Off-Season here I come…

So after a long and hard diet with, as many of you know already, some injuries along the way – it is now time for off-season! The inital post-show water rebound has subsided, and I am still keeping fairly lean at just over 3-4 pounds above contest weight. I feel at basically 100% now as far as injuries go. No more sciatic problems, no back issues, no ankle issues…Basically I am ready for a serious off-season! I talked about this in one of my Cygen blogspot articles http://cygenlabs.blogspot.ca/2011/12/fit-or-fat.html , but basically this off-season will not be too much different than any other. My main focus is overall growth without compromising health.

At just under 170 pounds on-stage and just over 170 at weigh in, I can easily pack on 6-7 pounds of muscle and still be in the same weight class (176 and under). So this is basically my goal for the next year or so. Now that I am injury free, I can actually start deadlifting and squatting again! For the next few months I hope to post more videos that show more how I like to train. I’ll admit my training was alot different in the last few months because of all the injuries, so the next few months I am really going to pay attention to form as the strength gets back to where it has been in the past.

As for the updates from my shows: ! I placed 2nd in the middleweight division in a tight battle that was decided by only 1 point. They gave it to the other competitor on that day. I was pleased to be able to have great competition – I often find myself in small classes, and to have to work my ass off during my poses made the day of the event way more enjoyable! It’s always nice to win, but hearing some of the comments about my conditioning and size improvements from the last shows throughout the day was just as much of a win for me as a larger trophy would have been…

The following week I placed 1st in the middleweight class at the Atlantic Championships. Again, a more competitive class than I was used to in the past… This allowed me to go to the overall posedown later that day where I got to battle it out with the eventual overall winner who showed insane conditioning, symmetry, and “the illusion” of size. The guy weighed 153 pounds!! This proves you don’t need to be a monster to defeat monsters.

Here are a few pics from the show: I forgot to mention…JUST MY LUCK – and a perfect fit to all the hard luck I had throughout the prep – the day before the show, I FELL down an entire flight of stairs with my laptop in one hand. I fell HARD on my elbow. Busted the bursa, which made me modify all my poses at the show because I could barely straighten the arm with all the swelling. In fact, 2 weeks later, and It’s still swollen! The first 3 pics with the top 3 winners are of the provincial show. Winner in the middle. The next couple show a little of what my elbow looked like BEFORE it really started to swell/bruise down my arm…The next is my lineup at the atlantics, another with my first place trophy, and finally 1 of the overall lineup at the atlantics. Winner in the middle…

What a month April 2012 was, I will never forget it!

Been a little while since I posted so thought I better update.  For anyone who doesn’t know I won the NSABBA Provincial Championships in The
Figure Tall division and then went on to win the Overall Figure Title!  I was elated and think I may have seen some proud tears in Steve’s eyes after exiting the stage with my Overall Trophy…I was very proud of this accomplishment only 8 months post baby #2 and struggling with arthritis.  To top it off I won on the very stage Steve grew up watching and competing on!  Talk about on cloud nine!

The next weekend we were off to Moncton, NB to compete in the Atlantic Classic.  This was my favorite show of all time…so relaxed and fun backstage, I met so many great people and managed a win in the Figure Masters and Figure Tall divisions!  Is there a cloud ten, because I was way higher than nine, lol!  We brought my sister and our kids to Moncton and hung out at Crystal Palace all weekend with them, too fun!

Now….I am constantly looking for flight deals to BC, where I will compete at Figure Nationals!!!  Back in the gym now big and strong, 14.5 weeks out!

Less than TWO weeks to go!!

Now is when things start to get real! The work has been put in, at this point there is not much left to do but continue the process and hope for the best! I truly feel ready at this point, and the last 2 weeks will be more of a maintenance than anything…Just trying to maintain muscle mass, continue to keep the cardio to where it has been (slow, and not very long) and make sure not to do anything drastic! Of course the final few days are a little different, but I’ll get to that next week! Last saturday (ie 2 weeks out) I decided to have 1 final ‘cheat’ day…It was more of a mock carb up. I tried to see how my body would respond to certain foods I plan on eating thursday before the show. What I learned from this was not to eat too much at once. As long as I keep the carbs below 50grams at a time, my body has no trouble digesting it. Any more, and my heart begins to race, and I believe that my body is just not able to process quickly enough – and at that point things sort of spiral in a negative way…I want to eat more – which in turn makes me feel lethargic, and basically the opposite of what I want to be feeling for the last day or 2 before the show…

So, I have a plan, and I am sticking to it. Again, more on that next week…It should work because I did feel fuller, and harder sunday, even after just a moderate carb up saturday. Here are some pics at 2 weeks out: First set in the black trunks are at night – I am weighing about 183 or so. In the background you can get a glimpse of our cardio tv screen setup…Ange was doing her cardio while I posed (I’ve been having ankle problems for the past few days which probably stems from the sciatic stuff from the past – but I don’t think its setting me back too much. I still have been able to do slow cardio at least every other day).

These next couple are actually a few mornings later. I think officially they were 2 weeks out. I was only about 176 in this set…but pretty dry. I’ve been experimenting with a new style of posing my side chest which shows off my hams a little better. I’ve had Ange look over and she REALLY likes the new way. I do too…keep in mind I am in a slightly different position in the light here so you may think my chest / delts are showing more detail with the traditional way of posing (on the right), but it’s more of an illusion than anything… the big change is in the legs…you get the idea!

