School & Work
School is pretty much over for me as of Friday. I corrected all my exams, entered my marks, and well just have to clean up my classroom a bit, and things are done. That means around 7 weeks of vacation – no bad for a teacher. We do get 12 weeks of vacation a year. This is very much a lifestyle choice, and every time summer rolls around I am sure that many teachers are thankful for this ‘perk’ of the job.
Diet & Training
Diet this week has been perfect. I made some huge strides in my physique this week. I am off to Toronto on Wed for a few photo shoots, so I am pushing the weight loss a bit faster than I would normally this many days out from a show. For the Arnold Amateur I only dieted for around 46 days. To have the process already started is a huge relief, as I will be traveling a bit, and then on vacation – but still bringing my food everywhere.
What am I eating – the same as most girls – oatmeal, yogurt, bananas, broccoli, sweet potato, chicken, salad, light dressing, some nuts, asparagus, dill pickles, eggs, egg whites, protein shakes, and that is about it. Oh, and my morning coffee.
Training has been consistent, and intense. I am making sure to get all my reps/set in, my cardio, and have some rest in there too. Since I am not ‘teaching’ I do have a bit more energy as I am not on my feet all day, and training at the same time. I still see that improvements can be made in my glutes (but what girl would not say that) – it is the last thing to come in on my physique. I like lifting heavy as it is challenging, and motivating. I can see my body taking that competition shape. Erik sent me a new program that I am very excited to have. Higher reps for some exercises. I like the higher reps as I feel stronger this time around. Usually I am just doing my workouts but am not mentally there – just going through the motions I guess. This is what I really needed – someone just to give me an extra ‘oomph’ to get excited about the gym again.
I have not started routine practice yet. I have managed to alter my music to make a routine that was 2mins down to the CBBF regulated 1min 30 seconds. I made sure it was not more than this even though some girls have been known to go over. I want to win this show, and something as little as going over the alloted routine music time could affect the outcome. CBBF has not been known to ‘time’ the routine but the one time I would not pay attention to this small detail would be the one time they do time the routine.
Summer
This summer I am planning quite a bit of travel. Some girls find it hard to travel and diet, and well for me I find it easier. Maybe it is because I am busier, have more people around me, and well they understand what I do – so there are no questions. They still even after all these years have questions, but then it keeps me more on track knowing they are ‘watching’ even though they are not really watching.
A.
Here are some pics from Saturday 21 June:
