Tonight I kicked off my return to cardio after almost 3 months without any structured plan. I popped in a dvd – P90x PlyoX. I love that one and use it from time to time when doing cardio at home. I powered through it and am actually excited to be back on a scheduled cardio routine.
I have been doing 3-6 cardio sessions consistently for about the last 2 years. Finally at the end of the summer, I decided it was time for a little break. Not that I didn’t do any cardio, but just not on a consistent schedule for a while. The break has been wonderful. My eating has been consistently on track, and my gym workouts have been unbelievable. We can definitely feel the intensity and focus building as competition prep rolls around again.
I am just under 21 weeks out from my first competition next year and have been mentally focused on the prep work for the past 3 weeks. The eating, the training, and now the cardio is all coming together as it should. For me, I keep notes and all of my schedules go into a calendar. I plan out what days I am training what muscle groups, the meal plans, and the cardio sessions. I mark where things will need to change in terms of foods, cardio, and workout programs. I need the visual concreteness to keep me focused. If it is just in my head, I tend to freak out because my thoughts can go in so many different directions. I need a clear plan that I can constantly refer to as needed. I guess it is like my own little security blanket system.
I have goals in mind, which I have had since my last competiton, that have nothing to do with placings and/or winning. Those are things I cannot fully control and so I don’t focus on them. I can only control me – my condition, my physique, my posing, and my presentation on stage. These are the areas I look to improve upon and have set some goals for this coming year. The work towards these goals started shortly after I set them months ago. Now, though, it feels everything is turned up a notch with the countdown to contest season started.
Tomorrow is a gym night, and as I have mentioned before on my page, I can get fired up long before we ever step foot in the gym. Tonight is no exception. I have been thinking about tomorrow’s workout on and off all day today and I have almost 24 hours before I actually get to pick up a weight! This is the kind of energy Pete and I have been bringing to the gym the last few months. Every workout is just intense and there is no quit. The positive mentality and powerful intensity has been amazing and I love every second of the work.
This is the mindset I am in. It is a great feeling and life in this realm is good. I will continue to bring more frequent updates and posts to the blog page here and I will be adding my current workouts soon. Stay tuned. Thank you. Train hard.
Frank Gigante Natural Pro 