Sparkle

Saturday, I had to work all day long, and I had to get there by 7:30, so since Gold's doesn't open until 6:00, there was no way I could make it in time, I would have to go to the gym after work.


I left home at 7:00 a.m. and got back at 6:50 p.m., I had taken three 10 minute breaks to eat my meals, it was a long day. David and Cooper returned from "Choose Chico" day before I got home, and as soon as I walked in the door I was changing ready to head to the gym- "Do you have to go? Can't you skip one day?!"


No- It was Quad day, I have to go, no choice about it.


I walked in apprehensive, it's a new gym for me, and I am comfortable in the morning, and am getting to know the crowd, but what about at night? What would it be like? I remember the crowd at Courtside was vastly different depending on the time of day. The morning folks were there every single day, they may not be the fittest, but they were the most dedicated. The late afternoon and early evening crowd was like a pick up scene, make-up, hair done, perfume, and not because they came from work, this was their work! I hated going in there in the afternoons, and that was one big reason I loved having my own treadmill.


It wasn't very crowed, I suppose since it is a younger crowd they were all getting ready to go out and have fun for the evening. I was glad I came, the squats were good and low, I was concentrating on keeping my knees forward, my back straight "no stripper squats!" says Roy. I was crouched down by the cage, writing in my log when I notice a woman standing next to me, I quickly looked up and said "I'm done", I thought she wanted the rack, but I was wrong, she wanted to talk to me.


I pulled out my earbuds and stood up, and noticed the woman  was a young, petite, very eager girl, couldn't have been more than 25 or so. She was holding a gallon water jug, it seemed almost as big as her!


She apologized for bothering me and asked me how I got my abs so tight. I was kind of floored, I don't consider my abs tight at all, I guess for a 51 year old they look good, but in the grand scheme of things, mine certainly don't stand out. I thanked her and told her that they don't always look like this, I have a competition in three weeks, and soon they will look back to normal.


She was almost jumping up and down she was so excited. She is in her first competition in 13 weeks, and has no idea what she is doing, she was happy to meet me. She then asked "If I ask you something, will you give me your honest to god truth answer?" and I said yes I would. She then pulled up her shirt and asked me if she would be ready in 13 weeks for a competition, would her abs look good enough? She explained she had just had a baby, and felt like she would never get rid of the loose skin.


I told her the truth- she looked great and she has absolutely nothing to worry about, her abs actually looked fine to me, and she has a whole 13 weeks to go- she won't have any problem as long as she is dieting correctly.


Again, she started to almost hop with excitement, the smile broad across her face. I asked her what she was eating and she told me the  whole diet. She has a trainer, so I told her I didn't want to give advise against what he was saying, but she wanted to hear it. 


I commented that she was drinking three shakes a day, that's too much really and explained why it is better to get your protein from whole food sources if possible. I also suggested that she cut out wheat toast (it's not a complex carb) and replace it with a real starch, sweet potatoes, brown rice, oatmeal.


When I told her my age she was floored, "you look like you are in your 20's!" ha ha I guess she was only looking at the abs....


We exchanged names and talked competitions. Her name is Sparkle.


Just then a big guy lumbers over and she introduces him as her boyfriend. She said "honey , oh my god she competes! Look at her, guess how old she is?!" I told her not to put him on the spot like that and told him not to bother guessing. We talked for a bit and parted ways.


Later I see him on the neck machine, although I have no desire for a thick neck, I want to try it just for kicks. I am in the center of the gym, doing walking lunges and she walks up to me all smiles and bouncing. She wants to talk again. Sparkle explains how her boyfriend has his own gym, on Castro street in Mountain View, I could see that, he is a big guy, reminds me of SC, only bigger.


Sparkle wants to know where my show is, she wants to come see me. I tell her and she puts it into her phone.


She looks at me and thanks me and says "I hope I meet you again. I want to see you in a couple weeks" I smile, knowing we probably won't see each other again, at least not soon. I stand there watching them leave, he is lumbering slowly as big, muscle guys do, she is bouncing along beside him, hopping up and down and I can hear her repeating over and over to him: "She says I will be ready! She says I will be fine! She says my abs look great now! She knows- look at her- she knows!" Sparkle was on a high, and I put here there.


It made me feel great, and also made a Saturday night in the gym a fun place to be.


As Monique told me the other day- "you can have a rockin body, but if your personality doesn't shine through, you won't win", and I believe she is right. Sparkle will do well in her show, not only is she cute as a button, but eager and has a lovable personality. 


I hope we meet again too.

Week 3 to Competition (week 7 of diet)

I got butterflies in my stomach when I typed the post title. 3 weeks! Oh my goodness, it has gone so incredibly fast, I am feeling rushed now, like I'm not ready. Time is supposed to drag on, I am supposed to suffer endlessly and whine and complain. I don't think I did! I think I was too busy to even think about it all, good thing I have done this many times before!

