OBV. you are still crazy busy!
STU help a girl out and post something here 
Would love some progress pics, not sure if you are shy or just want to post when your already “there”?
[quote]Up wrote:
OBV. you are still crazy busy!
STU help a girl out and post something here
Would love some progress pics, not sure if you are shy or just want to post when your already “there”?
[/quote]
Lol, I’m trying not to turn this into another one of ‘my’ threads here!
Cat’s been crazy busy lately. Monday involved taking her car into the dealer to get work done right after work (had her laptop with her to do grad work), got home around 9, and was up doing work until 1:30. Last night she came home after working all day, was supposed to run and attend a grad class (never made it because she had work to do on a presentation or something), and then ran back to work (out on Long Island, a nice drive from where we live) for some board meeting where she had to address some I-dunno-what and present something else. And tonight, she works her second job at a college right after her 9-5 (actually 7-2) job, usually getting home around 10:00.
So there’s been NO gym the last couple of days. Tonight Cat will do her usual ‘abbreviated’ back session at home (a million-zillion pull/chin-ups in our doorway) before passing out. Obviously this type of schedule really grates on her at times, and I have to keep reminding her that while we may not get the daily, or even weekly progress we always want, it always balances out the next week (still averaging a lb a week since we started).
I’m never one to tell anyone that they’re off track because of real life commitments, especially when progress is being steadily made. Of course I also won’t force anyone to compete if they’re not truly proud of how they look. I have a list of many possible shows in case any of my clients feel they need an extra week or two more than their anticipated contests. The real goal is for Cat to get into the open class at the June show (Hercules) where she won the novice class initially. Anything in addition to (before) that is simply a warmup. I just want her to be proud of herself, and ultimately, be able to say that she made improvements from her last show.
No doubt she’s working damn hard, and I’m damn proud of her.
S
how many pull ups/ chin ups can she do?
what are her other lifts like?
It’s been awhile since my last post. As Stu mentioned, this last week was insanely busy for me. I had a bunch of work commitments that I had to attend, as a result I didn’t get to the gym Monday thru Thursday. I felt guilty about it but there wasn’t even an hour to spare for the gym this week.
Since I couldn’t get to the gym I had all low carb days this week. Although I didn’t back slip, I don’t think I really made progress… I have 4 weeks until the first contest… My lowest weight this week was 110.8 - it feels like it took FOREVER to break 110. We will see how I look as I get closer to the show, but I’m really not sure if I will be ready…
Stu tells me all the time not to obsess about weight, but I was about 102 for my first contest, if I continue to lose a pound a week (which is getting more difficult as we get closer), then I will hopefully be about 105 or 106… Which might be ok. I’m reminding myself that the first show will be a warmup, if I don’t feel like I’m good enough then maybe we find a show end of May or beginning of June. I will definitely do the show on June 29!
I don’t have as many afterwork commitments this week, so I can just go back to my “usual” busy schedule 
There are some really cool people who work at our gym, they are so supportive. Yesterday I got to the gym late, one of the trainers (wnbf pro Phil Swin) and his wife stayed a half an hour later so I could finish up my workout, they wouldn’t let me leave at closing time, told me to finish my workout I’m training for a contest.
@yolo84 - pull ups - I can do about 7 or 8 good ones, by the fifth set I can do about 5 or 6. Chin ups are about the same. As I’ve been training for this contest and dieting, my strength has gone up on some things - for shoulder press I’m up to 20 dbs, squats range from 115 to 125 (depending how I feel) however squats are towards the end of my workout. Stu always says “weights aren’t the end result, they are a tool” - since I’m training more for aesthetics rather than strength I don’t focus too much on numbers, I just make sure by the last set & last rep, I’m spent!
Stu, yea, i get it, but i dont think youd get any complaints, cant speak for anyone else, but I was hoping for more updates/details.
So…thanks
Cat having some added muscle could be the few pounds!
With your schedule i cant even imagine drinking all the water that is usually recommended.
Having the down time from the gym, you are probably going to smash this week!!
