Ali Swanson national figure prep. Personal training.
Well, it’s not been that great of a weekend. LOL
BUT…I repeated some big lifts:
Bench 140 for a single
Squat 185 for a double. I FEEL like I can squat more than this…but it also scares me.
Van Halen tomorrow!! This isn’t MY concert, though. It’s one that Ron wants to go to. It should still be fun. 
I’m fat. Blech…lotsa food this weekend. :piggie:
I’m 36 today. :-) Another year stronger, another year smarter, another year sexier. ;-) See, look, I’m being positive. That’s a step in the right direction.
We’re not doing much today. Ben has his last football game today. They are undefeated, so this is HUGE!! Then, I think we are going to the mall (my chance to talk Ron into buying me something. haha. And I think I have a birthday coupon from Victoria’s Secret. New birthday underwear is a must!) and going out to dinner. The in-laws are out of town, so the kids are coming with us. Monday we are going to see Van Halen, though. So that will be some alone time.
Let see…training! Last week I was doing higher rep. metabolic workouts. I took some stuff from crossfit…which is hard as heck! LOL www.crossfit.com Especially when you’re not used to doing that kind of stuff. Now, this week, I’m HEAVY. I’ve been doing 3×5 to 5-5 with squat, bench, row, deadlift, push-press, pull-ups. I am SORE!! lol I got 195×3 this week for deadlifts, which is as much as I’ve ever done. My goal is 230. I got into the gym once with Ron this week. Which is nice b/c I feel like a bad-ass with my weights there. Not so much at home or in comparison to my big-lifting girlfriends. ;) I’ve also kept sprints in all week. This is also something I’m working my butt off at…sprinting. Maybe I’ll expand on that in a later blog. My goal is to get stronger while maintaining. That means some days I’m dieting, some days I’m eating over maintenance, but the result = maintenance. What I eat has not been strict. If pretzels are my carbs for the day…so be it. I just finished candy corn for breakfast…in lieu of oats. (with egg whites).
I am going to stick some music stuff in, too, since I can. For the last couple days I’ve been listening to a load of Matchbox 20. I don’t know why it’s struck me lately. Well, I know my path to it. It goes something like, Pat Green concert, Santana, (Rob Thomas), Matchbox 20. And if you can make that link, you are my friend. :-) But anyway, it’s not new to me, just re-listening. I just downloaded the live stuff (Show CD 1&2) and I’m loving it. If you are a fan…Disease, Bent, If You’re Gone, Bright Lights, Unwell, Push, Hand Me Down, Mad Season, Could I Be You…I just can’t get enough right now. Oh-oh-oh…and I got a new phone that has an MP3 player…the headphones, memory, etc came this week, so now I have only one device to carry. Loving it!! I also downloaded the new Kid Rock CD…I really like that one, too. 
You might think it’s weird that someone that has participated in a figure competition could be motivated by watching very overweight people struggle with losing weight…but I LOVE The Biggest Loser. It motivates me every time I watch it. The last episode, the teams had to pick a time that they thought they could run up a mountain and grab their flag and get back down. The black team set their goal a little too hard for them to achieve…but they all finished and came just short of reaching their goal. The red team set their goal a little less lofty than the black…they finished in their alloted time…and won. The blue team got out of the challenge.
How does goal setting affect what we do and how we feel about it afterwards? You could be like the black team, and set lofty goals that you think you may not be able to achieve, but probably reach a level that you have never reached before…and be proud of yourself for getting there. Or you could be like the red team and set very achievable goals. Revel in the win when you get there. Or you could be like the blue team. They had no goal at all. They didn’t even try. And most of them felt horrible. Sure, they had no stress…but they also had no glory. No sense of accomplishment. No sense of teamwork.
Another thing about goals is that we never know what we can achieve unless we push beyond our limits. Sometimes if you don’t see someone else do it…another woman that can heave up 50 pound dumbbels… If you don’t see someone that succeeds in losing 100+ pounds… If you don’t see a mother of 4 step on a figure stage…you may not even think it’s possible. I know I’ve been motivated to lift more, run faster, and get leaner by watching some amazing women. That’s why it’s important for us to share our stories…even if it is just how much we lifted on a certain day or how far we ran.
Later…I’m off to push those 50’s.
Hi guys!! Just a tiny intro for any of you that don’t know me. My name is Ali, and I am a mother of 4 wonderful kiddos. Over the past year, I’ve been a figure competitor, competing in 7 shows in all. Wow, was it really that many? Jr. Nationals in Chicago was my biggest show of the year. The rest were local/regional shows in Michigan. I think most of the pictures from those competitions are here: www.aliswanson.com
I’m setting this blog up so that I can stay in touch with the many wonderful and supportive people that I’ve met throughout this crazy journey, and removing myself from “the boards”. It is taking too much of a toll on me, and my family has been indirectly affected. This seems like my best alternative right now to still keep in touch, and motivate/be motivated.
So…plans right now…I have no plans for competition in the near future. I’d like to just settle back into some normalcy if there is such a thing. Of course, I’d like to drop about 5 pounds…what woman doesn’t, right? That’s what got me started doing this in the first place.
I hope to keep this pretty current with progress and stuff that’s going on…so…you know…check on me. 
Love you guys!!
XO
Ali