Lessons Learnt from Bodybuilding..

If you've been reading the Phoenix Pro blog recently, chances are you'll know that I am currently preparing for my first bodybuilding competition, which takes place a week on Sunday in Stratford. Although I'm doing the trained figure class, which is more like a fitness physique class than a very muscular look, my diet and training have had to be carefully designed and monitored so that I drop a significant amount of body fat whilst preserving lean muscle tissue. One of my main motivations for embarking on bodybuilding was that the pursuit of significant body transformation is a goal of many of our clients at Phoenix Pro Fitness, and I wanted to personally experience what happens when you take diet and training to an extreme and purposeful level... something that is quite unique to the bodybuilding world. Here are some of the things I've learnt so far that might be of interest to you and hopefully help you in your own body transformation journey:

1) Having a coach makes sticking to even the toughest dietary protocol easy. I know that, being a coach myself, I would say that, but it's true. Bodybuilding is new to me so it made perfect sense to enlist the help of someone who knows it like the back of their hand, and my coach, former British Champion Annabel Ottey, has made the whole process a pleasure. As I am experienced in program writing I designed my own training schedule, but my diet, routine and all other prep has been down to Annie. This has been brilliant, not only because I have had access to Annie's experience and knowledge with regards to 'cutting', posing and preparation, but also because there's no way I would ever allow myself to diverge from a plan set by someone else and have to explain why my body fat hadn't dropped; never underestimate the accountability factor if you have a big goal to achieve...

2) You can get stronger, faster, fitter, leaner and more flexible simultaneously and on a 'bodybuilding program'. I decided to use my foray into bodybuilding as a bit of an experiment to see whether it was possible to drop fat, build muscle and improve a variety of fitness components simultaneously. This meant that my program incorporated a number of facets including:

a daily 'computer reboot' warm up protocol, aimed at preparing for more strenuous activity but also encouraging correct biomechanics for sprinting, jumping etc etc.

Dynamic flexibility aimed at maintaining (and in the case of my recently broken ankle, improving) good joint range of motion in a functional capacity

Olympic lifting to develop explosive strength and ensure that my new found mass was more useful to me than just looking good..

Multi joint compound lifts such as back squats, deadlifts and presses to develop large muscle groups in both strength and size.

Med ball circuits to develop proprioception, co-ordination, power and co-contractile efficiency.

Isolation exercises synonymous with bodybuilding to develop specific areas, although in reality it is impossible to literally isolate any specific muscle.. the body simply doesn't work that way, but I must admit I have really enjoyed doing bicep curls! :)

Fasted, low intensity cardio (usually with dog in tow and leaflets in hand - multi-task is my middle name)
I will post my before and after pictures following my show so you can see for yourself whether I have managed to simultaneously drop fat and build muscle. Strength wise my loads have continued to increase on a weekly basis despite weekly reductions in caloric intake, and my snatch (4x3 @27.5kg >> 35kg) and clean and jerk (4x3 @32kg >> 40kg) have also been making fairly linear positive progression (helped by the fact my ankle and surrounding structures are becoming more mobile and explosive again :) The take home message here is that an athletic training program, incorporating the best protocols from both strength and conditioning and bodybuilding, can achieve a variety of objectives simultaneously whilst correcting, rather than creating, imbalance.

3) Posing is harder than it looks. Aside from the confidence challenge of standing on stage in sweet F.A, the 'poses' themselves are actually pretty hard to nail and a workout in themselves. I have newfound respect for those who can do this well - it is quite an art - don't knock anything until you've tried it..

4) It IS possible to be on a really strict diet and have a life! I have been out for dinner three times this week alone (birthday week :) - to Pizza Express, Loch Fyne, and Bistro Cote - and managed to have diet compliant meals at each by asking for small adjustments to what was already on the menu. Remember that 'decision' is latin for 'to cut off from..' - decide that you are going to achieve your goal and cut off from all excuses that might stop you - when you do that, abstaining from little things like dough balls becomes much easier than you think.



5) If your friends are trying to boycott your efforts, chances are that they are not bad people but rather that your determination and goal trigger feelings of guilt or lacking for them. It's a bit like smokers who try to boycott their ex-smoker friends - if their friends can do it there's no justification for why they can't and that's an uncomfortable and uninvited feeling. So, if you find yourself being boycotted by your friends or family, turn it around and realise that you may actually be inspiring them to make a change too. And if they REALLY try to lead you astray, explain the importance of your goal and why you would really appreciate their support. I must add here that I've been really fortunate in that my friends have been super supportive and have even adjusted their own diets and training to accommodate mine! But I have spoken to others who haven't been so lucky (thank you my friends!)

6) Finally, in my humble opinion, lean, fit and strong really does look better than thin and scrawny. I've been both, and I've seen and trained a lot of women who've been both, and I can categorically say that people are happier, sexier and healthier with great muscle definition, great fitness levels, and eating proper fuel on a regular basis.

To Your Success!

Charlotte

www.phoenixprofitness.com