The Road to my First NPC Bikini Show – Week 7

Hello again friends! Hope your week went well! So I am going to pick up from the end of last weeks post! I left off talking about how my week in NC went and how I was nervous about my measurements and weight since staying strict on vacation proved to be a little challenging. I’m will also go over how I have been feeling, how I changed my macros, my progress, and more!

So after last week I was definitely ready to get home and get my prep on! Saturday I went to the store and bought ALL of my food that I needed for the following week and prepared it. Food: Check! Next my goal was to refocus and get my game face back on. If ya’ll have ever been on a diet and then strayed for a couple days you know that feeling when all you do is crave treats until you can get those cravings off your mind. Lastly I felt like I needed rest. My body was so sore from the combination of hanging on the beach, incorporating yoga everyday, daily workouts, and travel time. I decided to rest Saturday and do a simple shoulder workout Sunday.

So a couple weeks ago I switched over to mainly a high rep lower weight set range. My body was definitely not used to this style since my off seasons focus was gaining strength and muscle and now it is losing fat and leaning out. I decided to still incorporate a hypertrophy session (8-12, heavy reps) per body part for every 2 endurance (15+ lighter reps). Since I am focusing on my legs, hammys, and glutes the ratio would look something like this:

• Monday: Legs (Endurance)
• Friday: Legs (Endurance)
• Wednesday: Legs (Strength)
• Repeat E:E:S

Now my reasoning behind this is simple. To create a lean body you need to work out your muscles differently and going with higher and lighter reps will increase calorie expenditure during your workout and shape your muscles differently. Including a hypertrophy workout every few times will help keep your strength up and keep your muscle size on since cutting and leaning out will make you lose some of that progress no matter how well you prep. Finding the right combination that works best for you is key though. I personally LOVE strength training and muscle building workouts so not lifting heavy every week is so odd to me. For me, adding in this one workout has helped with that.

I knew that slimming out my legs was going to be a process and it still is. Fortunately I am starting to see major improvements in my hamstrings and glutes. Slimming down has helped with this but I also have added in a extra hamstring and glute workout to my weekly routine on top of my leg day. For leg day I have been rotating focus on different muscle groups and doing LOTS of squats. One leg workout I started with 3×20 squats, 3×20 narrow squats, and 3×20 sumo squats on the smith machine at 90lbs. WOW was I sore after. Hitting all angles is very important so make sure when you pick exercises you don’t over or under work any muscles.

To figure out what you need to tweak becomes an art. You need to feel your body, look, and critique the areas you would like to develop and which areas are already looking good! The areas that need “tweaking” you should pay extra attention to and work them more! Do your research and do the work. It is as easy as that.

I miss eating what I want when I want but that’s why prep is so challenging for many. I know that doing well and achieving my goal to place in this competition has given me the strength and discipline that I have needed thus far. Even though I do miss many of my comfort foods, I can tell that my body feels so light and less full of toxins!

I have started feeling the carb cravings and they hit hard! The morning is a breeze for me when it comes to controlling my cravings but the evening is another story. I have now lowered my carbs and calories to a point where I feel the draining effects of cutting. I have been craving peanut butter and peanuts a lot this past week as well. I gave in and bought myself a jar of crunchy honey peanut butter and it is so delicious. I am considering using a carb cycle for my last month to really target my hard to burn fat. I will keep you updated with my decision!

My macros are now a little different than where I started 5 weeks ago. I’m down over 100 calories/day and my carbs are considerably lower. To show you how I recalculate my macros each you I must start with my new weight and new TDEE. If you visit my How to Calculate Macros blog you will see a full example and explanation of how to do this. I am keeping my fat at 25% still and I am really just manipulating my carb ratio by lowering it each week while keep my protein high.

By the power of will and determination over vacation I weighed in at 119.8 which is the lowest I have weighed in 6 years! #progress Since I am still losing weight at a steady rate of  about a pound a week I am still just decreasing my calories slowly especially since I am starting to feel fatigued.

Calories: 1690

• Protein:  170g
• Fat: 48g
• Carbs: 150g

As of now, I have finally picked a posing coach! I am meeting with her next week for the first time so hopefully that all goes really well! I am so excited to finally start practicing and working on a routine. Shout out to @TLeighTrends for sending me some dope new headbands. You should check her out if you need some new ones. She hand makes them so just send her your size and the pattern and style you like then BOOM- new custom made headbands!

Goals

• Buy jewelry and accessories for my outfit.
• Look into other items I will need to buy such as bikini glue, etc.
• PRACTICE POSING
• Buy NPC card
• Buy entry into competition

Ill be making some big changes in my diet and exercise regimen in the next couple weeks so stay tuned! Next time you hear from me I will be 25! #itsmybirthday