Tuesday, May 1, 2012

18 days and counting! Changes are key...

  It is crazy to think that it's less than 3 weeks until stepping on stage for my first ever Men's Physique competition at the Western Canadians in Kelowna!  When you are able to look at the time remaining in days rather than weeks, it really starts to get real.  This past week for me has been a lot about staying focused on training hard, eating clean and remembering to change things up a little where I can.  I'll explain what I mean by this as I continue.

  I have been very good at keeping my training focused and fresh, mostly due to training with Dean Brandt, as he definitely likes to change up his training sessions.  I have maintained this mind-set when I train with Grace on the other 4 days of the week we are not with Dean and Leigh.  One area of my training I found I was neglecting to make adjustments with, was in regard to my morning cardio sessions.  I realized that I was getting into a routine of hitting the gym at 6:00am and heading straight to the same treadmill and did basically the same cardio workout every morning.  While I was good at pushing myself with these cardio sessions, I found even though it was at a good intensity, it was becoming too routine.  Grace suggested I switch things up one morning and I made the move to the "Stepper".  Wow, was that ever a good idea!  I found I was targeting very different muscles and allowed myself to see a change of scenery.  Now, while I am still doing 6:00am cardio sessions every morning with Grace, I am very conscious to ensure I am keeping these from becoming routine and I am looking for different ways of hitting cardio, to maximize the benefits to my body.


  Another way I am keeping an eye on changing things up, is with my meal plan (I am not a fan of the reference to "diet", as this is my lifestyle choice for eating and not just a short-term plan to eat better).  Grace and I are staying true to our meal plan with the kinds of food we are eating, based on a strict competition meal plan.  We don't believe though, that following this type of meal plan needs to be boring, or lacking in flavour.  We are constantly looking for ways to make small adjustments to recipes, to keep our eating totally clean, but adding taste and enjoyment to our meals.  With some of the no/low sodium and no sugar seasonings we've found, we have been able to create some amazing food, that feels almost as if we are "cheating" on our meal plan, but we're not!  Thanks to Leigh for the recommendation for a great new way to enjoy egg whites (nobody believes that it tastes good, until they actually try it).  We have started making our egg whites into a shake once a day, blended with ice, spinach, cinnamon and no sugar caramel syrup (not sure this is exactly Leigh's recipe, but it works).  As we are getting closer to the competition, we are cutting sweeteners from our meal plan.  Since I am still having half a banana pre and post workout, I blended this into my egg whites shake yesterday and it was amazing, plus it gave me a good boost for a heavy leg workout.


  Yet again, this is where I made a change.  As you can see from the next picture below, I usually have a standard plan for my pre-workout nutrition (which I do plan to stick with for the most part).  It has a good balance of carbs and protein my body needs to prepare for a workout.  I like to have a protein shake of PVL Iso Gold, half a banana and 2-3 plain rice cakes.  Of course right before my workout, I have a Ripped Freak (or Super Freak) pre-workout drink.  One thing you don't see in the picture is that in my water bottle during my weight training, I add a scoop of Amino Freak to help get the Amino Acids back into my muscles.  

 

  Now, I am a person that has worked in restaurants all my life, so I truly understand the importance food plays in the lives of so many people.  I find the amount of comments and/or questions about what I eat are more and more all the time.  Some people don't understand how I could give up all of the "good" food that I am missing out on, while others admire that I am able to stay so strict to a clean eating lifestyle, but feel they could not have the will-power to stick with it.  I honestly don't feel that I am missing out on any food really.  Don't get me wrong, I still do have cravings now and then, but I find I am able to handle it and steer myself in the right direction.  One thing I do find is able to keep me on the right path, is allowing myself one meal each week that is not in my normal meal plan (of course this is cut out when I am this close to competition).  I call this a "reward meal" as apposed to the common referred to term of a "cheat meal".  This just has a much more positive tone to it and I really don't over do it when I have this meal.  Please note one key element to this pattern though, is I say "one meal" and I mean it.  Many times people will over do it and then turn it into a "cheat day" or even a "cheat weekend".  This is definitely a way to fall off track easily.

  One thing I do look forward to, once competitions (yes, I did mean that to be plural) are finished, is to work with Grace on reinventing some of the traditionally unhealthy treats into healthier versions.  We are excited to share some new recipes and ideas to help others to stay on track, or even to get started, with living a lifestyle that involves healthier eating.
  As for the rest of this week, things are looking busier than ever.  With a busy work week ahead, paired up with heavy training and tightening up my meal planning, I can foresee some hectic days ahead.  I am so fortunate that I have Grace to be my support through not only this competition prep, but every day of my life.  She really does keep me focused and allows me to keep my eyes on the prize!  Thank you Grace!  I also want to say thank you to all of my family, friends and co-workers, especially Dean and Leigh of Body by Brandt that support me through all of this as well.  I have to send a thanks out to fellow TeamRippedFreak member Tim Roberts, as even though he is in California, still helps me with questions and motivation during this first prep process.

  Until next time, have great week and keep looking for ways to improve your overall wellness in all you do!

Take care,

Andrew Bukowsky
#Ripped365
#TeamRippedFreak

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