Well it’s been a long time since I wrote my last blog. I bet you probably all thought that I just gave up huh? To be honest, it crossed my mind. When I realized my training partner wasn’t going to go though with the contest, it really hurt me and bummed me out, to the point that I gave up all together for a while. I told myself I just needed time to give my body a rest from the extensive over training of my muscles. (There were days when I was training that I worked the same muscles 3-4 days in a row.) Before you knew it, 1-2 weeks fell into 1-2 months. The last couple of months I’ve been pretty hard on myself, feeling like my goal was slipping like sand through my hands. I lost more than just my muscle tone over these past couple of months; I lost my drive and motivation too. I went from feeling like I could conquer anything the world set in front of me and turned into a lump of mush that was indulging in way too many pity parties. I will say that it wasn’t all a total loss. I learned about how my body responds to some foods, carbs, protein, and exercise. I also now know that it is possible for me to reach 16% body fat, when other trainers told me that I would never reach it. I also learned that throughout 2011, I REALLY pushed the weight training and gained significant lean muscle mass, but what I was really lacking was intense cardio to shed the extra layer of fat off to define my muscles. Weight training can only take a body so far, cardio is what leans a person out. They really go hand in hand.
I also realized, yet again, that you truly can’t count on anyone but yourself. In sharing my story with other competitors, they too agree. I’ve found this to be true throughout my life. I am not one to bail on commitments. If I say I’m going to do something, I do it. I expect the same from my partners. There are rare occasions that something will prevent me from following through, and it bothers me greatly to cancel plans. In 2012, I am going to reach my goal by myself (i.e. no workout partner) and will only look to others (friends/family) for emotional support. So, with that all said, I’m climbing my way back to where I was in November. I’m learning to let go of the last couple of months and the disappointment that I feel, as there is no benefit in holding onto it. What’s important is what I do today to reach my goal. Preparation is key to success is all areas. It’s Sunday night and I got my food all prepared for the week. I got my workouts all planned out for the week too. I’ve got circuit training MWF and then I’m going to hit as many kickboxing classes as I can get into this week. With 8 months to go, I don’t want to waste one single day. I may have been down, but don’t count me out yet.
