Sheeple Sheeping- 9 Weeks out

I've failed.  I'm fairly certain that I've committed every training or nutrition crime trending on most of the more popular nutrition/training sites on social media.  Forgive me father for I have sinned against the most popular cutting edge advisors on the planet:  I've done low carb. I've loaded carbs. I've done no carb, I've done steady state fasted cardio, I've starved myself, I've not prepped my food, I've trained when I'm not supposed to. Plain and simple, I've fallen short.


You see, I've joined this exquisitely interesting underworld of figure competition.  Most of my peers, colleagues and acquaintances have no clue of this which I do.  They look at me and try to comprehend the language of the sport.  Somewhat like the adult human conversation you try have with your dog?  You know - when your dog when it turns it's head sideways desperately trying to interpret and consume what you are saying, hoping to grasp one word that they can identify with.


Well ya see, today I'm 10 weeks out, my macros are at 100/150/40 and I'll prob do fasted cardio tomorrow, maybe throw in some HIIT wrapping it up with a nice insulin spike of fast sugar - with maybe 30 grams isolate with a fructose base.  Blah blah blah blah blah.  With my calculations I should be ripped by show time. No Excuses!


OR THIS


Wow, did you see so-and-so at the last show?  They looked FANTASTIC, Dry, Cut, Shredded, Full.  Who's their trainer?  Well, your friend says, It's the great "Mr. Fantastico" with Blah Blah Training Institute.


Sheeple:I've enjoyed soaking up all of the easily attainable subjective (and even scientific) data on how to find the Holy Grail of building muscle, getting lean and walking on stage to ... um... win?  It's been interesting watching the sociological phenomenon of sheeple sheeping.  Don't do this, don't do that sort of thing, if you want "results" that is.  If we want the prize in life we must find the Holy Grail... of eating, training, sleeping.... to win the prize, that is, the goal that we seek.


I've been there.  I've been THAT person, you know... the first person on the band wagon, the first person to join and follow the latest trend, the latest new product to help you get where you want to go.  There was a time in my life that I could not think for myself.  Eventually I found myself being tossed back and forth, to and fro listening to and following (SHEEPING) every wind of every doctrine.  Ultimately leading me down a path of confusion and an absolute inability to think or reason for myself. I was led from the outside instead of the inside.  I depended upon others to guide instead of my own internal compass.


When I was in graduate school years ago, it was considered TABOO to cite any 'research' from the web.  It was considered unreliable and unsound.  It seems today that we live in an age of information overload in every area of life.  JUST GOOGLE IT.  Hmpf. As a woman that loves to research, disseminate research and look for the holes to punch through it, it baffles me that today we lean against GOOGLE or FaceBook, or Dr. Oz to guide our way.  I cannot even begin to count the number of people that grace my office with their behavioral diagnosis in their hand trying to convince me, a seasoned clinician, what their diagnosis is.  Well if I just do this, this and this... in 5 easy steps, I'll be fixed!
 
Them: "Yes, I'm certain I'm bipolar." 
Me: "How do you know" 
Them: "I Googled it" 
Me: "Where did you find your conclusion?" 
Them: "WebMD"
Me: "Oh"


Oh baby, if life's problems were that simple and easy to rend resolution.

Don't get me wrong.  There is a tremendous wealth of information out there that is incredibly useful and I apply much of it to my training and contest prep. I have just learned to KISS. Keep It Simple Stu#&*.  My own body is the best research ground to research on!  Over the past 3 years I have learned more and more, combined with menopause, how my body responds to different foods, training, and calories. Some of my routines that work are known sins within the expert & popular fitness communities.


