WTF??

Here I am thinking that after Saturday night's massive cheat meal effort, I would have taken 12 steps back. Not to be the case. I woke up this morning (begrudgingly, wanted to stay in bed but hauled my ass out) for 5.45am RPM and took a look in the mirror...I have come in again, particularly in my tummy region. YAY!! I was actually feeling a little bloated as although I was tempted to have ice cream last night (my real birthday) I decided to substitute my pre-bed meal of eggwhites for some low fat/low sugar yoghurt with a handful of blueberries...mmm delish!! Dairy makes me feel pretty bloated though so while I felt like my tummy was swollen, the mirror told me otherwise. I am seeing changes pretty much daily now so am wrapped, this is the exciting bit!

Had a great birthday. I got up early (as per usual) and went for an hour walk before yummy brekkie, and then after it went to the gym. Shoulders day followed by half an hour steady state cardio. After that I had the day free as I was not working (aside from teaching a night time spin class) so took myself to get my nails done, some waxing, etc, and had lunch while I was out. Even though it was just Sumo Salad (mmmm) it's nice to have someone else make it for once!! lol... Caught up with one of my friends after that (she is off work after tearning the ligaments in her foot) and then went off to teach Spin. Mum cooked me dinner and that was pretty much my day / evening - nice and chilled!! All in all had a good day :)

So I have done RPM this morning and had my eggy oats, now off to smash out a back session and a bit more cardio...then to work I go at 12.

Anyway hope you are all having a good day....and to those who have comps in just under 2 weeks hope that this final bit of prep is going well for you :)

Til next time, train hard and be good :)
Vic x

Clearly NOT athlete behaviour...

SO...confession time. My planned cheat last night was worth about 18 cheats. But was sooo good. For my birthday celebrations I decided that a good pub meal would be in order, and my local make a mean meal. So off to the pub we toddled. When we got there me and my bestie decided on a nice bottle of red, so we drank it between us. For dinner I decided to go the beef burger, which comes with chips and salad, and is basically a burger with the lot. I asked for no egg and bacon though. When we ordered they told us that it was a long wait (bout an hour) for food so Meegan ordered some garlic bread, which we all shared. By the time dinner came out (they weren't exaggerating) we were bloody starving. My burger came out with bacon and egg so I just figured it was meant to be, and hey - if it's a cheat meal, it's a cheat meal - so I inhaled the burger. Was delish!! Ate some of the chips and salad but was pretty full (burger is massive) so left most of them. Clearly affected by the wine, I decided it would be a GREAT idea to have some vodka too. Hell, why not - only get one birthday a year! So a few vodka and diet cokes later, and a few TERRIBLE games of pool later (haven't played in years and apparently I should stick to bodybuilding) I was ready for dessert. Hey if I am gonna cheat, I am NOT skipping dessert!! So apple crumble and ice cream it was...mmmm delish.
Anyway I was a little tipsy, ended up back at my friends' Karen and Brian's place where I passed out for the night.
Today - not a good day. *Slightly* dehydrated, I am having the worst leg cramps. Does anyone else get that? I have found in the last few years that occasionally after drinking I wind up with leg cramps the following day. They started out a little tender this morning but I took myself to posing practice and it wasn't too bad. After that I made my way to my parents' place for Fathers' Day lunch and after lunch I thought I would go for a power walk - but got about 50m and had to turn around as I could barely walk from the cramping? WTF?? It is like 3pm!!! Surely the cramps should have subsided by now, not gotten worse!! So I am giving myself the day off training today (no way in hell could I train legs today even if I tried, I mean if I can't even walk what hope do I have!!) I have tomorrow off work and it's just shoulders day tomorrow so will do a double session.
Anyway I am a little peeved at myself for overindulging but no point dwelling on it. I am, however, really happy with how I am coming in - and today look really full after my effort in carbing up last night. Gotta look on the bright side of it hehe.
Well not much else from me. Need a bit more sleep I think so might have me a nanna nap.
Til next time, train hard and be good. Vic x

