preferential way of eating is Paleo, so we have been getting back to that way of prepping and eating food. One of things I love about Paleo is all of the great recipes! This past Sunday was my first day back to prepping a week full-on Paleo. The last two weeks we did Paleo chili and Paleo jambalaya for some of our meals (two of my faves, especially when it starts cooling down). Sunday I prepped an old favorite - good old fashioned BBQ - as well as trying three new recipes - nutty meat loaf, Paleo crispy orange chicken and jalapeno glazed chicken.
The BBQ is so easy, it's ridiculous to pay for it anywhere. I cooked an 8 pound Boston butt in 1 cup apple cider vinegar (starts out sweet but this gives it a real kick once it's cooked all the way), red pepper flakes, garlic and sea salt. Throw it all in the crock pot and cook on low for 8 hours. Except...it actually took about 12 hours...but whose counting! Lol. It turned out great, although I usually like it a little more spicy then it came out.
The orange chicken recipe I is supposed to have coconut flour for the frying base, but I didn't have any, so I substituted flax meal instead. That is good and bad. The flax meal turned dark when frying (in coconut oil), so it looks like burned chunks of chicken rather than what you normally see. One advantage to cooking Paleo is that you realize that Paleo-adapted food rarely looks like their non-Paleo versions. The sauce turned out great and it tasted good. I am looking forward to doing it with the coconut flour next time, as the flax meal is a little thick and it has an earthy taste.
The nutty meatloaf really wasn't a stretch from regular meatloaf, so I knew that would turn out ok. At the end of the day you can substitute a variety of things for the bread crumbs normally used in meatloaf - in this case I used....tada!...flax meal! It turned out really good. I think I'll try almond meal or almonds/walnuts that I put through the food processor next time, along with flax seeds.
With any cooking, there are recipes that turn out good and there are recipes that turn out...not so good. The recipe disaster of the day this past Sunday was the jalepeno glazed chicken. The recipe started out so nicely, but my first clue that things were not going to turn out as planned was when the "glaze" didn't thicken in a glaze. It was still very runny, even after simmering for a LONG time. As a result, I proceeded with putting that on the chicken and putting it in the oven. Bad idea. I set the timer and went about my business. JP was the one who went to take it out, and all I saw when I turned the corner to the kitchen was smoke billowing out of the oven. What was supposed to be delicious jalepeno glazed chicken turned out to be...burnt to a crisp chicken. JP was really excited about that one, though, so I may try to tweak that recipe in the coming weeks to see if I can make it work.
The last thing I made this past weekend was on a whim. We went to an apple farm while we were in the mountains a few weekends ago and we bought a bushel of apples. We still have a whole half of the bag left and they are starting to go bad, so I simmered sliced apples in water and cinnamon, ran them through the big daddy blender and we now have homemade apple sauce!
All and all, our first weekend back cooking full Paleo was a success. One advantage to eating Paleo is that, since I started my competition prep Easter weekend, there are 10 times as many recipes online, so I have an endless amount of Paleo recipes to try! And it breaks up the monotony of paring macros, which just gets boring after a while. :)
We are super slammed, so I don't even have the chance to be regular with my gym schedule - some weeks I am able to make it twice and others five times. My strength is good. My endurance is good. I am happy with just going with the flow, and anticipate that I will sit down at the end of this month and actually write out specific goals so I can get back on track with really working in the gym. I anticipate that I have about 4-5 months of "off season" to go until I start competition prep for the spring (depending on what show I decide to do), so it is about time to get back on track with setting goals and being disciplined in the gym. Woohoo!
That is about it to report for now. As I get more structured, I am sure I will have a desire to write more frequently!
The BBQ is so easy, it's ridiculous to pay for it anywhere. I cooked an 8 pound Boston butt in 1 cup apple cider vinegar (starts out sweet but this gives it a real kick once it's cooked all the way), red pepper flakes, garlic and sea salt. Throw it all in the crock pot and cook on low for 8 hours. Except...it actually took about 12 hours...but whose counting! Lol. It turned out great, although I usually like it a little more spicy then it came out.
The orange chicken recipe I is supposed to have coconut flour for the frying base, but I didn't have any, so I substituted flax meal instead. That is good and bad. The flax meal turned dark when frying (in coconut oil), so it looks like burned chunks of chicken rather than what you normally see. One advantage to cooking Paleo is that you realize that Paleo-adapted food rarely looks like their non-Paleo versions. The sauce turned out great and it tasted good. I am looking forward to doing it with the coconut flour next time, as the flax meal is a little thick and it has an earthy taste.
The nutty meatloaf really wasn't a stretch from regular meatloaf, so I knew that would turn out ok. At the end of the day you can substitute a variety of things for the bread crumbs normally used in meatloaf - in this case I used....tada!...flax meal! It turned out really good. I think I'll try almond meal or almonds/walnuts that I put through the food processor next time, along with flax seeds.
With any cooking, there are recipes that turn out good and there are recipes that turn out...not so good. The recipe disaster of the day this past Sunday was the jalepeno glazed chicken. The recipe started out so nicely, but my first clue that things were not going to turn out as planned was when the "glaze" didn't thicken in a glaze. It was still very runny, even after simmering for a LONG time. As a result, I proceeded with putting that on the chicken and putting it in the oven. Bad idea. I set the timer and went about my business. JP was the one who went to take it out, and all I saw when I turned the corner to the kitchen was smoke billowing out of the oven. What was supposed to be delicious jalepeno glazed chicken turned out to be...burnt to a crisp chicken. JP was really excited about that one, though, so I may try to tweak that recipe in the coming weeks to see if I can make it work.
The last thing I made this past weekend was on a whim. We went to an apple farm while we were in the mountains a few weekends ago and we bought a bushel of apples. We still have a whole half of the bag left and they are starting to go bad, so I simmered sliced apples in water and cinnamon, ran them through the big daddy blender and we now have homemade apple sauce!
All and all, our first weekend back cooking full Paleo was a success. One advantage to eating Paleo is that, since I started my competition prep Easter weekend, there are 10 times as many recipes online, so I have an endless amount of Paleo recipes to try! And it breaks up the monotony of paring macros, which just gets boring after a while. :)
We are super slammed, so I don't even have the chance to be regular with my gym schedule - some weeks I am able to make it twice and others five times. My strength is good. My endurance is good. I am happy with just going with the flow, and anticipate that I will sit down at the end of this month and actually write out specific goals so I can get back on track with really working in the gym. I anticipate that I have about 4-5 months of "off season" to go until I start competition prep for the spring (depending on what show I decide to do), so it is about time to get back on track with setting goals and being disciplined in the gym. Woohoo!
That is about it to report for now. As I get more structured, I am sure I will have a desire to write more frequently!
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