Spaceship Belinda

Interesting how nothing ever stays the same.  Right now I am working hard through a trough.  We all face them.  Lower energy, distractions, interferences - physical and mental.  I keep telling myself to stay focused, keep following my plan and working hard.  In time I will feel up on top of the curve again.  That is the benefit of life experience, we know the down days will pass.  I can see the light at the end of my little tunnel.  Just a few weeks to go.  I can tell you I have a huge admiration for all you people that train hard with a disciplined lifestyle and diet month after month all year around.  Truely inspirational!!!!!!!  Upper body today…..time to push on up that hill towards high achievements….

Suddenly my weight has dropped from 122 to 118.5 - just days after increasing the cardio and making a few small changes to the diet.  I didn’t plan on the weight dropping so quickly but wanted to see what would happen so I can plan ahead for my first photoshoot.  I don’t want to exagerate but I cant believe how my muscles and striations (had to look that one up in wikipedia) are so defined, mostly in my arms and some in my back….well my back scares me.  It feels strange to see myself, I almost don’t believe it is me.  Also, well I have this strange thing, maybe some people here can relate to this.  I inherited my father’s arms, slender but defined shape and muscle.  When I see my arms in the mirror I think of him.  He passed away about 10 years ago.  It is a kind of nice feeling to see my arms, just remembering years ago how at the kitchen table when we were kids he would bend his arm at the elbow and put his thumb in his mouth and pretend to blow the muscle up, suddenly the bicep would appear incredibly formed and viened even though he never did a thing to work them out!!! We loved it.  Feeling wistful right now………and thankful. 

OK, it is a strange phenonmena which I guess all of us here have experienced.  As we improve, even if in small increments, we become more critical.  Instead of being happy I suddenly see all the imperfections.  The brain is a strange thing.  I guess this phenonmena serves as a constant source of motivation but I am believer in living each moment to optimise happiness - so today I am making myself look at all the good things and ignor the rest! I have my little rose coloured glasses on and I am off to the gym to work on lower body - and the sun is out so hopefully a swim too!  Yipeeeeeeee!

They have arrived!!! I have a couple of little callouses! I am quite proud of them and feel kind of initiated.  Years ago I used to play the classical double bass.  I eventually got callouses on my finger tips, I was quite proud of those too.  Hmmm, I am tempted to take a progress pic of my callouses.  I will sleep on it……….

ps. what is it with this glove thing?

Yesterday my trainer told me that some of the people around the gym are saying I am using steroids.  How rediculous!  Anyone who knows anything could tell from my physique and face that isn’t the case.  I guess you have to put this in the context that here girls are not so much into sport let alone working out with weights. And I think I am lucky that for some reason (which I don’t understand) I can get good muscle definition without having to have really low body fat.  Anyway, off for a morning swim and work out.  The sun is shining and I am feeling great!  Everyday I am thankful for all the good things and all the good people in my life…….

There are times I worry about what people think, and there are times when I don’t.  And I admit I don’t like to see a nice girl chewing gum - but when it comes to working out, compromises have to be made.  I must have my Magic Chewing Gum.  There is a psychosomatic response now, unwrapping each piece, get it really chewed up, and before I know it my body and mind is firing up ready to rip those weights apart.  Oh yeah, and chewing in time with my ipod music helps to.  OK I know I have a problem, an addiction maybe, but I don’t care.  And it hasn’t gone un-noticed.  For example, I worked out at my gym surrounded by spanish speaking trainers for a year, not understanding a word of what they chatted and laughed about, which included occassional glances at me.  Finally the day came when my comprehension got to a level of understanding. I walked into the gym one day to begin my training and realised I could understand what the boys were saying!! How exciting I thought to myself, I can finally understand what they have been saying about me all this time……so I listened in and heard: "there she is, look she has her packet of chewing gum", yeah says the next guy, "look she doesn’t just take one, she stuffs the whole packet in her mouth".  Thought for the day: nothing in the gym goes un-noticed.

OK, now I have your attention.  I am new to serious training and have done a bit of reading about diets on this website.  I can’t imagine how one can survive on these 6 egg whites, two rice cakes and tuna etc.  And nothing sweet!!!!!  I wonder if there are different body types/metabolisms.  I think if I was one of those diets I would look anorexic.  OK I admit I do a reasonable amount of cardio.  I need to research this more.  Right now I am eating more than I have in a long time, my metabolism is firing and I am feeling great.  And I have not put on any weight.  My only benchmark has been the scales and I have gone from 122 pounds down to 119 and back up again in my first months training despite eating a lot more.  Anyway, the learning curve continues……..off to do upper body and gluts today.  Yeah! ps. the abs are coming along…they are very shy, they like to hide down there, but slowly they are emerging to greet the world.

I have discovered that sometimes my body is smarter than me!  It quickly adapts to new exercises and finds the most efficient way to minimise the effort and pain!  Even though I am training heavier weights with the lower body yesterday a 1/2 hour kicking with flippers in the pool has left me sore!!!  Aha, I tricked my little legs!  And it reminds me of when I took up surfing and some of the professional aussie rules footballers came out for a session: despite their incredible fitness and strength most of them couldn’t paddle out the back!  OK lesson learnt, it’s good to keep my body guessing what’s next!!  Leg’s today………

I have always been a kind of total body workout person but recently I have started spot training: abs, gluts, quads etc.  Then I remembered the trainer I had last year broke the body right down and trained me really specifc on muscle groups.  There is so much to learn, I read the women’s training forum and half the terminology I don’t understand.  I guess everyone has to start somewhere - and this site is a good place!!!  I have started experimenting at home in the mornings with free weights.  I realised it’s all in the technique and learning how to activate the specific muscles.  Practice, practice, practice!  Another day here I come…..

I went to swim my 1km today and just crashed.  After one month of training hard with weights and cardio, it just said: "sorry no can do".  Yeah I have been burning the candle at both ends so I had to make a choice.  I am switching to some less intense pool time using the flippers and snorkle mask so I get lots of oxygen.  And also take advantage of the water to work on my gluts.  From now on the weight room is dominating!