Throw (the weight) back Thursday!!

So clearly, most of you that follow me, know I started lifting weights.... for FUN right.  :)

Well I'm having a bit of a moment... so I wanted to try to convince myself I HAVE made progress in this sport.  Not just in numbers, but in dedication and form and LOVE and all those other things that are important...  Some days I just feel like I could be and SHOULD BE doing more....

So anyway.... today I thought I would journey back in time...
....browse through a few old blogs and see what I could come up with regarding where I was a little while back in time...

Here is a video of me today  (this is 205)...

Worked on my sumo deadlift last night.  This is not the MOST weight I have deadlifted, but it IS the most I have pulled using the sumo form rather than conventional.
So I will share that video first...

Then - I tell ya what - let's compare this video to the video of my first competition.  Last December.  Bless my heart I had NO idea at that point what I was getting myself into.

But I DO remember feeling decent about my deadlift until some other girl came up behind me and pulled 300 pounds.  It was that day that I found my edge... and something to work for.  It was that day that the fire was started in my soul to WANT to go back and be better than I was before!

Here is my first ever deadlift competition.... 195 pounds   My personal record coming out of the gate!





And then - lets compare apples to apples.
The first video I shared is the most current, and it's SUMO deadlift.   Here is my most current deadlift using the conventional form - which is what I used in that video from my first meet (the 195 pull).   Amazing how much different my form is in just 6 months.

THIS video is my all time personal RECORD for deadlift.  240 pounds

So anyway - the point being that I HAVE made progress.  I have made it in numbers and in other ways too.  But sometimes I spend all this time running around Instagram and the interwebz and I get frustrated thinking there is so much more I could and should do....
And I could and SHOULD be so much further along and better than I am.

Yes - I AM my own worst enemy.

Circle, Star, Rectangle.... THE CUBE!!!

Remember my blog just a few short days ago....
pre - Berea
pre - mock meet
pre - pushing myself to the EDGE!

Remember how weak I thought I felt!!

Then insert Sunday night.
April 28, 2013!!
And a big fat slap in the face and reminder of just how STRONG I'm getting!!
I am still NOwhere near the level of a lot of girls - But I'm better than I was and THAT is what counts!!  And considering that I have been lifting for less than a year - I could not BE any happier than where I am right now and the drive and motivation and potential I have to get even stronger!!!

I.  Feel.  GOOD!

And The Cube.... ahhhhhhhhh The Cube.
It is brutal!! 
As if I didn't already believe in the Cube Method to start with... the training and it's mixture of strength and body building exercises - but the part I believe FIRMLY in - is the mock meet in 10 weeks.

WHY?
It's just "practice" - It doesn't count because it's not on a platform right??
Well...
Here's my opinion!! (yes - I realize everyone has one...)
For 10 weeks we have beaten ourselves to death!!  Towards the end of the 3rd cycle, even though I knew I had to be stronger (because on Cube you have no choice BUT to get stronger!), I still felt beaten up and weak. 
I think I had some milestones in training along the way - but it was just small things in the gym.   Yes - it was progress... but spread out over 10 weeks its harder to correlate that into real gains.
(or maybe that is just the case in MY head!)

SO - in my opinion - the mock meet at the 10 week mark is the BEST part of this program!!!
It may not be a certified competition - but it sure as HECK should be treated like one.
WHY?  Because THIS is what we work for?  This is why we train.
We don't train for "ego" in the gym... we train to compete.  We train to get better.
We train to CRUSH FACES on the platform.
So by all means, even if you aren't doing a MEET at your 10 week mark, test yourself and TREAT it like a meet... with the same intensity and drive!!!
How else do you know where you stand?

Here is how mine went.

We had previously done a meet in February... my numbers at that meet were as follows:

Squat - 145 (which was already a good PR for me considering when I began lifting the squat was my biggest nemesis.  It took me some time to get comfortable with just squatting with a bar on my back, much less adding weight to it!)
Bench - 90 (this was a 5 pound PR for me... and more evidence that my bench just wasn't moving along like it should - it is/was my definite weak spot)
Deadlift - 225 (deadlift was my favorite lift at this point - I had worked really hard to get here... but I seem to have plateaued here at the 220/225 range)

So I totaled 460 at this meet.  I was shooting for 450 so I was very happy with what I walked away with.

