Triceps to Failure Baby! AKA The Stuff That Makes Me Tick =)

Today was a good day. I decided last night that it was time to start writing down what I eat again. Until you are keeping a log you can make yourself believe that you’re behaving when you really aren’t. After about three days I should be back in the groove of it. I went Tupperware crazy tonight too and I have a bunch of mini meals made up for the next few days.

Oddly, what managed to cause my great day today was my kinda misguided attempt to wean myself off of coffee (to less not none) this morning. I’ve become a 3-cupper (12 oz. mugs) and I’d like to get back to only 1. So I did that, left the house with none on the go and only 1 cup ingested. My friends Karen and Hannah noted my glazey hazey look when I came to class and apparently my friend Erica saw me in the hall and tried to get my attention and I never had a clue she’d been near. Umm yeah, I apparently “run” on coffee more than I realized. I’d gone to class in workout clothes with the intention of hitting The Rec immediately after class. I headed over, but wondering how I was going to get going and get in a meaningful workout I decided to buy this random zero cal energy drink called Redline that was in the vending machine. It did not taste good at all, ewww! Coffee is where the yum is at ;) The Redline did, however, pack 316 mg of caffeine amongst other things.

So the jitters from the first half of my workout were caffeine derived, but the latter half? Muscle quivers! Pure depletion, lactic acid baby, love it! =)

I went in intending to hit shoulders / biceps / triceps. I hit shoulders and biceps with a dumbbell barbell combo circuit and then moved onto triceps. Triceps are my favorite muscle and it has been REALLY bugging me that I have not been maintaining them well since Emerald. I wound up doing 4 separate circuits, that’s triple my usual triceps training. The first of the circuits was the most intense. It was:

DB Single Arm OH Triceps Extensions x 10 lbs x 8-10 reps ea arm
DB Triceps Kickbacks x 15 lbs x 10-12 reps ea arm
DB Standing Triceps Extensions x 20 lbs TO FAILURE
Body Weight Bench Dips TO FAILURE

All of the above repeated for 5 total sets.



And then moving on to 3 more triceps circuits of 3-6 sets each (click pic to enlarge for full details if that kind of thing interests you :)
I literally had to drag myself out of the weight room

Once I get in the zone I just want to keep going and going and have to make myself stop. I did and headed up for 30 min on the Stepmill followed up by 3 sets of 4 abs exercises and some brief stretching for a total of 2.5 hours at The Rec. Yay!
I then went and sat in the lounge area to clear 2 chapters of reading in my cost acct book. All in all staying in The Rec makes me far more productive both at clearing studying and working out. That’s going to be my new rule, avoid going home and avoid computer labs. Put me in front of a computer and I will just dink around convince myself distraction is justified and not accomplish much. The Rec is the land for me :)

So what’s up with all the circuits? I’ve long been into supersets and drop sets, but never really did much circuit stuff. Since my last post I’ve gained 210 lbs and it’s been really wonderful. That would be my sweet funny amazing boyfriend Rich who I dare say may actually be a bigger gym rat than me. He has the arms, chest, and lats to prove it too :) One of the days we worked out together I managed to out one rep max him! Hip adductors: I could do 180 lbs and he only made 170 lbs, but anything upper body he outlifts me by like 5x! His big thing is taking over as many weight benches as he can muster and setting up a bunch of free weight stations that he then runs through expediently as a circuit. Smart, huh? :) So I’m copycatting to a degree. He includes machines too and tends to hit multiple muscle groups in a single circuit. I prefer straight free weights and maybe some cable station stuff and hitting a single muscle group on my circuits, like today’s triceps. I do have to say the gym is an awesome date venue. Think I’m strange? Probably :) but doing something you totally love with your sweetheart who loves it as much as you do along with sweaty endorphin rushes for all involved is beyond fun in my book :)

Today’s counts:

1,783 cals Ingested (33% Protein 45% Carbs 22% Fat)
(1,448) BMR
(1,072) Training Burn
(737) Net Loss =)

Thank Goodness!!!

Phew!

So I’ve been MIA because the post competition crash hit me. Not everyone does, some stay right on track, but many competitors crash post contest. You now, don’t want to go to the gym, eat complete crap, gain just over 5 lbs in barely 2 weeks. Ok, that was me =)I have been in the gym some. Getting back on track more this week, even am cardio empty-stomached at 6 am twice this week. I had a leg day late last week that left me ridiculously sore for over 3 days, yay! The last 2 months headed to competition I wasn’t getting any DOMS at all anymore. I did back, chest, and mini biceps today and am hoping to feel that tomorrow too.

I’ve been worried about diet though, big time. Worried that I was not ever going to get back on the proverbial horse, but rather keep eating one!