[quote]Thunder Cat wrote:
There’s a woman (probably late 20s or early 30s) at the gym we go to, she is in AMAZING shape… everyone at the gym looks at her. She carries a lot of muscle, work out hard, and seems to be there everyday. Stu and I nicknamed her “Drago” (from Rocky IV) - because when I was sizing her up, Stu and I agreed that she would DESTROY me if we were competing in the same figure show. Also, she is very serious about her workouts and never talks to anyone… Well, a friend of ours (one of Stu’s clients, competitor, and SUPER NICE) happened to see “Drago” in the locker room and complimented her shoulders … Drago’s reply “I work very hard for this body” - no humility, gratitude, or kindness there… our friend was shocked and instantly regreted complimenting her. Whenever we see her in the gym now, Stu refers to me as Rocky (little, with a lot of heart), LOL… my goal is to look better than “Drago.”[/quote]
I keep thinking about your friend doing this lol.
[quote]Up wrote:
Stu, yea, i get it, but i dont think youd get any complaints, cant speak for anyone else, but I was hoping for more updates/details.
So…thanks
Cat having some added muscle could be the few pounds!
With your schedule i cant even imagine drinking all the water that is usually recommended.
Having the down time from the gym, you are probably going to smash this week!! [/quote]
It felt great getting to the gym this weekend! Just got home a few minutes ago and heading to the gym in about half an hour. I’m gonna see if Stu can take some pics later. I was 111.6 this morning, and if my weight keeps moving the way it has been - then I should be 109 by the weekend. I’m hoping I will feel ready for the first show - I was thinking about last time… it was only the week before that I actually felt good enough to compete.
Lots to do though, I haven’t practicd posing at all, need to practice and find a posing seminar in NY or NJ.
Instead of doing steady state cardio after my workouts, Stu is having me do 15 minutes of intervals after weight work - except on leg days, on leg days I’ll continue doing the steady state. We’re hoping the additional intervals will speed up the weight loss a bit!
[quote]csulli wrote:
[quote]Thunder Cat wrote:
There’s a woman (probably late 20s or early 30s) at the gym we go to, she is in AMAZING shape… everyone at the gym looks at her. She carries a lot of muscle, work out hard, and seems to be there everyday. Stu and I nicknamed her “Drago” (from Rocky IV) - because when I was sizing her up, Stu and I agreed that she would DESTROY me if we were competing in the same figure show. Also, she is very serious about her workouts and never talks to anyone… Well, a friend of ours (one of Stu’s clients, competitor, and SUPER NICE) happened to see “Drago” in the locker room and complimented her shoulders … Drago’s reply “I work very hard for this body” - no humility, gratitude, or kindness there… our friend was shocked and instantly regreted complimenting her. Whenever we see her in the gym now, Stu refers to me as Rocky (little, with a lot of heart), LOL… my goal is to look better than “Drago.”[/quote]
I keep thinking about your friend doing this lol.[/quote]
LOL! Stu got me a shirt that says “Win Rocky, Win” - I wore it to the gym the other day & it sparked an entire conversation about the genius of the Rocky films.
Stu got a t-shirt for himself as well - it says “Mickey’s Gym”
Okay, probably crummy quality, but I snapped a few shots of the Mrs in between her sets last night at the gym (delts n’ tris). Hopefully they give some idea how she’s looking.
S
S
S
awesome!
If your main show is on June 29 you will come in looking amazing. You are already getting all the “lines,” your delts and tri’s are already separating, and you can tell you are pretty damn lean already. Lots to go, but good work so far.
What do you do for your delts, they are particularly impressive in these photos. My girl might want to join me in my next prep so I can pass on that info to her, I’d love to have her check these logs and follow them.
Boulders on the shoulders! Loving the cap!! Thanks for the pics Stu.
…and dont think I missed the forearm veins, or that great smile!! Your giving Drago a run for her money
[quote]Lonnie123 wrote:
If your main show is on June 29 you will come in looking amazing. You are already getting all the “lines,” your delts and tri’s are already separating, and you can tell you are pretty damn lean already. Lots to go, but good work so far.
