Top 5- Empire Classic, Spokane, WA 4.24.10
Now, I am getting ready for my 3rd competition which is in September. This is a national qualifier so I really have to push hard, gain more muscle and shape and practice, practice, practice on my stage presence and posing. Join me on my challenging adventures as I prepare to compete. I will take you to the gym, tell you what I am eating, how I am feeling, and show you what life is like as a figure competitor starting out. Hope you enjoy!!
- Manuel & Karly- Empire Classic 4.24.10
June 20th, 2010
This is the beginning of the 13th week out from my next competition, The Knight of Champions. This is the mark that it is time to get my game face on, get serious, time to work my butt off. I have to remember that I am not the only one preparing for this competition and that I can’t let the others work harder than me. I have to focus. I have to show everyone that this is where I belong, that I have improved since my last competition. No cheats, no excuses. Right here, right now, it is time to write down my goals, and enter into a contract with myself. So here goes…
1. Gain size and shape in my quads and hamstrings. I want to get up to at least a 4″ gain from where I started. Currently, I am at a 3 1/2″ gain from when I started in September 2009.
2. Gain size and shape in my shoulders. This is where I am really struggling.
3. Lean out without losing the muscle I have gained. Goal body fat percentage- 7%
4. Eat clean, no cheats.
5. Track my food daily at fitday.com.
6. Increase my water back up to 2 gallons of water per day.
7. Rest when I need to rest. No overtraining. Steady and paced wins the race.
8. Focus and push to the max during each workout. Sweat, breathe hard, feel the burn and intensity of each muscle I work.
9. HITT- It has to be done. All out, 100%, go like I have never gone before. Get that last fat off my body.
10. vacuums Abs 3 times a week. (I hate these, just so you all know.)
11. Practice my posing, walking and smiling at least 2 times a week. Stage presence can make or break my placing.
12. Take my progress pictures, measurements, and body fat by week 12.
13. Set my eyes on top 3, But remember what I really want. #1.
14. Don’t allow others to try to sabotage me. Remember I have a goal, to compete and to win. Focus. This is for me, not for them.
15. Qualify for Nationals (this means I have to place in the top 5).
16. Increase the thickness and width of my back.
17. Add news goals each and every day to keep me going. Never Give Up.
So my first workout to start this off is tomorrow morning. 4 a.m. I can do this. I have done this before. I have my gym clothes ready. All I have to do is slip out of bed, get dressed and go. My pre, post and protein shakers are ready to go. My i-pod is charging. My gear is in the van, ready to go to work. Are you ready? I know I am.
Karly Beth
-Work the muscle, feed the muscle, rest the muscle.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
June 21, 2010
Well, I made it to the gym this morning. Tired as can be now, but I am sure glad I went. I focused on chest and shoulders but just learned from my coach (my husband) that my routine is going to be switched up which is great because it is important to switch up your routine every 3-4 weeks to keep your muscle from adapting to the exercises. I just finished my lunch. This is my third meal of the day. For breakfast, I had scrambled eggs. At 10:00 a.m. I had my greek yogurt and a cup of granola. Lunch time was chicken seasoned in the Jamaican Jerk Seasoning from Pampered Chef and cottage cheese. Yummy! I have had a little over a 1/2 gallon of water so far. I just got great news from my husband. I get to order my suit this Friday!!! I am so excited I could scream!! I of course, immediately e-mailed Andrea at work to share the good news!!! On Thursday, Andrea is going to come over and help me do the measurements for my suit. It is a pretty detailed task as they custom fit your suit to your body. OMG!!!! I can’t wait!!!!!!
Now it is back to work. I will make sure to get an afternoon snack (homemade protein bar and a small green salad with egg whites)! Dinner has yet to be decided. Have a great day!!!
Karly Beth
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
June 22, 2010
Today was quad day. It isn’t good for my legs to put them through hell so early in the morning, so my workout was today during my lunch hour. I ran into a couple of speed bumps along the way when I discovered that I didn’t pack my gym shoes. I lost 15 minutes of my workout because I wasn’t prepared which is not like me at all. This week is a bit different then most as my husband is working 80 hours so I have the boys by myself in the evenings which makes it challenging to prepare our meals for the next day, get dinner on the table, pack my gym bag and do all the other stuff I have to do in preparation for a new day. After this week, my household will go back to the regular schedule which will make things much easier for me! Thank goodness!
