It's only my "see you later", not my goodbye

Off for a month of holidays today. Looking forward to blogging in the New Year (well end of January really ) Hope everyone has a safe and Happy Christmas :)

Day of ups and downs

Today was a day of ups and downs. Firstly I got up and did Bodymax 2 again with an increased step height which was pretty challenging. Then I prepped all of our food to take with us to Woop Woop in the interests of eating healthily and saving the hip pocket. I was especially proud of the fact that I had remembered everything. Only I hadn't - after running all of my errands in WW, I came home to discover that I had locked the keys in the house. I had to contact DH and whilst we were waiting for him to turn up with a spare key, took the girls to the local coffee hang out for afternoon tea (not so good for the hip pocket now ).

The other news is that my Father in Law has been diagnosed with bowel cancer. Surprising as the Outlaws actually lead a pretty healthy lifestyle - they play tennis, golf and recently bought mountain bikes and eat fairly well most of the time. Luckily it only seems to be in the one spot at this time and FIL is going in for surgery ASAP. DH jokes that he's trying to "ruin Christmas" but I know that he is pretty upset about the news.

Weekend Catch Up

After dealing with PMS earlier in the week I am now dealing with the phenomenon of Sundayitis which loosely translates to the feelings one can get every Sunday about "where the hell am I going in life right now" interspersed between the weekly cleaning, lawnmowing and meal prep (if I am that organized).

I still have not decided what direction I am going to take next year with my training. I know that if I am to keep going with Figure, then I need to do something surgically about my belly. If I do anything about the old belly I want it to be for more reason that what a Figure Judge may potentially think. I have a bit of thinking to do there. What totally puts me off though is the recovery time. I find it hard enough to sit still as it is and a long recovery time in the middle of Woop Woop just may send me round the twist. I am going to see my GP when I go home on Thursday and have a chat with her about it.

The other thing I have been considering is buying a road bike. There is a lot of flat road out here and I reckon cycling it could be a lot of fun. I am trying to do some research on what would be the best type of bike for me.

Weight training wise, I am going to tackle P90X which is a home based gym style program which runs for 12 weeks and then I am rather keen to try one of Alwyn Cosgrove's conditioning programs or perhaps one of Ian King's. I'd really like to keep developing my upper body in 2007!

Looks like I need to work more on some goals (which I'm going to put into my sidebar here and tick off as I go).

This week however, I am trying to fit in a few RPM sessions on the bike. I am teaching a few classes at Fitness First when I'm home, so I want to make sure I'm at my "give them a thorough thrashing" best.

PMS...yuck!

Don't ya just hate PMS? I'm telling you, it turns me from a mild mannered, even tempered kind of gal into a psycho cow of massive proportions. No one is safe from me when I am in the clutches of it and luckily I only seem to experience the off-the-richter scale variety once every six months or so.

Who copped it this month - let's see. I went down to Woop Woop to do the shopping with Miss G. I decided to buy her a sandwich from Subway. I wheeled my trolley in through the entranceway which was very narrow when I was told by the manager that "I couldn't read the sign" (which had been conveniently placed on the other window) and that trolleys weren't allowed in the store because people kept "running into the door" and smashing it. I mildly suggested that they change the entranceway to be more user friendly as there was a lady struggling to get in with a pram. She started telling me to take the trolley outside when all of a sudden Vesuvius erupted (yes, me) and started yelling at her that it was "typical of a place like Woop Woop, where you are all so two headed, not to think of who was going to use your facility and design the place accordingly!" I then went on to say that her attitude to me showed a "superiority complex that was not warranted in such an environment". I couldn't believe my outburst - I just wanted the ground to swallow me up there and then so I could just disappear. I don't think I'll be dining at Subway again...

Needless to say, chocolate was definitely warranted today. I'm just so glad that in a few short days it will be all over.

On the brighter side of life, I got in a run this morning and felt really good. I also bench pressed a PB in the Room of Requirement, benching 40kg very easily for 8 reps - I have lifted heavier, but I cannot remember lifting that weight so easily.

Finding a happy food place..

Quickly catching up to report that I did Drill Max (as depicted above) - great workout - who says you can't get fit at home? I also went for a 30 minute walk.

This morning I went for a 40 minute run and did a shortish back and hamstrings workout.
Running music this morning consisted of some odd tracks - "St Elmo's Fire", "I Go To Rio", "Don't Cha" and "Easy Lover (RPM remix" - I managed to get four decades of music into one workout!

The past few days I have come to the realization that I need to be eating more. I have unintentionally starving myself by staying too close to pre competition mode. I started by adding more vegetables and lean protein and enjoyed a handful of cashews as a snack yesterday. For some reason I associate nuts with Christmas time..ie do I go "nuts" at Christmas? Anyway I feel so much better for eating more and feeling a little silly that I didn't "listen" hard enough to what my body was telling me. Yes, I've gained some weight but I still look pretty darn good. I reckon if you stick to lots of vegetables and good sources of lean protein, lean protein and "good" fats with the odd treat thrown in you can't go wrong.

It seems so simple, this way of eating that any sane competitor adopts, yet why do so many criticize us for it? These are usually the whingeing "poor me, I'm sooo fat" couch potato slobs who want a packet of pills and a "quick fix".

I love this way of eating and this Lifestyle. Life is way too short to eat crappy food.

Cardio Queen

Gosh, I cannot believe how many days have gone by since my last post! I have done a few strength training workouts since I last posted but most of my time has been taken up with cardio. Weird, I know for a Figure Competitor, but I would rather do something rather than nothing.

Tomorrow I have an upper body and hamstring workout planned in the Room of Requirement - but not before I give Cathe's Drill Max a shot. If it is as good as Bodymax 2 is then I will be in seventh heaven.!

Today I ran 5km and then backed it up with a 2km swim, with lots of drills for both freestyle and breaststroke. I would have shoved my RPM DVD in except that DH has done something to the sound on the computer and it looks as if we are going to have to replace the entire motherboard.

Apart from that, my day is consisting of catching up on paperwork and all of the normal and unavoidable tasks one associates with everyday living.

The Room of Requirement and the Chest Matrix

I love giving things names, so the dingy room that they call a gym here has now become "The Room of Requirement". It has a lat pull down machine with various attachments, a leg press machine and a few random weights, so I can still get a pretty decent back workout if I put my mind to it.

Yesterday was spent logging another run and spending half an hour in the ROR training my back. I had a client travel from Woop Woop to see me and I must say I am impressed with the transformation thus far - a total of 27cm lost over eight sites and starting to look very lean and toned. She was of normal size and weight which makes such a huge loss so significant. She's lost bodyfat and gained muscle (her total weight loss is only 2.5kg). I'm also having great success with the few online people I train as well.

Last night Miss G was extremely sick with an ear infection and I spent most of the night up and down. Then she woke up at 4.30am, so there was my workout for the day blown. I was feeling rather blue about it as I also had a nasty scale spike which I am sure was carb and salt related, until I decided to plonk the G in front of "Playschool" - did RPM 32 tracks 1-6 and then did my own bad chest matrix in the Bolthole.

Chest Matrix:

I used 40lb barbell.
Bench Press on Stability Ball: (8 explosive reps, 8 at 4:1:1:1 tempo ) x 2 followed by 12 full BOSU ball push ups with varied hand placement, all repeated 3 times. I could not complete all the bench pressing by the 3rd set and was begging for mercy after the BOSU push ups.

I then did a couple of sets of incline flyes on a medicine ball - this helps to "open up" chest and front shoulder area - 3 x15

Add a set of bicep curls to the mix and the morning went from blowing off exercise to actually doing something constructive.

I'm very pleased - this is one girl who will not "die with the music in her".

Training in "The Bolthole"

I am really proud of what I have achieved this morning - firstly I went for a 35 minute run outside, which is great for me as I am a real 'comfort princess' and prefer the treadmill to 'real' running. Unless you run out of town proper, a run around the town takes about 15 minutes, so I headed down one of the roads leading out of town and had to navigate a dog (this place is the Dog Capital of Australia I reckon - a dog or two in every backyard) and three kangaroos as well as plenty of black flies.