Comp decisions and Frozen eggwhites

Aaahhh another Friday :)
I gotta say, I am feeling much better this last half of the week than last post. OMG I was NOT in a good headspace on Tuesday!! In a better place now, thank you very much.
I have made some decisions (seems to be the week for it - just read Deb's post) and have decided that I will not be doing INBA comps anymore (that being said, I am female, and therefore reserve the right to change my mind on a whim lol), for a couple of reasons:

• It is 3 weeks and 2 days away. I might be ok to get up on stage, but I don't want to get up on stage feeling just ok. My theory is that if I am not getting up on that stage in a better condition than last year, then I shouldn't be getting up on that stage period. While muscularity wise I am a shitload better than last year, lean-wise I probably wouldn't be any better. So better off giving myself more time.
• Whilst there is still 3 weeks to get myself in stage condition, I refuse to risk muscle to do it. I will not be starving myself to get shredded. It is a bodybuilding contest, not a dieting contest. There will be NO starvation involved. When dieting, my theory is that you should not be going hungry. If I am hungry, I eat. Fullstop.
• Likewise, I won't risk muscle by overdoing th cardio. Yes I know I have mentioned that some days I am doing 3 sessions, but I am being very smart and calculated about it, and about how long I spend doing cardio in one hit...I am very specific about what kind of cardio I do when (eg slow, steady state vs HIIT) and my nutrition around said cardio. So there will be no silly 2 hour long sessions for me.

SO WHAT IS MY PLAN FOR COMP? I plan on doing the ANB Central Coast comp (11 October) and then either ANB Nationals or IFBB NSW/Aussies, which both fall on the same date (24-25 October). Originally I was gonna go IFBB 100% and while I don't really like the recent format of ANB Nationals (2 day event with prejudging on day one, finals day two - too bloody hard to hold condition overnight and fuck me dehydrating 2 days in a row ain't my idea of bloody fun!!) the thought of paying ONE federation fee as opposed to 2, and being closer to home for the comp, is more appealing to me. Plus, I have a point to prove after last year when I wasn't really happy with the outcome. Anyway THAT my friends is my plan. So I now have 5 weeks, 2 days...which I am very comfortable with. In saying that...I have decided to have a last cheat meal tomorrow as Monday is my birthday and I really want to be able to have a nice meal (OK and some gelato or cake...probably gelato!!)

On that note I am gonna have a little snooze before heading off to tonight's RPM session. Been getting into the cycle classes a lot lately and they are doing wonders :)

So - til next time, train hard and be good. Vic x

PS - gotta throw this in cos I was sooo happy bout this...the other night I was showing a new member around the gym while working, and I was wearing tights. The girl asked me what exercises she can do to get legs like mine as she liked the shape!! And this was a chick with a hot figure too, not someone too skinny or overweight, so I was stoked, given my legs are my weakness and the most stubborn area on me!! WOOT!

PPS - also gotta add this - my local woolies has FINALLY started stocking the frozen eggwhites!! Found em today and I tell you I had some interesting looks while I was doing a happy dance in the frozen foods aisle!! hehe

Hitting the proverbial wall...

