Get Swole Project Week II: Deflated / My Trip to Iowa City

I’m DETERMINED to get swole. It’s my goal. Nothing will stand in my way.  So far I’m loving a lot about this program.  I LOVEEEEEEE lifting heavy.  I LOVEEEEE powerlifts.  Benching.  Squatting.  Deadlifting.  It’s just so fun to put my body to the test and see what I can do.  And now that this is my goal, whenever I consider eating, I ask myself, “will this make me bench heavier monday?” and if the answer is yes, I eat it.  If the answer is no, it’s no longer desirable.   I never once had that mentality when I was preparing for the bikini competition.

So you can imagine how crushed I was on Wednesday when this annoying little pain in my right shoulder became VERY pronounced.  Monday I benched.  I kept the weight lower (90#) because I was alone, so I performed all 6 reps without a problem.  Same on incline bench.  I did chest flyes on a bench and I went heavier than ever – 30# dumbbells.  25′s have just gotten fairly easy.  Holding them steady has been the most difficult part.

I didn’t feel anything bad, but I knew I was pushing it.  25’s are a breeze… I could easily do eight without a problem.  So since my rep range was 6 – 8 I went for it.  They were tough, but I did all eight.  Monday evening I went for a 4 mile run, and after mile three, I notice that my right trap is tight.

Anyhow, Tuesday morning comes and my shoulder is NOT happy with me.  The joint at the top of my shoulder, the AC joint hurts to the touch.  I ask a trainer at my gym and he mentions the AC joint being an issue.  I go to yoga and doing the push up is just evil so I set my ego aside and come back up to downward dog through tabletop.

Wednesday rolls around and that morning my shoulder felt sore still.  I go about my day, training clients, showing them how to perform exercises and it continues to really bother me.  Basically, imagine someone punching you with their knuckle over and over again in that bone in your shoulder.  No bueno.  At CATZ I play around with my snatch balance, high pulls feel fine, overhead squats feel fine but we get around to push ups and that is soooo not happening.  It’s sort of painful, but more than anything I notice a weird clicking in my right shoulder.

I freaked out and made an appointment Thursday afternoon with a physical therapist.  She did very thorough tests and discovered my right shoulder is not stabilized.  REALLY?  I can do push ups with my hands on medballs, my right foot  on another ball, and my left leg in Japan.  I’m like a circus act.. yet my shoulder isn’t stable enough?!

But you know what… it’s no big deal.  Im going to learn some new tricks at the physical therapist appointments, I’m going to let the shoulder heal itself and then I’m gonna get back to benching more & better than ever and I’m going to have the most stable shoulders out there!!

However, despite that frustration and pain I had a VERY busy week.  Thursday I got to workout with one of my favorite clients and friends.  I managed to back squat 145#, five times.  Since dedicating myself to a true leg day each week and also doing more running, I’m noticing more muscular definition in my legs which is where I tend to store a lot of fat.  I was so busy toward the end of the week that just finding the time to eat was a task, but I know what’s important so I’ll never skip a meal!

I even released my Bikini Competitor’s Cookbook!!  Then Friday afternoon I flew to Iowa.  I had never been to Iowa before and wanted to go because one of my best friends lives in Iowa City.  So I went to visit her.  We went to a Hawkeyes football game…

Jill & I at Hawkeyes Game

We went bar hopping around downtown Iowa City which is full of college kids and the nicest people in the universe…

Yes, this man has on rollerskates!

And Sunday I got to have brunch with two of my Sparkfriends…

Kelly, myself and Amber

The three of us are part of a pretty tight-knit group of ladies on Spark who like to be happy and healthy.  It’s so weird that I just met them in real-life because I feel like I’ve known them for so long because all know so much about each other, so it was awesome to meet them in real life!!

Now it’s Sunday night and I’m on my flight home which won’t get in until 10:30pm.  ughhh.. But luckily I have a very nice boyfriend who went grocery shopping for the staples (berries, water, egg whites, chicken, onion, sweet potato, SF Rockstar and oats) and batch cooked the chicken and potatoes so I don’t have to deal with that when I get back!  So while it was amazingggggg being in Iowa I’m ready to get home, catch up with my clients and hit the weights!!!!!!!

How do you get back into gear after a weekend away?

The Get In Shape Girl

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Tags: AC joint pain, being healthy while traveling, Bikini Competition, Get A Better Booty, get in shape, get swole project, how to get lean muscle as a female, how to get swole, how to travel and be on a diet, how to travel while on a diet, iowa hawkeyes, shoulder pain when benching, spark people, sparkpeople, the get in shape girl, traveling on a diet, virtual trainer, virtual training