Then I went swimming in the pool next door which is the jewel of the town - an Olympic size pool. I did 1500m in about 25 minutes (I think)

200 warm up with fins
200 warm up no fins
4 x 100 freestyle on 2.15
2 x 50 back
2 x 50 free
pull 50m, 100 m free x 2
kick 200 m

Then after I dropped Sarah off at school I gave my shoulders a pasting, ala Di in the tiny study which is now my "gym"/office - now known as "The Bolthole". It felt very strange, trying to push the limits in the study, but once I started (and got my IPOD going) I managed to punch out

Shoulder press with barbell: 4x 8
Upright row: 4 x 10 with BOSU rollbacks
Lateral raise: 4 x10 with planks on BOSU

Hooray for kicking some butt this morning! I have made the commitment to do 400 minutes of solid exercise this week and I'm looking forward to buying some stationery as a reward at the end of the week :) Yes, I am a stationery junkie.

Desperate Housewives

Pretty quiet here today - I walked Miss Georgia to kindy today and got the surprise of my life when I walked back home - yes, I arrived home to find a gentleman mowing the lawn! Unfortunately he wasn't "Desperate Housewives" worthy, but wow anyway! Apparently it is all part of the employer service and some homes also have a cleaner come and visit once a week as well. I will be hanging out for that visit if it eventuates.

I had morning tea with two other women whose DH's also work at the same place of employment as DH. This was quite nice and I made some banana bread to take along. I decided to go against my introverted tendencies and invite them back next Tuesday, so I am going to dream up some LL friendly fare - probably a big fruit platter would be the go. DH has befriended a guy in his office with a hobby farm and yesterday he brought home a huge rockmelon (cantaloupe) for a dollar. You can't get much fresher (or cheaper) than that.

Getting my gym area together is still frustratingly slow, but I am well on the way!

New beginnings and the WHY

I think I am finally back to normal (whatever that is) and have been mulling over the next stage of my journey and coming up with the all important WHY, the guts of why I'm doing what I want to do. I will probably share bits and pieces of my WHY in the course of time - much of it is "internal", however I sense a feeling of travelling along a higher plane in this next phase.

I got the photos and DVD of the INBA Qld show and I've posted one of the pics above. I must say that I am disappointed in the photos - not by how I looked, but rather the quality of the pictures and the lighting. I was pleased by the DVD (I had been extremely worried that I would look dorky as I did in the first show) and felt that my conditioning was superb. What I was stunned by was just how much muscle I gained in a relatively short space of time and wondered if physique is in my future somewhere down the track.

However that track doesn't look like it will be 2007. I am seriously considering surgery to fix my belly which I must admit is now really starting to bother me. So I will get 3 or 4 referrals and really do some research.

Trying to get back on track now with a little bit of exercise - went for a run this morning before it got really hot and I mused on all of the places I have run in my life - it is quite a sight looking down the railway line and seeing one building plus a dirty great heat haze, plus more flies than you can poke a stick at.

Further into Woop Woop!

Ah yes, I'm still alive, but not complete - still no Internet access, so I am using the Library to enjoy my little fix of the outside world.

The move went smoothly although there are boxes scattered everywhere! I've yet to set up my little home gym area, but I have been running and swimming in the early mornings (before it hits 40 degrees) and checked out a small dingy place they call a gym here (the only similarity between it and Fitness First is that it wants to charge the same rates!).

Got Miss Georgia off to Kindy and nearly every other mother here seems to be in some stage of pregnancy. I made a firm decision to either use triple strength contraception or be celibate for the rest of my time here....

She rocks my world!

All of us who are associated with Leanness Lifestyle know her, but I'd love to introduce my mate Mary L from Illinois, USA who travelled the same journey I did and competed for the first time a week after our Nationals. I first "met" Mary during Bootcamp 3, where she pipped me at the post for most weight lost over the five week period and since then we have become firm friends and compared notes about our transformation along the way. She has been such a wonderful person to discuss all aspects of competing (and life!) with and I would love you all to see her - yes, the legs are just "wow", are they not?

http://davidgreenwalts.leannesslifestyle.com/video/mary_leach.html

Leanness Lifestyle Success Gallery

Have a look at my Sidebar and click on "My Leanness Lifestyle Success Gallery" and check out my "Before and Afters". I used to peruse the Gallery all the time during my transformation and I cannot believe I have finally joined those members who I have admired from afar!

Had an awesome workout today - I was on fire!

Run 30mins - escalating intensity ladder with increasing incline/speed - yeah!

Legs/Back/Butt

Hack Squats - 3 x15, Al Cosgrove's Leg Matrix (no, I cannot walk in a straight line), chins with extra scapular retraction, hyper extensions, partial deadlifts with glute focus and to polish it all off, some seated rows.

Now getting ready for the big move to FIWW on Wednesday :)

Smacking Calories!

I really felt like a good blow out this morning, so I hopped on my bike and did RPM 31. Then I followed it up with a good dose of shoulder training in the comfort of my own study.

Behind neck press: 4 x8
Upright row with Barbell/Theraband: 4 x10
Lateral raise: 3 x 8 with Theraband raise to failure
Diamond lateral raises: 1 x 15
Ab roll back on the ball.

I've been doing a lot of reading on Alwyn Cosgrove's site. He has written a pretty informative book called "New Rules of Lifting" which approaches strength training from a more functional approach. He also has a very interesting site called "Body is a Barbell" - all about the role of bodyweight training. I'll post the links in my side bar shortly. Now that I've got little gym access, I'm really going to get into some of the newer and more cutting-edge areas of resistance and functional training. I'm also a fan of Ian King who is an Australian Strength/Conditioning legend - I was lucky enough to watch him train athletes over a number of years and learnt a lot from him as well.

Eating has not been too bad today, though I overdid the probiotic vanilla icecream. Cest la vie.

taking action

I think this is very true. I always feel so much better after I take action to achieve certain goals whether it be as simple as cleaning the house or doing some exercise.

I had an excellent training session yesterday. I did a 40 minute run on the treadmill (I am using the WW gym until the last!) and felt like I could keep running forever. I don't usually feel like this running on the treadmill, but when it happens you just want to hold onto that feeling for as long as possible.

Weights/RT was:
Chin ups with varied grips - 4 x6
Partial clean and press on the BOSU - 4 x 8
Shoulder press: 4 x 8
Dumbbell row: 4 x 8-10
Tricep Dips (body weight) : 3 x6
Seated row: 3 x 10

The rest of the day was spent finishing up with some PT clients - I have made the wonderful discovery of adding Therabands to weights to increase load - I can see I am definitely going to add it into my training - that and tricep kickbacks on the ball nearly reduced me to lactic acid teardom!

I'm heading out to Rocky today to buy myself some rubber flooring for my uber small gym space at the Further into Woop Woop house, now referred to as "FIWW" and a new pair of togs so I can start swimming immediately! I'm also going to see if I can get some more Naturoo sausages. That and the wattleseed steaks are my favourite kangaroo products.

Quick One today

I think I'm going to be pretty distracted until we move. So much to do..phone, electricity - I think that is utilities to my American friends and a list of little bits and pieces a mile high to contend with. I'm going to do a session of RPM on my bike here this morning. That will blow away the cobwebs!

"P"s, love and understanding

I chose this little motivator today because I was tickled by all the "p" words. However, when you look at it more closely, those "four steps to achievement" seem pretty spot on. I was reflecting on the "prayerful" aspect as I was out walking this morning. I love my morning walks as they help clear my mind and prepare me for the day ahead. Being prayerful can also involve being more meditative and taking the time to be reflective about life really helps me as my mind tends to race at a million miles most of the time.

Today I am sorting out moving stuff. It looks like we move again on Monday, but I cannot be sure yet as the relo consultant has not got back to us. DH is not perturbed, but I'm a gal who likes to plan so this is not good.

I went for a run yesterday and did an abbreviated chest workout - I have DOMS again this morning!

Check out this unique glute training!

