Bikini Prep Update 2015 + Why I Didn't Place

Hello! It is October 19th today and I just feel like I REALLY need to blog, and vent, and update the world on what I'm up to (to the .0093774 of people that care). Right now I am 3 weeks out from the Las Vegas Classic which will take place on November 7th. However, I have decided that I will not be doing this show, and as of now any more shows this year. Why? Many reasons. The first reason is we had WAY too much fun in San Francisco last week and spent way too much money. Having another show IN VEGAS right at the beginning of the month is not smart financially and it's just not worth it to be struggling. I want to be able to travel for the holidays, have fun, enjoy life, without worrying about saving enough money for a show and worrying about being on prep. Quality of life. I just feel like my money could be best used elsewhere than trying to bring home a trophy. I have nothing to prove to anyone, except for myself and I've already exceeded my expectations of myself and more. I still work hard everyday to improve more and more on my physique and I just shock myself every time I take pics, it's so rewarding! So a trophy does not validate anything, placing doesn't validate anything, although it would be nice to take home first.

With that said, my last show, San Francisco Championships with Muscle Sport Productions, was one week ago. It was great, I felt great, I had a BLAST, but I did not place. Yet again! That makes five shows now that I walk away with nothing. Am I mad? Yes. Disappointed? Yes? In myself? No way! I look and feel amazing and am just simply not what the judges are looking for. If you're an over planner like me, you STUDY everything and what the judges are looking for. After "studying" the winners of my class in the last show... I've come to realize they just want skinny girls. Plain and simple. I'm not "fat" by any means and I'm not "not skinny", I'm just not THAT skinny. I have A LOT of muscle, I'm 10% (skin fold said 8% so I rounded up) body fat right now. My glutes and thighs are still a problem, as they are too big and my quads show separation with every step I take. Judges don't like that for bikini. They will choose a soft skinny girl over a muscle girl any day, which is what I've learned while doing these shows. I'll be the one to tell you girls, bikini prep is really just leg day and cardio (like crazy) to be honest. They do not care about your muscle. Now once you get to Nationals, muscle up and you'd better bring it because at nationals they are leaning towards the muscular, LEAN girls. Contradicting, I know. Maybe I'm in the wrong state? I see such amazing muscular winners of my class all the time and I just wonder why the shows I do are not this way. For the SF Champs, ALL of the other classes had muscle girls as winners except class C, our class was a softer girl. And the overall winner of the show was exactly what a bikini girl should look like. So it's confusing to guess what the judges like when one class they go for something and the next class they choose something completely different. There were PLENTY of muscle girls in my class, believe me. Also, the judges said it was a really hard class... yet they still chose the other girls. Not to offend those beautiful women who won, it just makes no sense at all.

Winners of Class C, So you can get an idea of the physique they were going for. You guys know what I look like. Picture me next to these girls. 

 Class C Winner. Julia, you're beautiful and great so take no offense :) 

  Now these are the number one girls in each class. Class C is in green. 

Overall winner below! She looks amazing, awesome job girl!

I hope now there's an understanding of what happened at the show, why I didn't place, etc. I want you all to understand, of course the show went the way it did, but I don't want you to think I'm just writing it off as "well I'm perfect and should have won, there's nothing I need to work on, blah blah blah". Because obviously I need to lose size in order to fit what the judges want. I think I'm very close, but not enough to win. I'm just at a point where I ask myself, "is it worth it to lose the muscle I've built, to get smaller just to win a trophy". Of course my plan and goal is to become a pro so it would HAVE to happen. It's just not worth the money right now to keep doing shows when the judges don't like my physique. So that's reason number two.

So what does "time off" mean? Most girls take time off to build muscle and get bigger for nationals. Luckily, I have no problem in the muscle area :) My time off means cardio cardio cardio. Keeping up my cardio plan while reverse dieting back into a healthy calorie range. From this day I'm staying on prep diet and plan for this week, then starting my reverse dieting next week. I'll be adding 10% carbs and 5% fats (every other week) based on my progress. Right now I'm at 1350 range of calories with carbs at 120. My goal for my reverse diet is to get to 200+ carbs daily and 60+ fats daily. To somewhat maintain my physique while losing the last bit of fat in my legs and butt. According to the body fat test I have 10lbs of fat in my body out of 122lbs, which doesn't leave much to lose which means I'll most likely be burning some muscle... Sadly, but we'll see.

