My Journey To The Mr. Alabama 2003 - Week 5!

Follow me as I go through a strict training and diet schedule leading up to the Alabama State on August 9, 2003!

Week 5

I was in Birmingham this past weekend to spend Mother's Day with my mom. It was good to spend time with my family and Tennelle. I completed my cardio session Saturday at my gym in Birmingham and took Sunday off. I took my assessment photos at my parent's house. I used my tripod and the timer on my digital camera. It worked out alright except that I can only take wide pictures this way as opposed to turning the camera sideways to get a taller skinnier shot, which works better for assessment photos. The pictures seem to be a little out of focus. I am not sure what is wrong because I know that my camera is capable of taking high quality pictures. Just like anything, I know that I will get better at taking these photos (i.e. proper setting on camera, proper lighting, etc.)

I feel like I am getting into a very good groove with all of my contest preparation daily practices and procedures. I am feeling good and feel like I am looking better every day. I am trying to get my momentum going stronger and stronger and build on each day. Consistent days of total execution strung together over a period of time is what will bring outstanding results!

Training

This week of training was kind of strange. I had pretty good workouts Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. I had an excellent leg workout on Wednesday, but I had a "not-so-great" workout on Thursday. I must make sure that I am mentally prepared to give 100% focus and intensity to my workouts every single morning. Even letting up just a bit can result in a subpar workout effort, and once an opportunity to complete an awesome workout has passed you can NEVER get it back. It is important to make the most out of every opportunity each day.

My effort during cardio was excellent this week. I have been pushing myself to take it to a higher level of intensity during my cardio sessions and have stepped up to the challenge. Getting in the right mindset before an intense cardio session is very important.

Performing Max-OT cardio is very tough, both mentally and physically, but it is also very rewarding in terms of the excellent results you achieve of being able to increase your metabolism and burn bodyfat while sparing muscle, as well as the sense of accomplishment that is felt at the end of a grueling session. I have increased my cardio sessions this week from 4 to 5. I will continue to look at each session as an opportunity to get leaner.

Nutrition and Supplementation

I lost 2 lbs since last week down to 233. I feel that I look better this week in my photos compared to last week. I have shaved of another 278 calories this week from my daily nutrition plan. The first decrease comes from reducing my portion of rice in Meal #2 from 1 cup to 2/3 cup for a reduction of 63 calories. I also reduced the servings of egg beaters in this meal from 6 to 4 and from 4 to 3 in Meal #4 for a total reduction of 90 calories.

I have reduced ½ scoop of VP2 from my pre-cardio meal, which results in a decrease of 50 calories. Finally, I have taken away my ¼ cup of oatmeal from meal #7. I really enjoy my oatmeal and hate to see it go, but I know that this needs to be done in order to get into awesome condition come August 9. I still will be able to enjoy oatmeal on the weekends as long as it fits into my calorie totals.

Updated Pics:

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Back to week one.

Thanks,