Monday, July 02, 2007

L-E-T-S G-O!

An old cheer I used to do back in my high school cheerleading days, and a good phrase to kick off my 2007 season prep!

My trip to Seattle was canceled due to flight issues, but I am heading back out in 2 weeks. Today I have slightly under 15 weeks until my warm-up show, then another 5 weeks till Nationals. Here are my beginning stats:

Height: 5' 7 1/2"
Weight: 157.7
Bodyfat: (Omron handheld) 15.0% Male, 21.8% Female
Goal Weight: 140 lbs.

NOTES: By setting a goal of 1 lb. per week lost (conservative), I will reach 143.7 lbs. prior to peak week, then lose approximately 5 lbs. of water during peak week. I will adjust the goal weight as I lean down and see how my body comes in. If anything, the goal weight will go down to possibly as low as 135 lbs. As for bodyfat, I don't track it to keep a goal number in mind, but I do check it now and again to view fluctuations between readings.

TRAINING
My first phase of training, I have already been following for the past 2 weeks to get myself into the groove. Here's the split:

M - PM: Back, Abs
Tu - AM: Routine/Conditioning (75 min.), PM: Cardio (running, 20 min.)
W - PM: Shoulders, Calves
Th - AM: Routine/Conditioning (75 min.), PM: Cardio (running, 20 min.)
F - PM: Legs
Sa - AM: Routine/Conditioning (75 min.)
Su - REST

I get a lot of work for chest and triceps through my routine strength training. However, I've cut out chest, biceps and triceps from my lifting split since I am happy maintaining them where they are, and actually I don't want them to get any bigger. If I feel any of these parts starting to lag, I will re-introduce them into my training program.

My lifting scheme is a moderate volume, moderate intensity program. I lift between 16-19 sets each for Back and Shoulders. Calves get 5-7 sets (planning to increase) and Legs get about 20-25 sets. This will slowly increase week by week during this first phase, and I will have planned back-off weeks before resuming a higher volume and intensity just prior to the competition date(s).

NUTRITION
I will be setting strict numbers for macronutrients that I will keep track of daily through my FitDay online journal. This will let me know exactly what I am taking in so I can adjust my diet up or down based on my body's reaction in terms of rate of fat loss. I will keep fairly clean cheat meals in once a week until they start hindering me from meeting my goal weight. I will also have a higher carb day mid-week (Wed). This structure is a loose version of carb-cycling.

2 comments:

Alicia Wells said...

I am interested in training for a competition and it is good to find someone that is closer to me in my body weight and height. I am 5'7'' 159 lbs but wear a 4-6 in pants. I was just wondering what are some of the examples of meals that you began with your 15 wk start? I have been eating well but when I put it into this internet system I found it is still high on carbs....ugh!!! Is there anyway you can help me?

Lissa said...

Hi Alicia,

Diet is the key to leaning out for competition. And it's way more than choosing the right foods. If you want to come in your very best, I suggest working with a nutritionist that specialized in figure/fitness competitors. There are many online trainers that are great and I can recommend a few. Through the years, I've been able to learn how my body reacts to certain ratios and amounts of macronutrients, but I had to enlist expert assistance for three years while I learned what was right for me. Main point - there are no magic numbers. No matter who you work with, the nutritionist will get you on a baseline diet and tweak the numbers based on how quickly you lose body fat. Most people estimate way too high what they actually need. My guess is your cals/carbs are still too high.

Alissa

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