Summer Is Finally Here – Is Your Beach Body?

In my last post I said I was going to be competing in the upcoming OCB Yankee Classic Show in Newburyport, Mass. and while I’ve been training and maintaining a clean-eating diet for it, unfortunately, I will not be able to compete in the show.

My health is great and I WANT to compete (very badly), but I won’t be able to because, for me, at this time, it’s out of my budget to do so. I have other priorities I need to tend to so competing is being placed on the back burner…for now! I have some pretty exciting plans coming up that I am focusing on that will only benefit me and what it is I want to do so I’m going after that right now. 

I know I do not need to explain myself to anyone, but I figured I’d let my readers know since my last post said that I was doing the show. You can mark my words; I WILL be competing in future shows, after all, I have a first place finish I have to go after! Depending on finances and my schedule in November and December, I have a couple shows in mind I’d like to compete in. If not, then I will absolutely be hitting the stage come February 2013. This will definitely give me plenty of time to work on improving my body, too.

Speaking of which, I’ve already seen great improvements since my last show. I really wanted to work on building my shoulders and it’s been paying off! I stopped training my triceps and biceps for the past couple of months. The only time I hit those is as a secondary muscle when I’m training back and chest. Other than that, I’ve been training shoulders twice a week – heavy one day, light the other – hamstrings and glutes (typically together and sometimes twice a week), chest and back. I've even increased training my abs around 2-3 times a week. I have been using my other available day for plyometrics. My cardio has increased a significant amount and I think between that and doing plyos, it’s been making a world of difference. I switch up my cardio all the time – I’m either doing steady state anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour or HIIT for 20 to 30 minutes. This week, I am starting to incorporate plyometrics two or more times a week. I’ll be doing this for the next five weeks. Here’s what my schedule looks like as far as cardio goes for the next five weeks:

WEEK 1

Monday: Hill Interval Workout

Tuesday: Plyo Workout

Wednesday: OFF

Thursday: Jog for 30 minutes

Friday: Running/Plyo Workout

Saturday and Sunday: OFF

WEEK 2

Monday a.m.: Hill interval Workout

Monday p.m.: Plyo Workout

Tuesday: Running/Plyo Workout

Wednesday: OFF

Thursday a.m.: Jog for 30 minutes

Thursday p.m.: Hill Interval Workout

Friday: Running/Plyo Workout

Saturday: Plyo Workout

Sunday: OFF

WEEK 3

Monday a.m.: Running/Plyo Workout

Monday p.m.: Jog for 30 minutes

Tuesday: Hill Interval Workout

Wednesday a.m.: Running Plyo Workout

Wednesday p.m.: Jog for 30 minutes

Thursday: Plyo Workout

Friday a.m.: Running/Plyo Workout

Friday p.m.: Jog for 30 minutes

Saturday: Plyo Workout

Sunday: OFF

WEEK 4

Monday a.m.: Running/Plyo Workout

Monday p.m.: Jog for 30 minutes

Tuesday: Hill Interval Workout

Wednesday a.m.: Running Plyo Workout

Wednesday p.m.: Jog for 30 minutes

Thursday: Plyo Workout

Friday a.m.: Running/Plyo Workout

Friday p.m.: Jog for 30 minutes

Saturday: Plyo Workout

Sunday: OFF

WEEK 5

Monday a.m.: Running/Plyo Workout

Monday p.m.: Jog for 30 minutes

Tuesday: Hill Interval Workout

Wednesday a.m.: Running Plyo Workout

Wednesday p.m.: Jog for 30 minutes

Thursday: Plyo Workout

Friday a.m.: Running/Plyo Workout

Friday p.m.: Jog for 30 minutes

Saturday a.m.: Jog for 30 minutes

Saturday p.m.: Plyo Workout

Sunday: Optional: Jog for 30 minutes or use as rest day

What do you think? Are you up for the challenge? If you’re already working out, this is a great supplement to your training program. If you’re a beginner, you can start out doing what YOUR body is capable of and work your way up! Write down your progress, too! That way you can look back and see how much you’ve improved. Let me know if you’d like to try this and I will share with you the plan for it. Let’s get your beach body underway!