Ok so it was bound to happen sooner or later - I hit a wall today!! I got up early to take a 5.45am RPM class and spent the session feeling as though my legs were made of concrete...so, so heavy. Put it down to leg DOMS from Sunday's leg session followed by teaching Spin last night, in addition to all the extra cardio of late. After RPM I did 10min incline power walk, then came home for brekkie then off to train back, followed by 20min on the stepper after my weights. Spent most of the rest of the day feeling like curling up into a little ball and sleeping. I might also throw in here, just for the record, that I also spent the day alternating between extreme feelings of breaking my diet with a mountain of chocolate; killing someone; and bursting into tears. Carb depletion and me don't do very well together - have I mentioned that before? I am down to 30g oats in the morning, and fibrous veggies only, which for me is like nothing, given I grew up eating pasta twice a day for the better part of my life. It also didn't help that for the 4th month running our boss has decided to 'reward' the sales team (which I am part of) by buying everyone lunch. Now I might just mention here that there are 3 official sales team members (yes I make up 33.33% of the team) and 4 months running I have missed the reward, because the boss thinks that buying the team lunch from wherever she feels like eating is a reward for us. So 4 months running I have been forced to sit in on the following lunches, while I sit there and eat my steamed vegies and grilled fish:
* Chinese
* Thai
* Pizza / wedges / hot chips
* Can't even remember but would have involved something with a strong, inviting smell.
And today to top off the FUCK OFF AND DIE feelings I was having anyway, the boss (I might remind you all we are talking about a GYM here and therefore one would think my boss would be a little more understanding of my dietary choices) says to me, in between mouthfulls of mexican-nacho pizza, "are you SURE we can't tempt you Vicki?", and looked surprised when I looked at her, rolling my eyes, and replied "I don't WANT to be tempted with that - thanks but I don't train THREE TIMES A DAY so I can sit here and ruin it with pizza!!" I mean seriously - I have less than four weeks to go!! Do you really want me to fuck up now??
Anyway to cut a long story short, I politely sat there in silence, eating my fricken steamed broccoli, cauliflower and grilled fish, and left the room as soon as I was done.
So anyway, copious amounts of coffee later and I had gotten through most of the day. The initial plan today was to stay after work (was finishing at 8pm) to do about 30min more cardio but seriously I was dreading it...and given I have a 6.15am Spin class to teach in the morning I couldn't even comprehend staying back to do it. Anyway a venting phone call later to my beautiful friend Ferny (gotta love having friends who understand comp prep headspace) and I made the somewhat sensible decision to go home after work. No third cardio session today - I am listening to my body. I kinda felt guilty making that decision but at the end of the day - I am glad I decided against the extra cardio... I don't think I would be any good for it tomorrow morning (or all day tomorrow) and I actually in hindsight wrote in a blog entry last week that I would only do 3 sessions if I felt OK physically to do them...and I don't today. So guilt trip OVER.
Anyway enough of that.
Gosh I feel like this is such a whiney post but seriously it's just been one of those days.
I hope that all of you who are in comp prep are doing ok this week - I know I will be back on track after my nice massage tomorrow :)
Anyway better jet...bed time for this chook!
Til next time - train hard and be good. Vic x

Still here

Despite appearances (or lack of), I am still here. I have been reading in the background but not really posting much as my internet connection at home is stuffed, so my only access to all things online is at work or at my parents' place, neither of which are overly conducive to blogging. Hopefully my home net will be sorted once and for all tomorrow as I am having serious withdrawals.
Training has been coming along well. I am still keeping up the cardio and it seems to be doing some good stuff for me...so fingers crossed. Diet has been tweaked again as of today so will see how much progress is made in the next week. I am still undecided about what comp/s I will be doing and am just going to make my decision about INBA NSW closer to the date (like, that week most likely!) 2 days ago I would have told you that I will 100% be ready but I have had a very flat weekend and am feeling crappy about how I am looking at the moment.
I have had a fairly low key weekend as I worked at 2 gyms yesterday - my normal one from 8am - 4pm then another one I just do casual shifts here and there for, basically straight after I finished at the first one. I was finishing at 8.30pm last night there so on Friday I figured it was probably best not to go having a big night. In saying that, I did a 6pm RPM class then went to a friend's place and hung there til midnight. Woke up bright and early and went for a walk before brekkie, then headed to work. After the 2nd shift went to a mate's place, her and her boyfriend were having some friends around for drinks and a Wii session. I managed to sit there eating my spinach and Kanga Bangas while they ate homemade bbq pizza (smelt divine!!) and drank beer. Then onto the Wii for a Monopoly game. I bankrupted them all and ended up with about $110mil in the bank on my first go at it!! hehe I am officially the Wii Monopoly champion of the world! (OK maybe it's not official as such...but let's not get into technicalities...)
Legs training and posing practice this morning with the girls...and now just visiting my mum (OK alterior motive was to use the net lol) and catching up on blogland. Gonna have an early one tonight, I am feeling pretty sleepy for some reason.
Anyway on that note I will be jetting off, til next time train hard and be good ;)
Vic x

Still here!!

