Bikini Prep 101

I have found the world of bikini prep very fascinating so far.  As I embark on my first show I am very much coming to you as a novice in this whole ordeal so I hope to deliver my experience with very fresh eyes.  With that being said there are many topics that I can't or won’t be able to speak to until the day of the show such as pressure, psychology, and presence of mind.

What I can speak to at this point is the drive it takes to complete a task such as this.  It obviously starts with some sort of desire to change your body of which anyone can do with a little elbow grease (gym, clean eating and a consistent routine).  Ultimately the desire turns to some sort of determination to take your body to another level.  I think the competition for some is just a way to hold one’s self accountable by achieving a higher goal.  Walking  across a stage where 700-1000  peer at you or judge you will definately hold you accountable. LOL.  I know for myself when I even think about eating something not on my diet or missing a workout I think of all of those people and think... Don't Do It! Walk Away from the donut and then I do... walk away!

It requires much planning and focus to achieve this goal.  Never before have I had to plan for my meals or plan what exercise I will do even weeks out. Mostly everything is very specific and methodical so not much is left to chance.  Even my recent weigh in and body measurements are geared to have a specific outcome.  To go down and to weigh less but all this happens in a way that can be counted on.  The foods I eat and the exercise should yield certain results and that doesn't just happen by chance.  Even body fat has to be tracked and measured so that adjustments can be made along the way.  This is because everyone is different so a person’s body responds in kind but for the most part the system should work if the application is followed.

The final part of prep which will most likely be the focal point of future blogs will be the actual work that it takes to achieve a bikini prep body.  What will be covered are the diets that must be followed, the exercise routines that go into it, and the steps that should be put in place to compete on a stage.

Sweat & Intensity

One common concern I hear from women is that they workout and eat right an yet results are minimum at best. This subject drives an interesting discussion for me.  I struggled with the same issue for years until this recent transformation.  There could be countless reasons for someone to not see any results, but I can only speak from my experience.

The first area in my fitness routine that I saw an opportunity for improvement was my intensity during my workouts.  Intensity of a workout should be at ten during your workout.  If you think about it what is a level three or four on the intensity scale going to do?  You want to work like you are in a full on sprint mode during your workout.  Its only 30-45 minutes, for maximum effectiveness your heart rate should be elevated and you must be exercising rigorously or else you might as well sit back down on the couch.  Tell yourself "self if it doesn't burn or hurt it’s a waste of time".  That is literally the end of the matter because if you don't bring energy you simply are wasting your time.  I know its hard, but guess what who cares! Do you or do you not want to get in shape? Do you want to have people coming up to you saying, “What are you doing to look so good?”  Do you want to look in the mirror naked and like what you see?  Well if you answered yes to those questions then you will want to work hard 45 min 3-4 times per week.  Besides intensity its also good to focus on creating a routine so you have purpose while at the gym.  

The second major problem I had in my past was being consistent with my eating and workout. During the times in my life that I did exercise or try a diet I never stuck with it for long (longer than a month to be honest).  I started and stopped so many diets that one could easily label me as a “yoyo dieter”.  I have tried the abs diet, apple a day diet, Atkins diet, body cleanse diet, cabbage soup diet, calorie restriction diets, detox diets, eating for life diet, eating for your type diet, eat to live diet, eat so you don't die diet, eat every other day diet, HCG diet, Jenny Craig, P90X Nutrition Plan diet, raw food cleanse, Skinny B diet, weight watchers diet, and probably many more I want to forget like the lemonade diet (or master cleanse) etc.  I can’t say that one or all of these diets are bad, some may have great methods and if applied I would be perfectly skinny and healthy. The whole point of any diet is that it must be sustainable for life.  Why?  Well, think about it, in order to be consistent it must be something you can do consistently, so the changes will last.  That's why people who are successful change their eating habits so it's more of a lifestyle, they are living and eating in a way that is conducive for their way of life.  That is what’s working for me since making the change. My lifestyle allows me to wake up at 4a.m. and dedicate two hours to the gym.  I would work with the time I had if I couldn’t make it in the morning.  I would go at lunch time, walk after work, or go on weekends.  The pattern is simple,  I go when I can and do what is necessary to maintain my consistent lifestyle.

September Madness

Hi to all my friends and family. I hope September is treating you well! Perhaps you are thinking where has the time gone.  September is almost over and so is 2012 and yet I am busier than ever. My workouts have developed over time with more structure and consistency.  As I develop my bikini training goals I have over time come to terms with a more realistic approach to my training.  The more grounded and reasonable my goals are the more I can see this becoming a way of life for me permanently.  Currently my STS trainer works with me 2 out of the 4 days of weight training and I make sure I get 5-6 days of cardio (45 min on elliptical, stair master, or running) in addition to my weight training.  Trying always to ensure my cardio workouts are intense and consistent has been the largest reason for my current results. One of the most interesting aspects of training is the soreness that you endure.  I am sore every day, and every minute of that day.  I am currently trying to figure out how to live with this soreness.  I take supplements which aid in my recovery and I keep a large bag of Epsom salt for soaking for when it becomes unbearable but the one the thing I am currently working on is drinking more water.  Living in Arizona it is very common to be walking around dehydrated and not even know it  so when you add training to the equation this has to be a focus of mine. My initial goal was a gallon of water a day but that hasn't panned out too well for me this week.  I purchased a gallon of water on Monday morning and on Thursday afternoon I was still walking around with the same gallon of water.  I do believe I should knock it out today and start a new gallon especially with my new trick of putting a packet of Gatorade in my water to help my mental get over that I am drinking so much water.  I hope next week I can actually drink my gallons faster.

