Hey y’all! I cannot BELIEVE I’m already over halfway through this Prep! As of this upcoming weekend I am JUST SIX WEEKS OUT from the stage!! If you’ve been following my Instagram and social media posts, you’ve seen how much fun this Prep has been! Honestly, it’s my 4th one, but hands down my best and easiest to date. I think a big part of what made this one so much smoother from the beginning is that I had a GREAT almost 8 month offseason from my last show in August 2017, before starting this Prep in early April. As you know, I like to take at least 6-8 months to grow in between competition seasons. It helps me have balance, helps my body recover, and most importantly gives me TIME to grow muscle and sculpt my physique. This was my first full offseason with my coach Joe, and boy did we do work! I started this Prep about 15 pounds heavier than the start of last year’s Prep, but LEANER!!! You can’t ask for better than that! I stayed on my nutrition plan, trained HARD, enjoyed my treats and drinks, etc., but made some major improvements!
I’m super excited because this will be my first National competition. This is where you can earn a Pro card (IFBB Professional—the elite of elite bodybuilders) by placing in the TOP TWO of your height class. It’s a big deal, and I’ll be competing at the NPC USAs in Las Vegas July 29th. I’m freaking stoked!! It’s hard to say how big my class size will be, but probably somewhere between 15-25 ladies. To qualify for a national NPC show, you have to place first or second in your height class at an amateur or local show, which I’ve done the last two years, however, I didn’t want to compete at the national level until I felt like I was where I needed to be with my size and conditioning to be able to really compete for that Pro card. A lot of people ask me why I want to go Pro, or what that means. For me, it means being able to compete with the best of the best, and being able to compete internationally. There are IFBB shows in so many countries and locations, it’s amazing! There are also a lot of sponsorship and networking opportunities when you compete at that level, and of course, the opportunity to compete at the Olympia if you win a show as a Pro, or qualify with enough points—that would be the ultimate dream come true!!!
So to catch y’all up on the last 9 weeks. Honestly the first few weeks were pretty much normal for me. Minimal cardio, no cheat meals (at least for like the first two weeks), no drinking, no sweets. Those are pretty much off the table during Prep. HOWEVER, I did get sushi three Saturdays in a row per Coach’s orders last month, which was AWESOME!! I wasn’t even doing any post-workout cardio until about 10 or 11 weeks out, and I started at 16 weeks out with just 30 minutes of fasted. That’s a breeze with our AMAZING Stairmaster that lives upstairs—IT WAS WORTH EVERY PENNY!!!!!!!!!! (insert all the praisehand emojis here) My strength has been pretty stable and good in the gym, a little tired, but cravings really haven’t been that bad.
The diet for me is pretty much the same foods year around, just different amounts of carbs and varying amounts of fats, but I eat the same foods in and out of season. Luckily I love green leafy salads and vegetables because those are always staples in Prep!! What gets me through it? Crystal Light, sparkling water, diet sodas, cucumbers with Truvia, sugar free jello, lots of coffee, and naps 😊
Last week we started depleting me pretty hard, so very few carbs and lots more cardio, but I’m honestly okay. Like I have with every other Prep, I take it one day, one meal, one workout at a time. The meals and cardio sessions and workouts turn into days, which turn into weeks gone by and before you know it it’s show time! It’s been a lot of fun comparing pictures from last year to this year. I’m really proud of the work we’ve put in so far—it takes a village for sure. My Coach, Shane, our amazing squad of awesome friends at our gym, and the support of friends and family near and far, it all makes this so much fun and rewarding.
Sadly, we did lose our sweet Corgi, Camden, Memorial Day weekend. After a tough battle with prostate cancer, he let us know that it was his time to go. It was awful and so very very sad. He was the best dog. We got him when we were engaged, and losing a dog that you’ve loved and raised together for 12 years is just gutwrenching. We were heartbroken, but thankful that we could spend time loving on him and making memories with him until it was his time to go. We love and miss you Camden!!!
Other than that, we’re just enjoying life to the fullest! I’m a firm believer that Prep is what you make of it. I choose to see the positive, embrace the struggle, have fun inspite of bringing my own food and saying no to other food at events, etc. and just make Prep as fun as it can be!
I’ll definitely try to post more often as we wind down the last few weeks of this Prep—it’s gonna be a fun ride to Vegas!
Till next time,
-Mere