Thanks for reading! Happy training!

An Official OCB Bikini Competitor!

It’s been about two weeks since I competed in my first-ever fitness competition and a month since I had my first-ever fitness photo shoot.

Claudia Murray Photography

It’s been an exciting few weeks for me and I would absolutely do it all over again in a heartbeat. Luckily, I have the opportunities to do so! Another photographer reached out to me and wants to shoot with me soon. I definitely plan on doing that, but first I wanted to recover from my show and enjoy some treats before going back to a strict diet to prepare for that shoot and my next show!

Fitness Shoot

My fitness shoot with Claudia Murray Photography was an absolute blast! I felt extremely comfortable in front of the camera with her – I wasn’t nervous at all. She was very impressed with how well prepared I was for the shoot.

If you’re planning on doing a photo shoot, show up prepared. I (over)packed my bag the night before and Claudia was grateful. I packed several outfits with shoes that matched, brought along my makeup for any touchups needed, and brought along some fitness equipment for props.

Claudia Murray Photography

The pictures came out amazing and I’m excited to do my next shoot.

Fitness Competition

The 2012 OCB Pine Tree State Championships was an awesome show. It was held at a beautiful venue and the show’s promoter, Scott Fleurant, was extremely organized and helpful, which made things easier for the competitors.

Friday, April 13

I showed up at the host hotel at 3pm to take my polygraph test. I passed with flying colors – phew! Next up was my first round of airbrush spray tan. I stripped down to my birthday suit in front of Paula Harrison. This wasn’t her first rodeo and she didn’t seem worried about it, so neither was I. I woke up the next morning looking blacker than most black people. I’m not even joking.

Saturday, April 14

I barely slept a wink because I was so excited. I was able to “warm water rinse” and wash my hair, but I could not apply any deodorant. They tell you not to because it can turn your armpits green – and, who wants green armpits?

I packed my bag with all the essentials needed to get me through the day: snacks, makeup, hairspray, suit, shoes, Bikini Bite to keep my bottoms from giving me a wedge while on stage, Vaseline, Muscle Sheen, resistance bands, OCB membership card, my numbers (#7) for my suit, a silky robe, and gum.

I ate breakfast with extra carbs to help fill out my muscles and I left the house in baggy sweats, a tank top, and flip flops. I arrived at the venue at 8:27am. I had to get another coat of spray tan applied at 8:30.

When they say to get dark for your competition because the stage lights will wash you out, they aren’t kidding. I thought I was too dark, but I spoke with the judges after and they said my color was perfect. I think the only thing I saw when I looked at myself in the mirror were the whites of my eyes and my teeth. Other than that, I couldn’t see myself.

To clear up any confusion or questions that people have asked me regarding my tan: 1) No, it’s not permanent and yes, it washes off. 2) No, I didn’t go tanning repeatedly in a UV booth or bed. 3) Yes, it’s all airbrushed.

I had my hair and make up done in the next room by Vanessa and Shelbie from Salon Haute Couture. Vanessa curled my long locks and Shelbie perfected my makeup – making sure my face was a shade or two lighter than my body. I felt like a rock star! They made me look beautiful!

Finally, it was time for our athlete’s meeting. All the competitors gathered in a room and were given a pep talk by the head judge, Sean Sullivan. This was when I started to get nervous. My heart literally felt like it was beating out of my chest, and I started sweating. Not good – my tan was smudging!

After the meeting I went back in for a touch up spray tan and quickly dried off. My trainer, Jamie Marsh, was backstage with me the entire time and she applied Muscle Sheen to my entire body to give it a bit of an oily look. She also applied the Bikini Bite to my butt. She was a very lucky girl that day!

From the room I hear someone yelling for competitors “6, 7, and 8!” Oops, I’m #7! I have to go! Wait – I forgot my numbers! I have to pin those on me! Wait – I didn’t get to eat any Sweet Tarts and I didn’t get to pump myself up with my resistance bands!

