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Busy, Hectic, and Hot!
9 keys to looking like a figure competitor, whether you compete or not!


Real Life and the Competition Physique

Do any of the following statements sound familiar?

What about these?

Believe it or not, all of these statements indicate a desire to at least look competition-ready, to look semi-ripped all the time! I have good news: Work can be worked around. Kids are flexible. You're a big girl and can prove your husband wrong.

Yes, you can diet once you realize that it isn't as hard as it seems. No one is too fat, and after you read this article you should have at least a few more tools to simplify things for yourself!

First things first. This article is for all those busy women out there who want to have competition physiques. Whether they compete or not isn't the point. This article is simply for those who want it. I've received countless emails asking me how I do it with so many commitments. What my life all boils down to is that I want it. And I'm able to have it because I'm willing to make it work.

I'm not Super Woman, nor is any other busy person who has the will and desire to make it happen. If I did any of this at the sacrifice of my family's happiness it wouldn't be worth it. That's why I've dedicated myself to finding ways to integrate a lifestyle of competition and use it to enhance my circumstances, not to detract from them.

There's an enormous sense of accomplishment and a level of self-esteem to be gained from attaining the ultimate in one's physique. This comes not only because you look phenomenal, but because you've taken the time to master yourself as an individual.

Life is hectic. Being committed to a goal like this takes a lot more than a desire to look pretty. Managing life's events is tough work, let alone incorporating this type of challenge.

There are so many women out there who want to compete or at least look like they could compete, yet they've almost talked themselves out if it because they're very busy. Oftentimes, someone else has made them think it was a stupid goal or that they were vain for wanting to transform their body.

Well, I think every woman should strive to like the way she looks. If there are women out there who don't at least want to like the way they look, then I can't relate to them! There's nothing wrong with being pleased with your own appearance. Having achieved this myself, and knowing that it's only made me a stronger and better person, I find zero flaw in this desire.

I want to talk about some essential practices that have helped me in my own goals. I'll illustrate that amid a hectic schedule and busy life that it's still a goal worth investing in. Maybe you'll like the way you look naked, and that'll be enough. Maybe you'll feel educated and more armed to tackle future body composition goals. You might feel a little sexier, and undoubtedly you'll feel more accomplished for what you've achieved.

Maybe you'll even compete. Who knows? The point is that it can be done with the proper planning. I'll share with you just a few of the things I've learned that have made it possible for me. This is just one very busy person's perspective based on very personal experience and solid principles that stand the test of time.

So, here's the deal. Nowis always the right time for any woman who'd like to attain the muscularity and leanness of a competitor to embrace that desire. Take it from a mother of four who runs an online training business and is herself a competitor: it can be done, and it can be done without blood, sweat, and tears.

Okay, you might not be able to get away from the sweat, but the blood and tears can definitely sit the bench for this one!

The author reaps the benefits of a well-planned day!


A Day in the Life

Just for a fun example, let's start out with a typical pre-competition day for me. Here's my general schedule when I'm in full-blown get lean mode.

This still doesn't even begin to cover the level of "busy-ness" I encounter in one day. But real life just happens; there's no way around it. It's a matter of finding ways to integrate daily habits with your goals so that executing them is more convenient for you. Here are some instructions for doing just that.


The 9 Instructions

1. Know what you need to be eating

Before you try and plan anything, you must figure out what you need to eat in order to lose fat. It takes homework or the help of a professional to figure out what intake levels you need to be at in order to lose fat while maintaining muscle and strength.

There are several articles here on this site that give great advice about how to set up a diet. If you want to eat accurately for your goals, this is a must. Some people are eating too much and others aren't eating enough. You're going to need a nutrition plan that maximizes fat loss and muscle retention and minimizes your stress levels.

It takes a bit to figure out, but once you've got an outline to follow it's just a matter of executing it. That's when the frustration leaves. Merely having an "idea" of what you should be consuming is simply not enough.

For those who think they can never eat anything tasty, think again! The thing is to be smart about whenyou consume something that would be considered less than clean. Remember this important truth: If you eat it after you train, it fits into your daily nutrition totals, and you still meet your protein requirements, it's game!

Let me give you an example. Typically on Fridays, I train 4 to 5 sets per muscle group, 8-12 repetitions per set. Then I follow up with light Olympic lifts and maybe even some cardio. In other words, it's my "thrasher workout day." It's the one where I cause the most damage and my body needs the most repair. Whether I'm dieting or not, right after this is the perfect time to eat whatever I want, particularly if I've been cycling on lower carbs the day before.

