Hello, FitnessRx Women! It’s been a while since I’ve blogged, so I think I am past due to write one. I have been on vacation lately. Yes, that’s right… a three-week vacation! I visited Dallas, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and finally San Diego. I felt like it was good for me to get out and have fun before I buckle down into strict Olympia mode. During my vacation, I did a lot of exciting things such as Six Flags, botanical gardens, my FIRST EVER concert, went to a pool party in Vegas, did the SkyJump off of the Stratosphere, I gambled, attended a birthday celebration, went paddleboarding on the ocean, rode bikes on the shore and enjoyed the beautiful weather.
The great thing about this vacation was that I enjoyed myself, yet I still kept it healthy and fit. For example, I ate out at a restaurant once or twice EVERY DAY that I was away. I kept most of my meals pretty reasonable, but I did have a few much-deserved cheats, too! I ordered a lot of salads and grilled meats, and I usually skipped out on dessert. I got a lot of great workouts while away also. I went to many different gyms to train while I was away. It was fun to switch up the workout equipment and atmosphere.
Now I am back home to the normal life, just in time to start my Olympia prep. I usually start contest prepping around eight weeks out. To kickstart my prep, I started taking Gaspari Nutrition Detonate XT. This is a thermogenic amplifier that decreases craving and boosts the metabolism. I feel like it gives me good, clean energy for my workouts.
At this point, I’ve started to add cardio into my regimen (I try to lay off the cardio during off-season but keep the lifting heavy). Currently, I weight train about five days per week with four sessions of HIIT cardio. This will increase as I get closer to the show. I am getting great workouts on the StepMill and the Jacobs Ladder. I also frequently attend boot camp classes at my gym.
This season, at eight weeks out, I have decided that a goal of mine is to run a 5K race at least once every two weeks. I love running 5Ks. I feel like they are a great workout and are a lot of fun at the same time. This is probably because I am such a competitive person!
I am looking forward to competing this September at the Olympia. I get butterflies just thinking about it! I would love to be the first IFBB Bikini athlete to be a repeat winner. I will keep you guys updated with my progress and more on my journey to the O!