“Competitor #7! We need you!”

“I’m coming! I’m right here!” I shouted back.

I ran backstage and all the bikini competitors were lined up for our 1pm pre-judging comparisons! Holy nerves. I was COMPLETELY fine until our athlete’s meeting.

Showtime!

I am not that girly, but I turned it on. I walked as sexy in my clear stilettos as I could across the stage and put on my sexiest posing stance. I felt on top of the world. I felt the most confident I have ever felt – all my hard work in the gym, my clean eating diet, and my posing practice had finally paid off!

My only regret on that stage was not being able to fully smile, but I seriously physically couldn’t! I laughed about it after because every single time I tried to crack a smile up there, my nerves took over and my lips were quivering to the max.

And, in a matter of five minutes, it was all over! We marched off the stage and that was it.

The next time I’d take stage – solo – wasn’t until 5:30pm for finals. What on earth was I going to do until then? After all, it was only 1:05. Jamie and I decided to grab some food where I allowed myself half a cheeseburger. Wow. I was in heaven. That only wasted about an hour-and-a-half. Luckily, I had friends and family show up early (best support system and cheering section ever!) so I chatted with them for a while.

I made my way backstage around 4pm so I could prepare for my next time on stage. By this time I wasn’t nervous at all. I knew what to expect, so I was just super excited to rock that stage once more.

Competitor #6 took the stage just before I did. We had 60 seconds on stage. Most people didn’t use that whole time, me included, but I wish I would have. When you’re out there though, you don’t have much concept of time.

The emcee of the show announced competitor #7. Then, my music started playing – Beyonce’s “Get Me Bodied”. I took center stage, flashing a huge smile to the crowd. The cheers from my cheering section completely floored me. What an amazing feeling to be up there with all that support backing me up!

I strutted toward an “X” in the center of the stage and held a pose. Walked right, struck another pose. Walked far left, turned around, stuck my glutes out, gave a little wink to the crowd, and walked back center stage. I blew my fan section a kiss and walked off. WOW! What an experience! That right there made me want to compete again and again and again and I didn’t even know what place I came in yet.

Awards were given shortly after and I placed 2^nd. Not bad in my first-ever fitness competition. I even struggled with personal obstacles and I still stuck through it to the end!

If you’re seriously contemplating competing – stop thinking about it and do it! Such a great experience. I look forward to my next show, the OCB Yankee Classic on Saturday, July 21 in Newburyport , MA .

Prep for that show begins today as I’m 12 weeks out. Here we go!!

January 1 (left) 134lbs.
April 14 (right) 119lbs. - 2nd place at OCB Pine Tree State Championships

My Diet Prep for My Fitness Shows

Mmm breakfast - most important meal of the day!

In my last post I said I would explain how I’ve prepared for my upcoming shows.

Here it is: being strict on my diet and going hard in the gym.

There you have it, folks. Now you know how I’m prepping. Thanks for reading!

In all seriousness, that’s literally what I am doing. I returned from vacation on January 1. While on vacation I let myself enjoy whatever foods and drinks I wanted. It was the holidays, I was around people who were enjoying whatever foods and drinks they wanted to have, and I was on vacation. So, why not let loose and have fun?

For the month of January, without committing to doing any fitness competitions, I told myself if I ate clean and I did well with training that I’d consider doing a show (or two) come February.

I cooked all my meals for the week every Sunday and weighed out my food using a digital scale and measuring cups. If I was going to do this, I was going to do it the right way. I went back to eating every 2-3 hours and increased my water and green tea intake.

