Thread: Seeking advice...Please help

Originally Posted by Gymgirl130

Thanks! I'm working hard

That's the key!!

2/7/2012

Diet- (high carbs)

post workout- 1 scoop whey
Meal 1- 4egg whites, 3oz chicken, 1/2C oatmeal
Meal 2- 1can tuna, veggies, 3/4 brown rice
Meal 3- 4oz chicken, 1/2 brown rice
Meal 4- 4oz chicken, 5oz sweet potato
Meal 5- 4oz fish, 4egg whites, veggies
totals-1,469cals 23.5g fat 130.2g carbs 187.1g pro

Work out- Lower body

Am:cardio 20 min on elliptical

all reps 15, 20, 25
BB squat feet close on smith (weight doesn't include bar)- 90lbs 3X
Straight leg DL- 85lbs 3X
Leg ext- 55lbs 3X
Lying leg curls- 50lbs 3X
Ab & Adduction- 150lbs 3X
seated calves- 70lbs toes pointed in (15 fast 10 slow), toes pointed straight (15 fast, 10 slow) 3X

PM: cardio intervals on bike 45min

Even though it was a high carb day I still felt really tired and exhausted. Tomorrow is a low carb we will see how that goes.

^^ Hello Gymgirl. 51 days to go! Everything looks good above and you r almost getting a gram and a half of protein in, thats great. I saw that even on your high carb day you felt real tired and exhausted. Thats concerning. It could be a number of factors.
1. make sure you are getting your shake and carbs withen 1/2 hour to 45 minutes post workout.
2. are you staying adequately hydrated?
3. how long have your workouts been and how much rest between sets?
4. are you getting 8 hours of sleep?
5. are you overstraining yourself during your workouts?
6. i know you mentioned u liked the higher reps for a change and were having great workouts but be careful of overtraining which might be why you feel tired and exhausted it wouldnt hurt to take a day off so it would look like this Day 1=upper body, Day 2=lower body, Day 3= longer duration of cardio am and pm if u have time and abs, Day 4= day off then Day 5 repeat cycle.
i hope you dont mind me chiming in but i want to see you moving forward and making steady progress. If its the workout and reps another way to apprach this would be to do
Day 1=Chest/biceps/triceps/abs
Day 2=Legs/calves/abs
Day 3=back shoulders/abs
Day 4=cardio/abs/calves then rest
Day 5 repeat cycle. If you were trying to bulk a little with muscle then take this day off eat, rest, grow then repeat cycle but you want to be bikini ready so no need for the extra day.
10 to 12 sets for bigger muscle groups and 4 to 8 on smaller muscle groups. Keeping rep range from 15 down to 6 you could also include a burn out superset for last set on last exercise for each muscle group trained. Allowing 2 to 3 minutes between sets.
I am not the diet guru but i can help giving some suggestions and options on training techniques. Lets See how you feel over the next week and i hope today goes better.

Originally Posted by fit4life

^^ Hello Gymgirl. 51 days to go! Everything looks good above and you r almost getting a gram and a half of protein in, thats great. I saw that even on your high carb day you felt real tired and exhausted. Thats concerning. It could be a number of factors.
1. make sure you are getting your shake and carbs withen 1/2 hour to 45 minutes post workout.
2. are you staying adequately hydrated?
3. how long have your workouts been and how much rest between sets?
4. are you getting 8 hours of sleep?
5. are you overstraining yourself during your workouts?
6. i know you mentioned u liked the higher reps for a change and were having great workouts but be careful of overtraining which might be why you feel tired and exhausted it wouldnt hurt to take a day off so it would look like this Day 1=upper body, Day 2=lower body, Day 3= longer duration of cardio am and pm if u have time and abs, Day 4= day off then Day 5 repeat cycle.
i hope you dont mind me chiming in but i want to see you moving forward and making steady progress. If its the workout and reps another way to apprach this would be to do
Day 1=Chest/biceps/triceps/abs
Day 2=Legs/calves/abs
Day 3=back shoulders/abs
Day 4=cardio/abs/calves then rest
Day 5 repeat cycle. If you were trying to bulk a little with muscle then take this day off eat, rest, grow then repeat cycle but you want to be bikini ready so no need for the extra day.
10 to 12 sets for bigger muscle groups and 4 to 8 on smaller muscle groups. Keeping rep range from 15 down to 6 you could also include a burn out superset for last set on last exercise for each muscle group trained. Allowing 2 to 3 minutes between sets.
I am not the diet guru but i can help giving some suggestions and options on training techniques. Lets See how you feel over the next week and i hope today goes better.

