Lean Bodies - Noel Clark

First off I have to say….I hate losing at anything.  I have ALWAYS been a fierce competitor–ALWAYS.  So, with that being said, this was an extremely difficult weekend for me.  And I dont’ mean because I didn’t ‘win’ the show.  I mean because I didn’t even get looked at. 

This is how it went.  Erik and I got there Friday night and I went to the mandatory meeting and found out that I have indeed shrunk 1 full inch LOL.  Apparently I am now 5′7″  (it is amazing how much my height has gone up and down this past year!!)  It didn’t matter though because the tallest height class was 5′6″ and above.  It was there that I discovered that there were about 135 girls and 6 height classes…yes, the nerves did kick in.  I believe mine was the largest at 26.  From there, Erik and I went back to my hotel room and did some posing practice.  We took a few shots then…Here is one that Erik liked:

After we finished that…of course he had to get on the computer LOLOLOL.  We finally decided it was time to go eat (yay)  I had the yummiest dinner ever.  We ended up at Outback..yes, Outback.  (this is Erik’s favorite place)  And the wait was long but fortunately for us, the owner was a Bodybuilder and came up to us and said “what time do you need to eat?”  We said NOW. lol  He sat us right then.  We had a great time and a delicious meal…Steak, Fries, and CHEESECAKE–yum.  It was pretty late by the time we finished and we went back to the hotel for some rest.

Saturday morning I got up and started to get ready.  When Erik came in to look at me I think that he was happy with how our plan came together.  I was hard and dry and fuller. 

I headed to the venue after a fat filled breakfast.  Our meeting began at 9 am and then it was a sit and wait thing.  We did not get on stage until almost NOON.   It was awful. 

I was nervous before heading out on stage but not too bad.  I did feel a bit nervous about my legs because right before our class went out, the head judge was telling the girls to stop flexing their legs and to relax their arms and shoulders (?????)  We were instructed to keep our arms at our sides and to be able to touch our legs with our thumbs –again ??????  This in the end, I believe hurt my posing.  So here are a few pics from the show. 

Number 117 next to me got 2nd place

This is where I think the posing hurt me…I was not flaring my lats..and making my back BIG.  Wait til next time!!!

Again, 117 next to me got 2nd place

Girl standing in front of me got 2nd and the girl standing in front of her got top 5 but I can’t remember if it was 3rd or 4th.

So after the 6 hours of prejudging…yes, you heard me correctly…6 hours, and not one call out, I would have to say that my spirits were crushed.  I did not want to come back to the night show.  And I have contemplated since then on whether or not to do Jr. NAtionals.  The good thing that has come out of all of this is that I have definitely discovered that there are some improvements that need to be made.  I did get out muscled in some aspects.  I wouldn’t say I was out conditioned though.  My legs did not look over powering like they had in the past either, which made me happy.  My goal is to start working on even bigger shoulders and more back development.  I have definite plans for the off season as well….MORE GLUTES!!!  Thanks for all the support and wonderful words after the show.  It was hard for me, but I am ready to get back down to business and start to improve on my weaknesses.  Thanks Erik, for taking the time to come all the way to Charleston and coach me through a tough weekend.  You know that I am pleased with all of the changes that we have made these past 6 months!!!  I couldn’t thank you enough for that…and hopefully some where down the line we can get rewarded for this hard work…thanks for everything.

Here is one other quick pic that I thought looked cool.  This was Friday morning

Quick update

Erik got in to Atlanta safely yesterday.  yay.  We ended up going to my gym and he trained while I sat on the floor looking like a tard!!lol  Then I had the chance to introduce him to my family.  The girls loved him…They were very excited to meet him. 

Last night we worked on posing..I just hope I can get it down before tomorrow.  It really helped having his opinion (as well as Elizabeth’s) on them.  

Baked all my goodies last night with supervision of course…I don’t know if I could have handled it on my Hahahaha. 

Got up this morning and put on my last coat of tan…I am much much darker than last year.  Looking forward to eating tonight :) 

We are packing up now and heading out.  I will take pics tonight and post up when we get settled. 

A BIG THANKS TO EVERYONE AT LEANBODIESFITNESS.COM FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT…!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The big stones on the suit are now drying…OH MY GOODNESS.  That took forever.  lol  Here is a picture

It is sooooo little Hahahaha.  I didn’t show the back, it is almost non existent!!

Well, Erik and I finally nailed down our diet plan for the next few days and I think that (fingers crossed) we made the right decision.   At least this way will know what to do for sure at Jr Nationals.

