But, “most of the exercise” and “eating similarly” are not the same thing as actually doing the work all the way when you’re training for a bikini contest. I have learned in the past couple of weeks that unless you are 100% focused and dedicated, you are not going to see the results you want.
Last Wednesday (just after 10 weeks out), my trainer measured me at 25% body fat. That’s bad because I went up 2% since he measured me last two weeks ago. I knew I hadn’t been strictly sticking to the meal plan/workouts (with being out of town, and then my Grandma being in town for a week) and it showed. For a contest like this, the goal is to get down to around 10%.
So, to get serious, we analyzed my food portions and cut from 6 oz to 5 oz of carbs on meals 2, 3, and 4. Cutting too drastically and I’d have nowhere to cut in the later on. I’m also going to up my cardio 5 minutes, from 40 to 45 minutes 6 days a week. Not that I had even been doing a whole 40 minutes 6 days a week yet. 🙁
I also realized I made a mistake in calculating my calories in my meal plan – it should be about 1500 calories, not 1900. I made the error by inputting the wrong amount of potatoes in MyFitnessPal, so it calculated the calories too high.
I’m still in that “hard beginning part” and am a little freaked out because I only have 9 weeks now to get it done. I have to remember to trust the process because I know from experience that it works. This prep is also difficult because the first time, I was much more excited about doing it- thinking about it a bunch, but this time, having done it before, there’s not as big a fanfare as I made it out to be last time. Now, it’s just about doing the work, day in and day out, and keeping on with the rest of my life. It’s more like just a part of how I live right now.
Those training days with my trainer are KILLER because we do our weight workout for nearly an hour, then I go straight to my 45 minutes of cardio. When I do cardio after weight-training, I get on the treadmill and put it at the highest incline (for the treadmills they have) 15, then alternate walking at 2.5 – 3.0. Or I might ramp it down to incline 8 and bump the speed to 4.0. To lower my heart rate, I’ll bring it down to incline 5, slower pace.
On days I only do cardio, I go to another gym closer to my house, and get on the bike. I put it on “quick start” at 7 and then make sure to keep my heart rate in the 70-75% range using my Polar heart rate monitor.
Tuesday: Cardio (35 minutes sprints outside- 3 miles)
Wednesday: Train Legs + Cardio (45 minutes on treadmill) – measured 25% body fat (calipers) yikes!
Thursday: Train Back + Cardio (45 minutes on treadmill)
Friday: 0
Saturday: Train Chest & Arms + 10 minutes cardio on bike (just a warm up before training)
Sunday: Cardio (45 minutes on bike)
Total calories burned Week 10 = 2160 (according to my heart rate monitor)
It’s crazy how little calories I actually burn during a workout (which is why it’s so much better to not eat too much in the first place). I keep track of calories burned with my Polar heart rate monitor. Of course, calories burned depends on your body size. My husband, for example, will burn over double what I do during the same workout.
On training + cardio days, I might burn 550 calories. On cardio alone days, I only burn about 300.
I measure the protein and potatoes exactly with my food scale. I put my frozen veggies in there and they are cooked through once thawed in fridge and microwaved. I’ll add a little ketchup to the meatballs and sometimes a tiny bit of salt to the veggies- but not always, just if I want it. Salt is okay at this point, closer to the competition date, we’ll cut it out.
Because I like to post in real time, here’s a peek at 9 Weeks Out, picture taken on Sunday, May 10, 2015. I had to scroll through all the pics to find ones that looked like an improvement and I’m doing the ‘bikini’ stance, which is meant to make your waist look smaller since you’re standing twisted and to the side. You’d be surprised how much effort it takes to suck in and stand this way for longer than a few seconds!
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Looking great, Megan! I've been a reader for years… and after recently deciding I needed a new fitness challenge, I jumped on board with you and began competition prep! I am a far ways out – about 22 weeks. Today is actually my first "official" day on my nutritional and training program and I am amazed by your dedication – I don't have children and can't imagine how you get it all done! Keep sharing your progress and any tips you may have – I love reading it all!! Thanks for keeping me motivated 🙂
Jenn
http://www.lungesandlouboubtins.blogspot.com
Yay Jennifer! So excited for you! Just stick with it even if you're not seeing results at first. I promise, within a few weeks you WILL start seeing the positive changes and all your hard work will be worth it! Please keep me posted! You can do it!!
Your blog is my new FAVORITE! I'm finding all these posts SO inspiring! You look amazing and it's so helpful to see how you got there, little by little. Thank you for being so real (ie, admitting your body fat increase – just goes to show even the BEST have setbacks, but they don't have to define you). Could you share your strength training workouts? I would love to strength train on my own, but if I did, I'd be doing the same exercises over and over. I'd love to get some ideas on what specific exercises you do and in what order for each strength day. Thanks!
Thank you! Little changed over time add up to big results. I've posted some of my strength training over on Honey We're Healthy- just check the fitness tab at the top. 🙂
Thank you for sharing as always! The hilight of my day is reading your blog while my baby naps. I have one quick question…when you do your treadmill workout, are you walking on the incline at 3.0 miles an hr or are you eventually running and increasing speed but keeping the incline?
I am trying to change up my workouts and thought I'd follow along with you. I have my masters in exercise physiology so I know the science behind it all but I'm all about changing up things so my body will not get used to what I'm doing.
Again, thanks for sharing and you look FABULOUS!!! GO GIRL!!!
First things first, you look incredible! If you have 9 weeks to go I have no doubt that you will be killer on stage! I cannot thank you enough for sharing your journey with us, I've looked for other blogs in the past that feature bikini comp preps and yours, honestly is the best I've seen.
To your question, YES! I'd personally love to know your schedule. I am far from ever considering competing but I am following on the journey with you. Again, thank you for this blog! I really do get so much from it and I use it as a reference all the time.
P.S. Your son is adorable.
So impressed, Megan! I did back-to-back workouts (an hour of combined cardio and strength then and hour of weights) a couple months ago and I fell asleep in my car later that afternoon. Not while driving, don't worry 🙂 I've been sticking to single workouts since then. Though I'm sure as you build it gets a little less exhausting! No doubt you will do great!!
Good luck, Megan!
You're looking fantastic! I would love to see a post about your routine…who knows, that might help me balance and find time in my busy schedule for workouts and eating clean too!
xoxo, SS
The Southern Stylista
I would love to see your schedule. I'm trying to get my head wrapped around actually starting!!! Its stressing me out, but I'm ready to get started.
You are amazing! I'm so impressed and inspired by your dedication. That is hard work! Keep it up, you got this!