Calf: 15 inches
Quad: 22.25 inches
Hips: 35.5 inches
Waist: 26 inches
Forearm: 11 inches
Bicep: 13.5 inches
Weight: 129.8
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| 4/20 |
Previous check in (4/7):
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| 4/7 |
Unfortunately, I lost another quarter inch around my quad. BUT I was actually able to put a quarter inch on my bicep and half an inch on my calves! The growth in my calves is huge for me - I have been battling sesamoiditis in my left foot for over 6 months, and have not been able to do any typical "calf-isolating" exercises. Luckily, this is just proof that you don't necessarily have to isolate calves in order to see improvement - my heavy squats seem to be taking care of that for me! Now, some people (especially if your calves are a lagging bodypart) will find that isolating them specifically during training will be a huge help, luckily my calves have always been a genetic strength of mine, so I can get by without isolating them.
I also lost half an inch around my waist, which you will not hear me complain about! This is the smallest my waist has been in 2 years (since my last show) - and I have to say I'm shocked. Overall this is the leanest I have ever been without being in active show prep - and to be honest I haven't really been trying very hard. I watch what I eat (for the most part), do minimal cardio, and lift heavy...
Really, the only thing I can credit this to, besides 6 years of training, is finally getting off "the Pill". Since I got off the Pill in January of last year, I have noticed incredible changes not only to my body, but to my hair (I had previously been losing a LOT of hair on a daily basis, which some people attribute to the hormones in birth control), and my mental health (the excess estrogen from the Pill was literally making me bat shit crazy). I am not a doctor (obviously), but I can tell you from personal experience that coming off hormonal birth control and switching to an IUD was the best decision I have ever made. If you are having issues that can be attributed to the Pill, it may be worth having a talk with your doctor about other options.
I'm sure there are many women in the situation I was in last year when I made the switch - if this is something you'd be interested in, I could absolutely dedicate a post to my experiences, and the changes I have noticed since switching to an IUD.
Anyway, now that I have gone off on a tangent, back to the subject at hand...
I do not plan on making any changes to my diet just yet - we will be taking a long weekend trip to see John's parents this weekend so I'm sure I will make up for some of my weight loss while we're there - but after that I am going to really take a look at my meal plan and training schedule to narrow down where I need to make some changes to meet my goals.
I have been tossing around the idea of competing in just under 12 weeks - so I need to make a decision on that as well, because if that's the case it will obviously effect what changes I make to my diet and training schedule. I am seriously considering doing the NPC GA in July - it's been a very long 2 years since the last time I got on stage, and I am really itching to get back up there.
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| My leanest 'off-season' ever! |
I was on the contraceptive injection for years, and then decided to change to the non-hormone IUD. I'm still waiting for everything to go back to normal, as it can take a while after coming off the injection. I am the same as you, I feel like this is also the best decision I have ever made as well! That is very exciting to hear that you may be competing in 12 weeks, looking forward to hearing what you decide to do- you look great :)
ReplyDeleteThat is great! How long have you been off the injections? It took about 6 months to start really seeing/feeling changes in my hormones, but after about a year I felt pretty much back to 'normal'. Good luck lady!
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