Going into my mock meet after The Cube I was shooting for a 500 total!
But even MORE than that, I wanted to bench 100 so bad I could taste it!!  I have worked and worked and worked and tried and failed at 100 numerous times - so at this point - it was really just taunting me!!

Here are my numbers:

Squat - first attempt 150 (this is already a 5# PR), 2nd attempt 170 (gravy!), final attempt 185 (NAILED it and it was exactly where I was hoping my final lift would be!)

Bench - first attempt 85 (easy opener and I definitely needed the confidence builder here!), 2nd attempt 100 (I was told it 95)  **Also - add into my bench lifts, I happened to be sitting in front of Brandon Lilly. *smile*  He had me change up my stuff a bit and put some leg drive in... which clearly I had been lacking!**  With the changes in form and being PUSHED my Lilly and my guys.... I freaking CRUSHED 100!!!  I seriously thought I was going to cry  (HEY - I AM still a girl..... I'm sensitive!  LOL)   But I wasn't done yet.  They loaded the bar with 105...  I laid back, took in a big breath and Pete Rubished (aka grinded)  my way through 105 too!!!
THIS my friends is WHY I lift and WHAT I live for!!!
Crossing those barriers... doing things my body thought I couldn't do!!  Making gains and proving to myself that I can do just about anything I set my mind to and work towards!!!
((Again..... I could cry.  I have watched that 105 video so many times it's a wonder youtube hasn't crashed.  It amazes me and brings tears to my eyes EVERY dang time!!))

To you it may just be 105 pounds... but to me - it's EVERYTHING!!!!!

Deadlift - first attempt 210 (THIS gave me the 500 total that I was working for!! The rest is just GRAVY!)  Killed it!!!  2nd attempt 230 (this is a 5# PR and it still went up pretty good)  3rd attempt 245 (this has me REAL close to my goal for the YEAR on deadlift of 250!  That will need to be changed!  I failed at 245 but watching the video, I think I just gave up.... I was soooo dang close so I already KNOW I got that 245 next go around!!!

Overall - I went 8/9 on my mock meet AND I totaled 520 which puts me 20 pounds over what my goal was going into this "practice meet"...  AND 60 pounds over what I did just 2.5 months ago!

INSANE!!

Bring on June 15th - I'm going to crush FACES!!!!

I love The Cube (cause it's insane!)

I love Brandon Lilly (for writing, coaching, and for his ETHIC!)

I love my guys (for all their support and encouragement)

AND MY guy in particular (for getting me started and believing in me!)

I love lifting

I love watching and feeling my body get stronger!

I wouldn't trade my sport or this day of lifting for anything in the world right now!

What are you doing in YOUR spare time?!!

Here's my 105 grinded out bench - and my 245 deadlift that SOOOOOO should have come up!!!!
The rest of my videos are on youtube if you want to see them all.    Tammy Green channel.

~My weekend was PRICELESS~

Gas for miles traveled... $100

Alternator and various tools... $218
Snacks and Steak and Shake $35

Me and ALL the guys hitting PR's with Brandon Lilly.....

PRICELESS!!

Monday morning has rolled again once again... I know how everyone dreads them so please allow me to share my weekend with you...
please allow me to share my HIGH!!!!!

It's a BIT long winded - but stick with me..... a lot happened and the humor is well worth it!  HA!!
I thought I was going to DIE!!!
MULTIPLE times!!!

It was yet ANOTHER great adventure.... it's what I live for man!!

(and quite frankly the adrenaline from it is the only thing keeping me alive and awake today!!)

Background:   Remember my story a few weeks ago regarding my battery going dead... at a MAJOR intersection in town??  Well - it did.  Truck just died. Right there at the red light.  I was the first person at the light in the turning lane, imagine how happy everyone behind me was!!!  But alas... long story short - the problem was fixed, entailing a new battery and having my alternator checked FOUR times... at THREE different locations!!!!  I was told the alternator was good and I just needed a new battery.  DONE.  