My goal is always to inspire and share any and all helpful information that I discover whether through research or from my personal experience.  Although I don't have much experience with competitions as of yet I find that there is scarce info online of what it takes or what one goes through in the beginning of this process.  Everywhere you look online it seems like it takes 12 weeks to transform a human body when really it can take up to a year or even years to transform.  My goal is simply to transform and sculpt and stay healthy while maintaining balance.  For me that means to make this experience as close to reality or my own personal norm while pushing my own limits.  I encourage all to find their own normal and that very well may look completely different from my normal.  Obviously a person who has kids or a person who travels for a living might have different processes to work through.  The most important thing is not how you do it but simply that you do it.

As I continue this journey I have learned something else that has been critical to my success and that is the importance of keeping a circle of friends that have similar interest.  My husband has been one of the key people who I share my fitness dialogue with and for that I am pretty fortunate to have someone who is just as interested in health if not more.  He majored in global health so topics can become global real fast and more than not I usually end up interested in what he is talking about.  My best friends and I share workout stories daily and help motivate each other with our fitness goals.  Anyone who knows me know that I love to share info (code for I think I know everything) but through this process I have also found that I love to teach however to teach you must live accordingly so for now that is what I will stick to.  I plan to continue to reinvent ways I can benefit from my own training and fitness.  I want to be better, work harder, and put myself to the test in every physical way!

2 Days Left

Training with STS trainer around noon today.

Training

Lunge w/10lbs each side with kick on smith machine
Squatts on smith machine
Push up 15x3 on smith bar
Pull Up Row on smith machine

Abs
6lbs weights tricep skull crushers while legs up then lower ab work

Cardio- ran 3 miles on treadmill at gym

3 days left Thursday

Wednesday was a complete wash as I was to sore to tie my shoe strings much less work out or run.  I was scheduled to run at night after boot camp but had to forgo that as well because my calves were literally on fire when I walked.

Thursday (today) I woke up at 4am got to the gym about 5:30am and got a chance to get one of my work outs completed.  Working to get them done in under an hour as I tend to lag when working out by myself. Having a partner works great twofold.  1) accountability of coming so you don't just leave your partner in a lurch and 2) someone who can keep you moving and pushing throughout your entire workout.  I can push myself as I know what has to get done but I am still pretty slow.  I did manage to get my entire work out completed in just under 60 min.

Work Out

Back, Chest, Hams

1. Seated lat pull down wide grip 50lbs

2. . bent over db row 17.5lbs

3. seated low row 17.5lbs on each side

4. incline bench db chest press ss. db push  ups with good form to failure 15lbs then I did 10 push ups on each set. 

5. seated hamstring curl 60lbs

6. prone hamstring curl - both legs raise bar, lower bar w/ 1 leg alternating 25lbs( very difficult for me) I compromised on this exercise

7. single leg db dead lifts w/30lbs. step ups w/ db 15lbs8. plank holds - 3 front plank, 3 each side. 30 sec each hold 

5 days Tuesday STS

Warm up  lunge stretches outside

Exercise
Lat pull downs 55lbs
Lunges with 15lbs weights and biceps curls
Step Ups
Jump Squats on Step
kettle bell swings



Meal
Egg with roasted peppers
Blue berries
Greek Yogurt
Chicken and green beans
Apple
Chicken and brussel sprouts

6 Days Monday

With less than a week left before my 90 day transformation is over I feel like I still have much to do.  I recognize the human body is just that... a never ending project that can be better, trimmer, sculpted slightly more with the worst critic in the judgement seat- Self. With that being said I am super proud of my journey and feel as I knew I would feel which is this is simply the beginning.  This is a great time to announce that I plan to start my next training program which will be a longer in terms of time frame.  My next training program will be approximately a 6 month training- The end goal will be a bikini competition in March.  I plan to change the venue in which I will blog.  I will keep you posted as things progress.

Meal
Protein Shake
Omelet
Almonds with bottle of water
Greek Yogurt with blue berries
Chicken and brussels sprouts
Apples with PB
Chicken and green beans

Exercises - Shoulders & Tris

1. Seated shoulder press 12.5lbs
2. db lateral raises ss. db front raises alternating arms 7.5lbs (very tough)
3. straight bar triceps press downs 15lbs, 20lbs, 25lbs (3rd set)
4. bent over db kick backs ss. bench triceps dips 7.5lbs -plus 15 bench dips

Abs work
20x 3x each - 10lbs sit ups with barbell overhead on bosu ball
60 jacknives
60 lower ab crunches 

Ran in the evening 3 miles I would say I ran 2 miles and walked and ran the final mile