Loving The Process

Hey everyone! Things are going so great, I love it. I feel like I'm not even prepping for anything because it's become such a lifestyle. I don't even think twice when it comes to eating healthy food. Going to the gym isn't even a second though. The thought of skipping the gym is so far from my mind it's crazy! I can't even imagine a day without going tot he gym. My rest day last weekend consisted of practicing in my heels and googling fitness info. There are a lot of warnings and precautions about cheat day after the competition. It's so funny because I cannot even see myself not living this lifestyle. I love it!

So yesterday was back day and I made a video of me squatting 205 for three reps, yay yay! Watch, like, enjoy! Yesterday morning I also did 30 minutes of running when I woke up. I had a banana and a half a cup of coffee so it wasn't completely fasted cardio. I feel like my lungs are getting better and my stamina is increasing. I can run for longer without getting super tired which makes running more fun and doable. When I first woke up and did cardio I felt like shit all day, no joke. It was so tiring and just daunting on my whole day. Now I feel like I can conquer the world! lol So I will continue doing the morning cardio every other day, opposite of night kickboxing cardio. I'm hoping cardio will get rid of the fat in my lower back. My ass is so ridiculous it's going up my back lol. I know a lot of you will be like, what fat? It's there, I see it and know it's there! So I'm going to run it all off. Speaking of things I need to work on, my ass. Again, a lot of you will be like "whaaat? I love your ass!". Yeah it's great, but I'm disappointed. It still jiggles and it's annoying, it's just not where I want it to be at all. So commence "butt day" twice a week for the next five weeks. That should do it! Other than that, I'm very confident about my physique, I love my body, and cannot freaking wait for the competition.

A recent discovery: Egg whites are amazing! By themselves: blah, with other things as a main or secondary ingredient: amazing! Omg. I have been making egg whites and salsa for the past couple of days. That's it, no other ingredients! Try it, it tastes way too good :) I eat it as a brown rice replacement on low carb day.

Today I did three tricep super sets before my hour kickboxing class. 

Tricep and cardio Day 

1. Tricep cable push down (light weight)
35lbs x 10 reps x 4 sets

Tricep reverse grip cable push down
25lbs x 10 reps x 4 sets

2. Dumbbell overhead extension
30lbs x 10 reps x 4 sets

One arm overhead sideways tricep extension 
10lbs x 10 reps x 4 sets

3. Machine Tricep dips
50lbs x 12 reps x 4 sets

Body weight tricep dips
12 dips x 4 sets

1 hour cardio 

Thanks for reading guys! If you're not following me on Twitter yet, please do so, that would be awesome :)

Mel

Thermogenics and Back Day

Hey hey! Today was back day and it was awesome. Man, I love thermogenics! I'm currently taking LIV, a fat burner/ thermogenic and it's the second kind I've taken. It gives me energy all day long and just makes me feel so powerful. I take it around breakfast (10-11am, hard life, I know:) and still feel a "pump" at 6pm-7pm when it's time to work out. I don't even need a pre workout, it's great. For those of you who don't know what thermogenics or fat burners are, educate yourself on them before you consider them, but they are pretty much caffeine pills. Plain and simple, caffeine makes your heart beat faster, thus burning calories, thus burning fat. There's a science behind it of course so read about it for yourself.

I took time today to practice posing and walking in my heels. I have to say man, my body is looking amazing! I love it. My calves have gotten so much better, my legs are harder, my arms are great I just want to work on lateral shoulders a little more. I just look great right now! I can't believe I have a little less than seven weeks left, it seems so far away! I'm still waiting on my abs to come through, but I see the separation when I do ab workouts. It's so amazing! I'm so excited! It's amazing how much of a work of art your body is and how you can literally carve it into what you want it to look at. I'm telling you guys, no matter where you start, you CAN do it. I don't have a success story or any crazy transformation, but I have dedicated my life to fitness and could not be happier. If you know me and you have me on Facebook and you've been looking for motivation, message me. I'll help you out. I don't care if we haven't spoken in years, I love inspiring people and helping them reach their goals. Most importantly, I love making people love themselves, to be confident in themselves. It's great! Even if you don't know me, I'm here. With that said, today was back and calves day.

Back and Calves: 

Warm up pull ups- 3 sets of 4

Close grip cable machine rows
120lbs x 8 reps x 4 sets

Calf raise machine
70lbs x 15 reps x 4sets

High Iso row machine
90lbs x 12 reps
110lbs x 10 reps
130lbs x 10reps x 2 sets

Reverse calf machine (works out shin muscle)
50lbs x 8 reps x 4 sets

One arm lat pull down
50lbs x 8 reps x 4 sets

Super Set
Calf raises on stairs
25 reps x 4 sets

One arm bent over row on bench  w/ dumbell
25lbs x 10 reps x 4 sets

Weighted calf raises
90lbs x 15 reps x 4 sets

DEAAAAAADLIFTS
135lbs x 10 reps
185lbs x 5 reps
205lbs x 3 reps x 2 sets

Super Set
Barbell bent over row
80lbs x 10 reps x 4 sets

One leg calf raises (body weight)
4 sets of 10

Wide grip row machine
90lbs x 10 reps
110lbs x 10 reps x 3 sets

Chin ups 
3 Sets of 4

Done son!

Thanks for reading!

Mel

Those Legs!

