Training for competition...is set!

Being involved in the fitness community, outside the comfort of a normal gym, I realized a lot of things. One of those things is that our fitness industry needs more Emirati women athletes and those involved sports (whatever the sport is!).

I also realized, not only that is needed - but I can do something about it. I started my fitness lifestyle in 2007 and had many ups and downs until it was November 2009. One day I woke up and I said, enough is
enough - and I took charge of my life, how I feel, what I eat, when I eat, how I think, and I react to things (okay, this still needs some work!). In a month, I would have completed two years leading a healthy lifestyle.

What I realized...this is not enough, and I want more and I can be more than an average gym-goer to get my dose of an exercise fix. Now I realize I want to be an athlete, be part of competitions, and make a name not just for myself, but for my country - which unfortunately has high obesity and diabetes rates.

Just about a month ago, I decided it's about time - and that I will train to compete. On Saturday the 14th, I started a new training regime. One that will hopefully get me ready to compete in Reebok Crossfit Games 2012 which is just 4 months away...but in the end of the day it's how much effort I am putting in, in each session.

To simplify the competition details, they are three stages:

Stage 1: The Open (Feb 22- March 25): Worldwide competition that takes place locally with one workout per week for five weeks (we don't know what the workouts will be). Scores and videos will be uploaded online to see who qualifies. The top 60 men, women, and teams’ with the highest scores from each region will be selected to compete in stage two. Last year, over 26,000 athletes competed!

Stage 2: Regional (April 27-May 27): Athletes from the same region will compete against one another to find out who is the fittest in their region.

Stage 3: Reebok Games in California (July 13-15): The fittest athletes from different regions will not only compete at this stage, but they will be tested on whether that can handle the unknown. The winners will earn the title of being the “Fittest man or woman on earth."

Since I will be competing against the unknown, literally, my goal is to get myself strong enough to reach the regional stage at LEAST, and I can only do that through putting my body through intense exercise, healthy eating habits, enough sleep, be stress-free, and a lot of rehabilitation.

Therefore, I will be updating my blog with my progress weekly with my training program for the week and my progress. Each Friday night I will be posting my weekly training and progress.

There is no reason I can't do this. I am going to smash it!

Yours truly,
GymFreak @999fitness

Some of Weight Lifting Myths vs Facts

When it comes to weightlifting, there are a lot of myths out there that discourage, not only women but some men from weight training. However, weight training has a lot of benefits and thus far, I have seen nothing but great results personally – your average jane who trains heavy.

So let’s debunk some of these myths, shall we?  

Myth: If you stop weight training muscles will convert to fat.

Muscles and Fat can never turn into each other, why? They are two different kinds of tissues. Muscle is denser than fat, and will actually make you look slimmer.  Here’s a picture of how 5lbs (2.5kgs) of muscle look vs. fat. In simpler terms, muscle takes less space than fat and it’s like comparing sand with water.

However, not training for certain period of time could cause the muscle to shrink back to its normal state pre-training, if A) there was lack of exercise for a long time, B) lack of proper nutrition and protein. However, due to muscle memory, regaining muscle is easier. 

Myth: Ab cruches are the best exercises to lose fat from the stomach.  

That's a big no no. Abs are just another muscle group in your body. What you often want to get rid of is the fat layer in top of it. You can do 200 crunches in a day, and you will still see no results. Why? Stomach fat is all about diet, diet, diet - and no I don't mean go low-carb and starve yourself. You may have a really strong core below that layer of fat, but if you don't eat whole foods, lots of veggies, lean protein and fruits, but opt for sugary drinks, fried foods - you won't see your abs. In general to get that body you want it's 70% diet, 20% exercise, 10% sleep. Yup. Also there is no such thing as "spot reduction." Your body is a machine, you can't exclude one part of it and expect it to work to its full potential.

Myth: Weight training makes you gain weight so you look bigger. 

Yes, weight training does makes you gain weight, but at the same time it reduces your overall body fat percentage and not by a miracle where it converts from fat to muscle. Muscles are an active tissue in the body and require energy (calories) to keep functioning. Gaining muscle raises your metabolic rate by 15% and for every pound of muscle (0.5kgs), you burn an extra 35-50 calorie a day, while fat burns 5 calories for every pound. In simpler terms, muscles help burn fat 24/7.

Personally, I have been weight training for almost 2 years now, and have done cardio only once a week (45-minutes only). I weigh exactly the same as I did last year, being 52kgs, but the difference is that I lost almost 8kgs of fat and gained 5kgs of muscle in return, with a drop of 13% of body fat (last I checked few months ago.) In other words, I weigh the exact same, but look completely different.

