Here is the latest on my training and nutrition!
1) My current split:
Mon- Deadlifts + Back
Tues- Bench- Wide Grip and Close Grip + Triceps
Wed- Low Bar Squats
Thurs- Intervals or rest
Fri- Bench + Tri’s
Sat- High Bar Squats
Sun- Shoulders (designed for helping Bench Press)
2) Working on total body tension:
One of the things I have been working on in my training is really utilizing the advantage of total body tension (or radiant tension). When I do any lifts, I try to keep my WHOLE body tight, not just the “part that’s working.” For example, today I did shoulders. I did 3 warm up sets of Barbell Overhead Press, 5 working sets, then 2 easier sets, then a bunch of ancillary work. For the shoulder press, I didn’t just think “my shoulders are working, so keep those tight, and let the rest of my body chill or be loosey-goosey.” Instead, I squeezed the shit out of my core, squeezed the shit out of my quads, imagining driving my frikkin soles straight through the ground, and THEN I push with my upper body. It honestly helps my with my lift. If the rest of your body is loose, you can’t get optimal synergy and drive. Your body is not a group of disparate muscles. By contracting ALL your muscles, you are allowing your body to (aptly) work as one instrument of consummate force.
3) Working on more explosive motions
This at first seemed a little counterintuitive to me, but I’m working on shifting my previous tendency of long and slow lifts, to ones that are more explosive. I want the bar to explode from my chest in the bench, I want the bar to be thrown up from the ground in my deadlift, I want to explode from out of the hole in my squat….so I need to train my muscle fibers to work quickly and powerfully. So, I have been working on developing speed and explosiveness in my lifting (e.g. hack squats with full range of motion, exploding as powerfully as I can from the bottom)
4) Less cardio (mantra: muscle machine)
Although I feel the pressure from my upcoming physique competition in less than 15 weeks, I am trying to avoid cardio, and just focus on lifting, strength, muscles, iron. I tell myself “I am a muscle machine”…and as such, remind my body that muscles are what create a high metabolism, so I am still losing fat well with lifting alone. P.S. I really believe in the power of the mind in helping shape what impact our training and nutrition has on our bodies! ;P (side note: read this fascinating article on the implication of our beliefs on our physiology!)
5) Tons of self care
I have been doing lots of foam rolling, stretching, getting 2 hour massages almost every week, and last week I even saw an acupuncturist (ouch) and chiropractor (I actually liked it). I will continue to do rolling, stretching, and massage. Maybe chiro. Prolly not the acupuncturist, that shit hurt. And I have been getting 8-9 hours of sleep most nights. The point is, with the training intensity and volume I am doing, I am taking really good care of myself to keep it sustainable!
6) Targeted Glute work
Firing the glutes is a critical issue for not only generating strength and power, but also for overall optimal kinetic chain function and injury prevention! I have noticed that my right glute is not firing as well as my left, so I have been pulling out all my tricks for getting in that mind-muscle connection and working on basic glute firing. I’m doing band walking variations, banded clamshells, bridges, weighted bridges, single leg lifts, and so forth.
7) Meticulous Diet and Mental Fortitude
I have been killing my diet, sticking to my macros. When the going gets tough, I do what is necessary to stay on track. Texting my coach, talking to friends, staying busy, reading positive quotes, sleeping, getting sun, revisiting my goals, not tasting my food as I cook it, not tasting any free samples or handouts, no veering off my diet, laser focus…
8) Pushing Through
I tell myself that this is easy. Every rep, every set, I am pushing and pushing. It might be hard as fuck but I tell myself that THIS IS EASY. I pick up the weight and I exhale and tell myself it’s nothing. It’s nothing to me! Easyyyy easy weight. Why does this have to be so easy?! Sorry it’s hard for others, but I am Kristina Dobyns! I am a savage! I am a beast! I am a muscle machine! I expect nothing but the best for myself! Maybe this is hard for others, but I got this! Time to kill!
Okay, maybe the internal dialogue doesn’t go exactly like that, I mean I hope it’s not as cheezy as that, but you get the gist. I brainwash myself and am always encouraging myself and pushing myself, that I need to push further and that I can do it.
Well, my loves, that’s my update on what I am doing!
Lots of love and tons more love and then some more love and love you lots!!
XOXO
K
MAY