Can you train pain tolerance?

I have been recently playing around with HIT training Arthur Jones style to really good effect. In approximately 10 days, I have now noticed an ab vein to accompany my 1 ab from 14 mins of weight training 3-4 times a week. All fairly unflattering on me admittedly, but ho hum, this is bodybuilding.
Essentially the format I'm using is 1 set of 5-8 exercises performed to momentary muscular failure. The key is going to failure. I love that failure is a strategy for success in this case - a necessary requirement; this is a good lesson for life! As can be imagined, it is not a particularly pleasant place to be, but being an adventurer.....I like to walk the path less trodden - and sometimes, that means in your own head.

My last post explored the HIT method and the fact that not everybody can work to that intensity. This week I wanted to explore the idea of why not! Why is it so hard to work to that level of intensity. Can that psychology be trained?

The doubled edged sword of "hardness"

It really got me thinking about discomfort, pain and fatigue. As with all personality traits, pain tolerance exists on a spectrum. Can you train it? Can you change perception of pain?
And here in lies the double edged sword. There is a kudos surrounding things that are hard. Accomplishing difficult, challenging hard tasks are perceived as good; it gives one credibility and validity - a sort of virtuousness. There is therefore a benefit to an event or a training session being marketed as "hard" and many races like the Tough Guy take full advantage of this.

But I wonder if this expectation of something being hard can prevent fully embracing the experience?
The demographic of people that are going to voluntarily want to do hard training or a hard race are going to find the difficulty of a challenge, a motivator, but it places a "ceiling" on the effort if you have an expectation it will be hard. In actual fact there maybe plenty more effort in reserve.

My question is: If you remove the expectation, would the effort in an already motivated person be more or less? If you told that same person, the weight they were lifting was in fact heavier or lighter than perceived, would their perception of fatigue change and consequently repetitions of weight lifted (outcome).

A similar analogy might be going to the doctor for an injection. If you are told, it is going to hurt, no surprises for what the perceived pain is going to be.

I believe that embracing that "place" of discomfort relies on being fully present in the situation, as you have no judgement or expectation. It is what it is. Not resisting or avoiding and essentially.....wanting to be there. There are other schools of thought where, re-focusing anger or rage can accomplish the job but I can't help feeling that the outcome of this is a state which is way too emotional. In my experience, there is most definitely a negative correlation between the red mist, focus and performance.

Intensity creates focus

There is a level of exertion which creates focus, where distractibility is minimised. When perceived rate of exertion is low, you can get away with a bit of daydreaming or people watching but at around 70-80% perceived exertion things very much start to change. That moment, you realise that actually you need to concentrate on the task.
An interesting study performed by Professor Nilli Lavie, at UCL Psychology utilised a psychometric test to look at distractibility in 61 subjects. One finding was that all subjects, whether they are generally easily distracted or not - were far less distracted when performing a more difficult task. There was no extra brain capacity for processing distracting information. Although this was not a physical test, I believe that a level of challenge is required for focus and presence and in turn these qualities are good for effective training.

14 minutes 4 times a week

I'm embracing full on, balls out intensity - I'm also reaping the benefits very quickly, considering my total weight training is about 14 minutes 4 times a week now.

My personal motivation to want to go to this "place" of intensity is understanding it is part of the 2.5% effort that gets 95% of results! It is where improvement will happen. But I'm also hard wired to train like this. It suits my temperament. Everybody's unique psychology is very different and I'm fully aware this strategy doesn't work well for everybody. I'm in the the midst of reading the autobiography of Andre Agassi - "Open". The impressive thing about his story is not the titles and wins but the fact he hated Tennis. He always hated it from aged 7, but was made to do it by his father. So there is proof that, it is not a necessary requirement to love your sport. Indeed, you can still do something really well despite not having a natural predisposition for it. It can be trained.

I really do believe you can train pain tolerance, it's just knowing how to trigger the necessary response in the individual. What's going to make them want to do the things they "need" to do versus "want" to do to make them better. That is about understanding the psyche and motivation but where there is a will...there is a way.

Single Set HIT Training - Minimum effective dose

Unfortunately I did not inherit or learn the art of efficiency very well. In fact my temperament is much more "work horse" than albatross. However, when you get older and you are working close to your physical and mental limitations - adapt or die so to speak!

Note to self: Learn efficiency and effectiveness.

Variation is key

The theme throughout these last 6 months of bodybuilding training has been VARIATION, so I was researching what I was going to do for my next training block. Variation doesn't have to mean dramatic changes to exercises but rather subtle manipulations to hand/foot positions in exercises and various training parameters such as; tempo, load, sets, reps, rest etc.

