CANADIAN PHYSIQUE ALLIANCE FEBRUARY 2019 | Page 93

Now in my life where competing is no
longer the goal, I still eat clean "indulging"
on weekends as I don't like to call it
cheating. I still do the same weight training
program that I did as a competitor but my
cardio has been reduced to 2 to 3 times a
week. The results I've found even as I get
older is that I stay leaner now!
Personally I've spent the majority of my adult life
competing which meant at the time a training
regime that included cardio training 5 to 7 days a
week for 35 to 60 minutes a day. Weight training
on a four day body split cycle while also having to
practice my fitness routines as each show
approached.
The contest dieting required 5 to 6 clean meals a
day, consisting of 25 to-30 grams of protein in
each meal combined with healthy fats and starchy
carbs in the first two meals of the day and the post
workout meal. The rest of the meals had a fibre
and vegetable concentration. My daily calorie total
would be around 2000 calories and I would get
lean on that!
Why? It goes right back to my opening
statement. Looking back on my
competition days I now believe that I was
over training. I have a high metabolism so
all that extra cardio actually burned the
muscle I was trying to gain! I was actually
working against myself. The extra cardio
will also increase your appetite so you
tend to want to eat more. That's when I
think a lot of competitors fall off the
wagon. It's a fine line of what your body
needs, so learn to work with it not against
it.
Being a mother is the best thing in the
world. Having my son Morgan just shy of
my 40th birthday and losing my parents
during the same time frame opened my
eyes to the frailty and beauty of life. I love
to work out but my family and my full-time
job are my priority, so time management is
very important...which unfortunately my
biggest weakness...LOL! It forced me to
cut back on my workouts and ironically
turned out be a positive learning
experience for my training results
Trust me if you are one of those people
that do long cardio segments 5 to 7 days
combining it with long weight training
sessions and go on these crazy extreme
diets...STOP!! Concentrating on your
weight training combined with a protein
diet with all the other clean carbs and fats
is what will work! Nutrition is the key; don't
burn off that hard earned muscle!
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