Routinization

I’m wrapping up week 3 of documenting my adventure in training for a bodybuilding competition. Oddly enough, I have never even watched a bikini bodybuilding competition! I have a cousin who has been competing in mens bodybuilding for years now but have only seen his photos. I have seen clips of routines and have friends that have competed, but I’ve never even been to a show. What better time to start than now with the pay per view showing of the best of the best at the Mr. Olympia competition?! It was absolutely incredible to watch these women grace the stage after months and months, nay years and years, of them refining their craft!

This week, and for the foreseeable future, I’ll be working on routinization. The dictionary defines routinize as to “make something into a matter of routine”. The amount of planning that goes into this sport is incredible. But it can be made so much easier if one has a routine. One of my favorite books is called Atomic Habits by James Clear. His “3rd law of behavior change” is to make things easy. He defines automaticity as “the ability to perform a behavior without thinking about each step, which occurs when the non-conscious mind takes over. Creating new neural pathways through repetition helps solidly new habits. There are lots of cliche sayings in main stream media about how many days it takes to create a habit. 66 days, 21 days, etc. But what James discusses in his book is that habits form based on frequency and not time.

If I want to create a habit of eating a certain amount of protein each day, I need to get practice eating that amount of protein. If I want to reach this goal every day on a regular basis, I need to make it easy on myself (or I will drive myself and EVERYONE around me absolutely bonkers with that being the singular thing on my to do list). In order to do this, I have been simplifying my diet and ensuring I have enough low fat protein sources readily available - both cooked and easy to grab. And I’m working on removing barriers to achieving this goal. The way that I do that is to try to plan as best as I can. Then I can reflect on whether I met my targets or did not meet them. If I was not able to meet them, my next step is to make objective observations from a place of curiosity and not condemnation to find out why they were not met. This allows me to better refine my process to create more routinization and automaticity within it.

An example of this occurred on Friday. Fridays are when I take my measurements and progress photos before heading to the gym to check my body stats on the In Body machine and do a workout. That process takes some time. I had my usual small snack before my workout and did both a leg workout and a sprint HIIT workout. These workouts also took some time to complete. Because of my late schedule, there was only enough time to come home and have a small meal before getting ready for a Christmas party on the other side of town. The party had grilled chicken, which was awesome but it would be a bit tacky to fill my plate with a ton of chicken! Though next time I may consider it. :)

By the time we got home, it was almost 10 pm and I still had a ton of protein left to eat to reach 135 grams for the day. I had met my carb and fat goal already (thank you pre-party meal and small piece of baklava and rice) so my choices were limited. I didn’t want to stay up all night to eat more food so I got in a can of tuna and called it for the day.

In this one example, there are several things I did that helped my goal and there are several things I can do differently next time. The point is that my process right now is to enjoy this time of year which comes with celebrations and goodies as well as continue to work on making small changes bit by bit to work towards a larger goal. Overall, my average macros this past week were pretty spot on. I got in all my workouts and sprints - even if not all on the same days as originally scheduled. And I am moving right along in this process of routinizing this part of my life so that I can create room for other goals and activities that are just as important to me.

Current Plan Details:
Average actual macros last week:

P = 130 gms - (goal = 135)

F = 36 gms - (goal = 30-35)

C = 182 gms - (goal = 175-185)

Friday dropped my protein average a bit so this will be my focus this week. Carbs were within range (yay!). Fat is still out of range so will work on fine tuning. (I love peanut butter and pecans so much!)

Hitting all of my workouts this week felt great! Next year, I plan on riding my horses more, which will present a new challenge in terms of physical activity consuming a lot of time. I don’t mind all the exercise. I honestly thrive on this much physical activity. But I also want to ensure I have enough time to spend with the hubs too…and reading…and doing all that lame adult stuff I’m supposed to do like pay bills and wash clothes. 

End of Week 3:

115.8 lbs = Average weight this week

116.2 lbs = Dry lean mass (weight at gym with clothes after coffee and small meal)

14.2% = Body fat %

99.7 lbs = Lean body mass

55.1 lbs = Skeletal muscle mass

16.6 lbs = Fat mass

27.25 in = Waist

35 in = Hips

40.25 in = Shoulders

I forgot to take photos in my red-orange shorts and white sports bra so bikini it is. This is usually reserved for just my coach, sister, my friend Whitney and my hubs. But I’m working on getting comfortable with the uncomfortable. Honestly, to me it’s just a body. A physical vessel to house my organs and brain. But to others, there is context and there is judgment. The idea of putting my physical self out there for all to see on the internet is daunting. Once it’s out there, I can take it down, but there is no guarantee of permanent removal from the internet…ever.

But I’m reminded of the fact that what others think of me is absolutely none of my business…good, bad, or indifferent. 😂🤗

Have a great week, my friends! Happy holidays whatever you may be celebrating. If you are working through the holidays as I am, I hope you are able to find some time to enjoy some festivities. The holidays are wherever I am able to celebrate with those I love, even if not on the actual day. ❤️