PHOTOSHOOT DONE!
I had a blast during my photo shoot but unfortunately I don’t have a pic to share just yet. It was just Melissa and I, and since we are friends we just chatted all day and I forgot to ask her to take a pic on my phone to send to you.
I asked her to send me one ASAP and she agreed. I just haven’t gotten it yet.
I can’t wait to share it with you. I am so proud of myself. I seriously had doubts that I would be ready in time, but I did have a few tricks up my sleeve….
Trick #1: I took a natural diuretic for 4 days prior to my shoot (and if I ever need to be in a bikini for a pool party, I do this too before the pool party): diuretic is dandelion root — all natural
I drank 4-5 liters of water those 4 days to help flush my body of any water retention and I avoided caffeine (hard for me). I think it worked.
Trick #2: I also did 4, 20-minute HIIT sessions and a long 30 minute walk/run that same week.
Basically I did 5 weight training sessions and 5 cardio workouts. My week looked like this:
Monday – Glutes, Hams & Calves
Tuesday – Back & Chest with evening HIIT
Wednesday – Morning HIIT
Thursday – Shoulders & Abs with evening long cardio
Friday – Quads, Glutes & Calves with evening HIIT
Saturday – Bi’s, Tri’s & Abs with HIIT right after.
Sunday — OFF (and carb up)
Trick #3 – Carb depletion with carb loading to follow
I ate 1/2 cup of carbs after my workout Monday then NO CARBS until Sunday morning. I was pretty carb depleted and miserable on Saturday. I increased my fats for the week but I was still pretty exhausted come Saturday.
Sunday I woke up and started carbing up with 300 grams of carbs and 2oz of protein with each meal (all from fish). No fasts other than cooking fats.
So now what?
I need to de-load, take it easy this week so here is what I am doing (not really easy…I don’t do easy well)
| tempo | reps | sets | rest | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1: Hams, Glutes & Calves | |||||
| A1 | Barbell Squat | 3210 | 8 | 5 | 60 |
| B1 | Powersquat Deadlift | 2211 | 8 | 5 | 60 |
| C1 | Lying Leg Curl | 3012 | 10 | 4 | 15 |
| D1 | Leg Press (feet high and wide) | 3110 | 8 | 4 | 15 |
| D2 | Hip Extension (45*) | 2012 | 10 | 4 | 10 |
| E1 | Seated Calf Raise *toes pointed out | 1011 | 15 | 3 | 10 |
| E2 | Heavy Standing Calf Raise *toes pointed out | 1016 | 3-6 | 3 | 75 |
| Day 2: Chest And Back | |||||
| A1 | Rope Straight Arm Pullover | 3111 | 10 | 4 | 60 |
| B1 | Overhead Lat Pulldown Machine w Underhand Grip | 3112 | 10 | 4 | 60 |
| C1 | Seated Row Overhand Neutral Grip | 3112 | 10 | 4 | 15 |
| D1 | DB Chest Flies Flat Bench | 3111 | 10 | 4 | 60 |
| E1 | Cable Chest Press | 3112 | 10 | 4 | 60 |
| F1 | Barbell Flat Bench Press | 3211 | 10 | 4 | 60 |
| Day 3: Shoulder And Abs & HIIT | |||||
| A1 | Cable Lateral Raise | 3111 | 10 | 4 | 60 |
| B1 | DB Lateral Raise | 3111 | 10 | 4 | 60 |
| C1 | DB Shoulder Press | 2111 | 10 | 4 | 15 |
| C2 | Cable Upright Row | 3211 | 10 | 4 | 60 |
| D1 | DB "L" Lateral Raise | 2111 | 10 | 4 | 60 |
| E1 | Standing Bent Over Rear Delt w Plates | 3112 | 10 | 4 | 15 |
| E2 | Reverse Machine Pec Dec | 3112 | 10 | 4 | 75 |
| * Optional HIIT 20 Minutes | |||||
| *I just added some hip raises and cable crunches during my rest periods for both lateral raises. | |||||
| Day 4: Quads, Glutes & Calves | |||||
| A1 | Power Squat | 4010 | 5 | 4 | 60 |
| B1 | Leg Press (feet narrow and low) | 3110 | 10 | 4 | 15 |
| B2 | Banded Bridge | 2014 | 10 | 4 | 60 |
| C1 | Leg Extensions | 2011 | 8 | 4 | 15 |
| C2 | Step Up | 3111 | 10 | 4 | 15 |
| C3 | Walking Lunge | 1111 | 10 | 3 | 60 |
| D1 | Seated Calf Raise - toes pointed out | 2011 | 8 | 3 | 30 |
| D2 | Seated Calf Raise - toes pointed out | 1011 | 15 | 3 | 30 |
| Day 5: Glutes, Biceps & Triceps | |||||
| A1 | DB Seated Biceps Curl | 2112 | 10 | 4 | 15 |
| B2 | DB Preacher Curl | 2112 | 10 | 4 | 15 |
| B1 | Standing DB Hammer Curl | 2111 | 10 | 4 | 60 |
| C1 | Cross Cable Pulldown | 2111 | 10 | 4 | 15 |
| C2 | Lying DB Triceps Extension | 2112 | 10 | 4 | 60 |
| D1 | Overhead Rope Triceps Extension | 2112 | 10 | 4 | 60 |
| * Again I just did some Russian twists off the bench during my rest periods after the hammer curls and standing cable side-bend (little weight) after the extensions | |||||
| Both my HIIT sessions this week were right after my workouts on the stair climber. I did 30 seconds at the maximum level, rested for 45 seconds. Did that until 20 minutes was reached. This was less effort than previous sessions. | |||||
Flavia,
I wanted to thank you for such an incredible 8-week program. I am a bit behind. I am finishing my 8th week this coming Saturday. I combined the workouts with your 8-week ab diet. (I followed it closely, but not exactly). I was able to go from 124 lbs to my goal weight of 110 lbs. I am super happy! I am 5′-1″. I still don’t see my abs pop out, but if I lose a couple of pounds more, maybe I will. Thank you so much! You have been quite an inspiration in my life.
That is awesome, congratulations Tathiana!
All the best,
Anna, CPT, FF Specialist
Flavia,
Great post. I like all of the tips you gave for fat loss. Do you think taking a diuretic hurts when it comes to muscle gain, though? Gaining muscle can be pretty difficult to begin with and sometimes I just think that adding a diuretic to the mix only makes that harder.
Unbelievable you are a very determined woman. Wish I could do half of what you are doing to keep in shape. I just got back to regaining fitness a month ago so hard when you stopped for so long felt that my body can’t do the things I was able to do before. So frustrating.
You look fab! I admire your body… Thanks for sharing this workout list. I just want to say that it’s not about doing workout only, you need to keep your body energetic to keep moving all the day. I take pre- workout energizer to keep myself energetic and active, it increases my endurance level and I become capable of doing longer workout sessions.
Flavia,
Great post. I like all of the tips you gave for fat loss. Do you think taking a diuretic hurts when it comes to muscle gain, though? Gaining muscle can be pretty difficult to begin with and sometimes I just think that adding a diuretic to the mix only makes that harder.