Thursday 23 January 2014

Another Competition?

Originally my plan was to compete again in November 2014 at the Sandra Wickham Fall Classic, but I've recently started thinking about competing earlier.  I have not lost much muscle since my last competition (June 2012), and may have even gained some (although it's hard to tell at the moment).



Building muscle is the most time-consuming part of any competition.  It can take years to get a good muscle base in order to compete.  For my first competition, I trained hard and build muscle for a good 9-10 months before leaning out for the show.  To build muscle, you need to be in a calorie surplus, albeit a small one.  So it likely didn't hinder my goals that I was eating too much, but also weight training hard for quite awhile this time around.  I have some extra fat to shed, but I believe the muscle base is mostly there.

I have about 20 weeks until the Northern Classic in June, if I chose to compete earlier.  I ordered my shoes and started taking my diet plan a little more seriously.  I'm basically sticking with my original diet plan, but tracking my macros and trying to somewhat merge them together.  Worst case scenario, I won't get lean enough by that time (I'm not willing to go to extreme measures to drop the fat), and I'll do the show in November.

I also have a suit lined up that I will most likely buy.  A friend is selling it for a very reasonable price.


I'm feeling quite optimistic about this idea at the moment.  I am ready to start taking my diet and training more seriously again and get back into shape.  It doesn't hurt that a good friend is getting married in July and I'd like to fit into a cute bridesmaid dress!

And so it begins!


Wednesday 1 January 2014

No Excuses

It's really easy to skip a workout due to any multitude of reasons.  I do it all the time.  But which "reasons" are really just excuses?

Take kids, for example.  My gym doesn't have childcare on weekends or holidays, so I definitely can't take my 2.5 year old with me, but what about the baby?  I decided to give it a try on Boxing Day and ran it by the girl at the front desk.  She was fine with babies in carseats or equivalent, just not kids running around getting into things.

I decided to do lower body, as upper body would've been more difficult to find safe exercises to do with the baby.


I got a killer leg workout, during which my baby fell asleep!  So I decided to prolong my workout rather than waking her up.  If she had been at home I would've rushed home to her and likely cut my workout short.


The next day, I went to the walking track with some family members and the girls.  If I go alone, I'll usually alternate between the two girls in the carrier (with the oldest I can run without worrying about jogging her around too much), in the jogging stroller, and the oldest running alongside.


There are plenty of legitimate reasons to not be able to make it out for a workout.  One of my resolutions is to look critically at whether my "reason" is really an excuse.

Happy New Year!