It's been too long - Here's an update!

I'm back!! :) 

Hey everyone! It has been way too long since I have been on here. I want to take a little time to fill you in on what’s been happening in my fitness journey.

I am 8 weeks out from my first NPC bikini competition. Scary!! I swear I was just 21 weeks out yesterday. Carly and I have been hitting the gym hard and we have each been seeing a lot of gains since the start of the year!

My legs are finally starting to thicken up and my stomach is slowly but surely leaning out. My back and arms are showing quite a bit of definition, which is very rewarding. Training my core is my absolute least favorite thing to do, but that’s my weakest area so I have to just do it. No excuses at this point in the competition prep!

I’m going to start kicking up my cardio game here soon. I have been doing HIIT sprints on the treadmill about 3-4 times a week. Starting next week, I will probably do cardio 5-6 times a week. My plan is to do 10 minutes high intensity on the Stairmaster and then do my HIIT routine on the treadmill. This will really help me lean out my tricky middle section.

I’m still drinking a gallon of water a day. I am constantly eating, I swear. I have oats and egg whites at breakfast; a protein shake and rice cake for meal two; turkey, rice and veggies for lunch; almonds for a snack; banana and protein shake for post workout; and rice, veggies and turkey for dinner. If I’m hungry before bed I have some cottage cheese.

I’m going to be making some changes to my diet in the upcoming weeks so I will keep you all informed on what I’m doing!

That’s what’s been going on with me, but I want to know what you guys want to read! What kinds of workouts are you all interested in? Meal recipes or snack ideas? Comment below and let me know! :)

-Kay

Training, Competitions, and PROTEIN PANCAKES!

Keywords: progress, workouts, fitness, NPC, bikini, bikini competition, protein, protein pancakes, healthy recipes, fitness

It’s been a while since I've updated you all about what’s going on in my life. Exciting things are happening. :) 

At the end of next semester, I will be an ACE certified personal trainer!!! I will be certified just in time for summer, so if you guys need help with your beach bodies, let me know. ;)

I have picked a show! I will be competing the first weekend of April at the Gopher State Classic NPC Bikini Show in Minnesota. This means I am officially 19 weeks out.

My competition suit is red and custom-made by Ravish Sands . I have yet to buy the competition shoes, but they are next on my to-do list. For now, I will just practice in a pair of heels that I already own.

I have started posing practice. Stage presence is very important when it comes to competition judging, so practice makes perfect! Carly and I try to practice our poses at least twice a week.

Posing is not as easy as you may think. You don’t just step on stage and strut your stuff. You definitely strut, but you have poses that you have to hit. There is front pose, side pose, back pose and more. I’ll save all that for another blog post. :)

I have been very focused in my workouts, and it is finally starting to pay off. My muscle definition

is showing, and my waist has really trimmed down. I do cardio every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday morning. I lift every night. Saturdays are my rest day.

For the first time ever, I have visible abs! They showed up after I started drinking a gallon of water a day. I literally carry a gallon jug around with me everywhere I go. It might look a little goofy, but that’s how you get it done! I cannot stress enough how important it is to keep your body hydrated. DRINK A LOT OF WATER!

Oh, and I eat A LOT of protein pancakes! I have been making protein pancakes almost every day for the last week and a half. They are filling, fluffy and they satisfy my sweet tooth. They are healthy, too!

Pumpkin Mocha Protein Pancakes:

Ingredients:

• ½ cup oats ground into flour (or whole wheat flour)
• ½ scoop 100% whey protein (I use mocha cappuccino)
• ½ teaspoon cacao powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon granulated sweetener (I use Stevia)
• ¼ cup pumpkin puree (if you don’t like pumpkin, you can use applesauce instead)
• 3 tablespoons almond milk
• 1 whole egg

Directions:

1. Mix all the ingredients together until the batter is smooth.
2. Fry in a sprayed pan for about one minute on each side.
3. Enjoy! :)

This makes one serving of four pancakes. Sometimes when I have a super strong sweet tooth, I throw in a handful of dark chocolate chips.  

Booty Work!

Keywords: booty, glutes, squats, fitness, workouts, goals, progress, deadlifts, bikini 

Diamonds are a girl’s best friend? No. Squats are a girl’s best friend. Ladies, make your booty your best asset! :)

Training your glutes includes a lot more than just squats. Yes, squats are a great booty builder; however, it is important to mix in multiple different lifts to really round out those glutes.

One of my main goals right now is to grow and round out my booty. A good set of glutes is very important when it comes to competition judging! This process takes a lot of patience, but thankfully I've been seeing some good progress.

Kick-downs on the pull-up machine

Here’s a look at what one of my glute days would look like. I like to train hard on lower body days, so this workout is a bit intense.

