Cardioconvert - Office chick with pipes

[gobbles23]

Looking super tight CC!!!!

[Cardioconvert]

Two days out now. Been a really rough week.

Got a call from the hospital Tuesday just towards the end of work that my sister needed me at the hospital (summary from previous posts: BIL is in hospital, has been since November - medical mystery). My wonderful BIL rallied enough to have his mom, dad, my sister and myself be there for his last moments with them. My heart is breaking for my sister as she finds herself a widow at 35 with two young sons (3 and 1). Have spent the last two days helping her coordinate communications and set up appt/funeral arrangements.

We will honour his life, at earliest, on Sunday, so I will still compete. Keeping up with water intake has been the hardest to maintain in this rough time (yesterday, I had to take in 8L). Diet has been no issue b/c i have no appetite (only ate 2.5 meals yesterday). Coach wants pics tonight just to make sure I didn't go all skimpy on them.

I had to think long and hard about whether to stick with my plans. But my BIL would probably expect me to forge on. He was a top drawer guy and our world just won't be the same without him.

With heavy heart,
CC

[jjeane]

CC, I am so sorry for your loss and my heart aches for your sister. I have no words other than I am sorry. Go kick azz in his spirit!! Hugs.

[gobbles23]

Oh my goodness CC, I am so sorry for your loss and I'm almost in tears thinking about your sister So sad, my thoughts are with you..

Good luck on your comp, I know you'll rock it

[DieselsMom]

CC, I am so sorry for you and your families loss, he fought a long tough battle and will forever remain in your hearts. My thoughts and prayers to you all.

I agree that you should still compete and rock the stage in his memory what a tribute to show how strong he was to be strong on stage.

[Run4Kiddos]

Oh I am so sorry to hear about your BIL! My heart aches for you, your sister, your family! Will be in my prayers

[Cardioconvert]

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. We made the final arrangements yesterday and it will be a wonderful celebration of short, yet impactful life.

CC

[Cardioconvert]

Day before my show.

Food is packed. Suit, heels and bling are packed. Heading to T.O. with hubs b/c he has a meeting there and then we'll go from there to the venue (tagging along will avoid him having to do about an hour 'detour' to come back and get me - I am ready to go so why not tag along? I can sit and read in the sun while I wait for him

I am getting excited. I've done the work. I've done it with more sanity I"ve found a more sexy creature in there - got make sure she comes out tomorrow. I am looking forward to it, whereas as my last year's shows, I was looking more forward to getting it 'over with'.

I will try to keep updates going - not sure if there is any internet at our hotel (it is a cute little inn and, maybe, outfitted as such )

Take care,
CC

[DieselsMom]

Good luck! Not that you need it I know you will rock the stage. I will be thinking about you tomorrow and look forward to pics and updates. Have fun and channel your diva!!

[jjeane]

Good luck today! Hope all goes well! Will be excited to hear about it!

[Cardioconvert]

Drive by update!

3rd place Open Figure 6 (over 5'7") and 2nd place Tall Masters

Had just a perfect day! Will post pics + summary sometime in the next day

CC

[Run4Kiddos]

Yeah congrats!!!!

[kimm4]

That's fantastic! Congrats to you CC, can't wait to see pics!

[DieselsMom]

Yaaaaaahhhhoooooo

Way to go CC, that's great results can't wait for full update and piccies. Congrats

[Cardioconvert]

Thank you ladies!

Well, what a fabulous day - I could not have asked for a better experience. This was the perfect end to a much better, more enjoyable prep period (I've posted regularly about why I felt this prep to be much better than last year - won't spend too much time on it in this post).

It was a looooonnnnnnnnnggggggg two days. Let's start with Friday morning b/c that is really, for me, when the show weekend started.

Friday am

Took the kidlets to school and went to Walmart for one last run on essentials. Luckily, I had realized that my resistance bands were still at work in my locker there. So, off I went for new bands, styro foam cups (a girl has gotta pee!), plastic cutlery and one more lip gloss (like I need more of those)........

