15 Weeks To Build Muscle!

Well while my internet is playing up, I may as well write a draft of my post to go up on my blog :)

Today and yesterday have been really good days for me. I’m feeling positive and have been great with my training and nutrition as well as keeping my head space happy too! I’m trying some different rep schemes at the moment and some new workouts that I have come across with my training because I am trying to keep my workouts short and intense. So yesterday I did just back, 4 exercises. I used a rest-pause technique with holds and negative reps, concentric failure sets, and partial reps. I also tacked on an ab workout at the end and in total, my workout was 27 minutes!!! It was a short, but intense workout and I was woken up this morning cause I could feel my lats were sore! Not only was my back suffering though, but my triceps, biceps and shoulders were all aching! So that must be a good sign!

I use the same techniques again today with my shoulders workout and then just did some straight sets and supersets for biceps. Feeling pretty sore at the moment, but it feels great and am stoked to be training so well again and in my happy place! All is good again in Kristin-land and I’m definitely passed the emotional hole I was in post-comp. Of course I am still faced with the same challenges every day with being good with my nutrition and making choices that make me happy, but it’s getting easier, so that’s a good thing.

Well that was yesterday, am now finishing this post today. I have just worked out that I have 15 weeks left of solid muscle building time, so I need to make sure that I make the most of my time and that I stick to the following things:

1. Never miss a weight training session - ever! (Unless injured or taking a rest of course)
   
2. Ensure I eat good, healthy food that will fuel my body and feed my muscles in the best possible way!
3. Be consistent with taking my supplements every day and make sure I don't just 'forget'!
4. Make sure that I get sufficient rest every night - 7 hours minimum, 8 if possible and that I also allow myself at least one day where I sleep as long as my body needs to :) - this is an important one because this is the crucial time when my muscles are going to grow if I have trained them hard enough and supplied the fuel!!!
   

These aren't hard things to do... what IS challenging is being consistent with these things, planning ahead and making sure that I don't get caught out. Of course I know that it's going to happen occasionally, but so long as I don't let it drag on and I get right back on track as soon as possible, then I will be just fine. Christmas and New Year are in the middle of this imprtant time for me, and I sure am glad that I am not going to be trying to 'diet' down during this period. I should cope very well with the Holiday Season due to the fact that I will be full of good, nutritious and healthy food and hence, will not be experiencing those horrible cravings. I will be able to enjoy some yummy Christmas food and not feel guilty about it! It feels pretty good to know that too :)

After this 15 weeks is up, I will be 20 weeks out from the All-Female Classic and it will be time to up the cardio and start slowly losing the body fat. I'm going with 20 weeks because over the next 15 weeks I will be trying to build muscle and I am certain that this time around I will have more fat to lose. I'd rather start the preparation a little bit earlier than the typical 12-16 weeks to ensure that I can go slowly and hang on to as much muscle as possible. I will need to!

So, on that note, off to the gym for legs and abs.... my legs won't know what hit 'em today! The session will be over before they know it, but it should feel like they have been hit by a bus! Lol!

On another note - check out the new Success Stories we have recently posted on our site, there have been some amazing transformations lately and we are so proud of ALL these wonderful women for succeeding at their goals:

http://www.idealbodiesonline.com/success-stories

K xoxo