I will definitely keep you guys updated because I've never done a reverse diet and I'm excited to see the changes. I'm keeping my cardio at 5 fasted sessions a week and lifting will be 3 lifting circuits a week. One leg day circuit, one upper body, and one full body. I love circuits! They're fun and keep your heart rate up for the entire duration of you're workout. Plus they're short and sweet... well not too sweet, they're killer, but effective. Circuits are a way to implement your lifting routine while also burning more calories. With circuits you're not lifting for weight, so no heavy lifts, aiming for 12-20 reps per exercise while also incorporating cardio moves like jumping jacks and pop squats. I actually don't lift heavy on anything anymore except back (actually I do heavy deadlifts still and heavy hip thrusts and bridges). I don't target quads specifically, nor do I target inner thighs, I only go light on hamstrings now. So yeah my workouts are pretty limited, so circuits it is! I build muscle fast and as far as my physique goes, I'm done building muscle, I don't want any more. I know that sounds silly to some people. I can always appreciate more back muscles though, I love my back!

So here are some photos below of me on stage from my boyfriend in the the crowd. I wanted to save on money so didn't spend the $85 on professional stage shots. I find $85 to be ridiculous... it might have been worth it though lol.

There you have it guys! No more shows for me this year, more traveling, more money, and MORE FOOD by the end of the year. Sounds like a good plan. I plan on doing another show in February or so before our EUROTRIP, but we'll see. We're also moving at the end of January aaaand updating our apartment to hardwood floors and stainless steel appliances and a huuuuge bathroom. I think all of that is better than paying for a.... trophy, right? :)

Keep following for updates and IIFYM reverse dieting, pre prep, and lifestyle upgrades! Thanks for reading :)

Five Weeks Out and New Updates!

What's new? Lots! Let me start with my upcoming bikini competition. I'm competing in the Tahoe Show again this year on August 22nd in Lake Tahoe. Let me just say that this show is the most amazing NPC show I've ever been to! They put so much love into their production and it shows! They take care of their competitors and it's evident that it's about more than money for them. This is important to me so I don't mind traveling to the show to support them. My boyfriend and I decided we're driving there instead of flying to save the $700+ it would take to fly. It's a 7 hour drive so ROADTRIP!!! And meal prep lol. This is good though because I can now pack whatever I want without worrying about it fitting in a suitcase (like my own weights to pump up in my hotel room). See I told you I'm still cheap. :)

I'm five weeks out from the Tahoe Show which means strict strict strict! Up until now, I have done the IIFYM approach (in a clean way, not adding donuts and oreos). I eat a lot throughout the day and work out and burn A LOT of calories and there are a lot of different elements about this prep than last year's. For instance, last year's preps were 100% clean, no cheats, no "maybe this can fit", nothing that wasn't a whole food, grown, or natural. Which there's nothing wrong with that approach at all! It worked greatly, but I wanted to try something different. This prep I had a cheat day every Friday which included eating whatever I wanted with no guilt. Needless to say, this prep has been pretty easy for me. It IS my first show this year so I'm not burned out yet, thankfully! In my opinion, five weeks out is the time where you should be where you want to be despite water weight and final tweaks. At five weeks out, you essentially have three more weeks to be 100% stage ready (which pretty much means cardio). At two weeks out, you need to be stage ready. If you're still trying to make tweaks or build muscle, it's too late. Keep in mind the peak week strategies that can make or break your stage presence. Peak week can be approached in many ways, personally I will be cutting salts, sweeteners, extra fiber, and protein shakes because I know how my body reacts to these things. Water I'll slowly cut towards the end of the week, I'm not going to dehydrate myself all week. I'm very excited and feel that my progress and body looks way better than last years! We'll see how the show goes! 

Of course there will be way more posts about my prep for the next 5 weeks, but guess what, I started a YouTube Channel! Oh yes! So you'll get to see my Vlogs as well in case you don't feel like reading. :) Of course the two say different things but hey, people have their preferences. Please subscribe if you like my videos and want to see my progress and show coverage. There will also be workouts, full days of eating, and bikini prep tips! Here's my intro video I posted a couple of hours ago. 

I'm also a day out from launching my online training platform (BodiesbyMel.com). Right now I'm a personal trainer in Orange County and train my lovely clients in person one on one. However, if you don't live in sunny California, I can train you online. No matter what your goals are, I can help get you to your dream body. We'll have a consultation call or Skype at first so we can get to know each other and we can go from there. OR if you'd just like to buy the plan, by all means, buy away! 