Weird but true! I believe it is a version of bellydancing. There, it's not X Rated.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPlw05WKTmc

Time to Refocus!

I must admit, I have been having a real struggle with trolling for food this last week. It has been driving me nuts. Part of it has to do with not setting a new goal immediately and the other part has to do with being overly anxious about what the future will bring.

I have been reintroducing "trigger foods" back into my life, the type where "one bite is too many and a thousand are never enough". Like many other women, I have a problem with certain sugary concoctions, namely my own cooking. It is weird, I am fine with store bought baked goods and chocolate, yet I cannot resist my own baking. Once you start reintroducing trigger foods, it sets you on a path of backsliding and emotional angst. The emotional cost of eating these foods is just not worth it - they don't improve my self worth, my feelings of mastery or my anxiety levels. In fact, apart from the momentary pleasure of the taste, the bad far outweighs the good. I have thrown all of my baking ingredients out. It isn't worth it. I'll probably find the next few days rough as I "de tox" from the sugar, and then I will feel much better. I've been here before.

I'm planning a big week of training. I'm feeling pretty strong despite all of the upheavals.

And the feeling is strong...

I thought I would throw this quote in today as I love Leo Tolstoy ( my best Leo moment was telling my bro who was showing off that he had read "Anna Karenina" when he actually hadn't..that poor Anna had thrown herself under a train..the look on his face was simply priceless) and that the lens that we choose to view life through really does impact on how happy we are.

I'm currently dealing with moving house. Yes, here comes our tenth move in ten years and I'm just a little bit sick of it! I've never moved anywhere though where there was no gym and this is going to be really tough. I have to look through the lens and truly believe that I can get a kick butt workout at home with little equipment rather than throwing the towel in. I've just bought my very own BOSU and am going to add a few heavier weights to my collection.

I went to the WWW and ran on the treadmill - did an awesome 40min run and felt really strong. I listened to a mix of all of my favourite Track 3,5,7 from my RPM CDs which really helped the adrenalin rush. I also did a small back workout. Until I really nail my goals, I think my workouts will suffer somewhat.

Nutrition has been OK, but not stellar - I'm still riding the topsy turvy post competition wave, though it is really been allayed by trying out new salads etc. Plus having a small piece of Koko Black and savouring every mouthful helps as well!

Food for a Leanness Lifestyle

Check out my other blog, my 'physical' clients and I are having a challenge to come up with some delicious new Lifestyle meals. Life is too short to eat crappy food IMHO!

Holy Pizza, Batman!

Yowsa! In my quest to create yet another Leanness Lifestyle gourmet meal, I overdid the calories somewhat! I made an absolutely delicious Chicken Tikka Marsala Pizza last night as part of a challenge I have with a client to come up with some more LL friendly dinners.

It was chicken breast marinated in Tikka Marsala Curry Paste and yoghurt, grilled. I placed the chicken on top of a wholemeal Lavash flat bread with mango chutney, tomato chutney and a sprinkle of cheese. Added to that, 1/2 a spanish onion, a tomato, small handful of almonds and raisins and grilled again. To top it off, a leb cucumber, fresh mango and Natural set yoghurt....and this was a meal for one! No wonder it topped near the 600 calorie mark. Mental note to self next time - chop pizza in half, serve with a salad and have the rest for lunch the next day! No wonder I found it so filling! And, yeah have gained back a kilo of weight already....

This morning I got up early and did RPM on my bike here at home. It is very weird doing RPM without a class to thrash, but by the time I got to Track 5, I was feeling pretty darn motivated. I have some DOMs going on in my upper body from my weights yesterday, so I am going to have some in my lower body to match tonight!

There truly is nothing better than balanced DOMS!

Plans and ideas

Got in a 30 minute run this morning and did an abbreviated chest and back workout - push/pull supersets.

Rope Pulldown to Front: 4 x 12
Machine Chest Press: 4 x12
Wide grip pull up with pronated grip: yowsa - 2 x 6, 2 x 5 (assisted by my own bad self :) )
Flat dumbbell flye: 4 x12

I've been trying to come up with some new plans and tentatively I am thinking of this as a rough plan.

My goals are to improve my glutes and keep adding size to my back, shoulders and chest.

November, December, February - January sees me back home and on holidays at the beach - definitely running and surfing as much as I can!

p90x Home Workout ( check it out on www.beachbody.com ) - I'm going to do it in tandem with a few of my American cyber buddies - should be fun. I will supplement it with one day per week of heavy upper body training and perhaps extra glute work. My cardio will be swimming, running, step or my new Cathe's - bring on Drillmax!

In February I am going to hook up with a good mate in Brisbane and do some adventure racing and I am thinking of doing the SportsModel division at the Girl Thing titles - want to stay relatively lean, but don't want to go all the way into action to achieve Figure bodyfat levels for awhile. Plus, wearing a dress could be fun!

July, I'm thinking of running the Gold Coast Half Marathon if family commitments are in my favour. Then I'm hoping to compete again in Figure in October - circumstances, training and geography working with me :) in a positive fashion!

I'm also looking into getting my abdominals repaired, so if I decide to go that route, then the above is really just rhetoric...so we shall see.

I've had a lovely rest but it's all system go with more cardio training and "bringing it" with the "X"!

Nationals - my take

This is going to be a long one, so bear with me!
After having an awful migraine on Thursday which left me feeling bloated and rather strange, we jetted into Melbourne just after midnight. After an uneventful ride to our hotel, Anne and I decided to apply the first coat of contest colour on Friday morning and went to bed.
We have got the Contest Colour down to a fine art now, so it was oats, low sodium protein and distilled water for breakfast, a coat of tan, quick shower and off to organize ourselves for the day. It was rather chilly in Melbourne, so first port of call was a sports store, where I snagged a pair of trackpants for only $18.00, my first Melbourne bargain. Then we hit Coles (supermarket ) and bought so many vegetables that we were seriously considering hiring a trailer to cart it all back to the hotel with. We then spent the afternoon prepping all of our meals - we decided to make a nice low sodium marinade of lime, ginger and garlic which went rather nicely with our many packets of stir fry veggies. For that added carbohydrate boost, I added in some potatoes. We applied more colour, then it was off to bed.

Saturday was comp day and we started off the day with oats, low sodium protein and distilled water and as I looked very flat (after hoofing around Melbourne for hours on end), it was time to up the calories on the way to the venue with a tube of Carnation Condensed Milk and honey and rice cakes. I will use the latter of the two next time as the condensed milk tasted terrible!

I was unfortunately still bloated from my migraine, but that did not stop me from stepping out
onto the stage with my 16 fellow competitors, including Deb and having a good time. I knew that I had no chance of placing, so I just concentrated on having a good time and enjoyed the atmosphere thoroughly. We had symmetry and muscularity rounds in the morning and the routine round at the evening show, though only the top three competitors performed their routines. It was great fun backstage as well. In fact, the highlight of the day was meeting up with every other competitor that blogs here.

Let's see - Lia - you couldn't meet a nicer gal who comes across exactly how she blogs, full of passion and enthusiasm for the sport of Figure and wow, was it fun having a Koko Black Belgian Spoil with you! Yummo!

Deb - my kindred spirit at the other end of the line up. Wow, have we both travelled a long way this year my friend! It was so great to share dinner with you and our awesome line up!

Ali - absolutely gorgeous "in the flesh" so to speak. Your blog photos don't do you any justice my girl. You are stunning and so much fun to talk to!

Di - wonderful to see you, you look so radiant and happy being Mrs B, thank you for your faithful encouragement and support, looking forward to seeing you again next year and yes, I'd love your "shack"!

Alicia - great to finally meet you and feel some of your intoxicating enthusiasm for life rub off on me. Hey, we may get to "sass it" in Figure Intermediate next year! Looking forward to seeing the muscles you create in the off season.

Rae - I enjoyed every minute we spent talking - I wish you didn't live in Perth - I'm just going to have to enjoy our online friendship until we see each other again!

Sam - what can I say - you were amazing, poetry in motion! And so much fun to be around backstage. Again, why do you have to live so far away - that's so not fair. I'll be sending healing vibes and prayers your way for a speedy recovery.

