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

HBO explores Female Bodybuilding with Bryant Gumbel

this piece has had alot of talk. it was on HBO a couple weeks back. check it out, pretty interesting.

discipline – sacrafice – achieve!

i was in the gym today and started to daze off. for some reason i started thinking how people go to the gym and lift weights to build muscles. people on cardio sweating and out of breath. why do some of us do it almost everyday and some of us cant even last a month? i mean is it really that enjoyable haha? its crazy how weight training & bodybuilding has evolved. way back in the days they didnt have all these high tech cardio or ab machines. expensive pieces of gym equipment that takes longer to put weight on and adjust the seat vs. doing your set. all i know is i love the look that training gives me. i love muscle! i love the way it makes me feel. i enjoy a good cardio session where it leaves me dripping in sweat & out of breath. i enjoy weight training and seeing how strong i have become from when i first stepped foot in the gym. weight training, excercise, cardio, bodybuilding….whatever we call it, it will always be a part of my life! ♥

discipline & sacarfice! it takes alot of discipline to train hard and stay focused. the things i sacrafice to stay in shape. but this is what i choose. we all sacrafice and are disciplined on different things. some with career, some with our looks, some with family, health, money, etc…

with discipline & sacrafice you can achieve anything!

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 ♥

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! ♥