LiftingLadiesFitness.com is now live and more to come from there. I went fabric shopping last weekend for fabric for.... LEGGINGS! That's right! I'm starting  legging line because I'm so tired of buying leggings that show my ass when I bend over. Also, having leggings for girls with big butts, bigger thighs, and little waists who don't want to resort in wearing high waist all the time (I'll have high waist designs too). This will branch off into jeans I'm sure. Isn't it so hard to find jeans having a 36 inch butt and 26 waist? Solutions are coming! Lifting Ladies is the platform for online training and merchandise (t shirts, sports bras, leggings, crop tops, launching soon!). Custom bikinis are also in order. So head over to my sites, check them out, subscribe, like, and thanks for following my fitness journey! 

Mel

Powering Through the Sickness

'Tis the season to be sick, get colds, and slack off! Well, the first two things, no slacking off this winter. With the weather getting colder (or fluctuating from hot to cold in Cali), the risk of getting sick is higher and higher. While there are many things you can do to prevent the bug getting you, sometimes it just comes out of nowhere despite your careful planning. So how do you stay motivated when you're sick? Are you just going to throw out your plans and goals for a week in your bed? Are you going to power through and go to the gym sick? I'd say neither is a good plan, though there has to be balance. You can't just show up to the gym putting everyone in danger of catching what you have. Think about it, you cough into your hand, you touch a dumbbell, do your set, put it back. Someone new picks up the same dumbbell, gets an itch on his face or eye, or randomly decides to put his hand in his mouth, bam! He's got it too! The gym is a bacteria frenzy! Okay I know I've scared you now and yes there's a lot of risk in the gym, but you can take matters into your own hands by taking extra precautions during your workout.

1. Take a towel (or two) everywhere. For you to breath or cough into, and to wipe down the machines after use. 
2. Before use, use a wet wipe or spray and towel to wipe off everything you'll be touching. You never know what the person before you did on there or their condition. 
3. Don't go to the gym if you feel too sick. Which brings me back to what motivates you.

When you're coughing, sneezing, wiping your runny nose, I'm sure it's hard to build up the motivation to even get out of bed. If you have a goal in site like a prep or a fitness challenge you've joined, you'll need to get back into the gym asap. If you don't have a goal in site, by all means, take that time off to recover and get well. This is more for those of us who need to fast forward getting well so we can get back in the gym and attack those goals. You don't want to reschedule a show because you got sick. Could you imagine? Some great things you can do to keep your prep moving forward is move around! Go walking on the treadmill. I know it's hard taking a step from our hardcore workouts and jumping on a treadmill just to walk, but do you feel like running? That's what I thought. So walk for 30 minutes to an hour, keep your body conditioned throughout your sickness. A stationary bike is also a great choice! Sitting down might be all you want to do so it's probably the best choice. I mean, if there were a lying down cardio machine, I'm sure we'd all be in line for it. Don't want to leave the house? Below is an at home workout I've put together that's sure to get your heart beating, while letting you workout in the comfort of your own home.

Low Impact Burpees: Go through the motions of a regular burpee, only walk your legs one at a time back, push up, then back up. Stand up with hands in air, don't jump. (Unless of course you're up to do the high impact jumping)(As many as you can for one minute)

Jumping Jacks (One minute)

Body weight squats (One minute)

Stationary lunges (One minute)

Lying toe touches (One minute)

Repeat this cycle 3 times or as many time desired. That makes 15 minutes of moving around, getting active, and staying accountable. Don't let that cold knock you off your feet, you're better than that! In the same right, don't push yourself so far that you get even sicker and end up being out of the gym even longer. Listen to your body, if you feel you can do it, do it. If not, take a break. Now onto diet, because it's not all about the gym.

When sick, what is the LAST thing you want to do? Eat! And what is right behind that? Meal prep,

eat right, eat all healthy food. Who wants to be in the kitchen all day prepping meals? YOU do if you want to stay on track with your goals. This whole week when I was sick, I prepped every single meal and every single meal was clean. I thought, well if I'm going to be out of the gym, I'm at least going to be on point with my eating. You have push yourself to eat well, you must. The main problem when sick is that you don't want to eat. It's such a chore especially eating like clockwork like we do. My advice is to just do it the second it crosses your mind before you have a chance to think about it. Get up, cook, and soon you'll be able to lie down again. If you're lucky, maybe you'll have someone to cook six meals for you. That would be nice, but who has time for that? You have to want it, live it breathe it! No sickness will get you down. How wonderful it would have been to just order food all day and eat just that. Nope, we can't do that because we have goals to conquer! So dig deep and do what needs to be done in order to stay on track. You can do it! I did :)

Thanks for reading! I hope this inspires you when you're sick to get up and keep fighting for your goals. Bookmark this for when you are sick to try the workout and let me know how it goes!


