Here's what's new with me.
I have moved to Italy. I completed my first body building competition, took a long hiatus from the gym (and dieting), gained back 20 pounds which are sitting in my trunk just waiting for me to rev the engine back up. I started teaching almost right away at the gym here and it wasn't long before I started to get the itch. You know... the itch. When you look in the mirror and you don't like what you see, so you "itch" to make the appropriate changes. It's not always about fitness. Sometimes you yearn to learn, create and redecorate, desire to retire, etc. So I got the ball rolling on a personal training contract and then decided that it was time to start "training myself".
I have chosen my second body building competition. May 21 I'll be on stage again. This time without my trainer and mentor, Lisa. Does that freak me out? YES! I'm all on my own this time and on top of that, I have a girl training with me that is also doing her first competition, and she is counting on ME to get her there just like I counted on Lisa. I get to consult with Lisa and I desire to email her daily to confirm that what I'm doing is the right thing, but then I'd be stalking and she would send me a bill...and a restraining order. :-) I guess I have to pull up my big girl panties and drive on with what I know.
How often do you struggle with your self confidence? I was scared to death at first but I've started to see changes in my self. Physically, my lats are growing and I feel bigger and stronger than I did at the end of the first comp, and I've lost 4 pounds in the last 3 weeks. I have 16 weeks to comp day and want to start the 12 weeks out diet at 130/133. At 12 weeks last year I weighed 139 (ish). Over all I want to be 115 on comp day (compared to 119 last year). This time I SWEAR I'm going to come back the right way and stay at 130. And I'm going to keep up the blog so you can help me to stay accountable to that. Mentally, I'm gaining confidence as I see my client (let's call her Jessie) gain some muscle in her shoulders and continue to increase weight as she gets stronger and stronger. I can't wait to see her start trimming down. Her first dietary changes start in a week with the loss of dairy. Right now she is just advised on calorie and macro guidelines, and I'm watching her food intake as she enters it online. There will be plenty of dieting in the near future.
Here's the CRAZY thing. Amidst the training and the new client AND a first time figure girl that starts training with me next week.... I'm also training for a half marathon. Isn't that counterproductive? you might ask? Why YES... yes it is... Lisa told me I was crazy too but that's how I like to roll I guess. Push the boundary. So why am I building and cannibalizing at the same time? 1)) the half is in Rome... HELLO!.... ROME! And my husband and several others are going down together. It'll be a good time :-) 2)) I'm hoping to trim the legs with the extra running. I was unhappy with the lack of cuts in my legs last year, hence the extra 4-5 pound weight loss and the running. I can also eat a little more carbs with all the extra cardio :-) You all know, that's good for me! The half marathon is 9 weeks out from comp so after the half I am hoping to have my legs on track for a lean mean posing machine!
But the running is hard for sure! I am always tired because the lifting has priority. By long run day, I'm pretty pooped from the weekly workouts. I have an awesome partner to run with and we are pretty compatible although I think she could easily out run me if she had a mind too. We ran a 2 mile up hill today (sandwiched into a 6 miler) and I about died. I don't think she hardly broke a sweat, but the last mile home, I helped to keep her going. Next weekend I'm at 8 miles, it's torture every step. I'd rather do anything else besides running for cardio but I'm hoping it will all pay off in the end. I guess I'll keep you all posted.
I have to ask my clients if I can blog about them. I'm sure I will have funny stories as I laugh about their soreness and calorie depletion... oh wait... then I have to laugh at myself too! Well, I do plenty of that!
It's good to be back! Talk to you all soon!
Whacha all been up to??
