Assessment Over

I did my assessment Wednesday and am so happy it is over!!

For those of you just tuning in, I did a three day account service boot camp earlier this year and had to do an assessment yesterday which is basically where you present to the leadership team (CEO, CFO, CMO) and then they determine where your strengths are and where you have some areas for improvement. It is also important that you go through this process in order to be promoted. For me, this was a very important step and honestly, I had NO IDEA how much it was preoccupying me over the last few weeks and month. My poor hubby has been so awesome for putting up with me b/c until it was over I didn't realize how much it was bothering me.

But on Wednesday I spend an hour and 15 minutes with the leadership team - 40 minutes of which was me presenting to them and the remaining time was them asking me role play scenarios. It was very stressful but because I truly love what I do, it was also pretty easy.

I am now in Kansas City where I have been since Wednseday night - literally left town right after my assessment was over - for research with my client. It is a real challenge personally from a working out and eating standpoint because as an account service person you have to spend a lot of time with your client (Kelly girl, I know you know what I mean!). So early breakfasts and late nights of eating and drinking. :( I didn't get any workouts in and didn't eat that great but you know what??? I am not going to beat myself up over it. Won't do it. I have been busting my butt over the last three months for work and will do what I can do to workout and eat well but there are going to be situations I can't change.

Tonight we have a dinner party but I have the whole weekend to spend working out and eating well. Which sounds pretty darn good to me. :)

Hope you guys all had a great week!!!

Keep it up yo. Much love to you all.
Jess

Making it Work for Me

I had my reality check on Sunday and it was just what I needed to get my butt in gear.Here is a day in the life of me before:

Wake up at 5:30 - walk dog, work for an hour, get food ready and go to work. Spend all day trying to figure out how to squeeze in my workout....hours passing, get home exhausted - still planning on working out and then feel guilty about not working out all night. So I would spend most of my day worrying about when I would workout and feeling guilty for not working out.

Today I woke up at 5:10 and went immediately into my workout room for an awesome 80 minute MET workout and then ran my dog for about 20 minutes. Came home, got food ready and got out the door.

What did that do for my day? I didn't worry or think about working out all day BECAUSE I HAD ALREADY WORKED OUT! DUH!!

Why didn't I think of this before??? Well, I had but I convinced myself that I needed that time to work to get ready for the day. Now, my day today was a little crazy because I didn't get prepared but I felt completely at peace and wasn't stressed. Before it was a little nagging gnat in my ear: "when will you workout? are you going to have time to workout?"

Clearly, it took me about 6 months of not working out consistently to figure out what I was trying to do by NOT working out in the AM wasn't working. Oh well, you live and learn.

This weekend I did legs on Sat am and then did sprints, ran 5 miles with hubby and Sunday we went for a 90 minute bike and then walked 9 holes of golf. It is good to feel alive again. :)

Cynthia: here's to you chica! You make us all PROUD!

You go girl! 5th place in your first national show! WOO HOO!
Jess

Reality Check and Check Out Visionquester!

First off, I HAVE to give props to my girl Cynthia. She is competing in Las Vegas at the USA's and looks amazing!! She has truly come full circle in her growth as a figure competitor and I am so proud of her. Check out pics of her at Muscular Development's website:

http://www.musculardevelopment.com/browse/index.php?mode=browse&id=12067&eventcode=1264

We will know her results tonight but I am crossing my fingers for a top 5 finish for her! She looks amazing and is in the most competitive class at the USAs! I will post pics of her tomorrow!

As for me and my reality check, I got on the scale today, checked my body fat and took my measurements.

127lbs (not as high as I thought it would be)
22% body fat
hips at 38 inches - the highest they have ever been which I think is a direct result of contest dieting and rebounding. I have never put so much weight on one area like I am now....my hips, butt and love handles are unlike they have ever been.

Went to the mall this am to try on swimsuits and THAT WAS DUMB. ;)

I had to give myself a reality check to see how far I need to go. It is like the game of golf, if you cheat or keep fake scores, you will never know if you are improving so I had to set the benchmark.

And I know right now work is my main priority - I have my account leadership assessment on Wednseday this week - think of it like the Junior USA's for an account service supervisor at an ad agency! :) I hope to make you guys just as proud as Cynthia is making all of us. I will tell you all about it but basically in 1.5 hours I have to convince our senior leadership team that I am leadership material.

I did legs today for 45 minutes, did a few sets of curls and flyes, did sprints and then an hour later ran 5 miles with the hubby. So the goal is to get in another kick ass workout tomorrow through Wednesday and then I am in KC for research on Thursday and Friday which I will TRY to workout but can't make any promises. :) Will focus on my eats.

I have to focus on this one day at a time right now. One meal at a time, one workout at a time. That is the only way I can achieve my goal.

Have a great weekend everyone!!!!