Em and Meggie - it was soo cool to meet you girls. Em, I'm so glad if I have inspired you in any way. You will see, and you will get back into shape and have another member to add to your family. You are a very special lady as is Meggie - I, too was doing a mixture of Combat choreo in my head to some of the routine music.

And great to meet Miss Jaime-Lee and Cherie!

I hope I haven't left anyone out. I just had so much fun and wish that I could do it all over again - the socializing part that is, I'm enjoying well earned recovery this week.

After the comp had finished we went to Lygon Street and I had a beautiful Veal Tortellini with Amatriciana and parmesan topping. Then a few doors down to Koko Black (thanks Lia )( www.kokoblack.com ) for an exquisite "Belgian Spoil", a series of five petite chocolate desserts and a real hot chocolate made with melted chocolate leaves. One cannot help but rave about the food in Melbourne, it is indeed the culinary capital of Australia.
We have spent the last few days taking it easy and enjoying the culture and culinary style of Melbourne ( ) - not to mention doing some hard shopping! I got to check out the Nike IPOD transmitter and buy some beautiful clothing (one size up, which totally puzzled the sales assistants). Yes, it would be nice to be this lean permanently, but the reality is that maintenance for me is about 8 pounds heavier than I am now, so I am going to work on slowly gaining weight. Weird indeed.

And plans for next year? If I compete, given my geographical restrictions, it won't be until October next year at this stage. I just want to keep adding muscle to my upper body!

First Nationals photos coming through!

Here I am "short back and sides". Report to come! I've been sidetracked by a mountain of washing! Such is the life of the Domestic Goddess!

In transit - migraine shocker

Got out the door OK this morning but developed a cracking migraine as we took off - cannot believe I paid 10.00 for 12 Nurofen on arrival at Brisbane Airport. Arrgh. I've been lying down in darkness most of the day and have not been able to face eating my regular fare. Talk about a spot of bad luck. Anyway, about to hop on plane to Melbourne - at least it isn't happening tomorrow and I'm not a post-migraine bloated Novice gal.

Time to fly!

Last post before the Nationals and another one of Jadey's gorgeous photos. I think this is another one of my favourites. Heck, they are all good.

I'm just glad to be going on holidays and looking forward to meeting everyone so much. This has been a really hard week mentally and lots going on. We are moving up the road further into Woop Woop (Moura) which is really small and not a Woop Woop Warehouse to even visit. So unless a gym falls out from thin air, it looks as if I probably won't compete next year. For us financially speaking it is the right thing to do and good for my poor DH who has had a two hour commute to work and back. The problem for me is that the gym is such a massive part of my life and I will be lost without it. It just means that I'm really going to have to go all out to enjoy myself this time and celebrate the fact that I'm doing Nationals at all.

Eating has been pretty good, except I have just succumbed to an extra large protein shake. I will look at it this way - at least I won't be hungry going to bed tonight. Must be all this talk of cookies, cream, chocolate and the like! I did some rowing and a chest workout today and will train lightly tomorrow am.

Yipes

I just checked the competitor list and there are now 16 Novice Figure girls in the line up. I tell ya, the posedown should be interesting - maybe some jostling and argy-bargy - Deb and I will be flying the Queensland flag!

I did not get any training done today, but will get in a final training session tomorrow. My eating could be better - under a lot of stress right now with other goings-on, so I have had the massive urge to troll for all sorts of crap going on. I know that as soon as I get on that plane, things will improve for the better, I just have to stay the course here until Thursday, which cannot come fast enough.

One PT client today and two tomorrow - it's fun showing that a home workout can kick you in the patootie as much as a gym one. It inspires me to keep going and trying to improve as welll.

Cookies and Cream

I stuck this picture in today because I am just loving Ladybird Protein - Cookies and Cream (no they didn't ask me to promote them either!). I'm just amazed that somebody can actually come up with a flavour that really does taste like cookies and cream ...all rolled together!

Busy weekend - we took the girls to the beach on Sunday - only had a two hour drive to get there, but it was fun to paddle around, build sandcastles and go for a swim. Then we watched "The Bourne Supremacy" last night - I really enjoyed both movies.

This week is taken up getting ready to go to Melbourne. I am planning three more training sessions and then it is on the plane Thursday! I don't think my condition is as good as it was for the Qlds but I remind myself I am just getting up there to enjoy myself, so I am not going to stress it.

Is that really me?

Here is one of my favourite photos from my session with Jadey. I love black and white photos and the background and contrasts are just wonderful.

Today has been a low energy day, more due to psychological stress rather than physical, though I am having problems with a twingey left knee. I think that I'm trying to work things out too far ahead in regards to my competing future, which feels decidedly clouded after all of the goings on with DH and family. I know for sure that I am not going to compete next April - I feel like I need good rest, recovery and some different type of exercise. Plus I want to focus on my family - DH and the girls more. However I don't want to give away the idea of competing again entirely and know that this is not really the time to be thinking about this anyway.

I am having a tough time with not wanting to troll for food and realize that it is due to boredom, rather than being hungry. I have knocked over my tax return and I am getting ready to prep dinner. I just picked up the CSIRO book and some of the dishes look fantastic and very LL friendly. I just love trying out new recipes. My other blog is going to get quite the hammering.

I did a 30 min run, some chest work and went for an hour long walk this morning.

I like a little more variety

Another day down. Went for an hour's walk with some bicep work thrown in. Saw a client. Worked on the "more dietary variety" scenario again. Boy, it is a great food troll deterrent and actually quite a bit of fun, this little mini challenge. I'm looking forward to putting in a tough workout tomorrow though!

M1: 40g oats + Vanilla protein powder
M2: choc orange surprise - grilled orange segments on cottage cheese blended with Ladybird Chocolate Whey protein powder
M3: kangaroo and salad
M4: Turkey Cranberry Salad with raspberry glaze - turkey breast shredded with a reduction of vinegar/splenda on baby spinach, spanish onion, shredded carrot, grape tomatoes, peppers and a little cheese
M5: Grilled chicken breast with red pepper tapenade crust, smashed potatoes and steamed greens
M6: 1 teaspoon probiotic icecream

Yummo, those Nationals will be here before I know it! I'm looking forward to picking up all sorts of gourmet treats to cook with in Melbourne. I only wish that I could bring the local fish market home with me...sigh. I am just potty about fish!

Viva la Difference

What a difference a few days makes and some perspective. Here's another sample of Jadey's wonderful work, the first time in my life where I actually look good in a bikini..Hooray!

Today I worked on my commitment to live a Leanness Lifestyle despite being 12 days out from the Nationals. Balance and enjoyment is key to good nutrition, it's about taste, mouth satisfaction as well as the calories. Today I tried a new type of omelette, baked an apple and had kangaroo and salad for dinner.
M1 - 2/3 cup oats + Ladybird White Chocolate Whey, 1/2cup skim milk
M2- baked apple stuffed with cottage cheese, cinnamon, dash Splenda
M3- the "Green Thang" omelette - 1 egg, 5 whites loaded with asparagus, spinach, shallots (hence the green tag) and mushrooms - as much as I could fit in and two slices of Seven cheese ontop
M4 - steamed asparagus (I am loving asparagus right now) and a Frozen "Protein Pudding" - Nestle Diet Yoghurt in apple/cinnamon with NHS Caramel Flavouring and 1/2 scoop Vanilla Figure Tone
M5 - lemon and wattleseed kangaroo steak cooked rare, sliced over baby spinach and veggie salad with balsamic dressing....mmm :) , one teaspoon Probiotic icecream.

Training wise - went for a walk, then did 30 minutes heart thumping running intervals, trained back, triceps, legs in the WWW.

Taming the Black Dog - for Jodi

I wanted to put this post out there, especially for Jodi, who I know has been suffering from the effects of depression and anxiety.

I, too, have suffered from clinical depression and anxiety over the years, and whilst I do a darn good job of managing it now, I am still wary of it lurking over my shoulder for a number of reasons.