Got my nails done and toes too :)  and Elizabeth, my SIL, came and got a pedicure with me to keep me company.  (thank you).  I came back and put the finishing touches on my suit and it is drying.  Those big stones better not fall off.LOL 

Tomorrow I am going to pick up Erik and it is all going to start to feel a bit more real.  I am definitely excited.  Tanning starts in the morning..and I am hoping that it will only take 3 coats.

Here is me this morning…I will hopefully post more pics after tanning tomorrow…(erik told me I better stop cutting my head off-it is 4:30 in the morning..can you imagine lol)

Well, the suit arrived this morning.  It is really beautiful BUT TINY.  Holy cow.  I am in the process of stoning it now.  It is going to take forever. 

I had my first depletion workout this morning.  Low carbs and that workout..and go go go–leaves me very tired tonight.

I don’t know if you have read Erik’s blog..but he is going to Charleston with me!!  YAY!! Thank you Erik.  This will be my first time on a National stage and the first time Erik will get to see me compete.  He posted some pics of me about this same time before my comp last year and what a difference. It just showed me how much I had to learn to get this right.  So, if any of you are thinking of competing…I am telling you….Erik knows his stuff.  

We (well Erik lol) are trying to decide exactly what to do for the remainder of the week with my diet.  Last year went great, but my body is definitely different.  I seem to be a lot more cut up and vascular in the afternoon and evenings….even with the INSANE amount of water that I have been drinking. 

 Alright–gotta return to my crystals—I will post some pics tomorrow!!!

So I ordered my suits from Passion Fruit.  Well, I ordered my two piece and it got here last week.  When I tried it on I was really surprised at how well it fit…much different than mine…smaller and thinner..lays better on me.  Sooooo I got to thinking–I will stone this for Jr. Nationals and order a one piece, too.  When I talked to Berns about it, she said that the maker of the color, Midnight Marina, was discontinuing that line, I went ahead and ordered it.  I asked her if I could get it in time to stone for Jr Nationals.  When she responded that she could over night it on Monday-as in today-I was soooo excited.  SOOOO  I called Ali and interrogated her LOL—what size, what colors, glue or hotfix, She was extremely helpful..So thank you ALI!!!!!  I overnighted the crystals because I figured…if the suits fit THAT much better I might as well get them stoned for Jr USAs instead.  I knew that was going to be a tough task seeing that the suit gets here tomorrow and the show is Saturday, but I feel so much better in these suits that the added confidence will go along way. 

So I have finished the two piece…and am waiting for the one piece to arrive.  In the meantime, I am running all of the usual errands that you have to run prior to competition….make-up, jewelry, tanning stuff, food prep and of course planning for the morning of…YUM!!lol  I know I haven’t really talked about doing this show but I am going for it…we will see how well I fare for the first time on a National stage.  All of the planning that Erik and I have made for my physique has seemed to work out.  I am about 5-6 lbs leaner than last year(before water loss) and I have brought my legs down and my back up.  I am hoping for the best.  I have been practicing my posing..still don’t have the abs thing down but I am not as worried about that now.  I am starting to get excited…went through the whole self doubt part already and now I am putting my game face on…or I am, at least, going to fake it LOL. 

Water is high…couldn’t even make it home from the picking up my girls at school.  We had to stop at the McDonalds LOLOLOL.  The good thing is that with all of that water…I am not hungry- AT ALL.  It is 4:30 and I have 3 more meals to get in. :)  Cardio is done for the week—which I think a lot of people would be happy about but not me…that is my stress relief..lol…with three kids-you need a little bit of exercise. 

So here are a couple of pics of my suit and myself!!!  I will post everyday about pre comp stuff…the wonderful mind games, the one-piece suit, the wonderful tanning and then the fun drive to Charleston on Friday.  The good thing is that i will have company on that drive…

Please tell me it doesn’t suck LOL

Looks a little purple in that pic but it has a lot of navy in it.

Yes, another one LOL.  Well, my weight remained the same from last week but for the biweekly it dropped 2lbs.  I did drop again on my measurements from last week.  My waist came down again (almost 1/2inch yay) and I think the legs did a bit too.  I feel like now, with a lot of the fat off of me, I can tell where my flaws are.  My glutes need some work this next off season!!! sheesh.  But I am happy that my legs have come down. 

I got my new two piece from Passion Fruit yesterday.  It is UNSTONED  (why do I do this to myself???)  But it is beautiful.  I ended up speaking to Berns on the phone and she was absolutely wonderful.  The color I ended up choosing is called Midnight Marina.  It looks alot more Purpley in pictures, but it has a lot of navy in it.  I definitely like the darker colors better…more so when I am all tanned up :)  I was telling Berns on the phone about wanting a 1 piece eventually and she informed me that color was being discontinued and since it is actually her favorite on stage..Passion Fruit went ahead and purchased what was left of it.  SOOOOOO I ended up going ahead and ordering it..LOL.  They are going to make it this weekend and get it to me by TUESDAY!!! 

