Happy Halloween and Going with the Flow

Happy Halloween everyone!

Very quick post - no pics or anything! :) Had a really rough couple of days with long work days and so took yesterday off. This means Thursday is my off day and so I need to redo my schedule.

I will need to do light arms, light back and chest tomorrow with HIIT session and then Sunday plyo legs.

Look for a new vlog soon!
Jess

Three Minute Inspiration!

Hey y'all!

So, we all know Cynthia, Visionquester, is awesome and a bad ass. We all know it - just look at her pics from competition. But if you really want to see some bad ass sh## check out this video and then vote for her! She rocks and if you need a video to watch to get motivated to workout - this is your video. :)

Please click the link on the right hand side above my picture and vote for her on Bodybuilding.com as a spokesmodel. She has it all: humility, heart, passion, honesty, everything and IMHO deserves our votes.

Oh, and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Jess

Vlog!!! All Hail Cynthia and Kelly - Queen Vloggers

All right ladies, I can't even get CLOSE to you guys for vlogging awesomeness but wanted to drop it in anyway!And major apologies for my hair and the bad lighting - sometimes the love of my life is so comfortable he doesn't want to help adjust hair or lighting - next time I promise to look cuter! And give you a bicep shot! :)



I had a VERY long day at work today but ate great and got in my workouts! Yeah! Hammies this morning and light shoulders/heavy arms tonight.

I love the new heavy lifting schedule! :) Thanks to all my followers! Fikenator has joined the Juice Squeezing revolution!

Love you guys! Duh.
Jess

Weekly Recap and WOW!

Hey y'all! I have a LOT to say this evening so I am going to get right to it!

First of all, I love the new follower feature on blogger - it is awesome! I follow my peeps and they follow me. :) Fun times.

Had a GREAT workout tonight - did back. Awesome. My leggies are still a little sore so hammies and an HIIT workout in the morning. It is really weird doing heavy lifting instead of the hard core super intense more cardio focused workouts I have been doing. So I KILL IT with heavy weight and then that's it...I am done. I love this. I eat, get in the hot tub, and sleep. Good times.

Back workout was four exercises 3-4 sets, 6-8 reps - HEAVY and then final exercise (5th one) was German Volume Training (GVT) so 10 sets of 10 at 70 lbs lat pull down. It was awesomeness. Exercises were: deadlifts, rows, seated cable rows, one arm reverse grip pull down.

Below is a summary for my workouts last week...I am going to keep rocking it this week and will keep you guys posted. Food has been perfect....which is kick ass. I have some all day meetings tomorrow and Thursday but preparation is key so I have to make sure I have all my meals on me and prepared.

Have a great week everyone!

Week of October 20th
Monday: Day Off - WHEW!
Tuesday: Leg circuits and 20 minute jog - 85 total minutes
Wednesday: Off (business clients in town)
Thursday: Heavy lift shoulders - 20 minute jog.
Friday: Off - workout clothes left at home
Saturday: 5K - 25 minutes (massive asthma attack :()
Sunday: BRUTAL 2 hour leg workout with Amber - WHOA!

Jess

Breaking News! News Alert!

News Alert: Northwest Arkansas

The sound of a bomb was just heard in Northwest Arkansas. The location of the suspected detonation was in the home of Jessica Hendrix. Bomb forensics were able to locate the exact location of the detonation to the deltoid region of Jessica's shoulders.

BAM! Blew up! Wow. :)

A couple things: It is wierd to do shoulders and do low weights, heavy weight - I am so used to the opposite. Plus, while my heart rate went up - it didn't really do anything crazy and I am not doing any cardio so just chillin - letting the muscle recover.

And for my post workout meal - homemade lasagna - and it is gonna be TIGHT. Yummy. And good for me - 100% whole wheat noodles, 98% lean ground beef - yummy.

I wanted to post a better back picture for you guys - I totally jacked up my posing at the Missouri show so my back looks wacked and I wanted you guys to see a better view. This was me 2 weeks out from the Missouri show. I need to make sure I nail the back pose. :)

Have a great week y'all! I will be updating you on progress with my first week with the new training schedule.

Jess

P.S. I just ate the lasagna and I have to tell you it was GOOD! And good for me! Post workout meal - CHECK!

The Plan

Holy hotness - Jamie Eason rocks it!

