Two hours of cardio with only 1/2 a cup of oats eaten in the whole day. Of course, there was a protein shake, egg whites, fish, more egg whites, more fish, broccoli, gum, egg whites, gum, gum, and more gum taken in as well, but 1/2 a cup of oats. Let me reiterate that: 1/2 a cup of oats. That was separated into two servings...a 1/4 cup each. Do you know how many spoonfuls you can get out of a 1/4 cup of cooked oats? I try to get as many as I can by using the tiniest teaspoon I can find in the silverware drawer, but it never fails. The moment I tell myself to slow down, savor every morsel of piping hot, cinnamony, Splenda-sweetened oatmeal, I end up devouring it in two minutes flat. I think that by using a small spoon, I'll take small bites. Wrong! The oatmeal is piled high, shoveled into the mouth, and the spoon returned to the bowl for more. You should see the pout on my face when there isn't more. Then the finger dips into the bowl, scraping the edges in a most unladylike fashion, and shoved into my mouth as I begin wondering when my next carb meal will be.

Ahhh...the joys of extremely low carb days. Can you feel the sarcasm gripping you through the computer screen?

Needless to say, I was brain dead today. I had to get updates to JT, and I just couldn't think of a creative sentence to save my life. I had a 1/3 of a cup of blueberries with my egg whites after my 60-minute session of walking five minutes and then running five minutes, so on and so forth. But those blueberries are just teasers. Imagine being able to smell the leather of a new Corvette (feel free to insert a visual of whatever your dream car is), sit in the driver's seat, put the car into reverse, and back it out of a parking lot . . . and then be told to get out. Yeah, well, that's what the blueberries do to me. They just tease and say, "Ah ha! You thought you'd get to enjoy something sweet and tasty. But there are only fourteen of us, and we don't last long!" Grrrrr!

You know the dieting has reached the difficult point when your chewable vitamin C's are the yummiest things you've ever put in your mouth and you return to the cupboard to get another one...and another one...and another one. And after you've eaten about four or five of the little buggers, you remember, "Oh yeah, excess vitamin C acts as a diuretic." I'm not supposed to be doing anything that would cause my body to drop water right now because it could screw things up for when I really do need to drop the water. So now, I have to restrain myself and only take one sweet, little chewable vitamin C after each workout (about 1,000 mg a day). Do you know these things come in watermelon, pina colada, lime, and lemon flavors. Not just the orange?! That's exciting news to me because I tend to despise orange candies: Starbursts, Skittles, chocolate candies filled with orange creme. I hate orange juice (unless it's Sunny Delite). I like oranges themselves, but not the juice. Yes, I know. I'm weird. What else is new?

Tomorrow, my carbs increase, but then they're knocked right back down again...really low. Here's the good news, though. My quads are beginning to show separation. They still have a few weeks to go, which is actually quite convenient because Junior Nationals is a few weeks away. But I'm pleased overall. I'm right on track!

Tomorrow night, I'll be shooting with Ricardo again. An outdoor shoot. I think I already said this, and if I did, I apologize. It's the brain dead, low-carb syndrome acting up. If I didn't say it, well, now you know! Lol! We moved the shoot back an hour so I could fit in my workouts and get my meals together. It helps when the photographers are very understanding about all of this bodybuilding stuff.

Well, I'm off to eat one last meal of protein. I think I'll have fish. I seem to be craving it. Sad. Very sad indeed. I should be craving cheeseburgers or pancakes or Lay's potato chips or a bag full of chocolates or my usual delicacy: a spoonful of peanut butter dipped into a spoonful of Smucker's fudge and shoved into my mouth for an explosion of chocolate and peanut butter. On second thought, that all sounds reeeeaalllly good! I think I need a few moments to myself right now....

Jodi

Brutal. Long. Focused. Three words to describe today's arm workout. Really, three words to describe my training as of late.

Get this: I can see striations in my front delts that I had never noticed before. While doing curls today, I was told that I had veins running up my biceps into my shoulders and across my chest. I even had veins in my upper back.

Biceps took almost exactly one hour. I don't know how long other people spend on that muscle group, but I've always taken a long time to do biceps. I guess each minute is worth it, huh?!