Here is an ab shot from tonight (new suit)

 (still trying to figure out how to size pics on the new blog.  They are either Hugantic or T-tiny)

I will have more pics and an interesting update tomorrow–once I figure out this picture thing.

Weigh in and Refeed

Friday, March 30th, 2007

Yesterday I did my PSMF-this was the first time that I have had only 5 meals…I am so spoiled!!! Got up this morning and weighed in and am now at my lowest weight 143.5. I didn’t weigh last year before my comps so this should be interesting. So, today I get to EAT. I have my refeed and I have planned it out a lot better this time. I am eating some of the yummy suggestions I have found on Leanbodiesfitness.com . Nachos, muffins, oatmeal, blueberries, and a little bit of Easter candy LOL. I am also going to order another suit today and plan on stoning it myself. I am getting it from Passion Fruit. After seeing how great Ali’s fit her this past weekend, it definitely sealed the deal for me (of course I am sure it had nothing to do with the body underneath the suit :wink:). Off to eat!!! lol

Tanning

Friday, March 30th, 2007

Tanning stinks. To me, this is the most annoying thing about competing - or one of them, at least. This is also something that I am going to have to change this year. As dark as I looked in my pictures that I sent to Erik and as dark as I thought I was at last year’s competitions, I was still too light on stage. It struck me again this weekend watching Ali and Terri putting on that stuff…coat after coat…Ali had to put more on when she got to the venue – I hate tanning. Now, I know that everyone uses Pro Tan or Jan Tana, everyone that is, BUT me. I use ELITE TAN. It is put out by Tammy Pies. I like the color of it…now if I can just get it darker. So after last year’s competition, I decided that I was really going to go for it this year and decided to buy one of those sprayers. Well, I have it now and I think this weekend I am going to get it out and try it…see what the color looks like while using that. Tammy says that it goes on more even and you don’t have to use as many coats. I want to practice before we get to competition time so I know what I am doing with that little machine!!! So what I will do this weekend is try it out and then take some pics to post up in here and see what you guys think…I probably won’t do it all the way like I would for the show, but just see how it sprays on. Wish me luck and stay tuned…

Weekend Update

Wednesday, March 28th, 2007

Just a quick update on my weekend. I headed up to Michigan to support three incredible women comepeting in an NPC Figure competition. They all looked amazing and one even qualified for Jr. Nationals (congrats Ali). Watching the show was very motivating for me as well as a little scary. I forgot how much I dread getting up on that stage. LOL. The weeks seem to be flying by and it is getting closer and closer to the time for me to get up there as well. I got my new program yesterday and was originally going to go to maintenance. Things have changed a bit. Diet is a little different-I think we are going to try and take a few more lbs off and see what we have. Erik’s only concern is coming in too hard-especially up top. I have a PSMF day before my Refeed day. Should be interesting LOL. My training changed a bit too. I was at a 3 day lifting week and it has been changed to 4 : two heavy days and two light days. I did the first light day this morning and it was awesome. Heart rate UP and sweating!!! I was definitely spent by the end of the workout. I was extremely vascular afterwards-veins in my arms, shoulders, and all over my abs…kind of gross actually LOL. Erik has also incorporated some more leg work. I asked him if he was scared…LOL You know, hugantic legs and all. He said NO. Well, I am–just a bit–those suckers have a mind of their own. He wants updates weekly now so that we can really keep track of my weight and measurements. Posing practice now ON. I have to figure out a way to present myself in the best way possible. This might mean down playing my legs. Maybe not spreading the floor so much and showing all of the quad separation. I will be taking pictures or video and watching it back to see what changes I want to make. Looks like it is back to vacuuming in those silly heels LOL.My camera didn’t work…but this one was given to me by Ali. So it is Ali, Erik and me!!

Biweekly

Friday, March 23rd, 2007

I turned in my biweekly this morning before heading to Michigan to cheer on three good friends: Terri, Ali, and Blondell who are competing Saturday. GOOD LUCK GIRLS!!!!Not a lot of changes this biweekly. After the swelling fiasco this past weekend I am happy to not be puffy!!lol. My weight did come down .5lb and my waist dropped too. One of the things that I have definitely seen a difference in is how vascular I am now, especially in my arms and abs. Here are a couple of Pictures from this morning.March 23March 23March 23

WHAT is going on with my body????

Thursday, March 22nd, 2007

Ok, so it has been a crazy week with my body. At the end of last week, I started feeling off. Hard to explain this feeling but I felt like things weren’t right with my body. I woke up, I think it was Friday, and my fingers and eyes were pretty swollen. Nothing terrible but definitely unusual for me. I ended up weighing myself to send to Erik and I was up 2lbs. This isn’t a big deal to some, but it seemed like a lot for me. I thought….well, must be water because I have been 100% on my diet. The next few days were pretty much the same…swelling of hands and eyes…Finally, after talking to Erik about it and having him ask if I had anything different or off plan I remembered that I started a new supplement last week. Nothing crazy just some BCAAs. This was the only thing that was new in my diet. So Erik told me to take it out. Monday was my last dose of the stuff and things started, slowly, to get a little better. No more sausage fingers LOL. Last night was when I felt my best. So I think that maybe there was something in this new supplement that might have caused this…not the BCAA’s themselves, but something…maybe the flavoring or the binding agent?? We aren’t positive but it seems to be the culprit. I wish I had taken some pictures this past weekend of my stomach so everyone could see how incredibly smooth I looked. I really did panic. After the swelling started, I ran in and tried to flex my abs for my husband and he just was like…um….where did they go. LOL Funny now, but definitely not then. Of course being in my pre-contest diet, I had a little meltdown, and got a hold of Erik and he tried to explain to me that if it was just water…easy come easy go. I of course thought…yeah yeah easy for you to say LOL…but again, he was right. (Don’t let this go to your head Erik LOL ) So I took some pictures of my abs for him last night and they are probably the leanest they have ever been…yay. I don’t do my biweekly til tomorrow, but I think that my weight might still be up. Should be interesting to see where I am at then. So here are the pictures I sent to Erik last night.

People will say anything!

Tuesday, March 20th, 2007

I have discovered, that in my gym, if you are a girl and lift heavy, then it is like being pregnant. Those of you who have never been pregnant haven’t experienced this before, but it seems to give any random person the right to come up and share their story or touch your belly???!!!!??? So lately, for me, the thing is girls with muscles. Why is it still not ok for a girl to have a muscular physique and still be feminine? The comments to me, recently have been: “You sure do look all bumpy in that picture.” “I don’t want to be THAT muscular…just tone” “What kind of squats do you do, I don’t want legs that big” First of all, who says that to someone? LOL. I think the thing that frustrates me the most is that I don’t think I look THAT muscular. When I think of that, I think of those girls that I saw at the Arnold. The ones that cannot get that physique without a little (or a lot) of help. When I talk to the average woman, who hasn’t picked up a weight in her life, her first response is–ewww I don’t want to get too bulky and look like a man. Last I checked…without drugs, we didn’t carry the Testosterone to do that. Not to mention that lifting weights can give you a beautiful, feminine shape. Why does this cardio only fitness craze seem to keep going and going and going? When I get to the gym, all of the cardio equipment is taken by women who have been going at it for seemingly hours and look exactly the same, day in and day out. And these women are not overweight. BUT they have absolutely no shape to them…it is what i would call: skinny fat. I just keep thinking that if they would just pick up a DB….wow, what they could do to their bodies. I just hate that there is still this impression that lifting weights will make you look big and bulky. I just want to scream at themMUSCLES AREN’T JUST FOR BOYS

Choices

Friday, March 16th, 2007

This is going to be a short one!!!I have been reading a ton about diet lately. That seems to be the thing that derails most people’s fitness goals. I don’t see or hear many comments on how it is too hard to follow your training program or you just don’t make it to the gym. BUT I have heard constantly how difficult it is to eat on plan, or stay away from unhealthy foods, or stay on track when social situations arise. I too find that if I am going to have a moment of weakness, it isn’t going to be because I can’t make it to the gym, it is going to be because I chose to eat the wrong food. BUT I think that the key to that sentence is that I CHOSE to eat it. I am also a little frustrated by hearing how some think that the diet is so easy for ‘others’ while just so very difficult for them. I think that to get into shape, really good shape, you are going to have to stick to your diet. AND THIS IS NOT EASY. And it is not easy for anyone. I think that we all have social gatherings or birthdays or Friday nights out with friends or you name it….and it would be nice to have that glass of wine or that dessert-but the thing is WE CHOOSE to either eat it or not. It isn’t easy to say NO all the time but it is a choice. I think that if it was truly easy for anyone, we would all have THAT physique, the physique we are all striving to obtain. Unfortunately it’s difficult for all of us, so just try to make your choices the right choices and if you stumble…pick yourself back up and keep moving forward.

