Team Universe Contest Prep Begins!

This date has been on my calendar for quite some time - the countdown to the beginning of my contest prep. I have been looking forward to this day for more reasons than one. First off, I am very excited about the package I will unveil this year! Second, I am looking forward to getting a few pounds off and being able to eat a bit less food! I have been taking in 3,300 calories for the past several months and working to get my weight up. My meals have always been all whole food with the exception of a post-workout shake making it quite a chore to both cook & eat. I am also more comfortable at a lower body weight; however, the goal this year was to gain muscle and get my body weight up to at least 140 lbs. I am beginning my contest prep at 144 pounds and feel I have gained a lot of muscle; however, some fat gain is to be expected with muscle gain. I'll be looking forward to my ultimate lean physique that we will be unveiling at this years Team Universe on July 6th & 7th!

The hardest part of beginning contest prep has been waiting on my competition plan to arrive from my trainer. I am a planner so I like to know exactly what to expect so I can get my grocery shopping done and get everything squared away ahead of time. Working with a trainer you don't always know what to expect & can't always plan ahead. The first phase of my contest prep arrived yesterday around noon. It was immediately time to kick it into high gear, see what I needed to get from the grocery store, what supplements I would need to order, & get food prepared for today & for this week. Starting a new plan is always challenging because you get so used to your previous meal plan that you know exactly how to cook things most efficiently and what you will need from the grocery store. You also have your meal plan embedded in your mind so you can quickly pack what you need take to work with you each day without the fear you will forget something. When you start a new plan, you have to rework your brain and rework your preparation process to some extent but it doesn't take long until you are up & running full speed again!

The first phase of my competition diet is really more of a clean-up phase with a moderate calorie reduction. Most people would consider my previous meal plan "clean" but it was clean/dirty in that I was able to eat some "normal" good tasting foods. For instance, my favorite meal on my off-season plan was a Mission Tortilla stuffed with black beans, rice, & lean burger. My new plan consists of very basic foods like chicken, rice, and veggies. I have found that it actually feels good to switch to these "very clean" foods and they are still actually quite tasty to me. The calories are still very high at this time. In fact they are higher than what I had eaten in my bulking phase in previous off-seasons. That just goes to show how efficiently you can get your metabolism to run after years of eating on a schedule, eating consistently and consistently good, and hard training.

My training programs are always different with a different workout every day for the 4 week phase. This keeps me very interested in my training program which keeps my motivation levels high & keeps me performing at my best which is what is needed for muscle growth. One common theme always underlies my program and that is lift as heavy as possible with form that is good enough to activate the target muscle.