Training Update:
I am 9 weeks out today.  I weigh 125 and the scale is coming down nice and slow.  My off season training was heavy and intense, bringing my carbs and protein up pretty high, with not as many training days per week.  Heavy deep squats (I think my heaviest at 6 reps was 210lbs with a good spot).   Also, I continued to do leg presses, weighted lunges using the TRX (one foot in sling) and of course leg extensions and curls. Heavy back (heaviest pull down (with good spot: 150 for 6 reps). Shoulders and of course my 51 year old glutes - hitting all the areas that I wanted to work on.


I'm getting ready for Pittsburgh Master's Nationals! Suit is ordered, hotel & tan are reserved, posing practice is well under way... I'm getting excited, living in the moment, enjoying my job, my family (including my 2nd grandson!) and of course my hobby... fitness.

Here's a pic of my newest grandson Ari Isaiah at 6 weeks old!

Here is a video my trainer took of me doing my last set - 25 reps at 65lbs.  We went heavy using the Olympic bar up to 100 lbs for 6 reps.  Last Set of Military


Here's a few pics I took today after my workout (9 weeks out).

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My life rends something a bit different.  For me: I have found peace and contentment living under grace and not the law.  I will always fail if I succumb to a popular law of the day, formula or doctrine guaranteed to give me success.  I have learned to live life first by the Spirit that guides my Soul and my Body. Using my God-given internally driven compass and filtering information carefully as I let it in.

Simply put, I enjoy seeking truth. Truth Spiritually, in my Soul and for my Body (my physical self). I enjoy helping others find truth as well: Spiritually, in their Soul and their Body.


What doctrine do you follow?  Do follow the popular masses?


What is  your truth?


Thanks for reading... Until next time -

Post Competition Reflections

Well it's been 2 full weeks since I walked the stage at Master's Nationals in Pittsburgh.  I think enough time has passed for me to reflect on what has proven to be another incredible experience in  my life: meeting wonderful people, learning about myself, experiencing overwhelming gratitude & joy in the midst of disappointment.

Wonderful people: Sometimes I look back over my life and wonder if I was living under a rock.  So much isolation fueled by irrational fears.  I had to face those fears and get involved in life.  I'd like to first thank God and technology (tongue in cheek...)  If it weren't for Google and my obsessive brain I would not have known that it was possible to reach a crazy new way of living... giving myself permission to take care of myself and learning to enjoy it.  I met Jason Lannigan (I learned later he is a Minnesota boy!) through FaceBook & his website Siouxcountry.com Click Here which provides balanced & informative advice for women in the world of figure competition.  Through his site I met Jill Crean from New York -cancer survivor (read her story here) & May Strickland from San Diego.  I also met Tammy White who's blog - Lifting My Spirits - Click Here  and FB posts inspire me every day.  I learned that Tammy grew up 100 miles from me and attended college in the same town AND the same time as me. Who knew?

It was so fun communing with other women my age and even older that love and live my lifestyle.  A powerful connection was made for me... being around like-minded people is empowering and I feel strengthened to continue the journey of living a healthy lifestyle in the middle of a world of abundance of temptation to backslide.

Conflicting emotions: Gratitude & Disappointment  I have had to be honest with myself.  I am a competitive person so yes, I was disappointed in 11th place.  My trainer said it was clear that I should have placed higher.  Then I hear the grumblings and scuttle about the "industry" ... "The judges have their favorites..." "You are new at the Master's level the judges don't know you"... "It's a very subjective sport."  "You don't have a narrow waist" It is so easy for me to get caught up and swept away in all of this. I was in "second call outs" so I knew at that time that I wasn't going to place.  After the fact, I saw that second call outs at this level is actually pretty good.  Especially since I am so new and only my second show.

I was frustrated with how fast the posing went.  The show was so large - 800 competitors (split between 2 days) so they pushed us through like cattle.  They first brought us out in groups of I think 8 or so... we only had what felt like a nano-second to pose.  The judges had us quickly do a front and back pose.  The stage was so crowded I was touching the shoulders of the other women so I was flustered and forgot to flare my lats.  The stage was very small and uneven.  I couldn't find my balance at all.  We were quickly shuffled off to the side and then we were tapped on the shoulder when it was time to do our individual posing.