I started with close grip curls. My grip was just inside of shoulder width apart. I'm doing this in order to target the outer thickness of the bicep, which in previous years, I haven't really built up as much as the peak or inner portion of the bicep. Three sets with the 50-pound bar for sets of 12--slow, controlled, perfect form. Technique is the true factor when building muscle. Anyone can pick up a 100-pound bar and swing it back and forth and rub their shoulders or their back and say, "Man, that was an awesome bicep workout." Not me. I'm a perfectionist in the gym, which is a leftover from my powerlifting days. Oh, who am I kidding. I'm just a perfectionist in life. I think most truly competitive bodybuilding, fitness, and figure competitors are.

After the close-grip curls, I moved on to seated dumbbell curls. Here's the kicker: both arms done simultaneously, palms facing the mirror at the starting point. No relaxation period, no cheating, no leaning to one side or the other. Just straight pain for the entire set. And just to make it even more brutal, I decided to do drop sets. I started with the 20's, moved to the 15's, and ended with the 10's. My bicep vein thickened up with each set, and my biceps were numb by the time I finished the whole exercise.

I wasn't finished, though. Lying cable curls, normal grip, were waiting for me. Seventy pounds for about 12 reps for three sets, and I was finished. My biceps were officially dead.

I did about 15 minutes of ab training and then moved into triceps, depending on close-grip pushdowns on the cable with a straight bar. Eighty pounds with this exercise for sets of 15. Then one arm pushdowns where I pull the cable across my body rather than having my body face the cable. I alternated arms with no rest. The last exercise of the day was incline bench skull crushers. Thirty pounds for sets of 20, and my triceps were burning. My left arm ached a bit and had a crampy feeling for a few minutes after the workout, but my arms felt incredible. I had a nice pump and was ready to come home and eat.

I'm on a two-carb day today. Forty-five minutes on the treadmill this morning (I planned out my day, thought about the show and who I thought would make top five in Chicago, and read about 15 pages of Bel Canto, by Ann Pratchett...excellent novel so far), egg whites and blueberries/strawberries (I didn't have enough blueberries to fill the 1/2 cup portion) was the first meal after my cardio. Then two hours later, I had a Myoplex shake, 1/4 cup of oats, enough Splenda to sweeten an entire cake, and a ton of glutamine (okay, so I exaggerate...just a tiny bit), worked out, and then rushed home to cook tilapia, broccoli, and four ounces of potato. A bit of garlic, chili powder, salt, and pepper, and that meal was the yummiest thing since Ben & Jerry's ice cream (I'm really on a roll with the exaggerations now!). Oh yeah, I tanned too. I know that may not seem very interesting...unless you're into sweaty, naked bodies...lol...but the guy who entered the time in for me to tan put in twenty minutes rather than the twelve I requested. It became a problem because I fell asleep. So, I'm bit on the lobsterish side right now. Not good! It'll die down by tomorrow, but I have to be careful because when the skin burns, it protects itself by holding water right beneath the skin and over the muscle. This is bad news when it comes to showtime; thus, I stop tanning session about four days out from the competition.

Speaking of which, I sent in my entry form and made my flight arrangements. Just $200 for a round-trip ticket to Chicago! I'll be staying there for a week after the show to visit with my grandmother and see some friends, and I'm very much looking forward to relaxing for a week before coming back to Dallas and busting my butt all over again for the New York Figure Nationals in August.

I am pleased with my physique! Changes have been made since Seattle and the Emerald Cup, and while there are still more improvements to be made, I will step on stage a happy camper!

I hope y'all have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend, and I hope it doesn't rain too much! It's forecasted to do so tomorrow (I'll do a rain dance because tomorrow is a scheduled sprint day...lol!).

Take care!

Jodi :)

One hour of cardio is awaiting me. Need I say more? Well, I will. I haven't had carbs in almost ten hours. Two servings of 1/4 cup of oatmeal is what I've had today, and I've already done 30 minutes of cardio and a tough back workout. One hour. That's 60 minutes. Okay, okay. I'm done procrastinating. After all, I get to eat steak and broccoli afterwards. So, I better get my butt down to that fitness room and start panting and sweating!

