So this is my journey to the 2009 NPC Oregon State Show. I'll be keeping track of everything from what I eat to how often I'm tanning. I'm still fresh to the figure scene. I have only competed in two shows back in October of 2008.

I've been asked why I compete and I'd like to put it this way. After being a hefty 235 pounds I needed a goal. When I made the decision to compete it gave me a deadline to work towards... and also the threat of being in a bikini and heels in front of strangers and family.

Knowing that I had to be in the best shape possible come show time helped me keep my focus. Taking measurements, photos, and tracking my diet and workout also helped me stay on track. (The occasional cheat meal helped too!)

Click Image To Enlarge.
Before: 235 Pounds - After: 143 Pounds.
View Tiffany Forni's Transformation Of The Week Here.

My first two shows were great. I took third place in Figure Tall at the 2008 NPC Seven Feathers show in Oregon, and a week later first place Figure Tall in the 2008 NPC Northwest Bodybuilding and Figure Championships.

Throughout my transformation and leading up to the show I began modeling. Naturally after having all of this good stuff happen to me I wanted to do it again!

So this year I have my sights set on the 2009 NPC Oregon State Championships. I will be competing in figure again and going for a leaner look and trying to balance things out with some new tata's and a bit more muscle on my shoulders.

Click Image To Enlarge.
Naturally After Having All Of This Good
Stuff Happen To Me I Wanted To Do It Again!

I'll arrange this article as follows:

• My Off Season
• Speed Bumps
• Diet
• Training
• Cardio
• Supplements
• Posing
• Tanning
• Random
• Motivation Tips & Goals

If you're thinking about competing, this series may be helpful for you. I'll be writing every couple weeks to give you an update. Good luck to everyone! Here goes!

RELATED BODYGROUP

Tiffany Forni's 2009 Contest Prep! Follow me go through me 12 week contest prep to the 2009 NPC Oregon State Championships... and hey, join in too! Get all the details, diets, workouts, supplementation, and even some bits of motivation too! [ Click here to join this BodyGroup ] [ Click here to start your own BodyGroup ]

My Off Season

As of this week I am around 170 pounds. "Holy crap Tiff, how'd you get so fat?" you might say. But I'll come back with something witty like "I'm not fat. I'm in a bulking phase." Which would actually be true, for the most part.

As far as body composition goes I have put on about 10 pounds of muscle since my shows in October and have accrued a bit of fluffiness on top of that. (I'm at 12% body fat as of about a month ago). It's just how it goes.

RELATED WALLPAPER

BodySpace Member Tiffany Forni! Transformation Of The Week! Week #146 - 1/06/2009 1600x1200 - 1280x1024 - 1152x864 - 1024x768 - 800x600 480x640 - 320x240 - 240x320 - 160x160 - 160x120 - 128x128

Very few people can add on a ton of muscle without adding on some fat too. (Ok ok, so I don't think I look that terribly fat, but compared to what I was for my competition, I feel a little on the hefty side.)

Speed Bumps

As soon as I finished my shows I was off to the doctor's to get some boobs. The recovery for that took me about a month and during that time it was practically impossible for me to stick to a diet and workout schedule.

I wasn't allowed to lift anything heavier than eight pounds for an entire month. It took about three months to start lifting again and after six months I'm finally able to lift heavier than I was before the surgery.

Click Image To Enlarge.
After Six Months I'm Finally Able To Lift
Heavier Than I Was Before The Surgery.

Diet

My diet was more like a contest diet than an actual off-season diet because I wasn't able to workout like normal. I wasn't even able to run for a few months. Apparently I refused to eat anything but macaroni and cheese and jello when I was on the pain meds. I stopped those as soon as possible.

As soon as I was able to I was back on ultra low carbs. Oatmeal in the morning and my post-workout shake were the only ones I was allowed. I still ate every two to three hours; meat and veggies. I kept the shakes to a minimum.

Meal 1:
• 1/4 cup oatmeal
• Splenda and cinnamon
• 6 egg whites
• 1 whole egg

Meal 2:

• 4 oz of lean meat
• 1 cup veggies
• 1/4 cup brown rice

Meal 3:

• Protein shake

Meal 4:

• 4 oz of lean meat
• 1 cup veggies
• 1/4 cup yam

Meal 5:

• Protein shake

Meal 6:

• 4 oz fish
• 2 cups salad
• 2 tablespoons dressing

Meal 7: Post-Workout

• Protein shake
• CytoSport Fast Twitch

Meal 8:

• 4 oz fish and salad

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Training

Since I've recovered from that I have been lifting heavy on my top half, trying to fail between 6 and 8 reps. My bottom half I keep the rep range between 15 and 20. I did cardio almost every day. At least one half hour, sometimes I'd do an hour.

Day 1: Legs
• Leg Extensions: 3 sets of 15-20 reps
• Leg Press: 3 sets of 15-20 reps
• Leg Curls: 3 sets of 15-20 reps
• Hack Squat: 3 sets of 15-20 reps

Superset:

• Dumbbell Lunges: 3 sets of 15-20 reps
• Dumbbell Step-Ups: 3 sets of 15-20 reps
• Hip Adductor: 3 sets of 15-20 reps
• Crunches: 2 sets of 50 reps

Click Here For A Printable Log Of Day 1: Legs.