I got a great laugh taking these pictures, David and Cooper weren't home so I was alone and the doorbell rings. I walk over in my heels, carrying the camera and open the door to a very astonished man. "I was just taking pictures" I said, like he would have ANY idea what on earth I was talking about. He wanted to sell me something but quickly changed his mind, he really couldn't speak. He left quickly. 

I am at the stage where I feel "small", I have lost a lot of bodyfat and I look flat and stringy because my muscles are not full of glycogen, and full muscles are happy muscles. It's temporary, as soon as I start eating my starches I will fill out. I had a "cheat meal" on April 11, it was a plate FULL of gnocchi and sausage and cream, I looked great 20 to 30 hours later!

I weighed 3 pounds more the following day due to all the glycogen and water in my muscles, then the next day I was back down to my same eight of 121, right where I was before my cheat meal. 

Below, I think the front looks good, once I cut my water things all tighten up.

The "smileys" on my lower glutes are just about gone! Yahoo! The back is fine, it's always fine.

Finally the stomach is flattening, I have been practicing posing differently, Monique met with me and suggested some changes, so I am going with her expert advise! Leaving the arm hang loosely at my side, it does look better. 

This side pose needs some work, I will practice every single day now. 

 I am feeling more comfortable here, legs look good too!

This side pose looks better, my stomach looks flatter, the hair, it's a mess though! I have been cooking and cleaning all day, and worked all Saturday so it wasn't much of a weekend.

Tuesday will be another cheat meal I think, I have to make sure I don't drop lower, I do not want to go below 120 and I could see the huge scale at the gym was closer to 120 than 121 this morning. 

Monday Morning Motivation

“You see things; and you say, 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say, 'Why not?'”

`George Bernard Shaw

“Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in  yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are  possible for those who believe.”

`Gail Devers

“A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he  sees the dawn before the rest of the world.”

`Oscar Wilde

“The only thing that will stop you from fulfilling your dreams is you.”

`Tom Bradley

“Dreams are illustrations... from the book your soul is writing about you.”

`Marsha Norman

“I'll do my dreaming with my eyes wide open, and I'll do my looking back with my eyes closed”

`Tony Arata

“Do not lose hold of your dreams or asprirations. For if you do, you may still exist but you  have ceased to live.”

`Henry David Thoreau

Glutes

You know what I really worry about when I am dieting for a competition? 

My Butt!

This is my typical "hit the treadmill" attire when I am at home, and I can keep an eye on the butt in the full wall mirror in the guest room.

There are two things to worry about and they are complete opposites so that's why I always worry.  I want a tight set of glutes, and a large set of glutes. 

I am lucky, I have a nice butt, I mean genetically. It's round, full, rides pretty darn high and I don't have saddlebags. Of course, I have practically no hips to speak of and I suppose this all goes hand in hand, but I am happy with my "gift"

In Figure, you want a nice, tight, smooth, hard transition from the hamstring to the glute, no "cheeks" , no "smileys", no "saggy skin". Your glutes really don't end up looking like real glutes, but one long muscle.

So this means you need to lose pretty much all your fat, and.....butts are typically "fat". I do realize that glutes are the biggest muscle on the body, but they seems to be covered in a  nice layer of fat.

My goal: Lose the 'smileys" and make one tight transition, while keeping the size and roundness of the glutes...see? Lose fat and keep size...

Fat and no fat. Not quite sure why I think it's possible, but I see other women do it so why can't I?            

SC used to check my bodyfat all the time, usually once a month but when I was getting close to a competition, we went to once a week. My lower glute would range form a high of 20 cm all the way down to 6 cm! The typical bodyfat was at a reading of 8 cm when I competed. 

I have no idea where it is now, I don't really need to check it constantly, as I always get way too lean anyway.  I do think checking it on a regular basis is important for folks who are making big changes and need to see the results, see some improvement, but in my case, I just chug along on the same track I have been on many times before. 

How are the glutes coming? We are not at 10 cm yet! ha ha

Still working on it!

6 Weeks to a Better Back

Ha ha Sounds like a commercial huh? But it's true- take a look at these pictures!

Above (the impressive picture) is my back on Sunday, April 8, 2012. 

Below (the slacker picture) is my back six weeks earlier. Quite a difference huh? Changes like this really excite me!

I am four weeks from a competition, so in the next month, my back will become even more defined, I will have less fat and my waist will come in a bit more. When I saw the first picture, I was kind of shocked, it just didn't look like my back, how could that be my back? 


The erector spinae muscles are so thick, almost like wide ropes running down my back, I don't remember those. But I have always loved backs, and especially that nice deep indent that runs straight up the middle, and you only get that with well developed muscles running up the sides.


I remember a few years ago, I had stopped training on a regular basis with SC, and I went in to see him, we must have been training that one day because when he looked at me (I had a bra top on, no shirt), he got this shocked sound in his voice and said "What the hell happened to your back?!"