By 9:30 we were in the car as I was going to go to Toronto with my hubs for a meeting he had and we were going to leave for Stratford directly from there. I spent a bit of time walking around the underground system while waiting for him but I was starting to feel the effects of the low water and was quite dizzy/disoriented so went back to the truck to wait. By 1pm we were on the road in earnest to Stratford.

First tan went really well but I didn't think I was dark enough - the company my team uses switched to Pro Tan this year - dries so much faster She said to wait till my morning tan before having my coach make a final call as it does darken with time.

Athlete's meeting was looonnnngggg as were the height check and ass check lines. Room was starting to get a bit fresh as we all broke out our packed meals while waiting. A room of tan, sweat, asparagas and various meats just has a special stink - I had forgotten how pleasing to the eye shows are and how offensive to the nose they are at the same time!!

Home by about 9pm to the hotel. Practiced some posing and then ate my last meal of the day. Sound asleep by 10pm but had a rough night, up peeing, husband snored terribly and my mind would race when I woke up each time to use the washroom

Saturday am

Up at 4:45 - my hair appt was at 5am at another hotel. Meal #1 went down and I was pleased because last year, I couldn't eat at all on show mornings. Gatorade in hand, off I went. My hair turned out super well, took a bit longer than they thought because, well, even my hair can be stubborn

Make up next - the most wonderful girl did it who just worked absolute magic! Ran into Jordan and Danielle (he posts on here and he trained Danielle, his girlfriend for her first show (she was amazing - came in 1st in her class!) and chatted with him and her. What a cute and loving couple.

Back down for another tan. Opps - forgot to mention, coach had seen my that am and told me that I was way too light - so the gang doing tans put bodybuilding tan on me and it was perfect

Now, it is 7:15am and I am ready to go but the show isn't for 3 hours!!!! Back to the hotel, eat another meal. Go out and get husband a coffee. Sit and read a Muscle mag. Well, reading isn't accurate. Between water depletion and my nerves, it took me about half an hour to read a one page article. I would read the same sentence over and over, and still not understand it. I can probably read the magazine today as it will be all 'new' to me I am sure!

We arrived at the venue right at 10am. Went and sat with hubs for a bit - we weren't to be on until after intermission. The show was almost 15 minutes late starting but, once started, moved very quickly.

The show went so rapidly once the men's physique category started that us figure gals were caught off guard when the back stage marshall told us all to get on the tarp to be 'ready'. Toss down the rice cakes (got honey everywhere - next time, I am sticking with jam!) and pump up quickly with heaviest bands. Nice. Take a shot of wine. Arms popping. Good.

Then, it was show time and on we went. I've put some photos in my profile. As anyone who has competed will tell you, you train for years, prep for months and are on stage about a minute! Remembered all my queues (tummy, kegel, smile, tummey, kegel, smile) and then we were done. Only about 5 minutes later (or at least that is what it felt like) some of us same gals were back out for Masters Tall. That was like a rapid fire quarter turn session. Thank goodness our coach has us practice quarter turns at all different tempos - that was a speed round!

Hugs all around - coach is thrilled with us all (our team took up most of the spots in my two classes) and told us to all go out for a nice steak and potato.

Off hubs and I went. Had an 'okay' steak but the potato was good. Plus, I made the executive decision to have a 6oz glass of wine It was lovely.

Evening Show

Was so long. I just can't tell you how it dragged on. The show organizers put the men's bb at the beginning of the show (other shows I've done put them at the end) and this made the night really long to give each time to do their routines / change music / etc.

We finally went on stage at 9:30 (show started at 6). Open class went first - my team mates and I took top 3. The gal who took first is actually the girl who makes our suits - this is her year!!! She has put on huge size in the offseason (go look at her back - so nice) and is going to have the season of her life (she's been at this for a few years). In the end, she won both the classes in which I was with her, Figure overall and Masters Figure overall.

