Friday, April 11, 2008

IMPROVING MY COMP PREP

The owner of ADELAIDE HEALTH & FITNESS, the wonderful Joe Mammone is assisting with my training for competition this year

I’ve known Joe for a long time as we both instructed at the same gym for several years. He had his business then and was building a reputation as a great instructor and trainer who was popular with many of the gym members. In fact many of the members also attended his gym for his quality one-on-one training.

Last year I did all my weight training on my own but Joe helped with my body fat testing as he was one of the few trainers I knew who did skin folds with callipers and this was my preferred method for body fat monitoring. He came to watch me compete, along with some of his clients that knew me from the gym. (Adelaide is a very small, everyone-knows-everyone city)

Anyway circumstances are such that I need to do one gym session a week, but not necessarily more so Joe was a logical solution to my problem. (I’m still doing my own programming for the remaining weights sessions, cardio and diet – for now at least.) I’m taking time out at lunch time on Fridays which is a win / win as its not a busy time for Joe. Its also giving me the necessary incentive to steer clear of Friday morning tea (VERY IMPORTANT) and then stay on track over the weekend. There’s nothing like some in-your-face-accountability to help one to stay on track. He knows my starting weight but by seeing me weekly there'll be cold hard evidence of whether I'm progressing or not.

So I’ve had my first session with Joe today and we do back, some machine leg work (I still do a lot of leg work at home) and abs if time permits. We started with “Ok can you do chin ups?” at which point I thought “B*ST*RD, he’s picked the hardest exercise to start with and I cant do them unassisted” so I warned him that he’d have his work cut out for him as he’d be doing most of the lifting/assisting and there was significant weight there to lift. We both survived it though.

It was a great session, tough but inspiring and I’ll have some serious DOMS tomorrow I can tell. WOOHOO. I love this feeling and will really look forward to training with Joe for that extra push.

I’m also planning some dietary changes and have a question:

Does anybody know of a protein powder that is suitable for cooking with that doesn’t contain artificial sweetener or sugar (or maybe just a little sugar relative to the content of the product)? I normally use a soy protein for cooking into my morning oats (WPI does NOT cook in well) but it has artificial sweetener AND sugar in it. I also love my oat/protein pancakes which require protein powder. But If anybody has an oat/protein pancake recipe that doesn’t need protein powder but still packs a decent ratio of protein to carbs then I'm all ears for that too.

Any advice would be very welcome.

Look forward to blogging more on the weekend.

Cheers all

Magda

11 comments:

Kek said...

I always use a WPC/WPI blend. It is sweetened with sucralose, but there's no added sugar (total sugar per serve is 1g). And I cook all sorts of things with it, no problem.

It's EAS 100% whey protein. I buy it online from www.bodybuilding.net.au - they're usually cheapest and it can be hard to get locally.

Kristy said...

Having a trainer once a week will be really good. I have thought about this for a short time as a little bit of motivation even if it was only once a fortnight. It will be great to have someone to really push you...

I'm looking forward to weekend blogs:)

Em said...

Hi Hun :)
Sounds like your weekend maybe painful but inn a good way :)
I think its great that you have had a killer gym session with a trainer if you feel this great after your session at the gym just imagine how great your going to feel in a month 2 months from now :)
Very exciting:)
Have a great weekend hun :)
Em:)

Magda said...

Thanks Kek, I'll look into the EAS protein.

Kristy, it felt so good to be back in a gym. I miss that environment and am looking forward to those weekly sessions.

Thanks Em. I hope you have a good weekend too.

Cheers guys

Magda

Raechelle said...

Hey MAGDA-good luck with your training-having the trainer will help to keep your motivation up for sure.
I use Aussie Bodies Perfect Protein..it's whey and it's natural. I use it for my protein pancakes as well as protein drinks. It has no added sugar.

Kristy said...

Magda, just wondering do you still have remedial massages through the guy you recommended to me?

I am thinking I need to go back and make it more of maybe a monthly thing or something...

Lisa said...

Magda,

The plant based proteins mix in well to oats/soups/pancakes as they thicken. Pea Protein (Vital greens) has an excellent Amino profile and is certifiec organic.
You should also look at Vege Protein(Designer Physiques).

I am pleased you are replacing the soy as from a muscle gain and hormonal persective it is not optimum unless you are post menopausal.

Lisa

RaeC said...

Great news on the train!! Further to Raechelle's comment, Aussie Bodies do a natural soy protein without anything added... here's the link with all the details... http://www.healthbrands.com.au/products/aussie+bodies/powders/perfect+soy+protein.htm xxx

RaeC said...

let me try that again so you can read the whole link... LOL!!
http://www.healthbrands.com.au/products/
aussie+bodies/powders/perfect+soy+protein.htm

Magda said...

Thanks guys for all your tips and suggestions for a better protein powder for me. I'll certinly look into each one as far as cost/how easy it is to buy etc. I really appreciate your help with this.

Raechelle, I LOVED training with a trainer yesterday and for the first time EVER I have DOMS in my lats WOOHOO :-) :-)

Cheers all

Magda

Michelle said...

Hey Magda,
I"ve been following your blog for a while. Thanks for keeping me on track w my training.
Here's a recipe I did a while ago on my vodcast for a powder free high protein pancake. The only problem is they need eating straight away and can't be reheated.

You can watch me cook them at:
http://www.healthyhelpingstv.com/berry-decadent-hotcakes-on-hhtv/2007/09/04/

You can replace the white flour with oat flour if you want.
CK has the full recipe (what I have marked as 2 serves) at 313 cals, 34g carbs, 38g protien and fat free.(Without yoghurt as topping and using non-stick cooking techniques)

I really need to make these again actually!