Catching up with A&J

A:

Another week has passed by, which means I'm one week closer to my competition! Many nights this week were spent filling out forms and setting up appointments for my competition. And boy oh boy does it all really add up. I might have slightly underestimated how much this will all cost but I know it will all be worth it when I step on stage. I have put my heart and soul into training and watching my eating, also just becoming more in tune with my body and how  I feel. That might sound crazy, but to be in tune with yourself is such a wonderful thing. I constantly say that this journey is as much of an emotional one as it is physical. To put trust in the process, to put in the effort day after day even if you don't see changes and to have the self control to stick to your meal plans- these things can really get to you if you let them. So to feel more in tune with myself this week makes me happy and it sets me in the right frame of mind to continue moving forward with prep in a healthy way. I think the gym this week has really helped. Two friends and I had gym dates at least 3 morning this week- and one workout was followed by a protein pancake party! They have really helped to keep my spirits up and get into the right state of mind. On another note, the Arnold Expo is in 3 days! I have been looking forward to this for months! So stay tuned for posts, updates and pictures of the expo!

J:

So this week has been full of excitements, firsts, and accomplishments. Excitement came to me in the form of having a few training sessions with my friends. I was more than eager to go to the gym and help them out by giving them a few tips and helping them get the most out of their workouts. My first this week was trying out protein pancakes!! I took Arlene's protein waffle recipe and tweaked it a little and cooked up some super yummy strawberry protein pancakes. I'm definitely going to be making those a lot more in the future! Also I discovered that adding a dash of cinnamon powder to the batter is AMAZING. Finally my accomplishment was in running. Anyone who has met me knows that I absolutely loathe running. Even that is an understatement, but running five 5k's this year was one of the New Year's goals that I set for myself so I've been trying to run 5k every week. Well this week I managed to run 5.5 miles in 45 minutes meaning that I finally got my mile under the 8 minute average!! I was so ecstatic about that. With all the positive energy from this week I cannot wait to see what this next week will bring us!