Based on my swot analysis and my current physique - I have a clear understanding and focus of the areas for my next show and below is my plan of action for the next 8 weeks. I will re-evaluate after 4 weeks and see how I am progressing.

6 Day Lifting - Hypertrophy Emphasis:

• Day 1: Heavy shoulders, light quad/glute workout - four shoulder exercises - 4 sets each, 6-8 reps, heavy; quads/glutes - 4-5 exercises, 15-20 reps
• Day 2: Heavy back, light hamstring workout - four back exercises - 4 sets each, 6-8 reps, heavy; hamstrings - 4-5 exercises, 15-20 reps
• Day 3: Heavy arms, light shoulders - four - five arm exercises - 4 sets each, 6-8 reps, heavy; shoulders - 4-5 exercises, 15-20 reps
• Day 4: Plyometric leg workout; light chest workout - plyo legs will be 16 total exercises, fast paced focus on conditioning; chest 4-5 exercises, 15-20 reps
• Day 5: Heavy shoulders; light arms - four shoulder exercises - 4 sets each, 6-8 reps, heavy; light arms - 4-5 exercises, 15-20 reps
• Day 6: Heavy hams; light back - four ham exercises - 4 sets each, 6-8 reps, heavy; light back - 4-5 exercises, 15-20 reps

I will only do 2 short additional cardio workouts each week - which will be track workouts based on how my legs feel. The goal is conditioning of the legs - not adding more mass or decreasing fat - I might even add some with my food.

My food will emphasis pre and post workout meals and getting 6 meals a day. My macros will be 40% protein, 30-40% carbs, 20-30% fat and will shoot for around 1800-2000 calories a day. Whoa.

Tomorrow morning I will be BOMBING my shoulders - BOMBING them. I won't be doing the leg part of my workout tomorrow since I did such a hard leg workout today.

Rest and recovery will be key for me and biofeedback will also be very important - if I feel like I need a day off I will take it. Hope you guys are all rocking it!

Thanks so much for all your support and comments along the way - I couldn't do it without you!
Jess

SWOT Analysis

Hey all! Cynthia encouraged me to do a SWOT analysis from my last show and current pics so I can dial in on areas of weakness and keep momentum on the areas that are currently strong.

Here is what I came up with (and I believe I have Cynthia's concurrence ;)) based on pics from last show:

Strengths:
Waist to hip ratio - symmetry
Leg shape - I have long legs for 5'3"
Back
Glutes
Shoulders
Calves
Overall presentation (I don't look like a dude)

Weaknesses:
Wide hips - bone structure
Butt/leg conditioning
Abs
Shoulders - width and size
Hamstrings

Here is my current "before pic"...and let me just say that normally I wouldn't post this but I really don't care. :) I know what this process requires and this is part of it! :) You WILL NOT be getting butt shot (current). :) Kelly GIRL - I KNOW you look better than this so I expect before pics ASAP. I mean, check out my make up and hair - AWESOME.



My focus will be on the body parts mentioned above. The plan or how I will get there is coming tomorrow!

Would love to get all of your thoughts/comments on my SWOT analysis and see if you have any additional comments or feedback - I welcome it all - positive AND negative. I don't take it personally, it is simply part of the process.

More later kids!
Jess

Happy Friday! Paralyzed - Vacation Pics

Happy Friday all! Hope everyone is having a WONDERFUL week! It has been NUTS for me with some all day meetings that came up last minute on Tuesday and Wednesday so that made balancing everything this week really tough. What I am really, really happy with is my eating! My workouts are leaving something to be desired and I will explain more about that in a few.

Here are some pics from our vacation in Mexico! We had such a wonderful time! It was absolutely heavenly relaxing and fun....Amber and Doon were also great to vacation with - definitely great travel partners!

Me outside our hotel room. Jody and Doon, HUGE storm coming in!

Me and Amber on the beach. Me and hubby (check out the sunburned hoo hoos).


Self portrait of me and the hubster. I love that guy!

Ok, so I got a little paralyzed this week b/c I did my swot analysis and realized I have some work to do! Whoa! I started thinking about everything I need to do and if I should hire a trainer, how long to lift heavy for, etc. and basically missed a couple workouts and just came to a stop - regardless - I have it figured out. YEAH! But remember, if you are having trouble with motivation it may be that you don't have to have a plan in place - you can still workout with a plan. :) I did not do such a good job of followign my own advice...hee hee but I ate great! So that is a positive!

