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

NYC to Cleveland….

well lets just start off and say i took a road trip this past weekend. OMG…friday morning woke up at 4:30am. we hit the road at 6am to cleveland ohio for the north americans. the mapquest said its a 7.5 hr drive. lots of rain plus road construction made it to about 8.5 hrs lol. oh & not to mention timothy getting pulled over for speeding. i guess the cop was too intrigued from his tattoos & decided to just site him for missing a traffic sign or something haha! all i know is the ticket is a hell of alot cheaper than it would of been if it was written for him being clocked at 84mph. got there just in time for the mens prejudging to start at 3pm. after seeing the guys we decided to go back to the hotel and chill for the night. we stayed with our close friend that was competing in the womens bodybuilding. saturday morning woke up and went to the womens prejudging. i helped work the species booth and got to watch the show from there. wow what a great show it was. the womens bodybuilding was packed with competition. then after that was the figure which was very competive too. in between prejudging & the finals we hit the lil gym in the hotel. it was just enough for me to do some cardio & get a nice upper body pump ; ) went to the finals and saw many friends do their thing. we didnt stay for the whole show. left after the mens middle weight open class. the show was going on way too long. but we got to see everyone we wanted to and had a blast. sunday morning woke up and hit the road….9 hrs later we were back in nyc! wow….what a weekend!

glad we decided last minute to check the show out. was great motivation thats for sure. looking forward to the next show to see some friends compete at team universe here in nyc! bummer….no road trip for that one! lol
hope everyone had a great weekend! oh…and to come back to 75 degree weather….NICE!!

cheescake, brownies, & cupcakes OH MY!

wow what another great class tonight. we made even more stuff. except this time it was cupcakes, cheescakes, cookies, biscotti, brownies and some other lil cakes things. OMG….so much yummy food i cannot have LOL. oh well i had a great time & learned so much. im definately going to look into taking another class real soon. my feet are killing me though from standing for about 5 hrs.

tomorrow morning im leaving to head to cleveland for the north americans. hopefully i will get there in time for prejudge. it starts at 3pm so i think we are going to leave at 6am. the drive is about 7hrs. got my food packed, need to pack some clothes and i need to get my ass to bed since i have to wake up so early. i have been going to bed late & waking up later so this is going to be a rough night haha.

well hope everyone has a great weekend. i look forward to coming back sunday and hitting the diet & training even harder since it will be the 12 week mark & i will be motivated from the show. goodnight everyone…chat with ya when i get back! XOX

willpower…

talk about some serious willpower. for some that dont know, im looking into going to culinary school through the pastry & baking program. before i commit to $27K and 26 weeks i thought i would take some of the recreational courses that the institute of culinary education has to offer. so i enrolled in one that is 10 hrs over two days…..the modern baker: cakes, layer cakes & cookies. i had my first class tonight. SO…here i am dieting for nationals, lil over 12 weeks out. i thought about taking this class after nationals is over but why wait. i want to do it now and the classes fill up fast so i said screw it…this will test my willpower lol. yes i love to torture myself ; )

so i get to the class tonight at 6pm. about 16 people in the class divided into 4 groups, 4 people to a group. we immediately get instructions & start baking. we made whipped cream layer cake with carmel whipped cream frosting, devils food cake with fluffy white icing, blackberry crumb cake, heirloom chocolate cake, perfect pound cake, and strawberry shortcake. OMG…this was just day one. i go back tomorrow to make & learn more. while we are working away and getting to know each other in the class i get a handful of people come up to me and ask if i compete, what do i eat, how much do i workout…they start with the questions lol. one of the girls in my group said, “i feel so bad. here we are eating all this right in front of you.” i was like…”omg girl, you dont even know. i go through this everyday. im use to it.” but overall everyone was cool. i didnt get any negative vibes from anyone.

i will admit it was tough. i have a major sweet tooth & not even tasting what we made was tough. but in the end we all got to split it up and take it home. you bet i brought some home. haha yep…good ol timothy is gonna love/hate me for this one. i had alot of fun and look forward to tomorrow night. YumYum ; )~

focus….

feeling great today….feeling inspired! i dont know what happened but i am finally 100% focused on preparing for another bodybuilding comp. i was having a hard time getting my head into the game. getting focused on doing another show come november. it wasnt until this morning i was like….”fuck yeah, im ready to do this!” feeling motivated about this journey.

i hate to say i wont do another show for while because we never know. BUT…i have came to the conclusion within myself that after the nationals in november i am going to focus on moving back to california, going to school & taking some trips to places i have always wanted to go. the gym and my passion for bodybuilding will always be there and i will never stop training. its just the competing part of it all…now i can see why competitors only do maybe one show a year. it takes alot out of you mentally. the physical part has always been easier for me than the mental. there have been classes i have wanted to take or trips i wanted to go on but i had to postpone it all because i am prepping for a show. its those kinds of things that i want to focus more on next year….

so i just got back from the gym, trained back. did my cardio already for the day. so nice to have everything done & out of the way. now i can cook, work and relax!