Interestingly, William Kraemer (a well known sports scientist - professor of Kinesiology) calculated how many possible ways there were to do a training program, when you consider order of muscles worked, particular exercises for each muscle group and the use of free weights or machines. The number of possible programs was 10 to the power 67. Each, although similar is in fact different. This
explains how magazines can constantly churn out new programs.

I have played around with rep ranges between 3-15+ but will usually vary sets to compensate, so total training volume is roughly similar. I have personally found, I get the greatest and longest lasting muscle mass gains from doing low rep (4-6), heavy load training. There are also discussions about high rep training for hypertrophy as some people have made good gains with this. (Some evidence suggest it may occur through metabolic pathways which lead to up-regulation and production of natural anabolic hormones and growth factors). My personal experience with this kind of high rep training was a really sad, non-satisfying muscular pump, kind of like when you blow up a punctured bike tire that you haven't actually fixed. Whether there is a gender difference or it's genetic, who knows.


Again, I must emphasise individualisation is key with programming because everybody is different. Genetics plays such a huge role in bodybuilding and that should not be underestimated. So at best, a good program provides instructions to take you to your genetic potential. The rest is mind set and nutrition! The use of drugs and dosages again is a factor to consider and a particular training program may well work very differently for an individual who is using a cycle of drugs compared to if he/she is not using.

History repeats itself

I was thinking back through my training history and when I was in good shape. It was probably when I was competing in Thai Boxing and was actually doing about 20 mins total of very high intensity pad work and sparring. This was only because I was banned by my very smart coach! from doing more. I used to do a 60 min run in the morning and then afternoon gym work was limited to about 6 * 3 min rounds of very hard pad work. No weight training. This was a tried and tested method that was found to work really well after discovering high volume training just made me overtrained, stale and ill. This is not a state you want to find yourself in; neither when you are faced with an opponent who wants to smash your face in or when you are lying underneath a heavy barbell.

Arthur Jones and HIT - High Intensity Training

"If you like an exercise, chances are you're doing it wrong"


As an extension of this idea of low volume, high intensity training, I researched HIT- high intensity training, popularised by Arthur Jones in the 1970s but now largely forgotten. Casey Viator, Sergio Oliva, Mike Mentzer, Boyer Coe and Tom Platz, amongst others were all advocates. Essentially it is a single set of a few exercises performed slowly (often using negatives), to momentary failure.

Arthur Jones was a real generalist with very varied interests from wildlife film making to flying planes; he invented the Nautilus and MedX equipment. I'm slowly getting though a periodical he wrote called the Nautilus Bulletin. Very interesting and well worth a read. I always like to read fitness in history; when you bear in mind it is a reflection of the era and the time it was written, it is very illuminative. Nautilus Bulletin

The Colorado Experiment and Casey Viator

Casey Viator ( I am a huge fan) won the Mr America aged 19 in 1971. He trained for 10 months before that competition under the guidance of Arthur Jones.
The Colorado experiment was an interesting case of nature vs nurture coming together. The experiment was conducted in  May 1973 at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado. It was designed by Arthur Jones and supervised by Dr. Elliott Plese. The training was condensed to about 3 sessions a week lasting 33.6 minutes.

Results

Increase in bodyweight: 20.5kg
Loss of Body Fat: 8.1kg
Muscular Gain 28.7kg

The Colorado experiment protocol

28.6kg in 28 days (Casey Viator)

There was a lot of criticism about this experiment and of course it is a n(1) on somebody who had tremendous genetics to support muscular growth. There is also the issue of "regression to the mean", where Viator went into the experiment with a deficit of muscle from atrophy after a car crash.
But still....numbers don't lie and this protocol has been replicated with successes and also failures I must also add (drop outs)! He contested that he was not using anabolic steroids.

The example of Arthur Jones and Casey Viator is a nice one. An example of good synergy. Jones brought the knowledge, and Viator brought the intensity. The two of them together created this tour de force. Casey could really train in a way most people would balk at; he also had great genetics! Arnold Schwarzenegger was an example of someone who couldn't tolerate the method. It didn't work for him. He didn't want to go to that "mental place" of intensity, so instead opted for the high volume route, which did work.

This era of bodybuilding really fascinates me. Of course, like all sport, knowledge evolves but so does drug use. Bodybuilding today is more chemical than it was 50 years ago, it doesn't make it better or worse but it is different and I think training today reflects that. Effective training is finding that balance between stimulus and recovery. If recovery is better (drugs!), you can use more stimulus and hence high volume training can work very well. I think it is also worth to note that the different categories in bodybuilding are very different. Training for Fitness category (both male and female) is very different to bodybuilding category. In the latter, the degree of muscularity and leanness in competitive physiques is extreme and is virtually unobtainable without steroids. Bodybuilding is an aesthetic sport, so what is deemed desirable is a reflection of the time too. What judges want to see today was different to 10, 20, 50 years ago. The sport, the categories and perceptions of what constitutes a good physique, evolve and change.