Tomorrow I will post my SWOT analysis and before pictures (front side only :)) and give you all the plan.

Have a great weekend everyone! Love you guys!
Jess

Support and Thanks...........

Hey y'all!

This post is filled with love and joy and appreciation to thank you guys for your support! I am so fortunate to have all of you in my life! Plus I went from 1 follower to NINE! BAM! Just like that, ask and you shall receive. :)

Anyway, back to the gratitude thing...you guys are all awesome. Really, really, awesome. I wouldn't be able to do this without you guys. Really. You are there for me 100% and make me feel like I can do anything I set my mind to! And I am going to ROCK that stage. Rock it.

I can't wait to share my journey with each and every one of you!

Just as a reminder, I put my workouts on the right hand side of my blog - under my picture and then at the end of the week I do a recap. I am going to start keeping my food log on Fit Day with a public profile so you guys can take a look as well. :) And I will try to jump on as often as possible to give you the daily insights.

As for next steps, I am in the middle of a hard core SWOT analysis (with Visionquesters help) and will then post the plan - but for now I can tell you with 21 weeks, I have NINE weeks of building.

Have a GREAT week all! More soon!
Jess

The Next Chapter: Visionquester in Training

All right my friends and fellow bloggers....this is a BIG post for me (although I have to tell you it may not be for you :)). I have some news and outside of the hubby and some close friends, I want you guys to be the first to know (and it really isn't THAT big of a deal).

For those of you who have followed my blog from the beginning, some of this story will be boring and old news, but for those of you who are new or just tuning in, perhaps it will be entertaining or at least insightful. And I am a Visionquester in Training...which will make more sense later when I get to the end of my story. :)

In 2007 I did two figure shows - the first being my first ever and the second just 6 weeks later! What happened after the shows was a very difficult experience for me....post competition blues, full rebound, weight gain, depression, loss of interest in everything....really. It is hard to explain but this was my schedule/life last time I competed:

• 5am: 45-60 minutes cardio
• Lunch: Lift for an hour
• 8pm: 1 hour food prep
• 9pm: 45-60 minutes cardio

So pretty much NO LIFE. A couple things happen when you have that kind of schedule - you kind of become addicted to the goal and then you get really burnt out at the same time. Then when the show is over and you don't have that goal, it is like losing a close friend - you gain weight, lose your tan and your energy and motivation. Now, those are all CHOICES you make....because how you handle the end of the contest and how you deal with after the show is what matters.

And I am CONVINCED it isn't going to take the same energy and effort I put in before to get the results I need. I am 100% convinced I don't have to do 2 hours or cardio a day. Convinced and I will have you guys along for the ride to show you that! :)

Things changed for me: I realized I don't have to kill myself with cardio and miss time with my family and friends. I realized I choose how I react after the show. I realized I don't have to sacrifice sanity to reach my goals.

Now to my goals and strategy:

I am competing again in 2009!

March 14: Compete in the Northern Kentucky Natural Show
National show: TBD (schedule hasn't come out yet)

I have 21 weeks to the 14th show which means 9 weeks building and 12 weeks of conditioning. Get my shoulders, back and biceps big - traps. Condition the legs.

My overall goal is to get my Pro Card in 2009. I will have it. It will happen. This is why I am a Visionquester in Training. Because I see my vision and I will have it.

Thanks to all of you who support me and give me the strength to get there! Love you guys.
Jess


P.S. I only have ONE blog follower at the moment - ONE and I know there are more of you out there - at least one more. ;) Click on the link on the right to add me to your blog list! Wont you?

Weekly Recap

Hey y'all!

Not the best week for me but my training in Mexico was super intense so I don't feel terrible about it....definitely getting more consistent which is awesome! :)

Have a great Monday!

October 13th
Monday: 10 minute warm up - Day 3 of Ultimate Figure - mostly back, triceps, more shoulders - 90 minutes - sweaty!Tuesday: 10 minutes warm up - Day 4 of Ultimate Figure Program - mostly chest, shoulders, core - 90 minutes AGAIN. Hard core!Wednesday: Travel day - off

Thursday: 90 minute upper circuits - very tired
Friday: Off
Saturday: 10k AM - 53 minutes
Sunday: UFP (upper body) Day 2 - modified with additional conditioning drills - 70 minutes - Amber workout!