• Breakfasts always included 1/4c to 1/2c oatmeal, 1/4c blueberries, and 3/4c egg whites. Supplements included fish oil, CLA, and a multivitamin.
• Snack was two rice cakes, 1tbsp peanut butter, whey protein (mixed with water).
• Lunches varied with 4oz. tuna, chicken, ground turkey or beef in a wheat tortilla, 1c of veggies (broccoli, usually), and a starchy carb (sweet potato, brown rice). Supplements included CLA.
• Snack was 1c fat-free cottage cheese or Greek yogurt and 10-12 salt and vinegar almonds.
• Pre-workout supplement included SuperPump Max and during my workouts included Scivation’s Xtend (Branch Chain Amino Acids aka BCAAs).
• Post workout meal was a whey protein shake mixed with water and 12 gummy bears.
• Dinner was 4-6oz. of lean meat and a small salad with some oil and vinegar.
• Last meal before bed was protein shake with 1oz. of salt and vinegar almonds. Supplements included fish oil, CLA, and multivitamin.

This is just an example of what my typical day looked like. Of course, I would switch things up so I didn’t get too bored or start hating my foods. I did also eat beans, I used reduced-sugar ketchup, and lots of Frank’s Red Hot Sauce!

Every Saturday I allowed myself to have a cheat meal – pizza, French fries, cheeseburger, etc. This helped keep me sane and give me something to look forward to every week, plus it was a reward for me for doing so well during the week!

Once February hit, I cut out all dairy and made the switch from salt and vinegar almonds to regular, raw almonds. I do have high calorie days and low calorie days, too. Whenever I train legs, which is either 2-3 times a week, I make sure my calories for those days are high. Besides my cheat meal, this also helps shock my body and help me burn more fat. Nothing else has really changed as far as my diet goes. I still continue to lose every week, which is my goal for my show. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

I will be weighing in and having my trainer, Jamie Marsh, measure me this weekend. From there, I’ll decide if I need to make any changes.

I need to stress this though – WHAT WORKS FOR ME MIGHT NOT WORK FOR YOU! It took me a while to experiment with different foods and how it affects my body. It’s all a science and it’s fun to experiment. After my two shows, I plan to try a completely different way of eating to see how my body does with that. I look forward to that!

Thanks for taking the time to read! Let me know if you have any questions or something else to add in the comment section below.

Happy eating!

Fitness Competition: Making It Publicly Official

Less than six and seven weeks out...

As some of you might recall, I was just four weeks away from entering my first fitness competition last April when I decided the timing just wasn’t right – for personal reasons – and I didn’t end up competing.

Almost a full year has gone by and my body has made some pretty incredible changes. I am much stronger and muscular this year, and am feeling quite confident with the way my body looks. In fact, confident enough to compete in two upcoming fitness (bikini division) shows – one on Saturday, April 14 and the other just a week later on Saturday, April 21.

I decided to finally go public with this information because I want to be held accountable for the two shows, which are less than six and seven weeks away. I kept going back and forth with the idea of competing, but I did start dieting in January… just in case!

This will give me something to look forward to and really focus hard on, which I definitely need at this point in my life. Last year, I let my personal reasons get in the way of following through with my goals. This year, I am not letting that happen. As I get older, I am learning to turn everything negative that comes my way into some sort of positive.

These shows will give me even more credibility when I write for my personal blog, as well as for www.tweakfit.com, a blog I’ve been writing for since January. Not only that, but as soon as I become a Certified Personal Trainer (CPT) – yes, that will happen this year, too (stay tuned for that!) – it will help me in that area as well!

By now, you’re probably wondering which shows I will be competing in… April 14 is the 2012 OCB Pine Tree State – Bodybuilding, Figure, & Bikini, which will be held at the Westbrook Performing Arts Center in Westbrook, ME. Pre-judging is at 1pm and finals begin at 5:30pm.

The other show, on April 21, is the OCB Spirit of America (SOA) and will be held at Carver High School in Carver, MA. Prejudging begins at 11am and finals are at 5pm.

Because the OCB is a natural bodybuilding organization, every competitor will be drug tested using a polygraph machine. Luckily, I’ll only have to do it once for both shows.

So, there you have it! I’d love to have people show up and cheer me on – you can even make signs! Just make sure you spell my name correctly… haha.

I want to explain how I’ve prepared for these shows thus far, but I’d rather do it in a separate blog post as this one is already too long. I’ll be sure to post something soon.

Is anyone else out there competing this year? If so, which shows and which division do you plan on competing?

Thanks for reading!