And the results are in..

So I weighed a little bit more at this morning's body composition test, but overall I shed some fat :) From 18.9% in June to 17.4% in July. All of my measurements decreased, and it seems I lost 2 pounds of fat and gained 3 pounds of muscle. woohooo :)

Even though I officially started cutting this week, I'm not dropping any weight--I'm actually gaining. This morning's weigh in had me at 140.8 pounds--a little discouraging since I've cut my calories. Maybe I'm not getting enough water or sleep, two things I'm definitely lacking in :( It's definitely frustrating, but I'm glad about the new muscle I put on :)

Today's leg day, which means back squats, front squats, stiff-legged deadlifts, leg extensions and calf raises. As always, hoping to beat my reps and push myself to failure. If anything, my quads/calves will save me in this competition..the one place where I store the least amount of fat and where my most defined muscles lie.

In some random news, I've been daydreaming about snowboarding..oh boy I can't wait until the next shredfest :) I've also been contemplating post-competition goals, and I've come to the conclusion I want to go back to bulking again, and I want to put on a few pounds of muscle in the winter and start cutting in the spring, say February/March. Sorry if I'm being mean, but scrawny females disgust me. It's definitely all about the tone and definition :)

I actually have another body composition test in a couple of weeks (not skinfold this time around, but I'll be standing on a scale and they'll shoot an electrode through my body and calculate how fast it travels)..we'll see how that goes.

Hoping to drop a few pounds by the weekend. Catch you guys later.

I need to vent. Sorry.

Tuesdays suck. Partially. Tuesdays are my back days, which means the ever so dreadful-bent over rows. I never feel like I'm doing these right..anyways, I went down in weight to make sure my form is correct, and come to find out, I haven't been pulling the bar high enough. Not only that, I went down in reps (-2 on each set) which frustrates me even more. Compound that with my weak grip on lat pulldowns (my grip always gives out before my back does) and I feel like I came out with an arm workout than a back workout. I didn't wake up with any soreness today which leads me to believe 1) I did my lifts wrong 2) I didn't push myself hard enough and 3) my back is another trouble spot.

To add insult to injury (or failure in this case), even with less calories I'm not dropping weight, and actually gaining insted. FRUSTRATING! I was 140.1 yesterday and 140.4 this morning. What gives?!?!

I need more sleep. 5-6 hours just isn't cutting it for me. I'm a zombie in the mornings. But I just can't seem to fit everything into the day!! And I'm still daydreaming about my fried chicken escapades this sunday. Who wants to come? :)

If anyone knows any great back/midback lifts any suggestions would be appreciated.

Sometimes I just live to cheat.

Sundays have grown to have a special place in my heart (and tummy). For me, Sunday marks not only the end of my split and eating clean, but it's also the day where I can relax and enjoy the ever so glorious cheat meal. I'm not going to lie, I look forward to every sunday, and I strategically plan out my carb/fat laden euphoria of the day (at the end of each week I have a heavy craving for carbs or a carb/fat meal, since all my meals are either carb/protein or protein/fat). Cheat meals keep me sane and satiated for the rest of the week (I end up feeling so heavy and bloated afterwards that my normal diet doesn't seem so bad).

Today's poison was brunch at Mixto, a Spanish restaurant in downtown Philly. I had some eggs and milk (it's ridiculous how much I crave milk) with some lovely cream cheese stuffed french toast with fruit. Completely filling, I felt like I was going to pass out at the table. An awesome brunch with good friends. These cheat meals do a lot more for my psyche than anything. I'm still trying to figure out why my mind craves it as opposed to my body; eating clean for weeks has tricked my body into being unpleasant when I ingest some really heavy, greasy not-so-nutritious food. If I could somehow manipulate whatever triggers the release of endorphins/serotonin to my brain then these next few months won't be so bad. I have a few more cheat meals until I have to completely get rid of them, so these last few meals really have to count. I'm plotting on some fried chicken next week (I'm a sucker for popeye's red beans and rice with chicken strips) because I really have to toughen up mentally for the long haul.

I try to have my cheat meals early in the day because I end up feeling so stuffed afterwards that it's a chore to fnish the next 5 meals, and then I'm stuck at 10:30 at night trying to get through 4 meals (kinda like right now). moral of the story: take the cheat meal, make it small. Do it for your sanity.

This friday I get paid (finally!) and you know what that means: another Costco trip. Which means I'll be stocking up on more egg whites and cottage cheese. I could totally live off that stuff. Enjoy what's left of the weekend and have a restful night :)

15 weeks out

So I finally started running every morning before breakfast..talk about throwing a wrench in my schedule. I'm a complete night owl that likes to stay up until 3am, and waking up at 6:30 every morning really sucks. Good thing is I can see my obliques in the morning :) I'm 16 weeks from competition, and I'm still at the same weight (137-138lbs) but I'm definitely leaning out. My clothes are starting not to fit--everything is starting to fit really loosely on me, especially pants and tanktops. I used to have this little pudge on my lower abs, and its definitely disappearing, which I'm happy about :) I need to schedule my body composition measurement (I'm due for the month) and see where my body fat percentage is at. As for lifts, I'm a little nervous about going up on my shoulder press. I tried pressing 30s yesterday and my left shoulder popped out :( Maybe I need to work up to 27.5 on the machine.

I started taking my supplements this week: green tea and BCAAs. The amount of pills I down is ridiculous--you'd think I was either a druggie or terribly sick. Oh and it doesn't help that they're horse pills either..but bodybuilders swear by these supplements, so I'll give it a try.

My diet's been pretty constant, still living off oatmeal, tuna, whey, cottage cheese, chicken and egg whites. I eat clean all week and have one cheat meal on sunday. Tomorrow I'm going to brunch with friends--I can't wait. I checked out the menu and I already know what I'm getting--cream cheese stuffed french toast--with milk and a chocolate chip cookie, of course :) Oh tomorrow is going to be glorious--I live for sunday afternoon cheats.

In other news, I've been thinking about going to a chiropractor--the lopsidedness in my shoulders really bothers me. Not in a physical sense, but more from an aesthetic perspective. Hopefully my health insurance covers it.

That's my update for now, I'll catch you guys later :)

Oh Costco how I love thee.

So I went shopping at Costco and Walmart this weekend, and I just had to show you guys how my amex card melted in my hands. My fridge is filled with baked chicken breast, a case of egg whites, 3 dozen eggs, 12 tubs of fat free cottage cheese, and on my living room table i have 9 pounds of almonds, 3 pounds of walnuts, 100+ servings of oatmeal, 250 capsules of green tea extract, 250 capsules of one-a-day pills, and 12 pounds of protein. Granted this will last me for at least 2-3 months (especially when I start cutting and eating less), so I don't feel too bad about spending less than $200 on food and supplements. If you're thinking about bodybuilding (or just bulking in general), then Costco is definitely your best friend. Get a few buddies together, hop in a car (or minivan if you have one), and see how long you can resist the wholesale prices. I bet less than 3 minutes :)

In other news, I did my chest workout on Monday (dumbbell bench, incline dumbbell and flyes) and did all sets to failure. I'm glad I was able to beat my reps, and I have a decent amount of soreness in my pecs. Hopefully I can increase the weights next week. Today I did back (bent over rows, romanian deadlifts, lat pulldowns, shrugs and hypers) and was able to beat my reps. I'm struggling with the lat pulldowns (my grip tends to give out pretty quickly which makes me pause in my reps) but I'm glad to say I crushed my deadlifts :) Currently I can do reps of 115, and if I can get that as high as possible, I'll be on cloud nine. My lower back is killing me, but it lets me know I pushed myself and had an awesome workout. Hopefully I can hit 125 next week :)

That's all for now, I've got cardio in the morning (taking my green tea supplement beforehand to boost my metabolism) so hopefully I can jog off all this soreness. Goodnight all :)

Ankle status?

Ankle's still a little sensitive, but a lot better. I can walk on it, but no sudden herky jerky movements. I got it x-rayed on Thursday and apparently I tore a ligament; I'm supposed to wear an ankle sleeve and stay off of it for 4-8 weeks (like that's really going to happen). It's still a bit swollen on the bottom, but overall it's good. I'd say I'm back to 90%. Thanks to those who cared and were concerned. I'm back on track for training (never did stop really, haha), and pushing myself harder than ever. I went shopping at costco this weekend, will upload some pics from that escapade.

Today is the start of my split, and we're doing chest today: dumbbell bench, incline bench and flyes. Only 3 lifts, so hopefully I won't be in the gym all night :)

Murphy's Law in full effect

Hey all,

As hard as I tried, I am not invulnerable to Murphy's Law. I suffered an unfortunate setback tonight: as I was rushing down the stairs from my room, I slipped, missed a step and fell and sprained my ankle. It's a mild sprain; my ankle's pretty stiff and swollen (as you can see) but I'll do the standard protocol: ice, wrap, elevate..and hopefully I can see a doctor tomorrow. Will let you know my status ASAP, but I still plan on lifting tomorrow (doing back, either with machines or free weights). Hopefully it'll feel better in the morning and I can get to work. Goodnight all.

19 weeks out

Hey all,

So I'm 19 weeks away from competition and here are some pics. I'm progressing slowly, but as you can tell, I have lots of problem areas to work on (abs, arms, lats and chest). I just got some supplements today (green tea and BCAA's) so hopefully that'll help me put on some more muscle before November hits. So what are my stats are how do my workouts look? Here's a quick rundown on me:

since June 25th:

height: 5'5.75"

weight: 140.1lbs

body fat: 18.9%

and here's what my workouts look like:

Sunday: cardio

Monday: cardio

Tuesday: chest

Wednesday: legs

Thursday: cardio

Friday: back

Saturday: shoulders/arms

This weekend is going to be a little hectic since I'll be out of town, so today I actually did cardio in the morning and will lift later tonight, since my gym is going to be closed for the weekend. Not the most ideal situation, but it's better than missing a training session. My back is coming out nicely (next time I'll try to wear a sports bra instead of rolling up my shirt) :)

As for my diet, I'm eating about 2000 calories a day (a huge jump from my old 1300/day) and I eat about 250 grams of protein to build muscle and 50 grams of fat a day. As it gets closer to showtime I'll start changing my cardio and diet; right now I'm trying to put on as much muscle as I can, and next month I'll start leaning out :)

That's all for now, will post more pics soon :)