HIT Basics

HIT relies on a single set of a few exercises but performed to absolute failure - so a real balls out, gut wrenching effort -that is the key to it's success and use. It relies on that intensity, and not everyone can go there. Arthur Jones believed that most bodybuilders at the time, were over trained from high volume programs, and what they lacked was rest and intensity. What comes with high intensity, is the requirement for adequate rest, so training was spaced out at least 72 hours apart. Interestingly, the same rationale and inclusion of a good proportion of intensity is used to explain the reason for the success of Kenyan marathon training programs. The intensity is what lacks in British marathon training, but the double edged sword of intensity is the need for recovery. Not easy when you also have to factor in high mileage for building an aerobic capacity.

The training concept is interesting. There are various variants of training and specialising for different body parts but essentially the basics are: Intensity, Progression, Form, Duration, Frequency and Order.

• Do each repetition slowly - as an approximation, 4secs concentric 4 sec eccentric, with no rest between. Tempo can vary from slow to super slow (30s for each portion)

• Perform 8-12 repetitions per set. Time under tension is therefore about 60-90seconds per exercise

• You need to reach momentary muscular failure for maximum intensity

• Limit a routine to 12 exercises or fewer

• Train for 3 nonconsecutive days or less per week

• Order of training - largest muscles first and smallest last

• Utilise both single joint and multiple joint movements

• Initiate specialized routines for only 2 consecutive weeks. Wait for 3 months before specialising on the same body part

• Optimize recoverability; train less as you get stronger

• Take a 9 day layoff after each 6 months of steady training. 

Curiosity killed the Cat

So in the name of curiosity and experimentation, I decided to trial this. 

And yes....no surprises it's really tough. It most definitely requires someone to spot you, as you're going to failure (with good form). 

My workout: 

1 set of 4 exercises with 3 mins rest between each exercise. Tempo - 4secs for each portion of the lift. 

Squat, bench press, dumbbell pullover, bicep curl. 

The challenge to the neuromuscular system is immense as you are getting more muscle recruitment. (All or nothing principle of muscle recruitment). Time under tension is high but weight would be dropped roughly by about 20% compared to a set at a faster tempo. 

Above is the description and now let me try and explain the emotion, which I shall sum up with the below diagram

Of course, the translation would be simply "unprintable" but you get the idea. There were "F" and "C" bombs thrown left, right and centre.  I was amazed at the muscular shaking that happens from the central nervous system input. This also caused me to then drop a 10kg weight plate on my foot from shoulder height. Excellent. 

The next day, unbelievable DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) which I'm still suffering 60 hours later. So, I can conclude considering I did a total of 360 seconds of exercise - I'm fairly impressed by the level of discomfort induced. There is nothing dignified about the experience but we''ll see what the effects are after 2 weeks. I plan on doing 3 sessions of HIT (5-8 exercises) a week, combined with  6 cardio sessions early morning (45-60mins). 1 day of complete rest.  

I like this concept of the minimum effective dose. At the moment, I'm on a calorie restrictive diet, working and studying an MSc, so I don't have huge reserves of energy or time for the gym. I have to be very efficient and make sure the little that I do, does count i.e efficiency and effectiveness! My goal is preservation (not building) of muscle and losing body fat, so in theory this method may just work! 

I think again, this just confirms that there is no good or bad program (within reasonable logical limits!) but efficacy depends upon many factors including, genetics, recoverability, drug use and mentality. Bring on gene therapy - then I can just stay in bed for a year and eat Rolo's. 

The bodybuilding cutting phase

Expectation vs reality

The prep for my first bodybuilding show has taken about 3 times longer than I had originally expected. Ha...the curse of expectation which I'm slowly learning to bin. My body is going to do what it wants to do - it has it's own agenda and rate of change!

I am now going into what I hope will be my last and final 12 week prep. I'm going into it relatively healthy, flu free, with a good fitness foundation, so that is a positive. The goal is to maintain muscle mass and reduce body fat (cutting) to allow me to tick the boxes that mean I can compete in physique category. This essentially means a low fat physique with a good degree of muscularity, good conditioning and nice full muscles. Creating this is tricky, it's a very precise combination of cardio, diet, training and probably drugs. In truth, this is where smart dosing of good quality anabolics like Anavar (Oxondrolone) and Winstrol (Stanozolol) probably make a big difference to the quality of conditioning. They allow preservation of muscle mass whilst reducing body fat which is hard to do in women.

