Monthly Archives: February 2010

Transformation of a Figure Competitor – Week 7

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I am only 8 weeks out now.  It’s crunch time!!!!!  At this point you cannot allow yourself to feel tired or unable to give your best with every workout.  With such little time, you have to make every workout count and give it your all.  It comes down to final moments to the day of the competition and all of the blood, sweat and tears leading up to it is what it’s all about.  Sounds dramatic right? It couldn’t be closer to the truth.

My calorie burn has increased to another couple hundred per day.

Jodi Braun doing plyometrics

Jodi Braun doing plyometrics

Now, with addition to another day of cardio for 40 minutes, my weekly calorie burn has increased as well. My average calorie burn per day before was 2600 and now it’s 3000.  Still performing my plyometrics at the end of my weight training, and things are becoming intense.  Although the plyos are a bit torturous the feeling of achievement afterwards is my high.  Just when I think to myself “I’m not going to make it”, Warren pushes me to the edge and I love every minute of it.  Well, it’s a love/hate relationship.

Not only has cardio changed, my diet has as well.  I was having two dotFIT Pre/post workout shakes a day but now it’s down to one.  One of them was replaced with chicken and sweet potato.  As of right now, I eat chicken 3 times per day.  My bodyfat percentage is 12.6 and I am still holding my weight at 130 lbs.  I am so happy with this.  I explain to my female clients that the number on the scale doesn’t mean as much as they think.

It’s odd to women to hear my joy when my weight increases or remains the same.  Go by how your clothes fit more so than looking at the numbers.  Of course when beginning a healthy lifestyle, your weight will decrease but at some point that slows down, don’t get so caught up in a specific number.  If you are gaining muscle, keep in mind muscle weighs more than fat.  These dotFIT supplements are helping me retain muscle as I decrease my body fat.  This is so important right now that my size remains and I just chizzle my body into a sculpture.  Exciting isn’t it??

I have just began some practice with my mandatory poses and it looks like my hamstrings have gained some size.  All I can hope for is that I have improved from the last time and I have given my best with the preparation and my performance.  There is only so much I can control and I am giving it my all!!!!

-Jodi

Transformation of a Figure Competitor – Week 6

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So, with another week passing comes many more exciting events to follow.  We began our filming of my prep for the next 9 weeks.  It started Friday with a leg workout.  I thought at first that I may be silly knowing there was a camera right there but the fear of what kind of pain Warren was about to put me through took any giggles away. LOL

So from here on in we will be taping more workouts, posing practice, diet information and anything Anthony Fiore will catch on film.  This should be very interesting.  As a little girl I had always wanted “The Jodi Show” and I guess I now have it!

Jodi Braun, 9 weeks from showtime

Coming in March I will be hosting a figure workshop in Premier Fitness in New York.  It will be a 3-hour workshop where I will supply all figure girls with information on posing, suit choice, hair, make-up, tanning and stage walks.  I will also be able to supply information on dieting and the use and benefit of dotFIT products.  It should be a fun, exciting afternoon with a lot of wonderful knowledge to share.  So, c’mon future figure girls, it’s time to get started!

My progression is going quite well.  With the start of plyometrics after the weight training workouts this week, I seem to be burning an extra 150- 200 calories depending on the duration of the workout. This week could be the start or incorporating plyos in between sets of weight training.  This is where the serious calorie burn is about to begin and as we progress further and closer to the show, I am expecting that things will begin to sky rocket.  I always look forward to my next meal even though sometimes only an hour has passed.  This lets me know my body is picking up the pace.  My rest between sets will only be 30 seconds and duration of plyos will be 20-30 seconds.  My after workout plyometrics have been including everything from sled pulling to sprinting to box jumping, with only 30 second rests.  Next week I will give a sample of a typical day workout.  You already know about my dead lifting on a leg day.  The leg day is the only day no plyos are incorporated.  Too exhausting on the legs to be able to get a strong leg workout.  After dead lifting, it’s followed by box squats, leg presses and hyperextensions.

I will begin practicing my posing within the next week or so and I have to start thinking about my routine and what music I am going to use to get me going on the stage.  There is so much to think about (on top of the grueling workouts) that’s going to get me there.  Right now I am doing sessions with women in helping them learn posing and perfecting their stage walks.  Although at times it’s hard to stay focused and give these women everything you have to make them succeed, it also is what keeps me motivated to do my best.  I really never

realize how much of a role model I can be for someone else.  Many clients I have watched reach their goal with my help and it is so rewarding.

Now we go into week 7 and have approached almost the halfway mark.  I am so ready for what the next 9 weeks will bring.  I know for sure intensity and determination are what the next weeks are all about. It’s crunch time!

If anyone is interested in information on the figure workshop, you can contact me yummy76@optonline.net. I will be able to not only assist in your pre-contest prep but share with you how effective great nutrition and dotFIT supplements are to achieving your goals.

The picture attached is me 9 weeks out from showtime.  Let the transformation begin!!!!

