18 Weeks Out: Off Season Gone in a Flash

There was a time, a few weeks ago, where I wasn't even sure if I was going to prep. I tend to get a little hard on myself, and the guilty feeling can weigh on a person like no other. However, it IS coming. I do not wish to continue wasting any more time... I want to see the improvements I have made in my muscularity, and I KNOW they are there! My booty is SUPA round... Am I itching to see some good booty contest photos? HELLS YES!

18 Weeks Out... From What?
I am currently 18 weeks out tomorrow from the Emerald Cup in Bellevue, WA (Seattle for those across the country). I have a few other shows I am considering, but really want to experience a big show like the Emerald. I am also considering the Empire Classic, which is the following weekend here in Spokane. A gf of mine wants to do the Tanji Johnson at the end of March, but I'm certain I won't be ready by then.

I have really been wanting to do the Emerald Cup (I cancelled on this last year due to a tight budget), and as we found out at my first competition last year, my muscularity is a bit more than the local shows. :)  At the Empire Classic, they were looking for a “softer” look in Bikini… (Side Rant: This seriously pisses me off. It’s an effing Body Building competition and judges were looking for a soft look?!) But I’m an adult and will be gracious about my placing (HAHA). It just goes to show that my physique would probably do better in a bigger show.

I've got a couple tricks (and perhaps a few more shows) up my sleeve, but we'll talk about that when the time comes. :)

Oh, improvement season.
Yeah sure, I liked my off season alright. A little too much some days. I can still barely imagine having gone through prep last year like I did. My work life went crazy and I'm a bit nervous about juggling it all again, in addition to Bang’s Lawn Care again… Which I fully expect to be busier than last year. Holy prep gods, help me.

But to be really honest, I found the off season just to be confusing! I almost felt like I ended up with a skewed view of food and working out. It took me a LONG time to not feel conflicted about eating a whole wheat english muffin with almond butter. And it took all of my mental strength not to use working out as a "punishment" for eating bad.

On the other hand, it was really nice to not NEED to be concerned with EVERYTHING! I slept in, I drank sugary coffees when I felt like it, I did lifts with NO CARDIO. Bliss.

Other bonuses about off season? Lifting heavy, bigger boobs, not being all shakey & depleted all the time. Oh yeah, and HAVING time!!

My main offseason focuses were the BOOTAY and my abs. I have had no abs to this point, and can't wait to see them poke out like little hawaiian sweet rolls (yeah, prep time=food analogies). And that ass has been hurting all year. I tried a difficult rep scheme & weekly schedule geared towards gains to see what I could pull out. I get accused of over-training ALL. The. Time. from people in the gym, but I'm not a huge believer in overtraining. I think its a lot more difficult to overtrain than people think. With proper nutrition, your body can do amazing things you couldn't even fathom.

That all being said, I trained my glutes 3x a week in my off season (Monday - quads/glutes, Weds- hams/glutes, Fri-glutes), and my abs 3x a week. Spaced all appropriately for rest, it was difficult and my legs always hurt. It is important to have the proper nutrition, sleep, and stretching if going this route! I will admit that I struggled with stretching toward the end of this year, and therefore hurt my SI (again) but this is a feasible thing if you're looking to make big improvements! Really hoping to see some big improvements in the leg overall! Quads, glutes, hams... I want it all!

Prep Time.
Lets go. Starting off nice and easy with low low cardio. Just nice, steady and consistent! I have a hard enough time getting the will to do cardio, so starting slow is my best bet. I’m starting at a higher weight this year, since I didn’t do as great of a job at keeping lean year round… Happy marriage weight! I guess it's just another chance to learn that lesson.

I’ve been dragging my heels a bit on the morning cardio, but it will happen! Diet is in lockdown, and I’m gearing up for a hard 5 months of training.

Who Makes Goals During Prep?
I want to know... Who out there has goals to reach within prep? Do you have a weight goal? Or a body fat goal? Are you looking for improvement photos?? I just want to know.

