After 12 weeks of prep, I’m now counting down the final few days. Peak week is mostly about relaxing and allowing your body to recover. Upper body circuit workouts happen on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday to keep the blood flowing and fully deplete the glycogen stores in the cells. We don’t train legs for about a week before the competition to avoid any inflammation, water retention, or muscle soreness. A big thanks to my fellow instructors who covered my classes for the last 2 weeks – it’s been a huge help in allowing me to relax and have some extra time to cook and prepare through the week.

In keeping with how the last five weeks have gone, this peak week is unlike any other prep I’ve done. We cycled carbs early in the week, dropping them low to fully deplete my body, and then started loading them to fill my muscles back out again. The low carb days hit me hard and I was exhausted (seriously, why do people go low carb??). The most frustrating part of this week has been watching Kyle train as we usually do together, while I do circuits or sit at home. LOL. I can’t even describe how much I’m looking forward to getting back into our normal routine again!

Typically, competitors always post a big “thank you” message following the competition, but I like the idea of sitting down now and doing it. The event hasn’t happened yet, I don’t know how it’ll play out, but that doesn’t matter. What matters to me is that everyone who helped me, knows how much it’s appreciated. Prepping is HARD, there’s no other way to describe it. It’s a mental game you play with yourself, analyzing and over-analyzing your physique – sometimes loving it, often frustrated with it. There’s a lot of sweat, tears, and quite a few meltdowns that go into the final product. Sometimes I would go to the gym feeling like complete crap, and simply having a conversation with someone could snap me out of it. I truly feel so lucky to have gotten to know so many great members at GoodLife – you don’t know how much of an impact your contact might have had on me on a given day.

Additionally, everyone on social media – from Instagram, to FaceBook, and those who read this blog – THANK YOU. Even if we’ve never actually had written contact, or physically met, your support through comments, “likes”, or simply reading means a lot and motivates me to continue. Personally, I follow a lot of people I’ve never made contact with, but their posts can make a difference in my day. I only hope that I can do the same for someone. If I can help one person start a new goal, or continue towards one, I’m so happy.

I definitely couldn’t have done this without my direct support system – my coach, teammates, friends, and family. I’ve been with RichBody for one year now, and I’m happy that things worked out the way they did. I have a coach who truly cares about me, my health, and my outcomes. There are so many horror stories of bad prep coaches doing damage to their athletes, and that’s never been a concern of mine. Kyle and I always look forward to our Saturday nights with the team, whether it involves food or not. Being surrounded by people who understand and appreciate what you’re going through makes all the difference! In the last few weeks of prep, your life pretty much revolves around training, food, sleep, and work. There’s barely enough time in a day to relax, so your social life takes a hit. Thank you to my friends who (I hope) understand that I’ve only temporarily disappeared. And, while we might not talk frequently, thank you to my family who always want the best for me and support me in my decisions.

Last, but definitely not least, Kyle. It’s an amazing feeling to get to do exactly what you love to do with the person that means the most to you. Living this lifestyle as a couple makes it much more enjoyable – and possible! Kyle helps immensely with cooking and packing food to make sure we both stay on track when schedules get busy. We train together every single day, and I can’t imagine going through this process without him.

So, THANK YOU to everyone.  All your encouragement, well wishes, and basic interest in our progress has meant more to me than you’ll ever know. You really do motivate me, and I hope I make you all proud!

And now, I’ve got to finish packing, get on the road, and finish off the process. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend – enjoy your days off, do something fun ,and know that I’m truly thinking and thanking all of you this weekend. Pics will be posted via IG and FaceBook throughout, and I’ll do a recap next week. As mentioned in my previous post, I made this amazing dessert for afterwards! It’ll be a toss up between this and a handful of other desserts my friends have made!

Told you it would happen!

XOXO