| |
|
JSEXTON1's Recent Blog Entries
|
 
Monday, May 11, 2009
So back in November, I decided to hire a trainer who is a hardcore bodybuilder and has a pro card ( www.bodybuildingsenior.com ) and train for the NGA Alabama Natural Open as a female bodybuilder. ( www.ngaalabamaopen.com )
Honestly, I didn't I could make this a reality. It's been my dream ever since I was little. I would watch American Gladiators and wish that I was one of them. Even when I was working out with trainers over the last couple of years, none of them thought it was possible so they wouldn't train me like a bodybuilder. I had ended up saying that I just wanted to "get stronger" so they would start handing me heavier weights. One trainer was giving me high rep/light weights on a bosu ball and I fired his booty the next day. Don't even play that "as seen on tv" fitness girl with the 80s workout belt and spandex crap on me. That chick is going to start eating again someday and gain everything back tenfold or she had genetics on her side anyway so she never really earned it.
When I first met with my trainer, I asked him if he honestly thought this was possible and he was like "well lady, you've got 9 months so I don't see why not, but you have to be really serious about this." It was cool to finally meet someone who believed in my dream and all *corny* I know, lol.
Naturally, I received opposition from this when I first started.
1) It drove people crazy when I couldn't go get a beer with them or eat like I used to. I had one friend freak on me because I ordered a grilled chicken garden salad from Wendy's with no cheese and didn't use dressing and she was like "What the hell?!?"
2) Then I was afraid to tell people that I was doing a bodybuilding competition, I was calling it a "fitness competition".
a) For one, I was afraid of the looks I was going to get when my chubby 163 pound ass was telling someone that I am competing in a competition. It's like a fat dude saying "I'm on a diet" and someone else going "Just started?" I felt like I couldn't make the claim since I didn't have the body to back it up.
b) Also I was scared of the stigma behind being a female and a bodybuilder. My dad told me about how he works with this one woman who does that and everyone calls her "Iron Tits" behind her back. I hate that there is negativeness behind the fact of a chick having muscles but sadly there is.... besides most of the women who look like amazons look that way because they are on steroids and whenever you take male hormones, you are going to look like a dude. My competition is all natural and it is genetically impossible for a girl to look like Arnold unless they are taking something. Naturally, if a girl lifts heavy weights, she will just be stronger and leaner but still keep a small figure, why? Genetics.
3) I had people close to me accuse me of taking steroids. At first I was furious because whenever I was showing progress from something that takes a lot of hard work, the first thing they assume is that I'm cheating because I'm not capable of the hard work. But then when I get the steroid accusations, I take it as a compliment that someone thinks I have the best muscles money can buy. I now just say laugh and say "well thank you but no I'm not on steroids, I dont even know what they look like"
4) Getting started was tough. At first my trainer told me "no carbs after 4pm" and I thought he was NUTS! Even now it's tough because I have to train 24 hours a day. I have to always be aware of how much I'm working out, what I'm training, what I'm eating, when I'm eating, what supplements to take and when, and if I'm getting enough sleep at night.
It's starting to become second nature now.
I can honestly say that standing on stage July 11 will be a reality. I started at 163lbs and transformed to 137lbs and still going. My trainer anticipates that I will be 125lbs by showtime and then 120lbs after the water shred. I can't even imagine what that will be like but I'm so thrilled and this will be a lifestyle I will always participate in.
I want to do more shows, get a pro card, get into fitness modeling - I think I've got an alright face ;) hehe, possibly get casted on American Gladiators since it's been my fave show since I was little, hehe.
Why will I always keep doing this? Because I now belong to a group of people who make up only 1% of the population. I am doing quite possibly the hardest thing ever and I am succeeding so far. Why that being said, I feel like I can conquer anything.
When I first started training, a lot of crappy stuff happened all at once. I got dumped from my relationship of two years and a lot of bad crap happened from what I thought was a promising career. I even called crying to my trainer when that happened because I thought I wasn't able to pursue my dream but he didn't give up on me, he worked it out to where I could continue to train until I got back on my feet again. Thank God for that because working out was the only thing that kept me sane during that dark time. But then I got a REALLY amazing job with a REALLY amazing company I love who fully supports my training (they even pay for my gym membership) and I've become extremely independent where I don't need a relationship to define myself and since then I have spent a lot of quality time with myself, learning things about myself, and pursuing those dreams and interests of mine, like bodybuilding for example :)
Long story short, training for this competition has changed my life.
In closing I wanted to attach some progress pictures from where I first started up until now.
November 2008
January 2009
April 2009
To view the entire album click the link below:
www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=20299
20&id=58900277&l=64ad96a1fd
- If there is something you really want to do with your life, just do it.
- Find out what you need to do to make it happen, even if you think it's impossible, and just do it.
- Once you find out what to do, make a realistic game plan with short term goals and work on establishing a pattern. Typically, people try to take on a big task at once, fail, get frustrated, and quit. If you work on establishing a routine of eating cleaner, or drinking more water, or trying to go workout during lunch, for example, take each of those routines and break them down into small goals. Focus on just drinking more water- once you get that down, then focus on working out during lunch, etc.... baby steps help establish consistency.
