Lean Bodies - Noel Clark

This past week has been a rough one. I jacked up neck and back and shoulder pretty badly. UGH. Now I HATE Doctors. I avoid them at all costs, but I have to say that I would go to my ART doc anytime! So basically what ART does to help treat injuries:

Injuries to soft tissue (ligaments, muscles, nerves) due to acute trauma or overuse result in inflammation and swelling in the area. This inflammation and swelling causes an increase in tension and internal pressure on surrounding structures. In order to stabilize the area, the body lays down scar tissue cross fibers. Scar tissue:

Restricts motion between muscle layers and nerves
Decreases circulation
Increases internal pressure and tension on the structures in the area
With nerve restriction, pain, numbness, and tingling can occur
Shortens muscles which tends to make them weak
This altered tissue tension and texture leads to pain, faulty mechanics, and a frustrating decrease in performance. A.R.T. removes scar tissue thereby eliminating pain and restoring normal muscle and nerve function

I am telling you they are the greatest. And mine especially. He has done everything possible to keep me in the gym and I have bruises to show for it LOL. I also had some Acupuncture done. I am feeling a ton better–not 100% but getting there! So just in case you are in the Atlanta area…look him up Dr Stephen LaScala at the Soft Tissue and Chiropractic clinic! He was actually referred to me from Erik’s ART Anthony Lombardi–I have also been to see him, but he is in Erik’s neck of the woods.

12 weeks left eeeeeek!

Yesterday I hit a PR that I was really excited about. At the end of my bulk this past fall I hit a PR on Push Press of 150. I have been wave loading in my latest program and hit my old PR last weekend of 150. The wave looked like this 135X5 140X3 145X1 then 140X5 145X3 and then 150X1. So this week I had Scott come with me in hopes that I would be able to hit a new PR. So I started with my second wave and hit 140X5 145X3 and 150X1. I brought my fractional plates into the gym with me because last weeks wave felt really heavy and I didn’t think I would be able to hit another wave with 5lb increases–BUT I was feeling pretty strong and decided to go for it. Now during the wave loading the 5 rep is always the hardest so I knew that 145X5 would tell me if I would get through this. I hit all 5…now I will say, the last rep was an ugly one, but I did get it. I got the other reps on video. So here it is… a new pr for me of 155. I know that if I tested my 1 rep max I would definitely be able to go higher. This was very exciting!

Since I am getting back into contest Prep mode, I sent my pics and measurements into Erik–for accountability.  I am about 15 weeks out from Nationals and it is time to start making sure I am cleaning things up and getting more focused about what i am going to need to do.  I was concerned that I had let things go too far these last couple of months, but Erik says that I will be ok.  I MIGHT try to get some pictures up of what I look like at this point.  Scary though LOL

 Spent the last weekend before the girls start back to school in Charleston with some good friends-the Perez family.  The girls had an absolute blast at their house.  We went to the beach and to the water park and they were the best hosts.  Our kids got along really well and it was just a really easy weekend.  I got to see Amy kick butt at her boot camp!  And then we were able to train at her gym.  That was fun as well.  I was able to hit my wave of push press: 135 X5, 140X3, 145X1 then 140X5, 145X3 and my old PR of 150X1.  I am really excited that at the end of this training period before I get knee deep in my diet, I will have surpassed my bulking PR on both Bench and Push Press. I think Scott is going to try to video the Push Press this next weekend–that is IF I survive my 8 turning 9 yearolds SLUMBER PARTY!

I have really been bad about keeping this up to date.  Life tends to get in the way sometimes.  Training is going really well.  I am loving it!  We have incorporated some of my favorites back.  I am building up to pass my previous PR in Push press and will definitely be hitting some numbers that I haven’t seen before on Bench.  I was working with 140 on Push Press yesterday and it was nice and smooth…pretty easy which surprised me considering that I hit a PR of 150 at the end of my bulk.  I will be working in the 140 range with bench as well this coming week which will be new territory for me.  I have always been uneasy about benching but now that I have the form down, I am feeling a bit more confident.  I am planning on getting some more video up hopefully hitting some of these goal numbers.  As for my diet, well, I have been pretty loose with that.  I am hoping that with seeing progress in the gym, I will get my head back in the game when it comes to nutrition–but then again, who knows.  I do know that when it comes time to buckle down for prep time for Nationals…I WILL be ready.  I think watching USAs last night, today and tonight is getting me excited about going at this again.  I think I need a little push.  I look forward to seeing who our new PROS will be after tonight!

Saturday was measurement and picture time. Since we began the cheat days three weeks ago, my weight has come down 5.5lbs and my measurements have been dropping weekly. So looks like things are progressing well. I am starting to see more changes to my lower body (FINALLY lol). Hopefully this week will be no exception. We might be doing one more Cheat day, but I am not sure. After that it is going to be 4 weeks all out till Jrs.

Cheat Day Update: I ate a ton. I gained 5.5lbs. I really thought it would have been more due to what I ate. I had….3 of these protein shakes that taste like a blizzard (C&C PP, lots of Peanut butter, and milk) Pancakes, so many starburst that it would make you sick LOL, a cheeseburger from Ted’s Montana Grill, Potato w/ sour cream (yes, the real stuff ), wheat thins (a ton), a few baked Dorritos, random spoonfuls of peanut butter, 1/2 cup of oatmeal, blueberries, and here is the kicker……I am not a huge ice cream fan, but we had a huge movie night with the girls on Saturday night and we did ice cream sundaes. I ended up getting a pint of Ben and Jerry’s that I had never tasted before called ‘Oatmeal Cookie Chunk’ I ate about 3/4 of it!!! As of this morning though, I am down 3lbs.

