HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! It's hard to believe another year is already here! I hope you're having a great day and ring in 2010 doing something you enjoy with the people you care about. Have a great night and a prosperous and excellent 2010!

Weights have now been changed back to a 5 day split.

Day 1: Back (rows), Chest (presses), Shoulders (side latterals and rear delts)

Cardio

Day 2: Quads/calves

Cardio

Day 3:Arms

Cardio

Day 4: Cardio

Days 5: Back(pullups/pulldowns), Chest(flies), Shoulders(presses)

Cardio

Day 6: Hamstrings/calves/abs

Cardio

Day 7: Cardio

Abs are done usually every other day at the end of weights if it's a weight training day or before cardio if it's only a cardio day.

Leg days usually kick my butt and are awesome. The concepts for the leg days being followed right now are from a program created by brilliant strength and conditioning coach Carter Schoffer (www.bodytransformation.com). (rests times and sets vary each week, the ones listed are what was followed this week)

Here is a sample quad day (which is what was done yesterday, and you bet your a$$ I am feeling it today :) )

Begin with dynamic warm up

Movement 1: Front squats (4 sets) (first set was 10reps, the rest were 5-7 reps)

(The following 3 are completed in sequence, resting only to move to the next area (10 seconds) with a 120-180 second rest at the end of each completed sequence, completed a total of 4 times)

Movement 2 a) walking dumbbell lunges (5-6 reps per side)

2 b)lumberjack squats (added calf raise at top) 10-12 reps

2c) jump squats (10-12)

Movement 3: alternating dumbbell lunges (2 sets of 10 reps each)

This along with the awesome Hamstring day have previously made a big difference in leg development and they responded very quickly. This will be kept in mind when determining how and when training will change.

Upper body is still kept in the 12-15 rep range (besides shoulders which are trained heavier).

Hi there! Hopefully you had a wicked holiday and are looking forward to New Years!

The Family Christmas gatherings and staff parties are all done for this year and they were awesome. It's great to see everyone together having a good time AND the food was spectacular! This now marks the time to further tighten meals and training up and to be honest, I am really looking forward to the structure.

A really fun way to keep excited during the prep is to book shoots along the way. It really helps to keep you on track! A great site to get in touch with photographers and also to be contacted for projects is www.modelmayhem.com . It's really good to meet face to face a couple of times and/or chat on the phone first to get more comfortable with each other and to go over details. Ask the photographer if you can bring a non-intrusive friend with you to help ease the nerves. Some actually encourage it!

It's so important for us to listen to ourselves and to work within our comfort zones. If an idea is presented that isn't within your limitations, it's okay to say no. I'm still really new to shoots but when limitations have been discussed they weren't pressed at all and if it was a shoot that just wasn't something I would be comfortable doing, a respectful decline did not hurt anyone's feelings. 

Some fun ones were planned for further on in the prep when things started to come together a bit more, but now it's been requested to start a bit earlier! As in next month!! The first reaction was "frick I've been eating like a monster and am NOT ready." but now it's kind of exciting. Maybe I won't be the leanest person in the world but it'll be fun and definitely helps to get things started!

Some cool ideas have been discussed and it will be awesome to watch them come to life :)

Wishing you and your loved ones a Happy and safe Holiday!!!!!

I met with wicked coach Steph tonight! We went over some things for prep and since I am a bit off the mark weight wise from where I have been in previous off seasons, things are starting a bit earlier this time! Here are the prep methods to start now:

-7 cardio sessions per week. 45 minutes of moderate intensity steady state cardio (incline walking on the tread mill, elyptical) or 30-35 minutes of interval training (walk/sprints or step mill). She suggested that mostly steady state cardio be used now so that adding in the higher intensity intervals will shock my body into shedding more bodyfat later on.

-Weights will be kept in the 12-15 rep range (shoulders will be heavier as they tend to flatten out as prep goes on and some leg training will be heavier at the beginning)

-There will be no fatburners or energy drinks at all. Coffee will also be cut out.  They could cause a stress response and effect insulin levels (both linked to unwanted fat gain especially around the mid section. This also happens to be my body's favourite place to hold onto it!)

-4 cups green tea per day

-The meal plan right now is not complicated and is similar to one used in a previous show. After the new year we'll reassess and consider adding in higher/lower carbohydrate days.

-veggies are unlimited

-vegetable and meat sources are still organic, meat is free range organic.

Here is a sample day of the meal plan as of now:

Meal 1:

1 cup strawberries

1/4 cup steel cut oats (measured before cooking)

1 cup egg whites

1 whole egg (free range organic egg yolks are very nutrient dense and contain a much higher level of omega 3 fatty acids compared to omega 6 fatty acids which is what we want! Commercial eggs are the opposite, hence the misperception that egg yolks are "bad" for you and your fat loss goals. The right kind are actually great.)

handful of spinach

Meal 2:

6 oz lean meat (probably chicken breast)

1 tbsp fish oil

lots of veggies!

