Alicia Bell - Road To The Arnold Amateurs - 14 Weeks Out
Hey Guys! Its been a while since I actually posted a personal blog on my blog. And I was doing a little bit of thinking this week. Actually a lot of thinking since I started this prep. My blog way back when I was going by a different business name and not train it right started as my thoughts, recipes, workouts and thoughts about the fitness industry. So I wanted to bring back a little bit more of a personal touch to my blog.
Therefore weekly during this prep I want to sit down and write out my thoughts on my week, how training went, my mind set, anything exciting that happened and overall just the experience of being a figure competitor.
I feel that with social media today we are all just posting our highlights and no one is personable. Thats kind of why almost a year ago I started my youtube vlog: www.youtube.com/trainitright But I also want to talk to my readers and share with you all my journey to the stage for Arnold Amateurs.
Soooo here it goes:
15 weeks out until Today
I feel great to be honest. Im focused, loving my training plan and my nutrition is going good. I don't have many cravings and the ones that I do I have been able to fight them off with teas, coffees and being creative with my food.
Sometimes I feel like Im the crazy person in the room because Im always thinking about my goals, workouts or when I can exit a convo and go to the gym. Im so forever thankful that Sean is my boyfriend and my coach because he understands my drive, goals and dreams.
Im writing this at 6:07pm on Sunday and I still have some abs and another 45 minutes of cardio to get to and Im not dreading it at all. Im excited. I want this and I want to do well. And Im going at this prep with tenacity, determination and a mind set that is far superior then any other prep that I have done to date.
This is my time. I know I have what it takes and Im not going to waste any second of it.
Anyway thats just kind of where my head is at. I am definitely going to commit to 1x a week of blogs like this but there may be more because Im going to write when I feel like writing and even give you guys details on my cardio, training and nutrition.
Thanks for reading! Thanks for the support and keep an eye out for something cool so that you guys can join in with me at 12 weeks out!
Before I get into this week’s Training Tip, why not beat around a few of my favorite, always entertaining ab myths that still seem to haunt me after all these years. I’ve now come to terms and accepted that these will never go away. But I will try my hardest to exercise patience when they are dropped on me ?
Coach Sean’s Top 5 Ab Myths
1. The more you train them the better they’ll look. False. Just like any other muscle, more isn’t better and they follow the same stimulate, rest, recover cycle like anything else.
2. Training abs will give you a thick waist. Not really. There are far bigger culprits to thickening the waist than doing the occasional core workout. Eating big meals, taking certain supplements and overdoing heavy compound lifts too frequently and with incorrect breathing techniques are far more likely responsible.
3. Most of my fat is around my waist so I need to train abs more. No you don’t. What you need to do is diet a little harder and sprinkle in some HIIT cardio to blast your fat stores. You’re wasting your time in the gym training abs any more than twice per week.
4. I train lower abs one day and upper abs the next, then sides the other day. Smh….no. That’s not how things work. When your abs contract then tend to contract as an interconnected complex group of muscles, not individual, compartmentalized separate entities. Train your abs, then rest. No need to split everything up.
5. My abs suck, so there’s no point in ab training. Sure, and why not give up on anything else in life that doesn’t come easy while you’re at it. Be consistent ? While you can’t change the shape, insertion points and length of a muscle, you can always improve upon what you’ve got. Can’t see your abs popping? Then focus on hypertrophy workouts for the six-pack look. Got a thick waist? Go easy on the crunching and focus on core tightening instead.
That should shed some light on some of the more basic fundamentals of how not to do it and I wouldn’t be fair unless I also shared how I prefer to do it as well.
Coach Sean’s Ab-Training Fundamentals
While I’ll admit I’m not really big on ab training (Adam even less), I do generally have most clients do some type of ab/core work once per week to sharpen the details and make things pop a little more in some clients. As we all know, the amount of activation of the core muscles during many of the compound lifts like squats, bent over rows, deadlifts and overhead presses shouldn’t be overlooked. Perform these basic lifts properly with an awareness of the core and proper breathing technique and you can really think of this ab training a supplement or insurance policy to what might already be enough for most. So bottom line, I don’t always train abs, but when I do, here’s how I’d do it. Go nuts.