Mel

Dun Dun Dun My Competition(s) Results. Finally.

Omg guys I can't believe I haven't posted, updated, filled you guys in on my life. Hopefully you've been checking out my Instagram feed and captions for updates. I have to say my first competition really left a bad taste in my mouth and I didn't want to speak badly about the company, show, anything like that... but it's been months now and I really don't care anymore. Sadly, the Muscle Contest Grand Prix show in April was not a fun experience. It was a drag, I felt invisible and an after thought on stage because I wasn't part of a team. I swear they had their winners chosen before the show. There were like 30 people in my class which is a BIG show! So imagine being a judge sitting through all of those classes. Novice classes A-D and Open A-F with 20+ girls in each class. The shows started at 8am, I thought I'd be on stage around one. WRONG. I didn't go on stage until around 3-4! The venue didn't have food and I hadn't planned on a 3PM stage time so I was starving! I had rice cakes but that was nothing. Definitely a "first show" mistake, I have learned from that. So anyway, by the time I got on stage the judges seemed OVER IT. I tried to make eye contact with at least one judge, not one was ever looking at me! At least FAKE like you're judging. Omg I felt like complete shit standing up there and could not wait for it to be over. You can see from my photos I went up there with confidence and all was well in that category, I just pushed through and rocked it. Of course it didn't matter, didn't place, didn't even get a real placing. They literally placed top five and threw the rest of us to the side. So. Yeah.

I was pretty pissed about the whole situation, experience, everything so I didn't even want anything to do with blogging about it, talking about it, anything. I'm not saying that my body was PERFECT and that I should have gotten first or anything like that. I know what I need to work on and know how I can improve, it just would have been nice to be seen by the judges. I spoke with some of the girls back stage and they said the same thing, that the judges weren't looking. So after the morning/ afternoon show I just said fuck it let's go eat! We went to Denny's and I ordered some fries and a quesadilla. I'd admitted to myself that this show was a waste of my time and money and nothing I do is going to change that. I couldn't even eat the food, it was too salty and greasy. So we went back to the hotel. When we got back to the hotel I thought maybe I can have a second chance to be seen. I switched my bikini to the red one, practiced my walk even more, and was excited to hit the stage again. So it's finally time for the night show (bikini is last) around 9pm, I get on stage, look down, the judges aren't even there! Ah so sad. I learned that the night show is for family so a lot of girls don't even come to the night show if they don't get first call outs. This would have been GREAT to know, otherwise I would not have wasted my time. Seriously, colossal waste of my time! So after the show, took pics, and left to The Cheesecake Factory for my mac and cheese :) I had no problem eating that lol.

I know, I know, I'm supposed to be positive and say "oh it was a great experience and I'm glad I did it", but you guys know me and I'm going for pro. The only good thing that came from that show were the awesome girls I met, and the pointers I got from girls who've done multiple shows. I've learned that you have to research what shows will work best for YOU. I am muscular, I have muscle, and ASS. I cannot be judged next to skinny twigs with no muscle and expect to win. More about that later. Not that those skinny twigs don't look great, have had an awesome fitness journey, and are just amazing, you just have to know what shows you'll have a better chance at. Research includes going on NPCNewsOnline.com viewing the shows, photos of winners, comparisons, etc. Anyway, that's in the past and I have moved on! I'm just very anti Muscle Contest shows at the moment, I feel like all they care about is money. Especially after the Spectrum Fitness Productions show I went to on June 7th!!

OMG. The professionalism, the coverage, the interaction, the venue, hotel, registration, EVERYTHING was amazing. Seriously, It was like a trip to the midwest vs a trip to Paris. The productions of show quality is miles apart. The SFP show was a lot smaller than the MC one, about 9-15 ladies per class instead of 20-30+. I think there should be a cap for national qualifier shows, but that's just me. They wouldn't want a cap though because then they'd be capping their income potential. Okay so the SFP was June 7th in Sacramento. I drove there from SoCal. Yes I drove that far just to NOT do a Muscle Contest show. Sadly, I had to go by myself because my boyfriend DeAngelo had drill (army) that weekend :( So I also have NO stage shots from the show. I regret not buying photos. Ugh. Anyway, man we were spoiled at this show. The event was AT the hotel where we were staying so we didn't have to freaking sit at an auditorium all damn day waiting until our time on stage. Another AMAZING thing: they text us when it's time for us to go on stage. I don't even think you guys realize how amazing and relieving this is. We don't have to be freaking out wondering when we'll be on stage, if we've missed our class, most of all we don't HAVE to watch the whole show. No offense to the physique men, but jesus there are always SO many of them and I get tired of looking at the same thing for hours lol. Throughout the prep they have you hashtag your photos with #NPCNorcal, feature athletes, say good luck to athletes, LIKE your photos, they post motivation everyday, it's just great. You can just tell that they care so much. Customer service is great, you can see that they respond to all of their questions on their site with no problem, they're just so nice! If you want to do a show I highly recommend SpectrumFitnessProductions.com, the next show is August 2nd!

