Better late than never I often believe. So the moment some of you have been waiting for, *drumroll*, my latest progress report. Due to my second progress update being so late I took the decision to write an update that would encompass the last two months and let me tell you, so much as happened that I am not quite sure where to begin. Ok let me see………

Let’s begin with the decision I took to move my competition date from Sunday 19th April 2015 to Sunday 5 July 2015. There may be a number of people reading this that have competed, others that are thinking about it or those that are just curious. Whatever category you fall into, it must be said that this process is not an easy one. In order to be physically ready to compete by April, I would have had to train extremely hard while consuming very little for the entire duration of my preparation. Now just to put this into perspective – I work, I study and I am a mother and a blogger – to name but a few of my current endeavours. After training at the required level for around 2 weeks I was pooped (close to falling asleep at desk and crawling into bed at around 7pm daily), it became obvious that something needed to be done if I was going to come out of this alive and continue to enjoy the process.

As if by magic I received an email from Miami Pro asking if competitors in the April event would consider moving to the July date, for free. That was all the convincing I needed – the rest as they say is history. So what does this mean? Well it means I will be in this process for longer than I had anticipated (any excuse) and it also means that I get to train hard, and build far more muscle in a much safer way now that I have the luxury of time. The best thing about it is my nearest and dearest get to come to support me on the day as very few could make the April date and those that could, missed out on tickets – smiley faces all round. Can I get a amen!!

Now onto the amazing Audrey ‘The Champion Maker’ Kaipio and her legendary posing classes. One word AWESOME. Who knew there would be such an art to walking? Mastering the T-Walk (the general direction of travel when on the competition stage) some would say should be relatively easy but let me tell you something, it is harder than it looks – especially in 5 inch clear platform heels ahem! Over four consecutive Sundays in February, I strutted, pouted and posed my way to progress but alas not perfection. This process takes time and a lot of self directed practice is going to be necessary if I want to make the necessary impact on competition day.

The class was fun, dynamic and very informative. Don’t get me wrong she is probably one of the biggest task masters that ever walked the face of the Earth – working you hard and expecting maximal effort – for that reason she comes HIGHLY recommended – in all honesty it is a class I would recommend not only for competition reasons but general confidence building. Audrey has a phenomenal eye when it comes to complimentary poses. Her aim is to bring out the best in us all so that we ultimately ooze confidence with every stride.

Interested? Check Audrey out at www.StagePosingCoach.com for further details

It seems the last two months have been full of monumental decision making. After much deliberation I decided to leave my Coach Ian Dowe and begin training with Nathan Williams, Natural Pro Bodybuilder. This process is an emotional one and I have probably experienced them all and because of this I realized how important it is that you get the individual support you require. I took the decision to switch trainers as although I was being supported it wasn’t the support that I needed.

Nathan like Ian is a Champion in the field and constantly honing his skills and although he is very much a man I can comfortably talk periods, loss of boobage (he probably has more than I do at this current moment in time) and loo frequency – if you ever decide to do this for yourself you will realise there is no room for inhibitions. My lifting programme has changed drastically in that I lift five out of seven days now and split my workouts by muscle groups. I spend much longer now working each muscle to fatigue to get the best possible outcome. My programme is full of exercises that engage the whole body in stabilizing and not just the targeted area. I had never heard of Swiss Ball Toe Taps and Swiss Ball Hamstring Curls until they appeared on my programme. So what else?

The trauma of Amsterdam

I read an interesting article the other day titled Competition Prep: What it takes to succeed. The article said it all with my recent trip to Amsterdam illustrating the level of commitment and adaptation needed to see this process through to its end. A close friend of mine was celebrating a milestone birthday and requested my presence for a weekend in Amsterdam. Panic mode! Food, exercise – what was I going to do? My body did not like the change in routine and as I result I came home four pounds heavier and covered in a nasty rash!!!

Lets talk food

Calorie intake is a constant 1630k/cal split over five meals. My macro split is 140g Protein, 145g Carbohydrate and 50g of fat and as before I wake at 5.30am for my fasting fat burn, consuming my first meal around 6.15am with my remaining meals spaced out in 3 hour intervals. I generally eat my last meal just after 6pm. I include ONE cheat MEAL every week as this is my salvation, however I do limit my cheat to 1000k/cals. At 13 weeks out from competition my cheat meal will be a thing of the past. I now plan each cheat with stealth precision to ensure it is well worth the wait as I only have until Sunday 13 April before this luxury completely disappears.

A typical weeks training

Progress by numbers

Progress in pictues

In this game and at this stage my weight is not a concern although I have lost a total of nine pounds since my journey began. My real focus is my body fat and that is one loss I am not hoping to find. It seems all things are not created equal. Although my weight loss in pounds and change in measurements has not been as drastic as I thought it might be the change to my body composition has. I have a total fat loss of 13% in 13 weeks. I have also gained 10 pound of lean mass – my body looks completely different. I am both proud and amazed at the adaptations my body is making. I still have 15 weeks to go and if the last 13 are anything to go by, the changes are going to be insane.

Love & Light

The Baking BodyBuilder