General Style – I’ve always preferred to hit the abs with a circuit style of training – giant sets or at least tri-sets and very rarely ever do standard straight sets. The abs are generally able to recover quickly and withstand higher amounts of volume with shorter rest intervals. The ideal ab workout for me would be 4-5 different ab exercises that stimulate the core through different angles, performed in a circuit with no rest between each exercise and 2-minute rest periods after the circuit. Try to avoid repetitive movement patterns with the exercises and to make things easier, you can move from lower, upper, transverse, overall, isometric hold. I’ve posted some examples of some of my favorite exercises below for you to assemble your own ab workout.
Sets & Reps – If doing a circuit like described above, go with 3-4 rounds and 15-20 reps per exercise. For static holds, do a minimum of 45 seconds and no more than 90 seconds to keep things moving.
Rep Cadence – for hypertrophy, I’ve always preferred ‘explosive with control’ and a strong mind-muscle activation engaged throughout. I think this is best for stimulating any type of hypertrophy of the rectus abdominis area. I’ll slow things down when doing the crunchless ab movements (see below) and use a much more controlled pace.
Workouts – For clients looking to make the six-pack muscles pop a little more (assuming they are lean enough to even see them), I’ll do one intense ab circuit every 5-7 days where you should be sore for 2 days afterwards if you’re doing it right! For clients just looking to tighten the waist and don’t benefit from having a glaringly obvious six-pack on stage (i.e. bikini), I prefer to stick to crunchless ab movements once or twice a week while incorporating breathing techniques and lots of iso-holds. For me personally – if I’ve got a shoot coming up, I’ll do one ab circuit and one crunchless ab workout per week in the final 4-6 weeks leading up to the shoot to sharpen the details. Any other time, one crunchless ab workout per week is plenty to maintain optimal core strength and function.
Crunchless Ab Exercises (core tightening)
Plank
Vacuums
Dragonflies
Ab wheel rollouts
Pallof press
L-sit holds
Broomstick twist
Hey guys!
Competing in body building competitions is expensive. Im raising money for my trip. Although I have gracious sponsors that cover my suit, tanning, hair, makeup, workout clothing and supplements. Im still left to pay for flight, hotel, registration etc.
I have started a go fund me. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
What's the point of having a blog if it doesn't get a little personal every now and then. As some of you who follow me regularly you know that I am now prepping for OPA provincials. I am a figure athlete.
Prep is tough. Motivation is key. Seeing the positive comments and having you guys behind me and my boyfriend/Coach keeps me going. I want to show you guys that if you say you are going to do something you can do it! It helps keep me accountable and I know a lot of you are embarking on your own fitness journey in 2017 so I hope that I can inspire you! If you need help I do online training so email me alicia@trainitright.com for more information and we can discuss how I can help you!
If you haven't been following my vlogs go and subscribe now: www.youtube.com/trainitright it will give you an awesome look into my life at an even more personalable level. I share some of my prep friendly recipes, grocery shopping, workouts and much more. Life as a competitor, athlete, model and trainer is not as easy and glamorous as it looks on instagram so I want to give you a real look into my life and prep.
Although 20 weeks sounds like a long time away its not. The days go by so fast. The workouts are tough (for me anyway) but I love them. Each and every prep mentally has gotten easier for me so far so I am hoping this will be my best yet. Ive been implementing positive self talk, graphing progress and even using meditation. Prep is just as much mental as it is physical and nutrition is key. I have a few meetings this month so Im hoping to share with you guys some key things on the nutrition aspect soon.
Another hard part for me on some days not all is getting in all of my water. I got a jug from Popeyes to help me with that. If I drink two of them in a day thats my full 4L aka Gallon.
My biggest goal for this prep is to have my legs come in more and show some amazing definition. Its hard as a woman because of estrogen. Also I tend to do loads of cardio because of my track background my body is a bit stubborn so I get a lot of water being held there! My boyfriend/coach has implemented some great strategies in my program to combat that and I can't wait to see how we can improve on this sculpture!
Let me know anything that you guys want to read about/see etc! If you have any Questions or comments leave them below and maybe ill do a Q&A blog and video!
I may have always been an athlete. But since moving to Toronto to be a personal trainer and fitness expert I’ve had many ups and downs in my life on my personal fitness journey. Big set backs continuously seemed to occur. They always needed up preventing me from reaching my fitness goals each time. However never did I get down on myself. I always picked myself up each and every time and kept going. I did not complain and I did not blame anyone or anything for my circumstances.