Cool, cool, So how did I do?! I got sixth...Out of 9 girls. Not what I wanted obviously, but while in the line up I could already tell it wasn't going to go well. Now this is the complicated part of bikini, they judge you on how the other girls look. If the girls are muscular they judge on muscle, if the girls are skinny with... shoulders? They judge on that. Honestly, I can't stand by the skinny girls and be motivated by that. Not saying they don't work hard, but damn I work HARD on this body and I am not losing muscle just to fit in in the amateur shows. Yes, the amateur shows. These are FITNESS shows and to me being "fit" is not the same as being "skinny" and being a cardio queen. Pick up those weights! I chose this show for many reasons, but a main reason was because it was also a bikini pro show. Ah yes, the pros! They look amazing man, AMAZING! And let me tell you, muscle central! The judges swear up and down that they don't want muscle girls but ALL of the pros are jacked! I want to look like that, but I've had to tone down because all of the shows around me are "skinny girls" in bikinis. It's quite annoying. So yeah, I chose this show because I thought since the pro bodies are fresh in the judges minds, they'd judge us based on their bodies. Nope. Didn't work out for me. BUT despite my placing, I still had fun, it was a great production, I was taken care of, so it was okay. That's how every show should be! And yes I went to The Cheesecake Factory afterwards :)

So I know I need to work on my glutes and thighs. During the prep for SFP NPCNorcal, I did glutes TWICE a week, shoulders three times a week, added in biceps and chest again, I just went hard. I got super lean, I looked SO much better than my first show, I can't even believe it! For THIS prep I'm (sadly) becoming a cardio queen and trying to get rid of this stubborn thigh fat. Fasted cardio every morning should do the trick. I have about 9 weeks so progress should be amazing. The first show prep I did no carbs the week of the show, for the second show I did carb cycling which worked out way better for me. I still came in a little flat by show time because I thought I'd be able to get another meal in, but the show went by sooo fast since there weren't that many people in the classes. It sucks never knowing the exact time we'll be on stage, but it's okay. I've learned that carbs are VERY important the last two days before show. For this prep for my next show I'll do carb cycling again for five weeks. It's SO effective for me and I stand by it.

So what's next?! I've found two prospective show's I'd like to do in August. I really want to do the Tahoe Show (August 23rd)! I've added up costs though and it's going to be very expensive. Like a $1500 trip! And what if I don't even place? Not worth it to me. BUT to stay away from a MC show, I might just have to. Because (I know I talked a lot of shit about them but,) the other choice IS a Muscle Contest Show: Pacific USAs. It's in San Diego on August 16th. Unfortunately, there really aren't that many NPC shows in SoCal besides MC shows so I'll have to tough it up and do them anyway. At least I know what to expect this time! So we'll see what show I can do, hopefully this is the one I qualify. I've also looked into WBFF shows! Those girls look amazing. Who knows you might be looking at the next Fitness Diva :) WBFF appreciates muscle :)

THE PROS! AND WHAT I ASPIRE TO LOOK LIKE

It's been a crazy and awesome year and I have some amazing progress that I'm very proud of. I love this new lifestyle and I can't imagine not living in it. I'm glad I started competing! Thank you SO much for reading this, I can't even believe you read the whole thing and it's just great to know I have people to support me. Comment, share, be amazing, and thanks so much.

~Mel

Rest Days and Tacos

Oh hey everyone! This has been a crazy, busy, tiring, ridiculous week. I've been training really hard and working hard on my nutrition and macros. I over study and analyze everything so I spend at least two hours a day studying nutrition, physiques, new workouts, and pretty much anything fitness related. I LOVE motivating people and encouraging them to feel beautiful. So I've been on Twitter and Instagram "inspiring" and empowering people. I feel like any kind of encouragement can at least boost some one's day. After all, it is great getting compliments.

This weeks forecast of workouts consisted of Tuesday: morning fasted cardio, night back and calves, Wednesday: Forced REST DAY (I was so sore, could not even move), Thursday: morning fasted cardio, night leg day, Friday: cardio and some shoulders, Today: more shoulders and triceps and HIIT. Taking a rest day on Wednesday pushed my triceps day to today so I just have to pair it with shoulders. Should be a fun time.

