~4 weeks out~

Today is exactly 4 weeks out from my Figure stage Debut! Sooo excited, & I was able to fall in love with the sport all over again yesterday! This has been quiet the process of ups and downs. I have learned so much about myself these past 8 weeks, and I am happy to say my self discipline, control, stamina, endurance, and mental power have all been put to the test, and I have grown a better person overall from this!

Falling in love with this sport all over again happened yesterday. I have been training a lot at work and it has been making it feel more like a job, rather than a hobby I love. I was able to go workout in Racine last night, my home town, and it brought back the memories of why I started doing this and where I want to go with it! I remember first stepping foot into World Gym and feeling so lost....wow, I have come a long way~!

TIP to all Woman: Do not be afraid to ask questions, and DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE WEIGHTS!!! They can change your physique is more ways than you may think!

I trained legs at Xperience Fitness in Racine, WI yesterday afternoon. After a full week of sore legs, I don't know how, but I pulled out a FANTASTIC leg DAY!! I absolutely love training legs, I can focus so well on the individual muscles in my legs. My mind to muscle connection with my legs is off the charts! I was able to walk in the gym, with no written plan and do what my body told me to do. I don't always recommend doing this, I usually have a plan and a workout written, but sometimes you just need to listen to what the muscles want. It turned into almost a 2hr workout, and I felt fantastic! I only have 2 more weeks with leg training, so I am going to thoroughly enjoy my last few leg days.

After seeing my coach in the morning, I was able to have steak last night!! Yummmm!!!! It was probably my last and only my 2nd cheat meal, and I enjoyed every second if it! Feeling full and rested today I am going to get in another great workout.

"Staying Determined, Focused, and on the road to Victory"

Train Hard!

xo,

Nina



Home Stretch! Becoming an Athlete Part 2

5 weeks out!
Photo shoot Done!

Becoming An Athlete Part 2~

I am leading up to the home stretch now, with just 5 weeks to go! :) Minor changes for this week, I dropped 1-35min cardio session! Whooo hooo!! Thats spectacular for a girl who HATES doing cardio! I have also reset my training schedule to Monday-Saturday, with Sunday now being my rest day. This began today, and boy ohh boy am I tired! I work 10-7pm Mondays and Tuesdays, so that means I wake up at 6:30am to get my am fasting cardio in, then eat breakfast, and on too lifting by 9am. Everything is scheduled and timed out! I eat about every 2-3 hours too keep my metabolism burning! Then, I don't leave for my "lunch break"- I stay at work and get my Round 2 of cardio in! Today it was HIIT Training, which I am finally really beginning to enjoy!

HIIT Training stands for High Intensity Interval Training. It's meant to help get your heart rate up, increase endurance & stamina, and blast away that FAT! It works something fierce too!! When I first began, my first 2 wks of HIIT training, I was literally punching the treadmill, and may have shed a few tears....It isn't meant for the weak hearted, I pushed through it week by week, seeing spectacular results and ultimately beginning to LOVE it!

Our Photo shoot was a ton of fun! Nate looked great, and is actually a really good coach for photography! I cannot wait to see and share our photos with you! We have both been dieting and working really hard on our physiques for this! I hope to inspire others with what I am doing, and get more and more people active! In today's world its way to easy to sit on the couch and become sedentary, I want to get people moving any way possible! Before I got into Figure, I used to do a lot of at home workouts. I was hooked on Bodyrock.tv for awhile, and those workouts helped me train for my 1/2 marathon I completed in December 2010. Check out Bodyrock.tv if you need to get some at home advice/inspiration!

Over half way!

I have made it OVER HALF WAY now!! I began posing practice last weekend, and couldn't be happier with my physique! It has taken its ups and downs the past 6 1/2 weeks, but all the hard work is totally paying off!

Cravings have diminished, energy and motivation are up, and I have been feeling strong again! Work outs are still the same, no major changes in that. Still hitting the gym 6 days a week 2-3hrs a day! The biggest difference is I think my body has finally accepted the punishment! I am still constantly sore, but the pain has proven it works!

We (Nate&I) are getting ready for our first photo shoot this weekend! Nate's has also been dieting the past few weeks with me.(He is made for this sport, it doesn't really bother him at all, and he leans up so quickly, it isn't fair! lol)

Our photo shoot will be at the gym I currently work at, Nova Gyms LLC., in Oak Creek. I can't wait to share our photos with you! I am so excited to get all beautified! Getting hair cut and colored tomorrow, and nails done! Finally, something to show off this work! :)

Show is coming up quick now, only 5 weeks left and still a lot to be done! I have yet to register for it- I cant wait to find out how many girls will be competing! I plan to compete in the Novice and the Figure Open divisions! So hopefully I'll be bringing home some trophies! Need to book our hotel as well!
I have my suit ordered, but hasn't come in yet, I hope it gets here soon, I want to be able to practice posing in it!!!

Well thats all for now! I will keep you all updated and post pictured from our shoot soon!

xo

Pain of Discipline

Forgot to Post this:)


"Suffer the pain of Discipline, or suffer the pain of Defeat."

This is my quote of the week!!!!!! Discipline is painful, but I don't want to feel the pain of Defeat!

I am in week 7 of my prep, and let me tell ya, I can't wait until these next 6 1/2 weeks are over!! I have been dealing with some depression this week....When you work full time, are training 2.5hrs a day, and eating the same thing day in and day out-it gets overwhelming, and boring! I found it hard to find the fun in it all this week....then I thought of the quote above, and remembered, if it were easy anyone would do it! Well I am not just anyone, I am Nina! Nate Olsen's fiance, a role model, determined, smart, healthy, and happy! I have been working for this moment for the past year and a half! I cannot throw in the towel now! I have to keep pushing hard, give this everything I have, and step on that stage knowing I gave this my all!!!!! Yes, I could totally go for some delicious ice cream, or chocolate, anything sweet- but I will not cave to temptation, I will stand strong and overcome this!