A few facts about depression:
- clinical depression (where you exhibit "symptoms" of depression as measured by an index) occurs to 85% of women at least once in their life. If you are one of the 15% who have yet to experience a depressive episode, lucky you!
- clinical depression involves an imbalance of brain neurotransmitters, serotonin being the main transmitter affected. The imbalance can be precipitated by many things - for example, a stressful life event - such as having a baby, moving house, death/divorce, starting a new job etc, in other words, whilst the root cause is usually psychological stress of some sorts, it manifests itself as physical symptoms with a chemical cause.
-the worse the imbalance, the worse the distress and it turns into a perpetual never ending cycle - which is why the use of antidepressant medication can be very useful.
-the best results seem to be use of medicines with other therapy such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and the fun stuff, like getting some exercise in the fresh air! Used alone, the effect is limited.
-depression can run in families and is linked to eating disorders. In my own case, family members have had eating disorders and I expressed my malcontent in a big weight gain post children.

-people who are depressed can suffer from a number of irrational beliefs. These were coined by Ellis in the 60s. An example of a few of these are:

1) I must be perfect/act perfectly or else
2) People must love and approve of me or else I am worthless
3) I must be adequate and achieving in every respect
4) When I do something badly, I'm a bad person, I'm a failure, I'm an idiot
5) Human unhappiness is caused by life circumstances and it is impossible to be happy when things aren't going well for me
6) It is awful if I cannot find the correct solution to a problem.

There are many "rational responses" to these situations. I will borrow your post if that is OK Jodi.

"I must not blog or read anyone elses blog about the things I'm interested in because my partner thinks it's crap, vain etc etc. " (subjectively this could mean - if I blog/read, it is crap because he says so and if I disagree with him, he will not approve of me, and if he doesn't approve of me, then I will feel worthless".

Another way of looking at it.
" I really enjoy reading everyone's blogs.
Gather some evidence about vanity, crap etc...
"I don't think being healthy and fit is crap, neither do several thousand other bloggers - I am not interested in (insert partner's interests here) one bit"
To partner "I don't knock your interests, why are you criticizing mine...my beliefs are different. it is OK to be different"
"What you think/say or do is none of my business" (meaning you cannot control what comes out of someone else's mouth, so let it go...
"I know what I want. I know what I love. I am worthwhile because I exist, because God chose to create me" (can't get much better than that)

Jodi, you are not pathetic, you are not weak, you have been sidelined with a physical problem. You have been given a gift - that your barometer is just a bit more finely tuned than most others which gives you the greatest ability to show empathy and to love. You have an amazing spirit and every tool in the box to shine - and that you share your spirit so generously with everyone and are so supportive tells me that you are an exceptional person - worthwhile indeed!

Some of the most famous people have suffered from depression. You are not alone. I walk with you in your fight. Here's a great link.
http://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/

So please keep blogging and say what you feel like - it is your life and your choice.

Hugs,
Liz N

one year ago today....

This photo was taken almost a year ago about 2/3 of the way through my transformation. The power of a focused training program is amazing!

For Miss Coni

This is a special post for Miss Coni, one of my very near and dear real life clients - yes honey, there was a "before" - you can achieve anything you want to if you set your mind to it! I just have to add my second comp shot to it - at 117 pounds - added a kilo of muscle..yahooey!

Feeling better

Woke up feeling much better this morning after having a really levelling chat with hubs about all sorts of things. I've eaten much better today as well. I will post my entry form tomorrow.

Here's what I ate today (also considering I had a rest day and I'm not very hungry (surprise,surprise) today).
2 eggs poached, small slice wholemeal toast, 2 grilled tomatoes, 1 cup grilled mushrooms
1 egg, 5 white omelette with eschallots, vidalia/spanish onion, mushrooms, Seven cheese and fresh spinach
Slim Secrets Choc Caramel bar and an apple
Grilled snapper with Teresa Cutter's guacamole bean salad

I was wondering if anyone had done the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator test? Several years ago, I went to see an organizational psychologist (because I had career choice troubles) and I did this test, which looks at the "tendency towards" of your personality.

I am an INFJ
(Introverted - gain more energy from being by self
Intuitive - works on "gut instinct" and assesses things globally rather than using concrete facts
Feeling - making decisions based on emotion
Judging - tendency towards planning and organization and having things settled.

She mentioned that if you are out of balance/stressed then you can take these traits to the extreme - I know I have been feeling withdrawn, overtly emotional, looking at things in terms of the "whole of my life" and getting very frustrated about not being able to execute my plans.

Suddenly remembering this chat of about 10 years ago has really helped me to see that I need to step back, work on the stress levels and chill out a bit..ie bring things back into balance again.

I prioritized sleep over exercise this morning, but tomorrow I'm looking forward to giving it a good shake and having some fun.

Not feeling so flash....

I've been deliberating whether to post now or not, wondering what the reaction I get to this may be.

I've had a shocker of a week, especially emotionally. After the high of the competition, I got a phone call from my Mum telling me that I had rocks in my head even thinking I could be competitive in the competition due to my belly skin, that my fourth place finish was trying to tell me something and that I had taken things too far and that my whole family thought that I was selfish and bordering on anorexic. I have been feeling pretty fragile as until now, my mother has been one of my staunchest supporters. I stayed with my parents up until two weeks before the comp and I can certainly understand if they thought I was being super particular as I was weighing out portions, practicing posing and routine etc, but anorexic was totally left field as far as I am concerned. So I have had thoughts such as "should I bother doing Nationals?" running around my head as I don't want to get up there if I don't look the part and wondering if I really am deluding myself thinking I can compete in Figure. It has been a weird feeling telling various others I came 4th as I think they all expected me to win or place and I have been feeling like I've been pitied, even though as I said to them all before, I was just happy to get up there on stage.

Then I copped a similar lecture from hubs and after a lot of discussion, I think he understood where I was coming from, what my motivation has been in competing etc.

Another layer of stress has been the blow up with the Woop Woop Warehouse. I wasn't going to go back there and train at all, but I enjoy my strength training and I feel sad at the thought of going backwards, even though I can do much of my training at home. I feel wretched at the thought of having to live here a minute longer and feel myself sinking into a depression as I try and accept where we are living. I have been here for six months and have yet to make many friends, and not for lack of trying either.

I am also finding it hard to keep everyone entertained as there is not a lot to do here. So silly me cooks up patty cakes and Viennese Kisses with the girls and I end up trolling and having a massive binge on fat and sugar. Not like me at all - I know after last comp, I had some moments like this but what upsets me is that I failed to see all the upset preceeding it, chose my trigger foods (baking, baked goods) and stuffed my face and not in a good way either - that furtive 'shovel it down as fast as you can and hope nobody sees' style behaviour. Not good.

Another pattern I notice is a desire in me to have things planned and settled. Not knowing what my goals are for next year or even after next month is driving me nuts. Not knowing where I will be living doesn't help either. Having a plan or a WHY as Coach says is the most important step of all - so it is time for a WHY revision, me thinks.
However, it is over and I just have to focus on moving away from it one meal at a time. I am not going to be too restrictive, but rather focus on cleaning it up a bit at a time. And focus on eating a variety of foods, rather than the same recipes - I know I got dependent on using the same recipes before the comp as I was away and chose foods I knew worked for me, so I am going to work in some small changes whether it is the flavour of the protein powder or different salad green or veggie. I am going to be more mindful of Lifestyle rather than "diet". As for the Nationals, I think I should do them. I have 14 days to really focus and that is exactly what I am going to do.

I also need to focus on some of the positives - where I've come from, that I've had some terrific clients since being here and learned how I make the best improvements :)

She takes a great photo!

I've replaced my abs with a photo that Jadey took (she's the gorgeous girl on the left who made me up to be a princess on Sunday!)

Not much doing today - went for a walk and trained my shoulders at home. Better than nothing!

Where to from here

Whew, back in Woop Woop and don't know where to begin.