Last night I made some delicious chicken tacos and I'd like to share them with you. I've never used basil, but I've always ordered it at restaurants and it's always amazing whatever it's in. So I bought some while grocery shopping yesterday and decided to make some tacos.

List:
Whole Grain tortillas
Chicken breast
Chopped tomatoes
Chopped Onions
2 basil leaves
Salt, pepper, Mrs. Dash seasoning (I also used onion powder and garlic salt)

I'm a huge fan of skillet medleys, AKA chop everything up, throw it in a skillet, throw it in a bowl, and enjoy! So this recipe is quite easy and will take no longer than ten minutes. For my side vegetable, I steamed some seasoned baby carrots. AMAZING. The sweet and "salty" mix was a great contrast to the tacos, you HAVE to try it.

Cut all vegetables, sautee onions into a skillet with olive oil, once medium done, add the tomatoes (you can choose to keep tomatoes raw but I don't enjoy raw tomatoes), then add the basil. Once onions are cooked to desired (I like mine completely cooked as I hate raw onions), put vegetable mixture to the side. I used the mini fajita tortillas, I put them in the toaster to make a taco shell, put the cooked chicken in, and then the vegetables. The basil adds its own flavor so you won't need to top it with any kind of seasoning, cheese, or any other garnishes, unless you want to of course. I also had 1/4 cups of brown rice. Enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

Mel

Fasted Cardio

Happy Tuesday! I ran out of protein last night and I was hoping my protein I ordered would come! It said it shipped at 6AM, and literally took ALL day to get here. But I got it! So yay! I have realized that my protein (Beverly International UMP Chocolate) comes with 30 servings which is one scoop. I take four scoops a day. Therefore that's one container (2lbs) of protein a week! WTF lol. So I need to get a different protein that has more in it. Beverly should sell 5lb containers or more, but they don't. So I think I'm going to go with the Optimum Nutrition protein. It's high rated and has the same stats as UMP except it has 4 extra proteins. Winner! So on Sunday I'll be ordering that. I also ordered some BCAAs to take before and after my workouts. That was missing from my diet so I added it.

Today was back day, and it went well. Of course. I'm feeling very confident about my physique and am very excited for the competition. 53 Days!!

Oh yeah! How could I forget? Today I woke up and did 45 minutes of cardio. After reading about fasting cardio last night, I felt I should try it. Why not? At first I was totally against it since I am always starving when I wake up. There have been many debates about whether fasting cardio is good for you, and there's definitely a scientific backing behind it. Are you building muscle? If yes, fasting cardio might and most likely will break down your muscles. Or you can simply eat before you workout. A protein shake, a banana, something to burn through before getting to the fat "essentially". What fasting cardio does do is effectively burn fat, according to studies. It's not some secret ingredient to lose a bunch of fat, but it's effective depending on your goals. Now, I'm never one to knock anything until I try it myself, so I'm trying it out. Also, since I'm in this awkward phase of muscly and fatty, the fasted cardio will most likely be perfect for me. Although, I hate it. I'm going to try it out doing it every other day, so Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. I know my results will be amazing, simply because of the ridiculous amount of calories I'll be burning doing two a days. I hit like 700+ Calories today, ridiculous.

Back & Calves Day

Cable Rows
120lbs x 12 reps
130lbs x 10 reps x 2 sets
140lbs x 6 reps

Calf Raise Machine
80lbs x 15 reps x 4 sets

Iso High Row Machine
90lbs x 15 reps
110lbs x 10 reps
130lbs x 8 reps x 2 sets

Dorsiflexion "Machine"
50lbs x 15 reps x 4 sets

One Arm Cable Lat Pull down
50lbs x 8 reps x 4 sets per arm

Super Set
Calf Raises on Stairs
25 reps
Bent over one arm row on bench
22.5lbs x 15 reps per arm x 4 sets

Deadlifts
135lbs x 10 reps
185lbs x 6 reps
205lbs x 3 reps x 2 sets

Bent over row w/barbell
80lbs x 8 reps x 4 sets

Row Machine over hand (pronated) grip (One side at a time)
45lbs x 12 reps each side
55lbs x 10 reps each side
65 lbs x 8 reps x 2 sets each side

Chin Ups
3 sets of 4

I ended with leg raises on parallel bars (25 reps) and then oblique leg raises on parallel bars. I also did some oblique leg raises while lying on my side and then side crunches. I'm not sore from my workout yesterday so I wanted to work my obliques a little more. :)

Thanks for reading! Let me know if you try the fasted cardio too.

