From Squat Rack to Stage..: Three Weeks Out

Hey-o.

After my boring "listen-to-all-my-feeeelingssss" post, let's get back to the regular boring "look-at-my-macros-and-shitty-selfies" posts. Mmmkay?

Highlights of the Week

The last few weeks have seen some drops in body fat and some gains in the gym. Not gonna lie, I've had mornings where I've felt pretty good about where things are. And mornings where I feel like a bloated sea cow for no apparent reason.

Finished suit, mostly.

So this was actually a pretty involved process. I got a plain suit with strings still attached plus some hip connectors from a friend. I picked up a few packages of those iron-on Swarovski cyrstals from the craft store, and went to town.

I'll put one here... and one here....

I feel pretty... oh so pretty..

Done-ski. (I have no idea why it looks blue, it's really teal.)
Went to posing clinic - ...and... it sucked. Seriously. Left early. I felt like the bikini instruction was added on as an afterthought so there was a whole lot of standing around watching the physique guys strike bodybuilder poses they are never going to use. It was uncomfortable, frustrating, and vaguely homo-erotic, all the muscle slapping and whatnot. The good thing about the class was that I realized I have a lot of work to do, so there has been a lot of clickity clackity of stripper heels on laminate floors around here this week.

Front Pose that needs some work

Finalized Peak Week Plan - So during "peak week", which is the week before the contest, competitiors use different strategies to "come in" looking a certain way. Generally it's a combination of carbohydrate, sodium, and water manipulation with the goal of removing the water from under your skin and also pumping some glycogen into your muscles so you look full and lean on stage. Really not as critical for bikini as other divisions, but it still applies.

So, ten calories per pound is right where I'll be at that time (I'm just a hair over that now). This isn't a super dramatic plan - basically I'm just water loading for eight days, and cutting and subsequently carb-loading near the end. If there's one dietary thing I can do, it's carb-loading (thank you marathons).

Bod Progress: C

I'm talking like average C here, not like I have a 4.0 GPA and a C is really an F. Just a straight up C. Good days and bad days. Lost a bit more poundage but I've been stuck hovering for quite awhile. I can see new lines and stuff so that's cool, but it's so day by day.

It's seriously very hard to tell if I'm making progress, so I really just have to trust the process. That I made up. With very little knowledge and zero experience. If that's not a recipe for success I don't know what is.

Mental Check-In: B

This has been pretty back and forth too, as discussed in far too much detail in my last post... I am looking forward and enjoying the process and working through the doubts.

Training: C

I should be doing more cardio. I should be doing more cardio. I should be doing more cardio.

Super killing it in the weight room though. Really, really enjoying my lifts and surprised and how much strength I'm maintaining. Been rocking a Shoulders/Legs/Chest and Back split six days a week with arms and abs thrown in when I have time.

Diet: C

My diet was lovely and perfect... until it wasn't. I had a little mental breakdown... empty house, full cabinets, super depleted body. What could have been a disastrous derailment ended up being an unscheduled "cheat meal" that included some treats I shouldn't have had, but nothing too horrific. Woke up feeling a millions times better the next day, and all that glycogen went straight to the guns apparently: