So there’s been a change of plans… I was supposed to be competing THIS WEEKEND, June 10th, 2013.
But plans change and I bumped my next competition until September 30th, 2023 instead.
Why? I got the opportunity to attend the Connections conference put on by Salesforce and I decided to go for it, especially because I get to extend through the weekend and bring the whole family to Chicago for a little summer vacay.
So instead of competing in The Natural Spartan in Fargo, North Dakota, I’ll be competing in The Natural Vikining in Bloomington, MN. Again. This is the same show I did last year.
At least I know what to expect, right?!
Now that we have that out of the way…
the numbers
Since I’ve competed twice before (and did a mostly okay job of tracking important metrics), I have some data to compare my current prep journey to.
For reference, I round up to 5’9. Part of my strength training goals are to maintain my height, ha!
- 2018 – 17 weeks out: 161.2 pounds, 22.3% body fat
- 2022 – 17 weeks out: 160.2 pounds, 23.2% body fat
- 2023 – 17 weeks out: 152.0 pounds, 19.8% body fat
I’m up a few pounds from where I was the last time I checked in on YouTube (the former 11 weeks out update), but my body fat is also down (plus I turned a year older which affects that stuff), so I’m taking it as a win. And my brain is making it mean that I GAINED LEAN MUSCLE MASS, whoop!
I’ve been a lot more loosey goosey with my diet too, so it’s time to clean that ish up and get serious. While I might be comfortable in my own skin, I’m a far cry from being stage ready!
the training
I started working with a new coach (temporarily) in April and I’ve been rocking the strength training split that she provided me ever since. I’m finishing up my 7th week of that split and have decided to coach myself going forward.
I’m also training my gym rat bestie, Emily and we’re going to go through the 9-week plan for bikini bodybuilders included in Bodybuilding: The Complete Contest Preparation Handbook by Peter J. Fitschen and Cliff Wilson (HIGHLY recommend if you’re thinking about competing, fyi).
The current split that I’m wrapping up has me doing two leg days and two arm days with a couple of days of cardio and abs thrown in. I’d have to look back, but I know I’ve been pushing myself to lift heavier and have made some big strides in the weight I’ve been moving.
The 9-week plan we’ll be starting has us lifting 6x per week – it’ll be interesting to see if my body recovers any differently or if it’s ready to go! Typically we bookend our strength sessions with cardio too – a 15-minute warm-up (usually incline walking on the treadmill) and another 15-20 minutes jogging outside now that it’s nicer outside.
The bookend cardio makes it easy for me to hit my 10k+ steps per day and I usually leave the gym at 7:15am with 7-8k already under my belt. (I’m an early gym-goer – best to get it done EARLY so I can’t procrastinate!)
I’ve also been throwing some short stairmaster sessions in since I need to build my glutes. I’m not a fan of the good ol’ stairmaster, but if that’s what’s going to get me results…
That’s the update for this week – I really hope to be publishing these weekly going forward CONSISTENTLY until show time. After all, this is contributing to my overarching goal of getting my pro card by my 40th bday and we’re now T minus 356 days away!
I also put together a little guide that can help you answer the question: Why am I not losing weight? The answer might be different than what you thought!