By the way, I'll be at a photoshoot for most of the afternoon and evening tomorrow, which meant that I got to go shopping today! Lots of cute ideas, booty shorts, a dress with cherries all over it, and a skirt that seems to be missing most of the material. Have I caught your attention?! The photographer should have these prints ready before I head to Chicago, so hopefully I'll be able to get them up before that trip.

Now I'm really going. Seriously. I'm practically out the door. Sweats are on, hair's up, gum is in mouth, novel is in hand...well almost, because it seems as though I'm still typing, but I'm leaving now. I am. Really. Going. [Don't think of the time; don't think of the time; don't think of the time...lol...that's kind of like saying don't think of a pink elephant.]

And now I'm gone.

Jodi :)

I just finished shoulders about an hour ago, and they are ripped!

I started off with two warm up sets on side lateral raises with dumbbells. I do the five-pound weights for a quick set of 20, staying very controlled but brisk. I then move to the ten-pound dumbbells for a set of 10 to 15, depending on how my shoulders are feeling. This usually creates the mind-muscle connection that I need and warms up my delts. I used to do a lot more, even warming up the rotator cuff and such, but I need to make sure that my delts are tired by the time I get to the beginning of the workout. I've never injured myself in the gym (knock on wood), so I know that as long as I've done a couple of light sets and some stretching, I'm good to go. This doesn't always work for everyone, though.

I did a quick set with just the bar on the reverse grip Smith machine press. My hands are placed on the bar just even with or just outside of my shoulder joint, and the bar rests on the fleshy portion of my palm. I'm on an incline bench, but the bench is set just below a 90-degree angle. This allows me to really hit the front delt area. I then put a 25-pound plate on each side and did two sets of 10 with this. It was massively heavy towards the end of each set. I struggled to get the weight up and had to put all my mental focus to fight through those last reps, but I did it! A drop set awaited me for the third set. Two tens on each side for a set of 12 or 14...I lost count. Then a ten was dragged off of each side and I thrusted out a good 12 or so more. The number of reps weren't a concern. Burning the muscle until I couldn't feel it was the main focus. I succeeded! My spotter told me that my veins were popping out in my biceps, shoulders, and even into the pec range. Wow! And once I stepped away from the Smith machine, I could see the striations not just in my side delts but also new ones in my front delts that weren't there previous to the Emerald Cup. I think this exercise is working!

Upright rows were next on the list. I do these wide grip. Many people do them very close grip, which is a mistake (don't worry, I made this mistake during the first few years of working out as well...you live and learn!). You end up focusing more on traps with a closer grip. A wider grip (where the fist is even with your side delt) will attack the cap of your shoulders while still incorporating the traps to some extent. It was a common belief that these should be brought up all the way to your nose (that was dangerous when I would do that; you've seen the size of my nose!). Instead I bring the to the point where it is even with my shoulders and then slowly bring it down. The key is to use your delts to do the work; the elbow should be even or just slightly below the shoulder joint when you reach the top of the exercise. Otherwise, this exercise won't do what is it meant to.

The only thing I'm curious about with this is how do girls with big chests or implants get through this exercise properly? I mean, I'm an A-cup (a large A, mind you; if there is such a thing), and I'm still knocking into my boobs. I'm sure y'all wanted to know that, but I'm serious. If I were any bigger, I would have to make an arc with the weight in order to get it up, and that would put so much pressure on the shoulder joints.

Anyway, the important stuff: I did a 60-pound barbell, a 70-pound one, and then back to the 60. All were sets of 12 or so.

Front delt raises, seated, were next. Twenty-pound dumbbells to failure (I think I belted out about 15 to 18 reps each set). Very tough, to say the least. I'm a quiet lifter (people are often telling me to breathe), but there were a few grunts and sighs throughout this one. I hold the dumbbell like a hammer and then as I come up with the weight, I rotate the shoulder in just slightly. Be careful with this and don't do any sudden or jerky rotation movements. It is a subtle turn in the shoulder.

I finished with a huge drop set for side raises. 25-20-15-10-5...in that order, each to failure, and without a break in between any of them. Those 25's felt so good! I think I could go up to 30's next week if I'm doing really low reps...like five to six. We shall see. I try to mix everything from week to week.