Later gators.
Jess

Don't Give Up! :) I'm Still Here

Thank goodness for you guys and my hubby! You all keep me thinking on the right track and my hubby keeps telling me this is temporary (and it is). So I know that this time off of my intense workouts is only temporary.

I AM HOWEVER super pumped about Cynthia Herndon's NATIONAL stage debut in Las Vegas this weekend! She is going to rock it! She is absolutely BEAUTIFUL - has the personality of a tiger (I mean that in a good way! :)) and will ROCK it on stage! You GO GIRL!

Not much to write other than I am working like a crazy women trying to manage three businesses (was managing one).

Thanks for stopping back and I promise I will get back to good old Jessica, workouts included, SOON! '

Love you guys!
Jess

Brief Hiatus

Hey y'all! Sorry for the brief hiatus this week...WHOA is all I can say! It was a nutty week. Nuttier than normal.

I think a couple posts ago I mentioned that my client is leaving and my boss resigned...so lots of changes at work. We brought in a new hire from our Poland office and I had to train her all week which was pretty time intensive.

I did get in 5 runs - three jogs and two sprint workouts. No weights. :( Eating was ok - probably not enough but I did eat fairly well.

This week my goal will be to get my weight workouts in...it is SO freaking hot here - it was 98 degrees today - no joke.

Have a great Monday everyone - more blogs this week - I am coming back to you crazy kids - promise !

Jess

P.S. I had a birdie on hole 4 today. Which was awesome. :)

Flying Weekends, the Pool & Tsk, Tsk

Happy Monday everyone! It is going to be a doozie of a day for me so I wanted to post early! I have a client meeting at 7:30 and have to get to the office first to print some stuff off. Not so much fun. Regardless, wanted to post a couple thoughts...

Got in my two workouts yesterday - yeah! Tough but I did it.

Secondly, the weekend FLEW by! I mean FLEW! Not enough hours in the day! I will tell you that much and I think it was partially because I got in so many workouts but also partially because we did a lot - went to dinner both Fri and Sat nights, bowled last night at the new Fast Lanes near our house and also went to see Wall-E on Saturday afternoon. I worked for awhile yesterday (didn't work near as much as I needed to).

Finally, I probably got about 3 solid hours of sleep last night because I didn't do what I knew I should have which is to take my Sunday night sleep assist. I get pretty bad anxiety on Sunday nights, especially if I am behind on stuff (and I am), and on those days I take an Ambien CR (a half of one) so I can get some decent sleep and because I went to bed at 11pm and up at 5am I opted not to take it. Not smart. So, today will be sleep deprived. Live and learn.

And I went to the pool yesterday - so first time in a swimsuit this year - yes, I know it is July and yes, I have been avoiding it - and it wasn't fun. But I know this is in my head. Regardless, it still was a struggle. The good news is, I can do something about it! :)

Have a great Monday everyone!
Jessica

Triple Threat and Weekly Recap (a week late)

Good morning and happy Sunday all!

I had a great day of workouts yesterday! My goal is to make up for my lack of workouts this week in my two weekend days - the true definition of weekend warrior! :) Yesterday looked like this:

• AM: Track workout with the hubby (he coached and timed me - no running for him)
• NOON: Tennis (45 minutes)
• PM: Upper body circuits - 1 hour
  

I am definitely feeling it this morning but LOVE that feeling! Love it. And it was also good for me mentally and because I also had TOM get here - JUST what I needed after such a tough week last week. HA HA! :) Had a mini melt down getting dressed to go out last night - I think if I haven't worked out all week I have a hard time thinking I look good in anything.

Luckily my hubby punched me in the head and reminded me that I have nothing to complain about - and he is right, as usual. He didn't actually punch me in the head but still he set me straight!

Today I will try to do the same thing (2-3 workouts) starting with cardio intervals and perhaps some other type of "play" activity in afternoon followed with weights. I have a bunch of work I need to do today - lots so I will also have to squeeze that in AND I really want to decorate my new office space. As with any Sunday I will have to see what I actually can achieve. :)

Food prep is tops on my list - grill up my turkey burgers and tilapia for the week. As long as I have good protein sources prepared I can make it through the week.

Here is my weekly recap from week of June 30th:

Monday:
6 Quarter Mile Repeats
2 Half Mile Repeats
6 Hill Repeats
1 Hour - 600 calories
Tuesday:
OFF
Wednesday:
OFF
Thursday:
90 minutes upper body/core circuits (UFP Day 3)
Friday:
12 1/4 mile hill repeats w/jog back to start and 1/2 mile warm up & 1/2 mile cool down - 7 total miles - 750 cals
Saturday:
80 Minutes upper body core circuits followed by 30 minutes bicycle HIIT workout
Sunday:
1/2 mile repeats in 95 degree weather - NOT fun - 6 repeats - 3 miles
40 minutes of upper/lower/core circuits

Have a great Sunday y'all!
Jess

Is there anybody out there???