Masters class came quickly thereafter and it was all over in a whirl. Got some beautiful hardware (will try to embed pic after I post):



Headed back to the hotel - Startford apparently closes down at 9pm. That is fine, we ate at the hotel and I had a wonderful burger and sweet potato fries. Left my tan on because it is fun to watch people react to your appearance (hey, you only look like this for a day, I say milk it for all it is)



What is the plan now?

Coach is fully onboard with the plan of me keeping my qualifiers for use next year. So, I will start training and nutrition planning with that in mind. I will meet with her once a month to pose and have her 'keep an eye on me'. The goal is 5 more pounds. I think I ended up with 4 legit pounds of size increase this past year. I went on stage last year at 124 and stepped onstage this year at 128. Coach's husband says my legs are 'F*&ing" awesome and I take that as a big compliment - he is thrilled with how I've developed them and it is only upwards from here.

We leave for a much need holiday with the kids this week. I will make careful choices whilst away but still stay within 'good' boundaries. Mentally, we really need this trip and it couldn't have been planned for a better time really. I just have a whole lot of stuff to do before we fly out. I am a wee bit stressed about that but, one step at a time, right?

Thanks for reading,
CC

[gobbles23]

Way to go CC! A million congrats!! You look fabulous...love the lighter hair on you, and your make-up looks very pretty!!

[DieselsMom]

I loved the pics you look amazing and you hair looks so great. I was thinking that your hair and makeup really accentuate the package overall. congrats again and have fun on your trip you deserve it.

[egoatdoor]

Congrats! I just saw your pics in Body Space and then moved over here!

[jjeane]

I am so happy for you! That smile says it all. You worked hard and it payed off!

[DieselsMom]

Hope you and fam had a wonderful holiday! I'm going to take a look on muscle insider to see if I can get a look at some more pics as you looked great!

[Cardioconvert]

Hope you and fam had a wonderful holiday! I'm going to take a look on muscle insider to see if I can get a look at some more pics as you looked great!

Yes, we are back! Had an absolutely fabulous time (the kids loved it too!) and I am very pleased with my food / drink choices from the whole trip - had some nice treats but didn't go crazy. Actually, have only had one 'crazy' day since coming off comp so I am fine with that Hubs and I worked out (either running or lifting) every day - well, he lifted with me, I did solo sun rise runs around the resort - good for my soul

Up about 6lb since contest but that is a good weight and I am going to be much more mindful this off season with my food and make sure I GROW more as per coach's suggestion Big plans for next year and the investment has to start now.

My GO LIVE went well in my absence (it damn well should have given the amount of work I did in advance to ensure it was seamless!) and now I am just trying to manage that inevitable 'penalty' of extra work that we all seem to get hit with when we actually take our vacay.

Looking forward already to camping - happens of late have made me want even more time with my family

CC

[Cardioconvert]

May 9th

Hard to believe it has almost been one month since my competition and already a month since the loss of my BIL. I went out with my sister for lunch the other day (just she and I) and had a good talk. Sometimes it is hard to talk with kids around (even if it is just my kids at their ages (11 and 12)). She is doing as well as can be expected and I still remain amazed by her strength.

Update on workouts / eating coming - just don't want to lose another post so breaking it up

CC

[Cardioconvert]

Update on all things fitness and nutrition related!

Nutrition

I am very pleased with my off season nutrition so far My nutritionist gave me an offseason eating plan but it is, in my humble opinion, still way too rigid and low in cals to be realistic over the course of an entire year. It closely mirrors the diet I followed when I was approx 10 weeks out from my show and, at about 1300cals, way too low in my mind to actually grow in the offseason. So, I am going to do a bit of my own thing and I am already feeling great and haven't rebounded at all. Last year, I put on weight quite quickly and had a number of binge days - haven't had that happen at all this time. I think it also helped that this is not my first recovery / offseason. That is also a learning curve. It can be a real mind fuk (ask anyone who has competed) to go from being the leanest in your life, all glammed up and such to being a 'normal' (albeit still very fit in contrast to most of the population) person.