My top goal this prep, is to see improvements on my physique. I've continued to lift and lift a lot and lift a lot of heavy things, so I NEED to see what's under here. :) And the real improvement I want to see, is AGAIN the booty lol... I want stage Glutes better than this! (Justine Munro glutes, anyone?)

Let’s go BIKINI BEAST!!!

Improvement Season Begins

I caught that darn bug. But I'm pretty sure we all knew I would :) *SIGH* It was an amazing experience. I feel like I can never really explain it quite right, but the end feeling... the completion... the result of stepping on stage perfectly proud of what you have done... One can only experience it for themselves to truly empathize with what I'm talking about.

From what I understand, its like giving birth. And being born. Women go through months and months of discomfort to come to the end which is hours upon hours of pain... To be presented with a beautiful child coming straight from their own body. And competing is similar: we work for months constantly tired and uncomfortable. And come peak week, it can be painful lol. Except in the end we present something so much more amazing than we could ever predict or imagine. When I was imagining the package I would bring to the stage, it wasn't this...

I'm being serious! I definitely didn't expect it. Because at one point, I was this....

Going from the longest week of my life down to the shortest minutes of my life, it really was such an incredible experience. I was so glad that I took the last couple of days off before the show, really just to get all my stuff done... errands and appointments.

Ugh errands, they wear me the eff out. Wednesday night after work, I headed straight to Huckleberry's. For those that don't live in this area, they're really the only "health food"/"yuppy" place in the city. We only recently got a Trader Joe's, there is no Whole Foods around. Lame. And the reason I needed to go there specifically was because they're the only place that sells my favorite beer.

FireWeed!

After my workout, I headed to Wal-mart for some things. On Thursday, I met with my prep coach in the morning and then headed straight to get waxed. Oh man. That poor girl saw more of me than she probably ever wanted to. Full legs, underarms, Brazilian, and eyebrows. If errands didn't wear me out, that did. Results are totally worth it. ;)

Waxing almost everywhere lol, nails did, toes did and tan... All the running around wore me out! And driving with the spray tan... UGH! But let me tell you a little lesson I learned... No one can tell your tan smudges from the stage. Just sayin... I worried way too much about nothing.

And I have to admit, I wasn't even remotely nervous. It was fun being back stage seeing people snack on gummi bears and jelly beans, watching the Physique guys gorge on Krispy Kremes after they were done with the stage. I learned all about that unspoken rule of helping other competitors... I taped no less than 3 bikinis to boobs & bootys. It was also fun meeting the other girls my coach trains! I love that backstage, no one appears super competitive. Because we all know at that point, there is nothing we can do to get better. When it came time to take the stage, I knew in that moment that I could not have done anything differently. 

The reality is that at this very moment in time, I could not have done any better. We go through long periods of time controlling ourselves and holding onto our self-discipline and working intensely on our character to obtain something we want. But we aren't perfect, and we can't expect to be perfect. We can only expect to do our best. And if this is where my body is its best at this very moment, then that was ME doing my best.

And I think this took away the nerves and anxiety, because I knew. And I am on cloud 9.

Hmmm, maybe it isn't taught how to pose for the money shot.. :)

 I took second in Bikini Class A. I was told that the judges were looking for a softer and rounder look with the shift in all divisions. However! 2nd place for my first competition?! I'll take that!  

My first meal ended up being a beer and a Subway BLT... in bed. No joke, I took a shower and got in bed with my food... Bliss. Later we decided to go out for a nice Seafood dinner at the Coeur d' Alene Resort.

And thus begins the off-season! :) I was sore ALL weekend from the show. Flexing & posing so long made me incredibly sore in my quads, abs & back! But I spent Monday right back on track with the diet so I can ease carbs back in, was all over the water even though it made me realize how bloated I truly was haha! And was right back on cardio & weights to put these calories to use. I'm itching to plan my next shows, but excited for time to improve and work on wedding & business stuff.  I'll update with my professional photos & video when I get it!

Thanks for all your support everyone! :) You guys kept me going!