Day 2: Shoulders & Biceps

• Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
• Bent-Over Lateral Raise: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
• Standing Lateral Raise: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
• Incline Bench Dumbbell Curls: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
• Cable Curls: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
• Single-Arm Preacher Curls: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
• Crunches: 2 sets of 50 reps

Click Here For A Printable Log Of Day 2: Shoulders & Biceps.

Day 3: Back & Triceps

• Seated Cable Rows: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
• Bent Over Barbell Rows: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
• Cable-Rope Triceps Pushdowns: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
• Triceps Kickbacks: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
• Skullcrushers: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
• Crunches: 2 sets of 50 reps

Click Here For A Printable Log Of Day 3: Back & Triceps.

Day 4: Chest

• Incline Dumbbell Press: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
• Dumbbell Flyes: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
• Butterfly: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
• Dips: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
• Crunches: 2 sets of 50 reps

Click Here For A Printable Log Of Day 4: Chest.

Day 5: Back & Calves

• Lat Pulldown: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
• Behind-Neck Lat Pulldown: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
• Seated Calf Raises: 3 sets of 30 reps
• Standing Calf Raises: 3 sets of 30 reps
• Crunches: 2 sets of 50 reps

Click Here For A Printable Log Of Day 5: Back & Calves.

Day 6 & 7: Rest

Cardio

Every day I do cardio, minimum 30 minutes medium intensity. No more than an hour at a time. I have recently moved up to doing two cardio sessions per day, one in the morning before eating (I do drink some SciVation Xtend before and during though) and then once after work or later in the evening after lifting.

Click Image To Enlarge.
Every Day I Do Cardio, Minimum
30 Minutes Medium Intensity.

Supplementation

Multivitamin: Universal Animal Pack
• Take one pack in the morning.

Vitamin C: NOW C-1000

• 1000mg with every meal.

Kre-Alkalyn: SciFit Kre-Alkalyn 1500

Acetyl-L-Carnitine: NOW Acetyl-L-Carnitine

• I take one of these three times a day.

Joint Supplement: NOW Glucosamine & Chondroitin Plus MSM

• 3 pills in the morning.
• 3 pills at night.

Fat Uncoupler: Species Nutrition Lipolyze
This helps break down fat and doesn't make you jittery.

• 1 pill twice a day at first for two weeks.
• 1 pill three times a day for the next three weeks.

Krill Oil: Olympian Labs Krill Oil
It's like fish oil for your omega-3's, but if you have to burp it doesn't taste like fish. And it's cheap!

• I take this three times a day.

Glutamine & More: SciVation Xtend


I take this to get my massive amounts of glutamine in. It also tastes great. This can make drinking a gallon of water much less of a pain.
• 1 scoop when I wake up.
• 1 scoop before working out.
• 1 scoop after working out.
• 1 scoop before bed.

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Posing

I tried to go to my posing classes once a week after I healed up. I've been going more frequently now. I practice alone probably once a week for a half hour. I have upped this to twice a week for a half hour each time since two months ago.

Tanning

I haven't been tanning during the off season except for right before trips. Sunless tanner helps out for photo shoots and stuff though.

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Random

For my first show this year I'll be using a suit by Christie Skelton of www.ceradawear.com. She's going to be using some jewelry from my grandmother and god mother on it to make it more of an heirloom than just a suit.

My cravings have been incredibly bad lately. But I'm surviving with the help of my MHP Cookie Dough Protein and my Cookies And Cream Dymatize Protein. I get my updated diet and workout plan this weekend, I'll keep you posted.

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Motivation Tips

Ok, so this is one of the hardest parts of training for a show. Keeping motivated. Yeah, it's tough when you want to eat cookies, doughnuts, fried food, and everything except for what is allowed on your diet. But there are things you can do to keep yourself on track. Here are a few of my favorites:

• Post your before pictures on BodySpace! When you look back on those you'll be able to see if what you are doing is working or not.

  Having those handy was one of the best motivators that I had. Knowing that the next months photos would look even better really showed me that dieting and working out works. It also helped keep my coach in the loop about things.

• Have your food handy. Carry a lunchbox and your gallon of water so that you have no excuses when it comes to eating.
• Track everything. Especially if you're new to competing; write it all down. Track your workouts, your feeding, and your measurements. Having these handy will help you learn your body and give you a visual idea of how you're doing.
• Lastly, tell everyone you know that you will be competing. This will help hold you accountable.

Click Image To Enlarge.
Tell Everyone You Know
That You Will Be Competing.

Goals For This Season

• I want to come in at or below 6% body fat.
• I want to come in better than I did at my last show.
• I want to have better hair on stage.
• I want to have photo shoots every month to track my progress.
• I want my pro card by the end of 2009.

RELATED BODYGROUP

Tiffany Forni's 2009 Contest Prep! Follow me go through me 12 week contest prep to the 2009 NPC Oregon State Championships... and hey, join in too! Get all the details, diets, workouts, supplementation, and even some bits of motivation too! [ Click here to join this BodyGroup ] [ Click here to start your own BodyGroup ]

Contact Me:

• Email: me@tiffanyforni.com
• BodySpace: http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/31233/

me@tiffanyforni.com

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