Ali Rosen's 2011 Arnold Blog

[Ron]

From Hardbody.com

http://www.hardbody.com/news/2011/01/08/ali-rosens-kiss-plan-for-the-bikini-international/




Ali Rosen’s KISS plan for the Bikini International

Ali Rosen battled it out in the NPC ranks before finding her groove and taking home top honors at the 2010 NPC USAs. She continued her success in the pro ranks and is now one of the top IFBB Bikini pros in the biz. Ali joins us for our HARDBODY Arnold Guest Blogs and she has some great tips to share in her first installment. Check it out.

Eating to Train, Not Training to EAT!
As I approach the 8 week countdown to the Arnold Classic I am still in shock, and feel blessed to be able to be a part of history by being one of 17 fortunate women to grace the Bikini International stage.

Many of you know that being prepared is the key to achieving success. Preparation is critical to overcoming the many challenges of training and dieting we all face to achieve our goals. Ones diet is responsible for 80-90% of the way we look, with the remainder belonging to the way we train. As they say, Abs are not made in the gym they are made in the kitchen  .

KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) is one of the most valuable pieces of information I learned while competing. In particular, when it comes to ones diet. I have learned that cooking all my meals for the week in one day allows me to pick up and leave at any given moment.  What I normally do is set aside about 2-3 hours, usually Thursday or Friday, and I will food shop and grill all my meats and fishes in one day. If I have time I will then weigh and baggie all my meals and freeze them all in separate quart sized bags then place them into 7 gallon-sized bags which represent one day of the week. If I am pressed for time I will grill all my food one day and weigh and baggie the rest the following day.  Breaking up the cooking and packaging reduces feeling overwhelmed or exhausted.  If you don’t own a grill I suggest you broil your fish. It takes at most 10 minutes and you can throw it in the oven still frozen.

To flavor meat and fish, Mrs. Dash (salt free) brand seasonings are great, as is using lemon, pepper, garlic and onion powder. Just don’t use too many spices or seasonings; the less you use the less you will crave real yummy food.

For cooking veggies and potatoes, I prefer to bake my potatoes (in a toaster oven) and NOT freeze them. They don’t taste the same once frozen and thawed out. As for veggies getting the microwavable or even frozen (no sodium) versions are always the simplest way to cut time and worry.

Another key tip I have learned is to microwave my eggs. This allows for minimal clean up the rest of the week. After getting bored of eating eggs and oatmeal separately, I now mix them together with whatever fruit is on my diet, sprinkle it with splenda and cinnamon.

Since many people have to travel for work, staying on any diet may seem like a challenge. WRONG! If you have all your meals prepared in advance all you need to do is throw them in a large travel size or daily size cooler (see the picture of mine below) and off you roll. As for not having a microwave available at hotels, make hardboiled eggs, remove the yolk and bring instant oatmeal and just add hot water. Nowadays almost everything comes in travel size. If peanut butter is on your diet Justin’s brand makes perfect travel size packets. If you love your coffee, Startbucks VIA packets are easy to travel with and taste great. As for traveling with lettuce, upon arriving at your destination your best bet is to order a large salad sans dressing and you will have fresh lettuce for your stay.

I hope this helps fellow competitors and everyone else trying to stick to a plan- no lesson has helped me more. Until next week…

Train Hard & Stay Positive

Ali

[outby43]

great advice.  Nothing we have not seen a million times but sometimes we need to be reminded how easy it CAN be if you want to be healthy.

Thanks  Ronald.

[Ron]

January 14, 2011

Ali Rosen: Breathe… Stretch… Shake… Let it Go!

http://www.hardbody.com/news/2011/01/14/ali-rosen-breathe-stretch-shake-let-it-go/


IFBB Bikini Pro Ali Rosen has some great tips as she prepares for the 2011 Bikini International. Check out Ali’s Hardbody Guest Blog and learn what’s been working for her to combat her aches and pains.

Breathe-Stretch-Shake-Let it Go!

Aches, pains, knots, and tight muscles are scattered throughout my body right now. But this is par for the course for most of the duration of competition prep. I have learned a few tricks, tips and ways to combat the saying “Beauty is pain.”

Stretching is something we all learned in gym class. It is vital for flexibility, to relive soreness post exercise, and for overall mobility. It’s a great thing, but when I’m dieting stretching seems like another workout. I always used the excuse that after being in the gym for 2 hours, stretching felt like such a chore and not something I found pleasure in (especially when those hunger pains strike). After getting away with minimal soreness for weeks without stretching (post workout), it became a lot easier to overlook. Now the pain is back and I’m paying the price for all those days I didn’t stretch.

By failing to stretch regularly, I was making my future strength, flexibility, quality of life all worse in the long run. It wasn’t until I scheduled an appointment with a massage therapist that I truly began to realize how important it is to stretch and take care of my body post workout. I was told I had massive amounts of scar tissue built up in my hamstrings (that are chronically tight and sore for me), they explained ways I could be my own at-home therapist (I know, scary thought).

If your financial budget allows for physical therapies, I strongly recommend two weekly massages: One being a sports massage where the therapist “strips” specific muscles (extremely painful, extremely effective, definitely not relaxing) and the second should be a deep tissue massage (more relaxing but still deep enough where the muscles can be worked to help flush out any extra fluid that causes muscles soreness). Another weekly therapy is acupuncture. I recently started getting acupuncture and fell in love with the concept and method. So much so I stopped seeing my chiropractor!

On the flip side, if seeing all these different therapists is not an option, rest assured I have found multiple home remedies that will simulate the same great effects! The required equipment: foam roller, Epsom salt, tiger balm (cream and/ or patches), heating pads and a yoga mat. With all these ingredients I can dish out many recipes to free you from pain.

Morning (post cardio):

- As soon as you finish cardio, do a 10 minute stretching routine. Hold each stretch for about 15-20 seconds and go through all the stretches twice.
- Upon getting home (before showering), I take 1 teaspoon of Glutamine and then I will lay my yoga mat down and with my foam roller perform myofascial release (see attached link: http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/self-myofascial-release.html) over my quads, calves, IT band, glutes, and hamstrings.
- After I shower I will put on some Tiger Balm cream and continue with my day

Evening (post weight training/cardio):

- Regardless of what body part I train I will take at least 10 minutes at the end of my workout to run through basic stretches.
- Once I get home I will repeat my myofascial stretches and take another teaspoon of Glutamine.
- Immediately after foam rolling I will take a 15- 20 minute Epsom salt bath and add more tiger balm cream if needed.
- NOTE: Taking an Epsom salt bath each night is not necessary. You can shoot for twice a week and for the days you don’t, warm up a heating pad and place it in the sore area then you can foam roll.
- Usually sleeping with aches and pains prevents a solid night’s sleep, but I have a solution for that as well: Have a cup of chamomile tea with a tablespoon of liquid melatonin you will naturally fall right to sleep for a solid night.

Until next week, remember to Breathe, STRETCH, shake let it go!

Train hard & Stay Positive
Ali