My back...was gone, no well developed muscles, no thick like ropes running down the sides, no big indent, I had slacked off on my training. I don't do that any longer.


So what have I done?

Year round I train my back once a week, one whole morning is devoted to back, and a bit of biceps as they naturally get worked when I train my back (I won't be reviewing bicep training now). When I start dieting for a competition, then I start training my back twice a week. 

So...I double my training, I cut rest periods and I add more sets. I suppose its almost like quadrupling my workouts then! 

I vary the training, and I will change what I am doing every 3 or 4 weeks. I do not do the exact same thing on my twice a week back days, although I do some of the same things. Here is an example:

Sunday is my long day, I have more time.

Chin ups/pull ups

I will do 4 sets of 4 different hand grips. I typically do 6 to 10 of each depending on the grip. I super set these with dips, body weight 10 reps. So I do my chin ups then move to the dip station, do those then rest.


Lat Pull Down
6 sets of 12 60 second rest in between
2 sets wide grip
2 sets narrow grip (palms facing me)
2 sets triangle grip


Low Row on a Cable
6 sets of 12 60 second rest in between
2 sets wide grip
2 sets narrow grip (palms facing me)
2 sets triangle grip

Barbell Bent Over Row
4 sets of 10, (palms can be changed, supinated will hit the biceps more, pronated will hit the back more...I like supinated best)


On the shorter days I will eliminate the BB Bent Over Row and the Low Row and I will add this instead:


T-Bar Row
4 sets of 10 (squeeze those shoulder blades).


FacePulls
4 sets of 12


Always, always, always do chin ups and pull ups! They are one of the best things for your whole body. Keep your core tight, do NOT "kip" them up, you are completely defeating the purpose of doing them then. Don't neglect your back, not only are strong backs stunning, they are vital to your overall physical health. 


My back also gets worked when I perform the Glute Ham raise, Squats, and Good Mornings, since they require a strong, tight focused core, it just all fits. So, if you are not doing any of these big compound exercises, and then fail to do much of the back training that I described and rely solely on the lat pull down as most people do, you will probably never had these nice thick ropes. 


But! It's never too late to start- cause see what I did in only 6 weeks?

Reader Survey

I get a lot of feedback, some great, some not so great. I am interested in everything you have to say, really!


I have been writing this for two years now, I have published 750 blog posts! The very first was on April 6, 2010. I have between 400 to 500 hits a day, with a very low bounce rate.


My blog has morphed, it has changed, I have changed. 


I am considering making some changes but really wanted to gather some feedback first.


I started writing for myself, but I have met so many wonderful people through my blog and it has offered many opportunities to me. Although I will always write for myself, I would like to make sure I am giving people what they want to read about too.


I started out writing about how to lose body fat, but it really has become more of living life  in a healthy, physically demanding, competitive and fun loving way. It's about incorporating the "norm" while accomplishing the outrageous. 


It's about being happy, proud, demanding, hedonistic and confident.


I suppose, it's about me.


But I know I have helped many people accomplish their goals, or at least I have helped to kick start them. I want to keep doing that, I want to see more and more people strutting around feeling good!


I have a very short, 8 question survey that I would really love for you to complete, with all honesty and openness (as much as you can with multiple choice! ha ha) 


There are a few questions you can type away to your hearts content though!

Thank you!


Survey will close Friday, April 27, 2012

Ready In 5 Weeks survey

Gym Lock

I remember years ago when I saw a van driving around and it sad "Blind Cleaning" on the side. I asked David  "Wow- how can they come in and clean an unfamiliar house when they are blind?" duh....he explained they cleaned BLINDS, window blinds, boy that was a blond moment.


I have a new gym lock that could be used by a blind person, a sight impaired person, or someone like me, who needs reading glasses.

I will never be without a lock like this again!

Gold's has lockers and you need to bring your own lock, so I had to go buy one. I was troubled, I cannot see those itty-bitty teeny tiny numbers without my contact in. Yes, I wear only one. I have what is called mono-vision. I need glasses or contacts for reading only, so I have a contact in the left eye (the reader) and nothing in the right eye (the distance viewer), and together, I can see far and read! ha ha!

I don't wear my contact to the gym though, I don't want to have it in for 14 hours a day, so fumbling with a regular combination lock doesn't work well, and I don't want to have a key to drop and lose.

Enter the Master Speed Dial lock!

Notice it has no numbers? You can program it to do whatever you like to make it open, and you can operate it in the dark or with your eyes closed (I tried) . You simply push the middle round center ball up, down, to the left or to the right. Your "combination could be 4 right, 5 left, 4 up, 5 down and voila! Opens!


I recommend this for anyone who has trouble with small things, older folks (gosh, I am 51 now), or just someone who wants something fun!


It's red to match MyRedRocket (my car), but it comes in black and blue. 


If you want to read what lock geeks have to say about it, here is Lock Picking 101 on these locks.