Wait til you have kids!!

Sunday, March 11th, 2007

So for the last week or two, I have had several women come up to me and ask me about my training and how old I was. As soon as I answered them, their response to me was one of the following:”Wait til you have kids.”“Enjoy that body while it lasts, once you have kids you can kiss that goodbye”“I used to look like that, but I have two children now”“I just don’t have time to work out like you need to with my family and everything”Most of the time I would just smile or something because they weren’t really looking for a response from me anyway. Having three young children of my own, I understand the difficulty of making fitness and nutrition an important part of you life. I understand that pregnancy takes a toll on your body: loose skin, extra fat, stretch marks…to name a few. I also understand how hard it is to make time for the workouts and eat right because you are tired or busy or you just don’t want to. BUT—it is possible and I believe it is important. Getting back in shape after having a baby is hard work. It takes time and commitment and effort. BUT IT IS POSSIBLE. There are so many reasons out there that we use to NOT do it…to not get to the gym….to not eat the right foods…to not care about our health. I think that we need to spend more time focusing on the reasons why we NEED to get back in the gym and in shape: to improve our health, to be a stress reliever, to improve our confidence and self-image and, the most important to me, to be a role model to our children. I just don’t want mom’s to think that once you have become a mom, that you have to sacrifice both your health and your desire to be FIT or IN SHAPE or heaven forbid…a hot mom!!!

Am I doing enough?

Friday, March 9th, 2007

First off, I am a few days past my refeed and all that weight gain is off(it was actually 4lbs not 3 LOL) That definitely makes me feel better. I am going to weigh myself Monday before my next refeed to see if anymore comes off. This biweekly was good: legs came down a bit, as well as hips. I decided to put pics from before we started this cut and compare them to now because I need to see the changes.

before March 9

My right leg has dropped 3 3/8 inches while my left leg has come down 3 inches. There has always been a discrepancy in my leg size–right has always been bigger so it is great that the right leg is dropping more.

Jan

March 9

My waist has dropped 2 1/8 inches and my Navel has dropped 2 3/8 inches.

Jan

March 9

March 9 ( don’t you love the kid’s towels LOL)

Another significant drop for me has been in my hips–a loss of 2 1/2 inches. And of course other spots like arms and calves.

The reason for me to do this today is that sometimes we all need to be reminded how far we have come. The leaner you get, the more difficult it becomes to see the changes on a biweekly basis than it was at the beginning. I start to feel myself get down or worried that I am not where I want to be, or that I am not working hard enough, or that I am not following the plan that Erik has laid out for me. Self doubt is a huge part of this competition game that we play. I don’t think there is a person out there, no matter what their physique looks like that, that doesn’t go through feelings of SELF DOUBT. This is just my way, today, to combat those feelings and remind myself that I have worked hard, and I will continue to work hard, and push past the days, like this, where I start to wonder..AM I DOING ENOUGH!

Refeed update

Tuesday, March 6th, 2007

So yesterday, like I had posted last, was my first refeed. The one thing that I will do differently for the next one is plan it out better. If you aren’t use to eating that many carbs in a day AND you are spoiled enough to have your meals already laid out for you (thank you Erik), you can get behind and have to eat a lot-later in the day. That was the only thing that I didn’t like about yesterday, I felt like I was playing catch up. Overall though I didn’t feel sluggish or have an upset stomach or anything - just nice and full!! I got to eat Bagels, cereal, BAKED CHIPS (yummy), Low fat granola bar, sweet potatoes, pretzels, oatmeal, candy, and fruit. Wow, looking at that–seems like a ton LOL. When I woke up this morning to do my cardio I didn’t feel any different than I do on a High carb day (when I was cycling them). I was curious to see what the scale said. I went up 3lbs. Not sure if that is a normal amount or not, but I will be interested to see what happens when I weigh in for my biweekly on Friday. I will say,when I did my cardio this morning, it was a cake walk. I am usually pretty tired or drained when I have to do intervals and SS, but the 40 minute run was great. I am also not even the slightest bit hungry, which is good because there are no yummy carbs in my plan for today LOL. Can’t wait to see new changes from this. Not to mention, I have a new workout plan which I am enjoying. Going to be trying to get my bench up I also want to say thank you all for all of the support and kind words in this blog. It is amazing and you have no idea how motivating it is for me.