Good to go.

Now - fast forward to yesterday.  

My battery light has been randomly shining that pretty little red color at me since then.  BUT - in my defense, I do think there is some sort of electrical short in my vehicle because it randomly blinks various lights anyway.  So I didn't put much stock into it.  Well - we had this trip to Berea planned already and Brad suggested we drive something else...... ya know, just in case.  

To be safe.

Me - however - I'm all.... oh I like to drive my own vehicle (I don't ride well with others... car sick!) And I'm all like.... it's fine I'm sure.  It's probably just randomly blinking!

I'm SURE we will be fine!!!!!

{{famous last words}}

So off we went yesterday - to have a day we had ALL been looking forward to soooooo much!!  We were off to Berea to train with Brandon Lilly.  You see.... we have been running "The Cube" training program for the past 10 weeks.  After 10 weeks, you do a "mock meet" and test your maxes for squat, bench AND deadlift.  Being that Brandon wrote this program, we were HONORED to be able to drive to Berea and spend the evening with him letting BRANDON HIMSELF judge our progress!!!

I mean - it doesn't GET much better than that..... although ... me... Ms."hates to be in front of crowds" was a freaking NERVOUS WRECK just pulling out of the driveway!!!  That's with 200 miles and approx 3 hours separating me and Lilly!!!

Nevertheless..... nerves aside.... we headed out.

About 50 miles into our trip........

GUESS WHAT HAPPENED!!!

yes yes yes.... I'm certain that you guessed.....

That pretty little RED battery light popped up on my dash.

No worries - I'm SURE it's just the electrical short... (at least that's how I tried to explain myself out of it!)

But... NO - the volts dropped on the battery gauge and I knew I was in trouble.

We journeyed on and just prayed... I could hit the gas and rev up the RPM's and the light would go off - but as soon as I let out of the gas... on came the light again.

Brad immediately knew my alternator had gone out.

Basically the only thing powering us was my poor little brand new battery.

But we pushed on - and thankfully - the ol' Trailblazer hung in there.

Once we got close to the training location - we pulled into an Advanced Auto and made the purchase.  A new alternator and tools to change it.  (thank goodness I was with FOUR GUYS!!)

And back on the road.  After all - we had weights to lift.

Once we arrived - the alternator was put on the back burner while everyone prepared to set PR's  in front of one of the biggest icons in powerlifting!!!  NO PRESSURE

I was a BALL OF NERVES!!!  ~that's putting it lightly~

Once we got going, and the adrenaline got rushing, and I stopped being STAR STRUCK... I could NOT have asked for a BETTER night OR a better training session!!

Here are my numbers

Squat - 185 (that's a 45 pound PR!)

Bench - 105 (that's a 10 pound PR and  HUGE mental block overcome!!)

Deadlift - 230 (that's a 5 pound PR - I attempted 245 and ALMOST had it... I gave up too soon!!)

So I totaled a 60 pound PR total!!!

I could NOT have been any happier!!
{{I have a blog to come with more details about the actual TRAINING and lifting!!  I have BIG NEWS!!}}

After all was said and done, we ALL hit PR's and all that HARD WORK on The Cube was evident and has clearly paid off!!

Then we packed up to head home... and we remembered... my poor truck sitting by the wayside.

~Let the adventure continue~

We were starving and decided to try to get to a restaurant and hopefully use the light in the parking lot to do our mechanic work.  So we set out..... in the night.... no idea where we are.   Brad searches for a nearby food joint as I navigate noticing the further we drive the lower my volts are getting and the less headlight I have to see!!  We are on a road in the middle of nowhere.  All I could picture was breaking down on the side of the road with NO lights and zombies stumbling up from behind the trees!  (I watch WAY too much TV!)   Or... for all you old folks out there...... it was like a scene from "Unsolved Mysteries".  Seriously... like we could have just disappeared!
Thankfully - we made up to the main road where our directions were telling us to get back on I-75.  Seriously.... with no battery?  On the INTERSTATE!??  As I'm freaking and Brad and I are trying to decide what to do......
ALL the gauges drop and power steering is GONE.  Headlights are out and we are DONE.  Somehow the engine is still going but just enough to get me to the side of the road close to the interstate ramp and just under a street lamp!

