12 Weeks Out
Weekly check in!
I got to test my squat and deadlift maxes this week, and hit new personal bests on both. I'm pretty excited for my deadlift as it's finally 1.5x my bodyweight. I'm also excited about my squat. Even though it's definitely one of my weakest lifts, I know that I work hard at it. After dealing with hip and knee pain 2 summers ago, I stripped all the weight off the bar and completely rebuilt my squat. Even though it's not one of my strongest lifts strength-wise, I feel really good squatting knowing that my form feels right and hitting depth is not an issue. My strength is not outstanding, but it's mine, and I've worked hard for what I do have. For that reason, I'll always be proud of what I can do. I'm pleasantly surprised to have continued to gain strength into my diet, and I'll continue to document my lifts.
{deadlift 166 lbs for 5 reps at 109-110 lbs bodyweight seen here}
{squat 130 lbs for 3 reps at 109-110 lbs bodyweight seen here}
At 11450 cals for the week, still periodizing my nutrition around my training with higher calories on my heavier training days, and lower calories on my rest days. I've always shared my macros here as I want to be transparent in my journey. Many people shy away from sharing their specific macros for a number of reasons.
First, it really doesn't matter what my numbers are as everyone's metabolism is different, and what allows me to gain or lose may be too much or too little food for the next person. Don't just look at someone else's macros and assume that's what you should be eating to reach your goals; it's likely very different.
Also, everyone has different preferences in terms of macronutrient distribution. I personally prefer lower fat in exchange for higher carbs which I find more satiating, give me higher energy, and allow me to better keep my performance up in the gym. I tend to start my clients somewhere in the middle and adjust according to their feedback.
Lastly, I think people are scared of being judged for eating too much or too little. I'm a big advocate of eating as much as you can while still making progress, but ultimately, if you're in contest prep, you have a deadline, and you're going to need to make sure your progress is keeping pace with your deadline. While I don't think it's wise to drop your calories super low and pile on the cardio right from the get-go, most people do reach a place near the end of prep where they would prefer to be eating more and probably wouldn't mind doing less cardio.
That said, my food intake is pretty high for my body size, mostly because my NEAT is pretty high. I have an active job where I'm moving around a lot, and I spend a good amount of time walking (either walking my dogs or walking to/from places). Since starting my prep 4 weeks ago, and continuing into this week, my nutrition protocol has been as follows:
3 high days (1850 cals, 120p/37f/260c)
2 medium days (1550 cals, 120p/35f/189c)
2 low days (1400 cals, 120p/30f/163c)
Training still at 5 days per week with 2 days completely off from any training or cardio. I've been using these rest days to get in some extra recovery work. For the last several months, Friday has been my dedicated recovery and posing day, where I head to the gym and spend about an hour practicing my posing and about an hour with a lacrosse ball, the foam roller, and stretching. Actually going to the gym for this sessions makes sure I do it. This recovery day is something I plan on doing indefinitely as I think it has had a huge impact on keeping my body feeling good.
I surprised myself last week by accidentally doing some extra cardio. I did a 125 cal burn circuit after each one of my lifting sessions for a total cardio burn of 625 cals for the week. I'm liking these circuits. I've been continuing with a mix of barbell complexes, kettle bell work, glute and band work, and abs. It takes me about 20-25 minutes to hit 125 cals moving at a comfortable pace, probably an RPE ~6.
Weight hasn't dropped too much from last week, but I hit a new low of 109.4 on Thursday, and I'll keep things consistent moving into this week.
Excited to continue on this journey. :)
 |
| 1.10.2016 // 12 weeks out |
I got to test my squat and deadlift maxes this week, and hit new personal bests on both. I'm pretty excited for my deadlift as it's finally 1.5x my bodyweight. I'm also excited about my squat. Even though it's definitely one of my weakest lifts, I know that I work hard at it. After dealing with hip and knee pain 2 summers ago, I stripped all the weight off the bar and completely rebuilt my squat. Even though it's not one of my strongest lifts strength-wise, I feel really good squatting knowing that my form feels right and hitting depth is not an issue. My strength is not outstanding, but it's mine, and I've worked hard for what I do have. For that reason, I'll always be proud of what I can do. I'm pleasantly surprised to have continued to gain strength into my diet, and I'll continue to document my lifts.
{deadlift 166 lbs for 5 reps at 109-110 lbs bodyweight seen here}
{squat 130 lbs for 3 reps at 109-110 lbs bodyweight seen here}
At 11450 cals for the week, still periodizing my nutrition around my training with higher calories on my heavier training days, and lower calories on my rest days. I've always shared my macros here as I want to be transparent in my journey. Many people shy away from sharing their specific macros for a number of reasons.
First, it really doesn't matter what my numbers are as everyone's metabolism is different, and what allows me to gain or lose may be too much or too little food for the next person. Don't just look at someone else's macros and assume that's what you should be eating to reach your goals; it's likely very different.
Also, everyone has different preferences in terms of macronutrient distribution. I personally prefer lower fat in exchange for higher carbs which I find more satiating, give me higher energy, and allow me to better keep my performance up in the gym. I tend to start my clients somewhere in the middle and adjust according to their feedback.
Lastly, I think people are scared of being judged for eating too much or too little. I'm a big advocate of eating as much as you can while still making progress, but ultimately, if you're in contest prep, you have a deadline, and you're going to need to make sure your progress is keeping pace with your deadline. While I don't think it's wise to drop your calories super low and pile on the cardio right from the get-go, most people do reach a place near the end of prep where they would prefer to be eating more and probably wouldn't mind doing less cardio.
That said, my food intake is pretty high for my body size, mostly because my NEAT is pretty high. I have an active job where I'm moving around a lot, and I spend a good amount of time walking (either walking my dogs or walking to/from places). Since starting my prep 4 weeks ago, and continuing into this week, my nutrition protocol has been as follows:
3 high days (1850 cals, 120p/37f/260c)
2 medium days (1550 cals, 120p/35f/189c)
2 low days (1400 cals, 120p/30f/163c)
Training still at 5 days per week with 2 days completely off from any training or cardio. I've been using these rest days to get in some extra recovery work. For the last several months, Friday has been my dedicated recovery and posing day, where I head to the gym and spend about an hour practicing my posing and about an hour with a lacrosse ball, the foam roller, and stretching. Actually going to the gym for this sessions makes sure I do it. This recovery day is something I plan on doing indefinitely as I think it has had a huge impact on keeping my body feeling good.
I surprised myself last week by accidentally doing some extra cardio. I did a 125 cal burn circuit after each one of my lifting sessions for a total cardio burn of 625 cals for the week. I'm liking these circuits. I've been continuing with a mix of barbell complexes, kettle bell work, glute and band work, and abs. It takes me about 20-25 minutes to hit 125 cals moving at a comfortable pace, probably an RPE ~6.
Weight hasn't dropped too much from last week, but I hit a new low of 109.4 on Thursday, and I'll keep things consistent moving into this week.
Excited to continue on this journey. :)
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