NEXT

After a successful year of prep and an amazing experience at the national level NPC USAs in Las Vegas, I am back to the grind and planning out the next step in my fitness journey. I have decided to prep for my next show, Texas State in Houston October 12th. I will be 8 weeks out starting Sunday. I am very excited to step on stage again so soon and also experience the show. I hear wonderful things about it.

Here are a collection of my favorite pictures from Las Vegas.

Second call outs for my first national show. I placed 14th out of 35 girls in my class. I learned so much and I am determined to work hard all "off season" to bring an even better package next year.

 

With my amazing coach Kim Oddo and the always fabulous Amanda Latona.

 

Enjoying my workout in the hotel gym.

 

My husband and I celebrated at The Wynn buffet. I sampled quite a few tasty treats.

 

It was a wonderful experience and I am excited to get back to work at improving my physique for the national stage next year. I will never give up on my dream of becoming a IFBB pro.

 

 

I am also thrilled to announce that I will be representing the amazing company ABOUT TIME at the fitness expo in Dallas this weekend. I have been using the product for a couple of years and have always been attracted to the purity of the product. Stop by the booth if you are attending and come say hi and sample their great products!!

 

 



 

 

 

 

-FitWhitt

 

 

Work It Out - Backwards Hack Squat

I love preforming squats on this machine because I can get nice and low with a decent amount of weight and not have to worry about loosing proper form. This move is focuses on glute, ham and quad development. Go low and squeeze your glutes at the top of the movement.

 

 

 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=841125227326&l=3045383551343694553

 

Parallel Squat on Leg Thrust Machine

1. You can either use a true leg thrust machine, or if your gym does not have one, you can do the exercise by facing into the back pad of a hack squat machine. It is a good idea to warm your knees up with a few minutes of stationary cycling and stretching before beginning the exercise.
2. Place your feet about shoulder-width apart on the angled platform. If you want more emphasis on the vastus medialis— the medially located muscle of the quadriceps— you can move your feet closer together. Position your shoulders/clavicles into the shoulder pads. Grip the handles by the shoulder pads for additional upper body support.
3. Keep your head up and tighten your back. Extend (straighten) your knees to lift the weight stack and to move the safety bar out of the way. Make sure you have full control of the weight.
4. Control the weight as you lower your buttocks towards the floor by allowing your knees to flex. Continue squatting downward until the tops of your thighs are parallel to the platform (not the floor) or when your knee angle has reached 90 degrees.
5. After you have reached the parallel position at the bottom, stand up in a smooth and explosive manner. Stop just short of fully locking the knees out straight. This will maintain the tension on the thigh and hip muscles. Keep your back tight and your head up both on the way up and on the way down in subsequent repetitions.
- Source

Get It!
- FitWhitt

FitWhitt.com Presents - What's in Yo Gym Bag?

ALWAYS check with a physician before adding supplements into your workout plan.

Cellucor C4 Extreme - Creatine as a pre workout supplement
Creatine is a nitrogenous organic acid. It helps supply energy to all cells, primarily muscle cells. It achieves this by increasing the formation of ATP. Creatine is naturally occurring in our skeletal muscle but originates from mostly the meat we eat. Since I am a pescatarian, research shows significant decreases in the amount of creatine in vegetarians, using creatine is very helpful. The good news is that research also demonstrated comparable creatine levels between meat eaters and non meat eaters when veggies took it as a supplement. Creatine has been proven to help with short, high intensity workout duration over long endurance duration.  If you want fast and explosive lifts, it works great. Research also shows that it helps in gaining significant muscle mass and strength in skeletal muscle tissue. Creatine can cause dehydration so make sure you drink plenty of water with it. There are alot of rumors out there about the pros and cons of creatine. This article helps clear some common myths up.

 The result is a highly absorbable creatine that simultaneously increases Nitric Oxide and ATP levels within the body.* Creatine nitrate is a highly efficient vasodilator, opening up the blood pathways into the muscles promoting optimal nutrient deliver and muscle pumps.*
Creatine Nitrate also enhances intestinal absorption while decreasing intestinal distress (once a common concern of creatine supplementation).* The compound increases permeation of the intestinal wall, reducing compound breakdown thus augmenting absorption.*

MusclePharm Amino1 - Branch chain amino acids and recovery
Branch chain amino acids help promote protein synthesis, preserving lean muscle mass and preventing catabolism. Branch chain amino acids contain 3 of the essential amino acids our bodies need. These 3: L-leucine, L-isoleucine and L-valine all play a crucial role in muscle development because they are metabolized in the muscle and not the liver. This allows the muscles to use them to help build muscle. Since they are absorbed directly into the muscle tissue they help with strength, power, faster recovery, promote muscle building and energy levels. Taking them before, during and after a workout helps feed the muscle when they need it most. Vegetarians especially benefit due to a restricted diet and source of essential aminos not coming from a meat source.