Rear laterals received a break. They'll be punished next time around.

Needless to say, my shoulders are numb, fatigued, and in desperate need of ice cream (where did that come from? Lol!). Just kidding...I think it's my mind that wants the ice cream. A few fries wouldn't hurt either. Well, they would hurt my placing in Chicago, so I won't be reaching for anything except my egg whites and cream of rice with Splenda, which is my next meal. I had steak, broccoli, and four ounces of a regular potato right after shoulders and abs, and yum! Yum! I love steak!

Okay, I'm done with working out for the day. Tomorrow is sprints. I'm going to keep them off of my mind and not worry. I can get through those. I know I can. Four hundred yards...schmohundred yards...who cares if I can't breathe or if I feel like my legs have been left behind about halfway through the track. I'll look good the day of the show, so it all be worth it! :)

Have a great Friday evening!

Jodi :)

It's shoulder day today! I just had to announce that. Once I finish the workout, I'll let y'all know the details about the sets, reps, and poundages. I plan on lifting some mad weight today! Lol!

I've been stuck at 110 pounds for the past week and a half. I don't suppose this matters because I can tell that my legs are getting more of the separation they need and my veins are appearing in my shoulders and biceps. But still, it can be unsettling to not see the weight move, even a pound. I do know, though, that I'll go into this show a pound or two heavier than the Emerald Cup, even though I plan on being leaner.

I'm a bit tired, but I've been doing two-a-day sessions of cardio practically every day of this week, on top of the weights and sprints and plyometrics, and the low carb day on Wednesday always knocks me off my feet. I do get steak today, but tomorrow is another low carb day, so I have to be mentally ready for it. I'm going to try my best to get on with sprints tomorrow without whining them. We'll see how well I accomplish that goal!

I've been on a fish kick this week. Tilapia instead of chicken. (Never do orange roughy. Just trust me on this one.) I put it in the skillet, use some garlic, salt, pepper, and chili powder, and throw in some broccoli florets and let the smell waft through my apartment. It's embarrassing to have people come over after I've cooked fish. Now, no jokes, please!

I'll be back later today to let you know about shoulders! Be happy! It's Friday!

Jodi :)

I did it! I had to come onto here and let y'all know. I finally did a sprint session without a single complaint uttered from my mouth nor whispered inside of my mind. I ran my errands, got home, went straight onto the treadmill, ran a little less than an eight-minute mile, stretched, and headed right outdoors, where I did three 60-yard sprints, one 80-yard sprint, two 100-yard sprints, and the biggie...the 200-yard sprint. I then did three sets of 75-yard walking lunges, and then I got to head inside and gobble down six egg whites with salt and pepper and 1/4 cup of cream of rice with a million packets of Splenda.

It is truly exhilerating to know that I finally did something I absolutely detest without a single whimper, groan, or hint of procrastination. The session went by so much quicker and easier...even almost pleasant (wait, now that would be just masochistic to call sprints "pleasant". I'm not that reformed...yet!).

So, today was a really good training day. Forty-pound dumbbells used for high incline chest press, 25-pound dumbbells used for high incline flyes, calves completely demolished on the standing and seated machines, and 40 minutes on the stepper...and the sprints! I'm hot, sweaty, and hungry, even though I just ate, but...to quote James Brown...I feel good! I even wore shorts today to do my workouts, so I know the confidence levels are being sparked within me (I almost never break out the shorts for the gym, even when it's 100 degrees in Texas).

And let me mention one thing that really motivated me today. Last night, I slipped beneath the covers with a bit of envy directed towards Marcy Porter's legs. I muttered, "It's just not fair; she gets to have legs like that." Her legs are very lean, very cut, very conditioned, with a great quad sweep. I want that, instead of these monstrosities that the judges always complain about. But then I awakened this morning and realized that every competitor has some special attribute that another competitor desperately wishes she had. Tara Scotti's abs are to die for. Nicole Berg's delts are off the hook. Amanda Dunbar's V-taper is out of this world. Tonia Williams' conditioning at her latest show is phenomenal. Monica Brant's quad separation is truly remarkable. Theresa Hessler, back in the day, had abs that would rival any bodybuilder of today's time.