First I had a full and complete ACL tear. When this happened at the same time I also ended up rupturing my meniscus while fracturing the tibia at its plateau. It took me over a month post op to even be able to do a full cycle on a pedal bike. I had to have a second surgery less than a year later to remove scar tissue and shots of synvisc (a synthetic synovial fluid) as well. To this day I still don’t have full range of motion. Did this stop me? No. Does it prevent me from doing anything? No. Do I use it as an excuse? No.
Then the following spring I was on my way to coach my track team and a cab driver cut me off as I was riding my motorcycle through an intersection. I t-boned him and flew over the cab. Hit my knee that I had the ACL repair on pretty bad, got whip lash, hurt my back, got road rash and also had my hand caught in the street car track as I was sliding. Did this stop me? No. Does it prevent me from doing anything? No. Do I use it as an excuse? No.
Finally, as I was still going through physio for my motorcycle accident I had some crazy symptoms.The biggest and most obvious one was that I was exhausted all day long and had no energy (very unusual for me). So I went to the doctor and they did some scans and said you have to go to emergency now! I still had no idea why. They admitted me and performed an emergency surgery to remove a mass of cells in my stomach. This mass was very rare. And no it wasn’t cancer. From September until November I had to have blood work every week to monitor my body and make sure it didn’t come back. And it came back. Again very rare. Based on where it was my only option was chemotherapy. I had 7 rounds before I got to ring the bell that I completed my chemo! Wahoo! The whole time I kept on training my clients and I even began my very first prep while still undergoing chemo. The chemo made me very puffy and swollen but I didn’t get down on myself. I honestly didn’t even tell many people. Did this stop me? No. Does it prevent me from doing anything? No. Do I use it as an excuse? No.
I hope that you realize that sometimes the journey can be hard and tiring. There may be obstacles in your way but persevere, follow the plan, find a support system and be honest! Good things will happen and your consistency will pay off! Don’t give up and don’t let anyone or any circumstance bring you down!
Hey Guys!
I want to make my blog a little bit more intimate. As some of you who have been following me for a while know that as of this year I started competing in Figure Competitions within the Ontario Physique Association OPA.
I was previously with Bombshell Fitness. Where my coach had me training and competing for bikini category. Although I love bikini. My body seemed more suitable for NPC bikini than bikini here in the OPA. I decided to switch to local coaching and saught out the best of the best. Sean Tierney of Team Trex. We both concluded that I would be more suited for figure than I was bikini. I also began coaching with Team Trex. So if anyone reading this is thinking of doing a competition feel free to contact me about it. I will give you all the information for you to get started with me as your coach!
Anyway back to the point. The intense training/prep was much different than what I had been doing commenced. For my first show my coach and I decided to go the natural stream. I did a regional show. This show as held in Barrie. I placed second in my category and qualified for provincials to be held two weeks following in London. Where I placed 5th which qualified me for natural provincials.
Im still learning the sport, the judging and the reasoning behind placings. And I know I have a lot of growth and development to do physically to get to where I want to go in the sport. With that being said the training, dieting along with living my life with regular work etc was not easy. It was hard. I struggled with the diet the most. Not the training. When I don't have carbs I feel deprived for some reason when in fact the opposite is suppose to happen because your body produces keytones. This time around I plan on being even more detailed with my diet and hydration. Drinking 4L of water a day isn't easy either.
Im currently sitting 10 weeks out from the OPA Gala. This is an Open show. Not a natural one. I am really excited about this show and I can't wait to bring an enhanced package. An unforgettable one I hope. I have some weight to lose. I know it sounds crazy but stage ready is a whole different level of fitness than fit for life. Or even fit for a photo shoot. This lifestyle of competing is not for every one.
Im going to try and update you all as much as I can with my schedule on how everything is going. There are ups and downs but thats what makes sport magically! Competitors lifestyles are tough but I know I can achieve much more in this sport if I really put my mind to it! And if I inspire some of you along the way to compete, go to the gym or even just become more active will be reward enough for me!
Run To A Faster Beat With Alicia Bell
Alicia Bell
Say hello to this ultra high energy, Toronto-based Kinesiologist, strength coach and track coach. Phew. Alicia has devoted her life to helping people reach their goals in fitness, sports and life. It’s pretty clear Alicia’s beat goes on and on.
