Tuesday 18 August 2015

Another Week, Another Change....

As some of you may know, this week, I went back to work Full Time….

And guess what I’m doing? I’ll give you a hint, it’s something I love to do and something i’m pretty good at (or at least I like to think so)!

And it’s got nothing to do with the gym

Or Cooking….

Give up?!

I am now an Online Content Writer - yes, I get to Blog / write / review for a living! How amazing is that!

And that’s mainly down to this humble Blog and the feedback I have had from my lovely readers, so thanks to you all too!

However, I had forgotten how tough working an 8 hour day was…especially when I factor in all the things I do around the gym - cover sessions, train myself, eat, sleep (when it is appropriate too!) plus my 40 minute drive to the office….where has my day gone?! It’s only week one!

What am I going to do?

Make changes, and quickly!

So instead of a 7am session, (or the odd 10am when I was on lates!) I will be in from 6am… all my food and clothes for that day will have already been prepared and waiting for me and I will need to be more on the ball when it comes to day to day tasks. I am also lucky in that there is a gym at work too so I can make use of that too - which will be great for my competition prep!


I have found that I struggled with the amount that I ate - being away from home for pretty much 13 hours each day is going to take some getting used to! Breakfasts have had to be pretty early and so I am finding I need to eat again around 10 - then lunch at 1, something maybe in the car home and then dinner once I'm in - but that doesn't seem to be enough! I'm sure I will get used to it  -  all about adapting to change and making sure I have a Protein Shake handy!

However, I am determined to make this work as I am very excited about this New Start - Go Me! :)


Anyway, back to the point of this Blog - 



IFC Training Camp

This weekend I was lucky to attend The IFC Training Camp in preparation of the competition in November. It was a chance to meet some of the other athletes that will be competing, run through the events and rules of the day and to go through some posing - We will have to do one ''body building'' pose, but the rest will all be fairly natural, just about knowing how to present yourself  - but that alone is daunting!

Last Years' Champ Gauri (third right) with some of this years Contenders!


I was really nervous about going - I didn't know what to expect and to what standard everyone else would be - I even dragged James with me on the 730am train for moral support!

I needn't have worried though - the guys and girls that were there were all great - it was a relaxed atmosphere and ranged from novice competitors through to Fitness Models. 

It was really interesting to learn about everyones' else backgrounds and reasons for competing in The IFC - I get the impression that the ''Family'' feel that there I have found in Strongwoman comps will ring true here too - it has been created in the hope that it will empower women; and I certainly felt empowered walking away, slightly shaky, on Saturday afternoon!

The end of the afternoon was rather fun - we got to do some filming for the next ''Girls of the IFC'' Promo video! I should be making an appearance in the promo - especially after doing, like, 20 Barbell 60kg Squats...without a rack....! Oh, and a Weighted Dip with a 20kg Chain round my shoulders...!


Check out Charlotte in the one from last year here!


The new one should be out soon, so keep an eye out for it!

Ooh, also - tickets for spectators are now available and are £20 - I would be extremely grateful of any support on the day! It's going to be a tough one!

Buy tickets here;

A little bit of an update

Despite the changes these last 2 weeks, I’m still going strong - I’m still sticking this out - and seeing results, slowly but surely

I Obviously had to buy this after a positive Instagram response!!



Firstly, body fat is back down to 11.7% - I WILL be 10% come November! My weight is also stable for the moment, I am still currently sticking to the 1400 calories to maintain this however, and will keep this up until my next Biosig or end of August, depending on how I am doing...



Nice to see my back leaning out nicely!


Anyway, enough from me for today, I will be back next time with info on the type of training I'm now doing, including some programmes and ideas to try at home!

I'll part with this shot, from the EBW Hawaiian BBQ...yes, that's me and Mia...yes, Mia won! 

I was the only person who matched her in height! 



Franki xx

Facebook: Franki Napolitano
Twitter: @fnapolitano2
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Monday 3 August 2015

The IFC - My First Fortnight

Feels good to be back guys. I'll be honest, I had really lost my writing mojo for several reasons, but now after a few changes, The Blog will be up on a more regular basis again!

As some of you may be aware, this year I have set myself a very different goal from those that I have worked towards before. No Strongwoman or Weightlifting Comps now - now, I'm going on Stage!

Well, sort of.

I've entered The IFC  http://www.officialifc.com/ - a competition based 50% on How you Look, and 50% Strength. But I'll still be on stage in little Shorts and a Sports Bra....Eeeeek!

Each event is scored based on how many reps you can do in 1 minute. I'll be competing in the 55kg Bodyweight Category which will mean I have to do;

55kg Squat
55kg Deadlift
Bodyweight Chin Ups
44kg Bench Press
33kg Push Press

I have tested the events twice so far, to see what my increases could be - in 3 weeks I added 6 squats, 2 deadlifts, 2 push presses and 1 Chin Up. I feel all the scores so far have been pretty solid, so feeling positive already, which is great!

So what am I having to do differently?

Well I now have 5 compulsory sessions a week, with 2 extra conditioning programmes to slot in when I can. They vary from Heavy Strength, Low Rep programmes for my Bench and Squat, through to Fat Loss, High Rep, Muscle Specific ones to help aid my body composition.

On top of this, I am back to a strict eating plan - no Dairy, Alcohol, Sugar or Wheat as I know these are bad triggers for me - and I need this stomach to lean out!

I can see this becoming pretty challenging over the next few months - we have a lot lined up including birthdays, anniversaries, and a mini break (which all focus around food, lets be honest!) but I am totally 100% committed to this. I need to do this, for me as well as my clients, I want to set an example and inspire them further.

I am so lucky in that my good friend Charlotte competed in this very competition last year - so she knows exactly what I need to do. She has even offered to help  me with posing and training which is such a big help.

I am also using My Fitness Pal to track my calories and macros - currently on 1400 calories a day to bring my weight back down and to help lean me out - currently living on Fish, Veg, Fruit, Lean Meat and Corn Cakes! As well as Peanut Butter for the good fats, obvs!

I entered the comp 15 weeks out, and below are my Before photos.

Note to Self...Get a Tan!
 


Started at 12.1% at 56kg Bodyweight - aiming to be sub 10% come November 8th (comp date)

Obviously, I have a lot to work on, but I am confident that I can do this, and do myself and Team EBW proud on The IFC Stage!

I will keep you updated with progress and snapshots of my programming throughout the next 13 weeks, but for now, I shall leave you with this link - me FINALLY getting a 100kg Back Squat!!





Most of my Daily Updates are over on my Intsagram https://instagram.com/frankinapolitano/ so head over and Follow Me for regular insights into my training (and what I'm eating!)



 
Franki xx

Facebook: Franki Napolitano
Twitter: @fnapolitano2
Instagram: FrankiNapolitano