But there are a bunch of girls who wish they had my glutes. My biceps are one of a kind. I'm one of a kind. I began to realize that today and to understand that every competitor has to work extra hard with at least one or more parts of her physique. Mine happen to be my quads, shoulders, and abs. So be it! With the right work ethic, everything will come together.

Jodi

I was asked yesterday if a plastic surgeon were to offer me any procedure for free, what would I have done. I pondered over this for a few minutes before realizing that there just wasn't anything that I felt was worth arbitrarily going under the knife.

Now, ten to fifteen years ago, the answer might have been different. Breast augmentation, a nose job, Lasiks eye surgery, muscle transplantation (kidding on the last one, but those judges have been hounding me about the size differential between my quads and shoulders, and it does seem a bit easier to simply transport the muscle from one area of my body to another, doesn't it?). But I look in the mirror now and realize that this is me. Take it or leave it, this is what I was given, and I'm doing the best I can with it.

Now, y'all see photos where I've applied the make up, done my hair, and worn the right clothes. I'm in shape, and I've planned for those photos. But I see me in the morning, after workouts, in the off season after a pint of Ben & Jerry's (or two pints, if I can't decide which flavor I want...lol!). I've lived with my insecurities all my life. To me, my nose is huge, my butt is huge, my legs look like sausages (don't ask, it's the best analogy I can come up with), my breasts are small, my shoulders are small, my stomach has a tiny pooch, and my skin looks like a distant cousin of Casper, and my hair doesn't behave...ever! But that's the thing. All of these details make me...me.

I used to watch other people and wonder what it would be like to live in their shoes...just for one day. I was under the impression that other people didn't have the problems I had, didn't deal with depression or anger or insecurities or failure or fear. How wrong was I? I think that's why I wouldn't trade in being in my thirties for being 18 or 20 again. I can't think of a single thing that was occurring to me when I was younger that I'd rather experience all over again than what I'm experiencing at this moment.

To those who mock the aging process, who think that people in their thirties, forties, and beyond are missing out on life or aren't as attractive, get a grip...of reality! Life gets better as we get older. I am noticing tiny lines around my eyes (no one else notices them, but then again few people notice when the word "well" is used incorrectly in their sentences...and I do! Lol!). At times, I get scared when I see those creases. I dab more moisturizer onto the delicate skin, peer back into the mirror, and sigh in relief as the skin plumps back up again and the creases disappear. But I know that one day, the creases won't disappear. And neither will my experiences.

I don't know where life is leading me (it's a good question to ask yourself, though...does life lead you on its leash or are you the Pied Piper, singing a song that life desperately wants to follow?). But I know what I want...to be happy, successful, confident, helpful, and relaxed. That leaves a lot of openings for me, doesn't it? I don't think I'd want it any other way. I've never been one who wants to be left without options, stuck in a rut.

Honestly, though, I wouldn't have this attitude without competing and without the discipline I've needed to get through the workouts and the diet restrictions. I've had a lot of cravings this past week. I've been dying to munch. To just have the freedom to eat what I want, when I want, and the amount I want. Many people take taste for granted. You never realize how good a piece of chocolate cake is until you have had to go for six, eight, even twelve weeks without even a tiny pinch of sugar melting on the tongue. I cannot begin to describe the immense pride and satisfaction when I do look in the mirror and am pleased with the work I've done.

Weightlifting is no different than any form of art. My chisel, my pen, my brush...these are contained in the dumbbells and barbells. How I mix the colors is represented in how I choose to eat. When put together, my own, original masterpiece is created. I've done something unique, different. To have myself altered, beyond my own powers, wouldn't fit within my tools of choice. And thus, I wouldn't have a single procedure done.

Well, there is one thing...laser hair removal. This isn't to change me. It's to change time. More accurately, to save time. Girls who read this will understand. Shaving takes up 60% of my time in the shower. It's a pain in the hair follicle! The legs, the underarms, the bikini area. One day, I'm going to go European and show up at a shoot like that. Wait, come back...I'm kidding! :) But honestly, that's the only thing I'd like to make different about me. The rest, I'll either deal with or work on myself.

