Tracking your progress is an important part of reaching your fitness goals.  I used to do my weight lifting without recording it.  But, I’ve found that I have had better success and have increased my muscle mass since tracking it.  I now have my daily workout log printed and bring them with me to the gym.  I record the time of day, day of the week, my mood, weights I used, the number of reps performed, when I struggle and at what point  my muscles fatigue to failure and the length of time of my workout.  This is all to ensure I am lifting the appropriate amount of weight and getting the best out of my workouts for continual muscle growth.  I know what weights and reps I used the last time I worked the same muscle group.  I also know when my muscles fatigued previously.  This way I know if I need to increase the weights.

I realized this week how very important tracking your progress is.  I took the information I have recorded with each work out for the last 6 weeks and charted just the actual days I worked out.  Whether I weight trained or did cardio.   I was surprised to find out that I was only weight training 2 days a week and doing cardio 2 days a week.  I also wasn’t working out on Mondays or Fridays.  I actually thought I was weight training at least 3 days a week.  My perception was way off.  If I kept up this workout regime for any length of time, I would not see much progress, if at all, over the next few months.  This is completely against my goal of increasing muscle mass before having to diet down for my competition.

I looked back at the last 6 weeks to see why I wasn’t getting my workouts in the way I should be.  I had let life get in the way.  We all do that from time to time.  But, it’s important to re-group and re-commit to to my goal and how I am going to achieve it.  This is what I have done.

I will continue to keep track of my progress and add it to my blog.  From my workout logs, I am also going to put together some stats on how heavy I’m able to lift and how quickly my mucles fatigue in comparison to my mood and the time of day I workout.  I think it is important to see how it correlates.  This will let me know what time of day is best for me to get the most out of each workout.  Stay tuned………

Today is my physique stats day.  I have done my measurements, weight and body fat %.  I will use this information, along with physique pictures, to monitor my progress properly througout this process.  I have added them to the column on the right side of my blog.  I will be updating them monthly from now until the last week of January.  At that point, I will start updating every 2 weeks until the last month before my competition.  The stats will then be updated weekly to ensure I am still on track and ready.  It is approximately 7 months to my Figure Competition in April 2010.  Right now, I’m in what is called, the “Bulking Phase” in Competition preparation.  This is where a person increases their calorie intake in order to build muscle.  But the increase in calories should not come from fatty “junk food”.   It needs to come from mainly a clean, high quality protein and some good fats and some good carbs.  The last week of January I will begin the “Cutting Phase” of my Competition prep.

To build muscle, the workout routine that I am currently using is high weight, low reps.  For the first 3 day routine I use a Push/Pull routine.  In these workouts, a person works out opposing muscles (ie: Biceps & Triceps or Chest & Back) where to work one muscle group you need to use a pushing motion (triceps) and you would need to us a pulling motion for the other muscle group (biceps).  This type of routine will work both the major muscle group and the muscle group that assists them on most exercises.

For the second 3 day routine I use is a major muscle group and a minor muscle group, in that order, with an added superset for each exercise.  (ie: Chest & Triceps or Back &  Biceps).  A person will work the larger muscle group first because the smaller muscle group assists with these exercises.  If the smaller muscle group was worked first, it would be too fatigued to assist when training the major muscle group. Abs are worked the same day as my weight training.  I will do two to three ab exercises of 2 sets of 12 reps each.  I also do cardio every other day between weight training.

I will be changing my workout routines every 4-6 weeks to prevent hitting a plateau.   This is where the tracking of my progress is very important.  By doing so, I will be able to see which routines work for me and which ones don’t.  I will also be able to ensure that my physique is symmetrical and where I need to improve, increase etc.  Stay tuned…….

I have a confession to make.  I cheated on my on my healthy eating plan.  I ate a Wendy’s Baconator!  I made a bet with my boyfriend Matt that I could eat the entire burger in one sitting.  Not only did I eat this massive burger, but I ate the fries that came with it!  Although I should have stopped my cheating at that meal, of course I didn’t.  I’m sure everyone has done this at one time or another.  You eat something you shouldn’t and when the next temptation comes along you think, I’ve already blown my eating for today what does one more matter.  I always say, go big or go home.  So, I also had an Iced Cap, ate quite a few mini chocolate bars, cheese covered popcorn and a magnum of wine.  Holy Cow!!!!!  Let’s see how many calories I consumed just with the Baconator and the fries.    Wendy’s nutrition facts

On this burger there are 6 strips of bacon, 1/2lb of meat in 2 patties and 2 slices of cheese for a whopping 830 calories!!  Of which, 460 calories are from fat! (51g of fat, 23g of saturated fats, 1880mg of sodium & 56g of protein).  The fries are 210 calories.  Of which, 90 calories are from fat! (10g of fat, 2g of saturated fats, 190mg of sodium & 2g of protein). So,  in just one meal I consumed 1040 calories.  Of which 550 calories were from fat with 2070mg of sodium.

Considering I’m trying to keep my calorie count around 400 calories per meal (5 meals/day), I kind of blew that out of the water with this meal.  This was like eating 2 1/2 meals in one.  It certainly felt like it too.  I’m not even including any of the other junk I ate the rest of the day.  Let’s just say I went way overboard.  I did do interval training on the treadmill as well.  I burned approximately 380 calories yesterday.  It seems like just a drop in the bucket though considering the calories taken in.  Calories in vs calories out was askew yesterday.

I’m not telling you this to beat myself up or to feel sorry for myself.  I am here to make myself accountable.  I faltered.  But, I am picking myself up, dusting myself off and moving onward and upward.  We are all responsible for the choices we make.  This includes the food we consume.  I wanted to let everyone know how important it is to be aware of what we are eating and how easy it is to consume a large amount of calories if we aren’t paying attention.  The food we put in our bodies should be to give it the fuel it needs to be able to function with the demands we put on it.  Nothing more.

Having a healthy body is 80% nutrition, 10% exercise and 10% genetics.  If this can be kept in mind, perhaps we would all make better food choices.

Ahhhh…..the beautiful, unbelievably sore feeling you get after an awesome workout!  There aren’t many things in life that feel better.  Some may think I’m crazy for loving this feeling.  But, it’s the best way to know that my body is reacting to the hard workout I put it through at the gym.  Yesterday was chest and back day.  I am definitely in pain today.  It hurts to move and I have no idea how I changed my shirt without screaming out loud tonight!

For all of you that think I’m insane for liking the pain, I thought I would give you a little background as to why it is necessary to workout to the point of soreness…… The cause of muscle soreness is due to the damage of the muscle fibers that occurs when you workout.  Muscle tenderness is a normal response to an increase in intensity or length of exercise.     As the muscle recovers, it will grow and increase the size of the muscle cell, this is called Hypertrophy.  This is also the reason that it is advised to allow your muscles to recover for 24-48 hours between workouts.

In the coming weeks I will keep everyone updated on my workouts, progress etc.  I will also be adding my stats (measurements, weight and BF%) and physique pictures.  Stay tuned……..