Competing on a budget

A friend of mine was telling me that I should really write about how thrifty I am with my contest prep. So I figured I sprinkle some budget friendly tips in here and there. I look at it like this, if I can do something myself or find a way to save a bit, then I have more to put towards the things that I can't save on or maybe upgrade on something.

-Get a credit card with Rewards Points.

Just use it for things you would already be buying or paying for (like groceries, supplements, bills, etc.). As your points add up you could use them for hotel, car, or flight to your contest venue.

Every little bit counts!

Well, looks like progress pics might be another week. I tried taking some, but this week I'm going to be holding a little bit more water;) And it's showing:( It doesn't help that it's been sweltering out and I hold water like a camel when it gets hot and humid out. So mother nature is hitting me from two angles right now.

I helped out at the NPC Natural Michigan this past weekend with AirBronze. The next best thing to competing is helping out backstage! You're still just as tired, and of course you leave with no trophy, but it's still a lot of fun! It makes me really excited to compete again!

Today was leg day, and the gym I trained at has no air conditioning! Yikes! It was still a good workout, but I felt like I could have slid all the way to my car from all the sweat! Gross! It's supposed to get up to 100 this week too. Not a good week for training. But, what are ya gonna do?

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Oh, I had a couple questions in my formspring. **These are just MY opinions. You don't like'em? That's fine......get your own formspring;)

What is a good post workout meal after cardio. (Cardio is done at night, then bed about 1.5 hrs later)? (I just condensed it to this)

If you're going to sleep soon afterwards I would just recommend a protein meal. You really don't need the carbs if you're not going to be using them. Try a slower digesting protein like casein.

*Sorry for taking so long to answer!

I think I deleted this one because I didn't see it when I went back in today. But here goes.

Is it better to eat dessert before your meal?

NO! You don't even need the dessert. But if you must, always have it after. You'll be fuller and less will satisfy you. If you have it first, you're more likely to over eat it.

Ok, that's it folks! Have a great night!

Quick check in

I just had my body fat measured yesterday, and if the pinches were accurate (well, as accurate as pinching goes) I'm sitting at 12.64% bf! Better than I thought! That means I have about 114.5lb's of lean mass! I'm pretty happy with that! My very first show in '07 I was on stage at 112lb's. It's a slower gain, but I'm okay with that. I'm no dummy, I know that many competitors use special 'supplementation' to help achieve their physique's I just choose not to. It's always been very important to me to be as natural as possible. I take over the counter stuff and that's it. I don't judge anyone who does, it's just a personal choice.

I'm hoping to get some off season progress pics up soon. I'm thinking Sunday, but it may be Monday. Weekends are typically busy and full of treats, so I may give myself a day to lose some extra water I may be holding.

Later!

xoxo

So, I actually got a head start on my day today! How nice is that? I'm glad too, Tuesdays are always busy days for me. On the go most of the day. I have all my meals planned out and just about packed up. I like to keep'em with me just in case I get held up somewhere. I don't want to be temped to hit a drive thru for anything other than my Diet Coke!

Speaking of Tuesdays, I joined my friends bookze club and we meet once a month on a Tuesday. Thank goodness it isn't today. We met last week at my house. We had read Water for Elephants. It was a pretty good book, I wonder how the movie will measure up? Next one on the list is Hunger Games. It's a young adult read, but I kinda like those sometimes. They're quick reads. I'm glad I joined the impromptu club, I wanted to start reading more and this keeps me accountable. See, accountability can do wonders for whatever it is you want to do!

I'm leaving in a little bit to go train legs. I usually train them on Mondays, but yesterday didn't work out the way I was planning. I have finally caught up on all the other blogs I follow. Wow! Was I behind! I love following along with people's prep. It makes me want to start getting ready for something. Sometimes it reminds me of some of the stresses that come along with it. And that part I don't miss!

Off to get my Tuesday going.....ready, set, go!

See ya!

You come here often?

Where is the time going!?! I've been so busy it's been rushing right by me! Well, with only a few more weeks left in July I have to seriously sit down and figure some things out. I have been contemplating doing Nationals in November. I have done some due diligence on figuring out what things are going to cost and how I can off-set them. But a few more numbers need to be crunched. I want to give it 16 weeks this time around. That's how long I dieted for Chicago last year and I did pretty well. By 19 weeks (Team U) I was a little over dieted. And I'm leaner right now than I was last year going into prep. We have a wedding to go to in August, but I figure with the early start I can have the evening as a treat meal.

It's all still a big maybe, but I'll keep ya'll posted.

I have still been doing pretty good on the eats. If we go to a bbq or something, I eat what's there. But there have been no mysterious disappearances of cereal, chips, or cookies in my house:) Sadly, I can't say the same for the wine. I'm getting better. Baby steps, right?

And training has been on! I have been training with my old trainer a couple days a week recently. He's helping me bring up my legs a bit. I wasn't given any bad feedback on them, but I just feel they're not balanced the way I'd like them to be. My PR on squat has gone up to 275lb! It's more than double my body weight, so I was pretty excited! My last PR was 225lb over a year ago.

Well, back to my chores! It's not always fun doing them, but it's so nice when they're finished!

Happy Monday everybody!!!