Wednesday March 28, 2018
*sigh* For some reason... I have been very overwhelmed.
Work at the dealership has been busy.
Gym stuff and online stuff needs to be done.
My body weight keeps going up.
Coach keeps lowering my food.
I am 6.5 weeks out from the US Open.
That means only 7.5 weeks until I start contest prep!
So much stuff going on. All great and exciting things. But my problem is that I try to handle/think of everything at the same time. I really have to work on just focusing on one thing at a time. *sigh*
Okay.. Now that I vented a little bit... Let's do a recap of how training went this past week and what is on the plan for week 7.
Sunday the 18th: First time back in wraps. They are still painful. But they are great because they allow you to squat more!!!!
Tuesday the 20th: Benching shtuffff. Bench is finally starting to feel good again! Yay for that!!! I am just making sure to continue to stretch and roll the necessary things. As well as do my corrective exercises. Shoulder isn't 100%... But it is going in the right direction.
Wednesday the 21st: Tony warned me earlier this day that his deads felt like poopie. He thinks it is because of heavy wrap squats from Sunday. Definitely makes sense. He gave me the option to do some lighter work, or if I feel good... Then stick with the plan to do some heavy doubles.
I went into the gym feeling good! So I was determined to stick with the plan. But when I got to 305 + 2 chains... It just about murdered me! Ha! (not funny!) I did this week last week for a good triple... And this week I maxed out at 2 reps. But oh well... I knew why that happened. So I skipped my last set of deads and went on with my workout. Front squats actually felt good that night. I was just super tired after that max deadlift.
That is exactly why you cannot max out all the time!!! It is too fatiguing; you wouldn't get any work done.
Thursday the 22nd: Pause bench press! This day felt even better than Tuesday! I'm very happy with the way bench is feeling! And my shoulder!!!
Friday the 23rd: My extra day.. Man conventional deads felt terrible that day! Pause squats felt good though. It would be so nice if all three of my lifts felt good all at the same time! Ha.
That's a wrap on the recap.
Above is a digital flyer for my strength class that is starting soon! If you are near Portland, Oregon definitely come by!!! Desiree Morgan and I are coaching it! ALL LADIES ARE WELCOME! Email me at kaylie.trainer@gmail.com if you are interested.
Friday March 30, 2018
Below are comparison pictures of my first two pro shows. September and October 2017. They were only 4 weeks apart... But a better package all-around at the second show. Without making any diet, supplementation, cardio or training changes within the four weeks... I dropped 8 pounds and was actually ready to be on stage.
I am showing you guys these pictures for a couple reasons...
1. I am very proud of my progress! When I first started working out... I NEVER thought I would be where I'm at now. I didn't know what figure competitions were... I didn't know what powerlifting was... I just worked out. I didn't know you could be a professional or elite level athlete. I thought that was only in magazines or on TV.
Well guess what?! I am in a couple magazines. I'm not on TV... But that's okay. LOL.
2. I wanted to show that I have stepped on stage not completely ready. I have stepped on stage and placed last. And at first... I was very upset. I was literally on stage for my pro debut and I can feel my smile fading the more girls that were called up and it wasn't me. But fortunately... It didn't take long for me to snap out of that negative mindset. I WAS ON THE PRO STAGE! I was on the stage with ladies that I look up to and admire. I was at my best shape for me! My smile quickly came back.
I mean of course you always want to place (or win) when you do a competition... But sometimes you just don't have what it takes to win that day. And that is totally okay. I strongly believe that I have done so well in my figure competitions because I have been able to maintain the mindset of just making sure I bring MY BEST to the stage. And I always make sure that I have fun in the process!
I hear so many times that people don't want to compete until they are lean enough or strong enough. What is lean enough? What is strong enough?! I can tell you right now that I don't think I have ever met a top level athlete that said they are 100% happy and content with where they are at. That may sound bad.. But it isn't. All I'm saying is that there is always room for improvement. You just have to do it!!! GO FOR IT!
Step on stage is you want to. I mean... YES! Diet, put in the work to get ready... But it is okay if you aren't the best in the world yet. That takes time!!! Get on the platform! It's okay if you aren't the strongest yet... That also takes time. You cannot wait around to be good enough, because then you will probably never compete. Get up there and do it! See where you are at. Make changes and put in more work... And do it all over again!!!
End rant :)
When you clicked on this blog.. You may have noticed that the picture was a quote, "Focus on the good."
I chose that quote because I needed to remind myself to do just that.
The other day I had a mini meltdown. I was feel very discouraged and a little hangry. LOL.
Since my shows... My coach has only taken food away from me and added cardio.
He has been doing this to keep my weight down...
But guess what! My weight has only gone up.. UGH!!!!
I normally wouldn't mind because I know I need to gain weight to be able to grow and get stronger.
I also wouldn't mind if I was actually getting more food. BUT I'M NOT!!!!
So my meltdown was about that.
I text Tony saying that I felt very discouraged... And I just wanted to say fuck it and eat. I'm gaining weight anyways! But of course, the aways hubby he is.... He encourages me to stick to the plan.
"Trust the process!" he tells me. Yeah, yeah, yeah!!! I'm trusting the process alright! Ha.
I went about that day like I should have. I didn't eat extra. Followed the plan. And I woke up a couple pounds lighter. It wasn't fat loss or anything. I would a combination of the previous day being a low calorie/carb day, sleeping in an extra 45 mins, and me calming down. Stress is never going to help with your progress.
Well, long story LONG.... This lifestyle, this hobby, is all a process and one heck of a journey. Whether you are brand new to it, or you are a pro like me (I'm still pretty new to it lol)... There are going to tough times. Thing aren't always going to go your way. You are going to get discouraged. You are going to get overwhelmed.
But there are also going to AMAZING TIMES! You will meet awesome people. You will learn new things about the sport and yourself. You will get to your best shape and/or your strongest! You will feel amazing.
Take the good with the bad! Embrace it all. Learn from it. Grow from it. Without some struggle... I don't think people would appreciate the victories as much!
HAVE A GREAT DAY & WEEKEND!!!