And let me tell you, I'm workin'! I do believe I see a difference...a tiny one, but a difference nonetheless...in my shoulders and back. I have completely revamped my shoulder workout and changed up my back workout. I've also altered my quad workout. Let me provide a list of a few of these changes:

1. Shoulders: exercises now include reverse Smith Machine press (suggestion of Big Mike on the public board as well as a Flex magazine article), drop sets with side lateral raises, drop sets with front lateral raises, heavier upright rows with negatives involved from time to time, a change from bent over rear laterals with dumbbells to rear pec deck, sometimes with drop sets. I've also put shrugs back into the equation.

2. Back: more volume. Exercises are pretty much the same, but there are more sets. I'm going beyond my threshold of pain and just attacking the muscle fibers in my lats, rhomboids, and trapezius muscles.

3. Legs: quads now receive just one exercise in the gym, sometimes without even any weight. Instead, the sprints are done twice a week, and they are much lengthier. I hate them with a passion, but I'm doing 100-, 200-, and 400-yard sprints. I'm also doing the lunges but without weight. My legs are actually more cut now than they were two weeks before Junior USA's. And I'm five weeks out (well, less than five weeks, but you get my drift).

4. Diet: I used to have avocado twice a week. That was dropped to just once a week. Carbs with my shake have been dropped from 1/2 cup of oats to just 1/4 cup of oats. I'm using blueberries instead of strawberries just to have some variety, and this week I'm cooking fish rather than chicken...again, for variety. I've dropped asparagus until the week or two weeks before the show.

5. Cardio: This is has been increased a bit. And the stepper is being used more often.

All in all, I feel stronger, better. I have a bit more energy, except for right after the workouts. It's a horrible feeling when I get done with weights and cardio and need to eat. I can't even think properly until I get my energy replenished. I'm a bit on the irritable side and just want to be left alone. I think this happens with everyone who is dieting. There are moments when your blood sugar drops a bit, you need to eat, and you just want to growl at everyone and bite their heads off. I usually get very sullen and silent, and people can tell from the look on my face to stay away. Then, after I eat, I'm back to being happy and chirpy! It's almost like Jekyll and Hyde!

On that note, it's almost time for me to eat. I will return later this week! Take care!

Jodi :)

Continuation of the Emerald Cup activities:

At about 5 p.m., I awakened, hopped in the shower, shaved for one last time, and washed with Ivory soap. Every last bit of lotion and body spray had to be effaced from my body so that the tanning solution wouldn’t turn green or clump. As it was, I would have difficulties because there were still remnants of last week’s coats of Protan. I had exfoliated and scrubbed day after day, but still could not get rid of every last bit of the brown stuff. It would cause a few problems during the initial coats and keep me from getting as dark as I needed to for the show. But this was only a minor glitch in a weekend that was bound to be mine.

Three coats later, I was ready for bed. It was 2 a.m. I had chatted on the phone with friends, visited with Michelle Bell, eaten chicken and potato, eaten more chicken and potato, stared longingly at the bags of cookies I had baked the night before, eaten chicken and potato once again, drooled over the room service menu (I had to prove to myself that there was something else to eat in this world than chicken and potato), and wished there was a faster drying procedure than standing naked in a room with the air on full blast. After all, there comes a point when you just get tired of not having clothes on. By the time the last coat was on, the stickiness gone, and the pillows positioned in just the right place so my hair wouldn’t get messed up, I finally snuggled into bed. Snuggled is an exaggeration, though. More like acted like a stiff zombie. I had to carefully position myself so that no limb was touching another limb, and I had to make sure that I wouldn’t roll over in my sleep and end up with a handprint of Protan on my face. You laugh. But I’m serious. It happened to me when I did the Galaxy for the first time. And you do this once, and you won’t do it again. I now put my hands outside of the top sheet so that there is no chance of any strange prints anywhere on my body or face. I also sleep on my back. Did I mention how much I hate sleeping on my back? I usually have incredibly weird dreams or even nightmares when I’m on my back, and I feel nauseous at the same time. Not fun. Nevertheless, it’s the only position I can sleep in which I know I will not roll over and mess up the tan.

