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Cross Fit

I’ve been competing for 12 years, 8 years as a professional. One of the challenges is that I get bored with training if I don’t change things up. I can’t be random about it though.  I have to pick activities/sports that will directly impact my physique and athleticism so that I can produce my desired results. In 2005, I started running to bring my legs down and started running marathons.  I don’t recommend running for everybody as a means to bring the legs down.  I had very muscular and developed legs that had little body fat. I needed to lose the muscle off my legs, not necessarily the fat.  So, if you do not have Iegs that are well developed with muscle, you may want to consider training your legs and letting the cardio and diet take the fat off.  I began my Olympia preps officially in June.  I started doing Cross Fit because it was so similar to how I train as a Fitness competitor. Cross Fit workouts incorporate explosive lifting, plyometrics, bodyweight exercises like squats, push up and pull ups. It increases muscular endurance, stamina, anaerobic conditioning and core work. The workouts are short but high intensity and definitely got my body in shape both aesthetically and conditioning-wise for my routines. Cross Fit worked out great for me because I already have a solid base of muscle on my body and just needed to get a little harder and present that tight, athletic look. For beginners, I would recommend a basic bodybuilding program. I got my legs and great shoulders from all my years of doing heavy squats, lunges and shoulder presses. So, if you are a new Bikini or Figure competitor who needs to put on muscle to develop your physique, do not bypass the basics of bodybuilding…it is the foundation and staple of our sport.

I train at King Cross Fit in Renton (www.kingcrossfit.com).  I love these guys that run this box (a term used in cross fit to describe the training facility). They’re like the Filipino mafia except they’re totally cool and would never whack anybody! LOL! They will put you through a grueling workout though, and  they pay attention to form to make sure everyone is doing right. At 16 weeks out, my workouts usually included a cross fit workout (less than 30min) or an hour of gymnastics coupled with an hour of high intensity  cardio. So, my initial output was only 90min a day. I did cross fit about 3-4x a week. If you are curious about what kinds of workouts I did, just go to www.kingcrossfit.com and check out their WODS (workout of the day) They post the WOD and blog every day. You can even see pictures and videos of some of the training. Its very intimidating at first, but you will get used to the intensity.  People think I’m crazy because I train at high intensity in almost everything I do. The key is to do it consistently and break through the wall (the point where you think you’re going to die and convince yourself that you are never doing this again and are ready to quit) and PUSH through it and show up to do it AGAIN! This can be running, plyometrics, cross fit, doing a fitness routine full out, reaching failure in your muscles when you train,  etc. If you always give up when it gets hard, you’ll never move up to the next level of athleticism. JUST DO IT….seriously, leave FEAR at home and get it done. Then you can brag about it the next day and go back for Round 2 so you can maintain that rep of yours! J This is how I hold myself accountable. Whether it be a long run (6-8 miles), a routine practice on low calories, a boot camp or a cross fit workout, I try to go into the workout with a mentality of “Im about to kill this workout”. As Im getting beat up by the road, the gymnastics floor or my coaches at Cross Fit, I just keep reminding myself that Im a bad-azz and I focus on maintaining that rep throughout the work out. It works for me. They call it positive thinking .  You ARE what you BELIEVE you are….

The next few blogs will discuss my journey to the 2009 Olympia stage. It will cover all aspects of my preps from my training, my spiritual connection with God, my diet, my schedule and my recovery regime.

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