Progress Journal: Weeks 1 & 2 of 6 week Training Cycle: Moving Forward!

My 6 week training cycle became 7 weeks and 2.5 days once I realized how long it was from October 1 until Thanksgiving Eve.

So that gives me an extra week or so to bring it on down before I take a break Thanksgiving weekend and cook my favorite naughty treats

A Review of Q3 Progress

When I first saw these pictures I was embarrassed and disappointed.  The first picture was from when I Was still in the midst of my contest prep and the second was after my extended vacation. It is easy to see the difference.  

I thought about not posting them, but I changed my mind. For one thing my after picture doesn't look all that horrible.  As a matter of fact if we aren't talking about bodybuilding and general pictures, they look fine.  Plus they look better than when I started.  The point is to keep making progress and not dwell on setbacks.

First Two Week Cycle Notes

Feeling More Normal

I feel like myself again.  I do not feel overwhelmed by food.  I feel like I did before I started this journey.  I follow my meal plan and sub out foods.  It was my diet that I was eating before I started and it is all on plan.  I tended to carry my food before I started this endeavor because I liked the food I make better and I have returned to that feeling.

Able to Eat out without going overboard

This past weekend I Went out to eat with my family and honestly none of the choices grabbed me but what did grab me was served on a small plate.  I ordered two of those dishes and it was under 800 calories.  I also sampled desserts from everyone else.

I did not feel the need to order a huge meal and proceed to stuff myself.  I enjoyed my meal and moved on.

Able to pass on foods because I know I can have it at the end of this short cycle

Last week I was at Whole Foods and there were Justin's Peanut Butter cups at the register.  I thought about getting one for my free meal but I passed because I didn't really want it.  I told myself if I really wanted it, I could have it Thanksgiving weekend or for my next free meal.  

Hungrier!

This is an excellent sign because it means my metabolism is revved up.  Right after I eat, I think did I just eat?  I'm also hungry about an hour later...So this is outstanding news.

Training

Training is going well.  We've changed exercises up and I have decided to keep my poundages the same for this cycle but instead focus on my range of motion and tempo.  I truly believe tempo and Range Of Motion are two of the most overlooked training variables and so I'm really focused on the lengthening part of my workouts  and slowing it down.

I've been pretty sore these past two weeks without increasing weight but just slowing things down and going deeper during my repetitions.

I have found my training intensity again.  I want to build up my legs, back, and shoulders.  Not only for figure competitions but for my life.  Those are the parts of my body that I really want to build and see some real OOMPH.

Sidenote

The Gym has certainly gotten  boring these days in terms of excitement.  I can remember the good old days where I would get excited at least 2-3x per week.  Now it's hardly any.  I wonder what happened? Maybe overly aggressive female fitness coaches who could not take NO for an answer ran all the excitement away but I highly doubt it. I have had to make my own fun by practicing my dance moves and musical numbers.

See you in the gym!