Thanks fit for all the helpful advice and of course I don't mind you chiming in, I need it. I think that is a good idea on training, I am going to go hard for 3days then 1 day rest then repeat. Instead, I have not been taking much time for my body to recover and now I have a cold. I woke up this morning with a sore throat and didn't want to go to the gym, but the more I thought about it, the more guilty I felt. After 5 min of debating I just got mad and went to the gym lol. Thanks again for all the advice and tips!

2/8/2012

Diet- (low carb day)

post work out- 1 scoop whey
meal 1- 4egg whites, 4oz turkey burger, 1/3C oats
meal 2- 1 can tuna, 15 almonds
meal 3- 4egg whites, 4oz fish, veggies
meal 4- 4oz turkey breast slices, 15 almonds
meal 5- 6 oz chicken, 1C spinach
meal 6- 1T pb
Totals-1,543cals 57.6g fat 44.1g carb 207.6g pro


Work out- cardio/abs

Cardio- 45min on elliptical
Incline leg raises 15, 20, 25 reps
cable crunches- 70lbs 25 rep 3X
torso twist- 50lbs 25reps 2X each side

Last year this time I thought I was in good shape, I was working out every day, dieting with a couple cheat meals and this year my diet has changed completely. I have been supper strict/clean eating with no cheats and the results show! (The first pic was last year and the second pic was today)

2/9/2012

Diet

Meal 1- 4egg whites, 4oz chicken, veggies, 1/3C oatmeal
Meal 2- 4oz chicken, 12 almonds
Meal 3- 5oz chicken, 1C spinach, 2oz avocado, 12 almonds
Meal 4- 4 egg whites, 2T pb w/ celery sticks
Meal 5- 8oz fish, veggies
Meal 6- 4oz turkey burger, 4 egg whites
Totals- 1,464cals, 54.2g fat, 50.0g carbs, 193.7g pro

Took a rest day today. Plan to go hard for 3 days then rest 1, then repeat. Just recently came down with a cold and trying to get better.

Other than that my diet has been good. I have been keeping calories consistent at 1,500 and carb cycling, <50g for low days, 90g mod days, and 130g high days. Is 130g of carbs too high?

Originally Posted by Gymgirl130

Thanks fit for all the helpful advice and of course I don't mind you chiming in, I need it. I think that is a good idea on training, I am going to go hard for 3days then 1 day rest then repeat. Instead, I have not been taking much time for my body to recover and now I have a cold. I woke up this morning with a sore throat and didn't want to go to the gym, but the more I thought about it, the more guilty I felt. After 5 min of debating I just got mad and went to the gym lol. Thanks again for all the advice and tips!

You are welcome Gymgirl 130. I see your going to go hard for 3 days, rest, repeat. Please let your body recover and try and take in vitamin c in tablet form so you do not get the sugar from orange juice and oranges. You can get the vitamin c tabs really inexpensive at GNC 1000 500mg tabs for 4.99. And @1500mgs of vitamin c you will see beneficial results. There are a lot of so called remedies for cold and sore throats out there but taking in vitamin c just cant be beat. lol! You got mad and just went to gym, good for you! Sometimes you can have some of your best wkouts when you aren't really feeling it and you just DO IT. Hey ur welcome and i am really glad that i can help! Its super that you were open minded about doing higher reps and pushing it as hard as you can. Its phenominal pumps and muscles are forced to grow. It nice that you were open for advice and are utilizing it!

