The Plan...

The plan is already in motion. It started almost 2 weeks ago. Well, actually it started a couple weeks before that still. What's the plan for?, you ask. It's for my competition season. I'm a bodybuilder, and my season is already under way. The first of the two competitions I'll be doing is still 14 weeks away, but bodybuilding is all about being prepared.

The first part of the plan that my trainer let me in on was morning cardio. For those of you who don't know, 'morning cardio' means...roll out of bed and into your tennis shoes to get to the gym ASAP before breakfast. For me this means waking up and 4:00am. I started by getting up and doing between 20 and 30 minutes of cardio at my house in the morning just to get myself used to getting up earlier. I did that haphazardly for 2 weeks before the real plan came into effect. At 16 weeks out (that means my first show is 16 weeks away), I started getting to the gym by 4:30am for 45 minutes of cardio. I got off to a really good start, but I'm not sure I would have were it not for my volunteer cardio buddy, Scott. My good friend, Laura, volunteered her husband to suffer in the mornings with me.

Along with a consistent cardio regimen, started the diet. I can't eat whatever I want, and definitely can't eat as much as I want. Right now it's not so bad, because I get 2 cheat meals a week, but as the contest gets closer, I'll have to be more and more strict. I'm supposed to get a new diet in 2 weeks, and I can't wait to see what it will consist of.

Last weekend My husband and I want to the Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic just like we have for the past 4 years. We watched the women's bodybuilding competition, met some new friends, and met up with some old friends. It was a good way to spend a weekend after being only 1 week into competition prep, because it was motivating and helped me to find my focus for the upcoming challenges.

I've made some progress so far, but not as much as I'd like to have. I was sick this week and had to make sleep a priority over cardio and training, but I have been sticking to the diet.

Here's to continued progress, and reaching new heights! Cheers!