- Set yourself up to be in an environment where accomplishing these goals can happen. Don't buy junk food, sign up for some activity- you will feel bad paying for something you aren't using (unless you're rich and then you could pay for a nice body, lol), keep your gym clothes with you in your car so you don't have an excuse to not workout, ect......
- If there are people in your life telling you that you can't do something, tell them to screw off and just do it. You don't need these people in your life if they are going to bring you down instead of building you up and supporting your dreams.
I remember a funny quote my old karate instructor, who teaches in Homewood, said in regards to not having enough time to train because your boyfriend or girlfriend hates that you are away all the time. "Don't listen to them, focus on your training, you won't have a problem finding a new significant other once you are a champion"
Heck, Arnold married a Kennedy ;)
Monday, December 01, 2008
Here are seven things we know about getting lean:
1. Small, frequent meals work. You should consume 5-6 meals per day.
2. Cutting carbs works. For fat loss, stick to less than 50 grams of carbs per day.
3. Vegetables work. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner should be accompanied by a serving of vegetables.
4. Adequate protein works. You should consume at least 100 grams of protein per day.
5. Fish oil works. You can't go wrong with eight capsules of Flameout per day. Take four with breakfast and dinner.
6. Water and green tea works. Drink enough water so your urine is always clear, and don't forget to have 8-12 ounces of green tea each day.
7. Training with a high intensity works. Keep your rest periods short and the intensity high. If you don't feel moderately nauseous at least once during your workout you need to train harder.
www.figureathlete.com/free_online_ar
ticle/features/question_yourself_4_ste
ps_to_a_leaner_physique&cr=
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
So I have this crazy idea, lately I've been really into working out and I've been hitting the gym consistently for a month and I have lost 4 pounds (I was 163lbs and now I'm 159lbs). I've also stopped drinking all colas (diet or non), started drinking lots of water and green tea, drinking protein shakes regularly, and taking a lot of vitamins. I've also boycotted the snack closet :) I set this goal to weigh 140lbs by May 18, 2009 (just in time for PCola) It's realistic considering that I have several months to do it, I'm giving myself a buffer for the holidays. It's also realistic because I maintained a weight of 140lbs for the last 3 years, I feel like it's my "normal" body weight.
But my crazy idea is this: I have an account on bodybuilding.com just to get workout ideas, etc... and I added local trainers to my friend's list. Well this one guy leaves me a message telling me that he's promoting this bodybuilding and figure competition held at Hoover High July 11, 2009. So I was thinking that if I signed up for the contest and hired a trainer to write out a workout plan and nutrition plan that I could do in my own time but have the trainer check in on me to see how I'm doing, then it would defintely help me get back down to 140lbs and probably less than that since its a competition. I don't want to look like a fatass on stage, hahaha. So I called that trainer and I'm meeting with him Thursday to get a consultation, just to see if I could get into "figure competitor" shape in 7 months. He told me that I would need to get down to 135lbs, so that's awesome! That's just 5lbs below my normal weight but my body fat % would be drastically lower.
I'm not sure if this is realistic, but he'll take a look at me and let me know, hahaha.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Take a thermometer and measure your temperature first thing in the morning as soon as you get out of bed. Don't eat or drink, just first thing measure your temperature. It should be between 97.5-98 degrees give or take.
But if its 96.5 degrees or below consecutively, then you need to eat more to boost a sluggish metabolism and if that doesn't work, then go to the doctor to get tested for hypothyroidism.
I like to cite my sources but I can't find the link at the moment but I thought it was an interesting little test.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
I'm still logging but I've been so busy that I haven't had time to put it up here. You should see my training book, it looks like a 5th grader got ahold of it, haha. Anytime I see an idea, I write it down in the book so I can refer to it later and I'm still keeping track of my weight lifted, etc..... I refer back to the book to see what I did last leg day and see if there is some other exercise I can do to mix it up like I substituted one arm dumbbell deadlifts for Romanian deadlifts to work on some uni-lateral strength.
I like following a gameplan since I'm always been the type who likes to think ahead. I wish I could find a trainer around here that I could pay just to write me out a workout plan for the next 6 months. I have one more week left on this plan and then I want to work on strength until Feb. and then start cutting to have that show and go body by the middle of May.
1
2
3
4
Last Page
|
|
Subscribe for Blog updates from JSEXTON1:
|
|
Member Comments About This Blog Post:
It's none-bs advice unlike the stuff I read in fitness magazines like "Self", etc.... "Lose 10lbs in a month by walking 10 minutes a day" That's crap and they are in for some disappointment if they really think that is going to work. So I tend to post stuff about myths and fitness theories that people hear all around them and talk about what really works. In my opinion, it's the basics: drink tons of water, try to eat cleaner (cleaner as in less junk, it's not rocket science what's good for you and not, haha), combine weights with cardio for at least 30 mins/3X a week, and get enough sleep.
I took a break from blogging but I'm going to start posting on a regular basis now so thanks for the interest :) :) :)