Mel

Another Dead Day

OMG today was such a drag! Of course there are going to be days that are down, days that are hard to push through, days that make you feel like you can't go on, but always power through. I know yesterday I had the same situation, but today was worse. I was so excited though because of leg day. I'm so determined and motivated to mold these legs into what I want to see in myself. So nothing can hold me back, not even some stupid period pain. I have really bad and painful periods, like numbing pain in my stomach and back all the way down through my legs. No cramps, just ringing pain. So if I can get my ass off of the couch and lift some weights, you can definitely do it. Especially if you're a guy and you don't have to deal with this monthly crap.

Anyway, despite my day of sitting on the couch, eating every two hours, and drinking a gallon of water, I sat on Instagram all day searching hash tags, looking at physiques, workouts, getting motivated. I went through #fitfam on Twitter to get motivated. So it was a great motivating day and I never fell into the slump of "not wanting to work out". Of course I didn't feel like going, but not going was not an option.

Leg Day- Hamstrings and Inner Thighs

I started out with a 5 minute warm up incline on the elliptical. Then 25 reps of 45lb of Good Mornings to get the hamstrings warmed up.

Lunges
115lbs x 8 reps x 4 sets

Stiff Leg Deadlifts w/barbell
95lbs x 15 reps x 2 sets
115lbs x 10 reps x 2 sets

Super Sets
Wide Sumo Squats w/ dumbbell
35lbs between legs x 20 reps x 4 sets (My legs were way further apart than this video)

Dumbbell Stiff Leg Deadlift
Holding dumbbell the same way as sumo squat, bring legs closer together, bend down with dumbbell with back and legs straight.
35lbs x 8reps x 4 sets

Lying Down Leg Curl
40lbs x 15 reps x 4 sets

Adductor Machine
50lbs x 15 reps x 4 sets

Sitting Leg Curl
50lbs x 8 reps x 4 sets

Cable Kickbacks
40lbs x 12 reps x 4 sets on each leg

Hamstring Roll Ins w/foam roller
3 sets of 8

Something like this, but with a foam roller. GREAT hamstring workout. And great way to end your workout lying down lol. That's it! No HIIT today.

Now I'm going to eat my shrimp and chicken bowl and watch something on TV. I know my hamstrings and inner thighs are going to be sooooo sore tomorrow and even worse the day after. Cardio day is tomorrow so I'll be limping in there lol. Thanks for reading!

Mel

Bikini For Competition

Okay so in my search for the oh so exciting, cute, sexy, wonderful bikini for my show (yes show, not competition because I will be showing off this body baby!), I have come to the conclusion that buying a bikini when I am perfectly capable of making my own is a complete joke. WTF, $200+ for a swim suit with fake rhinestones on them? Some of them have real ones, but still. No, just no. I went to college for design at The Academy of Art University in San Francisco and have also been sewing consistently since sixth grade. I've made prom dresses, I think I can handle a bikini. I think even with no experience, you could make your own bikini. It's ridiculously easy and I'm trying to wrap my head around where these companies get off charging so much. There must be some secret magic thread they use or something lol. Not bashing them of course. The bikinis are beautiful and great and I completely understand that they have to turn a profit, so go them! I have just decided that I shall make my own.

My boyfriend tells me "red, red, you're a red!" Well I wanted pink! I love pink, give me pink! Hot pink! lol So now red is in the back of my mind so here's the red one. It's not done, still have to figure out the top and how to bedazzle it. I pretty much have it figured out though. I think I'm still going to make a pink one though, just so I have two choices. Why not? It's so easy to make :)




I wish you guys could see it more, I'll take more pics in the day time when there's better lighting. I tried it on and practiced posing in it and it looks awesome! I want to make the back a little smaller though, show off the booty a little more. I'll add a little more scrunch in the butt. Yay! So exciting! I'll try to post a video of me practicing posing and my progress and stuff soon. Until then, thanks for reading!

Mel

Competition Update

So I've been working out well of course, eating well of course, but I'm new to the whole competition thing. So I have been researching OVER-researching to be exact lol. Literally spending every extra minute watch bikini and figure shows, watching poses, studying poses, getting bikini ideas, it's crazy. I just want to smack myself and just go with the flow. For me though, I am an over planner and I think ahead for everything so I can't really help it. Plus, it's not really a horrible thing, so whatever. I got my shoes in the mail last week! I have been practicing walking everyday. I'm telling you, it is a workout itself. It's tiring, especially for my feet. The shoes aren't that comfortable and they are very ugly too. That's good though so the judges will be looking at my body instead if my fabulous shoes.