Jess

10K - Owwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!

Hubby and I ran a 10k yesterday morning - it was the 20th annual Chile Pepper race, a 10k cross country race. I did ok considering I haven't been running much at all and hadn't even run in 10 days with vacation, etc. Ran the 6.2 miles in 53 minutes - 8:30 pace. Again, happy with my time b/c of how little I have been running and b/c it is cross country which means I could probably run faster on the road. Which brings me to today....OWWWWW....my leggies are really sore...I am so glad I didn't do legs later in the day yesterday - I had considered it. Whoa!

Hubby did great! Ran it in 45 minutes - and considering we BOTH just came back from a week of eating and drinking - he did awesome.

More later kids. Have some news to share with you later today. :)

Jess

Weekly Recap and Post Vacation (No Pics Yet)

All right my friends, we are back from vacation and so relaxed. I can't tell you how wonderful our trip was...I didn't have to work at all (although I logged on for about an hour one of the days when it was raining) and we just relaxed and hung out. We went sailing....and snorkeling...got three massages (yes, THREE)...read two - almost three books - ate lots of wonderful food and hung out in my bikini and was ok with it. :) I drank some and had deserts and slept in and worked out EVERY DAY! I love, love, love to workout.

Most importantly though, I spend the week with my husband and had the most wonderful quality time with him. I am so blessed to have him in my life and it was truly a honeymoon. But something else happens when you are as in love as we are....every day feels kind of like a honeymoon - really. I know, cheesy but true. So the best part of vacation is spending so much time together and having no interruptions. I will post lots of pics when I have them from my friend Amber b/c our camera battery died.

I did want to share with all of you how nice it was to be in my bikini and not care about how I looked....now I cared enough that I waxed :) and shaved my legs, but I wasn't paranoid - I just went with it and enjoyed it. I wasn't going to let not being in the best shape ruin my vacation. I just wanted to enjoy it and I did. For all of you who have ever spent time in a bikini uncomfortable and irritated, let me tell you how nice it is to be on the other side of that feeling. :)

We had a little drama on the way home...flight delayed and then we didn't get our bags but who cares....we were home with all our stuff.

Here is my weekly recap from the week before - I took Wednseday off and am probably taking tonight off too (unless I get crazy in the next half hour) - pretty tired from the travel and not sleeping well last night. But glad to be home.

Week of Oct 6th:
Monday: AM Conditioning Drills - jumping jacks, squat jacks, spiderman push up hops, towel drills, abs, burpees, core and much, much more! :) 90 minutes plus 20 jog after - sweaty, sweaty gumdrops!
Tuesday: AM HIIT intervals - 5 minute warm up; 10 (increased by two!) sets of 1 minute at 6 minute miles, 30 second squat hold, 90 seconds at 10 minute miles; 20 minute jog; PM Upper body circuits - focus on chest, biceps, triceps, core - 100 minutes - WHEW!
Wednesday: GVT: 10x10 of bicep curls, shoulder press, shoulder fly 300 reps at 4:30 am!
Thursday: Circuit workout with Amber at hotel gym + burpee challenge. 100 minutes of brutalness!
Friday: Hotel gym: 10 minute warm up - leg circuit workout 90 minutes YOWZA! Followed by massage! ahhhhh.
Saturday: Hotel gym: 10 minute warm up - 60 minutes legs - ham/glute focus; shoulders and triceps in metabolic circuits - abs 30 minutes - AWESOME! Amber & Jess reunion
Sunday: 10 minute warm up - Day 2 of Ultimate Figure Program - mostly biceps, shoulders, back - core - 90 minutes hard core!

Missed you guys! Thanks to Amber for all the great workouts on vacation! :)
Jess

Big Sigh

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.....vacation...........

• Sleeping in (no responsibilities of walking the dog)
• Laying out by the pool
• Great workouts (every day except for our first day!)
  
• Sailing
• Massages
• Drinking
• Eating (dessert even!)
• Playing ping pong
• More laying out by the pool
• NOT working :)
  
• Naps with my hubby by the beach

Life is good. Just wanted to say hi quick - we are leaving tomorrow but having a great time. :)

More when I return - have had some great workout! GREAT! Sore, sore, sore. Upper body toast. :)

Jess

Weekly Recap and Bon Voyage!

Hey y'all!

