Getting Back to Normal

We all self critique, some more than others. Some of us are very hard on ourselves, and others, well they just don't get too worked up about anything.


In the month or so following a competition, I scrutinize everything. Every little body part, every lump and bump. I worry it's all just falling apart at times.


Then some days I look in the mirror and think "damn I still look awesome for a 50 year old. In fact, for a woman half that age!"


These are pictures of me now, three weeks after my competition. I went from 118 to 128 (you always blow up a bit due to the carbs, sodium and basic mess your body is in), down to 124 and now I am at 125.

Tuesday I was out on campus and had run my stairs and jumped rope, I was wearing my typical clothing, same as here but a tank top over it. When I was done I ran to the Nutrition and Food Science building to pick up my CSA delivery and as I walked back, iPod still blasting in my ears, a student tried to talk to me. He said something to me and I couldn't hear, I pulled my ear bud out and asked him "what?". He said it again "You are extremely fit!"


He walked off quickly, no intention of talking more, he just wanted to say that. I felt good. Here was a kid, maybe 22 years old telling someone who is as old (no, older) than his  mom that she is "fit". 


At the gym on Thursday I was in the back room, where the bench press's are located. There were two guys who always train together there. They are young, maybe 30 if anything, and I know one is a surgeon. I have noticed as he is extremely attractive so I kind of paid attention to him. I was training back and in the squat rack doing bent over barbell rows. I could tell he tweaked his back but didn't want to say anything, he is hurting. As he stretches out, and tries to alleviate the pain, I take my ear buds out and walk over. 


"You tweaked your back, didn't you?"


"Yeah, how did you know?"


"I can tell by the way you are moving. I didn't want you to feel bad so I wanted to tell you that a few months ago when you two were in here, I broke a rib training."


They looked a little shocked and asked what I was doing at the time. I showed them and they asked if I stopped. I explained , no, I just do it a bit differently now and they laughed.


Then his buddy said that he (the surgeon) was an old man, that's why he was struggling.


"Old!?" I said. "I am 50! He isn't old!"


The surgeon looks at me, from the bench press where he is sitting and says "We are talking body age here. And speaking of body age, aren't you supposed to have a guardian to be in here?"


Nice...


Tall, dark, handsome, young....and he knows a good pick up line! Just the male I have always been attracted to! Don't worry, David knows I have always been attracted to dark skinned men, It's a running joke, he picks out my eye candy for me sometimes.... 


The three of us laughed and chatted a while, we had fun doing what we enjoy.


Interactions like these are really necessary to help me ease back into life as a normal person. I am sure that those who don't compete cannot understand, cannot empathize. But luckily, I meet and talk with people like this all the time, it helps me to get back on track. It's also one of the things that keeps me going back to the gym day after day!

Cardio to Blast Away Fat

I started! I started to add additional cardio, it felt like it was time. I need to drop some more fat and this will help blast it off.

I will start out incorporating more cardio two times a week, and maybe three if I feel I am not overdoing it.

I don't go back to the gym if I can avoid it, the evenings are crazy busy and just looking for a parking space can put me in an unpleasant frame of mind.

Anyway, spending time on any of the machines is really not the best method to blast off fat. You need high intensity or intervals.

I happen to have a wonderful track directly across the street! Here I am after getting home right after my workout.

Monday I arrived at the gym for my shoulder training, one hour. I then did my usual stairs and jump rope at lunch, but was psyching myself up for more intervals so I attacked with a vengeance. I took my steps two at a time, this was great, I felt super strong and I enjoyed mixing it up.

I left work on time, which I will be doing every night now that I have "an appointment" with the track and I quickly changed then jogged across the street.

The stadium stairs are double wide, so the strides are long, there are four isles, 21 high, I run up one isle, down one isle, up one isle, down one isle, weaving my way across from one side to the other. At the bottom of the last set I run out to the track and sprint 100 yards along the football field, then jog back to the bottom of the stairs where I just ended.

I did that 6 times. 

soooo....

252 stairs up

252 stairs down

600 yards sprints

I will do it again on Tuesday, increasing everything by one set.

That means today I:

Ran up 552 stairs

Down 552 stairs

Jumped rope 300 times

Sprinted 600 yards

Lifted weights for one hour

Worked a 9 hour day (I always do so I can leave early Friday)

Ate dinner of a Pincho Maruno Chicken Patty (recipe is here, I love them), green beans, cauliflower, mustard.

And wrote this blog!

Even I feel a bit tired now!

Cup of sleepy time tea and the GH will kick in and I will grow and shrink in all the right places.


A note to this post which I wrote on Monday - My week went about the same, full of energy! Tuesday was Chest day at the gym, lunch time stairs/jumping rope, then track again after work. Wednesday morning was 30 minutes stairmill at the gym, stairs/jump rope at lunch and Legs with Roy after work. Thursday was Back day  at the gym, stairs and jump rope at lunch and track after work....


Friday I will go to the gym in the morning for stairmill and stretching, then I will see Roy for shoulders at noon. I will not do anything afterward, but I may stop by the $20.00 foot massage!


Drop the boys off at the Sportplex to catch a ride in a huge van of players heading to a lacrosse tournament in Huntington Beach, and the weekend is mine, all alone....Stacy and I are going to the Jazz Festival, I want to see Eric Lindell! But we will both hit the gym for a couple hours first!