Adherence is the most important factor to any nutrition plan, so plan in something good to eat if you can't do without it. Design things so that you can have a cookie or a bowl of sugary cereal. I know of a girl who eats Skittles after every hardcore weight training session. She simply goes low carb the day before, goes hardcore on the weights the next day, and then eats something yummy after her workout.

So, be realistic and be smart. Find out what intakes you need to be at and make your own schedule, or hire someone to design it for you. Once you're certain that your intake is right for your goals, your motivation will go through the roof as you start to see impressive results.

Keeping track of all of this is important. I have simple sheets I print straight out of Word or Excel with my nutrition requirements on there and a general breakdown of what I'm going to eat each day. If I have a more flexible day, I write it all down. If I have a very busy day, sometimes all I have time to track are my calories and protein. The thing is, you can only know what your body composition is going to do over time if you follow a plan and stick to it.

Here's an example of how I track my nutrition. The numbers on this chart aren't mine or any one else's, just generic.

Nutrition Tracker — "Jane"

Nutrition Details

Food

Calories

Protein

Carbs

Fats
         
         
         
         
         
         


2. Make a trip to the grocery store each and every week

Once you know what you're going to eat, make a solid list and go purchase those items every single week. For me, it's nearly impossible to make it to the grocery store if I have all of my kids with me. They're all very small, and I'd literally have to push around two carts and juggle the four kids trying to get in and out of them. Not an option. I wait until Saturday afternoon when my husband is home with the kids.

The point is that you must be committed to getting the foods into your house. Whether it's painless or it's a fiasco, you just have to get there. No person with any semblance of responsibility in their lives will be able to achieve demanding body composition goals without the right foods.


3. Know what supplements you need and have a constant supply

Once you've got your whole foods in check, your supplementation will be working overtime for you. When I say that, I mean it. Eating well is one thing, but until you supplement a well-rounded diet with high quality supplements, you won't know what your body is capable of.

Think of a diesel truck. Say it gets 17 miles to the gallon. If you install a chip into the engine to assist in fuel economy, it'll get 21 or even 22 miles to the gallon. Supplements are like that chip. Your body can make more of what you put in it, and it'll function better for you if you have these simple things in place.

My personal stack looks like this:

I also benefit from having an occasional Spike Shooter drink, and I go through my fair share of Metabolic Drive and Surge. You'd never come to my house and find that I didn't have these items in my pantry. They're always there, all the time. It's very important to decide what you're going to take and order it (even order some in advance) to make sure you never run out.

My sink has a hand blender right there, and my Surge and Metabolic Drive stay out on the counter. I don't care whether or not they match the décor! As far as creatine goes, I just make sure I add it to my Surge.


4. Organize those supplements!

I have a vitamin container that has 21 compartments. I take them morning, noon, and night. Every time I empty the container, I refill it. It takes all of about two minutes.

You'll notice in the picture there are two rows filled with white tablets. Those are my BCAAs. Since I always have my container with me, I never forget to take my BCAAs. By doing this I save myself a lot of headache during the week. I increase my chances of having a successful and less stressful week tenfold.

Simple, but it works. If you feel frustrated about supplementation, this is a fantastic solution.


5. Pre-cook your foods over the weekend

No more excuses about not having the time to eat healthy during the week. The time I take to cook is also a time for me to enjoy just letting my kids run around the house. There's something highly therapeutic to having a relaxed atmosphere after a busy week where those that are in the home can turn on the television or crank the music and smell the aroma of fresh food being prepared in a relaxed atmosphere.

At my home, you'll see all four burners in use with pans filled with ground turkey, chicken breasts, some red meat, and a pot full of vegetables steaming. The oven might have some salmon smothered in onions and shitake mushrooms. And while all that's going, I might be making fruit salad too. You might even catch me dancing... oh baby! It's loud, messy, hot, and just downright fun!

Once it's all done, you have volumes of food to choose from. If you stay at home, all of it is right there for the taking. If you work, it's now just as simple as taking a Tupperware container with you before you leave the house.


6. Have a training plan and time and means to execute it

This is another one of those things that you shouldn't leave to chance. A plan of action, even if it's someone else's routine you're copying, is better than winging it. However, I do advocate personalized training programs, simply because everyone is an individual.

Progress must also be made in the gym in order for your body to change. Form must improve, exercises must be mastered, and weights should increase.