Back to the competition - I had a great day and lots of fun catching up with everyone. As I mentioned in my previous post, I came 4th out of the 4 participants in my class. I think it was pretty tight as the judge said after our muscularity and symmetry rounds that he felt sorry for whoever was going to come fourth, it was that close. I think I probably lost points for my routine, but won't know for sure until the score breakdown gets sent out. I achieved my main goal of really improving my back and shoulders from the last comp, so I am happy. The head judge even came up to me afterwards and told me that I had made huge improvements since April and not to give up competing which was very nice of him.

The ladies in my class were really terrific. It turned out that we were all mothers and it was fun trading stretch mark and "Mum" stories backstage - the atmosphere between the four of us couldn't be better and we all had a big laugh when I said "you all got these nice trophies and I got this lousy muffin and a bottle of water!".

It was great to see Deb, Alicia and Maraina compete. Everyone looked really terrific and did anyone tell you Maraina can dance up a storm without her routine music. I also got to meet Hilary (who is as lovely in real life as she is in her blog) and Andj (who I know well from Fitness First). I was the one yelling for you all!

The next day I met Jadey who took some wonderful photos of me in my Lorna Jane gear. Jadey is an absolute stunner and we hit it off from the moment we met. Jadey has a really relaxed way about her and I felt like I had known her for years. I was a bit nervous about having photos taken, but Jadey put me at ease. The above photo was taken with my very basic digital camera, so I cannot wait to see the photos from Jadey's camera.

Then it was back home to Woop Woop, which has been very flat to say the least. I've done a couple of workouts at home, but am worried that the intensity will not be high enough to produce a great result in Melbourne, to the point where I have been considering pulling out as my eating hasn't been exactly stellar either. I am probably going to have to go back to the gym to workout (and pay membership dues for a month) but seriously doubt I will be able to formalize an agreement that we will both be happy with. I also have the option of working with the local physio (who is lovely) and taking Workcover clients - she wants me to rehab two ACL people already.

I've decided that I'm going to give Melbourne my best shot, but given all of the drama with where we are living etc, may not compete at all next year and just focus on living a leanness lifestyle.

My line up

Thanks to Andj for the photos - Here I am second from the right!

Figure girl!

Here I am just before I went on stage. I came 4th out of 4 competitors, but think I looked and felt better than last time, so I am happy! More details to come!

Mini Update

Here I am tapping away at the computer with my new fake nails - the last comp I just used stick on ones, but this time I splurged on a French Polished Gel Set, which I say make my hands look rather elegant! I am guzzling lots of water, 4 litres down, another couple to go and moderating my sodium intake. I started potassium mid morning (wished I had started later as I am not on stage until early afternoon) and I am starting to dry out quite nicely. I have four coats of Contest Colour on and I've just picked up another tip from Lia about glad wrapping the toilet seat in her blog.

We had the Competitor's Meeting this morning and I rather enjoyed meeting up with similarly tanned competitors - I think I felt rather at home there as I have been getting a few stares in the local shopping centre..hee, hee. Met up with Josh and Deb, who are both looking in formidable condition. Josh is holding great condition and Deb, well, Deb just has the total package as far as I am concerned - she is on fire! As far as Deb and I know, we have pretty big line ups - the Novice Category reportedly has 17 entrants and the count for Figure Intermediate was "at least 7 or 8" so tomorrow will be pretty interesting.

Looking forward to extra potatoes tonight and another coat of Contest Colour! Then a final quick "de-dorking" and off to bed.

Not long now!

I cannot believe it is only 3 days out now, but I'm really beginning to look forward to things. I've done all I can do and apart from trying to "de-dork" myself in the routine - that is my greatest problem, I look "wooden" doing the routine sometimes- I am really very happy with my preparation.

Weight has dropped a smidge and I am really enjoying not carb depleting - had extra again today and taught RPM - gave them a thorough pasting which was great fun. Got my distilled water today and planning my low sodium day for Friday - cannot believe how much sodium is in everything so I will have to be careful. At least it is only for 24 hours :)

I picked up all of my gear from Lorna Jane this afternoon. I could not believe the girl grinning back at me in the "XS" size with a six pack to boot. I stood there feeling so lucky and amazed at where this journey has taken me! When I think of the day I laid in bed at 85kg (187 pounds) and decided to get up and get going, rather than stay down, I must admit I feel pretty emotional.

Sometimes I compare myself to others and worry about my stretch marks and loose skin, that I'm not "good enough" to be up on stage, I'm "too old", not attractive enough and that it's all not real! I guess I still have those mental hurdles to overcome, but I'd say that most of the time I am happy now in my own skin and really hope that I reflect that happiness within when Saturday rolls around.

The most important splurge meal

The most important splurge meal I reckon you are ever going to take is in the days leading up to competition. To me this splurge meal symbolises that you are truly living a leanness lifestyle and I enjoyed every lick of my butterscotch brickle ice cream this afternoon after posing and routine with Jo. Good thing I had those extra carbs as I taught RPM tonight and looks like I may have a 6.10am one so extra fuel in the tank is great at this point.

Peak Week!

Ah, the final countdown - the final week!

Where am I - a little bloated as lucky me has come down with a head cold, but plenty of water and fine tuning the eating should do the trick in the next few days. I have decided not to carb deplete in any way this time ( I dropped the carbs to about 30-35% last time) and have decided that in my current condition, it is not necessary.

My plan of attack is to do my final three training sessions through to Wednesday and assess from there. There will also be two RPM classes to teach and maybe a Bodystep. I have my last session with Jo tomorrow and still have work to do on my posing and routine although I have been practising. This is where having Jo around helps me so much. Final bikini adjustments and tanning arrangements. I am wondering whether getting a dark spray tan and then applying Dream Tan over the top will get a good result. Or just to stick with contest colour and then Dream Tan? Decisions, decisions!

I am heading to Lorna Jane on Wednesday to pick up clothes for my photo shoot with Jadey on Sunday. I was so blown away by how Jadey photographed Rae that I have asked her to take some pictures of me. And Lorna Jane have been wonderful and are supplying all the clothing I need for the shoot as well as a hefty discount for future purchases. To say that I'm thrilled about this is the understatement of the year.

Doing all my hair removal on Thursday - usually I use a mixture of waxing, depilatory cream and shaving depending on the area.

Friday starting my distilled water and reducing sodium and taking some potassium - worked beautifully for me last time.

That's about it :)

chomping at the bit!

Here we are nine days out and I am chomping at the bit - to lose that last little bit of bodyfat without sacrificing the tremendous gains I've made in the muscle department. So basically, I'm just hanging out, enjoying a splurge meal or two this week, training hard and getting plenty of rest.

Got the hair done - cut and coloured today, eyebrows waxed and facial booked for early next week. I am very fortunate my sis is a hairdresser and she will do my hair for the show and she has a make up artist friend who will do my make up. This is terrific news for a tomboy such as myself.

What else - looking forward to meeting up with Alicia and Andj at RPM on Saturday, have been enjoying teaching the new release quite thoroughly! Bodystep again Tuesday, RPM on Wednesday and I am officially done and dusted for classes.

Techno dork

I have decided I'm a technology dork. I've just charged my new mobile phone up and it's asking me for a SIM pin. Do you think I have a clue what that is - nope - and think I'd best be off to Telstra in the morning. This happens right before I text Lia to wish her all the best for her comp. Arrggghhh. I've been thinking of you all day, Lia!

I am reflecting that at the start of last week, I am stressed about not being lean enough - now suddenly I'm stressing about getting too lean. As soon as I came into Brisbane, whammo, metabolism picked up and I'm down at comp weight. So now it is just a case of maintaining the weight, chowing down a few more calories and being steady.

I saw Jo today, who agreed not to get too much leaner, especially considering the Nats are on in 3 weeks. That is a long time and I know that from last time, I stayed at comp weight for a month post comp whilst eating like a horse so I've upped the calories (by an extra meal) and will adjust day by day.

The bikini Jo has created for me is nothing short of amazing - many more crystals than bikini number one, which I still love, but I am really taken with all of my new bling from Jo. We went through posing and routine, which has improved but still could be better. One step at a time!

Shout out to Lia

Thinking of you Lia -- all the best for Monday - I know you are going to rock the place!!!!

GO LIA, GO!!!!!

