It has been longer than I remember

Time flies, doesn't it? I thought I was just a month or two behind with my entries... Shame on me AGAIN!!!

Anyways, a lot happened in the meantime, but I will not drop everything here just like. Let's catch up little by little.

So far this year, I have participated in 2 competitions. They were my first under the umbrella of Team Bombshell. And even though the results were not I expected, I am extremely happy and proud of the progress I have made in the past months.

LEFT : October 27th, 2012

RIGHT : April 6th, 2013

Of course that everybody wants to win (or at least, I hope so...), but the final result, the medal, the trophy, is not something we can control. It depends a lot on what the judges want, how other competitors look (odd ones rarely win shows; and if they are not first, last they will be), promoters expectations, etc. 

However, against all odds, you win every single time you go on stage knowing that you did EVERYTHING you had to do in order to place 1st!

Knowing oneself, doing what it takes and being in peace with things you cannot control are the keys to your success. And if others don't see it right away, no sweat... Your time will come!

June, 2013                                 August, 2013

It has been awhile...

Life caught me the past weeks and I ended up not updating you on my progress the past weeks.

On October 27th, I participated in the Belgian Nationals. It was my very first Bikini (Fitness) competition and I qualified 4th out of 5 girls. Needless to say that I wish I had placed better, but the experience was extremely rewarding. I learned a lot about myself, diet, training and everything. 

2012 Belgian Nationals

In order to get ready for the Belgian Nationals, I had the help of Kimberly LaChance (diet and training) and Nathalia Melo (posing, suit, make-up, you name it). I was so impressed by Nathalia that I dared applying to Team Bombshell.

I knew who they were and how amazing their athletes were. Even though I have always dreamed big, I did not think I was worth becoming part of the group. To my surprise however, not only was I accepted, but I joined their Bikini Competition team from the start. So since October 29th, I became officially a Team Bombshell trained athlete (I still do not believe it).

2012 Bikini Olympia - Nathalia Melo

The past weeks have been of hard work and 100% dedication to my plan. It is not easy, but simple and straight forward, not leaving room for errors. I know what I am supposed to do day-in, day-out; and thanks to that, the results are showing.

Right now, I am 2 weeks out my second contest, the Flex Cup in the Netherlands. The changes in my body are leaving me very confident. I continue working with Nathalia to improve my overal presentation and I am hoping that my gorgeous suit from CJ "Elite" Competition Wear will fall in the taste of the judges as well.

To get a closer view of my progress, please follow/like me on these sites too:

• Twitter : https://twitter.com/DebbieInShape
• Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/DebbieInShape
• Instagram : http://instagram.com/debbieinshape/

Always remember that if you can dream about it, you can make it come true!

Have a lovely week!

A quick update

A lot is happening this week and I am extremely happy for everything. By saying that I do not mean that everything is perfect or that there is nothing bothering. The challenges are there! However, I am enjoying the journey.

This week, my coach changed my nutritional plan and added some cardio to my routine. One the first, I have to admit that I was feeling really hungry. By late in the afternoon, I had already had almost all my quota protein and I still had to have dinner. No before casein bed for me then.

On the second day however, I changed some things here and there and I got it perfect. Not only I was reaching my macros correctly, but I was not hungry at all throughout the day. That made me really proud.

Getting the right amount of food x macros was not a skill I used to have. I was always swinging between too much and too little, but never getting them right. When I finally managed to have enough protein, my carbs were skyrocketing. The right amount of carbs generally implied in a huge calorie intake. It could take me weeks to get the numbers fixed. This time however, a day was all I needed.

The scale has been my best friend these days. I have been measuring everything I eat and the results are paying off.

Cardio is also doing its thing. I am again losing weight and I feel the difference. Last week, I took my progress pictures that scared me a bit. I saw much more fat than I wanted on my hips and belly. It was a scary sight!

Improvement is still needed, but I am moving slowly ahead.

More updates coming soon! Have a great time everyone.

Doing it differently

Today I left work way too late and to avoid jeopardizing my intake, I went straight home.

In no way it means missing a workout. We have enough stuff at home to do some serious workouts. I just needed to be a little creative in adapting my routine properly.

On the menu: upper body!

Push-ups (knees)

4x12

One Handed Hang

4x5secs for each side

Alternating Kettlebell Floor Press

4x6x12

Side raise (with kettlebell)

4x6

Dips (body weight)

4x12

Alternating biceps curl

4x6x8

This workout was different than normal, but in no way easier. I used more or less the same weights I do at the gym and with my body extra tired because of the daily overtime, it was hard. Besides, I did not need to look "good" in the mirror, so I could let it all go.