Meaning myself. :)

Sorry guys...I have had a brutal week - BRUTAL!! Probably the toughest I have had in a long time.

• Was out of town traveling for work on Monday - Wednesday night.
• Had our quarterly client review (5 hours long) where I have to present for two businesses (instead of one) to our leadership team (had to get up super early and stay up late to prepare).
  
• Had our quarterly company meeting (four hours long)
  
• So I literally had about 4 hours of working time in my week which meant very little workouts (one half a&& one in my hotel room) and not great food PLUS about 5 hours a night since Sunday night.
• My brand manager is moving to a new assignment (I love this guy).
• My boss resigned.
  

So lots of drama at the office this week.

I am not going to use this blog post to complain (well maybe a little bit) but instead to tell you what I plan this weekend:

Tomorrow: two workouts - morning and afternoon - cardio w/sprints and upper body weights in afternoon with maybe a sprinkling of cardio after just to burn more fat.

Sunday: two workouts - bike in am long and slow w/upper body and lower body workout in afternoon.

Couple other things:

• Hubby is doing GREAT! Got his staples out so he is no longer frankenchest and finally got to shower (we were both happy about that).
• Cynthia looks AMAZING! If you haven't seen her updated pics, go to her blog ASAP and check it out. She is the Visionquester link on the left.
• Food this week was ok - had a couple of bad meals but considering I was traveling and super busy I wasn't devastated with my eats.
• I will update my weekly workouts tomorrow.
  

Have a great Friday night y'all! More soon!
Jess

Fireworks Shrapnel Workout and Houston Pro

Hey y'all! Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July holiday! We had a fantastic holiday - Jody is still recovering so we are taking it easy and relaxing! :) On Thursday we went to bed at 10 and slept in until 7 (so awesome) and then relaxed most of the day Friday. He was still pretty worn out and wasn't feeling very spunky. Our neighborhood was having a block party so we just waited for the fun to begin.

I had a very interesting hill repeat workout on Friday - I started my hill repeats right after a 1 mile warm up and 3 hill repeats in my left glute cramped up like crazy! At first I thought I pulled it so I walked slowly back to the house and stretched, took some advil and stretched some more - literally about 30 minutes. After that I decided to try to finish out the workout - hoping it was just a muscle cramp and not a pull. Luckily it was and I got in a KILLER hill repeat workout. I did 12 hill repeats and jogged back to start on a 1/4 mile hill so I ended up getting about 7 miles in just through the hills. It was super hot and super sunny so it was very difficult to get through them all but I did it! And I LOVE to run hills and do track workouts - 10x more than I like to just run. Running is so boring on its own but it is also necessary. What I have found interesting is how firm my legs feel for the few days after a track like workout. I should have done lots more of those kinds of workouts for my last shows - it would have really made a difference to the bootay although at the time telling me to do one more thing probably would have sent me over the edge. ;) I have found that I should lift before track/hill workouts b/c I am exhausted after and really have nothing more to give.....nothing!

I did have some fantastic workouts this week! Really excited to be back at it and feeling as fired up towards the workouts as I have been...the bug is in my blood again - even the hubby made a comment about it. I guess I just needed a year off ! Ha ha! :) I didn't really take a year off but I have had a year of inconsistent lack of love for my workouts.

As for the Fireworks Shrapnel Workout here is what you do:

• Gather 30-40 of your neighbors in your cul-de-sac.
• Purchase or use $2k worth of fireworks (one of our neighbors had some left over from a fireworks show for his church)
• Shoot fireworks off for an hour - bringing people in from many other neighborhoods to watch.
• Go to sleep.
• Wake up the next morning to a post warlike scene in about 6 yards of neighbors out of town or not home during the fireworks show.
• Get a garbage bag and lunge, dead lift, squat as you pick up all the pieces of fireworks shrapnel (approx 1.5 hours).
• Feel the burn! LOL - another functional workout!
  

Later in the day, I also had a killer upper body circuit workout (courtesy of Scott Abel) and then rode my bike with intervals. Toast, brutal, smoked.

Congrats to the top 5 of the Houston Pro figure:

Go to http://www.musculardevelopment.com/browse/index.php?mode=contest&eventcode=1261 to see more pics of all the competitors as well as comparison line ups.

1. Felicia Romero
2. Lenay Hernandez
3. Heather Mae French
4. Jelena Abbou
5. Paola Almerico

What is everyone's thoughts on how the judges judged this show? Are they staying consistent with their 20% rule? Rewarding the softer look still? Put your thoughts in comments. ;)

Hope your Sunday is wonderful!
Jessica

Happy 4th, Broken Wing and BAM Baby!