Here is where I am thankful for my boys!  They all hopped out and ripped that alternator right out and replaced it with the new one!  And remember we were all writhing in pain here having JUST lifted our guts out.  Plus we were lucky enough for it to be raining!!  (though it was just a drizzle and could have been WAY worse!)  But they were all so willing to jump in there and get me going again.  One more sign of what a great group of guys I work out with.  And please don't let me fail to mention that JOE DIRT stopped to check on us... from the junk yard!  He rolled up in his little 1987 truck with the whirly orange lights on top.  Don't worry - he's getting a light bar to replace those whirlies soon... probably from the junkyard.  He was full of helpful advice and tips - after all, "he doesn't work at the junk yard for nuthin!"  Bless his little heart for stopping though... he was a sweet little man and he didn't have to stop.  He was the epitome of country backwoods, but very sweet and thoughtful of him AND his belt buckle to make sure we were all ok.
And also - if anyone out there is looking for a job - they are looking for some diesel repairman at the junk yard he works at.  "Pays EIGHT BUCKS an hour!!"   Might wanna look into that!!
FUN TIMES!!
Wouldn't trade it for the world!!

Once we were back in business, we headed on to Steak and Shake to get our GRUB on and compare photos and videos from the awesome night we had just experienced.  Then we began heading back home around the midnight hour!!
I love that Monday is my early morning and at midnight I was approximately 3 hours away from home living on PURE ADRENALINE!!

Last night will BY FAR go down as one of my favorite nights ever!!
The Monday after... no so much!!  ha
Actually - it's really not THAT bad....

I think I'm still living off the high...

Until I get off work this afternoon and lay my head down on a pillow.
It's OVER.

You my friend... are a quack!

So - I don't know why - but I, along with lots of others, have had a negative opinion in regard to chiropractic practices.
"Quacks"  
I'm sure you've all heard or used that term!
No specific reason.  No personal horror story.
I don't know if its just from terrible horror stories from the past or what, but upon talking to people, I find this stereotyping to be a common thing.
(Sad)

Well - as I recently shared, I had hurt my back somehow... wasn't sure where the injury occurred, just knew that it hurt.  And I have a pretty high tolerance for pain.... I think so anyway...

But this was something I couldn't tolerate.

So I went to see an MD. I was instructed to take meds and take it easy on the lifting.  Which I did.  And sometimes the pain was better, but mostly it wasn't.
I did Alleve.  I did heating pad.  I did muscle relaxer.  I did a Lidocaine patch on my back!

When I finally asked around, I was then instructed by another power lifter to see a chiropractor. 
AH OHHH...  Do I dare??!!??

As I thought this through - I have a sweet friend that works for a chiropractic office and has for years.  So I immediately contacted her.  She is someone I trust, so I felt good about going this direction.
After she talked to one of the chiropractors there, she instructed me to get a series of x-rays to bring with me to see him.   (Bryan Hawley is his name).
I did so and went for my first visit with him.
I was very at ease after talking to him.  He is very knowledgeable not only about what he does, but about exercise and health in general.
He actually pulled my x-rays up in front of me and went through everything with me.  He explained everything so that I could understand.  And from there he told me what to do and not to do to avoid flaring up the pain.  He did NOT instruct me to stop exercising.  (my favorite part of the visit!  ha)   He did instruct me on things to do in place of other exercises to avoid straining the area of pain.
he explained my plan... or multiple plans actually.   One to get me out of pain and another to fix the exaggerated curvature of my back  (AKA my "granny hump".... OH good Lord we will NOT use that term again!!!)
He did a minor adjustment on my back and sent me on my way....

In a few days I had spoken to my friend and had a plan in place.