• Barbell Glute Bridges: 4x12
• Barbell Squats: 4x12
• Sumo Squats with dumbbell: 4x15
• Barbell Deadlifts: 4x15
• Walking Lunges: 4x15 each leg
• Cable Kick-Backs: 4x15 each leg
• Kick-Downs on the pull-up machine: 4x15 each leg
• Heavy Leg Press: 4x12

Step it up a notch by adding jump squats between reps. I do 20 jump squats between each set of cable kick-backs, push-downs and glute bridges when I really want to get my sweat on. If you can walk correctly after this workout, you didn’t do it right.

No ifs, ands or buts. Get to the gym and work for your dream butt!

If you have any questions about the lifts above, please leave a comment below. :)

Chest and Back Workout

Keywords: chest, back, workout, fitness, healthy, healthy recipes, goals, power set

This week I want to share some of my favorite workouts. I’ve really been focusing on strengthening my back and chest. For the last three weeks I have been doing chest and back on Mondays and Fridays.

A few of my favorite chest and back workouts include power rows with dumbbells, assisted pull-ups, and a power set of incline chest press and incline chest fly.

I like to mix my workouts up each week so my body doesn't become accustomed to them. I also don’t want to get bored with my workouts. An example of a chest and back workout I would do is:

Assisted pull-ups – 3 sets of 12

Power set:

• Incline chest press – 20 pounds x 15, 20x12, 20x8, 20x8
• Incline dumbbell fly – 15 pounds x 10, 15x8, 15x8, 15x6

Power set:

• Lat pull-downs – 4 sets of 12
• Machine w-rows – 90 pounds 4x15

Power set:

• Dumbbell power rows – 30 pound dumbbells, 4x10 each arm
• Bench press – bar x 20, 5 pounds on each side 3x12

Assisted pull-ups – 2 sets of 12, one set to failure

A set to failure is when you do the exercise until you physically can’t do it anymore.

A power set means you do two workouts consecutively. For example, I would do a set of incline chest presses immediately followed by a set of incline dumbbell flies. That counts as “one power set.” I would then repeat with a set of chest presses followed by a set of flies until I was done with that exercise. Then I move on to the next power set.

Week 3 goals:

This week my goal is to continue with cardio and full workouts. I can already see my body making progress. I just need to keep it up!

Recipe of the week:

Egg whites are a lifesaver when it comes to eating healthy! I could eat egg whites for every meal. You’re probably thinking egg whites are not very flavorful, but there are so many ways to spice them up so I never get bored! You can eat them plain, with spinach, hot sauce, cherry tomatoes, or mozzarella cheese. The list goes on and on. My favorite egg white concoction just needs a few things.

Ingredients:    

• egg whites
• baby spinach
• cherry tomatoes
• chopped onion
• veggie or mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Spray skillet with Olive Oil cooking spray.
2. Pour egg whites into skillet.
3. Add in the chopped spinach, onions and tomatoes.
4. Sprinkle in a little cheese.
5. Mix it all up, and enjoy your scrambled egg whites! 

Fitness Encouragement

keywords: fitness, healthy, healthy recipe, competition, lifestyle, cardio, metabolic damage, progress

It can be really hard to stay focused and I have to remind myself that this lifestyle is worth it. This week I thought I would share a few things that I often have to tell myself, and also try to keep you all encouraged to keep going!

A healthy lifestyle is very rewarding. Sometimes, however, it can be very discouraging. Progress takes time and patience. It’s not going to be easy. Just remember as you are embracing your healthy lifestyle that progress is progress no matter how small!

It takes 21 days to develop a habit. It takes two weeks to see progress. Don’t give up on going to the gym or eating healthy after a week because you haven’t seen results. Keep up the hard work and you will start to notice!

Make small weekly goals to keep yourself focused. Once you’ve achieved one goal, set another. No matter how hard it is at first, developing a healthy lifestyle is something you will never regret!

Week 2 goals:

This week my goal is to get back into a cardio routine. I have been nervous to do daily cardio ever since I damaged my metabolism last semester. I learned a lot about cardio and metabolic damage from BioLayne. I now feel like I am ready to get back on track. This week I am going to do 20 minutes of incline walking on the treadmill every morning.

Recipe of the week:

I said it last week and I’ll say it again. Breakfast is important! Fueling your body correctly is crucial to achieving a successful healthy lifestyle. I am going to be starting cardio in the mornings. It is important for me to give my body the energy it needs. Before my cardio sessions, I will enjoy this chai green smoothie inspired by The Body Fuel System

Ingredients:

picture credit:http://essentialsurvival.org/post-holiday-detox/green-smoothie/  

• 5 large strawberries
• 1 apple
• 1/2 orange
• 1 1/2 cups kale - about 4-5 stalks
• 1 1/2 teaspoon spice blend (see below)
• 1 inch fresh ginger peeled
• 1 scoop vanilla chai protein powder (plain vanilla works too)
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1/2 cup water

Spice Blend:

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon cardamom
• 2 teaspoons cacaco powder (specialty item found in health food section of Hy-Vee)

Directions:

1. Blend strawberries, apple, orange, water and almond milk in a blender.
2. Blend in kale.
3. Blend in spice blend, ginger and protein powder.
4. Enjoy your smoothie! :)