Fitness or vacation?  Why not have both!  This past weekend my boyfriend and I went to Denver,Colorado to celebrate a friends wedding and enjoy some fresh crisp air in the Rocky mountains.  Knowing we would be gone for four days I had to figure out what I was going to do to stay on top of my fitness routine and still have a nice relaxing time away from home.  Do not be afraid to mix it up and have a little fun with it!  Here are some tips that helped me stay on track while exploring the great outdoors.

1) Research your surroundings: When booking your place to stay, pay attention to what the room amenities are.  Does it have a kitchette?  Does it have a microwave or refriderator?  Having these perks in your room will make it easier to keep you food splurging to a minimum.  We were able to stay with a friend in their home which gave me a full sized kitchen to work with:)  Also I researched the nearest gym and found out it was only about  15 minutes away.  I chose to take a break from the gym scene and take advantage of the hiking trails instead, but I still had that option open.  If there is not a gym nearby then get creative and plan a full body circuit using your bodyweight.

2) Have a grocery list and hit the store when you arrive: Sticking to your plan means being prepared.  I had a grocery list already planned so when we landed we could hit the store before heading to our friends house where we were staying.  While there I was able to cook my breakfast every morning and prepare my daily snacks.  Since it is a vacation it is allowed to splurge a little, but not go overboard.  I knew we were going to have most dinners out so I saved my splurges for those meals, but still remained conscience of what I was ordering.  Remember a lifestyle doesn’t go on vacation, it travels with you.

3) Vacation is not an excuse to drink: Most of us see a vacation as a time to relax and let loose…  and it is, but not with alcohol!  Being out on the town with everyone else drinking and having a good time seems so appealing, but will power does have to kick in.  I do not have an issue passing on the liquor which made this vacation quite easy for me.  I do enjoy a glass of red wine or champagne on special occasions so I did allow myself one drink at the wedding. Be smart with what you are consuming and stick with water the majority of the time to stay hydrated.

4) Take advantage of your surroundings: Instead of continuing my everyday routine in the gym, I decided to take a rest from that environment and try some different ways to get my fitness in while on vacation.  Thanks to alltrails.com I was able to find some heart pumping trails for my boyfriend and I to go on.  Not only did we get our workout in, we also got to see some beautiful parts of Colorado.  Since we were staying at 9600 feet above sea level just walking up the stairs even got me huffing and puffing!  Point in hand is, switch it up a bit with a fitness vacation routine and have some fun and yes give the regular fitness routine a rest.

With a beautiful vacation under my belt, I returned home ready to get back to my original routine.  These tips helped me stay on track with my fitness routine… What do you do to stay on track?

Until next time, Happy Training!

One year ago I was 40 pounds heavier than I am now.  I worked very hard to get the weight off, but I never let go of that girl.  I never let go of that image in my head and I allowed it to haunt me.  Not only did that screw with my head, it put a lot of tension on my program and I was becoming discouraged and frustrated.  When I was the fat girl I allowed food to control me and my emotions.  Food was my comfort zone!  I’m sure you can relate to that in some way whether it is a small part of your life or a big part of your life.  I created such an emotional connection to food that reaching my goal image seemed so hard to get to.  I sabatoged my thoughts of food and made it impossible to enjoy the food choices I need to stick to the get there.  I had great progress in the beginning of my prep, but then I allowed myself to crash and burn… I allowed myself to fail.  I constantly made excuses for my actions with food and made it ok.  Yes it was only one week, but that one week really turned my mind set around.

Letting go of my old image seemed so hard.  It took me until right before my first competition in March to finally get rid of my fat jeans!  I needed the blunt and in your face conversation to save me from myself.  Talking to someone whom I do trust smacked me in the face with the words “you are not ready to compete”.  Talk about a wake up call!  I did not like hearing those words at all.  I mean who did she think she was telling me I wasn’t ready!  Well… she nailed it and was right at that point.  I had to make the decision in myself to kick the fat girl to the curb in order to be “ready”.  With that said I have a whole new perspective and so far success had been reached.  It’s one day at a time.  I had to sacrifice what was comfortable to me to dive into a new journey.

Hang clean press into a back squat         4×8 50lb bar

Lateral raise                                         4×12 12lb dumbbells (last set done as a drop set)

Upright row                                           4×12 40lb bar

Rear delt fly                                          4×15 10lb dumbbells (last set done as a drop set)

Perform all exercises in a row with 45-60 seconds rest between sets

Rear delf fly machine                             4×15 45lb

Leaning lateral raise                              4×15 10lb dumbbell

Front raise                                            4×15 2-10lb plates

Mountain climbers                                 4×30 bodyweight

Perform all exercises in a row with 45-60 seconds rest between sets

Lateral raise machine                             2xdropsets

If you want to burn out your delts, this workout will definitely get the job done.  Happy Training!

It doesn’t matter who your coach is or who else is in the competition; the only thing that matters is me and my progress.  Comparing myself to other people and how they train or who is helping them made me feel bitter and frustrated and I found myself falling into a downward spiral of comparisons.  Yes I do have to pay attention to the physiques I am up against, but I only have control over mine and over my training and dieting.  I chose an individual sport and really it’s about competing against myself to bring a better package every time to the stage.  I almost got so caught up in worrying about everyone else that I mildly lost sight of myself and what I want my end result to be.

