NPC Stewart Fitness prep: 8 weeks out

Call me crazy but I am jumping back into prep. I thought I was waiting until the fall for the NPC Mid Atlantic Classic. However, things have changed and in prep I am.

The goal for the upcoming show? To nationally qualify. Agressive, but I know what I want this year. I am going to push myself for the next 7 weeks to do all that is necessary to bring the very best package I have to the stage.

So, here I am truly just slightly eight weeks out from the qualifier show. Even though I just got off the stage two weeks ago, there is a lot to do to hit my goal. Body fat percentage really needs to come down and my posing needs some work. I will be 100 percent to my diet including all my water. I also am going to work with a posing coach a couple times in the next few weeks. I felt more confident on stage this go round but knowing exactly my best angles are and what not still remains a mystery. And I will add how to get into them. If I could look down at my feet and reposition then I would be good but you can’t do that on stage so my check in pics and stage pics are a whole lot different.

There is no doubt that I am back to working on my glutes and abs. It’s a bikini girl’s attributes among other things.

Meals this week are nice and easy. I am coming off a week of eating almost anything I wanted which was preceded by three weeks of basically white fish and asparagus.

• Turkey meatballs with garlic green beans
• Chicken kabobs
• Chicken salad in lettuce wraps

I also am meal prepping for a few friends to help them with their journey. In addition to the meals I mentioned, they will get salmon with teriyaki glaze and broccoli.

Training will be pretty similar to what I went through in prep for the NPC Upstate Classic. We are turning up the intensity for the next few weeks.

Glutes and abs are a main focus. Some more shoulders are also necessary too.

Cardio. HIIT in the morning and steady in the evening is what is ordered. I am thinking HIIT hill repeats will be what I will be doing because I can run the hill/street adjacent to my apartment complex. That means no driving early in the morning. I can roll out the bed, put on my sneakers and go. No excuses to be had.

The sauna will be back in the rotation. I hope to find a way to add Bikram too, but we’ll see. If I can find someone to sponsor a month long pass to the local studio that would be awesome. I know it helped going into the last show.

So, here’s to the next 8 weeks when I step on stage again.