I have been unbelievably resistant to successful "cutting" and I was previously blaming it on my body, but actually in all honesty I believe it's because I don't really want to do it. My desire to be 6-8% body fat in truth, is just not very strong. It's also the one sport, where the closer you get to competition, the weaker and less fit you get (calorie deficit will do that!).

I come from a non-aesthetic performance based sporting background, so partaking in an aesthetic sport creates all sorts of mental obstacles. In truth it's going to be very hard to change my values and my core beliefs, but you can create a strategy that is more or less in line with what you do believe. Just as there are things that conflict with my nature doing this sport, there are lots of things about doing a bodybuilding competition that are in line with my values. It is a sport at the end of the day and requires precision training, nutrition and absolute dedication and so it is just a question of tapping into the things that fuel that.

The challenge for me was to see if I could train myself for my first show; to enjoy, learn and grow from the process, both physically and mentally. I had huge help for the first 3 months with program design but then decided to go it alone, as that was more in line with my particular goal of learning about training and nutrition. Having spoken to a number of competitors, I think motivation and desire for doing this sport are so varied, individual and deeply personal.

Motivation and Sport

These two words are so well intertwined. To me, motivation is key to doing things well. You can have the best programs in the world for training but if they are not executed with full attention and intention, it is wasted. So, what ever it is you need to do to create that motivation is a part of optimal training. Some people are very self motivated and train alone and others need a training partner or training group. It's all highly personal what you need to get the best out of yourself. Identifying what it is and being able to create motivation from nothing, when you really don't want to do something is also essential, because often it is beyond the skill of a coach or friend to do that.

Let go of resistance - "fasted" cardio and muscular endurance

I have found unfortunately that the very thing I do not want to do, is usually the thing that is going to make all the difference. For me, that nemesis is 1) "fasted" cardio, first thing in the morning and 2) muscular endurance training (reps of 15+). I literally want to cry at the thought of both these things and I have tried avoiding these, with substitutions of all permutations of late afternoon HITT training (because I like it) but with no real result. Last week out of desperation, I made the conscious decision that I was going to do both these things that I detest, for a 4 week training block. For endurance training this was going to be trisets of +15 reps for a body part, with no rest - 1 min rest between sets.
Leg training might look something like; back squats, walking lunges and dumbbell deadlift as a single triset.

It is really not a pretty sight, watching me try and tie my shoe laces at some absurd hour in the morning. Luckily the only witness to this is my beloved blind and deaf labrador. It is a usual ritual of tripping over on my face before finally facing the park for some early morning running. Actually running is being way too generous of a description...it is more a walk - trot - jog.

The really interesting thing about facing a real internal conflict with not wanting to do something, is once you realise that you are in fact going to do it, you might as well enjoy it. You let go of that resistance and although you may not want to be there, you are "ok" with being there and you just allow it to happen, rather than force it to happen. So, I put on some motivating music or an audiobook and enjoy the ride. Reassessing goals is part of the process here too. The objective is not performance (running fast), as it would have been previously - it is just to keep heart rate at a low- moderate rate for 45-60 mins to aid fat metabolism.
This has actually been an epiphany, not just for training but for things in everyday life, because I tend to fight reality sometimes - wishing I was someplace rather than where I am. I suppose it is a practical way of practicing mindfulness - a useful skill in sport.

So, although resistance training is a great idea, resistance of situations is a really bad idea. It makes everything very very hard. Coping with being in a situation you don't really want to be in is really about just being "ok" with it - being present so to speak and it is never as bad as you think. A week in and I actually quite enjoy my "foodless, sleepless" runs and the beauty of it is, I am starting to see the benefit in a little bit more muscle definition. I don't like this physique or not like it any better but it allows me to tick the boxes I need to for this show.
I was recently speaking to another female competitor. She faced the same battles with struggling to cut weight and revealed she feels so stressed and in conflict with her body. I can't offer scientific explanations for what is going on physiologically but it does seem to be a theme, that struggle, striving and resistance don't work very well for getting results.

Become familiar with what truly motivates

Everybody will experience different challenges in a contest prep and those challenges will be different in each prep. The body and the mind won't always respond the same way and how we want them to, but for me...letting go of expectation has proved immensely valuable because creating calm and enjoyment for me increases motivation.  For others, perhaps it is the opposite. Increasing the pressure and expectation may work better but it is undoubtably a question of finding what taps into creating one's own and ever changing motivation.

A reflection - Gauging Success and Failure

I suppose the intrigue for me when observing those that excel at a sport is the mind set and attitude that pull it all together. That, is the interesting part for me as there is a limit to the number of ways one can manipulate training variables and exercises.

