BLOG OF THE MONTH: Shannon Lynch
Hi Nutrabolics fans!
My name is Shannon Lynch and I am 29 year-old Canadian National bikini competitor and Nutrabolics brand ambassador who lives in the beautiful city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. This is my first Nutrabolics blog post and I’m very excited to share with you what I have been up to these last few months as well as what I have planned for the summer ahead!
This past winter and early spring I devoted my time to preparing for the IFBB World Qualifier (previously known as the Canadian Natural Physique Championships), which was held on April 28th in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. This was my second trip to the Canadian Nationals stage since rescinding my WBFF pro card last April in order to return to CBBF as an amateur so that I could pursue my all-time dream of earning an IFBB pro card. Last year I finished 2nd to my fitness friend and now IFBB Pro Veronique Morin this year I was close again, placing 2nd to fellow Nutrabolics Brand Ambassador Angeline Jeanson – Nutrabolics represented well!
About my prep:
I began my prep in early January but had quite a bit of work to do in the conditioning department; thankfully I was lucky enough to partner-up with Nutrabolics and was able to depend on their high-quality products to fuel me through my prep! My workouts were high intensity in order to burn the max possible calories per session so I relied on Thermal XTC to get me going in the morning for these butt-kicking workouts. I’m not a fan of eating in the morning before heading to the gym so during my workouts I would sip one scoop of Anabolic State (in Fruit Punch) mixed with a water bottle full of ice cold water – sipping on this BCAA drink helped me preserve my hard earned muscle without inhibiting fat burning (aka my main priority). Post workout, I would drink 1 scoop of Glutabolic mixed with water (to help speed post-workout recovery) and would then prepare my favorite go-to smoothie recipe for breakfast:
Shannon’s Favorite Way to Start the Day Smoothie Recipe
1 cup of water
1 Scoop Nutrabolics Protein Powder in Vanilla
1/3 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup frozen berries
1/2 cup frozen chopped kale
1 tsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp salba
1 tsp peanut or almond butter
Blend and voila! Simple, easy, healthy, delicious and nutritious and pro fat burning!
Last but certainly not least, I would take NutrabolicsHemotropin before bed and would end up sleeping like a rock – ask any seasoned competitor and they will tell you that sleep is just as important as training!
So since I didn’t walk away with my pro card that weekend, I am now looking forward to my next opportunity to earn my IFBB Pro Card. For me that will be the IFBB North American Championships in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA on August 31, 2012 – which is only 10 short weeks away! This is the same event that Nutrabolics Sponsored Athlete Natalie Waples won her IFBB Pro Card at four years ago. She is planning on making the trip with me so hopefully having her there will bring me extra luck! So between now and then I plan on dusting off my sneakers and lifting gloves and hitting the gym HARD as I did take a much needed break to focus on academics after the World Qualifier. I’m a lot closer starting-out now than I was for my show last April so I’m optimistic about bringing a tighter and more shrink-wrapped physique to the stage thistime. Outside of the gym I plan on enjoying the beautiful weather in Halifax by taking the love of my life – my Yorkshire terrier Abby – on lots of walks on Halifax’s Citadel Hill (I’ve included a photo of us relaxing this past Sunday on the hill!), spending time on patios with friends (drinking club soda mind you!) oh and of course I will do everything that I can to make it to home to Cape Breton Island for a few weekends as well as enjoy the local Halifax beaches on sunny weekend days!
I hope you enjoyed my first blog post! I look forward to checking in again with you Nutrafans in the near future! In the meantime feel free to follow me for updates or ask me questions on Twitter @ShannonLynchFit and on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/shannonlynchfit
All the best!
Shannon