8 Weeks Out

Week 4 was terrific! My body is finally accepting the pain and discipline I am putting it through!
I wasn't nearly as tired as I have been, although I have upped my fat burner, and caffeine intake a little, it had to happen~ I was falling asleep at work, and becoming sorta bitchy.

I have already lost 10#, and about 7inches all around! Looking leaner every week!

This week I didn't have to do my cardio on Wednesday, so that also helped a ton with my increased energy! Also, by not having to do cardio for one day I was able to put all my focus into my Leg workout! I really enjoy lifting heavy, and I haven't been able to with my lack of energy and strength diminishing. I was able to go a little heavier than in the past three weeks, and I cannot even begin to explain the feeling of being strong gives me! I LOVE IT! My Leg workout this week consisted of the following:

• 4x20 walking weighted lunges
• 3x12-15 seated leg extension
• 4x15 deep squats
• 4x12 front squats
• 4x15 lying leg curls (super set)
• 4x20-25 hip abductors
• 3x15 straight leg dead lifts(super set)
• 3x15 single leg cable kickbacks
• 2x15 seated calf raises

It was such a great workout, my legs were definitely growing this week! I was also able to workout w/ my friend Lauren this week, which was great, because my workouts are usually pretty lonely. Not too many girls like to lift like I do, and my schedule is so chaotic I never have any workout partners. It was nice and fun to hit the weights with a friend! It keeps it fun and interesting~!

Overall I am very happy with how I am leaning up and looking, and so is my coach! We have some minor modifications to my diet starting for week 5, just adding more food, and less artificals(protein shakes,etc). I am excited to eat more, because my metabolism is fired up! I am constantly hungry, and my diet is very scheduled, and no cheating allowed! So hopefully by adding lean meats instead of a protein shake will help ward off hunger a little more now!

3wks DOWN & 9wks to GO!

3 weeks down, and 9 to GO!!! So excited I'm 1/4 of the way done! This past week again, wasn't easy....

I almost fell asleep at work, I've gone through some serious mood swings and craving, but overall my training is going FANTASTIC!! I have been killing it in the gym!! Defiantly not as strong as I used to be, but getting such a good pump in with the weights!!! "Its not about how much you lift, its about how you lift it!"

For the past 3 weeks, I have been training about 2.5-3hrs a day, its usually split into two or 3 workouts, depending on my schedule and what I can make work.... I always make sure I have plenty of time to get a great lift in, then my cardio fits in when it works. My cardio routines are finally starting to get easier!! My endurance and stamina are finally in full gear! Took me 3 weeks to get there, my coach said it would get better after a week, not for me! lol! Just finally happy my cardio isn't so dreadful now! :)

I took this Saturday off work to catch up on life; and boy am I glad I did so!! Cooking, training, grocery shopping, and working takes up my entire week! I have like 3 weeks of laundry and cleaning to catch up on, and not to mention, just time for some serious TLC!

We Finally received out 6pak Fitness bags last night too!! So excited to FINALLY have these, I ordered them back in March!!!! For those who don't know what 6paks are; they are a meal management system. I purchased the 2 large bags for me and my fiance. They are so nice, and so excited to put it too use!~

Becoming an Athlete: Stage 1

So here I am, finally in prep for my first figure competition, and on the road to finally becoming a Figure Athlete!

I am currently 2 weeks into my prep, and let me tell you, this sh*t isn't easy!!!!!! This is by far the hardest I have ever trained in my entire life! I promise you I will be bringing me A-game Figure to the Stage in July!!!! I cant wait to show off what this body & mind can do!

The first week was crazy! Trying to get on a strick schedule with training, work, eating and cooking, and school was tough!! I was training 3x a day, and eating every 2 1/2 hours... I thought the hardest part was going to be the dieting, ohh was I wrong! My workouts have kicked my ass, and they keep getting harder, I can now sprint on the treadmill at an 8 speed! I went from doing absolutely NO cardio what-so-ever to crazy ass intense cardio sessions! Talk about whipping someone into the best shape of there life, that's what I am doing! My fiance has been the best support ever, I don't know how I would have gotten myself through my cardio sessions without him! He stood on the side of that treadmill until I was finished, pushed, motivated, and helped me get through every grueling minute of it!! I will bee 100% honest, I HATE CARDIO, but it is what has to be done, so I will embrace the pain for the glory!

The first week of dieting went great! Eating clean and scheduled isn't as hard as I had expected, yes I get cravings, and its a boring diet, but being lean is so worth it! I am becoming a better cook, experimenting with different spices to add a little flavor to my meals has had its good and bad experiences, some delicious, some terrible, either way I have to get the food in. I just think; Food is my fuel, not my friend. Some days are harder to gag things down than others, but again its fuel!!!

This is just as much of a Mental game as it is a Physical game.... Pushing myself to these limits has really played games with my head, leading me to think things like, "I don't think I can do this" or "This is just too hard for me", "I must just not be an athlete" and "I cant do this" are all things I hate to hear, and cant believe I was saying, once the words came out, I instantly knew I had to prove myself wrong and Just Do It! I will complain, but I will also push myself to tears if I have too (which I did 3times in the last 2 weeks, my legs hurt so bad I had to skip class one day!) this is what it takes, and this is what I am willing to do and give up to get there!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two weeks and about 9# down already! I can already see the changes I have made in my physic, I have finally entered the next stage of my fitness level, and it feels amazing~ Nina