The great thing about an evening show is that you can get plenty of sleep. There are no 7 a.m. meetings that require you to wake up before the moon realizes that it’s time to hide; no rush to get hair and make up done while half the world is off in la la land. I managed to get about seven hours of sleep (restless hours, I might add), but the morning was not a leisurely one. A quick hop in the shower to get the excess Protan off, another coat of it applied (this one smoother and more bronzed than the others), a meal of …well, I’m sure you know the answer to this one …chicken and potato, and I was ready to begin hair and make up. After all, I didn’t want to be late for the three o’clock registration meeting.

I do this all the time. Start something and then leave off midway! Aaarggh! Okay, I'll get back to the Emerald Cup story tomorrow. But I have to commit to memory my last cheat meal before Chicago.

Restaurant: The Keg Steakhouse
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Appetizer: Smoked chicken dip with crisp pita bread triangles and tortilla chips for dipping. Can we say cheese, chicken, cheese, chicken, cheese? Add a yum in there, and you have this appetizer pretty much summed up. Oh, and add in some licking of fingers too.
Salad: Caesar salad with freshly shaved parmesan cheese. I love Caesar salad and get it wherever I can. Outback is the only place that makes it even close to how my mom does it, but hers is still my favorite!
Main course: Special of the day was a thick cut of sirloin steak with a white cheddar and crabmeat topping. The kitchen forgot the topping, so it was brought out separately and deducted from the bill. That was fine because it was actually a bit too cheesy for me, if that's possible. A twice baked potato came with this, but I wanted a regular baked potato. They make this three cheese butter (I think cheese was the theme for the evening) that combines sour cream, butter, chives, and three kinds of cheese all blended together. Altogether now...YUM! Then there was this strange French pastry looking thing that I tasted but put aside in favor of more of the smoked chicken dip. Why waste tastebuds on something that tastes just okay when you can have something that is...yep...you guessed it, yummy!
Dessert: Of course I was going to get dessert. Are you mad to think I wouldn't?! I don't care if my tummy looks like a 12-month pregnant woman's stomach. I'm having my dessert! [Insert stomping of foot here.] Chocolate cake with a fudge (not hot fudge, real fudge) topping and bits of toffee throughout and vanilla ice cream. It wasn't too sweet, not too cakey, not too fudgy. Just right!

I ate as much as I could and then waddled my way out of the restaurant. And then I didn't put another thing in my mouth except toothpaste to brush my teeth that night. I had to make sure I could pull up this memory file at any point in the next six and a half weeks.

Speaking of six and a half weeks (almost sounds like 9 1/2 weeks, but that's a whooooole other subject, and we're just not going there), I will be on stage in Chicago on June 18th and 19th, and I have a ton of things to work on before getting there.

I did shoulders on Sunday (see, I earned that meal. I worked shoulders so hard that I had to replenish my energy.). The workout has changed a bit, so let me post that here:

Side lateral raises: 2 warm up sets; 1 straight set; 1 drop set with only one weight change; 1 drop set with two weight changes.
Upright rows: 3 sets. I started with 60 pounds but could do many more reps than what was originally intended, so I upped the weight to 70 pounds, which I could do, but I didn't feel it as well in my delts and didn't want to sacrifice form for ego, so I dropped it back to 60 pounds for the last set.
Smith machine reverse press: This is the new exercise. Big Mike on the public board recommended this, and it was one I was going to try anyway after reading about Matt DuVall's workout in the June issue of Flex. But Matt uses a free bar, and Mike suggested the Smith machine to avoid any cheating or rocking back and forth. Let me just tell you, this one kills. I'm strong with it...15 pounds on each side for sets of 12 to 15, and I'll up the weight next week, but it is a deadly exercise. Before you try this one, ask for instructions on the message board, and I'll go into detail about how to do it properly.
Rear pec deck: 3 sets. I'm a bit too short and little for the pec deck machine at the gym, so I couldn't go as heavy as I would have liked without sacrificing form, but I just really concentrated and did it very controlled with a slightly lower weight and really killed my rear delts.
Shrugs: 3 sets of 16 with 40 pound dumbbells. I can do much more, but I don't want to look like the Hulk.