So - on Wednesday I went for my first visit.  Upon arrival, he did a minor adjustment on my back and neck again and then sent me over to one of the therapists to work on me.  She was also GREAT.  She laid me on my stomach and stretched out some of my muscles and then WENT TO WORK on that area on my left back that was bothering me.
GUYS....... I've had massages before where they really work on knots in your back (usually caused by stress... which I carry several of)  But she slid her hand ONE time across that area on my back and just by touch, knew that was the area that was hurting me and immediately went to work on that area.
Keep in mind - it's WEDNESDAY and Wednesday night is dead lift night for me in the gym.... I haven't gotten through a dead lift work out in two weeks due to immediate pain when doing those type of lifts.    So I was kinda worried about my lifting plan for that evening.   I had in fact already warned the BF that I would likely be a real bundle of JOY that evening in the gym....   It is VERY frustrating to have a plan laid out for your workout and then not even be able to get through the first exercise due to pain.  Grrrrrrrr
Regardless, I knew getting over this pain would be a process...  so I was trying to have faith.

When I arrived at the gym Wednesday night - I could ALREADY tell a difference in my back.
ONE visit ya'll........ ONE!
and guess what I did.
MY DEADLIFTS!!!!!!!! 
(shhhhh - don't tell!  I'll be in trouble!)
Sure I was a little tender in that area when it was over - but I can't explain the relief that I could
#1 - get through my workout after bombing out two weeks in a row.
And hello - #2 - I had ONE visit to therapy and I could ALREADY tell a difference regarding my pain!!

This treatment plan can't do ANYTHING BUT make me a better lifter.

I am SOOOOOOOO pumped!!!

So I said all of that to say this:

First of all - THIS is what it took for me to get better.  I want to thank Brandon Lilly for recommending and pushing me going to a chiropractor.  (and raving about his own doctors).  I also want to thank Kelli for getting me in and raving about her place of employment and the chiropractor she works with and the staff there.  And generally speaking I want to thank Magna Chiropractic (and recommend them to ANYONE having back problems!).  I especially want to thank Dr. Bryan Hawley.  He has been super understanding and knowledgeable and just good at what he does

Second of all...  if you have ever had bad feelings about Chiropractors or the field, maybe reconsider.   I know we all have heard horror stories.... but this is true about almost everything.  I have heard a million horror stories about MD's too - but I still go to the doctor.  Do some research on your chiropractor.  Make sure he does x-rays prior to doing adjustments.  And if you are local here in Bowling Green, I HIGHLY recommend Magna Chiropractic and specifically Dr. Bryan Hawley

There are no "quacks" in that building  ;-)

And..... Here is their website for those of you who trust me and wanna check it out!!!

www.magnachiro.com

Motivational Monday from my Motivational Weekend!!

As women we are so judgmental and caught up in a society based on looks. It is WE who drive that so hard... More so than men. We are so hard on ourselves!
Just think about when you get ready to go out somewhere. You get dressed up and do your best to look good... And slender... And young...
Not so much for men, but for the fear of someone saying "gosh can you believe how big Tammy looks!" Oh the horror!!!!

Honestly, that "horror" is what drove me to start working out
Lets be honest, that is what drives most of us to the gym
Now granted, other things are taken into consideration.... Health, not wanting to buy bigger clothes, post baby weight, and many others...
But ultimately, I think it's because we are so worried about what others (stupid girls) think!

In going back to the gym this time, I have been taken down a different path
I started power lifting
In the beginning it was humorous to me. The idea. Calling myself a power lifter.
Imagining what "power lifters" look like.
Well....
I competed in my second competition this weekend; this was my first real life "sanctioned" full power meet. Which ultimately means soon I will be able to go to the SPF (southern power lifting federation) website and my name will be listed there. Me. Tami G. I'll have a ranking as a US power lifter. How cool is that?!!
It's pretty awesome!!!

But the coolest part is this: with the men AND women at these meets, even being so new to this sport, even being so self conscious about looks, and not being strong enough, and whatever other dumb thing us women worry about- I can't say I have ever felt such a camaraderie anywhere else. Everyone there helps each other and cheers for each other and genuinely cares that you DO good!! It truly is a team sport even though you lift alone. It's just YOU on that platform. With 100 people screaming behind you. Wishing you a good lift
It's indescribable. And coming from someone with stage fright who doesn't like to be in front of people... that's saying a lot!!