As far as my actual workout, it was great and productive. I really had to concentrate and get moving since I lost so much time. By the end of doing super sets with the leg press and extensions, my legs were already killing me. I moved on to do old school hack squats and lunges as another super set! At the end, I could barely feel my legs! Success!!!! Now I will concentrate on making sure I eat enough protein so that they can recover and rebuild and GROW!!! That is my hope! Tomorrow will be another early morning followed by a workout at lunch because Thursday, I won’t be able to get to the gym since my youngest son is going in for surgery. Like I said, this week is a crazy one! Tune it to the main blog page for some tips on making sure you are prepared and focused so that you can make sure you get to the gym and eat well no matter how hectic your schedule is!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
June 23, 2010
Today is going to be an off day from the gym for me. I have a lot going on today and I am still really sore, so I am taking the day off. I have to take my son to his pre-operation appointment (his surgery is tomorrow) so we are at home until 9:00 this morning. I made sure I made enough food last night so that I would have enough for Manuel, Felix and I to eat for lunches and dinner and that way I can focus on taking care of Fabian after his surgery. At lunch time I will have to run to the store and make sure I have everything I need to take care of Fabian along with some other various errands that I need to do. Honestly, I wish I could be at the gym today so that I can release some anxiety and stress but I must listen to my body and not over train. Over training can actually push you back from gaining muscle and can also lead to plateauing and injury. No thank you! I think it is important to take at least 2 full days off from lifting and cardio so that your muscles can recover and rebuild.
Well, that is enough for now. Until my next work out (the dreaded 4 a.m. tomorrow)!
Karly Beth
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
July 5, 2010
So it has been awhile since my last update. Let’s just say I haven’t gotten to the gym near as much as I usually do, but it is a sacrifice that I had to make for my son. My 3 year just had his tonsils out and has been pretty miserable since. My husband and I have been taking turns to be home with him, and during the night, I haven’t had much sleep because he is crying and in pain so, 7 days later and I am feeling pretty crappy only getting into the gym 4 times since last Thursday.
I am looking to get started again and will be in the gym at 4 a.m. tomorrow to get my workout in since I have to go to a neurologist in Lewiston to have testing done on my sciatic nerve from my fall a year ago. The timing of Andrea’s post on our main page was ironic given that the day of her surgery was the day that I fell. I haven’t been able to run since without pain but I am so glad that Andrea is able to do what I used to love. Run! That is one of the reasons why I found weight lifting. I needed to strengthen the muscles in my leg and repair the one I had strained and since I can’t run now without pain, I decided that I would lift as much as I could and find a new sport to enjoy. I can’t do “fun runs” or run a 1/2 marathon or triathlon if I wanted, but I can lift my heart out and get up on stage and compete against other figure competitors. So far, I still miss that “runners high” but the substitute has worked and I have found my new passion.
I am hoping for a better week in the gym and back to the diet too! Until my next post, do what you love most!
Karly Beth
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
August 1, 2005
So it has almost been a month since my last competition page post. I have been working my butt off in the gym and I am having some major success. My quads finally cracked 22″ around!!!! When I started out, my legs were barely 18″ around with very little muscle and now, they are muscular and shapely!!! I am getting excited now, really excited! I am down to week 9. My focus is even stronger than before. Tomorrow is my shoulder day and I have got to really work it so I can get my shoulders up to parr. They have come a long ways, but I still have 9 weeks to go! I am also implementing a few days of cardio this time around to see what results I get.
I got my suit! It is beautiful!!!! Deep red and very sparkly! I put it on and I feel magnificent! I put it on and I want to win! A great suit is like the perfect little black dress and I found mine!!! I will have to put a picture up of my suit on the blog page because it is so pretty not to share it!!!
One other new update, I have decided to just do one show. I am only going to do the Iron Man in Seattle area October 2nd. Two shows just felt like to much right now so I chose the bigger show to compete in!
Have a great week everyone! Think of me when you are snoozing away at 4 a.m. and know that I am at the gym, lifting my heart out and sweating my guts out!!!
Karly Beth
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~12 Signs that a figure competitor is getting closer to a competition…
1. Due to lack of sleep, you find that you have put your underwear on inside out 4 days in a row.
2. You see a gummy bear in your child’s car seat and you debate with yourself that it actually could be safe to eat and wouldn’t hurt because it is just one gummy bear. Snap out of it! Step away from the gummy bear and look where you found it! (what can I say, gummy bears are one thing I do miss!)
