Bodybuilding from the Sidelines

by Sarah Gundry, Phoenix Pro Fitness Office Manager


“Then I'm walking in Memphis
Walking with my feet ten feet off of Beale”

Well on Sunday Charlotte’s feet weren’t quite 10 feet off the stage, but they were certainly encased in the highest heels I’ve ever seen her in – affectionately referred to as the ‘stilts’! Char was competing in her first ever body building competition, a mere 7 weeks after deciding to do it, and she was doing a damn fine job of it too. Yet just 9 months previously, her left ankle had been encased in another man-made material – a bright green plaster cast – after a severe fracture to her ankle. Back then, I would never have imagined that I would be sitting in a darkened auditorium watching Char strut her stuff to Marc Cohn’s Walking in Memphis.

As I said, Charlotte’s journey to the competition on Sunday was unusually short. Most of the other girls on that stage had not only been competing for quite a lot longer than Char, they had also been training and preparing for significantly more than 7 weeks! Yet Char’s preparation was incredibly thorough and disciplined. She stuck to her diet 100% without deviation – when I offered her a taste of a sample protein bar that we had been sent, she took and bite and then spat it out immediately saying she didn’t want to break the diet. (And no, it wasn’t because of the taste of the protein bar – it was pretty good!) Even on her birthday, the ‘cheat’ portion of Charlotte’s meal was the addition of a singular boiled new potato to her grilled salmon and green veggies. She then had to watch whilst the rest of us demolished a chocolate fondant that the restaurant had very kindly put a birthday candle into for her! All of this was done very stoically and with a great sense of humour. Even at the lowest calorie stage of the diet Char was motivated and disciplined, and just got on with it.
Charlotte’s training was also very thorough. On the days that her shift at work started at 7am, she still got up to do her fasted cardio session before coming in.

Even Ludo, the most energetic dog I have ever met, was struggling to match Charlotte’s pace. And he has the advantage of four legs! In addition to fasted cardio, Charlotte also put herself through gruelling metabolic and strength training sessions. Every day, she could be seen working hard at the Olympic lifting platforms, pushing her body to the limit and ploughing through, even when lack of energy made the littlest movements a bit of an effort at times!

One of Charlotte’s signature sayings is “man up” and she certainly demonstrated this as she rose to the challenge during her 7 week body building journey. Her accept no prisoners approach has been inspiring to watch, and judging from comments from our Phoenix family, I’m not the only one to feel so. It certainly made me think twice about whinging about my diet, or how hard I was finding a workout! So well done Charlotte, for trying something new, for throwing yourself into it with guts and determination, and for looking absolutely gorgeous in 3 layers of fake tan. She did us all proud, we’ve learned a lot from her journey, and we all look forward to seeing her take on your next (mad!) challenge.

From Figure Dream to Dream Figure: Day 48 and the final countdown!

Today is the final day of prep before my first bodybuilding competition tomorrow, and I'm just about to embark on 3 rounds of spray tanning..

The past 7 weeks have actually gone surprisingly quickly, and whilst there have been moments of fatigue and a couple of 'I can't stand on stage in a bikini!' wobbles, on the whole it has been a thoroughly enjoyable process.

Having had my biosignature assessment done yesterday I am pleased to have measured in at 11% body fat, although resisting the temptation to wonder what I could have done with a longer prep.. maybe next time ;)

And so, all the training and dieting is now done and I am now really looking forward to tomorrow's show, and particularly the post comp meal which I have been salivating over for around three weeks :)

Thanks to everyone who has supported me in my bodybuilding debut, and I will post some pics of the finished article in due course!

Good luck to everyone competing this weekend!


Char

Operation Beefcake: Day 1

For those of you that don't know me, my name is Charlotte Ord and I'm the owner of Phoenix Pro Fitness, the best fitness club in Surrey!

Unfortunately, having broken my ankle late last year, I haven't been up to my usual sporting exploits this year (triathlon, horse riding, half marathons etc) so I felt it was about time I got myself a goal! As my team and I advocate to our members at Phoenix Pro it's SO much easier to stay focused and on target if you have a target to aim for. Indeed, you HAVE to hang the target if you stand any chance of hitting it.

Bodybuilding is something I've been really impressed with for quite sometime. I think it's easy to look at the end result and cast a judgement on whether you think it's attractive/ functional/ worthwhile etc etc, but you only have to take a closer look at the rigorous regime that competitors have to commit to to realise that the process poses a significant challenge both mentally and physically. This is muscle sculpting and fat loss at it's most extreme, and it doesn't come easy!

There are two people who really got me thinking seriously about giving it a go myself:

British Bodybuilding Champion Annie Ottey (my coach! :), who I first met on a course 2 years ago and whose dedication and refusal to accept anything but her very, very best was apparent right from the start and in everything she did....



And Nicola Joyce, a fitness writer friend of mine who yesterday competed in her first ever bodybuilding comp and absolutely nailed it, winning both her class and best presentation!



Whilst the title of this blog (and indeed the name of the hypertrophy program I have written for the endeavour) is very tongue in cheek (I think it will make me smile even when the going gets tough), the process itself is pretty serious. The training is intense, and the diet strict. With only 7 weeks to go until my first comp, I am cutting preparation time about as fine as it can get, so the race is on to be in shape to stand on stage...

I'm convinced that going through this process will teach me things that will ultimately help me to help our members, and at Phoenix Pro, that's what we're all about.

I'll keep you posted!

Char