Now I could let all of this go to my head but the tremendous feeling of gratitude took the driver's seat is what is important. With my 11th place, it's what you don't see in the pics below that really matters.  The fact that exercise and eating healthy keeps my depression & anxiety and crazy freaky obsessive thoughts at bay, the new found identity and confidence I have gained.  It doesn't show how my testimony of healing has inspired and encouraged many women.

When the pictures from the show were posted I was able to see the progress I made in 4 short months of training hard.  Below shows the progress in my glutes.  The progress blew me away.  What was the secret?  I'll tell you... it's no secret.  I started squatting very heavy (with a real good spot). I went deep and drove the weight through my heels activating the hamstring and glute.  I went heavy to the point of failure... where I almost dropped the bar off my shoulders. A good spot means someone stands behind you all the way to the floor and up.  I think my max was 180 lbs for 6 reps.  

I also incorporated one leg'd TRX lunges with a dumbell in one hand and one leg extended backwards with foot in the TRX strap.  Starting with a good warm up of two sets of 25 reps then increasing weight up to 80lbs. Probably a total of 8 - 9 sets.  I went deep and heavy using my straps to hold the dumbbell.  I will try get a video of this so you can see the movement more clearly.  I did these new movements only for about 4 weeks while on high carbs (optimum muscle building opportunity!).  I continued this routine while decreasing carbs and into show prep. 

Why do I compete? I have learned that in order for me to stay on track with my food and healthy life style I need a solid goal.  Before figure competing I started with triathlon, then half-marathons then figure competing.  All of these endeavors were once quarantined in my brain to the younger folk.  I had a strict rule in my head that as you age, become a grandmother and are over 45 you need to find a blanket and sit on the couch watching wheel of fortune.  When I stumbled across other women who had much larger obstacles in their lives compete in their first triathlon and half-marathon I realized that I shouldn't use age & fear of failure as an excuse to stay stuck a victim.  I decided to make it about being in the moment and having fun.

The Future: Right now I am back to my primary focus-being a therapist & pastor:  Helping people heal emotionally, physically and spiritually.  We are revamping our Health & Wellness program for 2014, rolling out a new "food issues" group that I will be facilitating.  I will be addressing the underlying issues of obesity and poor eating. I'm excited about the potential this group will have alongside of our existing nutrition & fitness classes!

Health & Fitness Goals:  After two weeks of much needed rest I hit the gym next week.  I will be working on increasing muscle and playing with carbs trying to stay within 10lbs of competition weight.  I'm thinking about going back to Pittsburg next year but it's just too early to make that decision.  I need to focus on the here & now.

Random Progress & Competition Pics:  I thought some of you might be interested in the process of dropping water (slowly tapering water consumption) before a show.  The pic below is 4 separate days prior to going on stage.  I took a picture every morning first thing, the last pic with blue tank is the morning of the day before the show.

The next pic is of my abs - I was laying on the floor doing some light crunches the day before the show - a rare and short-lived moment!!

Comparison pics in "2nd call outs" Age group 45-55 "C" height class (I am 5'3 3/4") - In layman's terms... I'm just shy of 5'4" - LOL!!!  I didn't have a scale but I figure after water drop I came in around 108lbs.  Oh and by the way... after adding water back in, the scale went right back up to 114 and now I stepped on the scale and I'm 120lbs which is a good maintenance weight for me.  The abs are soft and gone. But that's okay.

Well that brings another chapter of adventure to a close.  I hope to post again soon with updates on new growth in my life - as I face my own obstacles, mental games and fears... moving forward to encourage & inspire those that need it!

Remember to live "outside of yourself" and look for someone that needs encouragement.  Keep your eyes open to those around you, ask God to bring someone along your path.  Ask God to use you, He will.  You have a story and that story can lift another up to higher ground.