"It's the final countdown [da da da daa]" - Europe
(I dare you to try and not sing the song while reading that)
I'm am just 5 days (as of today, Monday February 8th) from stepping on stage. Instead of spending time recapping my week, which was not much different from last week's check in, I'll be explaining what this final week looks like in terms of workouts, nutrition, water intake and of course, the glitz and glam!
Progress
Well, this is it. This is what 16 weeks of hard work has gotten me. It's crazy that I began this prep all the way back on October 18, 2015. When I first started, 17 weeks seemed forever away...but somehow in the blink of an eye here I am, less than 1 week away.
Measurements 1 Week Out:
- Weight [lbs] - 142
- Waist [in] - 26.25
- Abdomen [in] - 28.25
- Hips [in] - 37.75
- Thighs [in] - 22
- Upper Arm [in] - 11
- Bust [in] - 32
I'm pleased with my current progress, but being the perfectionist that I am, I can see areas for improvement. I already know the judges will say I need to lean my bottom half out more. I'm blessed with lots of strength and muscle in my legs and booty, which is great for competitive weightlifting, but not ideal for Figure competitions. I want both...and I believe I can achieve this, but it will take persistence and time.
The work is not over after my show - continuous improvement!
Workouts
This week my workout structure is different. I'm treating this as a deload week. I'll be doing light lifting Monday, Tuesday and my final lift Wednesday. Monday will be legs, as I don't want those pumped up too much for my show, followed by a mix of upper body and back Tuesday and Wednesday.
I'll be following my workouts with 20-30 min of steady-state cardio and continuing this to Thursday and Friday. Lastly, I'm nailing my posing this week and spending 30 minutes each night holding poses - it is much harder and tiring than you would think!
Nutrition
My nutrition isn't that too far off what I've been following all prep, however I'm shifting my low carb and high carb days for carb loading in anticipation of Saturday. Even though I'll be lifting Monday - Wednesday, I will be eating ultra-low carb these days. The plan is to deplete my body these days of all my glycogen stores and then load up the carbs Thursday & Friday for my muscles to POP come Saturday!
Sunday - Wednesday: Ultra-low carb (and low calorie)
Ultra Low Carb:
- 1,250 Calories
- 160 g Protein
- 45 g Carbohydrates
- 48 g Fat
Thursday: add 1 c sweet potato with dinner
Friday: add 1/2 c sweet potato at lunch and 1 c with dinner
This week isn't set in stone and I'll be monitoring my progress all week. If I'm feeling too flat, I may increase the carbs, if I'm still feeling not tight enough, I'll eat less. This is very much an experiment for me so it will be a bit of trial and error leading up to stage.
Saturday:
Breakfast (3 hours before stage) - egg whites and yams
Snack (30 min before stage) - rice cakes with nut butter
[Pre-Judging]
Lunch - something light, lean protein and veggies
Snack (30 min before stage) - rice cakes with nut butter
[Main Show]
BURGER!
I'll be manipulating my water intake a bit to help make my muscle pop. Of course I can lose any substantial amounts of fat this final week, but by manipulating my body I can create an illusion - sort of like shrink wrapping my body. By drinking an excess of water at the beginning of the week I trick my body into expecting to take on that much water. I slowly reduce my intake by half starting Wednesday. My body will have been tricked into accepting the higher amount so it won't hold onto the water come Thursday and Friday.
Again...this is a delicate balance. I don't want to deplete too much so that I look flat and dried out or even worse, cramp up on stage while holding my poses. The goal is NOT to dehydrate myself!
Water intake:
Monday - Tuesday: 2 gallons
Wednesday: 1 gallons
Thursday: 2 liters
Friday: 1 liter by 6PM
Saturday: sip as needed
Just typing all this out has be so excited!!
Here is a look at what I ate this past week, in case you were curious :) You can see that even with reduced caloric intake I am still finding a way to make my meals delicious!
Glitz and Glam!
This week I have to think about more than just nutrition and workouts.
Makeup: I bought all my makeup this past weekend and tested out my stage makeup. It needs to be dramatic so that the judges can see it from stage (but you would never see me out in public on a Friday night with this much makeup)
Tanning: I need to scrub my body every night this week so that I'm ready for my spray tan on Friday. I'll be getting my first round of spray tan Friday at 7PM and then touch ups the morning of.
Nails: I'm opting to save money and do my nails myself. I plan on giving myself a mani and pedi on Thursday evening.
Stay tuned for the BIG FINALE!