Getting Ripped

Days like today make me feel so good!  When you are busting your butt, dieting, training, then working and still trying to maintain a home life, it's the little things that make you perk up and remember that its all worth it. 

This is me when I came home from work Monday, David took one look at me and said "you need a cheeseburger! You have veins all over your chest!" I think he meant striations, but regardless, he watches very closely when I diet.

I think I look fabulous! 

Here is what happened today:

It was shoulder day, so I trained shoulders for an hour then off to work. I was coming up in the elevator and one of the maintenance guys looks at me and points to me and said "Look at you! Your arms are ripped and everything!"

"Yeah, I am dieting and my body goes through 'mood swings' as I do, it's in a good mood today!"

Then as I ran my stairs and jumped my rope at lunch, another maintenance guy from across campus pulls his little cart up to the base of the stone steps, waves to me and starts climbing up, he wants to talk to me.

"Hey Jose! What's up?" I ask.

He asks me how many stairs I am running- do I hop on one foot? I should. Do I double jump or single jump? He demonstrates how I should be doing it, his keys jangle on his belt as does his not so flat belly....

We chat a while, I thank him for the valuable advise and he drives off. Shortly later I zip by, shout "race you" and I run as fast as I can past him, all the people watching and cheering. I win! Those electric carts don't go too fast, plus he would probably get in trouble racing a pedestrian on campus.

I am walking a mother and her sophomore son back to my office and she says from behind me "Well it's obvious you are a body builder!" I don't explain the difference and I enjoy being confused with a bodybuilder, means my arms are looking big!

We talk about the competitions and they want to know if there are categories. I tell them I compete in the 50 and up and then open, 18 and up, Mom looks a little impressed.

The son looks around my office at trophies and the picture, asks if I won there. I told him "I always win" and I do.....He gets a huge grin on his face and gives me a high five.

A student came into my office to say goodbye, it was his last day. He said "When I started I was afraid of you, you could hurt me! Mehul told me, Kristy is a real gymnast, but a lady, treat her right and she will be nice to you. But I saw your biceps, I looked at my own and I was afraid, now I know not to be afraid, but you still have very big biceps. I will miss you".


And a very good friend added the topper to it all, she said to me over email "I was attracted to you for your joie de vivre – your love of life and “fuck everyone if they don’t like me” attitude.  I need to get me some of your brand of balls! "


I was high on the comments! It all makes the diet easier to endure.

These pants were fitting perfectly a couple weeks ago, now look! If you look closely you can see the vein running up the side of my stomach, I LOVE this look....and it only gets better.

Maybe this will show better, look I have plenty of room, good thing these have a drawstring. I suppose they will go on the shelf for a few months now, they are just a little too loose at this point. And anyway, once you diet down and start looking ripped, why would you want to wear baggy old army pants?!

And yes, I am looking really vascular, it comes and goes but has been with me a lot today, depending on when and what I eat, and my water intake, I can look smooth or tight and vascular. So for dinner I had a "cheeseburger" modified...


6 ounce beef patty from Prather Ranch at the farmers market, cooked red rare inside, almost bloody. Mushrooms, mixed peppers and asparagus. 


It did a body good!

By the way, call them balls, or whatever you like, I have plenty and you can get some of your own! Just follow me and you will!

Lunch Time Cardio

In my office after my lunch time exercise. I usually run up 300 steps and down 300 steps, and jump rope 300 times at lunch when I am not stuck at my desk finishing a spreadsheet (you know, Pivot Tables are great time savers!)


Anyway, today I thought I was looking especially good, starting to get back to my usual "ripped" self, so I tried to take some pictures. 


I like the vascularity even though the judges don't for a Figure competition.

Shoulders are looking nice and round, biceps are bulging.

And, striations in the chest....love it!


Getting out in the middle of the day is a great idea if you are able, it not only helps you fit in some cardio work but rejuvenates the brain cells and gets you off the butt cells.


I cannot usually fit in cardio during my morning session, I get to the gym when they open at 5:00 am and then have to be at work by 7:30, that doesn't leave a whole lot of time since I lift anywhere from one to one and a quarter hours.


The short period I set aside at lunch gets a good 20 to 25 minutes of hard work in. I know many people who think that because they only have a half hour, it's not worth the time and effort. 


Please, if you are one of these people, change your thinking! It is worth every second! Even if you can only hit the jump rope for 10 minutes it is worth it!


If you scroll back up and look at my slightly blurry, out of focus pictures, you will notice one thing. I look really happy, energetic, alive! I feel GOOD!


And I didn't look that way a half hour earlier. I had been tired, my eyes were dry, I was feeling that I had no time for my work. But, I made the time to run my stairs. I realize not everyone has the freedom to do this, and I certainly appreciate the fact that I do.


I have a drawer in my credenza where I keep shoes, shorts, tops, running bras, a jump rope and an extra iPod. I have no excuses ever. 


Sometimes, when the day is really stressful and I have a meeting at lunch, I will just take off after, late in the day and I feel so much better. I have the added luxury of jumping rope on top of a building, and the view overlooks the city of San Jose, quite a great spot to listen to Guns and Roses while I bust my butt, forgetting about the stresses of the day!