It made me think about about how I reevaluate a phase of training or what I deem to be a success or failure. So....5 months of structured, consistent training and this is where I am now.
(I was determined to not post a whole canvas of before and after photos and protein dessert recipes because that is not what this is about; and quite frankly I'm sure it would bore most people to tears!

Forget the 12 week prep - It's all abut the 32 week prep!!

Lessons Learnt from Success

Lessons learnt from failure are usually much more glaringly obvious and I have certainly expressed those in previous posts! I wanted however to take a calm moment and think about the things I have learnt from the successes. They are a lot more subtle, but just as valuable.
Overall I'm pleased with progress, I'm getting closer to ticking boxes that make me competitive in my chosen category - Physique. I've added a good deal of muscularity to my upper body and hamstrings - previous areas of weakness. I do however, still only have 1 ab!

Aside from aesthetics, some of the main areas I will admit to doing right are:

•  Remaining Injury free

I have remained injury free for the whole duration of this training and in fact rehabilitated old injuries (unintentionally!). This is usually something that is unheard of for me. I have healthy strong hamstrings for the first time in 3 years (after battling with high hamstring tendinopathy in both legs). Perhaps it is the necessary requirement to address muscle imbalances which accumulate over time from doing sport, or the variation of training. I always try and vary exercise choice and training parameters as much as possible.

• Retaining cardiovascular fitness

Building/ retaining muscle and losing body fat is quite a tricky feat in reality - cardio plays a big role, but the wrong type and duration and the overall effect is too catabolic. The more muscular the competition category, the more precise cardio choice becomes, as muscle preservation is key. I have managed to keep my daily run (because I enjoy it!) and build muscle.  Maintaining an element of functional fitness is very important to me, as I enjoy being able to walk up a hill and not asphyxiate.

Lessons learnt from failures!

Now these are a bit more obvious because something usually goes very wrong physically, mentally or both!

•  When to push and when to maintain

This knowledge in itself has made me mentally stronger. Now, don't get me wrong there are days I thought I would break. But that's all it is - a bad day, and a new day starts tomorrow. I've settled into the diet and understanding my body. When to reduce training load...how to work with, and not against your menstrual cycle to train optimally. I also think being physically strong is a really good foundation for mental strength. There is no doubt the two are correlated. Of course, you can have one without the other but feeling strong keeps me going. It keeps me wanting to get out of bed in the morning!

• Patience ( A hard one)

Physical and mental Stress is accumulative and it transfers from mental to physical and vice versa.  It's a product of work, family life, relationships, financial circumstance etc etc. It constantly changes but it most definitely affects our physical vitality and performance. When you look at conventional bodybuilding preparation phases, they are usually 12-16 weeks long. For me, that is way too short. University assignment deadlines and studying on "low-carb" brain is not the easiest. I made the decision to give myself a longer prep phase for my first show and actually it suits. I like the more gradual approach. It feels like there is room for error, which creates a little more calm (around the storm). It also means I can do both jobs well, rather than doing a bad job on each.

•  Make your own rules

I would get frustrated when trying diets or training protocols that just didn't give me the rate of change of results I wanted. Learning to really listen to your body and not be afraid to bypass some conventional rules in training has actually been an eye opener. Some of these, perhaps I will be bold enough to share in another post, but not for now! One of the things with this sport, is individualisation is key. EVERYONE responds differently to stimulus and what suits in terms of: time of day to train, training volume, rest, recovery, nutrition, exercise choice etc is very unique to a single person. I'm fully aware that what works for me (found out through trial and error) is very different from another. Creating your own experiment within the realms of physiological principles is part of the process.

A finishing note

I'm a big believer in choosing goals wisely, then making a plan, reassessing the plan every few weeks and working out what you would view as a success and what you would view as a failure. It's quite an interesting process and subject to change, as it is all perspective. I have been so wrapped up in all the things that I feel have gone wrong; the illness, fatigue and moods, that sometimes you can't see the wood through the trees or the really good things that have happened as a "side effect".
It is an adventure for sure!

Is bodybuilding a sport?

The Oxford dictionary definition of sport is:

"An activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment "

So it seems that to meet the criteria of being a sport, an activity must demonstrate a level of skill and a level of physical training. It must involve a contest and it requires a winner and a loser.

I believe bodybuilding is unequivocally a sport. It meets the dictionary criteria but somehow it falls into the grey area of acceptance by the general public. The irony is, formula 1 and boules are sports which are readily accepted as such.