Gosh it feels like forever since I blogged but it's only been 3 days. I think it just feels like so long cos I am on limited internet access so I'm only even reading blogs sporadically (read: while i'm at work!!)...my home internet is buggered at the moment and I haven't had enough time lately to sit and listen to Vodafone's 'hold' music for long enough to speak to them about the problem. So I sit here at work (just taught spin and now eating my brekkie) blogging before I wander over to the gym floor to annihilate my legs.

I have been kicking some major training goals this week. Hitting cardio three (yes, THREE) times a day the last few days but feeling great for it. I have learnt my lesson about listening to my body with that damned sickness I couldn't shake so I will pull back when I need to and don't intend on doing 3 sessions every day. In fact I will be going for a massage after this morning's training so I am definitely treating me right now :)

Aside from training I don't have much else to report on - it's been heads down, bums up this week, between gym and work and food there hasn't been time for much else. Work is still driving me a bit mental, but unfortunately there isn't much out there these days. Oh well suck it up til something comes along. I am just hanging for the weekend at the moment...mind you I don't have anything planned but I can feel it's gonna be a good one?? Go figure! Just intuition.

Anyway just thought I would drop in to say I'm still alive and sorry for being a bit quiet but MISSION DROP THE BODY FAT AND COMPETE is in full swing!

So til next time, train hard and be good.
Vic x

Stepping it up

I think it's safe to say that my mojo returned in leaps and bounds this week. I haven't been spending much time on here as I have been absolutely tearing it up in the gym, making up for lost time from being sick. I have been caning the cardio this week, loads more HIIT sessions than normal (I am normally a steady state girl but I needed to take A.C.T.I.O.N if I want to make the INBA NSW...which I seriously do...) and been upping the reps on the weights to lean out more. To say it's been a ripper of a week is an understatement.
I have seen some good changes this week and have had loads of positive comments from quite a few people. Unforunately I had a bit of a downer comment today...I went into a supps shop that one of my mates works at to purchase some more thermogenics, and a man I know who competes too was there...he said to me "you not competing this year?"...which made me feel bloody lousy for a while, but then in thinking about it he has only ever seen me compete at a much lower weight than I intend to be this season and am guessing that's what he figures I would be doing again if I were competing. Nope, no little, sinewy muscles for me this year...nice muscle bellies is what it's about in '09 for this little black duck. And the question has made me more determined to smash the next 5 weeks and get up on that stage looking awesome.
I have made a few changes to my diet for the next week and then again for the following weeks leading into comp week. So this week will be stepping it up a notch with the diet and should see some good progress.
Have had a great weekend too. For once, they got me to work on Friday and have Saturday off so I actually got a full weekend (2 consecutive days)... Got 3 cardio sessions and one leg workout into the day yesterday and in between that hung out with my bestie and went shopping. Last night I went to a surprise 30th and caught up with some friends I haven't seen in ages...I had a ball. Latest night I have had in ages too I might add hehe...I have certainly turned into a nanna this year lol.
Today I went off to teach posing and then to a shoe and handbag party...mmmm I LOVVVVE shopping :) I refrained from buying more shoes for my collection (last count I had more than 60 pairs!) but did order a hot hot hot handbag, can't wait to get it!!
So weekend is over (well as over as it gets) and have prepped food for tomorrow. Gonna be an early morning to fit all this extra cardio in. Woman on a mission!! LOOK OUT!!
Til next time, train hard and be good,
Vic x