I'm OK

Have arrived in Brisbane and am feeling much better. Quick post as preparing for RPM and Bodystep launches and will update more next post. WAves to all :)

The shit hits the fan....

Arrgh. I am currently caught up in a vortex of being blindsided by the Woop Woop Warehouse, where I've decided to take indefinite leave of absence. It's going to be fun now actually training without a gym to train in. What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger, right?

I'm also having major leanness issues. Even though I think I look good for real life, I am simply not competition ready and stressing out big time. The above photo I took this morning. At least I still have 17 days to make a few changes, but I think I will be too soft on comp day. Where is my cry baby emoticon when I need it?

Anyway, I'm going to train on my bike this morning and do shoulders. I have enough weights/resistance to put together a decent effort so it's "hi-ho, off we go"

Carry on!

Three weeks to go and hanging in there :)

Training:
Run 40 mins
RPM32 practice 20 mins
RT 40mins (back and triceps)

Still a little tender in the neck and only did close grip pull ups today.

Have put the cake down and have the foot firmly planted on the accelerator.

Avoiding the Food Troll

Today has been a day spent avoiding the Dreaded Food Troll - yes he is an "entity" in my life as well as my "Inner Gollum" (but thankfully I haven't heard as much from him lately, only the echoes of "you gotta get leeeeeaaaannnner my precious").

We started by celebrating Georgia's birthday and having in true Nelo tradition, birthday cake for breakfast. I had a small piece which was fine, but I do believe the simple sugar/fat combination seems to switch on something in me that says , "troll, girl!"

The neck and shoulder are beginning to feel much better and it's almost a comedy how something seems to happen to me just before a comp - last time it was having to move out of the house (DH flooded it) and being in a position where food prep was very precarious.

Training today: BOSU/elliptical/rower circuit 45 mins - did some leg drills for the first time this week and felt much better.

Will be leaving for Brisvegas on Thursday just in time for the RPM launch at Indro on Saturday with Julia - cannot wait. Apart from that my mission is to shave off another 0.25 kg by Wednesday - if I don't, Coach Dave gets 100.00 US dollars to donate to a charity of his choice. So as I look around for what sweet treats I can pick away at (picking doesn't involve calories, right...wrong!), I bring the leverage into focus and here I am....

For Lia

Photo of my first bikini. It actually has a hot pink thread running through it!

Sorry I've been AWOL - birthday yesterday and trying to deal with the neck/shoulder pain. I was lucky to catch a physio to give me some treatment and it's feeling much better today, though I am nowhere near full tilt.

Workout today:
Run 30mins
Teach aero class 45mins
Biceps only: 10 mins

Ouch

I didn't want to make this picture any bigger. Horrifying isn't it?

Today I tore something in my lats whilst doing some chin ups. Hope I pull up OK tomorrow, I've been in pain all day.

Quick update.
Training
45 mins run

Chin UPs varied grip 4 x8
Chin Up/Lat Pull Giant Sets - 4 chins, Lat pull down to failure (about 8 reps) 4 sets
Seated Row 4 x10
Hyperextensions with glute focus
Leg Curl 4 x20 fast
Tricep Dips 4 x6 with 4kg dumbbell
Tricep French press 3 x10

Trained 5 clients today. Busy, busy busy. Next step is to learn all my LMI choreo! Arrgh! I think I'm building the other side of Sam's pyramids!

Kangaroo Mad!

This weekend has been, shall we say, Skippy dominant as we went to Rocky yesterday to do some shopping. I bought a fantastic skirt from Lorna Jane for twenty bucks (yes, we are going slowly into "is that my freaking size now?"mode )- I buy one size up so when I am a bit heavier, it fits nicely. Here I was with a size Small hanging off me, so rather than have to deal with not fitting an XS later on, I'm happy to be back in my "smalls"...hee hee.

I also bought one hundred dollars worth of kangaroo (Jodi, you would be proud of me :) ) - Naturoo sausages, steaks and the marinaded steaks that Rae mentioned. I've just tried the Naturoo sausages - per serve they are 2.5 sausages 31.2 g protein, 2 g fat and no carbs...wowsa! They taste fantastic too. Now all I have to do is ask Naturoo for a sponsorship and I would be seriously set!

As we have just hit the four week out mark, I'll give a quick update. I am tracking OK. The biggest surprise has been being about 1.5 kg/3 pounds heavier than I was at this stage last time and I'm going to take the leap of faith and suggest that most of it is muscle. I've been wrestling with my thoughts a bit, wondering if I have been pushing it hard enough but when I was posing yesterday I can definitely see more leanness, so A-OK there. I would estimate I have between 1 and 1.5 kg to lose now to get onto the stage, so my plan is to keep training hard and hammer away at the nutrition for the next two weeks and see what Jo thinks when I see her 10 days out. Then I can make some minor adjustments where necessary and hopefully have enough time not to stress.

This week will be filled up with learning LesMills for the Brissy launches and sorting out all my PT clients before I go. Miss Georgia's birthday on Friday and I have to make her a cake shaped like a lion. We girls have to have talent in so many areas!

Dessert time!

Tonight I enjoyed a splurge of pecan pie for my DH's birthday. I actually counted out some pecans and chocolate to eat whilst prepping it as well and I must say I really enjoyed my treats today!

With all of those extra carbs and fat I am going to be on fire when I train tomorrow..yeehah!

Just did cardio today - 20 minute steady state run, taught aerobics class 60 mins and went for a walk.

I'm feeling really good - despite the splurge being rich, I enjoyed my fill and am going to bed happy.

Roof is on Fire!

Today I was thinking of Sam and decided to do some plyo work - tuck jumps, side to side skiers etc. I am sure I cannot jump as high as Sam, but it was fun trying :)

Taught a spin class today and did plyo work and trained my back as hard and heavy as I could go. I even lifted a PB which surprises me this close to competition.

RT
Close grip PD 4 x 8-10 (heavy)
Plyo tuck jumps 4 x 5
Rope high pull 4 x10
Dumbell row 4 x10
Skiers 4 x 1 min
Tricep dips (bodyweight +4kg ) 3 x8
Tricep Kick backs 2 x10

Weight has irritatingly stalled a little this week and looks like I may have to make a few changes next week, but not before I enjoy a little pecan pie and icecream that we are having for hub's birthday tomorrow. Then my birthday on Tuesday (I'm sure I will get an oats and protein birthday pancake) and Georgia on Saturday. Yikes! Everyone in our family starts "relaxing" around Christmastime >>>>>

Kick butt!

Today was very busy for me! Firstly it was teaching an aerobics class, which made me dredge up the memories of my freestyle teaching days - I haven't taught freestyle classes for a year or so and it is fun deciding to do the choreo my way sometimes. On the flip side, it's great to rely on Les Mills to do it all for you.

After class I had a PT client, then payment of loads of bills and then back to the gym for a run and shoulder/ab training as well as another PT client.

Soon after I arrived home, I received a phone call from the lovely Lia. Lia, it was great to "meet" you in voice and I'm looking forward to meeting you in person. We had quite a long chat...about guess what? Competing of course!

Training:
Run (FOTA) 20mins (that is Foot on the Accelerator!)
Elliptical 20mins
Teach class 45 mins (but not dreadfully intense)

Shoulders:
Shoulder Press on BOSU - 4 x 8-10
Upright Row on BOSU 4 x8
Ab roll backs on ball 3 x 10
Free range alt shoulder press 3 x 6-8 (the "free range" bit sounds like I was training with the chooks) + lateral raise to failure

Inspiration and passion

Today's photo is of Andre Agassi, who has just retired from top level tennis. His sportsmanship was second to none and he gave 100% to every match he played. Steve Irwin, crocodile hunter, who tragically lost his life in a freak marine accident is another wonderful example of someone that "lived their life with passion" as Kimmy would say.

On the bodybuilding front, check out my link to the Club Lifestyle blog. David has done an amazing interview with a remarkable gentleman named Pocha Neal. It teaches us that anything is possible if we are willing to take the reins and give it a shot.