I'm a newcomer and not an expert in the field of bodybuilding by any means, but it would seem to be a discipline which requires great mastery of the body and mind.  To sculpt a physique requires great skill, physical training, discipline and....er eating a lot of protein! Bodybuilding is not exactly a conventional sport but it is very much a competitive sport. You have to get up on stage and be able to "display" your physique in a line-up with your competitors. It is a display of physicality but also confidence - faked or real! The posing is a skill as I have learned and takes time to master. It is where you can really show off what you have. It's about being able to hold isometric contractions and to understand "illusions" and how to really make the most of your body. The posing is also where you can have the edge on your competitors and where competitions can be won or lost.
I have had one posing lesson so far and was mortified at how hard it was. If you can imagine the epitome of grace and elegance..... and then there is me - the opposite where I looked like rigor mortis had just set in after running a marathon.

To me, bodybuilding is a sport and it is a sport at the highest level because there don't seem to be any perfunctory athletes. It's a very self selecting sport and very difficult to do half baked without 100% dedication and commitment. I have yet to see a stage ready competitor with muffin top or bingo wings.

Level of competition equates to level of preparation

Speaking from being someone that excels at being a "jack of all trades - master of none!",  I have an understanding of the level of preparation one can or cannot get away with in various different sports at different levels.

There is no way in hell I am going to get up on a stage in front of spectators not looking like I at least belong there at any level! I expect that's also true of the other ladies, so it creates a strong competitive environment. The level of competitor therefore dictates my level of preparation. Unfortunately I have chosen a federation, the UKBFF which seems to feature only championship events over the next few months so I'm expecting the level of competition to be quite high. It also unfortunately means I need to be in really good shape!

This is quite different to turning up to a fun run slightly hungover, where you can rely on a good dose of adrenaline to 'up the ante'. There doesn't seem to be a "fun run" equivalent in bodybuilding, as I have found out!

Be very clear about what constitutes success

Being clear about personal objectives and what would constitute success for you is a question I believe you have to be clear about from the beginning, as this will dictate the level of preparation or dedication you are prepared to give.
I remember having to take up swimming as rehab for a hamstring injury and thinking nonchalantly "oh I know...I'll do an open water swim race" - it's just about taking part after all. In truth, I can't swim to save my life. I turned up without a wetsuit and of course, came pretty much last without coming absolute last, so I didn't even get the "lantern rouge"! I emerged with hypothermia and very unfulfilled because my perceived expectations did not match at all with my hard wiring! I was in truth not happy to come last at all, despite "taking part" being the objective at the start. So I walked away from that having enormous insight into my mentality - being competitive matters to me.

My personal goal posts have moved throughout this process. When I first started training, I was happy to have the validation of my hard work from just getting up on stage - that was the end goal; but as I have gone through the training process and seen changes to my physique and mindset I want to feel like I can be competitive with the other ladies on stage in my category. It's therefore my choice to choose a show and a time frame that allows me to be in the shape I would like to be in, in order to be competitive in a line up. This feels like it would align with my honest and true expectations.
My lesson learnt with this show is the time scale it takes to create a body that will fit my chosen category (physique). That extra level of muscularity and leanness just takes a lot more time to achieve. Perhaps it is slightly ambitious category for a first show but it is what it is! It is a hard graft which is never linear. Rate of change is not at all constant and in no way reflects amount of effort put in! It also gets much much harder the closer you get to your goal "ideal".

In retrospect, knowing what I know now, I would give myself 12 months to get ready for another show! Time, patience and understanding of your body are real weapons in this sport.

Is bodybuilding a path to self-awareness?

You can't have wisdom without pain

This blog was never meant to be me proclaiming in any way to be an expert at any of these projects I have undertaken, but an opportunity to honestly share my experiences. Quite frankly with bodybuilding, I haven't got a clue. I am walking this path very much on my own. It is most certainly a journey. One that has seen the demise of my romantic relationship, eroded and rebuilt my sense of self over and over, reinforced good relationships, destroyed others and built a steely determination I didn't know existed in myself. It has exposed a raw vulnerability I usually will always protect and shield at all costs. Yet, in spite of all this, I have never felt so compelled to finish this journey. It has tested me unlike any other physical challenge and I feel even if I get up on stage looking like Shrek, the wisdom I have acquired will be worth it. Unfortunately, it most definitely comes at the cost of pain.

I know my journey won't be the same for others, but I thought it might be interesting to share some of the mental battles of doing a first time bodybuilding show.

Mind Control and Coping mechanisms

The range and enormity of moods and emotions I have experienced in the last few months is quite scary and can change multiple times over hours and minutes let alone days and weeks. I'd like to get this post completed in the next hour! so there is at least some consistency of thought process! A lot of this can be attributed to diet and fatigue but also the anxiety of doing something unknown that really pushes you. These things are always "evolving".