- Smith Machine pad

- Extra workout clothes

- Weight belt - Why wear a weight belt?
Some theories state that if you wear a weight lifting belt, you will be able to keep your waist small because you will not be contracting and developing the obliques when lifting. This prevents a "blocky" shape to your abs.

- Shower bag/shoes

- Iphone case

- Heart rate monitor - FT40

- Extra hair ties

- Fat-Fader lotion
Fat-fader is a lotion that contains aminophylline. It has been proven to reduce the appearance of cellulite by shrinking the cells to give the skin a slimmer and leaner look.

- Workout plan - train with Team Bombshell

- Workout Gloves (Not Shown)

- Glutamine (Not Shown)

REST

I have been a victim of this before. Perhaps even encouraged it for others in the past, unknowingly. As I gear up for another prep, I wanted to address this issue to the best of my ability. As I was studying today, I was reviewing the importance of hormones and the role they play in exercise. Here is the scenario. You are working out 6 days a week, sometimes twice a day. Your diet is on point; high protein and low carbs. For some reason though, the scale is not moving. You have also noticed that you are cranky, depressed, can't sleep and on edge. So what do you do? You hit the gym harder and train longer and cut your calories more so that you can begin to see the results you have been working so hard for. What is the culprit for your stalled progress and horrible mood? Overtraining.

Overtraining is defined as an accumulation of training and or non-training stress resulting in long-term decrease in performance capacity. You become counterproductive in all your work. You wreck havoc on your adrenal glands and through your body into a hormonal imbalance.
So what can you do? REST (Take a cue from these puppies and do what they do. Growing is hard work.)

Realize that it takes time to make lifelong changes to your body. Keep your workouts intense but not too long. Remember that most gains occur during rest. Incorporate periodization into your schedule. Schedule easier training periods leading up to more intense training times. Make sure you are following an adequate nutrition plan to keep up with your strenuous workouts.

I am writing this because I have already been guilty of overtraining since I started my prep this round. I was so excited to begin improving that I was willing to put 100% everything into it all 24/7 if I had to. Although this is a great attitude to have, it is not what the body needs. This past week I was determined to do two a day workouts 6 days a week. I have made great gains physically. But in the long term is this the best way to treat my body to get long lasting results? This week I am going to be doing only one cardio session a day for 6 days. I plan to increase my cardio to two a days in February, 6 weeks out from my next show. I know that even though I want results now, it will be better for my body and health to take my time getting there the next few months. I want to compete all year long, through August, and need to be kind to my body to keep my hormones in control and prevent injuries.
I also have decided to train more on the weekends and allow Thursday to be my complete rest day. I have made such amazing gains the past two weeks. I have 8 more weeks to improve my physique and be in tip top shape. I may end up including an additional day of rest as the show approaches. This would allow for an increase in intensity as I get closer to the show date. I also plan to incorporate yoga in my practice starting next week. Stay tuned for why I have chosen to do this.

REST!
- FitWhitt



Other articles on the subject.
Not Recovering?  Novice trainer trap

I've got a feeling

What can feel better than that feeling?

That feeling of knowing even after a long day, you dragged yourself to the gym and finished your workout. That feeling of sweat burning your eyes. That feeling of seeing the puddle begin to form under your feet. That feeling of knowing you are making yourself stronger with each second. That feeling of seeing your veins grow as you lift that heavier weight than yesterday. That feeling of knowing you are stronger than you once were. That feeling of being know you put in the work, not just talk about it. That feeling of pride and accomplishment that you were stronger than your cravings. That feeling of getting complete control over your mind and telling it to SHUT UP because you have work to do. That feeling of knowing you have turned your body into a fat burning machine and the harder you push, the more it goes away. That feeling of others looking at you during your workout and you know they are thinking, "wow, she knows how to work!" That feeling of accomplishment, of breaking your normal and creating new normals.

Today, do it for that feeling.

I am going to imagine my abs getting this tight during each rep, each push today. I will have abs like these one day, and I will get that feeling.

Now, GO GET IT!!!

- Whittney C.