4 Weeks!!!

I am really getting excited now.  I love competing and I love the final few weeks of prep.  Despite sick kids, sick Steve, injured Steve, and arthritic me this prep has been quite easy for me.  I am rarely weak or hungry and have energy in the gym.  Scaling back on heavy compound excersises and no longer worrying about building more muscle has really made this journey easier.  I am really happy with the toned down me.  I look the same only 5 pounds less muscle I figure.  Don’t get me wrong I still train hard in the gym but I train with a more athletic focus instead of the powerlifting/muscle building focus I have had in the past.  This is what I feel the sport of figure should be and ideally what I want to look like in my everyday life.  Let’s hope a smooth month ahead…I am stage ready now so just have to maintain (and enjoy) this look for the next 4 weeks.  Someitmes I think being ready early is harder than being behind but I’ll make the best of it and enjoy my ripped time!

Almost 4 weeks now…Getting close!

What another crazy couple of weeks! Some good, some bad… But overall I think I am pleased with the way things seem to be shaping up as I get closer to returning to the NSABBA stage. The sciatic problems I have been having got to an unbearable point about 1 week ago. Basically from week 6 to week 5 were my hardest. Could not sleep, could not work, could not sit, could not lay down. But oddly enough, working out was about the 1 and only thing that didn’t bother it. Constant shooting pain running down from my left glute to my hamstrings all the way to my foot. I haven’t been able to feel the left side of my left foot for about 3-4 weeks now. However, last friday, after finally getting a chance to see my deep tissue therapist, it was almost like INSTANT relief. Not sure if it was coincidence, because I had tried active release with no help (usually ART works very well for me). But getting deep under the nerves in the glute, all of a sudden I could feel my foot… the type of feeling you get when you’re foot is asleep and it finally starts coming too – buzzing, tingly, etc. Anyway, the numbness and lack of feeling eventually returned, BUT no pain. I can finally sit down on a chair without fear. I can actually sit at work for more then 3-5 minutes at a time. I don’t have to stand up in front of my computer to get my work done!

So yeah, having endured that, it sure is a good feeling to only need to endure the ‘regular’ suffering of a pre-contest bodybuilder. Sleep is a bit tricky, hunger setting in, weakness…Most days are difficult to simply stand up and try to walk upstairs. Let alone try to get an hour of cardio in, and another hour at the gym! However, I would say 60% of my workouts have been very intense still (at least for the first half)… Decimate seems to be helping a tun with my workout still – I still feel the energy / psyched up feeling getting to the gym.

I am noticing I am a whole lot more irritable though. But that’s to be expected. Usually just simple things like people getting in the way at the gym doing dumb exercises on a squat rack when I want to be squatting… Oh, and don’t get me started on the fact that I forgot my mp3 player THREE days in a row (the third day I had it, but the battery was dead). Try working out to galaxy soft rock at a goodlife… just doesn’t do it for me! Add to that a fire alarm going off in the mall the goodlife is in and all I can hear for 20 minutes is an ear shattering noise…All this, with no mp3 player to drown it all out! Somehow managed to turn it into a great leg day though!

Here are a few quick shots from this morning. 183 pounds here after drinking water / breakfast. I still have a few to drop before I hit middle. I actually feel I look a bit leaner in person, but I know I can still drop a little more!

Just under 6 weeks to go!!

It has been a couple weeks filled with ups and downs – as expected for anyone going through contest prep. The ups are that I don’t think I could have ever expected looking this good this far from the show. I am heavier than I thought I would be, (ie – leaner than I pictured I would be at this body weight). I am holding steady at approximately 180 pounds on my lightest days of the week – usually towards the end of the week – and the early part of the week I tend to be closer to mid 180s due to moderate carb ups on the weekend that I still have been incorporating. I may or may not continue to do so for the remaining weeks, although I will surely have a few extra carbs here and there to fuel the workouts when things get really low. Which I will get to next:

We took a trip down to Yarmouth, NS, which is my hometown a couple weekends ago. This was a good way to change the pace of the very ‘repetitive’ nature of dieting week after week in the same environment, gym, etc. But also, the kids love seeing their grandparents and vice versa! Plus, babysitters are always a good thing! So the drive itself was the lowpoint of the last 2 weeks. I am not 100% sure if the drive was the cause, or if it simply aggravated the lower  back issues I had last month, but ever since, I’ve had the worst pain shooting down my leg, into the outer hamstring all the way under the knee cap, calfs, and into the foot. 90% of the time I have no feeling in my foot! It really makes for some weird feeling cardio – just imagine trying to walk on a treadmill with your foot asleep. Very similar feeling to that. The good part is that moving does help the pain and my workouts do not really suffer all that much. I have simply avoided deadlifts, heavy squats, leg extensions, and leg presses for the time being. Again, if you know my training style this is a bit depressing since its the key exercises I use to keep muscle fullness throughout prep (and off season!)… But nevertheless, I am being very creative in my workouts, and doing new exercises seems to actually be helping more than hurting my progress~!

Sleep has gone from difficult to near impossible! We still get up 2-3 times per night with our now 7 month old daughter. I was really hoping she would sleep more through the night by now, but what can you do! She is still the best thing to have happened to us since our first born and waking up with her can be at times hard, but the smile on her face at 2:30am is enough to make it all worth it.

 These are my most recent photos. I will try to update some more in a few weeks, although I am finding it increasingly difficult to find the energy in the am to take these pics

6 Months Post Baby and 8 Weeks Out….finally feeling right on track

This week was a week with a lot of good changes and results and coincidently the first week I felt drained and over worked. The fat around my waist is melting away and my skin is tightening up. It’s amazing how much skin can stretch and tighten after pregnancy. It boggles my brain. I don’t really care how or why it happens I am just very greatful it does, lol. Here is a pic of my progress, as pictures speak way louder than words! The only thing I need to work on now is my bum, it is always the last part of me to tighten up and smooth out. I am feeling very confident that I will be very happy with all my body parts in 8 weeks time. I just started 40 min’s cardio a little over a week ago so if things don’t continue to progress the way I like I can bump up cardio and make the magic happen.