The requirements of bodybuilding prep, means....discipline. It also means that "normal" coping mechanisms for an "uncomfortable mind" are off limits! No comfort food, drugs, alcohol, partying.... of course there is TV for distraction or taking on extra work but I'm so tired from training I can't even manage to watch TOWIE! So the coping mechanism for unhealthy rumination is therefore to tackle it face on. I have found my coping mechanism is to learn to detach from emotions by practising mindful breathing. It is such a useful skill and just  allows you to focus on one thing - your breathing. It allows you to experience emotion and then sift the chaotic from the useful ones. Some emotions serve a purpose, they are there to tell you something. Others are quite frankly usually just nonsense -a response to an unreal fear.

Lessons learnt

The one lucky thing I have going for me in all of this, is my unfaltering motivation to do the show. It's not the self image that is the motivator, as you will never think you are perfect. I also don't think perfection is beautiful, but to complete a task that really tests your body and mind is something that will stay with you for a long time. I feel very lucky that this desire to want to complete this has never waned the whole way though.
Everyone's motivation will be slightly different and probably deeply personal but there will be lessons learnt along the way for every single person regardless, for every show.

A first-time show is essentially a giant experiment. Understanding how your body and mind responds to training and diet. I have had so many set backs through illness and overwhelming fatigue. Diets have gone wrong, too much, too little cardio can play havoc with achieving the right body composition. Bodybuilding is such a precise sport and these little things really matter. Everyone will have an opinion. I believe, listen to it all but in the end you have to take responsibility and choose wisely what you decide to implement. It's a constant, exhausting, steering and tweaking of progress and direction. The anxiety is overwhelming, because you foray so far into the unknown. I didn't expect it to be so consuming of my mental energy. I didn't expect a lot of things!
I will feel an immense sense of achievement when I get up on stage. I will not be thrilled with the posing or bikini wearing! but surviving any journey that has really really tested you, arms you with a sense of confidence that is unshakable - that belief you can survive anything. Physically, over the years I have trained my body to cope with pain and I'm grateful everyday, it does a wonderful job in and out of gym. This challenge is more about the mind. It has put me so far out of my comfort zone I have nothing else to compare it to. It has most definitely brought me to my knees, but I truly believe it will make me stronger too. For what is perceived to be such a "vain" sport, I think there is a huge pool of mental strength ebbing and flowing through the bodies of these competitors. I have every respect for them and the sport.

Ketogenic diets - when carb cycling fails

Plan A rapidly accelerates into Plan B 

I had anticipated using a carb cycling diet during my contest prep; essentially a low carb diet with intermittent high carb days. The goal is maximising fat loss whilst preserving lean muscle, so you go into the show with a hard, lean look. I must also add, a "protein appreciation class" really should be added to the skills one must acquire for this sport, due to the gargantuan intake of this particular macro nutrient. I don't consider chocolate whey isolate a treat anymore!

In theory, carb cycling sounds really sensible and effective and there is no doubt this works for many people. However, I seem to always be the minority that responds to a completely different strategy. I really didn't fare well on this diet plan. To add insult to injury, I started really easy with two days low carb (65g/day) followed by a medium (98g) or high carb day (183g) and then back to two days low carb. (Protein was kept high throughout).


Aside from a cascade of "woman" flu and every conceivable respiratory "-itis", I found the "hunger" on the high carb days completely intolerable. This was followed up with a healthy dose of headaches and general sense of grumpiness. Now don't get me wrong, my tolerance for suffering is fairly good but there was an awful lot of negative side effects with very little change to body composition. The sum of the parts has to equate to some benefits being accrued, but on this diet, in this format I didn't get any. High carb day was a day to be feared. The day I would grow horns and turn into a devil.


So.. moving on - into Plan B

The ketogenic Diet

This is another widely used diet for cutting and contest prep and seems to have good efficacy in the short term. It is a high fat (low saturated fat), high protein, very low carb diet with no high carb days, designed to induce nutritional ketosis.
I haven't done it before so we shall see how this goes. Ultimately there has to be a permutation of a diet that works for you. It has to resonate both with your physiology and also psychology.

Ketosis

Ketosis is essentially a condition where there are elevated levels of ketone bodies - a consequence of fat metabolism in the absence of (or very low) glucose concentrations. By limiting carbohydrate levels, this "redirects" metabolism to primarily use fats as a substrate and therefore enhance fat metabolism.

During lipolysis, triglycerides are metabolised to fatty acids and glycerol. In a process called beta-oxidation, the fatty acids get converted into acetyl-coA, a molecule which can be used in the citric acid cycle. During prolonged carbohydrate depletion, acetyl coA in the liver is converted to ketone bodies. 