I have to admit that I prefer to go to the gym, but not being able to go there is absolute no excuse to skip a workout.

I made it today

Yesterday, it was a no-show at the gym, but I could not allow myself to miss another training today. Things were much calmer there today, despite another broke machine...

Anyways, I tried new stuff again (weights in kilos):

Stiff-legged cable deadlift

20x12

25x12

30x12

35x12

Squats (Smith Machine)

7.5x12

2x10x8

10x12

Seated leg curls

35x12

2x37.5x8

37.5x10

Step ups (DB’s)

2x16x10

2x16x12

Crunches

4x20

Reversed Crunches

4x20

I managed to have some PRs here and there, but for me, the most important was making it to the gym. I have been working at least 10 hours every day this week and I am really beat. Despite that, I am maintain my diet and training schedule. It makes me really proud of myself!

The higher the obstacle, the greater the reward. #noexcuse

After a long day at the office

As I was expecting, I had to stay much longer at the office than normal. After the 10 hours, I was really tired. However, it did not stop me from going to the gym.

Because the place was packed, I kept it simple. Besides, as I could not go for PRs, I will probably be doing deload for the next days. And it went like this (remember that all weights are kilos):

Flat bench DB flys

3x8x12

10x8

Bent over DB rows

3x6x12

8x8

Overhead press (seated DBs)

8x8

3x6x12

Row/Rear Delt (SS)

15x12

17.5x8

2x20x8

Front shoulder raise (DBs)

4x6x8

Bicep curls (BB)

0x8

0x10

0x12

0x8 (squeezed my biceps as much as I could in each rep)

Tomorrow it is going to be leg day and I will kill it no matter what!!!

Training routine

It has been quite a productive weekend this one. I am really glad for that because there were some small things I wanted to do here and there and I am managing to get them done.

One of the things I did today was working out. Throughout this contest preparation of mine, I have been following a 4-day split and today, it was day 4: leg day!

Even though the basis has been the same, I try to do different exercises almost every week to sort of catch my muscles by surprise.

Today, it went like this (weights in kilos):

Leg press
2x65x12

67.5x8

55x25 (drop set to failure)

Lunges

10x8

10x10

2x10x12

Standing Calf Raises

3x66x12

70x12 (PR!)

SS Leg Extesions and Weighted Genie Press (saw the second on Muscle & Fitness Hers and decided to give it a try)

4x35(LE)-5(WGP)x8

Weighted Rope Curl

25x12

30x12

35x12

35x15 (to failure)

Dumbbell Side Bend

16x12

3x18x8

I took 2 scoops of SuperPump Max as pre-workout and half scoop of SizeOn as intra (both from Gaspari Nutrition). My post-workout was Muscle Milk.

This week, I will leaving to the office earlier than my usual hour because I want to avoid staying much longer. Gym hours are so limited on this side of the ocean, that I have to be on time otherwise, it is a no-show. At this point of my preparation, I cannot allow myself to miss a single training. So...

Wishing everyone a strong week!

It is for real!

I started my preparation for the Belgian Fed Cup at the end of June this year. I had just came back from vacation during which I enjoyed the best of the Brazilian food. Even though I went regularly to the gym, the damage was done.

Before I could really fix my mind on the contest though, I had a check-up and only last week I could finally say for sure "I'm in!".

So now I am 7 weeks away from my very first contest and I am trying to do put together my checklist. It is not that simple, even though there is a lot of help here and there on the internet. I am playing sponge, trying to acquire as much knowledge as possible, but it does not make things that simple either.

Until now, the things I could think of are:

• suit
• shoes
• tanning
• nails
• hair
• make-up
• posing (!!!)

I am sure that I am going to get things done on time, but I wish I were not so "late" for putting it all together. But I guess that it happens to the best of us, (or) doesn't it?!?

To keep my mind cool, I am training and dieting harder than ever. My body has to be ready! That is my main focus now. I might even fail due to the lack of organization, but my shape will not be to blame.

It is possible that I am setting too high standards. Thinking about the few contests in Belgium (if there is any other than the Fed Cup...) and the lack of interest (and TONS of misunderstanding) about body building, I may be going to hard on myself. Still, I will always work for the best and my role models in my category (Nathalia Melo, India Paulino, Jamie Baird, Amanda Latona etc) remain as my ultimate goal anyways.

This week, I will be sending out my papers. Let's see how things go...

Fingers crossed!