4 years and 20 lbs….

so i was looking at some old pics on my computer. i came across these….back in may 2005 i competed at the NPC Cal State bodybuilding & figure show. i placed 3rd in the figure tall class weighing 145lbs. the newer pics are from this june 2009 at the jr nationals. i placed 2nd in the heavyweight bodybuilding weighing 165lbs.

im amazed at my improvements that i have accomplished in 4 yrs. to me…the extra muscle is so much sexier ; ) i look at those old pics and say…”damn i was skinny!” haha but back then skinny is not what i felt. i actually thought i was pretty big lol. oh well…just thought id share these for a good laugh LOL…just gonna keep getting better! rock on!

mental distractions….it WILL be okay!

feeling a lil distracted today. im having a hard time focusing on the things that matter NOW. the problem is all these distractions entering my mind are sending me too many mixed signals and im trying to pay attention to all of them. i cant let this happen. i need to keep my thoughts in the PRESENT moment. i need to keep reminding myself that when i get distracted like this i need to focus on what is important NOW!

i have commited myself to a show in november. need to stay on the right path for that. you know…everyone always says mind over matter, or mind over body. well mine is the complete opposite. my body is full of energy and im feeling great. its my mind that is fucking with me. i think i jumped into getting ready for another show too quick. i wont turn back because i know myself too well….i need this. i WANT to get on stage at the nationals & prove to myself that i can come in better condition than last show. i know as a few more weeks into all this i will be right where i need to be mentally. its just right now im having a hard time with getting myself there. i keep trying to make myself believe im there but in the end im not feelin it 100%.

so i will continue to stay on the path and see how things go. i have a class at the culinary school next wed/thur which i know will be good for me. also im headed to the north americans next weekend to see some friends of mine compete. attending shows is always a good motivator for myself.

wow, i cant believe i put all this out there for people to read. i never do this…never let people know how i feel when it isnt positive vibes. oh well…this is me, we all have our weaknesses. thanks for listening xox

ahhhh friday ; )

well the weekend is here!! YaY!! today was a pretty kick back day. woke up, went to the gym for some cardio, went for an hour massage. OMG…i swear i could get into trouble by spending all my money on massages. my back is even a lil sore because i had some bad knots that needed to be worked out. anyways…went to the grocery store, tanned and went back to the gym to train hams. i intended on working today but said the hell with it LOL…now im gonna find a movie to watch and chill for the night. walking around outside today drained me because it was so humid. sometimes i think to myself i would rather deal with the cold LOL. yea i know thats a big joke haha. the nyc winter is what made me realize how bad i want to move back to cali. oh well…hope everyone had a great week & will have an even better weekend!! XOX

tilapia @ the circus ; )

so i went to the circus lastnight at coney island. was alot of fun. i cant remember the last time i went to the circus. brought back some kid memories for sure! except when i was a kid i was eating cotton candy, popcorn & anyother junk i could get my hands on. this time…it was all about tilapia & grean beans. oh yeah haha! being on a precontest diet i had to bring my food with me. they were checking the bags before we could go in. they told me “you cannot bring any outside food or water in.” okay i understand, no biggie. so i scarfed down my food before entering. i tell you what….i didnt realize how much damn discipline one can have until i was inside smelling all the goodness that was roaming up & down the isles. i thought going to the movie theater was tough when dieitng. ; )

green light….GO!

alot going on in my head about what direction im headed. bodybuilding, work, school, living in new york city vs. california. sometimes i put alot of pressure on myself and i feel like i should know what i need to be doing five years from now. well i have learned to start living day by day. i cannot stress on the tomorrow. sure i can think about it & plan but i cannot let these subconscious feelings preoccupy my everyday thoughts.

right now i am focusing on nationals in november. 14 weeks of training, dieting and coming in better than i did for jr nationals. i have already been dieting for 2 weeks now. the first few weeks are always the toughest for me mentally. especially right now when i just competed in june. not much of an offseason haha. ive been having some doubts…am i big enough? can i afford it? should i wait til i improve on my physique before i step on the national stage? well i need to nip that shit in the butt because if i dont i will stress out on everything that does not matter & miss out on the journey that will get me through the next 14 weeks. i have to focus on ME. and this shit of me thinking i should wait til i think im good enough…well the bottom line is if i wait, i may never do it. i will do the best i can because its ME that i only have to answer to if i dont give it 110%.

all the other stuff….school, work, moving back to cali will have to wait til after the show because the nationals in november is a GO!!!

weekend mornings in nyc…

woke up this morning and it was nice outside. sunny & warm. wow can you believe it…not a humid day ; ) i like waking up and taking my dog for a walk early on the weekends. seems like people get a late start here in the weekend mornings in nyc. mornings are usually quiet & peaceful and nights are busy & crowded.

on december 29th 2008 we adopted a dog. her name is peanut. she is a 5 yr old beagle mix. she came from a very sheltered life. she was put in a pin with many other dogs and was thrown scaps here & there from a restaurant that was near by. when we got peanut she was timid, scared and knew nothing about city life. she didnt know how to walk on a leash, know that she can go to the bathroom on the city streets and everytime you would get up from the chair or bed she would take off…like you were gonna hit her or something. so sad.

with alot of patience & love peanut has turned out to be the sweetest, most affectionate, good little girl anyone could ever ask for. she does no wrong i swear. well maybe beg a lil now…but that is our fault lol. it feels good knowing that we have givin a dog a new home, a new life that she deserves. she goes everywhere with us. when we go on trips for the holidays she travels with us…in plane or train ; ) her & i always enjoy our quite weekend walks in the morning…XOX