Bodybuilding -

'k - decision made. We will hope that time heals the legs. I will tally forth and so I'm throwing my focus on the Masters Nationals 2008. If I am strong, I'll stay strong. If I lose any of this hard earned muscle, well, then, it is lost! I am trying to stabalize my weight for a little while, hanging in the low 170's, hopefully that will be a benefit to the pain in my legs. B has started to stretch me again during and at the end of our sessions, especially my quads. If you have never had someone else stretch you intensley before, I can't even begin to relay how grueling it is. I whine, I moan, I beat on the floor, I come closing to screaming at times, but it is necessary.


I took the bodybuilder mentality to the gym last night, and just trained HARD! I forgot how much fun incline dumbell presses were when you do them first in the routine, not wearing yourself out benching first. 100'sx7 , 110'sx6 , then B and Rory handed me the 120's! Yep, I did them...gawwwwwwd I loved it. Those things are HEAVY!!! Then we moved on to weighted dips on the Nautilus Multi-exercise machine...I don't remember how much weight I did, all I know is that they were very heavy too...and yesssssssssssssss, I loved them - one of my favorite exercises, dips are. It is such a "pure" movement.

We are getting rain here these past few days, and lots of it. We need it. It is a good excuse to not even try to go for a walk! I probably look like I have a big stick up my hiney when I take my walks these days, trying to compensate for my legs being in pain...
PBR Finals start tonight! I admit - I am a PBR fanatic. I just loooove watching all those handsome, gritty cowboys. Those guys are insanely tough. I'm coming back in my next lifetime as a pro bull rider, just so younz all know. I love Justin McBride, and I love JB Mauney. Guilherme Marchi really should have won last year, had it not been for a lousy finals for him, so I'm rooting for him, too. I'm just in awe at all of their tenacity as they get beat up, stepped on, horned, battered, bashed and keep coming back with 100% of what they've got. That's the philosophy I'd like to follow, but I never seem to really give 100% all of the time.
If I ever do - look out world! And just so younz know this too - it grates my nerves every time somebody says they give 110%...you can't, OK, you just CAN'T, so stop saying it.

Big ol' Curve Ball -

Life is always throwing curve balls, isn't it?

I am at a crossroads. The situation has been coming on over the past few months, I was hoping it would subside, but it has gotten worse. Growing pains, friggin' GROWING PAINS!! We have determined that the acute pain in the outer portion of my legs is due to the fact that my legs have recently grown quite a bit, but the fascia just hasn't kept pace, causing the muscles to be entrapped in a casing that is just too tight at the present time. It has gotten quite painful at times. I can't even squat any more, it hurts so badly when I do. It feels sometimes quite like someone has beaten the sides of my legs with a baseball bat. Stairs are difficult, and even taking my thrice weekly jaunts around the neighborhood have sometimes become too difficult to endure.

Hence, the crossroads - losing weight would surely alleviate the problem. I can stay this wieght and let time heal me...but how much timewill it take??? Do you understand where I am going with this? It is time to make a choice - do I lose weight and alleviate the problem, hence be able to squat freely again, once again be Kate the Powerlifter, or do I stay the growth course, because, by golly, I have been growing like a weed(that's why the problem is occuring), stay Kate the Bodybuilder, but with that choice I would have to put Kate the Powerlifter away? If Kate the Powerlifter stays, then Kate the Bodybuilder surely will fizzle away.

I'm not making this worse than it is. I really do have to decide.

My nutritionist -

Lately my face has been broken out with blemishes, big ones, and my hair has been plagued with a frizzy squirrly-rat tail like texture(Shut up! More so than usual!)....so my "nutritionist" ( I have to giggle at that expression. So many bodybuilders have "nutritionists"...PUHLEEEZ!!!) says I have to include more fat in my diet.
I have talked myself over the years into believing that I am actually allergic to fat...how the heck do I eat more fat without wanting to slit my wrists after doing so???? Stay tuned for updates on this project!
Today I took a less brutal approach to training than normal, since I had to train back and I had already done big heavy dumbell rowing for the Women's Physique World video taping the other day with chest, etc....It's so amazing how much weight one can handle in the "auxillary" exercises if one does not do heavy deadlifting or rack pulls or rows to begin with. And I could do my biceps and actually "feel" my biceps working without having them feel like they were going to pull off of the bone. I didn't say I liked training like that - I'd much prefer pulling heavy first and feeling battered and shattered before moving on to the rest of the workout. :)
I have to relay this funny remark from one of my gym buddies, Rory - I have really long muscles in my quads and B and he were commenting on how they were really growing and starting to grow over my knees. I said that my quads still need to get bigger and he looked at me all serious and said "if they get any bigger you won't have any knees left". It just struck me as funny... Ok, enough -

Day in the Life of William Penn

I had a video/photoshoot with WPW yesterday up at the Training Center and then we headed over to old New Castle. If you don't know old New Castle in Delaware, it's a little colonial town that has been wonderfully preserved from the times of William Penn and gang, from the old brick buildings to the cobblestone lanes, the first ticket booth from one of the oldest train stations in America still stands here . It was a pleasant sunny day, around 80 with a light breeze wafting up from the bay. However, in the gym it was a toaster oven...I guess they automatically turn the air down come autumn -my gawsh, it was sweltering!!!
I swear I will never don a posing suit in such pasty like cow like condition again! Actually, I do still have a decent tan, from partaking of the tanning bed facilities at Midway Fitness Center, and I'm probably about 12% bodyfat...but oh how the camera lies!!! The scale said 172 when I stepped upon it yesterday.
Bill and John videoed me training through a chest/delt/tricep session, and by Bill's request added in some 170 and 190 pound dumbell rows... it was so friggin' hot, and believe me, I like it hot, but it was nuts hot- it wasn't my best "work", but I guess it will get its point across. Dave Pulcinella happened to be training at the same time we were there - he was covered up for the most part, but what was poking out of his sleeves and pant legs looked pretty awesome. I don't know if he's doing Nationals or not - Al Fortney is. He sneaked in looking pretty cut up through the delt and arms, but sneaked out as fast as he sneaked in, so I didn't get the full Big Al effect.
Oh, back to me - I'm very very sore today. I hadn't posed much since the Master's, I forgot how much work posing is. It couldn't be from the 190 pound rows that I'm sore, nope... hah!!!!

Oh, yes, I know I need to reign in my gluteus medius... it's almost larger than the maximus, which soon could be the minimus if my medius becomes more maximum.

Where have I gone?

Things are just a little out of sorts for me right now - be back soon!