Meal 3:

6oz lean meat

medium sweet potato (approx 4 oz)

Meal 4:nice and light pre-workout meal:

6oz lean meat ,lots of veggies

Meal 5:Post workout:

Heaping scoop of whey (iso gold all natural chocolate is the one being used)

2 cups of mixed berries

Meal 6:

Heaping scoop of whey with 1 tbsp Udo's oil

I am still allowed to enjoy the excellent Christmas deliciousness at the Primeau household!! Yessss.

Changes in supplementation include: increase vitamin C intake and add back in Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA) and Milk Thistle for anti-oxidant and liver support. ALA is an excellent anti-oxidant and also helps stabilize blood sugar. Milk Thistle could benefit a great deal of people. Our livers can take a pretty big beating from environmental toxins, to additives in food, etc. Even in health conscious individuals, and definitely in people who train intensely and/or take sport's supplements on a regular basis.

Hello!!

The meal plan has been revamped by decreasing some of the carbs and adding in more fat which is great. Although the higher purine meats are great for fast oxidizers (chicken thighs, organ meats, steak, etc) they won't be able to be eaten as much in this plan. This is fine because taking in more fat with the leaner meats will help keep things nice and balanced.

Keep in mind this is a way of eating for a contest prep, not for lifestyle and vitality. Attempting to keep the meal plan as sufficient as possible for as long as possible should be a goal of the coach and the competitor, but there will be some limitations that are not necessary for most healthy lifestyle changes and fat loss goals.

Food selections will be:

Protein Sources:

-Egg whites

-Free range organic eggs

-Free range organic meats: chicken breast, extra lean ground chicken, extra lean ground turkey (eaten in the evening as turkey contains tryptophan which can make you sleepy!), white fish, whey protein isolate (using PVL Iso-Gold Extra Natural Chocolate), occasionally extra lean ground sirloin 

Carbohydrate Sources:

-Steel cut oats 

-Rolled oats (when in a hurry) Bob's Red Mill makes gluten free steel cut and rolled oats if you're severely gluten intolerant. A lot of people with a gluten sensitivity find they can still handle oats.

-All Bran occasionally

-Oranic Rice cakes occasionally

-Sweet potatoes   

-White potatoes occasionally

-Mixed berries (raspberries, blueberries, strawberries) for after training.

-Strawberries alone to add with breakfast.

Fat Sources:

-Fish oil

-Udo's oil

-Omega 3.6.9 tablets

-Egg yolks

-Coconut oil

Vegetables:

-Spinach

-Cucumber

-Celery

-Asparagus

-Green Beans

-Cauliflower

-Occasionally tomato

Condiments:

-Salsa

-Frank's red hot (mmmmm)

-Various spices: cumin, curry, oregano, ms.dash, italian seasoning, etc) 

-Frequently using garlic and/or onion to cook with.

Beverages:

-Water

-Green tea

-occasionally coffee

-occasionally diet coke

-as the prep goes on usually different types of tea are added in since I find it helps with cravings. 

A sample day of eating will be added soon. Have a great day!  

Holy carb overload batman! A new plan is in formation :)

Tonight I talked with Coach/IFBB Pro Stephanie Worsfold and I'm so grateful that she will be helping with this show :) This will be our 3rd year and 6th show working together! Steph is more of a help than she knows. Since she's competed for so long herself, she knows what to expect. Her positive personality and energy is so great to be around and she helps keep things fun.

It's been emotional and a year full of changes for Steph. She lost her Dad to Cancer, then gave birth to her beautiful baby boy, Morgan shortly after. Within a few months she then lost her Mom to cancer. Nothing seems to get Steph down, she expresses her gratitude for the time she had with her parents and is so thankful for Morgan. She's such an awesome Mom and just a beautiful person.

Steph would like to focus more on helping girls for shows while she's on Maternity leave and will be updating her site very shortly. Check out www.stephaniesfinallyfitprograms.com.

I emailed the prep plan to her to see what she thinks of it. I am excited to have her feedback and help along the way. It can be difficult to be objective with yourself and it's very  relieving to have someone there verifying your progress while helping to make adjustments.

Off Season Food and New Stuff!

Hello!!