First Refeed

Monday, March 5th, 2007

Alright so this is my first refeed. For me, Erik has put this in to my diet to do every 7 days. It is a large amount of Carbs. Part of me is excited about eating all of this, but the other part thinks…this goes against everything (in my head) I am trying to do to diet down for my show. I know that it is actually going to help lose fat, but when you are restricting and then all of a sudden BOOM lots of carbs….I don’t know….just something that I will have to get used to. So for today my intake is 400g of carbs while eliminating any added fat to my meals and keeping my protein the same. I can use things like bagels, potatoes, rice, baked chips, pancakes, pasta, some candy, and oatmeal. (things like that) I told Erik that I could eat it all in oatmeal, but he said that wouldn’t be such a great idea with all the fiber that is in it LOLOLOL. Oh well, I tried. I have also heard that the scale can be very crazy after a refeed or…not at all. So I thought I would weigh myself this morning and again tomorrow to see the difference. I have a biweekly on Friday as well, and I can see what changes there are, if any, this makes in scale weight. What I am realizing is that it will take some planning….I thought I was doing well for my first two meals and I got in 84 carbs total. I have 4 more meals to go and over 300 carbs to eat. LOL I will let you know what happens!

Arnold weekend

Saturday, March 3rd, 2007

What a weekend - and it’s not even over yet! It started off with the amateur Arnold Figure show. We went to that on Friday morning to get a look at the girls there and more important, the judging. I, again, was very confused by what they were looking for. Each class seemed to be judged differently. I did not stay for the finals, so I will be interested to see the pictures online. The hardest class looked to be the C class. I took a few pictures from that show. This is D classThat night I got a chance to go to the Pro women’s show. They had the Fitness, Figure and Women’s Body building. I was again surprised at the placing in figure. Mary Elizabeth Lado took first, Amanda Savell received 2nd, Soonia Adcock 3th, Latisha Wilder 4th, Valerie Waugaman got 5th and Aliotti received 6th. I think this was Amanda Savall’s show and Valerie looked better here at the Arnold than she did at the O late last year. Newcomer Briana (can’t remenber her last name) did not place and it really seemed that she needed more muscle to compete against this line up. This again makes me think that the amateur level and pro level are not doing a great job meshing with each other. I did get a chance to see Terri from Leanbodiesfitness.com before the show and look forward to watching her in 3 weeks compete up in Michigan.Saturday morning was spent at the expo. I thought the O was crowded, it didn’t even compare to this. There were soooo many people there. I met Valerie Waugaman, Amanda Savell, and Kim Klein. I had a very interesting conversation with Valerie. She did say to me that the judges commented to her not to tighten up her legs so much, which I found amusing considering that is what I am working on myself. She also said to me that she was unwilling to do, politically, what it would take to win. Hmmmmmm That doesn’t sound very good. Here are a few pics from that event.Showing off equipment!

Here is a picture of Valerie and me at the expo

Here is another with Amanda Savell

I swear I am not that pale

One more with Kim Klein who won the Fitness category

That one was for you Erik

They were all very nice and took time to really talk to me. Amanda looked incredible in person.

Tonight is the Men’s Bodybuilding finals as well as the UFC. Columbus is packed with people. Hopefully I will update this tomorrow when I get back home.

Weekend pics, updated plan and the Arnold

Thursday, March 1st, 2007

This is going to be quite a scatter brained post!! I have a couple of random pictures from this past weekend when Erik came in town. As I have said before, the video shoot was fun….well, maybe more like tiring!lol We planned on taking more still pictures but time was critical and we just seemed to move from exercise to exercise. Erik did manage to get one picture while we were shooting, now it isn’t the best but here it is: Video shootWe also tried to a picture of the ab veins LOL (Ali..it is hard!!!:) )We had to work to get that one. hahaha.Here is one more. This is definitely the best they have looked.

I also got an updated plan yesterday. Erik and I have discussed several different options right now on what to do. I am contemplating doing a show very soon and would need to continue to diet down for it, but if I choose not to do it, we will end up going to maintenance for a week or two. Erik’s concern is that I will be too lean for the judges liking. My nutrition has changed from carb cycling to getting refeeds. I have never done a refeed so this should be fun LOL. The workouts have changed as well. I am not doing the depletion workouts any longer. I am still lifting 3 days a week: two upper and one lower (glute focused) and I have been instructed to squeeeze squeeze squeeze my quads….whenever I think about it. Don’t want them to get soft while not training them-yuck.

Last, but not least, I am headed to the Arnold in Ohio this afternoon. I am very interested to see the amateur show. I want to see how the judging is going. So far this year I have seen two different competition results pictures and haven’t been pleased. I of course will get a chance to meet up with some fellow leanbodiesfitness.com people as well. That is always a perk. Hopefully I will be able to take a few pictures and post them in here while I am in Ohio!