Here are my lovely legs! I'm proud of them, I'd just like to see the hamstrings a little more and I'd be ecstatic. More photos to come! Omg I'm so mad because this water is just making me bloated every single day so taking pictures is just out of the question except right in the morning when I wake up. Who wants to take pictures when they first wake up?! lol Time to break out those water pills. 

Last Wednesday I got the shading and color on my tattoo. It's all done now, yay! I love it so much. It's my favorite piece of art on me done my Joel Bones of Gold Rush Tattoo in Costa Mesa, CA. The day before the tattoo I worked out obliques/abs. Bad idea. "Yes, yes carve into my sore ab muscles, it feels SO good!" Needless to say, it was painful lying on my side with my arm up for 2.5 hours lol. Totally worth it though! 

As far as food goes, I've been doing good keeping my calories up. Hitting 1800 is like celebration time! lol Crazy, I know. I've been eating every two hours pretty much and I have had to switch some things around and add some high protein foods. I'm trying to be in the range of 120-150g of protein per day, 200+ carbs, and 50-60 fat (essential, healthy fats). It's been improving every day so that's good! My diet as a whole is completely clean and I drink 1.5-2 gallons of water a day. 

I pretty much put spinach in everything and have added egg whites to dinner or night meals as well. Any way to get up that protein! I take protein shakes (Beverly International, Chocolate 80% Whey/ 20% Casein) twice a day, one a couple of hours after breakfast with a banana and the other after my workout at night. The middle photo is a recipe I found with whole grain pasta, spinach, broccoli, plain Greek yogurt, salt, pepper, and onions. YUM! It looks gross but it's good lol try it! Inspired by this (http://www.ezrapoundcake.com/archives/13338) recipe, I didn't have anything on the list except the yogurt and pasta so it looks nothing like that beutiful masterpiece lol. 

Alright, shower time. Thanks for reading guys! Feel free to comment, follow me on Twitter, all that great stuff!

Mel 

Monday: Day One Prep Workout

MONDAY: CARDIO/ ABS

So since I'm focusing a lot on cardio for this prep, I'm doing kickboxing three days a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) and sprints and HIIT (High intensity interval training) on opposite days with Sunday rest day. Today I paired abs with my cardio. I generally do abs everyday, at least one ab workout at the end of every workout. Today I focused on obliques (side abs) and did a little of the main core.

Oblique Static Holds: Lay on one side of your body with your back completely straight and slowly crunch your legs towards your torso. Really squeeze your side/obliques. At the peak contraction point, or the point where you’re squeezing the hardest, hold it there for 45 seconds. Don’t worry if you’re unable to get 45 seconds right away, hold it for as long as you can and slowly build up to 45 seconds over time. Repeat for the other side. 

Side Crunches: Side crunching while really squeezing the abs at the top. It really gets those obliques. Alternate super set style between these and oblique static holds. 3 Sets.

Oblique Cable Crunches: While on your knees with hands above head on rope (or bar) attachment, bend over squeezing the abs all the way to the floor first straight down, then to the side, then to the other side. 3 Sets, 70 pounds.

Cable Wood Choppers: Grab the pulley handle far enough away that you can feel a nice stretch in your obliques and lats. Fully extend your arms and powerfully swing your arms across your body. Hold for 1 second at the end of the movement and slowly return to starting position. Here's a great video to show the motion! 3 Sets, 50 pounds.

Side Plank W/Legs On Bench: Put your legs on the bench with your elbow on the ground in side plank position. Do 8-10 dips/bends downward. Switch sides and do it on the other side. 3 Sets. 

Standing Barbell Twist: Place a barbell on your shoulders, twist your waist back and forth to each side 15 times. Next, bend abs to the side back and forth 10 times. 3 Sets. No rest. 


Cardio Time! I take the kickboxing class at my gym Turbo Kick. It's great, very high impact, and a great group setting. Of course you can just go run on the treadmill for an hour, but this is way more fun. The class can be fun and after time you might get used to the moves, just make sure to always go full out and execute all of the moves. Even OVER execute the moves. Always make sure your heart beat is elevated the entire time, at least 140rpm. Get a heart rate monitor so you always know for sure how many calories you burn. I do take LeanOut by Beverly International which is a fat burner and makes my heart beat faster thus, burning more calories. I take this every day before my workouts. Which reminds me, I need to make a supplementation article. Tomorrow. Tomorrow. 

Thanks for reading! Try these workouts out!

Mel