Food selections don't differ too much when not preparing for a show (besides cheat days :) ), there's just more of it eaten. As a protein type, or fast oxidizer, high protein and fat with low carbohydrate intake is ideal for function and survivial. We should keep in mind that just because someone is a protein type does not necessarily mean they don't need carbs at all, or need to have an extremely low intake of carbs at all times. Carbohydrate needs can depend on lifestyle, climate, hormonal cycles and activity level. For example, the more physically active a person is the higher the need for carbohydrates. The needs won't necessarily be as high as a Carbohydrate type (slow oxidizer) or Mixed type (varying between the two) but they will still increase.

To keep things super simple an easy way to look at this has been, Eat what is needed when it's needed. Looking at things this way, a higher amount of carbs is eaten on harder training days (eg: Leg days). On moderate or light training days, carbohydrate intake is lessened to match that. This is also called carbohydrate cycling. I have just been taught a new formula for carbohydrate cycling with physique athletes  who function well on high protein/fat and are looking to lose body fat gradually for a contest. I've decided to give it a try coming into this next show season!

It's been really cool to play around with this. The following caloric breakdown was just for interest's sake and is for fat loss when contest preparation starts. Exact calorie counting is rarely used, it's just neat and helpful to see what range to work with when making food selections and deciding on portion sizes.

With this particular meal plan, It's been estimated that to see gradual fat loss while maintaining as much muscle as possible my calories should start between 1800 and 2000/day (high intake days will be slightly above 2000) using the following macronutrient breakdowns:

Light/Moderate Training day:

Protein: 225g/day x 4 calories/gram = 900cal

Carbohydrates: 175g/day x 4 calories/gram = 700cal

Fat: 30g/day x 9 calories/gram = 270cal

Daily caloric intake: 1870 calories

Heavy Training day:

Protein: 225g/day x 4 calories/gram = 900cal

Carbohydrates: 235g/day x 4calories/gram = 940cal

Fat: 30g/day x 9 calories/gram = 270cal

Daily Caloric intake: 2110

On both the higher and lower carb days, protein and fat intake stays consistant with only the amount of carbohydates changing. The first thought was this may be a lot of carbs at each meal, but following the plan's breakdown of 25% of carbs eaten with breakfast, 25% pre-workout and 50% eaten post workout it sounds awesome. That makes 3 meals with carbs/protein and 3 other meals with fat/protein.

This break down will begin next week and food sources will be added as well. As prep goes on, progress is guaged and adjusted accordingly. I've never been this structured with meal plans before and I'm really looking forward to learning from this!

Here's a link to an article by super smart Christian Thibaudeau. The nutrient timing is slightly different but the formulas are the same.

http://www.tmuscle.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/the_carb_cycling_codex

Have a great night!

Hi!

Year round supplements are kept pretty consistent, meal plan varies (more calories from "good" food (eg: a higher intake of good fats with perhaps more carbohydrates around training sessions)). There is also a more relaxed amount of cheat days- usually about 2/week but rarely more than 3). Training varies quite frequently. 

 Here are the Supplements currently being used

-Greens 1 by North Coast Naturals

-Fermented Glutamine by North Coast Naturals

-Iso-Gold All Natural Chocolate by PVL

-Extendavol by PVL (Contains BCAAs/Glutamine/Citrulline Malate)

-Fish oil by Carlson

-Udo's Oil

-Acidophilus/Bifidus  by Natural Factors

-Oregano Oil by New Roots

-Vitamin C by Natural Factors

-Multi Vitamin for Active Women by Progressive

-Complete Calcium for Adult Women by Progressive

-B-Complex by Natural Factors

 Training Split- for now, is 4 sessions of weight training, 3-4 cardio sessions, 3 ab sessions. Every training session is followed by stretching/relaxation exercises.

Day 1: Chest/biceps/abs

Day 2: legs

Day 3: Abs/cardio

Day 4: Back/Triceps

Day 5: Cardio/Abs

Day 6: Shoulders/Cardio

Day 7: rest or perhaps cardio

Cardio is usually Sprints, intervals on the step mill or something fun like speed ladder drills or suicides incorporated into a circuit. Sessions last between 20-40 minutes depending on the type.  

If feeling tired or legs are sore, low or medium intensity cardio is usually done (the elyptical or incline walking on a tread mill).

Weight training is switched up quite often by varying reps and sets (usually changed every 3-4 weeks) and exercises performed (usually varying from session to session). The "split" will be changed usually every few weeks. This keeps the body "guessing" to prevent plateaus and also keeps things interesting! 

Periodically and when beginning to feel run down, Paul Chek's "Vitalizer" and "Performance" programs will be incorporated. They are amazing ways to maintain gains while giving the body and mind a little bit of a rest. The performance program is also a great way to increase athleticism. (The greatness of the information in Paul Chek's How to Eat, Move and Be Healthy can't be expressed enough. I highly suggest picking up a copy!) 

Meal plan will be discussed soon. I'm off for now. I hope you're having a great day!