Sorry for the short post on Wednesday everyone...it was a very long day but I wanted to let everyone know the DH is A-OK. :)

I thought I would also share a bit more with you about the pacemaker....since I know most of you know Jody is a pretty darn good athlete. :) About two years ago, Jody and I were getting ready to go to the gym and he had this really funny feeling but we both dismissed it and went to the gym. About 10 minutes in to our workout while I was doing pull ups on the assisted machine, Jody leans up against the machine and passes out - hits the deck. Hard. I jump down and because of the angle he fell at, I tried to turn him over and when I did that his whole body went stiff and he tensed up like he was having a seizure. I am FREAKING out at this point screaming for someone to call 911. The gym people came over and were asking me if he was taking supplements or drugs and I am screaming no back....well, after about 20-25 seconds of this - which felt like an ETERNITY to me - he woke up and thought we were on the floor doing crunches. So, after I told him that he just passed out and basically had a seizure, I told him we were going to the hospital.

We get to the hospital where they basically think he has been on drugs, stimulants, steroids, etc. and dismiss his concerns but say they are going to hook him up to the EKG machine and see what happens. About 30 minutes later, he flat lines the EKG machine for about 8 seconds (while he was awake) - all the medical staff on the floor runs in the room and is freaking out. Then his heart starts again. Cardiologist comes in the room that night to talk to hubby and after looking at the EKG print out tells Jody he needs a pace maker. A PACEMAKER! His resting heart rate is like 36 and because of that he has these long pauses in between when his heart beats and sometimes the electrical pulse that restarts your heart doesn't work all the time for Jody.

The next day, they roll him into the OR and put in a pacemaker. But they did it just like they do any other pace maker patient - right under the skin - as opposed to considering this is a 38 year old with 9% body fat. Here are some pics of what it DID look like (we call this his broken wing cause he had to wear a sling):
















It is hard to see from these pics but it really did look like three poker chips stacked on his chest. You can see it best from the side angle pic. The pace maker is a device with a battery and a super high tech computer that has wires that route into the ventricles of the heart so when his heart rate dips below 30 (most people have theirs set at like 50 or so) it restarts his heart.

Anyway, after two years of being frustrated with how it looked like he had a 3rd nipple even when he had his shirt ON and catching it on all kinds of stuff - boxes, car doors, the rope push down, he decided to talk to a doc about getting it moved. Please know that we are SO GRATEFUL that we caught this before something horrible happened to him or before he passed out while driving a car and God forbid hurt someone else. His health is number one!! And while the vanity of it was hard it was eventually the catching it on things that bothered him so much. And without doing too much WTMI, there are certain activities we do that it was uncomfortable with as well. Wink, wink.

And so on Wednesday they put him under general anesthesia and cut him open - doubling the length of the scar - and went to work. Here is what they did:

• The wires under the PM had gotten tangled up in scar tissue so the surgeon had to pull the wires out and dissect them from the scar tissue.
• Then he had to create a pocket for the pacemaker closer to his armpit which required they cut through his thick chest muscle and then create the pocket.
• They placed the pace maker in the pocket and then routed the wires underneath the muscles (something they hadn't planned on doing).

Anyhoo, he was in A LOT of pain when he woke up and they gave him two shots of Demerol over the next hour and then sent us home. He slept the whole way home and went to bed almost immediately when we got home. He had a tough day yesterday with mobility and the expectation for what the surgery would be like (a lot harder then he had thought). But he is doing better each day. We looked at it last night when we changed the bandage and it looks like Frankenchest but it already is not as obvious as it was before. Again, thanks to all of you for your help , thoughts and prayers. I can really feel all of your thoughts coming our way! :)

I didn't workout on Tuesday or Wednseday with the surgery - too much stress and too little time. But I had an awesome workout last night. Four sets of four super sets with an emphasis on shoulders, triceps and back. About 80-90 minutes of sweat and intensity. Loved it.

Happy 4th of July everyone! Have a safe and happy holiday! I have a three day weekend (as I am sure most of you do) and I plan on getting some awesome workouts in - how bout you???

There is a poll on the right side of my blog - make sure you vote for your favorite body part to workout (you can vote for more than one!! :)).

Jess

HUBBY THUMBS UP!

Hubby is home and recovering. Will give you more details later but right now I have to go tend to him as he hobbles around our bedroom in his hospital robe getting ready for bed.

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers! Love you guys!
Jess

Passion vs. Obsession

All,

Might have another blog post later, but I had to post the link to the following Scott Abel Blog regarding Passion vs. Obsession. OMG did I relate to this!!! Do I think it is a coincidence that I got a little pop in the butt email from Cynthia at almost exactly the same time with the same subject matter?? I think not.

Click here to read: Scott Abel Obsession vs. Passion Blog

Have a great day everyone! I am having a TERRIFIC TUESDAY! How bout you?
Jess