Originally Posted by Gymgirl130

Last year this time I thought I was in good shape, I was working out every day, dieting with a couple cheat meals and this year my diet has changed completely. I have been supper strict/clean eating with no cheats and the results show! (The first pic was last year and the second pic was today)

i see the results but no pics? I would really like to see the recomp pics, so if you can pics please.

Originally Posted by Gymgirl130

2/9/2012

Diet

Meal 1- 4egg whites, 4oz chicken, veggies, 1/3C oatmeal
Meal 2- 4oz chicken, 12 almonds
Meal 3- 5oz chicken, 1C spinach, 2oz avocado, 12 almonds
Meal 4- 4 egg whites, 2T pb w/ celery sticks
Meal 5- 8oz fish, veggies
Meal 6- 4oz turkey burger, 4 egg whites
Totals- 1,464cals, 54.2g fat, 50.0g carbs, 193.7g pro

Took a rest day today. Plan to go hard for 3 days then rest 1, then repeat. Just recently came down with a cold and trying to get better.

Other than that my diet has been good. I have been keeping calories consistent at 1,500 and carb cycling, <50g for low days, 90g mod days, and 130g high days. Is 130g of carbs too high?

not real sure about if 130 grams of carbs is too high, depends on intensity of training and duration to burn up all the glycogen but since your about 49 days away from your show still early yet and do not think that its too much right now or come should come into play. (Maybe sassy or island girl can offer advice on that) just yet but it will allow you for better workouts and pumps Use mirror as gauge to determine if your holding too much water from carbs and keep striving for the more shredded look for bikini, bulk a little more for figure in future.

I think to make it matter, you need 40-50 g of carb difference. You can also add in another day so you're like 50 / 50/ 90 /130 / repeat. Lots of variation on the basic sequence you can make based on how you are progressing. I tend to increase the number of low days in a row as I get closer to my show day.

Originally Posted by fit4life

You are welcome Gymgirl 130. I see your going to go hard for 3 days, rest, repeat. Please let your body recover and try and take in vitamin c in tablet form so you do not get the sugar from orange juice and oranges. You can get the vitamin c tabs really inexpensive at GNC 1000 500mg tabs for 4.99. And @1500mgs of vitamin c you will see beneficial results. There are a lot of so called remedies for cold and sore throats out there but taking in vitamin c just cant be beat. lol! You got mad and just went to gym, good for you! Sometimes you can have some of your best wkouts when you aren't really feeling it and you just DO IT. Hey ur welcome and i am really glad that i can help! Its super that you were open minded about doing higher reps and pushing it as hard as you can. Its phenominal pumps and muscles are forced to grow. It nice that you were open for advice and are utilizing it!

i see the results but no pics? I would really like to see the recomp pics, so if you can pics please.


not real sure about if 130 grams of carbs is too high, depends on intensity of training and duration to burn up all the glycogen but since your about 49 days away from your show still early yet and do not think that its too much right now or come should come into play. (Maybe sassy or island girl can offer advice on that) just yet but it will allow you for better workouts and pumps Use mirror as gauge to determine if your holding too much water from carbs and keep striving for the more shredded look for bikini, bulk a little more for figure in future.

Yes, I felt better once I took a rest day and took in more vit C. I have been feeling these wkouts they're great! I do go pretty hard and I usually have HIIT type training with my cardio so I think 130g of carb cycling right now is fine. Since it is my first show I didn't want to go too high. I think I am going to switch and do bikini instead of figure because of my bf levels. I will be posting pic soon!

Originally Posted by sassy69

I think to make it matter, you need 40-50 g of carb difference. You can also add in another day so you're like 50 / 50/ 90 /130 / repeat. Lots of variation on the basic sequence you can make based on how you are progressing. I tend to increase the number of low days in a row as I get closer to my show day.

ok perfect! I added in a rest day so I'll do low carbs on those days as well as my cardio days (which are days in a row).