A promise is a promise

Wednesday, February 28th, 2007

I talked to Erik this weekend about posting a BEFORE pic. And when I say before…I mean 3 months before my first show last year because that is when I decided to just go for it. I always say that you have to start somewhere. I am sure this will cause a lot of laughter, but I told Erik, Cindy and Ileen (from leanbodiesfitness.com) that I would post it up. Just to give you a little bit of background…I lifted before, but not effectively and my nutrition was terrible. I ate good during the week and ate WHATEVER during the weekend. I mainly wanted to post this because I had a talk with someone last night who is starting from the beginning-making good progress-but not where she wants to be and I think it is important that people realize we all have to start from somewhere! Here is a back shot:May 2006AUG 2006(first competition)February 2007February 2007Keep working hard, keep motivated and watch your body change. It is amazing what time, proper training, and nutrition (thank you Erik) can do for you. It is possible to achieve your goals!!! STAY WITH IT!!!

Do you want the physique or not?

Tuesday, February 27th, 2007

That title sounded harsh LOL, but there has been a lot of talk on forums, with family, with friends about not being able to obtain a certain physique. What I have come to find out this past year is that the key to a desired look is your nutrition. I think I always knew this, but never wanted to accept it! I would rather have worked out a million times a week than give up some splurge I might be taking. I finally got to the point where I WANTED to look different. I was never what you would consider fat, but I wanted to have a body that looked different, looked like ‘hey, that girl works out.’ I didn’t want to look good for being a mommy, I wanted to look good period . After that decision, it was all down hill from there. I got a hold of my diet and started tracking what I was eating…..holy cow….no wonder I wasn’t where I wanted to be. I think that is the first step in understanding why you look the way you do, actually writing down your calories (and being honest about it!) and seeing it in black and white - you get a grip of what you are actually doing to yourself. I also think that after I hired Erik and received actual meal plans and paid attention to what I was eating and why I was eating it, I understood better. This brings me back to my original thought. Do you want the physique or not? I see many people, family, friends - that say - I don’t get it, I ate really well, I only cheated a tiny tiny bit. What I think that we do is that we cheat a tiny bit here, a tiny bit there and those tiny bits add up. For me, when I get a plan from Erik, I follow it…to a T. If I start adding or substituting here and there it defeats the purpose of the diet. When something says 1/2 oz of almonds, I eat a 1/2 oz. Do I want to eat the can - well, yes LOL but I know that in the end, that will not get me where I want to be and I will just end up frustrated and disappointed with myself. If you are cheating all the time…you can’t possibly expect to get the body you are looking for. Wanting to have a physique that is different, elite, above average, whatever you want to call it, takes WORK and EFFORT and DISCIPLINE and SELF-CONTROL. It is not easy. Not for me, not for anyone. Like we have all heard 100 times, if it was easy, everyone would look that way. But, in the end, that is what is going to set you apart from others, that is what is going to make you shine on stage, that is what is going to make you look good for being you…..not for being a mommy!!

Weekend Update

Sunday, February 25th, 2007

What a weekend! I don’t think it is possible to me more tired or more sore Erik got in town on Friday and we ended up heading to the gym to train later that afternoon. I did chin ups for the first time and they felt really good!!! Erik also helped me out a lot with form and pushed me hard through my workout. (all this while training himself ) We ended up going to dinner with Cindy and Ileen and talked fat loss for quite a while. LOL Saturday was the day we had planned to do the Video shoot for all the lifts for Erik to use on his website for his clients. What an awesome resource it will be. I hope it turns out as good as we hope it will. That was by far the hardest and longest workout I have ever done. We were there from 3:30 until 7:30. I was already sore going into the shoot and by the end…..oh my LOL.. It was a great experience and I really thank Erik for asking me to be a part of it all….I hope I did ok!Also while Erik was here I received my altered suit and was able to show him. I got the approval!! We were also able to practice just a little bit on posing. One of the points that he made to me was that when I stand tall on stage I lose all ab definition. So, we worked on different stances and how to position myself to make them pop. I think that we figured it out….Now I just need to practice practice practice. We also got into a very lengthy discussion about fat loss and following your diet. I think I am going to write about that conversation tomorrow.Overall it was a very productive weekend and I enjoyed having him here! Can’t wait to see how everything turns out.