3. You are wearing 4″ hooker heels to cook in, clean the house in and do laundry in just so you can get adjusted to walking in those damn things again!
4. Your stomach is constantly gassy and bloated. Tell me why this is again??
5. You have to go pee every 30 minutes because of the amount of water you are consuming a day.
6. You see the people at the gym more consistently than your own family.
7. In the mad rush to get to your car and get your workout in during your lunch hour, you frantically hurry over to the parking lot only to remember that you parked in another one that was closer to work in order to save you some time. Way to go Dumbass, you just waisted 10 minutes!
8. You can’t remember what day of the week it is but you know what muscle group you are supposed workout. Today is back and biceps, I mean, today is Tuesday!
9. You have constant stains on your clothes from spilling protein shakes on yourself.
10. You seem to eat more than you actually work during the day.
11. From all the supplements you take throughout the day, your desk now has a light dusty cover of powder all over it.
12. And last but not least, you discover that you were in such a hurry to get dressed after your workout at lunch that you forgot to zip your pants or even better yet, put your gaucho capris on backwards! Yep, that’s right! Just happened to me today folks and I just discovered it when I got home and changed. I hate to admit, but this is now the second time this has happened to me! LOVELY!
Have an awesome day! I am officially 7 weeks out!
Karly
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
August 17th, 2010
My new suit has arrived and it is gorgeous!! I tried it on and I feel amazing! Here is a picture of my new suit (not on me though!) I am saving that for later! I got this suit from Saleyla Designs. The stone work is perfect and so detailed! I highly recommend purchasing compeition suits from this gal. She does amazing work and I got my suit in less than 2 weeks from when I purchased it which is outstanding because most places want the order at least 8 weeks prior to your show! You can find her suits at http://fitnessprodirect.com/catalog.php?category=6.
Below is the picture from the website- Underneath is mine- PERFECT! Just like the picture! I could cry I am so happy and excited! I think I need to get some sleep!
|
|
|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Andrea’s fear of short shorts is like my fear of “hooker heels”. Never in my right mind did I ever think that I would purchase a pair of 4 ” clear high heels and walk across a stage in a tiny bikini, in front of total strangers. My biggest fear… falling flat on my face. For those of you who know me personally, you know well that I am the most accident prone woman on this face of this planet. On a daily basis I can barely make it through without tripping, running into doorways, bumping my head, dropping or spilling my protein shakes on myself, and the list goes on and on!
One thing I know is, in order to face your fears, you have got to truly face them. Andrea faced her fears of the short shorts and I am proud to say that I have now made it through 2 competitions, strutting my stuff across a stage, posing and turning and have not fallen nor tripped. Now, I have just done it! Now that I have said or rather written this down, it is bound to happen, or maybe not! I have been practicing! I have been cooking, practicing my posing, folding the laundry and so on, in these crazy high heels!
You know what is even crazier? I am actually thinking about getting 5″ clear heels for the next show. Reason why I am thinking about this craziness… They make your calves look great and your legs look longer. Hmmm…. Should I do it? What pair below do you think I should dare go with??? Let me know what you think!
5″ Spike * M-VANITY
|
|
Rhinestone Mule * 502-JESSE
|
|
|
|
5″ Clear Stilettos * M-BROOK
|
|
Envy 501 – Pleaser |
|
 |
M – Brook – Ellie |
|
 |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My Supplements 8/19/2010
I am often asked what supplements I take and why I like them so here is my “short list” of supplements I can’t live without. You can find most of these on the bodybuilding.com website to purchase.
My #1 favorite protein– Gaspari Nutrition Myofusion Protein/ Chocolate Mint. This taste so delicious and is easy on my stomach to digest. Great quality protein, great price and great brand. I love Gaspari Nutrition Products!
Scivation Extend- Blue Raspberry & Watermelon (reminds me of Jolly Ranchers!) These are my BCAA’s (branch chain Amino Acids). Tastes great and helps me recover quicker from hard workouts. Easy term… I don’t get as sore!
Gaspari Nutrition SuperPump 250- Refreshing orange (tastes like orange cream!) Not only does this taste so yummy but it gives me the focus and energy I need to pull through my workouts! Crucial for when I am getting closer to my competition because I am low on energy!
Gaspari nutrition Size On- PreContest/workout drink in Fruit Punch. I drink this throughout my work out. Tastes great, works great. Restores my muscles while I am working out to help me grow and recover from my workouts. Also easy on my stomach.