What do you do for your delts, they are particularly impressive in these photos. My girl might want to join me in my next prep so I can pass on that info to her, I’d love to have her check these logs and follow them.[/quote]
Thank you!!
Delts are probably my favorite muscle to work out, along with back. I’ve been doing 3 exercises for my delts - side laterals, front raises, and shoulder presses (for shoulder press I recently increased the weight to 20 lbs per dumbbell, Yay!). For side laterals and front raises I only use 10 lbs but go really slow on the negative, and by the 2nd set I’m already feeling it.
When I loose weight my upper body arms/abs are always the first place to lean out for me.
[quote]Up wrote:
Boulders on the shoulders! Loving the cap!! Thanks for the pics Stu.
…and dont think I missed the forearm veins, or that great smile!! Your giving Drago a run for her money ;)[/quote]
Thank you!!
LOL, boulders on the shoulders, love it! I will have to tell my sister, that’s gonna be our mantra for training shoulders!
Two momentous things happened this week. First, my weight has been stuck around 110 for the past 2.5 weeks - today I weighed in at 107.8, YAY! I know you can’t go by weight, however, with each drop in weight I feel like I’m not only closer to the competition, but also closer to being ready for the competition.
Second, I’ve earned a wolf pack t-shirt, without sleeves! Stu did the honors and cut the sleeves off for me! I’ve been telling Stu for weeks, once my arms look good enough, as a reward, we’ll cut the sleeves off a wolf pack T!
We’ve changed a few things around for workouts - my weight work is still the same, however, instead of doing 30 minutes of steady state cardio after weight work - I’m doing 20 minutes of intervals, followed by 10 minutes of steady state (except on leg day - on leg day I just do steady state). Stu is not thrilled with all the interval work, but we have a time crunch and he doesn’t want to cut my calories (because of the second show). We are trying this in an attempt to keep my weight loss from plateauing. The 2 shows I’m doing is May 18 (the warm up show), and June 29 (the one I competed in before).
Stu has been doing a great job of keeping me motivated and sane throughout all of this. I’m at the point where I just want the contest / dieting / school year / grad school to be finished. I’ve complained to Stu that I just want to quit sometimes… although I would never actually quit, I’ve wined and cried about it. I then come to my senses, suck it up, stay focused on one thing at a time and continue on. Soon, the contest & dieting will be over, the school year will be finished, and I will have time to enjoy myself… for the next 2 months, it’s all work… but I’m happy there is an end in site. Oh, and Stu says I’ll look awesome for summer!
Stu actually cuts the sleeves? I thought surely that the sleeves simply jumped off the shirt when Stu flexed his arm.
The weight thing can be a mind game sometimes. I’ve always liked Dave Tate’s egg analogy, where sometimes it seems like nothing is happening on the outside, but inside there are processes taking place that just haven’t manifested yet… But yeah, its always nice to finally see that scale tick down.
[quote]Thunder Cat wrote:
Two momentous things happened this week. First, my weight has been stuck around 110 for the past 2.5 weeks - today I weighed in at 107.8, YAY! I know you can’t go by weight, however, with each drop in weight I feel like I’m not only closer to the competition, but also closer to being ready for the competition.
… I just want to quit sometimes… although I would never actually quit, I’ve wined and cried about it. I then come to my senses, suck it up, stay focused on one thing at a time and continue on. Soon, the contest & dieting will be over, the school year will be finished, and I will have time to enjoy myself… for the next 2 months, it’s all work… but I’m happy there is an end in site. Oh, and Stu says I’ll look awesome for summer!
[/quote]
Congrats! And you’ve done it through such a busy and stressful time. That’s some mental fortitude right there. Those last few pounds are A LOT on a petite woman. Three to five pounds can be a really noticeable change. Well done! And yep, you can enjoy summer looking really fit.
Stu - Instead of cutting off the t-shirt sleeves for her, she should get a nice sundress out of this deal.