2/10/2012

Diet

post workout- 1 scoop whey
Meal 1- 4 egg whites, veggies, 4 oz turkey breast, 1/3C oatmeal
Meal 2- 4oz chicken, 5oz sweet potato, spinach
Meal 3- 4oz fish, 4 egg whites, veggies, 1/2C brown rice
Meal 4- 4oz chicken, 1T pb w/celery sticks
Meal 5- 4oz chicken, veggies
Meal 6- 1 can tuna
totals-1,521 cals, 35.0g fat, 94.7g carb, 202.0g pro

Work out
Upper body/Abs

All reps (15, 20, 25)

flat bench- 85, 85, 80
DB flys on bench- 17.5lbs 3X
DB rows- 30lbs 3X
Back ext- holding 25lb plate 3X
DB shoulder press- 25, 25, 22.5
front raises- 25lb plate 3X
reverse pec dec- 55lbs 3X
DB incline curls- 15lbs 3X
overhead tri ext- 30, 25, 25

Cardio: 45 min elliptical/treadmill

Still trying to get over this cold. Felt a lot better today that I took yesterday off.

Originally Posted by Gymgirl130

Still trying to get over this cold. Felt a lot better today that I took yesterday off.

Glad to hear! I finally think I kicked a nasty, very bronchially cough I picked up the minute I walked back into the office on Jan 2 after making it all the way thru the holidays, including 2 cross-country flights, w/o getting sick. Technically it has taken 40 days and 2 rounds of anti-biotics to get rid of it. SUCK ASS!

Hope you feel 100% by tomorrow!

2/11/2012

Diet-High carb day

totals-
1,579 cals, 27.6g fat, 125.9g carb, 204.7g pro

Wkout- Lower body/cardio

20 min cardio (did not do much cardio, will make it up on my rest day)

Smith machine deep squat (wt doesn't include bar)
70/15
70/20
70/25

Lunges one foot on bench holding 10lb DB
15/20/25 reps

Leg Press
130/15
130/20
130/25

Leg ext
50/15
50/20
50/25

Leg curls
65/15
65/20
65/25

calf raises on smith (wt doesn't include bar)
70/15 slow 10 fast reps 3X

Originally Posted by sassy69

Glad to hear! I finally think I kicked a nasty, very bronchially cough I picked up the minute I walked back into the office on Jan 2 after making it all the way thru the holidays, including 2 cross-country flights, w/o getting sick. Technically it has taken 40 days and 2 rounds of anti-biotics to get rid of it. SUCK ASS!

Hope you feel 100% by tomorrow!

Being sick is no fun. Sorry to here that you were sick, that must have been rough. Glad you are feeling better tho!

Originally Posted by Gymgirl130

Being sick is no fun. Sorry to here that you were sick, that must have been rough. Glad you are feeling better tho!

This time of year sucks --- seems like the seasonal flus are getting worse & different every year. I got the flu shot back in October, anticipating the holiday flu season - first time in 20 yrs too - and yes, it did nothing. Next time I'll be going straight to my doc for the good drugs!

One good thing is that you get some time off from the gym, and getting back in the gym is usually the strongest day of lifting - it feels awesome!

I'm proud of ya' gymgirl......

You are getting it done.

You got some great company showing you the ropes.
Full steam ahead!

Hope everybody gets to feeling better SOON.

looks good gymgirl130, w/ ssasy and the rests help you got great help to reach your goals.

Originally Posted by triplstep

I'm proud of ya' gymgirl......

You are getting it done.

You got some great company showing you the ropes.
Full steam ahead!

Hope everybody gets to feeling better SOON.

Originally Posted by unclem

looks good gymgirl130, w/ ssasy and the rests help you got great help to reach your goals.

Thanks guys!! Everyone has been great on giving me advice and helping me stay motivated

2/13/2012

Diet- Low carb

Totals-
1467cals, 58.6g fat, 48.3g carbs, 183.7g pro

Work out- Cardio/abs

Cardio
20 min on Elliptical
40 min sprints/jog/walk/random hills on treadmill

Abs
Hanging Leg raises
15 straight, 10 sides 3X

Every Monday I weigh my self and I am up 4lbs from last Monday, at 135 now. I don't know if that's bad or good, I don't feel like I am getting fatter but who knows. I am really trying to sweat during my cardio sessions and trying to get rid of subcutaneous fat. I have been feeling bloated and I need my lower abs to flatten out. Hopefully it will come soon!