Once you have an outline, all you have to do is go and execute it. Finding the time is up to you. If you want it bad enough, you'll simply choose a time and go for it. As for me, it takes something huge to interfere with my "set" training time. If that occurs, I quickly make adjustments so that I can still train that day. Sometimes that means lifting in my basement with all the kids running around me.

You can do it at a gym or you can do it at home. A gym offers more variety as far as exercises go, but even at home, with a modest amount of equipment, there are ample training plans that are highly effective.

This is another one of those things that should be kept track of. Again, I have tracking sheets I print off which are simply rows and columns. Here's a simple example of a chart you could create to track your training. This would of course need to be a full page with more rows, but it gives you the general idea.

Date:

Notes

Exercise

Set 1
Weight/Reps

Set 2
Weight/Reps

Set 3
Weight/Reps

Set4
Weight/Reps
         
         
         
         
         
         
         


7. Have three constant companions

a) Your notebook

The first item is a notebook. It can be a spiral notebook or whatever works for you to be able to keep track of what you're eating and your training. I personally use a small three-ring binder with dividers. I have a nutrition, training, and miscellaneous section.

So, get some sort of notebook and keep it with you. You might be smart, but if you had several hectic days at work, you might not remember what you ate. It's better to have it with you at all times.

b) Your vitamin container

I talked about the importance of setting out your supplements in advance, but what good would that do you if you were out and didn't have them with you to take on time?

It's simple. If you're supposed to take Se7en and HOT-ROX at 1:00 PM and you left at 12:00 and aren't coming back until 5:00, leaving your vitamins at home becomes a problem. So, grab 'em and go. Never wonder if you'll miss, because this way you never will!

c) Your water bottle

Constant hydration throughout the day is a must. It's a large determiner of your energy levels, your mood, and your overall ability to function. Bottom line, don't leave home without it. Water is your best friend! Enough said.


8. Find ways to kill lots of birds with one stone

One thing that never goes away in my life is the need to run errands. If you think I'm busy now, try to imagine what my life was like when I was building my own house as a general contractor! How on earth?

I'm a surgeon when it comes to scheduling things, and sometimes that's what it takes. For example, the hour in-between the gym and when I pick up my daughter from school is filled with drive-through errands at the bank and such. I might also go fill up my van with gas to save time for when I go out next.

When I'm in the kitchen in the morning, I throw my notebook, water, and supplements into my gym bag after I take my morning dose, just in case I'm unable to get home right after I pick my daughter up. I may have emptied the dishwasher the night before in anticipation of not having time to do it in the morning.

I always lay out my gym clothes the night before. Maybe my daughter didn't have any clean socks, so I threw a load of laundry in the night before and stuck it in the dryer in the morning before I ran downstairs to get on my elliptical trainer. The list goes on and on...

There are simply things that have to be done in a busy life, and when they're done with a sharp mind and decent foresight and planning, frustration can be replaced with ease in making things happen for yourself.


9. Get a good night's sleep and make sufficient time to relax

Rest is undervalued. Don't get me wrong, if I get a little less than I would've liked, I don't hesitate to take a Spike tablet or drink a Spike Shooter, but a constant lack of sleep isn't a good habit to get into. No one can function without adequate rest. You'll always crash.

Bodies have a hard time holding onto muscle with high loads of training and no sleep. But this is the least of your worries. Consequences to not sleeping can be far wider in reach than decreased performance and body composition issues. Your lack of sleep and fatigued state could cause you to get physically sick or blow up at someone you love.

And if you think it won't happen to you, think again. Take this advice from someone who's been there. Getting sick completely sabotages your goals. Furthermore, if you become irritable with those you love because you're trying to accomplish something, it simply defeats the entire purpose.

Lack of sleep and not taking any time to yourself to relax are surefire ways to introduce all of those problems into your plan. Sleep is priceless and relaxation is precious. Get your fair share of both and everything else you try to do will be more successful.


Conclusion

I hope you've gained some insight as to how there are ways to commit to achieving a competition physique without the confusion, frustration, and difficulty often associated with it. There are simply things that have to be planned. Once you get into a groove, you'll see what I mean, not just in the mirror, but in the new strength and satisfaction you'll find in accomplishing things.

If you want to achieve ultimate leanness or even compete someday, then more power to you. It is an attainable goal. Remember, it's all in the balance. It's just a matter of finding it and putting it to work for you.


About the Author

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