Melinda F’s BodyBlog

Why do women have to be so bitchy and drag each other down, I’m so tired of always being stared at in ugly ways. I very rarely complain about it cause I hate being vain. When I go out with my hubby the women give me real horrid looks yet are as sweet as pie to him. They can barely greet me but are so ready to ask if they can help him please sir. I really try to always make sure that I have an approachable smile on my face so as not make anyone feel as though I’m some sort of snob but it doesnt work, cause they just return it with a death stare. When I was younger it made me really miserable, now it makes me angry. I have a 10 year beautiful little girl and I wouldnt want her experiencing such an invasion when she is out. It costs nothing to be nice, I’m not asking for them to be best friends with me.

I guess I just want to be left alone to be happy, not stared at or whispered about and I want the same for my kids. I think that if women raised each other more, we could learn from each other strengths and the world would be a better place for our daughters.

 I also notice that if I was a very unkept women with couldnt manage a career or my household and a fit lifestyle then I would have far more friends especially at the kids schools.

So I’m just ranting cause I’m so tired of it, just cause I take care of the outside doesnt mean I need a dose of poison eveytime you see me.

I’ve decided to add in a bit more carbs, I’ve been looking at profiles of athletes that started with a similar physique to mine but have progressed so much quicker than I have, by that I mean that they have added so much more muscle in such a short span of time. My diet is very clean, but I limit my carbs to before workouts and after, I think this is where I may have been going wrong, I think in order to grow and add more muscle mass I need to consume maybe two more carb additions to my meals, maybe my body doesnt have enough recovery fuel to get thro my heavy workouts plus grow mass. These are my own personal theories. I also am kinda lazy when it comes to always cooking and supplement with low carb pro shakes for certain meals, I’m going to try to eat more natural proteins.

Did my chest yesterday and bi’s today, will take progress pics in Feb again to see if I’ve made any changes…..

I’m really really sore today, I could barely make it out of bed, my body is screaming exhaustion, my hamstrings are absolutely tight and painful. Whenever I’m extremely sore, I always tend to go overboard with the carbs, I want to devour whatever is front of me. I did allow myself a bit of a cheat today, not feeling bad about it, I think the body needs unusual from time to time. Obviously I didnt work out today, we took the kids to the beach for a walk and they rode scooters. I am looking forward to pounding the weights tomorrow, will do my chest. My treadmill has decided to stop working, it stops and starts, its only 3 years old, really fraustrating. So I’m off to stuff my face again……….all in the name of recovery.

I’ve worked really hard this week, tried to keep my diet as clean as possible, yesterday I did legs again, I did legs twice this week, thought I’d shock my system a bit and lets just say that I am electrified. These legs are bloody sore and  my butt is sore without me having to move a muscle. Sitting is a real mission. Must have been the walking lunges, they always kill my legs. But its the kind of sore I’m so happy to have, i hate not being sore after a workut, I feel like I havent worked hard. I did my back this morning and lessened the weight and went for high reps and real concentrated movements, did 3 sets of deadlifts, 5 sets of lat pulldown, varying weights, 3 sets of tbar rows, 3 sets of dumbell rows and 3 sets of back extensions. I barely made it out the gym without collapsing, got home and drank my whey, glutamine and bcaa’s, showered and ate a can of tuna and half a cup of brown rice and slept for an hour and a half. Feel better now after eating again. Its going really well with the superpump after I halved the dosage, loving the size on, feel an enormous difference in my recovery, cant wait to try the plasmajet. Now if I could just try to fit in at least 10 minutes of some cardio this weekend, I’ll feel satisfied, love the weights, need to love the cardio just a little more….

After trial and error I now firmly believe that the fundamental basics of weightlifting should be practiced first and foremost. The basics being body weight exercises, I’ve realised that these are crucial to better overrall development. These would be pushups, first get your numbers up and then add a weighted plate tied to your back. The absolute must is the chin ups, chin ups are what give that most desired V taper in that back, doing 10 full chin ups is one my goals for 2008! Tricep dips, body weight and weighted are also a must.

