"I want to tone up"...

That phrase right there is something I hear ALL the time... especially now that I've made a big commitment to compete in a bodybuilding show...

But that phrase, and similar phrases ("I'm toning up", "I just want more tone", "she looks really toned") drive me BONKERS!!!

For some people "getting toned" is associated with doing a LOT of cardio on an elliptical machine (or other cardio machine). But that is never going to get you toned. 

All I can keep repeating is "weight training, weight training, weight training"... and of course the response I always get from the females is "but I don't want to look manly"... I can't help but laugh of course...

If a female wants to get rid of the "cottage cheese" legs, the "chicken wing" and the "love handles"... you're going to have to do some weight training. And I'm not talking about 2lb weights that you move around easily... you have to have RESISTANCE.

If your muscles aren't burning after you've done 12-15 reps then you are not using enough weight. Now don't go grab the heaviest thing you can pick up either, because when you are doing these moves you have to have proper form so you don't hurt yourself. Have you ever had a torn muscle? Do you know how much it hurts? I do... and let me tell you... you don't want to feel it... It hurts a LOT.

Weight training should be a big part of your workout regimen if you want a "toned" look. Of course cardio should still be there to help reduce overall body fat, but the weights are going to give you the sleek, sexy, rounded in all the right areas kind of look. 

By the way... don't  fall into the trap of thinking you can "spot train" certain areas like your lower abs, your legs, etc to lose fat in those areas. Fat can't be lost JUST in one area. It doesn't happen. When you lose fat as a result of working out, you lose it ALL over your body. 

Here is my own example. I am a pear shaped person. I accumulate fat in my legs, butt and hips FIRST and then in other areas. So when I start to see a double chin forming on myself that's when I know I've gained a LOT of weight for my frame. (It's happened twice in my life now). When I finally start to lose the fat, the double chin disappears first, then the fat arms, then the boobs (yep your boobs will disappear, bye bye fat!) and then finally my tummy, hips, butt and legs. It's a slow process for me to feel slim ALL over. DON'T LOSE FAITH! 

Keep going!

Working out with a cold...

It's now January 20th and I haven't seen much change in my body in regards to my NPC bodybuilding show... but that could be due to one minor hiccup in my plans...

Coming down with a cold...

Actually I'm pretty sure it's a sinus/ear infection, but I have no health insurance right now so I'm not able to go to the doctor to figure out what it is. Luckily my mom is a nurse and she semi-diagnosed it as an infection...

ALSO luckily, I still had antibiotics from a surgery I had in 2012 and I was able to start a regimen of those in order to combat the infection... I waited about 10 days to see if my body would kick it naturally, it didn't. That's when you know it's probably an infection. DARN IT! 

Not only are the symptoms downright ANNOYING (started with a sore throat, cough, runny nose... morphed into stuffy nose, stuffed up ears (half deaf), sinus pressure, headaches, cough), but I have had absolutely NO energy the majority of the time I've had this.

I had my first symptoms on January 9th and since then I've only worked out 4 times. I've tried to stick to my diet plan but have fallen off the bandwagon a few times due to having NO appetite or craving something other then fish and greens...

BUT, I will say that the days I did workout made me feel better for a little bit. And I did notice my body changing with just those few workouts. 

The first two times I worked out when I first got this cold/infection hybrid, the symptoms weren't as severe and I had energy to get thru the workouts. They actually made me feel better. Then about 4 days into this I was sapped of all my energy and didn't workout for about 4-5 days. Finally I'd had enough of feeling like a bum and I took a decongestant that contains pseudoephedrine which is basically Sudafed (I had been avoiding any meds up until this point), and that stuff ALWAYS makes me feel like I've drank 10 cups of coffee. That gave me the energy to do a moderate circuit training workout. It felt good to get my body moving again.

The very next morning I had scheduled one of my personal training sessions so I took half of a Sudafed about an hour and a half before my session. I also drank a little bit of green tea with my breakfast. WHOA was my body ready to MOVE. It also meant my heart rate got up into the max area pretty fast. So my trainer didn't push me as hard as he normally would. I really didn't feel like I was any less strong compared to when I'm not sick, it was just a little harder to breathe and I could feel my heart pumping pretty fast.