Yesterday was also a low carb/cardio day.

2/14/2012

Diet-Mod carb day

Totals- 1,495cals, 35.7g fat, 97.6g carb, 195.6g pro

Work out- Upper body/Abs/Cardio

Incline DB press
30/15
25/20
25/25

Pec dec flys
70/15
60/20
60/25

Machine shoulder press
30/15
30/20
30/25

Side lateral raises
10/15
10/20
10/25

Lat pull downs
70/15
70/20
70/25

cable rows
65/15
65/20
65/25

standing ez bar curls
40/15

DB curls
15/20
15/25

Tricep push downs
35/15
35/20
35/25

Decline crunches
10/15
10/15
10/15

Decline crunch twists
10/15
10/15
10/15

Cardio 45min elliptical

Originally Posted by sassy69

This time of year sucks --- seems like the seasonal flus are getting worse & different every year. I got the flu shot back in October, anticipating the holiday flu season - first time in 20 yrs too - and yes, it did nothing. Next time I'll be going straight to my doc for the good drugs!

One good thing is that you get some time off from the gym, and getting back in the gym is usually the strongest day of lifting - it feels awesome!

Yes this time of year does suck especially when dieting. You are right it does feel awesome getting back in the gym after some time off. I just need some time off so I can get a good strong day of lifting!

Great effort, 42 days out- you got this.

2/15/2012

Diet-high carb day

Totals 1459cals 22.9g fat, 128.2g carbs, 191.1g pro

Work out

Lower body/cardio

BB squat feet close on smith wt doesn't include bar
90/15
90/20
90/25

SLDL
95/15
95/20
95/25
*5lbs up from last week

Leg ext
60/15
60/20
60/25
*5lbs up from last week

Lying leg curl
55/15
55/20
55/25
*5lbs up from last week

Hip ext
75/15
75/20
75/25

Abduction
150/15
150/20
150/25

Adduction
150/15
150/20
150/25

seated calves
70/15fast 10slow reps with toes pointed in and straight 3X

Cardio
10 warm up elliptical
20 CD stair master level 12

Felt a great pump in my work out today! I can see my shoulders and arms coming in a bit firmer, still need to work on lower abs.

In regards to rid of extra subcutaneus water around lower abs try using a neoprene belt wrapped snuggly around waist over a cotton shirt to absorb sweat while training/cardio. The synthetic rubber inside draws a lot of heat in that area and increased perspiration. Although not a permanent loss every little things helps. Just a small suggestion........

Originally Posted by fit4life

In regards to rid of extra subcutaneus water around lower abs try using a neoprene belt wrapped snuggly around waist over a cotton shirt to absorb sweat while training/cardio. The synthetic rubber inside draws a lot of heat in that area and increased perspiration. Although not a permanent loss every little things helps. Just a small suggestion........

That's funny you mentioned that. I just started using one. I have a hard time sweating no matter how intense my workouts are, so I figured that it would help me sweat a little more.

2/16/2012

Diet- low carb

Totals- 1464cals, 61.4g fat, 44.7g carb, 192.3g pro

Rest Day

Its getting closer!! and I am freaking out!

Originally Posted by Gymgirl130

To start off I have been training and dieting consistently now for two years. I have always had a goal to one day compete in a figure competition. I have started a strict diet that is around 900-1200 calories (protein 130-150, carbs 25-100, fats 20-30) back in Oct 31, 2011. When I first started I weighed 146.4lbs and am down to 131.0lbs. I will be posting my diet and workout regimen every day so you can take a look and tell me what you think. My plan is to do a local figure or bikini in 8 weeks and am seeking some more diet advice and Honest critiquing. Thanks below are some recent pics of me taken tonight.

I think you look great for 8 weeks out. To be honest in these pictures the only thing I could see is a tanning regiment needs to be started. You look lighter skinned so I think it would take long (to avoid burning and redness).

Keep it up!


5"10
200lbs
BF = around 15% (guess)
600mg Tren E, 325mg Test Cyp week