What Can I Do To Get Better!?

It's the question that lingers in my brain on the daily. I am literally 3 weeks shy before I step foot on stage half naked in front of people I don't even know. Am I terrified? Not really. Maybe... kinda? Nervous? Just a little. It's the same feeling I used to get when I did theater in high school and I would run through my lines over and over again -- in hopes that I wouldn't miss a line when the spotlight hit my face. I keep thinking about walking in those heels and how I will do my best to NOT fall on my face.  


The preparation for this competition has been and continues to be challenging. Physically, I feel like my body is in a constant shock from the workouts I've been doing. This week, I started committing myself to doing 'two-a-days' with sprint intervals in the morning and then either bootcamp training, metabolic workouts and strength training in the evenings. Last week, I did a couple 'two-a-days' with conditioning rounds on the prowler in the evenings, but I soon realized that if I'm out or up late and try to do early morning workouts -- the devil in my body comes out and shuts everything down putting my ass to bed. 


For example, after a long hectic week from work and workouts, my body pulled a ninja move on me. I couldn't function and my body was hating me. On Friday, I left work early and went straight to bed. Let me tell you that the THREE hour nap that I took made an EPIC recovery on my body. It's crazy what rest can do for your temple that is oh-so-precious. 
I'm sore, but motivated. Truth of the matter is, there is ALWAYS some muscle on my body that is sore. Foam rolling, stretching, nutrition and recovery is the only way to keep my body healthy and to continue seeing results. 


My biggest challenge thus far has been my nutrition. I am compliant with my diet 99% of the time. 99 PERCENT! When I say compliant, I mean that I am eating protein with every meal 4-5 times a day. I am drinking at least a gallon of water a day (sometimes TWO gallons!) and I am eating my green veggies as much as a HULK could. As for that .1%? (ONE PERCENT....!)That's coffee my friend. Ugh. I am being brutally honest with you because I am NOT PERFECT. No one is. I wouldn't say that I am a coffee ADDICT but as of lately it's just that one cup that makes me feel warm inside. If I don't have it, I'm okay without it. I KNOW what I need to do and that is to cut it out COMPLETELY. At least for the next three weeks. I can do it. There are no more excuses. 


Everything else in my diet has been clean, I just need to eat more. It's already tough enough on this Green Faces diet 'Phase II' -- to eat more when I'm not even hungry. However, with the amount of workouts I'm doing I should be consuming about 1400 calories a day, when I am only reaching around 1200 a day. It is hard to fathom how I am going to eat more when I already feel like I eat a lot, when I am barely eating carbs. I just need to remember that I need to eat good carbs right now -- so hello yams and sweet potatoes, I love you long time. 


I will keep you posted on my how my diet will change as I get closer to bikini time! 


Okay, let's focus. Back to the title of this blog entry. "What can I do to get BETTER?" 
With THREE weeks under my belt...


Here is my formula: 
1. 100 % Compliant with nutrition (No MORE Coffee!)
2. RECOVERY (Rest, Stretch, & Foam Roll)
3. Training (Continue to push hard & challenge myself) 


Just THREE things to FOCUS on for the next THREE weeks! 


Let's DO it! STAGE READY BABY! 

Week SIX Over = Another SIX Weeks!?...

How did week six arrive so fast? I know I'm a little late on this blog post, but I've been swamped with my so called - 'Life.' Week 6 officially ended this past Monday, June 13th. It's been challenging, tiring and exciting all at the same time. 

What are my results after grinding and sweating it out for the past several weeks? 

Let's take a look from the very beginning to the end...

Week 1: May 1st, 2011 VS. Week 6 FINAL Results: June 13th, 2011

Week 1 Weight: 135.2 lbs 
Week 2 Weight: 131.2 lbs 

Week 6 Weight: 131.4lbs

Week 1 - Week 4 - Week 6 (FRONT VIEW/SIDE VIEW)

Week 1 - Week 4 - Week 6 (BACK VIEW)

                       

There it is! Week ONE VS. Week SIX! I feel great and leaner than ever before. I've built up my strength, confidence, endurance and stamina through these several weeks....BUT... as always, I am ready for the next CHALLENGE! 


What does 'Another SIX weeks' MEAN!?


On July 23rd, I will be participating in my first EVER... Bikini Competition. Am I ready!? Not right now, BUT I KNOW I will be! I am going to take my GRIT up a notch and train harder, focus my discipline on nutrition (GOODBYE COFFEE!) and to remember the importance of RECOVERY. 


I will continue to blog about my progress, nutrition and challenges for the next several weeks as I keep my GRIT alive!!! 


Thanks for reading everyone! 

WEEK 5 - ?

If it's 'just' one of them days, then the Monica song needs to be blaring in my ears right now. "That a girl goes through..." (I know you're singing it right now...)


I slept a total of about 13 hours last night and I feel like ????. Is this normal? I wish I had one of those charts full of pictures and descriptions of different moods to choose from so I could try to figure out which one I feel like today and why. Maybe sleeping 13 hours yesterday wasn't the greatest idea after all. On the other hand, it could be my hormones typing these words right at this moment. I mean, after all I am a Cancer and my mood swings follow the tides of the ocean and the moon, so I blame my sign. 


So there's that big question mark. It's now Week 5 and I have one week left of this contest.  How am I feeling? Well, let's just say I've learned a few things over the past week about my body. 


Number One: I need about 8 hours of sleep a night for my body to fully recover from a workout. This is also including eating healthy. 


Number Two: Recovery is more important than Quantity. If I'm putting in a high amount of quality and intensity into my workout, recovery is needed in order to see results. 


Number Three: Sleep is like my lover. People always say, "Sleep is overrated, You'll sleep when your dead." I agree to disagree. Sleep feels so good. (TO ME) The only time I will sacrifice sleep is for the following reasons: good company, a good laugh, meal, book or movie. I guess that means I sacrifice sleep a lot when need be. 


Listening to my body has probably been the most beneficial thing I've done lately. Please note that your body will shut down if you don't. It fights back like a shark attack. Trust me.


I'm ready for WEEK 6. Let's GET it!