Erik changed up my program just a bit this week. A little more time in the gym for me which I like. I think I have one more cardio day, which still isn’t a lot. I will be training 4 days a week now. Diet is staying the same because it seems to be working I did take some pics…just not sure I am up for posting them.

Well, my weight is back down..Good and bad I guess.  Erik says I didn’t put on enough :(  We will take a look at measurements on Saturday to see what to do next.  I am going to drag my hubby to the gym with me tomorrow to get some more video.  I keep meaning to splice my cheat day together…it is just kind of funny!  My numbers in the gym went up again this week which always makes me happy.  I locked in an appointment with a make-up artist for Jr USAs.  Like I have said before…I want to bring the best package this show and I think that having a pro do it will give me a boost in confidence.  I am also getting some posing help.  More on that later (yay).  I spoke with Tammy Pies.  She is the Figure Pro that makes Elite Tan.  That is the tanner that I use and love.  I am going to get some good shots at the show and she said she would put them up on her website.  If you haven’t ever tried this stuff, it is really great.  No mishaps with turning green, goes on really dark, I really like it. 

I need to get some progress pics up but I do have a shot from last years back just before this same show and a shot taken about a week ago(I am sure that I have posted them before).  Bulk worked.

Well the results from last week were good ones.  My weight came all the way back down and I had really good measurement changes for 7 days.  So we are going with one more cheat day.  I am doing today very different though.  Slow and steady.  :)  Workouts this week were really good.  Felt strong but definitely was spent by last night.  Was able to up one of my sets of Snatches to 65lb.  I am going to take some more video of workouts next week.  Starting to really work on posing.  I have decided to hire someone for make-up for Jr USAs.  I really want to feel the most confident that I can going into this show.  Lots to do…6 weeks to do it

 I did take pics…As soon as Erik sees them I will try to get them up.  I was comparing shots from this time last year and am really happy with my changes from the off season.  It is amazing to me what you can do with the right changes in your lifting and eating with purpose

 Have a great weekend!  Train hard!

And the winner is……..

Sunday morning I woke up still completely full. LOL I knew I had step on that scale and was mentally ready.  I knew this was going to be water and glycogen…I was not in a fat storing mode-I did not undo all of my hard work (these are the things I was saying to myself ) 

I was 8lbs up.  WOW.  Still a lot to take in.  So I said 7 but my brother said 8.5.  He was closer but went over so I win LOLOLOLOL

Funny thing was, I didn’t look smooth, I still had ab veins, now my tummy–that was a whole other issue.  As the day progressed though, I started to look worse LOL.  I got smoother in my abs.  That is mainly where I saw the difference.  I just kept thinking that this water will come off.  Then Monday came and I jumped back on the scale - I was a little unsure because I still looked REALLY smooth and BOOM I WAS STILL 8LBS UP.  Ok, I have to admit, panic set in.  Erik’s first reaction was ‘that is weird’.  (faint)  BUT he just reassured me that it would come back off and that I would see…..  Tuesday came and I didn’t even want to get on the scale….stupid scale.  I could tell that water had come off because my abs were back- for me that seems to be the indicator.  Anyway, I got on and I was 6.5lbs down.  This to me is just crazy, that our bodies can do all this.  Today I am another .5lb down and I actually look better than I did last week.  So total, I am still up 1lb and it will be interesting to see on Saturday when I take my measurements, if they are lower than last week.  That was the game plan in the first place.  If things go as expected, this Saturday will be another cheat day.  I will definitely tackle this one differently than I did last week.  I am going to stay away from all the sugar.  It has just been too hard on my stomach.  The other great thing that I have noticed this week is that my work outs have been full of energy and I have had a great pump in the gym.  This compared to last week is huge for me because last week I was drained and dragging.  It was all I could do to get to the gym-even though the workouts would be strong, I just didn’t want to go.  And that as we all know is not a good sign!  So it looks like so far, the cheat day was a great success, both for my body and for my efforts in the gym.  Even though I hate being the guinea pig (lol) hopefully this can show how important or how valuable a tool these types of things incorporated into your diet can be.  And I mean that in regards to cheats or refeeds or cycling carbs…..It just doesn’t have to mean lower and lower and lower calories.

This past week has been a great training week. I have learned a lot of new movements and am really enjoying my training. I have now adjusted to not having my flavored water and don’t feel deprived now. I haven’t notice a difference in my physique but I have noticed a difference in my thirst. It went up without the flavoring. Now we are testing out another theory. My fibrous veggies. I noticed that with the high amount of salads I was eating … I was having tummy issues. Erik told me others that he was working with had similar effects and that I should cut that out for 2 weeks and see what happens :( Salad is the thing that basically helps fill my tummy. BYE BYE SALAD. So that night he told me I ate a HUGE salad; like a goodbye salad. From that, my stomach hurt. I feel so much better today and it has only been 2 days. So if you are having some bloating issues, you might want to look into the amount of fibrous veggies you are eating.

I have seen some nice changes in my physique lately. I have had a lot of ‘I told you so’ from Erik. There is going to be a HUGE change in my diet come next week. Something that I have never done (eek). Hopefully by next week I will have some interesting things to talk about in here.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter tomorrow I know we will.