Weight is up about 8lb but given that it shot up about 4lb right after the show (likely water weight), I am more than cool with that. Cutting clothes are still fitting and arms are still super veiny so that is a better indicator than the scale anyway.

Workouts

Loving my workouts these days. Up until this week, I wasn't following a plan per se (I should note that I have never followed a program other than one I crafted myself or my coach did). Spent some time last night crafting my approach for the next 6 weeks. Loving my runs - feels so good for the soul to be putting some good miles in and I am feeling very strong (aerobically) doing so.

I am very pleased with working out at home. We have ample equipment (and now we are making a laundry list of items we want to invest in further) but I still do need to be a bit creative in my exercise selection. Really, the few exercises I can't currently do are: pull ups (until such time that I can rig up something) and Smith machine work (which I kinda miss for BSS and reverse lunges - both of which I prefer to do at the smith). Else, all is good. I am enjoying being able to get up, have a leisurely coffee while reading and / or working for a half hour or so between 5 and 530 and then lifting from 530 to about 615am.

All is good and I am very optimistic about the offseason. As long as I keep loving it, I'll continue on this journey

Have a great weekend everyone,
CC

[DieselsMom]

Looks like things are moving forward but totally agree 1300 cals is cutting cals not growing cals, your maintenance would be low 2000's so not sure what your nutrition guy is thinking, maybe he missed typed the number?? should be 2300 not 1300.

Glad the basement gym is working out for you, I know I am happy that I have mine and can do 90% of the exercises that I want to, hubs and I are looking for a cable crossover set up but that may be out of the budget for a while.

[Cardioconvert]

Looks like things are moving forward but totally agree 1300 cals is cutting cals not growing cals, your maintenance would be low 2000's so not sure what your nutrition guy is thinking, maybe he missed typed the number?? should be 2300 not 1300.

Agreed but the thing is, he doesn't provide the diet via anything but a set menu (i.e. eat this at meal #1, this at meal #2, etc.) and we are expected to eat that every day. I took his 'prescription' and loaded into My Fitness Pal to get an idea of total cals. It came up to just over 1200.

Problem for me on several fronts: (1) while I don't mind eating exactly the same thing each day during prep, I am a human and would like to enjoy other tastes (2) I don't feel, from a nutrition perspective, that it is good to be restricted to only 4 veggies (broc, brussel sprouts, spinach and asparagas) when there are wonderful nutrients to be found in all colors / varieties of both fruits and veggies (3) cals are way too low (he does not believe in 'bulking') (4) for me at least, prolonged adherence to this type of diet leads me to crave things terribly for which I never had cravings before and (5) did I mention, I am a human???????

All said and done, I am starting to think that the 'offseason' diet is simply a variation of my contest prep and I don't feel it will benefit me in the offseason, mentally or physically. I will be seeing him regularly at posing classes (which I am keeping up with in the offseason as this area of training is actually the hardest for me) and will likely get flack for not following it, but, oh well. He has coached many girls to success on the stage but my quiet voice is wondering how many day in / day out wanna eat properly for my activity / real life athletes he has worked with.

[egoatdoor]

Agreed but the thing is, he doesn't provide the diet via anything but a set menu (i.e. eat this at meal #1, this at meal #2, etc.) and we are expected to eat that every day. I took his 'prescription' and loaded into My Fitness Pal to get an idea of total cals. It came up to just over 1200.

Problem for me on several fronts: (1) while I don't mind eating exactly the same thing each day during prep, I am a human and would like to enjoy other tastes (2) I don't feel, from a nutrition perspective, that it is good to be restricted to only 4 veggies (broc, brussel sprouts, spinach and asparagas) when there are wonderful nutrients to be found in all colors / varieties of both fruits and veggies (3) cals are way too low (he does not believe in 'bulking') (4) for me at least, prolonged adherence to this type of diet leads me to crave things terribly for which I never had cravings before and (5) did I mention, I am a human???????

