Well, here I am, writing in my new blog.  It may take a bit of getting used to, a little different to the Blogger sofware.  So, my trip to Melbourne was a long, long day.  It was a little eye opening, if I could put it that way.  I only got 4 hours sleep so by the end of the day I was shagged.  Sharon met me at the airport and we went to a Port Melbourne cafe to have coffee and chat.  6 hours later (yes that’s right, 6 hours) she dropped me off at Wayne’s office in Moorabbin.  I sat with him whilst he had lunch (I wasn’t hungry, yet had barely eaten anything), then we went to another cafe and we chatted about comp stuff and reminisced about old times, in particular our funny trip to the US back in 2002. 

Competition

I have a lot of thinking to do about my approach to competition and if even do it.  I still want to, but there are many factors involved.  Let’s just say that stress has played a bit of havoc in my life in the past and recently (mostly job stress at present) and that I really need to learn to relax and unwind at the end of a day.  At present (well now in past) my days have been haywire for the simple reason that I have no schedule.  My schedule can vary widely and will depend on how well I sleep (or not), how much work I have on, my training, my appointments, and other every day committments.  So, I’ve concluded that stress is the major contributing factor to a number of issues I have at the moment.  The first step to dealing with this is to make a daily schedule which means being up at 6.30am every day and off to do cardio – yes, every day.  I will schedule a good 6 hours every day for sitting at my desk and working (I am extraordinarily efficient and can get a lot done in this time ), 2 hours for lunch which can be used for whatever I need to do, or, if I need a nanna nap   No more working in the evenings.  They are for relaxing.  I’ve had a bit of an issue with defining my business/personal life.  So, this will really help and I already feel much better for it.

I’ve reduced my intake of various supplements, and keeping the basics only – a multi, vit B, C, antioxidants, MRM Smart Blend oils, glutamine, BCAA’s and my adrenal mix.  Every night I take a muscle relaxant to help me sleep.  This is a habit that has developed over the past 10 years and it is time for me to look for another way.  At present, and for as long as I can remember, my mind is just so active at night.  I have trouble winding down.  So, I’m going to go to see someone about a plan to come off these gradually, as well as learning relaxation/meditation techniques.  I doubt if I would do this whilst preparing for a comp as the effects of sleep deprivation will be very difficult to handle with my busy workload as well as trying to train 2-3 x day and diet.  I simply cannot function without at least 7 hours (8 or 9 is better!) every night.

At the moment I am still going gluten and dairy free, and I do already feel much better.  More alert, not as much need to sleep during the day.  However, more alert, is not so good for me in the evening!! 

Ok it’s time to clock off   More soon.