MusclePharm Recon Post Workout Powder in Fruit Punch. Great to take after an intense workout to help discourage muscle breakdown and helps muscles to grow and recover.
EFA’s- Fish Oils- EFA Lean Gold– Essential Fatty Acids which also help reduce body fat and increase muscle tone. Also helps energy levels and also is great to help inflammation in the joints ( I mainly take this for my Lupus).
Vitamin D3 2000 I.U (Kirkland Brand from Costco) Supports bone, colon, muscle, immune and breast health.
Not picture because they are at work, Prenatal Vitamin– Generic Kirkland Brand.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Woes of a Figure Competitor… NOT!
For those of you of know me, you know that I used to be very small and thin (skinny fat would be the term). Then, almost a year ago, I took up the challenge to compete in the NPC Figure Division. Since then, I have gained 22 lbs. of muscle. I went from 115 to today’s current weight of 137. Now, even though my waist is still quite small (25.5″) I am now experiencing the wardrobe woes. I can’t seem to get my dress slacks for work over my quads and a lot of my dress shirts are now to small because my shoulders have developed and my back has widened making my waist look even smaller (this is good!) Though this can be frustrating, I am also realizing that I am reaching my goals I set out to meet. I am trying to gain size and shape in my shoulders and legs and I am doing it!! Hooray!!!! I found in my first competition that though I was very lean, I just wasn’t shapely enough and that is really what the judges want to see. Since I want to do well, I am doing just that.
I know I am on the right track because I took my kids to the aquatic center last weekend and had several women tell me how great I looked. One mom came over and gave me a big hug and told me I was making all the other moms jealous. And even better, one gal stopped me before we were leaving for the day and asked me what my secrets were to looking so lean and muscular. I was so excited to share what I do. Success! I was motivating people around me, and that is awesome!
So no more feeling sorry for myself, or pouting because my favorite slacks don’t fit my legs because I feel great and I look great and I am no longer skinny fat. I am shapely, conditioned and toned. I am proud of how I am looking these days. So I am wishing all of our readers the best in meeting your fitness goals and remember we all have struggles, we just have to remember what our goals are and to be healthy and happy and in the end, that is all that really matters.
Karly Beth
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
August 25, 2010 NEVER GIVE UP
There is something that is on my mind and I need to get it out. Ava Cowan, my Figure Competition Hero, once told me, “Never Give Up”. And now I say this because right now many things in my life are challenging me and making things difficult, very difficult. As I sit here and wonder why things have to be so hard all the time and why people have to act the way they do, the only thing that think of to tell myself is “Never Give Up”.
It makes perfect sense to me now. No matter how someone treats me, or how hard work gets, or how lonely I may be, or how tired I get, or how overwhelmed I get, I just can’t give up, and I won’t. I know this is vague in many details, but I just want everyone to know that when you hit a road block, just find another way, wipe away the tears, put your chin up and push forward and NEVER GIVE UP.
Karly ~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
August 30, 2010
Like everyone, I had a tough week last week but now I am starting a new week fresh and things are going well. I am down to my 5th week before the Iron Man. I have about 8-10 pounds to lose which will roughly be about 2 pounds a week for the next 5 weeks. I have to be really careful not to lean out to quickly and to make sure that I am not loosing muscle in the process. It is a fine art to prepare for a competition! Getting everything just right so you look lean and tight and not spilling over or too soft! I hope I get it right for this one!
I had a killer double leg workout on Sunday and today was my shoulder workout. My legs hurt like crazy and they feel different than usual. Especially my bad leg, but I will rest my leg and hope for the best. Tomorrow is my favorite workout. BACK! I love doing back, I don’t know why, I just do. Pull-ups, lat pull downs, dumbbell rows, cable rows, dead lifts, galore! There are so many exercises to choose from!
On another great note, I already have a few sponsors for this competition so that is excellent! Thanks to everyone who has helped me so far! I really appreciate it!
Well, I am off to bed now. I really need to get some rest tonight! I will have my usual nightly protein shake and head for bed. Have a great week everyone!
Karly~
Lives of the Fit & Perfectly Imperfect! 
You go girl! I was tired just reading about your day.
Love you. Grandma A
Hi Grandma! Thank you for your support and for visiting our blog! I love you too!
Karly Beth
I’m proud of you Karly! You’ve come a long ways.
Jacques
You look fantastic and I enjoy reading about your journey! I have thought of you often and wondered what you were up to! Looks like life is treating you and Manny well!