This will be short but wanted to give you last week's recap before I take off! We leave tomorrow morning at 7am and I am SO excited. Lord knows I need a vacation! :)

I feel really good about where I am right now and I am starting to see my body respond to this program after just 4 consistent weeks. LOVE IT! I will take lots of pics in Mexico and will be checking in/email. Plus I will get in lots of great workouts - I LOVE to workout on vacation - I have so much free time!

Love you guys!

Week of Sept 29th

Monday: OFF (needed sleep)

Tuesday: AM upper body circuits (focus on chest and biceps) + 20 minute jog (90 total minutes); PM: German Volume Training 10 sets of 10 of bicep curls (incline slow with 15lb dumbbells) and shoulder press (20lbs dumbbells)

Wednesday: AM HIIT Intervals - 1 min 6 min mile; 30 second squat hold; 90 second 10 minute mile - repeat 8 times followed by 20 minute jog
Thursday: PM Leg circuits 90 minutes followed by 20 minute jog
Friday: AM German Volume Training 10 sets of 10 of bicep curls (incline slow with 15lb dumbbells) and shoulder press (20lbs dumbbells) and 20 minute doggie walk; PM 90 minutes upper body/core circuits followed by 20 minute jog (gonna sleep good tonight!)
Saturday: Noon workout - 90 minute upper body/core circuits - chest/shoulder focus followed by 30 minute jog
Sunday: AM HIIT Intervals - 1 min 6 min mile; 30 second squat hold; 90 second 10 minute mile - repeat 8 times followed by 20 minute jog; PM (part 1) 10x10s of the following: incline dumbell curls (15lbs), shoulder flyes (15lbs); overhead press (20lbs) - 300 total reps!

Have a great week!
Jess

Jeans....Progress....2 Days to Go

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! I had a GREAT weekend and I officially only have TWO DAYS to go until my wonderful SECOND HONEYMOON with my wonderful husband!!

For those of you who haven't been following my blog long, we did not have the greatest honeymoon. We chose to go with another couple that we had gone on MULTIPLE trips with in the past and had a WONDERFUL time...unfortunately, for our honeymoon they were beginning the end of their 20 year marriage. One marriage began and another ended...so we are truly looking at this as a re-do to our first honeymoon and I just can't wait!!! I have so much love for my hubby and to spend a week with him in Mexico will be heaven.

So, I have been busting it hard for the last four weeks consistently on my workouts and been doing good on my diet for the last six weeks....but haven't been obsessing over the scale or anything - just feeling better overall. Last night we went to dinner with some friends which always spurs the "oh crap, what will I wear" conversation with myself - specifically about jeans b/c the one pair I feel good in are kind of old. Well, I saw a pair I had bought 6 months ago that I really couldn't get past my hips when I got them (ordered online) and I thought "you have made some progress, give them a shot" and low and behold, they fit and looked pretty good -but more than anything I was proud of myself. I have been working hard but also really being positive and not talking down to myself...it is all positive. What I do want everyone to know is that my mind set is SO different right now and I attribute that to a few things:

• Finding the support my hubby has always given me and listening to him when he told me to stop beating myself up and just be happy with me
  
• Taking a long time off after truly burning myself out
• Finding Scott Abel and his forums to better understand the science and metaphysics of training
• Letting go - knowing things will happen if I just let them happen

Have a great week everyone! I will do a weekly recap tomorrow! I might get in a bit more yet tonight! Watch out bikini - HERE I COME!
Jess

Happy Friday!

Hey y'all! I hope everyone is having a WONDERFUL week!!

EM, you are going to ROCK IT OUT TOMORROW! You are smokin and with your attitude and beauty, I know you are going to KILL IT!

The weather here is absolutely spectacular - 50 at night and 75 degrees during the day - if it was like this all day every day I would be a very happy girl. Well heck, I am happy all the time!!! And yesterday I realized that I haven't been sick since like March or something!!! Can you believe it???? It is so awesome....ahhhhhhhh.....life is good. It is great actually.

Anyhoo, I had to go out and get my workout last night. We got a new memory foam mattress and the thing is sucking me in at night when I sleep. I haven't been able to get out of bed the last two mornings. So last night I knew I had to workout and it was 8 and 8:30 and then 8:45 and then I rocked it with a 90 minute leg workout and a 20 minute jog. Whew.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. I am so friggin excited for Mexico....I can barely see straight.

Jess