Okay, like wow. totally. you guys are the greatest, really. and when I win the lotto I will totally buy all of you something pretty and shiny.

For those of you that asked me to pass along the pruning of the arms advice, I will copy and paste below, but know that I got it from the queen of all that is fit, Skwigg, and please give all mad props to her, not me. She totally scares me and I don't want her throwing all her pointy star type cutting implements at my head.

For the one lone soul that wanted to know how I did it...sorry to disappoint, but I can't really give you a weight/rep breakdown. Not because I'm selfish, but because I'm mean. Just kidding, actually, because I changed the workout every week and never wrote anything down, cuz I'm a total spaz. What I can tell you is that I hit them hard, usually twice a week. I picked a weight that seemed heavy, and then kept upping the weight till I couldn't do anymore. I did super-sets, I did drop-sets. Lots and lots of drop-sets. Most of the time I was so sore I wanted to cry and most day's I planned on doing something completely different then I ended up doing. I took creatine. I ate more then I "should" have. That about sums it up. I can give you some ideas on how to shake up what you're doing, if you want, but as for what I did, it was kind of a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants combined with keep-em-guessing, and just really made sure it was as heavy as I could go, and then a little heavier.

Okay, for the rest of you...here's the re-print of the advice Skwigg gave me...

You know how people say that most women don't have the genetics to get big and bulky? I think that I do. I think that if I wanted to be a professional superfreaking hulk, I'm one of the women who could pull it off.For me, getting my arms smaller and tighter had more to do with supplements and diet than changing my training. I started looking like an oak tree for two reasons... maybe three reasons.1) I was taking creatine. Big, volumized, hulking muscle cells. Stop taking it and they shrink a bit. Oddly, I have been able to maintain my strength. It takes several weeks to get rid of a creatine pump. So, you don't notice right awaythat you're getting weaker. Then, it's nothing dramatic. It just feels like you're having an off day. You know, like when everything is harder than it should be. If you force yourself through that, and keep lifting what you were lifting, your strength stays.2) I was eating A LOT of carbs. Great for getting big. Great for strength. Great for having lots of glycogen packed into your muscles. Not so great for looking like a dainty little thing. Have you noticed that women who really diet down tend to have small, flat looking muscles? They don't have that full, rounded look that you get when you're well-fueled and lifting heavy. Well, I had that look. I had the blown-up-with-a-bicycle-pump phenomenon.3) I let my body fat get too high. If you combine the creatine pump, with the carb fullness, with a layer of fat, suddenly you're an oak tree.So, supplement-wise, I got off of any muscle-builders and cell volumizers like creatine, glutamine, methoxy products. Nutrition-wise, I went back to letting my protein run higher than my carbs. I'm not low-carbing, but a typical day mighthave 140-160g of protein, 100-120g of carbs, and a whole lot of healthy fat. For me, that's how I lean out. It gets rid of the extra layer of pudge on my arms and it takes some of the fullness out of the muscles themselves.In order to keep my freak genetics in check, I'm already training my whole body 3 times a week. That's exactly what you're NOT supposed to do if you're trying to get big. So, it's what I do to keep things under control. It works well for a couple of reasons.1) You're burning a lot of calories doing a total body circuit routine. That helps keep your body fat in check.2) There isn't enough time in a 40-60 minute total body workout to do 4 exercises per body part and multiple sets. You end up naturally backing off on your muscle-hulk intensity. You're doing maybe one or two exercises per bodypart, and maybe 1-3 sets per exercise. You don't necessarily drop the weights,you're just not doing as many sets and exercises for each muscle group.3) By working all your muscles every 48 hours instead of once or twice a week,there isn't a hell of a lot of time for recovery and growth. You end up being more of a wiry endurance type than a bulky pumped type.I didn't change my cardio at all. I do 20 minutes of intense intervals 3 times a week. I do 30-60 minutes of moderate whatever-suits-my-mood a few days a week.Usually, just walking.Now, being a total nutcase, I even have pictures that illustrate my arm anxiety.On the left is Kelly Ryan, who is a fitness competitor, not even a bodybuilder.I always thought I wanted to look like Kelly, but you know what? Even she is too big and pumped, especially pre-contest. In my weird little heart, I know that's not really what I'm shooting for. I want to look more feminine than that. I want to be strong looking, but really sleek. So, on the right, we have Danielle Edwards. She has some very fit arms, but they don't look like they're about to explode. People wouldn't run screaming from her if she wore a strappy tank top to the mall. She looks more like a gymnast or a dancer than a Russian powerlifter.So, there you go. Everything you ever wanted to know about my arm hang-up. :-)Skwigg

Now, I couldn't get the pictures to copy and post, but you can look up Kelly and Danielle on the web. I agree with Skwigg, I'd rather be closer to Danielle, thus the change in routine. Oh, and BTW, I won most muscular and 2nd overall! Still haven't picked up my gift basket, since I know only 1st place got the cruise and now I'm in no big hurry.

Tree trunk arms and the bloat of a 4 day binge

So, I finally got the nerve to post a picture after my contest from hell at the gym. Yes, I know my arms are huge. Thanks for noticing. Luckily Skwigg gave me some good tips about how to prune my arms back to a less-freaky size. I would like to point out, for the record, that I started eating immediately after weigh-in and haven't stopped yet, so I have a bit of a carb bloat going on...I was tighter at the end of the contest, but my hubby had the camera at work and didn't bring it back till last night...thus the delay. Also, do you have any idea how hard it is to flex, and take a picture without your arms shaking? The flex is much more impressive in person, when I can concentrate on actually flexing instead of trying to hold the camera still enough that I don't look like you're driving by me at 80mph. In the mirror, I can totally see my upper chest muscles, but I couldn't seem to capture it on film...must need more practice.

Oh, blog, how I've missed you...

Well my contest at the gym is officially OVER and let me tell you, the end couldn't have come too soon for me. We get the official results on Tuesday, so I don't know where I came in, place-wise, but here's the scoop:

1.5" off chest
1.5" off waist
3" off hips

8# lost
bodyfat reduced by 9.4%

Not bad for 10 weeks...

The first thing I did, after weigh-in, was go to the grocery store and buy a piece of carmel turtle pie. Okay, two pieces, shut up. I ate them both while waiting in line at the bank. Now my belly hurts.

I realized on the way back that this was the first time in 10 weeks that I didn't even flip the box over and glance at the nutritional stats...I made sure I threw it away in the dumpster in the way back of the parking lot, just so I couldn't dig it out later and obsess over it. I know me all too well.