Then tonight, while coaching this REALLY cute guy on contest nutrition who has been coaching me on new lat and shoulder stuff, I got it back! I actually WANT to eat clean again. Thank freaking goodness or I was going to be in major trouble in another month. So I packed up 3 meals for school tomorrow: 1 pb Think Thin Bar, 5 oz. Isernio’s Italian Sausage with ½ cup sweet potato, and another 5 oz. Isernio’s Italian Sausage with 1 cup broccoli. So excited for oatmeal with whey for breakfast and those meals on campus, plus 2 more clean meals at home. Phew, my motivation is back!!!

(I was getting pretty damn worried it wasn’t going to return!)

Oh, and if you ever wondered Give Me Everything Tonight by Pitbull and featuring Ne-Yo, Afrojack & Nayer is the absolute best song to dance around your house to with an iPod late in the night. Also great in the weight room or for cardio =) I can't find the actual official music vid on YouTube just lots of random ones so no embedded vid tonight unfortunately!

The Emerald Cup

See the "Ecup Pics" posts below / in the sidebar for additional pictures. (Blogger limits how many I can put in each post.)


Let’s just get the disappointing part out of the way first. I was last in my class, barely, but I was. Based on how they score I wasn’t last in Figure, but I was last in my class and that’s what gets recorded. Each judge rates you based on what place they think you should be out of the group on stage, all seven judge’s choices are tallied up and that’s your score. The higher your score the worse you place. I was one of 14 women in Open Figure Class D (5’4” – 5’5”) and I received the following: 14, 14, 12, 13, 14, 12, 14. I’m thankful that at least two judges put me 3rd from last, but my total score was 67 against two other girls at 65 and 64 so it was very close, but I still came in last. Ecup is a big show, the biggest around these parts, and it is untested. Laura had warned me back in the beginning that it was a somewhat crazy choice for a first show and that was true, but I did it, I don’t regret it, and I’m proud of it. I also now know exactly what I need to hone to become competitive.

Even if you don’t actually know me in person you know me a little from reading my blog so that means you know I always find a way to put a positive spin on everything, right? =)

So here goes! I’m glad I competed. I handled my stung pride smartly. I waited around until the very end of the show so that I could go talk to the judges and ask for feedback on my top weaknesses. If I hadn’t done that I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to learn and improve for my next competition. What cost me in placing?

1) My lat spread. This was no surprise. I knew going in that pulling out my lats was my biggest weakness. I did not have the back quarter turn nailed and my lats are still small to begin with. I simply have not been weightlifting or practicing posing long enough yet. The really great thing though was that a woman bodybuilder was standing right there and she showed and helped me try a method of pulling out my lats that I hadn’t seen before. It worked well for me and I’ll keep practicing it. She was really nice too. I have a ton of respect for women who do full bore bodybuilding. Figure is intense, but bodybuilding takes it up a few more notches beyond.

2) They want to see more shoulders on me. I need to rip out my delts to the point that they are visibly differentiated from my biceps and triceps when my arm is unflexed. Like three separate big bumps of beautiful muscle per arm.

3) I’m not lean enough. They’d like to see me shed another 3 or so pounds and I need to get down to around 11% body fat.

4) This one is the kicker. My suit hurt me. The style of bikini top I was wearing has thicker neck straps than the other girls were wearing (see pics below) and it covered up muscle. The judge told me that when it is a really close call small details like your suit can hurt you. I’m definitely getting it altered before my next show, no question.

This entry has been so slow in posting for two reasons. I needed to allow my stung pride to dissipate before I was willing to publicly say I came in last in my class and I went and spent the rest of the weekend with some of my best friends. My friends mean the world to me. I’m an only child which I believe gives me license to call family as I see it. Kelly has been in my life since 4th grade; Eli has been in my life since 7th grade. Interestingly we’re all only children. So is Eli’s girlfriend, Krysta, who grew up with us as well and our friend Quinn who now lives out of state was too. Funny how we all flock together. But Kelly and Eli are really family to me. They’ve always been there through the good, the bad, and the ugly and I love them dearly for it and also just for all that makes them who they are. We’re still quite new in each other’s lives, but my friend Darene also always has my back and is a beyond awesome inspirational strong person. I love her too. In the last year after moving I’ve been lucky to meet some wonderful new friends at school and at my gym. You know who you are =) I feel so lucky to have been supported by everyone in this experience. All your kind words kept me up and meant the world. The people in it are what make my world beautiful.

I especially want to thank my trainer, Laura. More than all she taught me in the gym she has been just amazing at playing moral support while I was at The Emerald Cup feeling intimidated. I’m so thankful / happy to have her as a friend and resource. Also, I’m totally proud of her! She took 4th place (tied for 3rd and then got 4th by 1 judge) in the tall bikini class at The Emerald Cup. Woot woot! She works REALLY hard and deserved that trophy big time =)

I’m going to keep blogging, but no longer on a daily basis, probably weekly or as bloggable interesting things in my training strike me.

Oh, and The Washington Ironman, September 24, 2011? It’s on ;)

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