FEB 23 Biweekly

Friday, February 23rd, 2007

The past two weeks have been very difficult at my house, with a sick family and not feeling the greatest myself. Last week I weighed in for Erik and had dropped 2 lbs in a week, which is a lot for me. This was due to 6 missed meals that week. I thought that my weight would bounce back a little this week due to being back on plan, but unfortunately I missed about 3 more meals due to just not feeling 100%. This morning I weighed in and had dropped 2.5 more lbs. So over the past two weeks I lost 4.5 lbs. My measurements were down as well:Navel-dropped 1″ This is the smallest I have ever been Waist dropped 1/8Right Leg dropped 1″Left leg dropped 1″Arms dropped 3/8″

Calves dropped 1/4

Erik’s comments to me were that I was leaning out too quickly for the date of my show. Especially with the way figure competitions are heading, with a smoother look. I am sure that we will be going to maintenance at some point, which for some reason I hate Maybe it is the lack of any visible progress. So here are some updated pics

February 15

February 23

February 8th

February 23

Double Bicep and Full body from this Morning!

Looking forward to seeing Erik this weekend and doing the video. I will post an update on all that this weekend

Support

Tuesday, February 20th, 2007

I know that as a competitor you don’t always get the support you need or the response you think you are going to get when trying to reach your goals. I have had people say everything to me, from ”why would you want to do that” to”It is just one chip, jeez!” or “You aren’t seriously taking that chicken in that baggie with you? This getting a little obsessive don’t you think?” and “you’re too skinny” or “Aren’t you worried about being too muscular?” And these comments are coming from friends and family members that you just assume would be there to pump you up and support you along this journey. But then there is that one comment or moment, that either makes you forget about those negative ones or makes you realize that this IS a positive goal and that you are being supported. Which leads me to what happened at breakfast yesterday morning. We decided to take the girls to breakfast yesterday because they had finally gotten their appetites back from being sick. I decided to go ahead and have my planned meal at home before we left because, for me, that was just easier and I knew that way I wouldn’t be tempted because I LOVE BREAKFAST. lol When we got to the restaurant the girls were all excited about ordering pancakes and syrup and hasbrowns……yum yum yum. So when the waiter got to our table he took their order and then asked what I would like. I told him that I wasn’t ordering anything. He made this huge deal about it (in a cute way) about how could I possibly come to the best restaurant in town and not order anything, and that if I was trying to be health conscious, they could accomodate that. I listened and was about to say no thank you when my 3 year old, sitting next to me, started to explain to this man that mommy wasn’t allowed to eat this food, ”she is doing a comatition(competition) and doesn’t even eat my yogurt!” This made me smile. It reminded me that I have support from some very important people - my family - and that I am being a role model for the most important people - my girls.

What keeps you going

Sunday, February 18th, 2007

It was one of THOSE days. The kind where you really REALLY don’t want to go to the gym, especially since you are doing just the cardio. One of those days that no matter how much progress you have made or how fit you are looking, you feel fat or bloated or just something. This is one of the first days I have had like THAT since I started cutting seven weeks ago. I got up this morning and thought…yuck..I don’t want to do this. But then I dragged myself out of bed and went to the gym. I finished the first part of my cardio and was moving to the second part and seriously thought-hmm just might not do this. So I start running anyway and about half way through I am thinking there is no way I am going to finish this run. Then, I realize that this old lady behind me on the PreCor eliptical thingy has been on it for about 90min. Seriously-90minutes. (atleast) I am thinking, no way can I quit running when all I am having to do at this point is 40 min. So as the minutes tick by, that lady is still truckin…and she is working too..:) When I finally finish my cardio this morning and get home, I am so thankful that I didn’t quit. AND that lady had no idea that she is the reason that I didn’t. You just never know who you are motivating - to go to the gym, or to not have that candy, or to start working out - just by doing what you are doing. My point is, DO IT even when you don’t want to, don’t quit, don’t give up. This is what sets you apart…..this is what will make you reach your goals…this is what just might inspire someone else along the way-ICING.Thank you old marathon PRECOR lady!!!

Quick Update

Friday, February 16th, 2007

Well, I meant to get back on here before now but I have had a house full of sick kids. So I wanted to jump on and give a quick update of where I am. I took some measurements and weighed this morning. It isn’t a biweekly but Erik is asking for this on a weekly basis just to make sure I am progressing. Like I said there has been a bit of a stomach thing running through my house and although I haven’t really gotten the virus, I ended up skipping about 6 meals this past week which definitely affected my weight. This past week I dropped 2lbs which for me is a lot. Especially considering I only dropped .5 lb the two weeks prior. My leg measurements came down as well. The right and left leg dropped another 5/8 inch each. My waist and bellybutton measurements stayed the same and my hips went down another 1/4 inch. This is all in just a week. I am curious to see if by eating back on plan this next week, if i will put back on some of the weight that I lost. Here are a couple shots….February 9February 16Here is just a back relax picture from this morning.February 16