Either way I'm glad I got those workouts in. It's all about consistency. You have to stick with it if you want to reach your goals. The hardest part for me is that my friends and family members don't understand what I'm doing. Even after I explain it to them, they still don't get it and absentmindedly offer me "bad" foods, or offer to go out drinking (which I can't do) or ask to go out to restaurants... It's hard to turn them down, I don't want to hurt anyones feelings or make them feel like I'm avoiding them. It's just that I can't be around that sort of stuff. 

I have to keep repeating myself to them. Just yesterday I had to repeat that I can't drink to my friends and their response was "Oh I thought it was only for the month of March that you can't". I had to remind them that preparation for a competition can go as far out as 12 weeks from the comp day. I am about 10 weeks out right now. They didn't really understand the concept, so basically all I can say is "I can't drink". The other thing is.... I don't really want to anyways. 

Unemployed with goals...

I've been unemployed going on 3 months now. I've had a few interviews, but the majority of times I don't hear a peep from companies I apply to. I'd say the most frustrating experience was the company that asked me to do an online video recorded "interview" (more like a pre-screening) where I recorded my answers to five questions with my webcam (I actually had to dress as if I was going to a face-to-face interview) and then wait to hear back from the company regarding my answers...

I heard back within the hour of sending it... to set up a phone interview for the very next day. I got the call at 11am the next day and the recruiter goes on to tell me that I had had the best video of all the candidates, and that I really knew what I was doing, but since I had JUST graduated in December 2012 that they REQUIRE 1 year post graduation experience before they can consider me.....

wait.... what??? I have over TEN YEARS experience..... not only that but you could PLAINLY see that I graduated in December on my LinkedIn profile (which is how I had to apply to the position).... so WHY did you even contact me regarding the video interview and phone interview?????? 

So frustrating. 

As inconvenient and annoying and frustrating as it is to be unemployed and searching for a job I have ended up focusing most of my energy on a BIG goal that I've been pondering for a little over a year...

That is to enter a bodybuilding competition.

NOT the big, beefy, manly looking kind of competition. I'm entering into the Bikini Division of the NPC...

The bikini division is the most feminine "look" of all the divisions. But don't let that fool you, it's still just as much work as the other divisions. I'm eating every 2-3 hours. Working out 45-90 minutes a day. Incorporating a LOT of weight training into my training sessions.... and absolutely testing my willpower and mental strength.

It's not just about getting a good workout in the gym 5-6 days a week. The biggest part is your diet. Eating the right foods, at the right time of day to really maximize the gains you see in the gym. Most people don't realize that WHEN you eat is almost as important as WHAT you eat...

I have mulled this idea over for awhile. I had so many health issues in 2012 I never got around to it. Now that this new year has started and I just graduated AND I'm unemployed.... might as well turn this dream into a tangible goal....

It's January 9th and I am aiming for a local show on March 30th. I'm going to be working my BUTT off to be ready for that show. I may even post progress pictures on here to inspire and motivate others to make changes just like me!  :)

Communication...

In about a week or so I will complete my last final exam for awhile (unless I decide to go after a Masters degree) and I will finally possess a Bachelors degree...

It has been a LONG, hard road. 

 I got to work for a company that actually paid for most of my education. That's when I realized I needed to take full advantage of the situation and get myself edumacated. The problem was deciding WHAT I wanted to study...

I knew I wanted to do something creative. Where I felt like I had hands on experience and I could take my ideas from inside my head and make them into a tangible or viewable thing... 

Unfortunately anything "creative" wasn't covered by my employers education assistance plan. So I settled on something that I knew could be used in a wide array of jobs...

Communication.

It's a pretty broad subject, but if you think about it, it's a useful one in this day and age. There is less and less meaningful communication on a day-to-day basis.

Take going out to dinner with friends or family. I don't know about you, but I can't believe how many times I've sat down with a group of people at a restaurant intending to have good conversation and the first thing the group does is pick up their phones and starts tapping away. NO COMMUNICATION!??

It's pitiful. People now rely on electronic communication more than face-to-face communication then ever before. Try standing in front of that person you just texted and say what you just texted to their face. I bet it'd be pretty hard for most people. 

I come from an industry that has PUSHED electronics and technology (cell phones) into the hands of consumers, yet I can't STAND the amount of texting, emailing, Facebook messaging, etc. I would rather sit down and have a REAL conversation with a person. That is really the only true way to get to know someone. Not thru texting, not thru emailing. 

Face-to-face. 

I dare you to step out of your comfort zone that you've created with that little hand held device and actually invite that person you're about to text to meet up. I bet you'll gain a lot more from the face-to-face then you'd ever gain from what you're about to type...