As for the different exercises my advice is not to get tooooo fancy, in the beginning I got caught up in seeing what fancy new method I could come up with in order to challenge myself and my "core" Doing exercises on the stability ball was something I did very often as well,  but the heavier the weight you use, the less reliable the ball can be and the last you need is injury when you’re motivated to see results. For instance, it is not wise to real rack the weight on a barbell for the chest press and then try to’strengthen’ your core on the stability ball if you know what I mean! These are what I consider fundamental weight exercises:-

Pushups, chin ups, pull ups, dips. Chest - Barbell Press, Biceps - Barbell Curl, Shoulders - Military Press, Legs - Barbell Squat, of course you should use all the other exercises too, but these in my humble opinion should be the mainstay of your programme. Stick to the basics, these have worked for hundreds of years for all the icons of the Body Building world, who are we to dispute these!

As for the ball its great to add  in on different days and mix things up and ’shock’the body, like you would add in some plyometrics etc..but dont replace your bench with it!

I did shoulders today, my workout was sore and a little uncomfortable, I really worked my chest the other day and added in a few new exercises so I’m still recovering, glutamine, glutamine…..my best friend. we took the kids to a game park today and they wouldnt let me in with any of the food I had prepared to take, so I was subjected to a load of fast food resturants, eventually out of extreme hunger I ate a rubbish hot dog which I felt sick eating, I hate greasy food with a passion. Anyway I’m glad to be back home and able to eat clean again, one meal really ‘does’matter, especially when its that greasy. Body building does have a tendency to make you somewhat of a control freak, controlling food, portions, rest, recovery, supplements and the list goes on………….

I seem to have better results in my legs from using free weight exercises as opposed to going "’all machines’, previously I spent alot of time doing smith squats, leg press and extensions. Over the past month I have switched to doing free squats (barbell) increasing my weights as my body will allow, I am also doing more step ups with weights and loads of lunges, more than I have ever done previously. I am still using the leg extension machine and I also do leg curls. On my back day I do barbell deadlifts. I enjoy pushing myself on the leg press but oddly I dont feel as sore the next day as when I do weighted step ups, so I’ll keep you posted as I keep mixing it up. It could just be that I changed things around so much that my body is taken by surprise and is forced into giving me more. As for my upper body I still prefer using free weights as opposed to machines. Its wonderful to read some of the ladies blogs and see that there are so many other women in the world who are not afraid of venturing into the weights side of the gym, in my gym I am one of about 5 or so women who use the weights section, I wish I could scream out to the rest on the treadmills"the secret lies here!!!!"I guess its a fear of the unknown, women often ask me about my diet etc and then when I tell them they promptly tell me that they wont do weights cause they dont want to look like a man, so in other words, I look like a man? I have to admit that when I started I didnt lift very heavy thinking that I could end up like Arnold, now that I know better, I do wish that I had a bit more testosterone and a little less estrogen. So ladies lift the heaviest that you can, it takes a loads of weight and consistency to build muscle, apart from all the other diet factors. It also takes time and patience, I dont have much of the latter, I love instant results but theres no way that I’d ever give up on the goal of having more muscle, I totally and utterly love it.

I promise myself to be so strong that nothing can disturb my peace of mind. To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person I meet. To make all my friends feel that there is something worthwhile in them. To look at the sunny side of everything and make my optimism come true. To think only the best, to work only for the best and to expect only the best. To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as I am about my own. To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to greater achievements of the future. To wear a cheerful expression at all times and give a smile to every living creature I meet. To give so much time to improving myself that I have no time to criticize others. To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear and too happy to permit the prescence of trouble. To think well of myself and to proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud words but in great deeds. To live in the faith that the whole world is on my side. so long as I am true to the best that is in me.