Some of these ketones can be used for energy including, acetoacetate and ß-hydroxybutyrate. In fact, heart and kidneys are thought to have a preference for ketone bodies as a fuel source. Although glucose is the preferred substrate for the brain, ketone bodies are small enough to pass the blood brain barrier and be used as a fuel source. Any good biochemistry textbook will give a good description of these pathways. 

Assuming you still have a deficit of calories and are consuming enough protein, this should be a fairly anti-catabolic diet, resulting in preserving hard earned muscle mass and decreasing body fat. 

A schematic of fat metabolism and ketone body production

Calculating macronutrients

The short of this is answer is - outsourcing!! 

The below "keto" calculator seems relatively comprehensive in terms of calculating macro nutrients. It also gives the options of setting your own levels of carbohydrate, protein and fat within the realm of achieving ketosis. 

http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/

For your individual body weight, height, body fat %, you will get a recommended nutrient intake. The below is an example from my calculations, which should equate to approximately 2lb/ month fat loss. 

         2110kcal Daily Calorie Intake

• 25g Carbohydrates (5%, 100 kcal)
• 118g Protein (22%, 472 kcal)
• 171g Fat (73%, 1538 kcal)

These figures can be manipulated depending on whether you choose to have a slightly higher level of carbohydrate. I was recommended by other competitive bodybuilders to use 1g of good fat per 1lb body weight so you can keep a slightly higher carbohydrate intake to fuel workouts. 

I haven't talked about micronutrients here on purpose. That's a whole other topic but I'm still not convinced of the value of taking quite so many vitamins and minerals. Again, I expect each individual will find a concoction of supplements they can not do without. Mine is Agnus Castus and Evening Primrose Oil - it keeps the "rage" away. 

Low carb is not the same as no carb

The negative health consequences of ketogenic diets are always being hotly debated and challenged. It is my personal opinion that a very low carb diet works well in the short term but I would probably reign in the enthusiasm for sustaining such a diet in the long term. There is a lot of published research on the favourable impact of a ketogenic diet on body composition and to risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease and obesity. The following is quite an interesting read:

Low carbohydrate diet review: shifting the paradigm

Despite all of this, I can't help thinking that there is little research on the long term effects on athletic subjects that are already very lean, so I'm going to apply the minimum effective dose to this diet. 

The category of "low carb" diets will include both ketogenic diets and non-ketogenic diets. The latter will have enough carbohydrate to produce but minimise ketone body accumulation. This may well be sustainable long term and there are good examples of this in indigenous populations such as the Inuit and the Sami. They have a low incidence of morbidity  and do very well on it. These indigenous diets of what I can see, still contain 20% carb as a rough estimate and the quality of meat is likely to be very different from what we are exposed to in Salisbury's. This higher level of carbohydrate maybe just enough to minimise ketosis and make it sustainable. Lifestyle factors will confound effects from diet and factors such as activity levels, sleep, social cohesion will feature highly in contributing to the overall health of these populations. Determining the effect of diet alone is therefore a slightly tricky one. Of course, humans are masters of compensation -we adapt; but although the negatives of a ketogenic diet are always being challenged, documented side effects include: constipation, low-grade acidosis and hypoglycemia (initial few days). A week in, I can report a little brain fog and tiredness but that's nothing new! 

Tim Noakes, the South African sports scientist, controversially advocated a low carbohydrate (approx. 50g/day), high fat diet, even for endurance athletes. He maintains that this diet for a pre-diabetic or carbohydrate resistant person works well long term - as in for life. This is a letter he wrote for Runners World, defending his hypothesis. 

http://www.runnersworld.co.za/nutrition/novel-dietary-ideas/

All across the Internet, there will be tails of different diets that work for different people. There are lifestyle choice diets for long term health and then there are short term extreme diets for a particular goal. Being clear about the goal may make selection of a diet clearer and then it's just trial and error. 

Individualization

What really has been a lesson learnt, is how in this sport not listening to your body really can cause a problem. A little bodily intuition goes a long way. Of course, managing fatigue and muscle soreness is part of the process but understanding what diet and training modalities are going to work for you both mentally and physically is really an individual thing. Nobody can tell you that. 

The initiation into this project has most definitely had teething problems. My usual temperament would have thrown me headfirst into a project, but feeling slightly out of my comfort zone, I've sourced advice, heeded the advice, tried the advice and some things work, but a lot has not....so I've come back to my own sense of self and designing the training from what I objectively think will work for me. (This is where keeping a training journal works a treat!) So far, trialling lower rep ranges and more cardio (varying intensities) in the preliminary phases of prep is working well.

Sometimes one just has to have the courage of conviction in ones own ideas even whilst swimming with the sharks. 

My courage most definitely does not roar-more like a geriatric cat.