Andrea Giacomi's Blog: life, bodybuilding & my everyday rambles…

sunny sunday afternoon!

woke up early did laundry, cooked and hit the gym for some back and cardio. my back workout was pretty decent thanks to KT tape. it was such a nice day out i didnt want to sit home and do nothing so timothy & i took off for a walk. so many people were out & about. i swear when the weather gets a few degrees warmer than usual everyone comes out from their caves haha! bought myself a kickass short leather jacket. hey gotta treat myself for my bday this tuesday! HELL YEAH! you can find some good deals here in the alleys of nyc we hit up crumbs bake shop for some cupcakes. damn these cupcakes are HUGE! i got an oreo one and timothy got peanut butter cup. it was hard to decide. too many yummy flavors to choose from. but damn ya know what? they had to have the calories written beside each one. when i step inside a bakery im not going there to find the healthiest option and sure as hell dont want to be reminded that im going to be eating 550 calories in less than 5 minutes LOL…oh well! walked through union square park where they had many artist out selling their goods. an artist was making a design on the ground by colored sand…i thought it was cool! came home took a nap and im ready to get back into the groove tomorrow. hope everyone had an awesome weekend!!!

putting it in check!

today at the gym i was training shoulders. i did some side lateralls supersetting with front raises. i had to go light because of the tendonitis in my left forearm. i then went to the smith machine to do some military presses. as im doing them i notice my left bicep looks smaller than my right. WTF! i know my right arm is the dominant arm but damn…i didnt like what i saw. so i started getting down. bummed out…lossing my focus, drive and energy in the gym. injuries can be a real downer to someone that enjoys lifting and making progress when it comes to putting on muscle. i told timothy i feel like the tin man on the wizard of oz. only if i had a can of WD40 that i could spray on my joints and tendons lol. UGH!!! it wasnt like this 10 years ago. my mom is probably reading this and shaking her head…”yeah andrea, i told you so!” she is dealing with all the injuries now from the years of heavy lifting back in the days. i guess i thought it wouldnt catch up to me.

so after timothy’s lil pep talk and telling me it wouldnt hurt to take some rest and that my muscle is not going anywhere i felt better. then i started thinking about how damn lucky i am that i can walk my happy ass to the gym and workout the way i do. im so very lucky that i have good genetics and was brought up the way i was that im not in the situation of just starting out like some. ive been training for over 17 years now.

so now that i rambled on about that…the point i am making is…i am thankful for the body/physique that was given to me & that i have created. no matter how many injuries i have and no matter how many times i look into the mirror for perfection…im blessed to wake up with a smile on my face, walk to the gym and be as healthy as i am.
happy friday everyone ♥

NYC!!!!

i love this video…reminds me of the first time i was here in nyc. lil over 2 years ago i came here for the first time ever! i was amazed…it was just like what i saw on tv or in the movies and i was here…right smack dab in the middle of manhattan. looking up at all the buildings, walking through the crowds of people, getting lost…it was crazy haha! i go through my spurts of loving to live here & not loving it so much. the winters are hard on me but the spring & fall are so nice here in the city. its a great place to live.
since moving here to nyc two years ago i have done & experienced so many new things with my life. nyc has opened my eyes, ears and mind to the world like never before!

training in the offseason…

since my shows i really havent been talking much about my training & how the offseason is going. guess its because im not focusing on competing right now and im doing other things. dont get me wrong…im still training hard about 5 days a week. im not going too heavy right now. my tendonitis is acting up again in my forearms. i cant train back & bis the way i want. sometimes after the workouts i feel like i didnt even do anything. it really sucks at times. i like to train back & bis heavy because i want them to GROW!!! but i work around it & do what i can do. if i have to rep out 20 reps & really concentrate on form then thats what i have to do. my diet is so-so. i would say i eat clean about 70% of the time. if anything i eat more carbs than i should. i dont eat much junk….but the carbs, even good carbs add up & its not good if you are wanting to stay lean. im about 184 right now. some mornings i weigh 184 and some 180. whatever…i feel good, im not depriving myself & thats all that matters. im not going to deprive myself right now because for the most of 2009 i was on a diet with the 4 shows i did spread through out the year. im sure when it starts to warm up i will clean it up so i can drop a few lbs and i will be all good to sport a bikini! ♥