Motivation at its finest

I've "gymmed" it before
I've wanted to lose weight, and build abs and look GOOD before
But on this path, I truly want to be strong. And everyone else wants that too. And we work together to push each other to meet goals
It's not cut-throat, it's motivation and esteem building at its best

This weekend I saw guys lift 800+ pounds! I saw a male and female lift enough to get their "Pro" cards. They will be "names" in this sport to follow.
And I saw them qualify.
This weekend I saw an 11 year old tiny little girl dead lift 200 pounds!!!
And in a room full of strong burly power lifters, I bet there wasn't one dry eye in the room when her eyes filled with tears.... So proud!!!

It truly is the most motivating, accepting, loving, non-judgemental atmosphere I have ever experienced!!!

If there is something you want out of life, or somewhere you wanna go in life, spend some time with a group of power lifters!!! There can't be a better group of motivators to push you to where you want to be in life!!! There just can't!

I am thankful to have a boyfriend with that exact same character not just about lifting, but about everything in life!!! He is never anything short of lifting me up!!
And I'm lucky enough to have just as good of a group of guys to work out with too... now if I could just wrangle me up some girls!!!

Happy Monday everyone!!!

This week, don't judge people. Instead take some time to push someone to be better. Take some time to build their self esteem. And make a choice to push yourself to be better and want more!
Never stop reaching and growing, because when you do, what's left to live for?!!

Have a GREAT WEEK!!!!

For those interested, I had a great meet this weekend!!!
I was pushing for a 450 lb total and walked away at 460!
90 bench. 145 squat. 225 deadlift
My unitard did me proud!!!
Couldn't be happier!

Next step for me....
Meeting Dana Linn Bailey and Rob next month at the Arnold Classic!!!
My #1 motivator/role model and GIRL CRUSH!!!! (Cheeeeese!!!!)

GO HARD OR GO HOME!!

Here. We. Goooooo......

I am doing something I swore I'd never do. It starts with putting myself out there!!!
It's not that I was looking or found a "new" me... It's more about discovering a piece of me that I never knew was there!!!
It's embracing another piece of me. Another strength.
It's work.
It's a hunger.
It's a desire.
Accepting the before.... while working towards the "after"

I am INSPIRED
and I want to INSPIRE.....

So......

I have officially been "heavy weight training" for about 5 months now.  I CAN tell a difference in my body.  Granted, it may not be exactly where I thought I would see the difference, but it's there!!!

My legs are firmer... my arms are tighter.... my butt...  well - it's THERE.  (I was lacking in that area before!)  ha ha

Some may see this as arrogance.... or some form of bragging or flaunting or how ever you might choose to twist and turn this...

But in my eyes... I'm PROUD
When I talk about it, it's not condemning you, but it's with passion. Passion for me. Pride!! :)

As women we look at ourselves every day and think "what we wish we could change"
We wish and hope and dream and pout and complain
but we NEVER do anything about it.
There's not enough time.
I don't have the energy.
I'm not strong enough...

Trust me. I've used them all!!!

But in the end, The hunger... The desire... The will to fight... The refusal to give up is what drives you!!!
You have to KNOW what you want and fight. Push. Never give up.

This is true not just in the gym, but in life!

I have set my mind to many things and pushed my way through...
It's always hard and some days hurt more than others.
But in the end, it's ALWAYS worth the fight and the strength you gain from it!!!

A little over a week ago, I did something I never thought I could do and SWORE I wouldn't. But I survived. And I came out stronger. With a new desire to take into 2013!!

So on this journey, my sweet B-rad (who's holding my hand along the way) has started me a YouTube channel... which I'm now going to share with you. (HUGE step for me... I'm not one for putting myself out there like this.... it makes me accountable!)  I will begin this at what I consider to be just the beginning for me...
I've come a long way to get to where I am today. But my first competition is my beginning. To a fun filled healthier stronger lifestyle that I plan to embrace every day

You are welcome to join me

I know I have limits, but I haven't found them yet ;-)
And when I do - I'm gonna push them as far as I can!!