All said and done, I am starting to think that the 'offseason' diet is simply a variation of my contest prep and I don't feel it will benefit me in the offseason, mentally or physically. I will be seeing him regularly at posing classes (which I am keeping up with in the offseason as this area of training is actually the hardest for me) and will likely get flack for not following it, but, oh well. He has coached many girls to success on the stage but my quiet voice is wondering how many day in / day out wanna eat properly for my activity / real life athletes he has worked with.

How many clients does your coach have? I'm thinking out loud this may a cookie cutter standard diet of his and not personalized to your needs and your particular likes and dislikes of certain foods. I'm in the US and a few years ago, someone at one of my gyms at the time signed up with a guy who is extremely well known in the industry ( I suspect his clients number in the hundreds) and what she got were cookie cutter diets more geared to IFBB pros rather than someone entering her first contest and needing to build some muscle first. When she called him on it, he got indignant and refused to answer her questions or alter the diet.

[Cardioconvert]

How many clients does your coach have? I'm thinking out loud this may a cookie cutter standard diet of his and not personalized to your needs and your particular likes and dislikes of certain foods. I'm in the US and a few years ago, someone at one of my gyms at the time signed up with a guy who is extremely well known in the industry ( I suspect his clients number in the hundreds) and what she got were cookie cutter diets more geared to IFBB pros rather than someone entering her first contest and needing to build some muscle first. When she called him on it, he got indignant and refused to answer her questions or alter the diet.

Totally agreed and I mean this as no disrespect to him but YES, he and team have hundreds of gals who they coach. Each week, diet changes to changes in your physique but always on a predictable tangent (i.e. we are all eating variations of the same).

One of my fustrations has been that I am a big girl. If you tell me to eat x g of protein, x g of fat, etc., I will figure it out. I cannot operate, long term, in a scenario where my meal #x is 4oz of chicken and 1c of spinach.

I love them to death for contest prep but will manage my own offseason. Arguably, more carefully this year (last year, I had dieted for 22 weeks and really didn't manage my offseason until it was too late).

Thanks for your input egaotdoor, always appreciated.
CC

[egoatdoor]

Totally agreed and I mean this as no disrespect to him but YES, he and team have hundreds of gals who they coach. Each week, diet changes to changes in your physique but always on a predictable tangent (i.e. we are all eating variations of the same).

One of my fustrations has been that I am a big girl. If you tell me to eat x g of protein, x g of fat, etc., I will figure it out. I cannot operate, long term, in a scenario where my meal #x is 4oz of chicken and 1c of spinach.

I love them to death for contest prep but will manage my own offseason. Arguably, more carefully this year (last year, I had dieted for 22 weeks and really didn't manage my offseason until it was too late).

Thanks for your input egaotdoor, always appreciated.
CC

Thanks. But are you paying him for the offseason? I know I am an anal cheapskate, but I wouldn't pay someone who isn't doing the job right. These assembly line trainers are just raking in the money. Maybe there's someone else around with a lot smaller client base that can give more individualized attention year round. There is a lady in my gym who uses a local ( in the same state) advisor who limits her clients and provides top notch service from what she tells me.

[Cardioconvert]

No, I am not paying him - I was going to but once I saw his idea of an offseason diet and had a discussion w/ him about offseason approach, I realized we aren't on the same page and will only engage him for the prep periods. However, I do go and train with them (pay as you go camps) and pose so he sees me regularly and that is how he will know I am not following his recommended approach (even outside of the absence of a 'contract' between us ). It is just going to be kinda weird.

At any rate, onwards and forward focused

CC

[DieselsMom]

Hey CC, I think you have more than enough knowledge to handle your offseason by yourself. Again there is so many good food choices out there and, yes we are human and want to enjoy those rich meals once in awhile.

If your not 100% I know when we used Kimm in the past her rates were really reasonable and she is set up in the format of each Xg Protein, Yg carb, Zg fats and fill it with what foods you like. She had a number of different options and I think I will go with her in the future if this is what I plan on continuing to do.

This is part of my problem with my coach as I don't think you need to be that restrictive even in comp prep as it comes down to cals in vs cals out and you are getting to know your body extremely well and can handle it.