My entire shoulder region is dead. Dead. Dead. But here are the goals:

1) Create roundness to the front delt region. It's a bit flat there. You'll notice this when the contest pictures go up from the Emerald Cup.
2) Create a bit more fullness to the rear delt, mostly from where the side delt connects to the rear portion. Where the rear delt and the traps connect, the shoulders are very full, but the problem is from the side view. I have bumpy shoulders, rather than a smooth, round, full look like most of the girls who are beating me do.
3) Add a bit more thickness to my traps to make my upper body appear bigger and not so tiny. I have to be careful and not get carried away, though. So shrugs will be done every other week and with moderate weight and high reps.
4) Keep adding to the cap of my shoulder (the side delt). The bigger my shoulders are, the smaller my waist and quads will appear.

I really liked my shoulder routine!

I did back yesterday and cardio in the morning for the first time in about a week and a half. I was dying. I felt sick and dizzy, but I punched through it and finished the entire 35 minutes on the elliptical. The first session back is always the toughest, especially the day after a cheat meal or a cheat week. Your body is kind of dehydrated and full of junk, so it has to get rid of so much, and here you are punishing it after you've been rewarding it for awhile. It gets confused and decides it doesn't like you anymore. After all, you were stuffing it with peanut butter, chocolate cake, ice cream, Twizzlers, steak, sandwiches, chips, bread (that's a long list, and that doesn't even begin to cover what I had last week), and suddenly you've taken it all away and made it do some work. So it decides, "I'm going to punish her by feeling sick. That'll show her!" But I stuck to everything and showed my body who's boss...my brain!

Back was awesome yesterday!

Warm up sets with regular grip lat pulldowns.
Superset of lat extensions and reverse grip pulldowns. These were upped from just three supersets to four. Let me tell you, sometimes I hate myself for coming up with these bright ideas. My back was screaming to leave it alone by the time I finished the third set, so you can just imagine how I felt with the fourth set.
One arm dumbbell rows. Again, four sets. Again, stupidity entered my brain when I came up with that bright idea!
Seated cable rows, very low reps, but just three sets...thank goodness!
Hyperextensions, done with very light weight and very high reps. I don't want to build the lower back muscles because that will push my abdominal wall forward again, like it was when I was powerlifting, and that's not good for the stage.

Today, sprints and chest and more cardio. The change with chest is to focus more on the very upper portion of my chest and where my pecs and front delts connect. I have to thicken this up and add to the roudness from the side view on the stage.

Sprints also changed a bit. And they're not fun. I actually detest sprints, and it's a chore to get me out there to do them. Once I've started, I'm okay, but the actual act of me going outside and getting warmed up and doing the first sprint is torturous for me and anyone around me. But this was my sprint routine for today (and doing them with the lingering allergies from Seattle made for a great, wheezy time):

Run one mile for a warm up. I'm a bit slow and sluggish, so I only did it in 8 1/2 minutes. That will change as the days continue.
Three 60-yard sprints (one at 60% max speed, one at 80%, one at 100%)
Two 100-yard sprints (full speed)
One 200-yard sprint (full speed...this was the kicker. I sounded like a smoker when I finished that one.)
Two sets of walking lunges, 75 yards each
Hobble back home for one set. Lol!

And here I am tonight. I think only my fingers don't ache. Well, that and my stomach, now that I've quit eating so much. I went from about 103 to 104 pounds for the stage to 112 by the time Sunday evening ended. I'm at 110 now, and that's good. I have a bit more than six weeks to lose six pounds, which is plenty of time! And I needed the off week.

It's interesting. I went back through the photos and compared the 2002 Junior National pictures with the recent ones taken from the Emerald Cup, and I can actually see a difference. So it's all working. I just hope the judges will agree come Chicago and the Junior Nationals. And if not? Well, it's back to the drawing board. I'll just have to work harder and smarter. I have one concern though...what if by the time I present what the judges have asked (bigger shoulders, bigger back, smaller quads) the other girls have bypassed me and gotten even bigger than they are now? Do I still play catch up? Or do I throw my hands up and say it's enough. I like me. You can like me or not like me, and I don't care. But I like me, and either I compete with what I like or I don't compete at all.

But it's too early to think about that. I still have control over this. And I have the drive, intensity, confidence, and desire for it, so I must keep going. I must!

Pleasant dreams, everyone!

Jodi