Completely drained...

Tonight could not have come soon enough.
It's almost 9:00 and I just sat down for dinner...I am exhausted.  This week was just one thing to the next, and its a good thing I wasn't working near any sharp objects.  So dramatic, but you get the point.  This morning I threw on my clothes and realized I hadn't shaved in about 3 days.  So I took a razor to my dry, bare legs.  Not my brightest idea at 4:30 in the morning.  My legs were on fire and by 2pm I was scratching like a burn victim.  Next time I will just say to heck with it and be hairy. 

But despite the tiring week, there were some high points.  One of the highlights of my week was catching an old man doing a pretty intense air-guitar while running on the treadmill....it was hilarious and honestly so dramatic that I thought he was gonna hit a 3 minute guitar solo and just ride off the back.  Sure I would have helped him up...after I stopped laughing.  It was great.

Changing up my workout routine this week was awesome.  I wasn't too sore from my power days, so hitting muscle groups twice has been very doable and felt great.  Today I had back and shoulders...reps of 12 for each set.  Shoulders were extremely tough after back, but went well.  I will definitely be interested to see how my body responds.  The plan is to stick with this routine for about 6 weeks.

Workout:
Lat pull-down 3 x 12
Seated cable row 3 x 12
BB row 3 x 12
Seated DB shoulder press 3 x 12
DB lateral raises 3 x 12
Front DB raises 3 x 12
Cardio 45 minutes

So the plan tomorrow is to speak as little as possible and sit in a lounge chair until the plastic strap things are practically ingrained in my rear.  I will clean, workout, then head to the pool.  I am beyond pale, and for the sake of everyone, need to get some serious vitamin D.  I think my butt glows in the dark right now...no need for a black light in the Falcon house...I'll just drop my pants. 
Completely out of control.

Getting up at 4am to catch the Royal Wedding?  Ha...NOPE.  Don't even get me started on that....although, it did make me wonder for a second,...what if I'd married royalty?  Can you imagine?!  I'd set the record for most people offended in one public appearance in the shortest amount of time.  But I'd smile and wave like a champ...

Alright, time for bed....Friday awaits...

Streaking...

3am and you would've thought an internal siren went off.  I was wide awake and seriously about to get up and just start cleaning something...because what else is there to do at 3am?  My mind was racing, and it truly had to do with the competition.  Its literally JUST around the corner, but there I was having a mental freak-out too early to even justify getting up to do anything about it!...What a nut job.  I eventually fell back asleep and got up at 5:50...way to sleep in Mer.  At that point I had to get up and start sucking down coffee like it was my job.  Because it is.

I was pretty pumped for my workout today.  I had shoulders, core, and sprints.  My legs felt pretty good so I wasn't necessarily dreading the sprints as much as usual.  I started with shoulders, and discovered that my "pump" will last about 30-35 minutes and then start to fade.  And its definitely more obvious in my shoulders than anywhere else.  Here's why this is important info....before you go onstage, you actually "pump up".  There are weights backstage and you literally stand back there in your ridiculous heels and nearly-thong and lift weights to get the blood flowing to your muscles so that you look "full" on stage.  But the thing is that the pump will only last so long...so its beneficial for me to know about how long I have so I'm not wasting time before I go on.  You learn something new everyday...there ya go.

Since my legs were feeling pretty good, I went for harder sprints on the legs.  I allowed a little more rest time between runs,...15 seconds on, 30 seconds rest, incline at 5, speed 11...20 minutes worth after a 5 minute warm-up.  Legs were spent and I was sucking wind by the end.  The last 4 minutes were probably some of the toughest I've had during any sprint workout.

Workout:
Seated DB shoulder press 4 x 10
Seated lateral raise (drop set 8/8) 4 sets
Front raise (drop set 8/8) 4 sets
Sit-ups, legs over bench 2 x 15
Sit-ups on BOSU 2 x 15
Reverse crunches 3 x 30 seconds
Oblique crunches on decline 2 x 20
Sprints 25 minutes

It was so nice to be done with today's workout.  I get 2 days to "breathe" if you will.  Tomorrow is cardio, rest on Sunday, back to the grind on Monday.