Cupcakes & Cookies….

this week i took two classes at the culinary school. advanced cookie design and upscale cupcakes. the cookie class was 5 hrs long and we made some amazing orange cream cookies then decorated them with white & dark molding chocolate, icing, fondant and some gold powder to paint onto the cookies. it was a very fun class. i see these kinds of cookies selling online or in bakeries for around $4-12 a piece. now i know why….they are very time consuming. the ultimate cupcake class was two days for 5 hrs each day. this class was amazing. the first day we made all the cupcakes, icing, molding chocolates, sugar flowers & marzipan. the second day (today) we got to decorate them . now this is the part i enjoy the most. just sitting down and taking my time to decorate so precise & beautifully. its a stress releiver for me believe it or not. then you have the cupcakes & cookies to eat when you get stressed LOL!

AVATAR

well i finally saw the movie avatar yesterday. ive been wanting to see it since it came out. i saw it in 3D which gave the experience of seeing it that more magical. i tell ya…avatar has got to be the best movie i have ever seen. i loved every minute of it. it was mesmerizing, it was beyond the imagination….it was like magic. the time flies by even though it was 2 hrs & 40 min. id see it again today if i could. it was absolutly amazing. im sure everyone has their opinions about the movie and how it moved them but the movie really brought me in. i forgot it was a fantasy. i got emotional at parts and i didnt want it to end. even watching the trailer again i get the chills. now i see why that movie was #1 for so long and won a ton of awards. if you enjoy movies that let your mind be free then i recommend seeing it for yourself.

february…blah

ive noticed this month so far has been the hardest to get going. i think its the weather. lately we have been having snow and the heat is friggen cranked up in the building. i open the windows but then it gets cold fast lol. i hear about others feeling tired, unmotivated and dull but i never really thought the weather could affect me that much. i always think it has to be something else going on. after talking to friends that have lived in nyc for years say its a common thing this time of year. okay so i guess i shouldnt feel bad about going to bed around midnight and waking up around 8am haha!

on the bright side…the weather is suppose to be in the 40’s the rest of this week & weekend. YAY! next month is my BIRTHDAY and daylight savings….ahhh move the clocks ahead ; ) been going to the gym when i get up for some cardio to start my day. it kinda helps, then i go back later to train. so here i am now….7pm and im getting ready to head to the gym soon.

we had snow yesterday and peanut was feeling like it was a lazy day too…i tried taking her picture but she was not liking it too much. i think this pic is way too cute of her ♥

pizookie time!

today i decided to make a favorite of mine….PIZOOKIE! yes a huge cookie, usually warm with a huge scoop of ice cream on it BUT i didnt have any ice cream in the house believe it or not. i took some pre-maid toll house chocolate chip cookie dough & cut up some old carmel candies from halloween. haha yeah they were pretty hard and i was hoping they would melt since they were about 6 months old LOL. anyways…it came out perfect ♥

on another note…remember back when timothy & i went to times square for some drinks on that rainy day in january? well i finally got the video edited & uploaded….goodtimes!

snow day!!!

so the gym i go to is closed today. ive never experienced “snow days.” back home in CA living in the central valley it gets very foggy. so foggy you cannot see the hood of your car. i can remember driving to work at 4am and thinking to myself how am i going to get to work, i dont even know where i am at. school use to get cancelled because of fog. we had foggy day schedules. now living here on the east coast im experiencing these snow days. ok so there is snow on the ground. but i can still walk to the gym ya know ; ) oh well….im taking advantage by working & doing laundry. i sit at my computer that is right next to a big window. i must say it is kinda cool to see the snow falling….you dont see this stuff in cali.

get a clue girls!

this is so funny…today i was walking to the grocery store and i over hear two girls chatting away about working out. one girl said…”yeah i really want to start working out all the time BUT…i dont want my legs and arms getting to manly & too big!” i had to keep what i was thinking to myself. first i tried to not bust out and laugh and second i wanted to tell those girls “do you know how long it will take for you to even put on 5 lbs of muscle.” even working out everyday, if you are not eating clean & doing cardio you really wont be able to see any muscle let alone big muscle. omg some people amaze me. do you really think that if you work out hard & heavy you are going to look like a man in a month? haha get a clue girls!