12 weeks out from competition

It's been another intense week of fat loss training and dieting and I am starting to feel the burn. Feeling really exhausted! I don't know whether it's the volume of training, my diet or the long working hours taking it's toll, but it's been a tough week for me in the training department. I have managed to push myself through each workout though, whether I felt like it or not. Eyes on the prize! I took some time out to relax over the weekend so hoping to return to my full energetic self soon. I did some testing last week and I have managed to improve my strength, endurance and cardiovascular fitness over the last 5 weeks so that's encouraging. I have dropped 3kg in total weight now, which has broken down roughly to 2kg of body fat and 1kg of muscle. Of course it's always disappointing when you realise you've lost some muscle, but it's incredibly difficult for someone of my body type to hold on to the lean mass while fat stripping. I just need to make sure my weight loss is as slow and gradual as possible to minimise muscle loss. Slow and steady wins the race...apparently! I am happy with the leanness I've achieved so far and am now starting to reveal muscles which were previously hidden behind a layer of fat. It was particularly odd when I started seeing my pecs becoming visible. I think this one scared Oli (my fiancé) a little bit! I practiced some posing this week with Christian after one of our training sessions, so wanted to post them up on here. It was a little impromptu so excuse my rather ugly sports bra! I will come better prepared next time! Posing and stage presence is worth almost as many marks from a judges perspective, as your body itself, so it's really important that I pose well, move from one pose to the next fluidly and exude confidence. My posing is still really amateur right now, but I am going to a posing workshop in a couple of weeks to get some proper tuition. It's surprisingly hard to keep all your muscles squeezed as tight as possible, hold the right position and remember to smile at the same time - without a mirror! I have ordered my custom made glitzy bikini and posing shoes, waiting for them to arrive, so very excited to start getting some posing practice wearing all my gear :-)