There are many great physiques in this industry and it’s very easy to look at yourself and then look at them and wonder what they do.  You will even become great friends with these people and probably learn their secrets of success.  In the end, when the time clock is ticking down the only thing that matters is you and your program.  I am an individual in this sport and I compete with myself to better the outcome every time!

Happy Training:)

One thing I learned this weekend was the power of food.  If I had asked myself “Is it worth it?” would I have still committed diet suicide?  There are so many phsycological and emotional connections to food that I still have that really pulled and tugged on me this weekend.  When I was bigger I would comfort myself with food and man it just tastes soooo good.  I know that is EXTREMELY common in this day and age, but I totally get it.  I know exactly how hard I worked to get this far and sometimes getting to the next level seems so much harder.  Well it really is and that’s why only the strong and the brave survive.  I’m not making excuses because there are none, but I am realizing that this connection I still have needs to go asap!  I am strong and brave.

Sometimes I ask myself how I could ever eat this way all year round.  Finding the balance and happy place with diet is not an easy task.  I know to stay crazy lean I need to keep it real in the kitchen!  This lifestyle is full of sacrifices to stay in shape and look amazing all of the time and I have made the decision to make it happen.  It has been a little tough at times, but the rollercoaster is getting smaller and easier to control.  Destination July all natural baby!!

This past weekend was a great eye opener to what balance is with my lifestyle compared to everyone else’s.  I mean they don’t have to worry about getting home early enough to prep food or getting to bed on time or even deal with the delicious smells that surround me every day.  Needless to say I respect that they don’t live the same way I do and I should not expect them to understand fully, but I do expect them to have the same respect for me.

Being at a bar was not easy, but giving up my social life is not an option this time around.  There I was eating my spinach and chicken salad with lemons for dressing and right across from me were some friends downing a juicy mushroom burger and fries.  The guy next to our table was loaded with onion rings and chicken fingers!!  It gets better… next to me just staring me in the face sat hot wings smothered in ranch!  Can we say torture!  At first it wasn’t to bad.  I take everyday one at a time, but then it kicked in.  I tried to beat it, but the feeling was way to strong!  I sat there and my mind went right to 9 weeks… That’s all I could think about was 9 weeks until I can enjoy anything other than my current menu.  It was at that point I realized I better get use to this because I was NOT putting myself in lock down until 4 weeks out.

I do admit it is going to take some getting use to, but I want this show and this career as a competitor more than anything and I’m willing to give up those delicious poisons to get there!  Oh and did I mention the onion bagels that tease me every morning in the kitchen! LOL… Yes it is amazing what some will power and discipline will do for you!

Until next time, Happy Training!

I have officially been dubbed a condiment girl.  What this means is that I am either putting something on my food to eat it or I am dipping it in something.  I like my flavor!  Can you blame me?  Who would have thought that plain chopped onion in a burger patty would be bad.  Little did I know that the onions in my burgers, salsa on my chicken, bell peppers and tomatoes in my salads, and green chili’s on my egg whites were all adding unwanted sugar calories into my daily plan.  Now if you didn’t know, sugar is very bad for the waste line and is also considered a carbohydrate!  That pretty much equals the devil for my diet.  Seriously I have to forget what the word carbohydrate means!

Now I do understand that a regular healthy diet does not have to be as precise, but for mine it is crucial to give every ounce of food a second look and really know what I am putting in my body.  I have done some research and you may be surprised at my findings.  Here they are:

1) 1 tomato has roughly 2-3 grams of sugar in it.  Now that may not sound like much, but it adds up over time.

2) 1 3oz white onion has 3.6 grams of sugar.

3) 1 medium bell pepper has 8 grams of carbs.

Ok these were the main culprits that made my food tasty, but now I must do the unwanted and wipe them out of the picture.  I have decided to become a spice queen during the next 10 weeks!  Look forward to some tasty spice mixes coming in the near future:)

Until next time, Happy Training!

Diana has shared some really great goals of hers and that really made me restructure my goals.  I changed my thoughts from I will be a pro bikini competitor to I will be the red head that takes over the industry!  Dream big right!  They do say shoot for the moon and you will for sure hit the stars:)  My outlook has changed completely and I have really been able to hone in on this prep and win every day so far!  I don’t see it as making it 10 weeks on my plan, I see it as getting through each day successfully and the 10 weeks will fly by!  That drive to be on stage is burning hot inside again and I’m excited to share my new journey with you!

Until next time… Happy Training!

Booty lifting track workout

10×100 meters in a row with little rest between

1×100 meters walking lunges

1×100 meters step squats (take one step forward with your right foot and follow with your left and squat, repeat alternating legs)

1×100 meters alternating step side lunges (take a step forward with your right foot and follow with your left into a side lunge, repeat alternating legs)

1×100 meters walking lunges

The great thing about track workouts is that you can switch it up every time whether you want to train for more endurance or speed.  Try the workout above and even switch it up to make it your own.  Happy Sprinting!