DJ CRANK IT!!!

Saturday afternoon and my house is silent.  It is absolutely wonderful to say the least, and was only briefly interrupted when a neighborhood kid thought it was funny to ring my doorbell and run.  Really?  Is this 1992...who does that anymore?  I saw his mullet flapping in the wind as he ran off...enough said.

I am tired...just woke up from a nap.
I felt like I couldn't even relax until after my hip-hop class today.  My Friday was completely full of a massive to-do list, then it was off to my parents' house for dinner, back home by 11, then had to finish preparing the routine for this morning,...I was a nut case.  The class was an absolute blast, but it was hotter than a confessional in there.  If you've ever taken a hip-hop class you can't help but have some appreciation for back-up dancers on tv.  I was sucking some serious wind...

Not sure where my rhythm came from...although we used to watch Soul Train with my great-grandmother.   Apparently she had an inner gansta....explains a lot.

Today capped off my week-of-cardio.  Made it.  Monday-Wednesday was distance/steady-state on the treadmill, Thursday and Friday was TABATA intervals which made me want my mama by the end, and today was hip-hop class.  I am officially ready to pick up some weights on Monday!!  Ahhh, I can't wait!  It will be 9 days by that point...dear Jesus...

 I honestly wasn't sure I'd make it.  That sounds crazy to many of you, but I'm totally serious.  I was soooo tempted yesterday.   To wake up 5 days in a row and not be sore was the most bazaar thing to me.  I'm ready to feel like I've worked.  I'm practically counting the hours...

Ok, time for a few housy-chores, and then off to a basketball game.  It might be a cup-of-joe-in-the-afternoon kind of day.  :) 

TABATA takeover....

Before I begin on my typical day at the gym, I need to address something.  (Leave it to me to beat around the bush for approximately 2 seconds before I can't take it anymore).  Let me start off by saying how much I truly enjoy receiving questions, encouragement, etc on my blog.  I am flattered that you take the time to "walk with me" if you will on a day to day basis.  With that said, I do NOT appreciate soliciting posts.  Don't try to hide it in a vague "suggestion" about workouts, nutrition, etc and then offer a link to a website trying to sell something.  Believe or not I'm not an idiot.  I don't want what you're selling, and quite frankly get a little pissed that I wasted 10 seconds reading your ridiculous comment...I hope you get carpol tunnel from attempting to post more...

Ah, now that that's off my chest lets move on shall we?...

It was hump day indeed.  All I had to do were sprints, which was good because it took about all the energy I had.  I squeezed them in this morning....which, running before I've had time to think clearly for more than 2 hours is a foreign thought to me, but the tour rolls on (thank you Zimm for the inspiration to that reference).  My hamstrings are tight as hell in the morning, so I just did TABATA style sprints for 22 minutes to keep from hitting full speed but get my heartrate high enough in the process.  Sprinting on the treadmill only 30 minutes after finishing 16oz of coffee is a heart attack waiting to happen.  My pulse was through the roof and I was sweating more than normal....which is hard to even comprehend.  My sweat glands think its middle of August all year round.  Lucky me...I'm the only person who might wear khakis to a baseball game and leave looking like I poured lemonade on my crotch just to cool off.  Its absurd.   Anyway, I made it through the sprints, and it was on to the rest of my day.

I had many laughs with clients, as we discussed life, workouts, and how a woman barely over 5' tall can manage to have DD breasts...naturally.  Yes, we cover all topics.  That is life.  One thing that stood out today was the number of people who drink diet soda....everyday...and more than 1.  That stuff is crap people!  Ok, every now and then is one thing....but to continually pour chemicals into your body that can hardly be processed is nuts.  Get it out of there.  Your body will thank you.

Speaking of food, I just made scrambled egg whites with ground turkey, cottage cheese, and stevia.  Looked like vomit, but tasted great.  Protein topped with protein....yeeeaahhhh

Back, shoulders, and biceps tomorrow.  Here we go....hear that??...that's my bed calling...oh God, its cursing now....better go...

Night!!

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...

Stacked

Into 6 weeks out and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous, excited, tired, a little emotional, and the list goes on...
At this point, the diet will tighten up a little more, I will transition to more high intensity cardio, and then bump up my steady-state cardio time...for the sake of everyone, don't let me near anything sharp over the next few weeks...

The weekend was good.  I was able to get in moderate cardio both days for 45 minutes.  Saturday felt better than Sunday, that's for sure.  I was glad to get it over with early though so I could enjoy the rest of my day.  I needed some time for myself so I went for some retail-therapy.  Buying clothes is always a trip because my measurements are not exactly your standard female.  I tried on a couple of shirts that looked like a defensive back squeezed into a piece of cotton and was about to drill someone.  Needless to say, my shoulders cause some "issues" when buying tops.  The best moment came when I was in the dressing room at Target and because of their efforts to put as many mirrors in one room at a time, I was able to get a full-rear shot.  There, in Target, I discovered a flaw on my backside.  I know, I was shocked too.  Kidding,..but seriously, my right cheek is bigger than my left.  How exactly does that happen?!  I nearly lost it, and then all of a sudden a young teenage girl starts freaking out in the room next to me because she didn't want her mom to see her change clothes.  So between my ass-anxiety, and wanting to tell miss princess that it wasn't too long ago that her mom wiped crap from her rear and she should get over her mom seeing her in a bra, the dressing rooms at Target were well stocked with entertainment.  What a day...

Today's been a great day thus far.  I was a little tired headed into my workout, but knew I couldn't focus on that.  I really tried to stay more engaged with each lift, each rep, and not let outside thoughts/worries invade my training.  Its hard to do, but I wish more clients understood the importance of leaving everything at the door.  Training should be pure.  No worries, no emotion, just every ounce of drive and focus you've got to physically push to the next level.  Today's training was just that...it was heavy, but everything seemed to just flow...even the sprints...I was pleased.

Workout:
Incline DB press 4 x 10
Flat DB press 4 x 10
DB flys (10x)/ss push-ups to failure  4 sets
Seated BB shoulder press 4 x 10-12
Seated lateral raises 4 x 10
Front raises (10x)/ss plate rotations to failure  3 sets
Treadmill sprints - tabata style  25 minutes

I spent some time this weekend going through pictures from the Arnold Classic.  Its one of the biggest professional shows in the US, and includes bodybuilding, figure, fitness, and now bikini divisions.  The top placers set a standard that trickles down to the state level.  So, its important to see what judges are looking for at that level...as far as shape, muscularity, etc...especially since Figure has changed so much over the last 10 years.  Here is Nicole Wilkins-Lee.  She placed first in figure...looks a lot softer than Monica Brandt and Jenny Lynn did a few years back when they used to dominate the stage.  Believe it or not, she is well over 140 pounds....solid as a rock though.  She looks great.

Well, on to the afternoon,...few clients and then home for some much needed rest.  Go hard...rest later...