-Jodi

Transformation of a Figure Competitor – Week 5

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We are 10 weeks out from show time and everything is getting more intense physically as well as emotionally.  I’m starting to feel more hunger and cravings then I had prior but all is good.  My energy is still good and I broke my own record in my dead lift this week which was 225 lbs for 5 reps!!!!!!! I was so happy that not only did I achieve it but being able to achieve it at 14 % body fat.  I still weigh 131 pounds.  Let’s all hope my weight remains high as I continue to trim down.
Jodi Braun, back shot
An apple was eliminated from my lunch but at least my cardio has not increased more than 35 minutes.  The plyometrics have begun to be incorporated into my workout.  This is going to speed up my fat burn. My little exerspy will let me know of changes as I record the data.  The plyos are a killer and as much as I could shed a tear as I do them, I know the benefit and the reward at the end.  No pain, no gain right?  As I tell myself, “suck it up, Jodi!”

This week we are going to begin a weekly recorded documentary with the wonderful help of Anthony Fiore of Ocean Rock Studios.  We are going to document one workout per week leading up to the show.  This is a very exciting project getting under way, especially after just having my picture in this issue of Fitness & Physique.  Many wonderful things are happening and I am just planning on soaking it all in.

Along with all of my prep for the competition I am helping other women get ready for the show as well.  I hold figure workshops for women at all levels who want to either perfect their routines or women just beginning.  In these workshops I discuss not only presentation and posing but suit choice, hair, make-up, workouts and tanning.  I leave the diet to dotFIT and Warren’s guidance and between the both of us, a woman’s determination, goal and dream come true.  It’s a wonderful for me to be a part of someone else’s journey.  The best feeling is to watch your client grow not just physically but mentally as well and watching their confidence grow.  To have a part in it and become their role model is one reason I absolutely love my job. It does make you feel like you made a difference.

I practice what I preach and because I live the lifestyle it keeps my clients motivated.  Motivation can pick you up and take you further than you ever dreamed to go.  So keep your expectations higher than you can imagine.  A healthy lifestyle mixed with determination and desire will take you further than you ever thought possible.  Believe me, I know, I’m living it.

-Jodi

Transformation of a Figure Competitor – Week 4

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BBW (Body by Warren) tells me the masterpiece will be complete in 11 weeks! Wow, time is moving super fast as usual and things are changing.  My diet didn’t change this week but my cardio was increased to 35 minutes, 5 days.  Not too bad..I can deal with that! I have a feeling plyometrics between sets are beginning this week.  Am I thrilled about it? No, to be honest, but its a great fat burner and body conditioner so the reward makes it worth it.

Plyometrics or known as plyos are explosive movements such as box jumps, squat thrusts or mountain climbers. It is pretty endless on the type of exercises one can do but these are examples.  They keep the heart rate up and are great for agility and over all conditioning.  As these weeks go on and I get more compact, I will be boppin’ and flyin’ all over the gym like a jumping bean! LOL

I am getting hungrier and sometimes in the middle of the night I get some hunger pains but I ignore it and roll over back to sleep. If it begins to become bothersome, I will have a couple of sips of carbonated water. That seems to calm it down. Then when my alarm in the morning goes off it’s a mad dash to the kitchen to inhale my egg whites and oatmeal!!!Jodi Braun

My cheat meal for the week is more exciting now than ever.  Every week I am entitled to one cheat meal of whatever I choose to eat.  It could be pizza, burger or ice cream but it is just one meal.  Saturday nights are a national holiday in my home!  The last month or so prior to the competition these cheats are eliminated but I will enjoy them now while I can.  This past Saturday night was a guacamole fest! Wooo hoooo !!!!

My calorie burn is approximately the same but now with my cardio increased and another class added to my weekly schedule, let’s see if it changes.  My day begins anywhere from 4:30 am to 5:00 am and I sometimes do not get home until 7:30pm depending on my clientele for the day.  I have a long day to burn, burn, burn so in just a 12 hour period it is anywhere from 2500 to 3000 as of right now.

I am pretty impressed with my lifting because this week I dead lifted 200 lbs for 5 reps and that beat my top record.  I am getting stronger as my body fat decreases.  I am at 14.6 % and I can feel it has declined from there.  My abdominals are becoming more prominent and I am a little more vascular as well.  I just feel really happy that I still am getting stronger and my weight still remains at 132 lbs.  It is very important I hold on to my mass these next 2 1/2 months.  This is where the importance of the supplements and vitamins are crucial.  dotFIT has a wonderful line of supplements that are truly healthy to the body whether you are competing or are just living a normal healthy lifestyle.

You can see what it is doing for me!

- Jodi

Can Supplements Help You Achieve Your Weight Loss Goals?

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It’s possible.  Depending on what you categorize as supplements, they can be the difference between success and failure for many people. Just look at the success statistics of people using meal replacement bars and shakes to assist in weight loss compared to non-users, especially in long-term weight control.

Before we start down this road of dietary supplements and weight loss, let’s remember that supplements alone are NOT a weight loss program, whereas diet and exercise alone can be. But properly used and formulated supplements can accelerate progress and make the chore easier, giving users a greater chance of sticking with their chosen method of weight loss. And on that note, let’s look at dotFIT’s position on dietary supplements and weight loss. Click here to read more on dotFIT.com.