It was April Fool's Day today and yet I did not do ANYTHING.  What is wrong with me?!  The best one was in college when I got a guy to call my parents at midnight saying he was the campus police and I just got arrested for streaking.  Of course my parents immediately believed it.  I was always the naked kid of the group.  My mom was in tears and my dad was ready to ring my neck.  It was awesome.  I was not the favorite child for awhile after that one...oh but it was worth the laughs.  Today I just didn't have the motivation to put together a good scheme.  And you can't even joke about the whole pregnant thing...that will bite you in the rear every time.  Lie about it on April 1st,...find out you're the next Oct-o-mom 3 weeks later...

So, I'm going to a competition tomorrow morning to kind of "get in the mood"...its a smaller show that's actually being held at my old high school.  Nothing like starting off your Saturday with some half-naked strangers... That will be me in 2 weeks...yikes...

Alright peeps, time for bed....have a great weekend and we'll be back on go in 2 days...

Tights and Tutus

It's Saturday morning and I am a zombie....sipping on my 3rd cup of coffee (with added protein powder of course) and eating some pumpkin protein pancakes.  They are a treat on the weekend because I actually have time to cook in the morning.  Yes, I add protein on top of protein...don't act so shocked.

From Thursday til now I've been on the go and simply haven't had much time to sit down.  I'm beyond tired, and can tell my body needs rest because I'm craving a little more sugar than normal and retaining some water.  Irritable and bloated...bad combination for the sanity in the Falcon house. 

My workout yesterday was great though...really heavy on the shoulders, some tough core work, and then sprints on the treadmill to top off the Friday.  I was pleased that I was able to maintain 198 heart-rate through the sprints without having a near-death experience.  I don't have time for that...

Seated shoulder press 4 x 10, last set drop set to failure
Seated heavy lateral raises/ss light lateral raises 4 x 10 each
Front heavy DB raises/ss light front raises 4 x 10 each
Weighted sit-ups on ball 3 x 15
Leg raises 3 x 15
Oblique crunches on decline 3 x 20
Treamill sprints, Tabata style  30 min

The best part was trying to adjust my ponytail after my last set of shoulders...physically could not do it.  I looked like a idiot bending over, tilting my head back, trying to figure out the quickest way to fix my hair that didn't require lifting my arms.  I gave up...stuck with the disheveled-look until my delts were capable of operating again.  Good workout.

Not sure yet if I'm gonna try to fit in some cardio today...its supposed to be beautiful today, but I need some rest.  I might just do a quick 3 mile jog.  Yes, I said it...a jog...don't think for a minute I will enjoy every second of it...but I will troop through it. 

I went Thursday night with a friend to a benefit dance concert at Duke....even being the meathead I am, I can appreciate the arts.  I actually love dance, and took it for 7 years.  Yeah, me in a tutu...dear God, what a site.  It was such a great break from my weight-room-all-consuming life to see a different display of strength.  The choreography was absolutely phenomenal, and one reason I wanted to go was because I know the teacher and actually took a class of hers in college.  What a trip that was.  Even though I'd had dance experience...in the studio, on fraternity house bars, etc...ha...I was well into my competition training so my strength was much different.  I specifically remember one of the first days in there and she wanted us to lift our leg and hold it as close to our head as possible without assistance of our arms.  I look over and little miss toothpick had her leg by her freak'n ear and my hipflexors wouldn't let me get past 90 degrees.  I was pissed.  I wanted to yell out "look, I just got done leg pressing over 400 pounds, could bench press YOU, and you want me to do WHAT with my leg?!!  You're out of your mind..."  I had to drop the class and stick to dancing at frat parties...less leg lifts, more squatting...I could handle that...

Alright, we are all caught up....I am about to clean a little, MAYBE run, and then join the crackberry club and go get a new phone....brace yourselves if I join twitter...

Have a great weekend...stay focused...keep mov'n forward...one day at a time...