Quite a few months ago I got caught up in making the sport of bodybuilding far more complicated than it actually is, so let me explain my thoughts. Firstly I wanted to see results almost immediately, like I expected to wake up the next morning and have a chunk of a bicep waiting to greet me, sadly even with all the flexing I subjected this lovely bicep to, it wasnt building mountains overnight for me. So I’ve discovered that true results come with patience and like the old cliche says, ‘bodybuilding is a marathon and not a race’or íts a journey and not a destination’. this is actually so exciting to think of all the lovely ‘journeys’I am going to take on this ever changing body of mine, so I’m in no hurry to finish this journey, I’ve decided to truly enjoy every step. But being the eternal optimist that I am, I still secretly would like to wake up with just a a few inches of Jay Cutlers bi’s.

Overtraining kept plagueing my mind, I constantly asked myself, ám I overtraining? I’m pretty sure at the time I was as I was just so tired from trying so hard. So my next big lesson was to listen to ‘my body’. When I’m tired now, I give it rest and I recover because I know for sure I’ll be stronger at my next workout and then I’ll grow for sure, instead of subjecting it to one grueling workout after the other and not resting it enough. I guess I thought if I missed a workout I’d take a few steps back and regress, little did I know that quite the opposite is true, so listen to your best advisor ‘your body’. Remember also that everybody is different and although we can learn so much from others which is why most of us log on, we must try to figure out what works best for us from the results that we see.

My other piece of grand wisdom would be to replenish that fuel tank, so it  can give you better performance the next time around. I was also stressing about how much carbs are good and how much is too much. I still havent found out, but now I give myself fuel as in carbs and protein before and after my workouts, only when my body needs that energy. The rest of the time I fuel up with good quality lean protein and fresh fruit (moderately) and loads of veggies, ok I lie a bit there, I’m still trying really hard to guzzle down all the veg I would really like to eat, I’m such a meat eatin beast.

I did my bi’s again today(must be the Cutler syndrome) and a bit of tri’s, also really worked my calves and some abs. Choosing to feel truly fabulous again. Hope you all had a fantastic weekend.

One of the most crucial things I learnt in 2007 was how important a clean diet is if you want to see REAL results, previously I knew all that I needed to know with regards to what foods were classified "clean", but I added a little cheat in almost every day,  but when I got really honest with myself and dropped that very significant goal destroyer called ‘the cheat’I started to see some real results. For me personally its best kept to a specific day.

The most important aspect to clean eating is preparation, never allow yourself to get so hungry that you reach for whatever high calorie food is front of your eyes. Keep sachets of tuna in your car or a packet of almonds or cashews in your bag, both are filling and give you substantial protein. Love yourself enough to stay prepared.

I went for a 20 minute uphill walk and 10 minute run today, I love the feeling post exercise, just so empowering. Ending my evening after a beautiful walk at sunset on the beach with my darling family……..love the holidays. 

I live my life feeling pretty greatful for all that I have, I sometimes get caught up in being a bit critical about certain body parts and what I’d like to change, but I very quickly remember to be really thankful to have a body that can walk and see and hear and lift a weight, these are things certain people with disabilities cant do and I imagine that that must be so hard, so I count my blessings every day. This greatfulness of course does not remove my burning passion to be the best that I can be, to want to live the most fullfilled life possible and to have a really strong body. I guess we all have a bit of vanity which is a fantastic thing in my eyes, as it says that you’re proud of this body that allows you to occupy it and that you respect it enough to keep it well serviced, so its a matter of pride and honour. I try to always focus on what I have and what I want instead of how far away I am from a certain goal or any negative stuff in general. I’m a firm believer in attracting whatever your mind thinks, so I am truly focused on that six pack and a list other goodies, but most of all I am really greatful for my family and friends. Today was shoulders, did 3 sets of military press, 3 sets behing the neck press, 6 sets lateral raises(going for the burnnnn) 3 sets of front raises and 3 sets of upright rows, did a bit of abs too, feeling absolutely fabulous….must be all the endorphins……