"Never let the fear of striking out get in your way" - Babe Ruth
If you've been following me on Instagram, then you know this was a tough week mentally. As time seems to be flying by, anxiety has set in. The 'what ifs' started flowing through my head.
What if I'm not ready in time?
What if I'm not as lean as the other competitors?
What if the others have greater muscle definition then me?
I looked back at my progress photos from my last show that I did 2 years ago in attempts to give myself a pep talk. Once I put each of the poses side by side for comparison, I was taken aback. In the photo you can see the visible improvement in my physique. What you can't see (and what is even a bigger achievement for me) is my understanding of my nutrition from 2014 to now. I'm not in this for a quick fix or crash diet. I'm in this for long, withstanding results and a maintainable healthy lifestyle. While it may have taken me some time to get here, I'm at such a great place.
No matter what happens once I step on that stage, I know that I have given this my best effort. Even more important is that I will also know how to find balance after I step off that stage.
Progress
This was a wacky week for my body. My previously mentioned anxiety was fueled by the fact that I was retaining more water than usual and the scale was sitting around 147 lbs most of the week. I'm not sure if it was a delayed result of all the travel I'd done or what, but it was making me uneasy. I knew it was temporary water weight gain, but it wasn't what I wanted to be seeing this close to my show. Thankfully, by the end of the week it started to dissipate and by Saturday for my check-in I was back to the same weight I had started the week at. Again...not exactly the result I was hoping for this close to my show. However, the scale is not everything and I was pleasantly surprised that my measurements went down in some areas!
5 Weeks:
- Weight [lbs] - 145
- Waist [in] - 27
- Abdomen [in] - 29
- Hips [in] - 38.25
- Thighs [in] - 22
- Upper Arm [in] - 11.25
- Bust [in] - 33.25
Last week's measurements/ 6 Weeks:
- Weight [lbs] - 145.2
- Waist [in] - 27.25
- Abdomen [in] - 29
- Hips [in] - 38.5
- Thighs [in] - 22
- Upper Arm [in] - 11.25
- Bust [in] - 33.25
Workouts
This was a really hard hitting week at the gym. By the time Friday rolled around, my body was completely fatigued (in a good way). This coming week is a deload week which is good timing. I'm on the final week of the 3rd Phase of my program. I've been really good about rolling out and mobilizing before and after workouts, so I'm hoping to keep that up.
My goal for this week is to include a short cardio session (15 minutes) at the end of my 2 lifting days following Eric Cressey's High Performance Program.
Monday: Lower Body & Upper Body + 15 minutes low impact cardio
Tuesday: Olympic weightlifting (Snatches)
Wednesday: Lower Body & Upper Body + 15 minutes low impact cardio
Thursday: 2 x 500m row + plyo circuits
Friday: Olympic weightlifting (Cleans, Jerks)
Saturday: 3 x 400m sprints with 2 min rest between sets
Nutrition
This week was a lot of 'copy + paste' for my meals. It was the first week of the new year and I wanted it to be simple and somewhat basic for meals.
Lunches this week were turkey or chicken deli meat, celery, broccoli and a Greek yogurt dressing.
For my low carb nights I dug out some sirloin steak I had in my freezer.
One night I had it with steamed spinach and another night with cabbage and shrimp!
My high carb dinners were made up of a simple cheese quesadilla, white rice and my Slow Cooker Carnitas.
To follow up high carb dinners was of course DESSERT! SO Delicious product were on sale at 2 for $6...how could I pass up a deal like that!?
Over the weekend I made some tasty snacks as well! This is one of my go-to snacks, which I call a Deli Plate - ham, cheese and kosher pickles! The other is celery and sunflower seed butter.
I'm giving myself a reduction in macros this week.
Non-Lifting Day Macros:
- 1,405 Calories
- 155 g Protein
- 50 g Carbohydrates
- 65 g Fat
Lifting Day Macros:
- 1,700 Calories
- 150 g Protein
- 167 g Carbohydrates
- 48 g Fat
