Wow hey everyone!! Things have been super crazy lately so sorry I have been a little MIA!

I hope you all (all who celebrate) had a great Easter or Passover holiday! I wish I had some delicious food pictures of our dinner for you but sadly our oven broke (on the bake function) and we had no way to actually cook dinner the whole way!  Luckily we figured it out Saturday and ended up going to get a Boston Market ham, which was delish but I was so bummed I didn't get to make my Pap's recipe! But thanks to my lovely boyfriend we really made the best of it and just enjoyed the day together. Easter isn't a big "gift" holiday for us so we agreed to no gifts and guess who was actually tricked this year! Yup, me! Mike ended up making me a big basket of chocolate with a gift certificate for my fish for our saltwater tank (not sure if you know but I am SUPER excited and obsessed with the tank. I would really love to get a lion fish...side not, not important but maybe one day!).

The weird thing about all of this is remember how I mentioned I was sick? Well weirdly enough it keeps coming back! We think it might not be the flu anymore but might be something else we keep passing back and forth because we keep getting it at exactly the same time and same symptoms!! So that came back Sunday evening but I pretty much just decided to not deal with it because I'm sooooo over being sick! That and a little ibuprofen did the trick!

So why have I been so MIA? WELLLLLLLL.... *DRUM ROLL PLEASE*

Well I can finally announce it as of next week I will be full time personal trainer/fitness coach/nutrition consultant! I'll fill you in on how I did it but I am so thrilled to say that I hit my big goal for 2013 "to be a full time fitness professional" in 3 months!! I'll explain how in a couple posts :-)

While I am so sad to leave my work friends I know that I will still see them and this is a really smart move...even if it is such a tough one. In the words of Adele "who would've known how bittersweet...this would be"? From the bottom of my heart I love my friends and all that I have gained from my job but I am just so excited to fully dedicating myself to my passion!!

Coming soon this week...end of Bulk Phase of Body Beast and then on to leaning...stay tuned for the results :-)

Last week of Body Beast: Build Phase

So this is my last week of Build phase of Body Beast and I can honestly say I am LOVING it still!

My review so far:

Build is 3 weeks of single sets, super sets, drop sets, pyramid sets, and compound moves. The goal is mass gains and really getting stronger.

Within those 3 weeks you work: Legs, back and bis, shoulders, chest and tris, as well as an ab workout and cardio or total body. And the work outs last about an hour (usually just under).

For equipment all you really need are some dumbbells, a pull up bar, and either a bench or a ball to sit/lie on.

The nutrition/supplements:

The break down for nutrients is 50/25/25 (carbs/protein/fat). The reason being if you want to grow you need to keep the body consistently fueled with carbs in order to spare your muscles from breaking down.  You can pick any of the foods from the list/meal guide as long as it meets your caloric needs (the guide helps you break it all down depending on phases).

For supplements:

I am taking creatine, shakeology, whey protein, and fish oils (first time ever using creatine and i have not experienced any of the sometimes side effects thankfully!!)


From this entire program my biggest goal is to really add some muscle and then focus on leaning down come spring time just in time for bikini weather and competing. For me usually my goals change with the seasons and how "exposed" my body actually is, so winter = gain muscle and warm months = lean out and let's see the abs!

The hardest part about all of this is not even the lack of cardio but I USED to be one of those people who cared about the scale so watching the number would have ruined me before...right now I know the goal is to grow and also the carbs and creatine cause water gain too so looking at the number is not going to help and honestly, at this point my jeans fit the same for the most part (my stomach is where I notice the water gain the most) so I am not going to let it bother me. I know it will all go away once I stop the creatine next week and switch in more cardio.

Results so far:

• I know for a fact I have gained at least 2lbs of muscle (pretty good for only 3 weeks!)

• I have increased what I lift ever single week
• I am noticing more size and definition in almost all areas
• Even though my stomach is not as cut as before I can still see my abs so I know I am not gaining much if any fat (balancing muscle growth with not gaining fat is tricky but doable!!)
• I am loving the work outs and it is really bringing Mike and I closer working out together!
  

Have any of you ladies ever tried creatine?

Do your goals tend to change with the seasons and what will be out?