Sweet and Sour Cat

You would think that after being able to sleep in past 4:30 and not have to rush out to work, that I would wake up refreshed and ready to roll.  Not so much.  Yes, I did sleep in until 6:30, but was rudely woken up by my cat whining for food at 5:00....then 5:30....then 5:45...by 6:30 I was ready to hand him over to the Chinese Buffet down the road.  Coffee was amazing, but 3 cups just didn't seem to do the trick.  I sat down on the couch at 10 and nearly fell asleep sitting straight up....I needed to get going with my workout before I decided that sitting on my rear was a better option....

Friday workouts are hard.  Not necessarily because the exercises are big, compound movements, but simply because my mind and body are tired and ready for some much needed rest.  I had shoulders and core today.  I dominated my shoulder workout...heavier than Monday's, which was good.  Core almost made me puke.  When I squeeze my abs as hard as I can I feel like my pancreas is going to explode out of my naval somehow.  That would be pretty sick...and yes, I would probably post it on youtube.  And then I had cardio....ah yes.  I honestly thought I would not make it through my cardio today.  My legs were DRAGGING.  The only thing that kept me going was the fact that Morven and Brian were on the treadmills beside me running like the cops were after them.  I figured that if they could run like criminals for over an hour, I could handle my 35 minutes of pain.  So I caught up on my latest news and gossip with US magazine.  Apparently Justin Bieber spent $2,000 on flowers for his girlfriend on Valentines Day and everyone thought it was so sweet.  People, he's worth MILLIONS...that's like me giving my husband an m&m....not a box...just one.  Give me a break...

Workout:
Seated shoulder press with back support  4 x 10
Arnold press/ss front DB raises 4 x 10 each
Seated lateral raises 4 x 10
Reverse crunch on bench 3 x 30 seconds
Full sit-up on BOSU 3 x 12
Oblique crunch on decline 3 x 16

I could fall asleep right now, and its only 7:45....I am DONE.  I'm about to lock that feline in the laundry room and get some good sleep tonight.  Tomorrow will be just cardio and some time with family....which is always comical.  I may also do a refeed meal either tonight (if I can stay awake), or tomorrow....my body needs it.  I will probably be bloated, but whats new?!....

Well, folks, its been real....have a great weekend!!...Down to 7 weeks!!!....ahh....

This too, shall pass...

It's 8:00 and I'm finally sitting down for dinner.  I've got my laptop on one TV tray, and my food on another...we live high class out here in Mebane.  I am tired, but not as tired as usual.  I was able to sleep in until 6:45 this morning since Brian was working for me.  Getting up at 4:30 this morning would have been comical.  I was exhausted yesterday...every time we bowed our heads to pray at church it was like the biggest tease.  Pretty sure I almost drooled once.  And when you sit on the second row sleeping is not an option.  Next week I might have to make my way to the back with the elderly folk.  They sleep like champs back there and no one says anything...like after a certain age its expected that you sleep through at least half of the sermon....and rock Velcro shoes....

The weekend was good, but very short.  I took Saturday completely off and then did 35 minutes of light cardio on Sunday.  I felt recovered and ready to roll today.  It was a mentally tough day though.  I started second guessing myself on a couple of aspects of my diet plan, and I was so frustrated by the end of the day.  There are a couple of things I am going to change, and in the end I've got to be confident that I know my body.  But the fact is, despite hours and hours in the gym, the diet will make or break you on stage.  Weak moment, just a weak moment.

Today I had shoulders, core, and biceps.  I mixed up my shoulder routine a little and found that my shoulders were definitely more tired by the end.  No barbell work, and a bigger range of motion on my shoulder press and font/lateral raises.  I wanted to curse by the end....sign of a good workout.  A couple of near-death experiences, a few grunts, and my time in the gym is complete. 

Workout:
DB shoulder press 3 x 10
Arnold press 3 x 10
High rope row 3 x 10
Lateral raises/front raises 3 x 8
Full decline sit-ups 3 x 12
Pilates heel touch 3 x 30
Alternating DB curls 3 x 10 each
Underhand bicep pull-downs 3 x 10
Alternating incline curls to failure 2x

Gonna spend quite a bit of time crunching some numbers tonight....and then to bed at a decent hour.  Tomorrow will be a full day.