Competition Prep: Month 1

Hey there!

So I am officially 1 month into my competition prep for my second figure competition. It is flying by! This time during my prep I want to share more about my journey with training. I get asked a lot what that entails and people see my progress photos, but there is so much more to it than eating and weightlifting.

Deciding to compete in any body building show is never an easy one. Sure, it's easy in the sense of saying "Yes! I want to do that!" but you have to be emotionally, mentally, and physically prepared to take on the challenge. You can eat right and workout all you want, but if you don't have a strong mind you will fail.

I say that because there are going to be days when you don't feel like working out, the last thing you want to do it go hit the gym for the second time that day, you want to enjoy HH with your friends, you want to go out for an indulging Valentine's day dinner with your love, you want to say f*ck it and eat the cookie....but not on my watch. All of those things are temporary. At the end of your competition prep you have to decide was that cookie really worth it or is bringing your best package to the stage worth it? 

If you know me you know I LOVE to bake! I bake food network recipes (Check out my Food Network edition of A Muffin A Month), Pinterest recipes, and sometimes recipes I create. Bringing treats to work, baking for my Fiance or for my girlfriends at bible study and seeing them enjoy the treat makes it so worth it to me! I get asked all the time "How can you bake, but you not eat it?" Easy. I just don't eat it. I ask myself is this one second of bliss worth it in the end? Usually it's not. And I have the best live in taste tester in the world..he gladly steps up to the plate.

This will be my 3rd time in prep. My first time was in 2017 when I competed in the Beachbody Classic. My second time was in 2018 when I was in prep for 8 months and competed in two shows: the Beachbody Classic and my first OCB show the Presidential Cup. This time my prep is 4 months and I will be competing in 2 shows back to back: one in Richmond, VA and one in Catonsville, MD. I had 4 months off in between seasons, but I am confident I made progress! 

This time my prep is a little different as I am counting my macros instead of doing portion control. I have to say its been fun tracking my food in My Fitness Pal and learning about macros and how it interacts with my body. My nutrition plan is to eat 1700 calories a day with 50% protein, 30% carbohydrates, and 20% fat. According to my fitness pal, that is 236g of protein, 142g of carbs, and 42g of fat. I usually have calories left over at the end of the day and it is rare I get 236g of protein in a day, but I do my best at the end of the day to get that 50%P, 30%C, and 20%F. Also, I learned what "IIFYM" means --> If It Fits Your Macros. Sometimes we can be like "oh this deep fried peanut butter and banana sandwich fits into my macros for the day.." yeah girl that ain't how it works! :-) You have to fuel yourself with the GOOD food to get the results you want. I may or may not be sick of eating chicken, egg whites, tilapia, and tuna at this point......but that's for another day!

My workout regime is HIIT on the stair master (or just HIIT) 2 to 3 times a week for no more than 20 minutes, I work each body part once a week (especially legs...only once because ya girl got thick thighs) and back and shoulders twice a week. My feedback from the judges last year was that my shoulders and back needed to they grow more so my body will be more symmetrical and my core needed to be "harder." Lastly abs, every...single....day. 100 reps of leg lifts, 100 reps of Russian twists, and 100 reps of crunches/sit ups. Yes, you did the math correctly. That is 300 ab reps a day. Like I said you have to put work in.

One month into prep and I have lost 5-6lbs. Most of that was bloat and weight I gained over the holidays. I was at 145lbs when I started prep on January 1, 2019, and I am currently at 138-139. My body feels most comfortable at 136ish so I was behind going into prep since I gained some weight over the holidays, but I am not stressing! That's another important thing with competing --> don't stress! Stressing is going to take the joy out of the journey. You have to want to do this to be a better person, to see what you're made of, and to test your willpower and determination. 

I am looking forward to the next 13 weeks and having you along for the ride! If you have a question, write me a comment! I love sharing with others what I have learned and learning from others.