Who is Alicia Bell? She is a Toronto based Social Media Influencer, Kinesiologist, Strength Coach and Track and Field Coach who has devoted her life to helping people reach their goals in fitness and sport. She is a nationally recognized track and field coach who coached team Canada at the Maccabi games in Israel in July of 2013. She lead the team to 13 medals. Alicia has over 10 years of practical and educational experience and is a published Fitness model for Zenzation with her pictures gracing their equipment and she leads their product DVD instruction.
Alicia has experience working with many types of clientele. She has worked as a Kinesiologist and an Exercise Rehabilitation Specialist. She is also experienced at weight loss, strength training, toning and athletic conditioning. She has worked with clients such as Dwight Howard (NBA), Rashad McCants (Former NBA), Geoff Harris (Olympic 800m runner), Lil Jon (Rapper/Dj), Karla Moy aka HustleGrl, Hill Harper (actor, author) and even the mother of the Toronto rapper Drake.
Alicia Bell and Telus Present - Living Better With Samsung S6
I have such a busy schedule! Not only am I a personal trainer in busy downtown Toronto, Canada, but I also work for a water company (GP8 Sportwater) and I am also an athlete who trains to compete in the Ontario Physique Association (OPA) bikini category.
My life is filled with fitness, nutrition, travelling and social interactions. Sometimes it is hard to keep track of not only my own goals and activities but also my clients and other business adventures. I have to keep a very tight schedule, so for me timing is everything.
Since getting the new Samsung S6 from Telus I have been living better! I love to take pictures and video of my clients training, my own workouts, the food I eat and the day to day activities and events that I attend. I have found that the Samsung S6 really captures these moments. Its dynamic, ultra-responsive camera captures the true-to-life brilliance of any moment throughout my day. It also has a quick launch camera so that I can pull out my phone and quickly (under a second) launch the camera to take an in the moment photo.
Another convenient feature for me is the quick unlock finger print option. Instead of keying in a password (which you can also do) you can use your very own finger print to quickly unlock your phone. It was very easy to set up and when I need to open my phone fast to read a message it only takes a quick second to unlock from being secure.
Another one of my favourite features is that it has a super charger. What does this mean? It means that because I am always on the go I can plug the S6 in for just 10 minutes and get up to 4 hours of battery life!!!! When you take as much photos as I do and you are constantly travelling from one place to another and listening to music this is crucial. I don't have the time to leave my phone plugged in for hours at a time.
The apps that I have found useful on the Samsung for my busy and active lifestyle are:
S- Health: This app you can personalize and sync your health data with your Samsung account. You can choose your personal units of measurements and receive notifications of events in the status bar. Within the app you can download extra things. I use the Workout Trainer (if I need a quick workout for myself), Recipes & Nutrition(for finding healthy recipes) and the Hydro Coach (for recording my water intake). There are so many useful apps to help with staying on track and these three are just a few. You can completely personalize the S Health and the apps that you use within it for whatever your goals are.
The phone can also counts your daily step count and allows you to adjust your goals for the count. I have it at 10, 000 steps per day. The only downfall is that if you don't have the watch to go with the phone you have to have the phone in your hand or in your pocket for it to keep track.
The sleep tracker is also key. As an athlete and trainer I cannot express how important sleep can be. If you don't get enough sleep your body will be high in cortisol. A stress released hormone that can trigger your body to store fat. Keeping track of your sleep will help you with your fitness goals.
Another awesome feature with the phone is that it actually has a heart rate sensor that allows you to instantly measure your heart rate and record it. This is great when training because it allows you to check if you are working in the right zone for your goals when you are doing an intense training or cardio session.
I also use the food recording within the S Health application. This can let you see what you are eating and how many calories are in it. Its great to achieve your goals. Whats also really cool is that if you haven't recorded anything for the day it will ask you if you feel like tracking your food? It will also remind you. Which is great if you are as busy as I am and often forget.
Check out the phone for yourself in this video from Samsung:
GIVEAWAY CONTEST AND ENTRY INFORMATION
Two ways to enter:
1) Tweeting a contest-specific entry:
If I win a Samsung Galaxy S6 from @trainitright & @TELUS, I'll USE IT TO HELP ME REACH MY GOAL OF_____ #TELUSS6
2) Either sharing or commenting on my Facebook post for this contest on the Facebook page. www.facebook.com/trainitright
The contest is Canadian only, no Quebec entries, 18+
A random winner will be selected
Check out my fellow bloggers perspectives on how they use their Samsung phones as well. The phone is so versatile for whatever your life may bring. You can completely personalize the Samsung S6 and for me that is what makes it such a great phone.