Check out my competition on you tube. Here's the link to one video but you can see them all if you so choose!!  (search for BGPR Tammy Green)

PS - We ALL wore our pink socks to the competition that day..... Breast Cancer awareness socks!  :))

Dare to be Different.... my head is BROKE!!

Some time ago.... oh.... say about 6 months or so ago.... I took a couple of steps down a road that I had no idea would really change my life.   Not just on the outside... but on the inside too.
Several months ago, It began with simply watching better what I eat.  And although that part still waivers today (and I'm GONNA get more focused on that after the holidays), I also began lifting weights.
My main goal at that time...
one word....
ABS!
I have NEVER seen abs on this body.
Now granted - I was skinny as a RAIL (thus the nickname "toothpick") growing up...  but skinny AND built...  No.  Never.

So - at 36 I decided, what better time to try to get back into shape.

And so began the work outs.

Here's where I took a turn.

I began working out with my boyfriend.  (and all his GUY friends!!)  THEY are power lifters.  I cared NOTHING about "power lifting" you see.  I'm not trying to GET STRONG.....  duhhhhhhh - I just want abs.   I want to see ABS.  Period.  (I don't know if you have ever heard me say this or not - but trust me... over the years.... I have LEARNED that abs are built in the KITCHEN)   Regardless....  I only worked out to LOOK BETTER.  Period.   That is all I want from this torture!!!

((Sidenote - looks alone is NOT enough to motivate you to the level you need to be!  I know this now!!)

So I went.  I checked in when I was supposed to.   I went through the motions.  I hurt.  I whined.  Whatever.   but I was seeing NO physical change.  And I was frustrated.

And then...... I did the unthinkable.... something I would have NEVER dreamed I would do!!!
I agreed to be in a power lifting competition.  Mostly I did this as a "present" for my boyfriend for his birthday because he wanted me to do it so bad.
((Sidenote:  I HATE getting up in front of people!!  but I LOVE him....))

So last Saturday...  I showed up.  All scared to death and having no desire to be there for ME.

The event began with benching.  I'm not real happy with my bench.  It's nothing to brag about.  BUT I can bench more now than when I started.... sooooooo here we go.   There was only one other girl lifting bench.  She started higher than me...  I benched 75 for my first lift.  She did 85.  So I was suddenly feeling defeated.  BUT I was quickly reminded I'm not competing against anyone but myself.  This FIRST competition was simply to get me in the game and to beat ME.  For my second lift, I did 85.  She did 105.  And missed it.  So for my third I went up to 95 (more than I have ever benched... 90 is my max)   But I missed.  And she again missed her 105.
SO I WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I won FIRST PLACE IN BENCH!!!!!!!  :)

Moving on to dead lifts (which is one of my favorite things to do - and is ironically my boyfriends best event too!!)
I opened with 165.  went to 180.  Then my final lift was 195 - A PERSONAL RECORD for me!!  Yay.
BUT two other girls lifted..and one (who weighed more than me) Opened with 300 POUNDS!!!!!!!!
I was in awe!!!
And when the trophies were awarded and I got THIRD place in dead lifts (even though I PR'ed for myself) I politely said "This sucks!" as I got up to get my third place ribbon.

And I guess I realized then...... (as my boyfriend secretly already knew) I was hooked
and did NOT want to be defeated again.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

So I entered the gym the next week with a new attitude and a new game face.  I was informed that I am now broke just like the guys.  Because NORMAL people don't TRY to pick up twice their body weight "for fun".  But that's what we TRAIN to do!!!  And then some!!!

SOOOOOOOO.....in the words of Dana Linn Bailey (who is my new role model!)
 I'm not here to be sexy, I'm here to be a bad A$$!!!  

I'm GONNA dead lift 300 pounds!!!!

Goals for 2013:  (set early)   Dead lift 250, bench 125.   Feasible??

WE.  WILL.  SEE!!!!!!!!!!

For my next competition, I will compete for ME.... and to WIN!!