Myth: Weight training makes you stiff and lose flexibility.

The opposite is true. If you train and use the full range of motion (ROM) of an exercise it will help you maintain and adjust your flexibility. However, if you don't use the ROM of exercise properly, it will indeed affect your flexibility. Plus, sedentary lifestyle affects your flexibility and makes you stiff, affecting your exercise. Make sure you stretch everyday!

I am a living example of bad-not-flexible-shoulders. While doing the Press exercise, also known as the military press (for shoulders), I used to lean back and push the weight up, which caused the front side of my shoulders (delt) to be overtrained compared to my back delts (which look quite horrible!) Now I am slowly fixing the issue with my trainer, as pushing 20kgs above my head is quite horrible only because of the lack of flexibility. That's why form is more important in weight training than actual weight lifted. 

 *rubs hands together* my favorite Myth....

Myth: Weight training will make women bulky.

Women just cannot turn bulky because of the level of testosterone in their bodies. As it's known, one of the functions of the testosterone hormone is to build muscles, and both men and women have it. But here's the catch, a man typically has about 300 -1,200 ng/d of testosterone while a female around 30 - 95 ng/dL. So unless you take steroids is when you'll look like this: 

What you see above is all supplements, steroids, and unnatural way of building muscle...and it ain't pretty. I suggest people spend sometime to look how natural weight lifters look like. (trying to avoid any offensive photos!) To make it simpler, it takes a lot of hard work for a woman to gain muscle mass. Even in general, maintaining your muscle is hard work, requires proper eating habits, weight training, and it's not something that will grow out of air.

I surely don't look like the woman above, nor will I ever, if I keep eating properly, train hard, rest, and not take such supplements that make any person look....unnatural. 

Also, another thing I have to mention is that there are different schools of weight training, bodybuilders, powerlifters, olympic lifters, weight lifters...etc, and all have different kind of physiques, training routines and diet regimes.

I am not sure where I fit just yet, a little of all.

There are a lot more myths regarding weight training (especially for women). Hence do let me know what else you have heard, unsure of, and want to know more about. I will answer your questions.

Yours Truly,
GymFreak @999Fitess

Deadlifts and I

*Note: This is a personal post, and not related to my usual posts on tips. Achievement is the key word here. 

A lot of men and women assume that I am physically big because I lift heavy weights, but they don't realize that lifting heavy for women would probably will never yield to bulging muscles as for those that bodybuilders have ( that require specified training, diet, dedication, genetics and in extreme cases steroids.)

I probably have achieved my personal best today, which was completely unexpected, while performing my favorite exercise, the deadlift. I have written on why I love the Deadlift, where I go into detail about its benefits and what muscle group it works.

However, today, with a push of a friend, also my soon-to-be personal trainer, I lifted 72.5kgs ~ 159lbs. This would be 10kgs more than the weight I lifted last week! I honestly thought I'd be lifting this amount by June, and would probably reach about 100kgs by December, 2011. My goals have changed and I want to double today's lift by December. I already lift more than my bodyweight as is. Soon it will be 2x my body weight.

I was really proven wrong with my previous misconception on how much I can lift, and I am glad to have been so. Why? Because it amazes me how strong our bodies are, while we hardly ever give it credit for. Our bodies are like a tool, that we either use it for us or against us. It's your body - and you should know what works for you and what doesn't. Know how to push it to the limits - but not to the point of breaking down.

Deadlifts give me this sense of confidence, more than any exercise I have ever done. A lot of people think lifting weights of the floor is easy, it really isn't. It will have you winded in no time & gasping for air like anything, but again it's one exercise that will tell you how strong your whole body is, from legs, to core, to back and arms.

I ain't quitting this baby, here! Imma master the mother of all lifts!

FYI: According to strength standards by exrx, I am currently between an intermediate-advanced level with the deadlifts and it's all done in less than 2 years! Only if I could say the same about, ehm, my squats and presses. *covers face*

After seeing such progress in the past year and four months, I am really considering Olympic/powerlifting more seriously in the sense of including other exercises such as clean & jerk, Snatch...etc. It gives my life...focus. Hell, maybe one day join the olympics, for fun, and break stereotypes! But it has to be female-only event, ha!

I am interested in hearing about other females in the Middle East who are interested in heavy weight lifting, bodybuilding or power/Olympic lifting. Share your stories! Lets fight this misconception of lifting heavy weights = big muscles already! Not that I'd mind a bit of big muscles ;). 

Yours truly,
GymFreak @ 999Fitness.