Training yesterday:

Elliptical 20mins, teach spin class 30 mins (I was on and off the bike yesterday!)
Strength training:
Chest/Legs
Incline Bench Press: 4x 12/10/8/8 (got a PB in here..woohoo)
BOSU defensive squats: 4 x20
Bench Press: 4x 10
BOSU 180 degree plyo jumps 3 x10
180 degree plyos on the floor 2 x8
Decline Chest Flye - 4 x 8-10
Leg Extension 2 x20 explosive

OK, that's it for now!

This one is for Rae!

I honestly didn't know what picture I was going to put up today and then I thought of Rae and thought, I'll put my big mug up here!

Actually it's a good reminder to keep going - I still have a bit to go!

Recapping the weekend - had cravings for chocolate all day Saturday after waking up feeling very depleted and tired. I tried to work my way around the cravings, but to no avail - I tried Nutella (not a good move) , extra carbs/protein and eventually shared half a bar with hubs and immediately felt much better. It meant that Saturday was a day where I ate much more than I wanted but I try and learn from these experiences and move on. What I learnt out of it is to have some chocolate if I really feel like it, simply because I crave it so rarely and I must have been very much out-of-sorts to have such a craving.

Sunday was a complete rest day which meant I got to see the effect of all of those carbs in the mirror today - my muscles looked pretty full and I took full advantage of the extra glycogen and put in a kicker of a run this morning as well as a pretty heavy training session. I still end up a little over food budget today, and weight is up, but all good things come down in my case so I'll keep pressing on.

Hmm, what else? The dump trucks actually turned out to be quite interesting. At full tilt, they are 20 metres high and take 3500 litres of fuel to fill the tank! Yikes.

Training today:
Run - 45 mins -took about 20 minutes to warm up and then I put the foot on the accelerator.
Elliptical- 15 mins

Strength Training:
Chin ups: varied grips 4 x6 (the wide grip was assisted...youch!)
Lat PD to front: 4 x8
Hyperextensions: 4 x 10
Seated Row: 4 x8
Leg Curl: 3 x20
Tricep Dips + 2kg dumbbell: 4 x 8
Dumbbell DeadLifts: 3 x15 bent knee, 3 x 15, stiff
Tri push down: 3 x10

Weekend's here!

Today's shot is of Cathe Friedrich and crew. Cathe makes fantastic fitness DVDs for home use, which are a Godsend up in Woop Woop. She is filming four new workouts which should hit my desk in late October. I'm looking forward to doing them after the comps!

Training today:
walked (and yes, the heavens opened up on me)

Taught step class 45 mins, run pm 30 mins and chest and biceps training.

Chest/Biceps:
Incline DB Press 4 x 8-10
Pec Deck 4 x 10
BOSU pushup with arm placement variation 3 x12
Barbell curl 3 x 10

I felt pretty fatigued today and decided to go short and sharp on the training rather than let things drag on too long.

Onto the weekend, which I find the hardest in terms for trolling for food - the trolling occurs because I'm bored (and a little hungry) and if I am to succeed on weekends, it means putting activities in place that don't involve the kitchen!

We are off to see these massive dump trucks in Moura tomorrow and I will pack my snacks, drinks and probably some extra veggies. Sunday is more difficult - Father's Day - but we may have a BBQ in the local park, so that gets me out of the house there as well. Just keeping on with the forward planning!

bikini season!

Here is a photo of my first competition bikini made for me by Berns of Passionfruit Designs. I love it! Jo is doing my second bikini. I will have the choice between two for my sojourn to Melbourne.

Training today:
Teach spin class 45 mins, elliptical - moderate 30 mins
Back/shoulders/triceps
Reverse grip pull down 4 x 10
Rope Pulley Row 4 x 8-10
Barbell row 3 x 8
Dumbbell Row 4 x 10
Bent arm Lateral raise 4 x 8
Diamond Lateral Raise 3 x 15
Tricep Push Ups on Toes 4 x 12
Tri Extension on Smith bar 3 x 8 (ouch!)
Tricep Kickback on Ball.

Posing Practice.

I have found out today that I have a small sponsorship with Ladybird Supplements. I have used Figure Tone since I started my physique transformation and love it as it is a "broad spectrum" protein and reasonably priced. I'm going to supply it for sale at the gym. I am also going to be a distributor for Slim Secrets bars - they are high in protein, moderate in carbs and the best part, taste scrumptious (gosh I do sound like a saleswoman today) - good if you are in a time crunch and whilst real food is best, sometimes a bar can be the difference between good eating behaviour and a massive blow out. If anyone wants to order them from me, I'll stick my contact email up shortly.

I decided to take this on because nowhere around here sells sports supplements and sometimes I just don't feel like buying online and neither do my clients.

So a big thank you to Ladybird. I am just thrilled to be getting a bit of help with the cost of my protein powder and other supps.

Going for Goal!

Training today - 30 minute run, teach aerobics class - my first freestyle class in goodness knows how long...yikes, shoulders 5 mins - yes I got three sets of overhead presses in before my client turned up for PT and my goal tomorrow is to get my training in first and treat myself as "numero uno". I cannot get over the amount of personal training I am doing! Who would have thought?

I'm still feeling peaceful although it was a running battle all day with the dreaded troll. Felt like I was going off the boil in a few places, but stopped the cravings with a nice warm bowl of broccoli and pumpkin soup, which actually tastes rather excellent, so no complaints there at all.

Risky Changes

The title of my post is called "Risky Changes", meaning that I am reflecting on the massive re workings I have made to my training regime over the past few months and whether there will be any significant difference when I compete again.

This morning I trained chest, legs and biceps and I'm teaching a Spin class this afternoon. I did my explosive leg training workout this morning - lots of plyo jumps, leaps and the like - a lot like Sam's plyo workouts actually. I've never really trained like this before and I approach it with a mixture of dread ("ouch, this is hard") and enjoyment ("wow, I can't believe I did it!"). However, insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, so I think I am doing the right thing.

I'm feeling very much at peace with myself today (though we know in the Comp Prep world this can change at any minute). I am incredibly grateful for what I have achieved and feel that for me, the pressure is off - I "qualified" to go to Melbourne (and have a great holiday whilst I'm there) and I lost 33kg in the process - and that, due to all of my surgeries/skin problems, I will never be a top Figure Athlete. That doesn't mean that I will stop trying to improve my physique or symmetry - it is what is just is, if you get my drift. I'm so happy to get up there, enjoy myself and celebrate my achievements, as well as every other girl that makes the journey to compete - there is so much inspiration within the stories of others.

Time to keep training and to keep smiling, for life is good.

Holy Cow (or maybe not!)

If anyone gets the opportunity, you should really try kangaroo - was fortunate to pick up some Naturoo in Rocky over the weekend and it was absolutely scrumptious and filling as. Lots of protein and little fat....So, do you do the 'roo?

Monday! Back into it!

I love these bits about athletes, though I think the print may be too small to really read easily.

Back into the swing of things today - have done a 40 minute run and my back/triceps training and will hit the elliptical for 20mins this afternoon nice and hard.

Also have 3 PT clients - which will keep me busy and out of the kitchen. The weekends are the hardest part for me. I get easily distracted and start getting these "sense of entitlement" feelings as everyone else snacks around me. I know that if I really do crave something I can work it into a splurge meal, so largely I practise alternative behaviours to keep me on the straight and narrow.

Not happy, Jan

Definitely having a "Not Happy, Jan" moment on Friday - here I am 6.5 weeks out 56kg and feeling majorly stressed that I'm not leaning out fast enough - so other competitors, if you are reading this, please come and be brutal and excuse my sucky front pose. Actually taking the photos did inspire me to pull the ol' finger out and knuckle down a bit more, which I suppose is why taking progress photos is actually a good thing. All I could think of after I took them was how panicky I am feeling this time around and don't feel like I'm physically ready. Maybe all of Josh's photo talk was getting to me... agggh.

Anyway, the weekend has been good - we went to Sizzler in Rocky for lunch yesterday and I stayed away from the apple pie and icecream and thought about the photos that I am so not happy with. Good leverage.