So today was leg day, gotta love it. Okay so a lot has changed in terms of my workouts and plans. My legs are getting ridiculous. I'm getting progress and gaining muscle way too fast. I need to completely stop lifting heavy and do all high rep workouts, low weight. Same for arms, my guns are getting too big. Which goes to show I SHOULD be prepping for figure, but I want to do a bikini show. I'm definitely a figure girl at heart though, I love lifting heavy. I've found that high reps are boring since I have to count up so high and blah blah blah. It's tiring of course and a great workout no matter what, I just prefer low reps. Unfortunately, I can't do the heavy weight anymore which makes me feel like a weakling at the gym lol. I'm so used to people looking at me like "wtf, that girl is lifting SO heavy". Oh well! I have 7 weeks to trim or maintain these legs, I can't afford to make them any bigger.

I'm also carb cycling now. My macros are set now to 40/40/20 (40% carbs, 40% protein, 20% fats) putting me at at least 158 grams of protein a day, around 158 grams of carbs, and 35 grams of fat. The fat isn't hard for me since I don't eat fatty foods anyway. I literally did not have to cut any foods out of my diet for prep, which is awesome! Well, I switched from buttery popcorn to kettle corn if that counts. Carbs, carbs, carbs. I love carbs. Everything I eat has carbs and it's just crazy thinking about lowering them lol. So I've been trying some low carb dinners which pretty much consists of a large amount of chicken, shrimp, or lean ground beef, lots of veggies, and egg whites. It's not bad, it's actually very good. It's nice to have a change from the brown rice. I get so tired of the brown rice, it's so boring. I love trying out new foods and switching up the ingredients. Yum yum! Seriously though, everything I eat is whole grain and carbs. Wheat Thins, bread, oatmeal, popcorn, peanut butter, yogurt, tortillas, I don't understand how or why on earth people would want to cut our carbs. It's silly. And unnecessary. You NEED carbs! Not just because they are good but because they are good FOR you.

So besides carb cycling, calming down my legs with high reps, and switching up my diet, I'm on track and excited for my competition. SEVEN MORE WEEKS!! It's going to fly by, I already know. So exciting.

Leg Day- Hamstrings, Inner thighs

Super Set
Dumbbell one leg stiff leg deadlifts
25lbs x 15 reps per leg x 4 sets

Super wide sumo squats with dumbbell in middle
25 lbs x 20 reps x 4 sets

Lunges on Smith Machine
135lbs x 12 reps x 4 sets

Stiff leg deadlift on Smith Machine
135lbs x 10reps x 4 sets

Wide stance 45 degree leg press machine
90lbs x 15 reps x 4 sets

Lying down leg curls
40lbs x 15 reps x 4 sets

Adductor Machine
40lbs 25 reps x 4 sets

Sitting leg curls
45lbs x 12 reps x 4 sets

Close and high stance leg press machine
90lbs x 15 reps x 4 sets

6 Minute HIIT
1 Minute of wide stance kettle bell swings
1 minute of shuffles on short platform
Repeat three times

Wow I did a lot lol GREAT workout!!

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

Dun Dun Dun...LEG DAAAAY!

Today was leg day and I have been looking forward to it all weekend. Finally, it has arrived! I know, I'm crazy lol I just really want to see results in my legs. My leg workouts are split in two days: day one is quads and glutes (and outer thighs). Day two is hamstrings and inner thighs (maybe calves depending on how I feel. I usually do calves with back day though since I took out biceps). Today was "day one" and it was a good one.

PEOPLE! Have you done the hip thrusters with a barbell at the gym? Seriously, DO IT. Who cares if it's awkward and if people look. It has to be the best butt workout. It just burns the entire time omg. Great!

Leg Day

Okay so I had a plan and it all went out the window (well not ALL) when I go to the gym. It was PACKED! No squat racks open, nothing open for me to work legs, and no machines. Except the hack squat which I don't usually do, but I did it today so here we go! Also, I did "low weight" high reps today to change it up a bit from the norm which is lifting super heavy starting with 10 reps and adding the weight and lowering reps.

Hack Squat
90lbs x 15 reps x 5 sets

Step Ups w/ dumbbells
Step up on high "stool", this stool went up to just below my bellybutton. My butt and quads were on fire! Do one leg consecutively then switch to other.
0lbs x 10 steps one leg then 10 steps on other leg x 4 (add 15lb dumbbells for sets 2-4)

Leg Extensions
25lbs x 12 reps x 4 sets

Lunges
50lbs (+whatever the smith machine bar is) x 8 reps on one leg then 8 on other x 4 sets

Hip Thrusters w/Smith Machine (DO THESE!!)
50lbs (+whatever SM bar weighs) x 10 reps
70lbs (+bar) x 10 reps x 3 sets

One Leg Leg Press
100 lbs per leg x 12 reps x 4 sets

Abductor Machine
60lbs x 15 x 4 sets

I ended with some functional body exercises. I always try to add a body weight exercise workout at the end whether it be push ups for chest day or dips for triceps. Today I did butt kicks and side leg raises. You're on all fours on the ground, kick one leg back with either leg straight or bent at the knee at a 90 degree angle. I did the bent knee. Do this for 25 reps. Go right into the side leg raises. In cheerleading we called these "dog peeing" because that's exactly what it looks like lol. On all fours still, bend leg o the side with knee bent at 90 degrees. Do this for 25 reps. Your butt will be burning, it should be the opposite leg you're swinging that is burning. You can do these at home any time! Even right before bed to get that butt nice and toned. Very effective!

That's it! Thanks for reading! BTW my abs are SOOOORE! :)

Mel